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- Speed Week is your sign to slow down!
Speed Week is your sign to slow down!
Plus: Top 5 Weekend Picks, National Donut Day 🍩 deals, $1 movie tix & a flying spider invasion 🕷️😱
Phat Chiem
June 05, 2024
Happy Hump Day, Capital District! Today, we’re sending you a note of caution for Speed Week. Plus, check out our big list of weekend events and the best deals for National Donut Day 🍩
Let’s 🐇 to it.
—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan
In Partnership With
Today in The 518
Hold your horsepower! It’s Speed Week in the Capital Region
Albany-Saratoga Speedway sold to make way for housing & retail
Plus, Top 5 Weekend Picks, National Donut Day deals & $1 Regal movie tickets!
📣 TALK OF THE TOWN
Oh, hello there, Mr. State Trooper 😅
Watch your speed this week—and every week 🚔 🚨
Happy Speed Week to all who celebrate. That would be the thousands of radar gun-toting officers across the Capital District.
Since Monday, troopers using both marked and unmarked cars have stepped up their traffic enforcement, making a show of pulling over speeding drivers ahead of the summer driving season.
That souped-up Dodge Charger you see in the rearview mirror? Yea, it could be a “Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement” or CITE vehicle. Get it? CITEtation 🙄
Troopers issued just shy of 21,000 tickets during last year’s Speed Week—including 10,478 for speeding and 375 for violations of New York's new Move Over law.
Interestingly, traffic violations have dropped dramatically across the Capital Region as police have been encouraged to give out more verbal warnings. At the same time, the state has quietly installed more cameras to catch speeding drivers. Here’s a list of every highway camera location across the region.
Coincidentally, The 518 received a $50 ticket from a red-light camera just yesterday 🤦 We don’t remember doing this at all, and we were only going 21 mph. We’ll leave you with this fair warning—every week is Speed Week!
Albany is first city to adopt ‘Good Cause Eviction’
By a 14-0 vote, the Albany Common Council approved the first use of the new Good Cause law outside of NYC. The measure puts restrictions on rent increases and when landlords can evict tenants. Housing advocates say it will allow tenants to speak up about needed improvements while encouraging landlords to keep buildings in better shape. The law only applies to tenants with landlords who own more than one property. WAMC has the full story.
🌞 WEATHER WATCH
“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." —Jenny Han
Keep your 😎 + ☂️ handy through the weekend!
🌦️ Wednesday 89°/69° 💧 40% ⛈️ Thursday 79°/61° 💧 91% 🌧️ Friday 78°/55° 💧 84% | 🌦️ Saturday 71°/56° 💧 92% 🌤️ Sunday 73°/55° 💧 83% |
A message from our partner
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Don’t know where to start? For a limited time, we are offering free 30-min coaching calls for small & medium businesses in the Capital District. Chat with us about optimizing your website, reviews, Google listings, social media, Shopify stores, and more! Sign up here (limited availability).
🗞️ CAPITAL DISTRICT DIGEST
Albany welcomes Dutch royalty
If you hear the sudden sound of trumpets, it might just be the Dutch royals in town. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands are visiting Albany next week. Guess they read our story about the WWII heroes who liberated Albany’s sister city in the Netherlands?
Saratoga Speedway sold to mixed-use developer
It’s official. The beloved Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta is under contract to be sold. The new developers plan to turn the 50-acre property on Route 9 into mixed-income housing and retail space. Five Corners Development founder Sumeet Gupta touted the project as part of "the continued responsible growth in Malta and Saratoga County." But residents are already mourning the loss of the racetrack, which will run through its 60th anniversary in 2025.
CDTA cuts Albany bus service for the summer
With summer, in comes the heat and out go the students. That means the CDTA needs to make a "slight reduction" in the frequency of the 12, 114 and 910 buses, with schedules running every 20 minutes instead of 15. Still, some riders are pretty darn annoyed about the change.
🎟️ TOP 5: WEEKEND PICKS
Get your pride on, Capital District
⭐️ Capital PRIDE Parade & Festival
Don your Sunday best (whatever that means to you) and join thousands of out-and-proud festival goers for one of the biggest Pride parades in upstate NY. 11:30a, Sun, free. Washington Park, Albany. Full details here. Also, see other Pride events around the region.
⭐️ Capital District Renaissance Festival
Take yourself back to the 15th century for a weekend of magic and wonder on the bucolic Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont. Bonus points if you come dressed like you just walked out of a Michelangelo painting. 11a–6p, Sat-Sun. Tickets: $20-$25 for adults, $5 for children. Details and tickets here.
⭐️ 🐎 Belmont Stakes and Belmont on Broadway Fest
The first-ever running of the Belmont Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course this weekend is something special. The Daily Gazette has the full guide to the event and the Belmont on Broadway festival. And yes, some tickets are still available. Also check out this guide from Food & Wine on where to eat in Saratoga for the Belmont Stakes (although many places have been booked for months 🙁).
