News Staff

A Ballston Spa man was in court Wednesday for a hearing on a drive-by shooting. According to WNYT, 36 year old Michael Green is accused of shooting from a moving SUV at a home in Colonie in April 2020. There were kids inside the house at the time, but no one was hurt. Green has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

New York State state has generated over $267 million from sports wagering since January 2022. Mobile sports wagering accounted for $263 million since January 8, and sports wagering at New York’s four commercial casinos made up $4.3 million of total revenue since July 2019. According to reports, New York has collected more in sports wagering revenue in five months than the total revenue any other state has generated over several years.

A Saratoga Springs man drowned on Memorial Day in the Hudson River. 50 year old James Mittler was pulled from the river in Lake Luzerne, but later pronounced dead at Glens Falls Hospital. According to WNYT, it all started around 11:30 a.m. when bystanders near Bay Road heard a child in the water yelling for help. Two people helped the child, but then they found out a man had been underwater for several minutes. By the time Mittler was pulled from the water it was too late.

A Schenectady man has been arrested for alleged drug possession in Saratoga Springs. According to WTEN, 27 year old Mario Malcolm was pulled over for a traffic stop. He allegedly was in possession of about five grams of cocaine and two grams of fentanyl at the time of the stop. Malcolm was arraigned that same day and released to pre-trial services.

Making threats on social media has led to someone in the Hadley Luzerne School District being suspended for the rest of the school year. Officials haven’t identified who it is, but WNYT reports the post involved referenced plans to do harm when children return to class after the holiday weekend.

A Saratoga County woman died from her injuries in a crash that shut down a stretch of the Northway on Saturday night — and a man is in custody for DWI. According to WNYT, the crash happened just before 10 p.m. on I-87 in Colonie. A driver from New Jersey slammed his vehicle into the back of another car. The driver of the car Laroiya hit was 22-year-old Katryn Fisher of Ballston Spa.

Comments made to some players by Saratoga Springs girls lacrosse team coach Katie Hannan, has some parents calling for her resignation. WNYT reports parents of at least a dozen players accuse Coach Hannan of “disrespectful and bullying behaviors”, tantamount to verbal and psychological abuse, and they’ve said as much in a letter to school district officials.

This is National Safe Boating Week and an event was held in the region to raise awareness. Authorities said there were 192 boating accidents on state waterways in 2021. Eighteen people were killed, and more than 100 others were hurt and almost 90 percent of people who drowned following a boating accident in 2020 were not wearing a life jacket.

Tiki Tours, a staple of Lake George summers since 2016, have made their way south. WNYT reports the Polynesian-themed party boat is launching this summer from docks at Lee’s Park Campground, just around the corner from the state boat launch.
They’ve already started booking and are available seven days a week, weather permitting.

A man from Saratoga Springs was sentenced Wednesday for his role in a fight last August outside Clancy’s Tavern. WNYT reports James Garafalo will spend four and a half years in state prison after pleading guilty to second-degree assault. Garafolo and his older brother Jordan punched 56-year-old Mark French causing him to fall. French died from his injuries.