News - Week in review

Advanced Micro Devices was given nearly a $28 million sales tax exemption on Monday for the future plant it intends to build in Malta.
The Saratoga County Industrial Agency approved the exemption that will apply to state and county sales tax on building materials for the plant. The company intends to build a 1.2 million-square-foot plant for the price of $4.6 billion at the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
The company has already been given $1.2 billion in state incentives to build in New York. The group had not originally intended to receive the sales tax exemption when they first announced building in New York in 2006.
AMD intends to start clearing the land in March and have construction underway in June. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2012. It could potentially put more than 1,465 people to work.

Saratoga County adopts 2009 budget 
Saratoga County officials adopted a $240.8 million 2009 budget Wednesday.
The adopted budget will keep the tax rate at $2.155 per $1,000 of assessed property value - the same as last year's rate.

Job elimination sparks controversy
A Saratoga Springs Visitor Center employee who had her job eliminated and then was suspended, has raised controversy among residents.
Mary-Jane Rau Pelzer, the special program coordinator at the city's visitor center, has held the position since 2002 before her job was eliminated in the adopted 2009 city budget. Out of the 12 positions cut from the budget, only Pelzer's position is currently staffed.
Her suspension has caused some of the center's volunteers to quit their jobs and started a letter writing campaign against Mayor Scott Johnson, Commissioner of Finance Kenneth Ivins and Deputy Mayor Shauna Sutton. It is said that it was Johnson's idea to eliminate the position and suspend Pelzer.
The position was expected to pay approximately $40,000 next year.

Committee approves design contract for county animal shelter
The Saratoga County buildings and grounds committee approved a $438,500 design contract to build a new county animal shelter Monday.
The contract was rewarded to CT Male of Latham. The group could build the facility for as little as $5.27 million. Initial costs to construct the building were in the range of $12 million.
The current shelter is said to be too old and small for its current needs. Officials intend to break ground on the new shelter sometime in 2009.

Saratoga Springs man faces felony charges after raid
A drug raid by police has resulted in the arrest of a Saratoga Springs man Monday.
Wade Crowley, 48, of 5 Old Schuylerville Rd., faces felony drug charges after the raid produced 17 pounds of marijuana and a handgun during the raid.
He was charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies. He was arraigned in City Court and sent to Saratoga County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail

Proposed rec center goes before planning board
The highly controversial rec center proposed to be built at Saratoga Springs South Side rec fields went before the planning board to get a site plan for the facility approved on Wednesday.
The board failed to vote on the plan before City Council members make a ruling on the facility's environmental impact.
City Council members are expected to vote on it at their next meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The planning board's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday Dec. 18.

Waterford company announces temporary layoffs
The crumbling job market hit Saratoga County this week as Momentive Performance Materials of Waterford announced the temporary layoff of 250 employees.
Employees will be laidoff for a minimum of three days up to a maximum of two weeks. The decision was made due to a reduction in customer demand.
The company previously announced it would cut workers' base pay by 25 percent. 

Skidmore professor tops "NY Times" best books of 2008
It was recently announced that Skidmore Professor of English Steven Millhauser's new book, "Dangerous Laughter" topped the New York Times "Best Books of 2008" lists.
Millhauser's book was also included in the "Best Books of 2008" edition of the Washington Post Book World.
He has penned more than 10 books of fiction and won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his book, "Martin Dressler."
Vasugi Ganeshananthan's, visiting author in residence, book "Love of Marriage" also made the Washington Post's best books of 2008 list.