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📵 More schools banning phones & your weekend guide

Plus, Capital Region restaurant roundup & Feel Good Friday

Author

Phat Chiem
August 09, 2024

Happy Friday, Capital District! Today, we’re looking at which local school districts are banning phones and why. Plus, get your guide to the weekend and restaurant roundup 👇️

Btw, we’re making a small change: Next week, we’re moving to a Tues / Thurs schedule (rather than the current M-W-F). Don’t worry—you’re still getting all the great event and local news coverage you’ve come to love from The 518. It will just arrive in fewer emails each week—and who doesn’t love getting less email!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

In partnership with

Today in The 518

  • More school districts banning smartphones 📵 

  • One of two stolen French bulldogs found 🐕️ 🚨 

  • The 18th Annual Cardboard Boat Races set sail this weekend ⛵️ 

  • More affordable housing for Feel Good Friday 🏡 

📣 TALK OF THE TOWN

Should smartphones be banned in schools?

Phone bans spread across local school districts

Our kids have had the privilege of attending Waldorf schools for their entire education. In a typical Waldorf classroom, you won’t see any cell phones, tablets or even computers.

The emphasis is on teaching kids to tap into their naturally creative and curious minds—without the help of technology (at least until they reach the middle grades). Parents are also asked to limit media consumption at home, for themselves and their kids.

This might seem like a radical idea in the Internet age, but more and more schools are creating distraction-free zones in classrooms by banning smartphones. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School is the most recent school in the Capital Region to do so.

This fall, students in Cambridge, Hoosick Falls, Schoharie and Bethlehem school districts will face new phone restrictions. Other school districts in the Capital Region are trying to do a better job of enforcing existing rules and using technology like cell phone pouches. Gov. Kathy Hochul has been pushing for a statewide ban, and the NYC school district (the state’s largest) could prohibit phones by Jan. 1.

Why is this happening now? Educators say kids are so addicted to the dopamine rush of their phones that they can’t concentrate in the classrooms—and fighting over phone use is exhausting to teachers.

“It is the single greatest threat to a quality education in the school at the present time,” said an Iowa teacher in one large survey.

Some 72% of high school teachers say cellphone distraction is a major problem in the classroom.

But not everyone is on board with cellphone bans. Who are some of the most vocal opponents? Parents. Many feel like they need to be able to reach their kids anytime, even in the classroom, which may be one sad effect of school shootings in America.

Should schools ban cellphones in the classroom?

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🌪️ WEATHER WATCH

"The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug." —Pico Iyer

It’s gonna be wet and windy today as the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby hit the Capital Region, with the possibility of tornadoes in the Albany area even.

⛈️ Friday 79°/69° 💧 91%

🌥️ Saturday 83°/59° 💧 11%

🌥️ Sunday 79°/58° 💧 25%

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🗞️ CAPITAL DISTRICT DIGEST

Anya, one of two stolen French bulldogs, has been found 👏 

1 stolen pup found, 1 human arrested

Good news, bad news in the case of the missing French bulldogs. Anya, one of the two stolen Sunday morning from a home near Myrtle and Delaware Avenues in Albany, has been located and is home safe. Police arrested a woman in connection with the dog-napping, but 3-year-old Nova is still missing. Cue sad bulldog face 😢 

Did you know? Millions of dogs are stolen every year, and this type of crime is up 40%, according to the American Kennel Club. Here are the most stolen dog breeds.

Get ready for NYS Food Festival

Taking place at the Empire State Plaza next Wednesday 11a-9p, the NYS Food Fest will feature a melting pot of cuisines, including West African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, American, and Asian foods. Southern rockers 38 Special are headlining. See the full lineup of food vendors and musical performers here.

Capital Region restaurant roundup

We can’t wait to check out La Perla Italian Restaurant at the Gregory House Country Inn in Averill Park, which has reopened under the ownership of nonprofit Arts Letters & Numbers (ALN). The restaurant's original staff, menu and hours remain in place, with Nando Acampora, son of the La Perla founders, as the new head chef. The only difference is that proceeds will be used to fund ALN's youth programs and community initiatives. That’s amore!

Saratoga Springs is poised for a flurry of new restaurant development. Kicking it off is the opening of Wild Horse, which occupies the space vacated by Dango’s sports bar and is positioned to be a trendsetter in a rapidly changing area. [Times Union]

Tres Mijas, the popular Mexican food truck in Glens Falls, is finally getting its own restaurant at 21 Bay Street. That will allow Tres Mijas (which means “my 3 daughters” in Spanish) to expand its menu to include fajitas, tamales, tostadas and adult beverages! Follow them on Insta for the latest.

