SARATOGA SPRINGS —In the month of January, The Salvation Army of Saratoga Springs served 177 individuals through the Food Pantry, gave out 80 articles of clothing, provided showers for 40 individuals, and were able to serve a hot breakfast for 156 individuals. The Salvation Army is very fortunate to be able to serve the community of Saratoga through the various services offered. They are also looking for any business or agency that would like to have the opportunity of sponsoring the breakfast program that operates Tuesday-Thursday every week. For more information, please contact The Salvation Army located at 27 Woodlawn Ave in Saratoga Springs or by calling 518-584-1640.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Druthers Brewing Company is expanding its reach again, signing a lease to take over operations at 550 Waterfront on Saratoga Lake.

John Boyle, managing partner at 550 Waterfront, said the lease runs for 10 years. He called it “a nice, synergistic opportunity” for both companies. “It really is a merging of the best of both of our companies,” Boyle said.

Boyle said that Druthers are “phenomenal operators,” saying they bring strong infrastructure and expertise to the restaurant. He said the dining experience will be “very similar in terms of the vibe.”

“We’re going to have the lakeside dining vibe that we’ve always had,” said Boyle. “75 to 80% of the food that is going to be served there will be different than the other typical Druthers fare.”

The menu will remain similar to past 550 Waterfront offerings, and also feature some new items, Boyle said. He named fish and chips and lobster rolls as two examples of items that will remain on the menu.“

I mean, there’ll be definitely some new items, some new, fun items on there,” said Boyle. “But there’ll be the standard stuff that people got used to.”The restaurant will also offer Druthers’ selection of beer, with Boyle saying they will offer “the whole Druthers beer package.”

The restaurant is targeting mid-April for an opening, which Boyle said is in line with last year’s opening date. The staff will remain intact, and Boyle emphasized that not much will change in terms of the customer experience.“

It’s going to be very, very similar,” said Boyle. “Besides the fact that you’re going to have Druthers beer on tap, I think the experience is going to be very similar to what it was previously.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Capital Region-based startup Helios Life Enterprises continues to make waves, earning an invitation to the 2023 South By Southwest Conference and Festivals to showcase technology that can analyze voice tones.

Helios CEO and co-founder Sean Austin said the invitation is “the biggest nod” the company has received, saying roughly 800 companies apply before the field is narrowed down to 40.

“Just being in that company is totally humbling,” said Austin. “It’s a very large platform for us to get out there, an international platform. Totally excited that we’re in the AI category, because that is right now probably the hottest type of startup.”

The honor comes on the heels of some very strong months for the company. Helios has recently presented at the TechCrunch Battlefield 200 and the Eagle Alpha Alternative Data Conference, and Austin said that more hedge funds are beginning to test Helios’ data and products.

“All of last year, we had, I want to say six total. We’re almost at that right now to start this year,” Austin said. “The fact that we will probably edge last year’s total account by mid-February or the end of February is a pretty good signal that we’ve elevated our brand.”

Helios’ technology can analyze audio and voice tones to find a relationship between the words that are spoken and the tone in which they are spoken with.

“If you win an award, you can say words that don’t actually sound super positive, like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it,’ like you’re in disbelief. That’s made true by voice tone,” explained Austin.

Helios will showcase its technology as part of the Artificial Intelligence category, one of eight different categories at the South By Southwest Pitch competition. Austin said the company will have roughly three minutes to pitch.

The first part of the pitch will consist of a personal story that connects to Helios’ work, said Austin. 

As a high school senior, Austin suffered a knee injury during a state semifinal football game. Austin said he told his father, “This is a horrible moment,” and his father replied, “Everything’s going to be fine.”

“You can say that phrase in so many ways with voice tone, that it means so much to someone,” he continued. “Our story ties into that so tightly, this whole concept of emotion, or meaning, or understanding, that can be driven from something that is innately human.”

The second part of the pitch will discuss “the reality of the company,” Austin explained.

