Lately it seems like someone turned the clock back 20 years around here:
1) Sighted: Former Columbia-Hudson Partnership doyenne Bernadina Torrey having lunch at Baba Louie's in Hudson with her new beau, former Hudson River Bank prexy Carl Florio; Bernadina says they're in Saratoga County now.
2) Encountered: Former king of Arthur's Court—the rowdy bar which was in the building now owned by Marina Abramovic—Michael "Six Pack" Sandagato tying on on at the new Wunderbar, and blurting out that "I'll soon be the new chair of the Hudson Republican Committee." Sandagato plead guilty to a criminal mischief charge after Independent reporter Jill Hazelton's car was firebombed. Hazelton at the time was reporting on allegations of corruption in the Hudson Police Department.
3) Running: The D.A. who pursued then-HPD chief Jimmy Dolan? Paul Czajka, who just announced his resignation from the bench to run again for... D.A. Rumor is that current D.A. Beth Cozzolino is leaning toward a GOP primary against Czajka, rather than "settling" for a judgeship.
4) Hamstrung: Meanwhile, former D.A. Gene Keeler's intention to run as a Democrat against Cozzolino (against whom he's steadily kept up a drumbeat of scrutiny) or Czajka is being hampered by Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera's desire to have the Democrats instead nominate a conservative Republican, Mark Portin of Ghent. Portin was pushed forward by Scalera to fill out the remainder of Bill Cranna's term on the Hudson bench, and is said to be dating City Attorney (and Linda Mussmann amanuensis) Cheryl Roberts.
5) Mulling: Both respected City Court Judge Richard Koweek and sharpshooting defense attorney Richard Mott are contemplating runs for Czajka's vacated seat.
6) Resurfacing: Another former HPD chief who resigned under a cloud, Glenn Martin, apparently wants to run for 3rd Ward Supervisor against Ellen Thurston. (Martin’s wife Bev, a Scalera-Dolan loyalist in the 1990s, was an alderman in the ward for several terms.) The chief's departure was hastened by videotape evidence and payroll records gathered during an internal investigation that Martin had billed the Department for time spent at a "love nest" with a mistress just upstreet from the station.
7) Promising: An effort is afoot again, with USDA interest, to found a Hudson co-op food market, something which was tried but ultimately failed in the last decade. The time may finally now be ripe, pun intended.
1) Sighted: Former Columbia-Hudson Partnership doyenne Bernadina Torrey having lunch at Baba Louie's in Hudson with her new beau, former Hudson River Bank prexy Carl Florio; Bernadina says they're in Saratoga County now.
2) Encountered: Former king of Arthur's Court—the rowdy bar which was in the building now owned by Marina Abramovic—Michael "Six Pack" Sandagato tying on on at the new Wunderbar, and blurting out that "I'll soon be the new chair of the Hudson Republican Committee." Sandagato plead guilty to a criminal mischief charge after Independent reporter Jill Hazelton's car was firebombed. Hazelton at the time was reporting on allegations of corruption in the Hudson Police Department.
3) Running: The D.A. who pursued then-HPD chief Jimmy Dolan? Paul Czajka, who just announced his resignation from the bench to run again for... D.A. Rumor is that current D.A. Beth Cozzolino is leaning toward a GOP primary against Czajka, rather than "settling" for a judgeship.
4) Hamstrung: Meanwhile, former D.A. Gene Keeler's intention to run as a Democrat against Cozzolino (against whom he's steadily kept up a drumbeat of scrutiny) or Czajka is being hampered by Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera's desire to have the Democrats instead nominate a conservative Republican, Mark Portin of Ghent. Portin was pushed forward by Scalera to fill out the remainder of Bill Cranna's term on the Hudson bench, and is said to be dating City Attorney (and Linda Mussmann amanuensis) Cheryl Roberts.
5) Mulling: Both respected City Court Judge Richard Koweek and sharpshooting defense attorney Richard Mott are contemplating runs for Czajka's vacated seat.
6) Resurfacing: Another former HPD chief who resigned under a cloud, Glenn Martin, apparently wants to run for 3rd Ward Supervisor against Ellen Thurston. (Martin’s wife Bev, a Scalera-Dolan loyalist in the 1990s, was an alderman in the ward for several terms.) The chief's departure was hastened by videotape evidence and payroll records gathered during an internal investigation that Martin had billed the Department for time spent at a "love nest" with a mistress just upstreet from the station.
7) Promising: An effort is afoot again, with USDA interest, to found a Hudson co-op food market, something which was tried but ultimately failed in the last decade. The time may finally now be ripe, pun intended.
