Indoor Rec Center clears legal obstacles
Mayor Scott Johnson announced Monday that construction of the Indoor Recreation Center will proceed im-mediately after it cleared all legal obstacles.
Mayor Scott Johnson announced Monday that construction of the Indoor Recreation Center will proceed im-mediately after it cleared all legal obstacles.
"I'm pleased to announce that we can finally begin construction and now
deliver a long awaited recreation center that we, as taxpayers, have
already been paying for without any meaningful results until now,"
Johnson said in a press release. "We prevailed over frivolous legal
challenges from a neighborhood group and now announce an amicable
resolution has been reached on the most recent stop bid order from the
State's Department of Labor. Despite these obstacles, we are now ready
to proceed with construction and expect to come in well under budget."
The project had previously been held up by separate legal challenges from the Friends of Southside Park, who filed a lawsuit against the City seeking to stop construction of the rec center, and the New York State Department of Labor, who issued a stop bid order to stop the city from proceeding with construction after the City Council approved a $5 million contract with Bast Hatfield on Feb. 17. Johnson said that negotiations by his office and City Attorney Joe Scala led to an agreement that will allow the city to sign the contract they previously approved.
"The bottom line is we're able to now continue with the project, under the original contract, on time and under budget, despite the legal challenges. Thanks to the collective efforts of the City Attorney, Joseph Scala, the Labor Department and myself, we're able to do what's best for the City and protect us from the potential bond consequences and penalties if we couldn't otherwise proceed," Johnson said in a press release.
Construction will begin now and is expected to be complete by about year's end.
Man sentenced to 18 years for sex assault
A Saratoga County man who awoke in his sleep and violently beat and sexually abused his live-in girlfriend was sentenced to 18 years in state prison on Monday.
James Clairmont, 35, of 125 East High Street, Ballston Spa, was arrested in Wilton on Feb. 19, 2008 after his 25-year-old girlfriend, for whom he had lived with for two months, accused him of waking her up at night by beating her and then sodomizing her for several hours for supposedly uttering another man's name in her sleep. Clairmont was indicted in June of 2008 on felony charges of rape and sexual abuse, including two misdemeanor charges of unlawful imprisonment and assault. A jury found him guilty in Saratoga County Court on three counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and two counts of Assault in the Third Degree.
"Mr. Clairmont is a violent predator. He awoke in the night and, in a fit of jealousy and rage, woke his 25-year-old girlfriend by beating her and then sodomizing her repeatedly for several hours. We are pleased with the Court's sentence as it will protect society from this individual for a long time," Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy said in a written statement.
Clairmont will serve 18 years for the criminal sexual act charges, to be followed by a period of 12 years of post-release supervision by the Division of Parole, five years determinate on each of the convictions for the Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, to be followed by 10 years of post-release supervision and one year on each of the Assault in the Third Degree convictions. All sentences were directed to run concurrently.
Clairmont will also have to register as a sex offender and will be under prison and parole supervision for the next 30 years.
Finch Paper to cut 57 full-time jobs
Finch Paper Co., located in Glens Falls, announced that it will be cutting 57 full-time jobs on Monday.
The announcement came after the company eliminated 35 salaried positions in January. The cuts include 16 employees who have already left the company since December, four full-time employees who will be let go along with all of the temps that currently work in the facility in May and 37 more full-time job cuts that will be effective as of Aug. 31.
The announcement will cut the paper company's staff with approximately 740 employees. The cuts are expected to save the company $5 million.
The company laid off about 45 employees last fall, but brought them back by the next month. This time the cuts are expected to be permanent.
Murphy holds narrow lead in congressional race
As of Wednesday evening, the Democratic candidate for the 20th Congressional District seat Scott Murphy led Republican Jim Tedisco by 86 votes in what has turned out to be a highly competitive race for the position. The seat was originally vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand when she was appointed to the U.S. Senate to take over for the current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
However, a recent ruling in the state Supreme Court has ordered that nearly 1,260 absentee ballets which had been discounted either due to poll watcher's objections or objections that the absentee voter did not provide a good enough reason for not voting in person now be added to the final tally. With the recount still underway, an official winner for the position has yet to be announced.
Ivins announces re-election campaign
Commissioner of Finance Kenneth Ivins Jr. announced on Wednesday, April 16 that he plans to run for a second term in office. The Republican city council member was first elected to the position in November of 2007, defeating Democratic candidate, Jane Weihe, and independent incumbent, Matthew McCabe.