“There’s some major, major hedge funds on the planet seeing value. There’s more than ever testing it, and we’re sure a good portion of them will be able to apply it to their portfolios,” said Austin. “We see a trajectory now that’s becoming more and more real, which we’ve always believed in. But being able to tell that, because we’ve had five or six more months than TechCrunch, just adds a whole reality to it.”

South By Southwest is also assisting Helios and other companies with their pitches, assigning each of them a pitch coach.

“That is a weekly engagement that South By Southwest is supporting,” Austin said. “I’ve actually already started that. I can also openly say that I’ve not had a pitch coach before, so I think it’s very helpful to have that feedback.”

The opportunity for Helios to pitch at events like South By Southwest helps make the company “more and more prominent,” with Austin saying he believes Helios will hit an inflection point in 2023.

“I believe fully that 2023 is the year where that inflection point happens,” said Austin. “I think people are going to jump on board and use it. We’ve spent so much time making it real, we’re working with some very top universities on the research this year. It means everything to us, because if we hit that inflection point, we can proliferate it into space.”

The company is also still in the process of crowdfunding, Austin said. Helios, with the help of a company called Fairmint, is offering the opportunity to buy shares of the company for a minimum of $500. Shares are available at helioslife.enterprises.

“It’s a way that you can just buy shares through Fairmint for us,” Austin said. “We’re a private company, of course, not on the New York Stock Exchange or anything. But it makes it very accessible.”

Austin said Helios has “hundreds” of local investors and are hoping for hundreds more. He said the Capital Region has meant a lot to the company, noting many of Helios’ employees are longtime locals. In addition to Austin, chief revenue officer Kevin Vanderwarker is an area native, and co-founder Dr. Gerwin Schalk attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

“It means a lot,” said Austin. “It means a bunch to use that knowledge and push it forward, and have a big impact, and show that you don’t have to be in New York City to make a startup and grow something that’s really impactful.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Aker, a Hudson Valley-based owner-operator, has announced the transformation of the Pavilion Grand Hotel in downtown Saratoga Springs to a boutique apartment community called Perennial. 

The property at 30 Lake Avenue, previously a hotel before transitioning to extended stay residences, was purchased in December 2021 by Aker from Prime Companies. 

Located in the heart of downtown Saratoga Springs, Perennial is just a short stroll away from a mix of local shops and restaurants and only minutes from Saratoga’s choice attractions, the Saratoga Race Course and Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Comprised of 48 residences, Perennial offers pet-friendly living spaces including studios, one- and two-bedroom residences and penthouses. Perennial’s duplex penthouse apartments are designed for gathering, featuring open layouts with large private terraces, generous kitchens and separate wet bars. 

The “Perennial” name is inspired by the year-round resident, an active participant in the community and a frequent consumer of local businesses and culture.  

“Delivering this transition has been an exciting undertaking for us,” said Aker Senior Vice President Tina Ladd. “The unique history of Saratoga Springs and the 19th century Pavilion Hotel – this property’s namesake – were inspiring elements to work with. It is our goal with all of our projects to engender a sense of community and encourage resident engagement.”

Aker’s vision for Perennial is to inspire its residents to “write their Saratoga Story, embrace the City’s downtown energy, stay in the know on the new and the interesting and meet friends, collaborators and creators.” 

Perennial’s apartment interiors and common areas will receive a substantial upgrade as part of the rebranding. The existing fitness center will be expanded and refurbished with new equipment; the entry lobby will be remodeled to accommodate residential living and include a café amenity; hallways will be redesigned; and the roof-top building amenity will be redesigned to include both interior and outdoor entertaining areas.  

Common area improvements are currently in progress and newly renovated apartments are now available for lease.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is growing, and its operations are expanding along with it.

The hospital is currently constructing a new barn, which will allow Rood & Riddle to increase its capacity and offer higher-quality treatment, among other improvements.

Practice manager Jennifer Van Alphen said the hospital is growing with the area’s population of horses. The new barn will feature eight stalls and is being constructed in a similar style as a pre-existing barn on the property. 