⭐️ Summer Craft Fair at Shaker Heritage Society
60+ regional artisans selling Shaker-themed crafts, plus enjoy a petting zoo, sheep shearing, delicious local treats and live music. 10a-4p, Sat-Sun. Admission is ‘pay what you want.’ Shaker Heritage Society, 25 Meeting House Rd, Albany. Details here.
⭐️ 22nd Annual Cambridge Valley Balloon Festival
OK, this one is about an hour’s drive from Albany, but it’s worth it! See hot air balloons, enjoy carnival rides and food vendors, plus a fireworks show. Tethered rides available for purchase this year! Starting Friday night through Sunday. More details here. Btw, check out this guide for what to do and where to eat in the Village of Cambridge.
🧘♀️ MORE NOTABLE EVENTS
Free yoga classes every Saturday at SUNY Plaza
We couldn’t fit it all into one weekend, so here are some bonus events!
Albany’s Alive at Five
Albany’s signature free concert series kicks off with performances by Sydney Worthley and Let’s Sing Taylor. 4:30-8p, Thur, free. Rain location: Corning Preserve Boat Launch, Albany. Details here.
State Street Yoga
Join friends and neighbors for a FREE, all-levels yoga class on the beautiful lawn at SUNY Plaza, led by instructors from Hot Yoga Spot. Every Saturday in June and July. 10-11a, SUNY Plaza. Details here.
Albany First Friday
Kick off your busy weekend around the Capital Region with an evening stroll along Lark Street and visit with a variety of vendors. Other events happening around the city as well, including City Hall, Albany Elks Lodge, First Presbyterian Church, Capitol Building. 5-7p, Friday, free. Full program here.
American Music Festival at EMPAC
With Grammy-winning flutist Brandon Patrick George and the Albany High School Chamber Choir. 7:30-9:30p, Sat, EMPAC at RPI. Various prices for tickets. Info and tickets here.
🕷️ WEIRD NEWS WEDNESDAY
Relax, they’re (mostly) harmless and actually quite beautiful
Giant, venomous flying arachnids invade New York
OK, this is a bit of click bait. Yes, the Joro spider is indeed coming to the Northeast. And yes, they can fly and are technically venomous. But their bite is typically not deadly, though it may spark an allergic reaction in some people.
These striking arachnids sport 4-inch legs and can sail through the air using a technique called ballooning. Scientists say the real danger is mostly in their potential to kill off native insect species, affecting the New York ecosystem. Having infiltrated our shores from Japan, the Joro spider is expected to inhabit most of the northeastern US in a few short years.
💰 CAPITAL DISTRICT DEALS & DISCOUNTS
Did you know that Friday is National Donut Day?! 🥳 Cider Belly Donuts (53 Fuller Rd, Colonie) is offering a dozen Sugar Daddy donuts for just $10, while Duck Donuts (579 Troy-Schenectady Rd, Latham) is giving away cinnamon sugar donuts—no purchase necessary. And Dunkin’, of course, will offer a free classic donut with any beverage purchase.
Get there early as supplies may be limited! As Yoda would say, “Do or donut. There is no try.”
Regal Cinemas is offering tickets on family-friendly movies for just $1 all summer. The catch? The shows are only Tuesday and Wednesdays, at 11 am. Regal is also offering Early Bird tickets before noon on Saturday and Sunday for just $5 and $8.
The Daily Gazette has 30% discounted gift cards to a number of businesses, including Sliderz All American Bar & Grill in Rotterdam, and Canna Provisions in Lee, MA. You don’t need to be a subscriber to get the discount. Details here.
Get 50% off at Nocturnal Cookies (5 Clinton Square, Albany). Details here.
First-time visitors can experience the Adirondack Salt Cave, a holistic healing and wellness center inside a salt cave in downtown Glens Falls, for just $20.
Got a great coupon or deal to share? Get in touch: [email protected]!
🎸 LIVE MUSIC ROUNDUP
Wednesday 6/5 | Lunchtime Music Festival | Empire State Plaza Blvck Hippie / Canella / Xavier Ayy | No Fun Evening on the Green | Town of Coeymens |
Thursday 6/6 | Let’s Sing Taylor | Albany’s Alive at Five Summer Concert Series Spring Concert | Albany School of the Humanities Jon Anderson & the Band Geeks | The Egg Tony Trischka | Cock N’ Bull Mostly Modern Season 5 Kickoff Concert | Caffe Lena ⭐️ Jazz on Jay: Killdeer Trio | Jay & State Streets, Schenectady Lost Radio Rounders | Bethany Reformed Church Back to the Future: The Musical | Proctors Theatre (Thu-Sat) |
Friday 6/7 | Kathy Mattea Close Up | Cohoes Music Hall Live & Local at The Linda | WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio Glass Pony | Palace Theatre (free show!) Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire | EMPAC Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams | Caffe Lena (Fri-Sat) |
Saturday 6/8 | Deveria | Empire Live Fat Joe | Empire Live An Evening with Amy Speace | The Linda / WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio Casket / Flatwounds / King Mob | No Fun |
Sunday 6/9 | Folk Heritage Series: Steve Forbert Duo | Caffe Lena (sold out) |
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