Local News - The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Gov. David Paterson has reportedly chosen Delaware North Companies and its partner - Saratoga Harness Racing Inc., which owns Saratoga Gaming & Raceway -- to run Aqueduct's proposed racino.

BALLSTON SPA - Appearing handcuffed and shackled, in green scrubs issued by the Saratoga County Jail, alleged sex abuser Donald Nitchman pleaded not guilty to all 456 counts of the indictment handed up earlier this week when he appeared in Saratoga County Court Thursday morning.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Skidmore athletes excel when it comes to being a good sport - especially on the field of community service. On Thursday, a dozen members of the men's lacrosse team helped spread peat and beautify the grounds at the Franklin Community Center in Saratoga Springs.

MALTA - Roy McDonald first got the idea when his grandson accidentally sliced his head open on the fireplace. First responders who transported McDonald's grandson to the hospital noted that the boy was unusually quiet. But they had no idea the boy was autistic, McDonald said.

WILTON - The Wall Street crisis is trickling all the way down to Wilton's town Highway Department, which is feeling the impact of cutbacks in Mt. McGregor inmate work crews.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - A Saratoga Springs man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping another man he met in a bar in Ballston Spa.

FLORIDA - Court proceedings for the man charged with endangering the welfare of a child following the death of an 8-year-old Saratoga Springs boy were adjourned until later this month.

WATERFORD - Construction began on the 4.5-mile pipeline designed to bring safe drinking water to Waterford and Halfmoon residents before dredging begins in the PCB-contaminated Hudson River, from where the towns currently draw their water.

The Hathorn III Spring Pavilion at Saratoga Spa State Park was rebuilt and re-dedicated at a recent ceremony at which Dr. Stephen Miller read from a 1917 press release that highlighted the then-newly erected pavilion as a beautiful attraction.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - From the Spa City's first auto accident to stories of a "human fly" who scaled City Hall's old clock tower, Michael Noonan took listeners on a trip down memory lane Thursday as part of a "Brown Bag Lunch" history series at Saratoga Springs Public Library.

BALLSTON SPA - Appearing handcuffed and shackled, in green scrubs issued by the Saratoga County Jail, alleged sex abuser Donald Nitchman plead not guilty to all 456 counts of the indictment handed up earlier this week when he appeared in Saratoga County Court Thursday morning.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - The head of state-owned Saratoga Tree Nursery is concerned that his facility could fall victim to the budget chopping block.

MALTA - Elected officials and leaders of various local economic engines gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate Advanced Micro Devices recent announcement of a corporate restructuring that includes the construction of a $3.2 billion manufacturing facility in the towns of Malta and Stillwater.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - While a neighborhood group vowed to sue to prevent construction of a recreation facility at the South Side Rec Field, Mayor Scott Johnson affirmed his commitment to the project - and offered assurances that the building would not increase taxes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Despite current economic conditions, organizers are expecting top-dollar prices for some of the leading horses at Sunday's Fall Breeding Stock Sale at Saratoga Race Course.

BALLSTON SPA - Renovations to the Ballston Spa Middle School inched closer to becoming a reality at the district's board of education meeting on Wednesday, hours after school officials met with executives from Advanced Micro Devices to discuss the proposed microchip fabrication plant's possible affect on the district.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - The Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center will sponsor the second Brown Bag Lunch in its four-part fall series today from noon to 1 p.m.

Having aligned with a new investment partner, Advanced Micro Devices officials on Tuesday said the company will commit to constructing a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Malta.

ALBANY - Citing the jobs and economic stimulus that will result, Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday defended the cash-strapped state's use of $1.2 billion to help bring a computer chip plant to Malta's Luther Forest Technology Campus.