Van Alphen said construction will “hopefully” be finished between the end of February and mid-March.

“As long as weather cooperates and everything like that, it should be the end of February, middle of March, we’re hoping,” said Van Alphen. “We’re a little bit further behind than we would’ve hoped, but we will definitely be ready for the summer, so we’re excited about it.”

Shannon Hinton, a surgeon at Rood & Riddle, said they are excited to be better equipped to treat horses.

“The fact that we’re able to expand our facilities reflects our dedication to the horse community in this area,” said Hinton. “I think it just represents the fact that we’re happy to be here, and excited to stay. We’re happy that the horse community trusts us with their horses.”

Van Alphen said the new barn will replace a temporary structure the hospital had been using during summers.

“This (barn) will basically replace having that temporary housing, so we have more permanent structure,” said Van Alphen. “The summer time, for the most part, is when we are busy, because there are so many horses in the area, and so many come into us.”

“That barn is also nice because it has the capability to have two stalls that have hoist systems in them, so we can manage neurological horses, or downed horses, or horses with injuries that require them to be managed,” added Hinton. “That will be quite helpful.”

The stalls are roughly 12 feet by 12 feet, Hinton said. Each has its own drainage system, with concrete floors covered by mats. Stalls also have their own windows, as well as two exit points. Hinton added that the sling stalls have larger doors for easier access.

The additional capacity will also help Rood & Riddle increase biodiversity, Van Alphen said, by having to flip over stalls less frequently.

“I’m not saying that we were limited on that, but we have space so each horse that comes in can maintain in that one stall for the duration of its stay,” Van Alphen said. “Sometimes what was happening was we were having to move some horses around to make room for something that would triage above that horse.”

Hinton said it is important for the hospital to be able to accommodate as many cases as possible, saying there are not many other “full-service” equestrian hospitals in the area.

“I think it’s just a reflection of us being able to better accommodate the horse community and be able to take in more cases and do more work on different types of horses,” Hinton said. “There’s not a ton of referral clinics in this area, so sometimes people are making a long drive to come to us, and it’s important we have appropriate space and facilities to manage those cases.”

Rood & Riddle has two surgeons and an internal medicine doctor on staff, in addition to six ambulatory doctors that travel into the field, Van Alphen said. 

Van Alphen said that the hospital is growing as a whole, seeing an increase in staff as well as facilities.

“With our growing barn, our staff and team have been growing as well,” Van Alphen said. “We’re growing as a whole, which is definitely a really good sign.”

This week, Governor Hochul vetoed the Grieving Families Act, which had passed the Senate and Assembly and was awaiting her signature. The Grieving Families Act would have expanded New York’s wrongful death statute by, most significantly, allowing a family member to recover for their emotional distress caused by the loss of a loved one.  There are different pieces to this proposed legislation, but this article will focus on emotional distress damages.  

Governor Hochul has expressed her support for the emotional distress piece of the Grieving Families Act, but had proposed several amendments – including exempting medical malpractice cases altogether – which were not agreed on prior to the deadline to sign the legislation. 

What is a wrongful death case?  When someone dies because of someone else’s negligence or malpractice, there are two potential claims.  One is called a survival action which is the claim that belonged to the deceased person and, literally, survives his or her death.  The damages in a survival action are typically the pain and suffering experienced by the decedent prior to their death.  The second is the wrongful death action.  The wrongful death action seeks to recover the financial contribution the deceased person made during their life, which we call pecuniary loss.  This can include not only someone’s actual salary but, for example, your spouse’s household contributions and support.  New York is in the minority of states allowing recovery only for pecuniary loss. 

What is missing?  The ability of a loved one to recover for their emotional distress resulting from the negligent death of their spouse or child, among others.  This is perhaps most glaring in the case of a child.  Young children are not contributing financially to the home and certainly a child suffering prior to their death makes a worst case scenario even more horrific.  But under the current law, in the scenario of a child who dies instantly, a lawsuit would have very little financial value due to the limited damages available.  And when a lawsuit has very little financial value, the time, expense and risk of moving forward can begin to outweigh the benefit. 

