WCDO Radio News

Blueox Corporation announced the sale of their Blueox Neighborhood Market convenience store chain to Stewart’s Shops based in Saratoga Springs, today. Blueox Corporation had 11 local convenience stores for over 35 years. The sale to Stewarts is expected to close in September.  Blueox will continue to operate their energy business, delivering fuel oil, kerosene and propane and will continue to service and replace energy equipment including furnaces, boilers, and hot water heaters.

State health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker today announced that the United Kingdom COVID Variant discovered in an employee of a Saratoga Springs jewelry store was found through Contact Tracing. Dr. Zucker said that an acquaintance of the Employee had been to The United Kingdom recently & passed the virus onto the Saratoga Springs worker, who had NOT traveled abroad. The State Health department continues to see the state's positivity rate on COVID tests over 8% with over 16,600 positives on Tuesday, out of more than 197,000 tests. Hospitalizations continue to climb to 8665, the number in ICU patients is over 1400 and the number on Ventilators is up to 877, 161 died from COVID Tuesday in New York State.

Governor Cuomo announced that the first confirmed case of the UK strain of COVID-19 virus has been detected in Saratoga Springs, it was detected by the Department of Health's Wadsworth laboratory & the strain was traced back to an individual affiliated with a Saratoga Springs jewelry store and all individuals who visited the store from December 18 through December 24 are encouraged to contact the Department of Health and receive a COVID-19 test immediately.

Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery contends
that the questionable business practices of Mavis Discount Tire in Saratoga
Springs auto shop had no role in an October 6th 2018 limousine crash that
killed 20 people in Schoharie.  Mallery
said that the attorneys for the limousine company's operator, Nauman Hussain,
had wrongly cast blame on Mavis, where workers had allegedly Billed Hussain for
brake work on the 2001 Ford Excursion that was not performed, several months
before the deadly accident.  Hussain has
been charged with 20 counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide
by a Schoharie County Grand Jury

New York State, like many others, is funding it hard to sell closed down prison sites. A recent study showed that 94 prisons have been closed nationwide since 2011, but only a few have been sold. Developers reported that cell blocks and dormitories tens to be too expensive to tear down & too restrictive to repurpose. An Adirondack prison overlooking the Saratoga Springs area has been on the market for the 2nd time in 2 years, in spite of its proximity to a major tourist destination.

Police in Saratoga Springs arrested 22-year-old Tyler Bellick of Schenectady, who is accused of attempting to steal a limousine being used for a bachelorette party over the weekend.  Police said that Bellick was intoxicated when he jumped into a limo at Saratoga Casino and Raceway early Sunday morning and started to drive away with about a dozen women inside the vehicle.  Bellick forcibly removed by 1 of the women, he tried to flee on foot and was caught by casino security guards and held for police.  Bellick was charged with DWI, and grand larceny, he faces court action at a later date.