Ivins is the first among the five members of the City Council to publicly seek a subsequent term.
Ivins, whose proposal for a zero-percent tax increase in Saratoga Springs was accepted unanimously in 2008, hopes to restructure the current budget if he is re-elected, after New York State announced that the city will lose $1.8 million in VLT aid.
The project had previously been held up by separate legal challenges from the Friends of Southside Park, who filed a lawsuit against the City seeking to stop construction of the rec center, and the New York State Department of Labor, who issued a stop bid order to stop the city from proceeding with construction after the City Council approved a $5 million contract with Bast Hatfield on Feb. 17. Johnson said that negotiations by his office and City Attorney Joe Scala led to an agreement that will allow the city to sign the contract they previously approved.
"The bottom line is we're able to now continue with the project, under the original contract, on time and under budget, despite the legal challenges. Thanks to the collective efforts of the City Attorney, Joseph Scala, the Labor Department and myself, we're able to do what's best for the City and protect us from the potential bond consequences and penalties if we couldn't otherwise proceed," Johnson said in a press release.
Construction will begin now and is expected to be complete by about year's end.
Man sentenced to 18 years for sex assault
A Saratoga County man who awoke in his sleep and violently beat and sexually abused his live-in girlfriend was sentenced to 18 years in state prison on Monday.
James Clairmont, 35, of 125 East High Street, Ballston Spa, was arrested in Wilton on Feb. 19, 2008 after his 25-year-old girlfriend, for whom he had lived with for two months, accused him of waking her up at night by beating her and then sodomizing her for several hours for supposedly uttering another man's name in her sleep. Clairmont was indicted in June of 2008 on felony charges of rape and sexual abuse, including two misdemeanor charges of unlawful imprisonment and assault. A jury found him guilty in Saratoga County Court on three counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and two counts of Assault in the Third Degree.
"Mr. Clairmont is a violent predator. He awoke in the night and, in a fit of jealousy and rage, woke his 25-year-old girlfriend by beating her and then sodomizing her repeatedly for several hours. We are pleased with the Court's sentence as it will protect society from this individual for a long time," Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy said in a written statement.
Clairmont will serve 18 years for the criminal sexual act charges, to be followed by a period of 12 years of post-release supervision by the Division of Parole, five years determinate on each of the convictions for the Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, to be followed by 10 years of post-release supervision and one year on each of the Assault in the Third Degree convictions. All sentences were directed to run concurrently.
Clairmont will also have to register as a sex offender and will be under prison and parole supervision for the next 30 years.
Finch Paper to cut 57 full-time jobs
Finch Paper Co., located in Glens Falls, announced that it will be cutting 57 full-time jobs on Monday.
The announcement came after the company eliminated 35 salaried positions in January. The cuts include 16 employees who have already left the company since December, four full-time employees who will be let go along with all of the temps that currently work in the facility in May and 37 more full-time job cuts that will be effective as of Aug. 31.
The announcement will cut the paper company's staff with approximately 740 employees. The cuts are expected to save the company $5 million.
The company laid off about 45 employees last fall, but brought them back by the next month. This time the cuts are expected to be permanent.
Murphy holds narrow lead in congressional race
As of Wednesday evening, the Democratic candidate for the 20th Congressional District seat Scott Murphy led Republican Jim Tedisco by 86 votes in what has turned out to be a highly competitive race for the position. The seat was originally vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand when she was appointed to the U.S. Senate to take over for the current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
However, a recent ruling in the state Supreme Court has ordered that nearly 1,260 absentee ballets which had been discounted either due to poll watcher's objections or objections that the absentee voter did not provide a good enough reason for not voting in person now be added to the final tally. With the recount still underway, an official winner for the position has yet to be announced.
Ivins announces re-election campaign
Commissioner of Finance Kenneth Ivins Jr. announced on Wednesday, April 16 that he plans to run for a second term in office. The Republican city council member was first elected to the position in November of 2007, defeating Democratic candidate, Jane Weihe, and independent incumbent, Matthew McCabe.
Ivins is the first among the five members of the City Council to publicly seek a subsequent term.
Ivins, whose proposal for a zero-percent tax increase in Saratoga Springs was accepted unanimously in 2008, hopes to restructure the current budget if he is re-elected, after New York State announced that the city will lose $1.8 million in VLT aid.
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