Now, some may say, no amount of money or lawsuit would bring back a loved one so why should we care about this?  Well, the civil justice system serves various important purposes in our society, including as a deterrent to unsafe and reckless behavior as well as a means to obtain information about what was done wrong and what can be done differently in the future.  

We also have the ability to recover emotional distress damages in other contexts.  For example, you can recover for your emotional distress if you lose your job, and those damages can be significant.  For those who are worried that there is a risk of gigantic verdicts putting defendants out of business, while it is true that New York does not have a cap on damages, the law does have other mechanisms to keep this in check.  In an employment lawsuit, you have to prove your emotional distress, and to obtain a significant award, you would demonstrate a severity typically supported by medical records. If your proof does not match a jury’s award, it will often be reduced by the Court as excessive. 

We’re not here to say that this Act is perfect, or that no valid areas for improvement were identified.  And we’ll leave it to the Governor and the Legislature to duke it out over when and whether those tweaks should have already taken place.  But we do hope that the addition of this element of damages is achieved sooner rather than later because we know we’re not alone in believing that someone’s life is worth more than just their salary. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Five Towers Design Company and Spa City Digital have officially announced a merger of the two companies, forming Five Towers Media.

Five Towers Media will combine the offerings of both companies, providing digital marketing and design in a variety of spaces. The company will offer website design, SEO services, social media management, videography, graphic design, branding services, digital marketing, and more for clients. Five Towers Media also owns print publications, online news platforms, and podcasts. 

Co-founders and partners Michael Nelson, Brad Colacino, and Chad Beatty said the merger came about as a way for both companies to grow, expand, and improve their offerings in the community.

“We were both at a point where we were looking to expand, and we both have very similar business offerings,” said Colacino. “We have very similar views on how to conduct business, and goals for where we wanted to take our business. … It just seemed like a really good complement of skills.”

Nelson said that Spa City Digital was looking to grow, and said that Five Towers and Colacino were a “perfect fit” for the company’s goals.

“From our standpoint, growth over the course of the next one to two years was going to be challenging without Brad,” Nelson said. “His personality, his skills, and his company were a perfect fit.”

The merged company will be known as Five Towers Media, with Nelson saying the name change reflects the long-term goals of the company.

“We have plans on moving into Vermont and Florida very soon, with an overall long-term objective of being all across the country,” said Nelson. “Our brand, Spa City Digital, would not allow that type of growth into other markets, because it is such a geographic name. The rebrand will make for a seamless transition into new markets.”

Nelson, Colacino, and Beatty said that the merger will make things more efficient and convenient for their clients, compressing all of their offerings into one location. 

“From a client standpoint, they are going to see an increase in deliverability from us,” said Nelson. “Not only are we going to be able to do what we were doing, but we’re going to be able to do it better, and we’re going to be able to do it faster.”

“If (clients) wanted, for instance, Google ad campaigns or email marketing, I would send them over to Mike before,” Colacino added. “Well now, I don’t have to do that. Now, we’re one company. It just integrates things a little more cleanly, and we can provide those clients with an expanded offering, more opportunities.”

Colacino said this will make things more convenient for clients, and provide them with additional methods of growing their businesses.

“We have print marketing available with the news publications, we have these marketing automation email campaigns we can do,” said Colacino. “We can do online paid ads, things like that, all under one roof, with a single bill.”

Nelson, Colacino, and Beatty also stressed the importance of building connections with their clients, noting that they work with many small businesses in the local community. 

“It’s always going to be more important for us to form relationships than make a sale,” Colacino said. “We want to form long-term partnerships with them, and help them grow. It’s a case where the rising tide floats all ships.”

Five Towers Media is located on Route 50 in Saratoga Springs, sharing a building with Saratoga TODAY Newspaper. Beatty, owner of Saratoga Publishing, is the publisher of Saratoga TODAY.

