State officials and GEICO representatives, along with its well-known mascot, gather at an event to announce the Text Stops program that encourages people to pull of the highway if they are gong to text.

Courtesy GEICO

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew J. Driscoll announced in September that GEICO is sponsoring a Text Stops program along state highways operated by the department that it hopes will discourage texting while driving.

Officials said it could also provide nearly $1.3 million in revenue to New York state over the next five years.

“This innovative partnership with GEICO supports New York’s broad efforts to curb distracted driving and the traffic safety hazards it creates,” Driscoll said. “This sponsorship agreement provides one more way to encourage motorists to focus on driving and pull off the road to text or use mobile devices.”

The program was started in September 2013, expanding upon efforts to reduce distracted driving by highlighting places for motorists to pull off the highway, park and use their mobile devices. Park-and-ride facilities, rest stops and parking areas along state highways and the state Thruway serve a dual function as texting zones.

This rendering shows what the new Saratoga-Schenectady Endoscopy Center building off of Route 50 in Burnt Hills will look like when complete some time next year.

Courtesy SSEC

By Susan E. Campbell

Saratoga-Schenectady Endoscopy Center LLC has broken ground on a 35,000-square-foot structure that will more than double the existing capacity to perform endoscopy procedures, according to Deborah Hunt, RN, and administrator for the center.

The buildings at 846 and 848 Route 50 in Burnt Hills currently are used as offices for a number of independent gastroenterologists and their practices. One-half of the space also houses four operating rooms. Even though the physicians do procedures at Saratoga Hospital and Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, as well as the Endoscopy Center, the demand for these types of procedures has been mounting.

“We never thought we would outgrow the four-room facility,” said Hunt.

Endoscopy is a nonsurgical procedure used to examine a person’s digestive tract. Using an endoscope, a flexible tube with a light and camera attached to it, a doctor can view pictures of a patient’s digestive tract on a monitor.

“More important, we do a good job at performing high-quality, low-cost procedures,” said Hunt. “The insurance companies like us and so does the community.”

“There are many other facilities like ours,” Hunt said. “But our patients are coming from Albany and Fulton counties as well as Saratoga and Schenectady.”

Phinney Design Group in Saratoga Springs, recently won the People’s Choice award for this Bio Building, part of the Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake.

Courtesy Phinney Design Group

Phinney Design Group in Saratoga Springs, recently won the People’s Choice award for 2016 from American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York State.

The People’s Choice award winner was selected by popular vote online, open to the public.

The company was recognized for its design efforts on the Bio Building, part of the Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake. The mission of the museum is to “ignite an enduring passion for the Adirondacks where people and nature can thrive together and set an example for the world.”

Michael Phinney, principal architect, accepted the award on behalf of Phinney Design Group at the AIA New York State Design Awards event in Saratoga Springs on Sept. 30.

Earlier in the year, Phinney Design was awarded an Excelsior Award from AIA New York State for the Bio Building. The winners of the Excelsior Awards are chosen for providing a model of excellence for state-funded design, professional practice and advocacy.