🎟️ FULL WEEKEND ROUNDUP

⭐️ = The 518 Staff Picks

FRIDAY

⭐️ Schoharie County Sunshine Fair | Through Sunday. Tickets: $15-$22; children 3 and under free. We love the Schoharie Fair because admission comes with unlimited access to all 25+ Midway rides! Highlights this year include Chubby Checker, Josh Turner, Immortal Wrestling, the Demolition Derby, and Zerbini Family Circus. Check the schedule for dates and times.

Btw, don’t miss our guide to the Capital Region’s Best County Fairs to make the most of your trip!

High Altitude Festival 2 | 3p, starting Friday through the weekend. $23.18 general admission. 5777 Depot Rd, Voorheesville. Enjoy live performances by Bearly Dead, Son of a Gun, and more. Camping and ATVs allowed.

SATURDAY

⭐️ Palace Theatre Block Party | 12-4p, Sat, free. It’s a family-friendly street party on Clinton Avenue in Albany with music, vendors, community organizations and more. The kiddos will love the face painting, balloon twisters, bounce house, and free hot dogs and hamburgers!

⭐️ 18th Annual Cardboard Boat Races | 9a-4p, Sat, free. Fort Hardy Park, Schuylerville. First race begins at 2 pm. Free for spectators, but you need to register to participate in the races. Contestants construct boats entirely out of cardboard and race them across the mighty Hudson in a test of creativity, engineering skills, and sheer determination!

⭐️ Fandom Fest | 10a-10p, Sat; 10a-5p, Sun. $25-60. Fandom Fest is upstate New York’s largest gathering for fantasy enthusiasts. Taking over four floors of Schenectady’s Proctors Theatre, this fan fest features the Geek Garage, the Dragon Dungeon and the Arcade Arcade, all returning this year.

⭐️ Circus in the Park | 1p & 7p Sat; 2p, Sun. Doors open an hour early for all shows. Opening weekend special: Kids under 12 for $5 w/ $25 adult ticket. Performing under the big top in Troy’s Prospect Park, Brooklyn-based troupe Bindlestiff puts on a show of gravity-defying tricks.

Albany Twilight Market | 5-9p, free. Quackenbush Square. A spooky street market for fans of the weird and wacky.

Glens Falls Vegan Festival | 11a-3, free. Delicious plant-powered foods, shopping, entertainment and activities for the whole family.

Markets at Round Lake | 9a-5p, Sat; 10a-4p, Sun. 49 Burlington Ave, Round Lake. Three markets, two days, one eclectic village. Come for the maker booths, artisanal foods, live music and even a tiny bookmaking workshop.

Michael Yo at the Funny Bone | 8:30p, $30. The two-time Emmy-nominated comedian brings his biracial brand of humor to Albany.

Back to School Bash | 1-5p, free. First Unitarian Society of Albany. Come get free Safe IDs, ice cream and school supplies!

Corvette Car Show | 9a-12p. Free for spectators. Come to the Saratoga Automotive Museum to see some of the coolest Corvettes you’ve ever seen.

Rock Voices Albany | 7p. $12.51. Colonie Central High School. A 150-person community rock choir pays tribute to Queen by performing hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You.”

SUNDAY

Albany County Farmers Market | Sun. 10a-2p, free, plus Snap recipients get 2x benefits. Shop the best in produce, flowers and more at the MVP Arena.

38th Annual Run For the Roses 5K & Kids' Fun Run | Sun. 9a and 10 am. $32.80 for adults, $13.72 for kids. Grafton Lake Park is a beautiful location for this fun run. Come for the race, stay for the day!

 🏡 FEEL GOOD FRIDAY

Sierra Murray led the effort to gut renovate two homes in Albany to create more affordable housing 📷️ CBS6 News

Albany developer tackles affordable housing crisis one renovation at a time

We all know there’s a great need for more affordable housing in the Capital Region. One Albany woman is taking action to ease the crisis.

In partnership with Community Preservation Corporation, local developer Sierra Murray led the effort to gut renovate two homes in Albany’s Sheridan Hollow neighborhood and turn them into beautiful spaces for lower-income families.

Murray says her passion for the project came from growing up in historically red-lined Sheridan Hollow, where she still lives. “I want to be able to see kids outside playing in front of beautiful homes, not blighted homes or abandoned spaces,” she said. CBS6 News has the full story.

🎸 LIVE MUSIC ROUNDUP

Friday 8/9

Phish | Bethel Woods

Internal Bleeding | Empire Underground

Saturday 8/10

Community Block Party | Palace Theatre, Albany

Heart with Cheap Trick (POSTPONED) | MVP Arena

Jonah Kagen | Empire Underground

Phish | Bethel Woods

Sunday 8/11

Phish | Bethel Woods

Beethoven, Ravel, and Schumann | Little Spa Theater

🧡 SHARING IS CARING

Congrats, you’re part of the coolest club in the Capital District. Help us grow The 518 and forward this newsletter to the one friend who can’t seem to get off their phone 😡 

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