One of Saratoga's Last Historically Black Organizations in Danger of Vanishing

The Frederick Allen Lodge is located within Saratoga Springs, NY in the Beekman Street Arts District: 69 Beekman St. It has historically been a fraternal organization that did charity for the Black community. Nowadays, it still holds those values and exists as a prominent social club and gathering space for the Black population in Saratoga Springs.

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Meet the Saratoga Mayoral Candidate: Heidi Owen West

Heidi Owen West, a local business woman in Saratoga Springs, announced her candidacy for mayor in March of 2020. She is running under the endorsement of the Saratoga County Republican Committee, but is personally an Independent. In her interview with The Skidmore News, West emphasized her role and skills as a local business woman, which she believes will make her an effective city leader.

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Meet the Saratoga Mayoral Candidate: Ron Kim

Capital Region native Ron Kim is the only Democratic candidate in next week’s mayoral election. After spending eight years on the Saratoga Springs Zoning Board of Appeals and two terms as Commissioner of Public Safety, Kim is now dedicated to improving Saratoga’s infrastructure, reinvigorating democracy and restoring trust in the government. This week, The Skidmore News sat down with Ron Kim to discuss his platform, goals for Saratoga Springs, and how he envisions Skidmore students as actors in this work.

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Saratoga Politricks: A Conversation with Jason Golub

Followers of Saratoga politics understand the complex and often stunted nature of implementing policy change within the city. It’s been seen through the lack of leadership surrounding initiatives to support the city’s unhoused populations, minority communities, and a diverse economy – outside of mainly tourism – which often barricades valuable change in Saratoga. On top of these issues, the events of the city council meetings this spring, in terms of their passage of a controversial resolution in response to the Police Reform Task Force have only further exemplified the divisiveness between Saratoga Springs leadership and their residents.

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Saratoga Lakeview Park Residents Faced with Eviction

It’s easy to pass off Saratoga Springs as a fun evening destination to spend time with friends, especially considering that Skidmore College is an insular community in itself. However, a larger Saratoga community rests outside the college, made up of long-time residents, small business owners, and families. Currently, these residents are struggling with affordable housing or lack thereof. One group in particular – residents of the Saratoga Lakeview Mobile Home Park – are in jeopardy of eviction.

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Saratoga Springs Constitutional Crisis: What the Final City Council Meeting on Police Reform Revealed

Saratoga Springs finds itself in political turmoil as the city council held another open dialogue on police reform on March 31 on zoom. This meeting was the last open dialogue held before the city council voted to adopt the 50-point plan on police reform created by the Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force (SSPRTF). The SSPRTF created the 50-point plan to address Saratoga’s reform of the Saratoga Springs Police Department (SSPD). The proposal has been met with reluctance by the Saratoga city council and open hostility from the SSPD. However, the third draft proposed by the city council was passed with only one member in opposition.

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New to Broadway: Darling Doughnuts

According to the Glens Falls Chronicle, Natascha Peal-Mansman, the founder of Darling Doughnuts, started her business when she had her first child and would bake for fun while out of work. She then started selling her doughnuts in various popup locations, mainly in the Glens Falls area. Her delicious and imaginative yeast-raised doughnuts took off, and in July of 2020, Darling Doughnuts opened their shop in downtown Saratoga Springs.

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A Strong Skidmore Presence at the Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting

Just five days after peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters were met by excessive force used by the Saratoga Springs Police Department and Sheriff’s Department, the Skidmore community showed up and did not back down from questioning local council members and city officials.

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OPINION: The Lawn Jockey Cannot Stand as a Symbol of Racism at Skidmore

I wrote the following letter to Skidmore President Marc C. Conner on Monday, July 27th. The previous summer, some friends and I noticed the presence of the Skidmore lawn jockey on the lawn of the Lucy Scribner presidential residence. I had never seen one where I had grown up, but was familiar with “lawn jockey” as a pejorative phrase and wondered if the same racist history applied to the object itself.

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Black Residents’ Concerns about Systemic Racism Met by Disregard during Saratoga Springs Community Forum

A virtual community forum hosted on Wednesday evening by the Saratoga Springs Police Department and city Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, has garnered deep frustration from the community members in attendance.

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#WhyDidDarrylDie: The Police Brutality Case that Strikes Close to Home

I first heard about the death of Darryl Mount Jr. in April of 2018. I remember the day clearly because I had come to the Saratoga Springs City Hall to interview Mayor Meg Kelly for a statement on the recent sightings of KKK flyers downtown. During our conversation, Mayor Kelly mentioned that she had been working closely with the local police department--particularly with the then-Police Chief Greg Veitch-- on preserving the town’s safety and ensuring that this would not happen again. It struck me during our interview that I needed to learn more about the city’s police department as our local authority of protection. After, I googled the Saratoga Springs Police Department and fell into the story of Darryl Mount Jr.  

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