saratoga NOW

VICTORY — More details have emerged about a felony assault that occurred Feb. 12 involving three teens and a 42-year-old woman.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Friends and co-workers remember Mary Marsicano, who passed away Monday, as a tireless Democratic Party volunteer and dedicated community servant.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — City residents booking the Canfield Casino this year will be paying more than they did in 2011, while non-city residents will be paying less.

Well, looks like public safety employees will be drug tested after all, "in the very near future," according to Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen in Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

MOREAU — A national developer has plans for a 123-acre, mixed-use project between Route 9 and the Northway that could transform the southern part of Moreau.

It’s been an active few months for the city’s new public safety commissioner.

Chris Mathiesen, who took office in January, announced this week that he supports a year-round 3 a.m. last call for city bars, and random drug testing of police officers and firefighters, pending discussions. The commissioner’s statements came after a busy January in which he called on the state to lower the 55 mph speed limit on Route 9, and orchestrated the fire department’s takeover of primary ambulance services for the city’s 30,000 residents.But it’s Mathiesen’s plan to call for a spring vote on closing bars and clubs an hour earlier that’s growing into the biggest test. While police officers and firefighters do not oppose random drug testing, cutting off alcohol at 3 a.m. has raised objections from bar owners and the “racino,” which serves liquor until 4 a.m. Even police officers question the proposal. Some believe an earlier closing time could cause a simultaneously exodus from bars to widespread locations across the city.

“The 4 a.m. more or less filters people out gradually,” said Sgt. Paul Veitch, president of the Police Benevolent Association. “We’d like to see more staffing at night, only because it’s an officer safety issue.”

Mathiesen works as a dentist. He says he campaigned on most of the moves, and has had to react to events. Since he took office, the city’s ambulance provider dissolved, a motorist accidently struck and killed a pedestrian on a dark stretch of Route 9, and police charged city firefighter, Justin Moran, with possessing crack cocaine. Moran remains on involuntary leave. His arrest led to discussions about drug testing.

The PBA has agreed to drug testing, and a program could be implemented through discussions with Mathiesen, Veitch said. Members of the Firefighters Local 343 would discuss drug testing as part of current contract negotiations, said Lt. Joe Dolan, union president. Both union leaders said there were questions about the integrity of the tests and who administers them.

Mathiesen, a Democrat, points to last year’s brawl at the former Club Shadow and a bar stabbing on New Year’s Eve as examples of why bars should close earlier. Accounts Commissioner John Franck tried in 2010 to change last call in the city to 2 a.m. between Labor Day and Memorial Day, but that effort failed in a 2-2 vote. Mayor Scott Johnson recused himself, citing financial ties to two restaurants/drinking establishments in the city.

Mathiesen recently met with bar owners in the city, and the two groups will convene again in March. On the agenda will be a discussion of a possible 3 a.m. last call.

“None of the bar owners think it’s a good idea,” said Tom Clancy, owner of Clancy’s Tavern on Caroline Street. “Everything mixes well the way it is. I feel the city is a safe city.”

The Saratoga Casino and Raceway opposes a change, senior vice president Rita Cox said. “Cutting off what we already offer customers wouldn’t be a good thing,” she said.

VICTORY — More details have emerged about a felony assault that occurred Feb. 12 involving three teens and a 42-year-old woman.

NEW YORK — Digital First Media has appointed four journalists with strong digital experience to its engagement team to help newsrooms quickly transition to the digital strategy and engage with their communities.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - It started with bed bugs. Residents of the Stonequist public housing complex complained that the executive director of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority wasn't doing enough to get rid of them. Ed Spychalski said Wednesday that it was HUD's decision, and not his, to not pay for an exterminator to kill the pests. Spychalski says...

Well, looks like public safety employees will be drug tested after all, "in the very near future," according to Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen in Tuesday night's City Council meeting.