“It really is a perfect fit,” said Beatty. “Our teams work side-by-side and form a symbiotic relationship. As the old Chinese proverb states, ‘None of us is as smart as all of us.’”

BALLSTON SPA — A new church has established its roots in Ballston Spa, featuring a congregation led by an area native.

St. Helen of the Cross Old Catholic Chapel and Ministries held its first service on Jan. 8. The Very Reverend Canon Richard Russo, a member of The Society of Mercy, said the location “literally just found me.”

“I could immediately feel a special connection with this space,” said Russo.

The church is located at 20 Prospect Street, Suite 214 in the Chocolate Factory. Russo said he worked in other parishes for nearly 30 years, including 10 years in St. Louis. But now, Russo is leading his own congregation near his hometown.

Russo said members of the church refer to themselves as ‘Old Catholics’, saying they are not under Roman jurisdiction.

“I am not a diocesan priest. In fact, we’re not Roman Catholics in the strict sense,” Russo said. “We are what’s called ‘Old Catholics’, which means that we pray for the Pope, we give what we call our paternal affiliation to the Pope. But we’re not directly under Rome’s jurisdiction.”

Russo said The Society of Mercy believes all people deserve mercy, saying he welcomes all to attend his services.

“As a priest of The Society of Mercy, it’s my obligation to show mercy to you, and to you, and to someone sitting on the street, or whoever,” said Russo. “So a lot of people that come to us are what we call, kind of, fringe Catholics. ‘We sort of believe this, but maybe not this.’ We welcome them, and we say, ‘Let us explain to you what we do, why we do.’”

He said the main differences between St. Helen of the Cross and the Catholic Church are the traditions. Russo said Old Catholics have kept traditions that were “in the church for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

The Church’s altar also faces away from the congregation, with the priest’s back facing the people. Russo said this is because the priest is “trying to join all the prayers of everyone through him to rise to heaven.”

“It’s not a free-standing altar, like you would see in a contemporary church, with the priest standing behind it,” said Russo. “We actually stand in front of it, so our back is to the people.”

The Church holds both a high mass and a low mass. Russo said a low mass tends to be shorter, with a different series of prayers than a high mass. He also said the church is hoping to begin offering services in Latin as well as English.

Jeremy Defibaugh of NXT Wave Media, who is assisting the church with digital design and promotion, said one of the most important aspects of the church is its inclusivity.

“Anybody’s welcome,” said Defibaugh. “That’s the thing that’s one of the most important pieces. ‘Oh, I don’t have a dress shirt for church.’ As long as you come here and you pay your dues and are respectful to the man above, it’s a judgment-free zone.”

Russo said roughly 30 people attended the church’s initial mass on Jan. 8. St. Helen of the Cross holds low mass at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays, and holds a high mass at 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Russo also stressed the importance of connecting with and supporting the local community, with Defibaugh noting that the church has “a lot of plans” dealing with youth development in the community.

Russo offers pastoral care hours every Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m., he said, offering a supportive ear to whoever may need one.

“Anybody can come in if they just need a place to sit, or they need an ear, or whatever they need,” Russo said. “We’re here.”

He said that it is “amazing” to have this space, noting that it has been a long journey.

“It’s amazing. I come in here, and I just think, ‘This is for my people,’” said Russo. “And it is for my people. This is not my church, it’s their church. I just happen to serve them.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Equitas Realty has announced Lisa Zibella as the newest member of the Equitas team.

Zibella credits her many years in the Spa & Beauty industry, including as a Cosmetologist, Aesthetician, Spa Director, Educator and Business owner, with her understanding of the importance of listening, working with compassion, understanding your product and the market, being resourceful, and the necessity of positioning her clients with a compatible product or service. 

Zibella grew up in Hudson, and has lived in San Diego, CA, Northern New Jersey, and Long Island. In her professional life, she has had the opportunity to travel across the country. Having recently returned to the Capital Region, she currently resides in Washington County, enjoying life on the lake with her husband and their Boston Terrier, Josie.