a bit of local humor....

http://www.thealbanysmudge.com/index.html

How about one for Schenectady/Rotterdam.....lots of story's to be Smudged here.

Love it.....

Sonic Opening Brings Thunderous Applause and High Hopes to Area
By Pug Ransom
Published February 9th, 2015

LATHAM —Area business leaders are preparing for an explosion of economic development throughout the Capital Region now that Sonic Drive-In has signed a deal to open restaurants in the Albany area.
“This is probably the biggest economic news to ever hit the region since the last time we said something was the biggest economic news to ever hit the region,” said Neil Gravey, president of the Hudson Valley Business Chamber. “We have absolutely no doubt that Sonic will revitalize the region in the exact same way that the chip-fab plants did not.”
The first Sonic restaurant is scheduled to open sometime this spring in Latham. Others are then to follow in Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Amsterdam.
“We haven’t been this excited since that all-nude girlie joint opened at the corner of Wade Road and Rte. 7,” said Latham resident Burt Wilkerson. “Ever since the mall closed, this has been the kind of shot in the arm we’ve needed.”
Sonic has been aggressive in its push to establish a presence throughout upstate New York, opening restaurants in Watertown, Rochester and Middletown. Future openings are also eyed for Buffalo and Syracuse.
“Just look at Watertown if you want to get a sense of the kind of revitalization I’m expecting,” Gravey said. “Since Sonic opened there, unemployment has plunged from 21 percent to 20.6 percent.”
Earl Pigeon, Town of Colonie historian, said it would be almost impossible to overstate how big of a deal the Sonic opening will be for Latham.
“Without hyperbole,” said Pigeon, “this is probably the one of the most significant events to ever happen in the area — second only perhaps to Starbucks opening shops on both ends of Wolf Road.”

sample....    

http://www.thealbanysmudge.com.....tica%20Campaign.html


Schenectady to Launch Anti-Utica Campaign
By Curtis Riboflavin
Published March 22nd, 2015
SCHENECTADY – Fed up with criticism that his city is rife with drugs, urban decay and gun violence, Mayor Charlie McCarthy plans to start a public awareness effort to educate the public that “Utica is far more disgusting” than the Electric City.
“This is a matter of civic pride,” McCarthy told the Albany Smudge in an off-the-record conversation. “It’s not about Utica being a bad place to live. It’s about Schenectady being a much better bad place to live than Utica. I cannot be clearer.”
But insiders say the mayor clearly plans to smear Utica on billboards along the Thruway.
One billboard — shown to the Smudge by a city employee Tim Nugget on the condition of anonymity — stated:  “Rome Collapsed. Too Bad Utica Did Not.”
Another billboard read: “Utica – Far More Disgusting Than Schenectady.” And another sign mocked the Mohawk Valley city’s namesake vegetable, saying:  “Utica Greens? Aren’t They’re Supposed to Be Yellow?”
Schenectady (66,135) and Utica (62,235) have similar populations. Local political junkies described McCarthy’s effort as a subtle attempt to sway future gamblers away from the Turning Stone Resort and Casino near Utica, and lure them to Schenectady’s soon-to-be built casino on the Mohawk River.
“What better way to get an early jump on the competition?” said Mackey Holson, an online professor who specializes in upstate urban history at Folgers College. "Schenectady couldn't convince a drunk hooker it is better than, say, Syracuse. But Utica? Um, yeah."
Frank Pencil, another local politico, noted Utica lays claim as the homeland of the tomato pie, a pizza rival that never quite got off the ground but is sold in Schenectady.
Pencil said McCarthy likely launched the Utica smear campaign as a pre-emptive strike to keep reputed Utica Mayor Rocco “The Croatian” Marscarpione from branding Schenectady as a ‘”copycat city.”
Marscarpione, who was vacationing in Staten Island, could not be reached.
Bryce Waterson, a spokeswoman for the city of Amsterdam, suggested that her municipality was “just as depressing with a lot less to do” than either Schenectady or Utica.