Daily Digest: ‘It’s so beautiful’: 2025 Adirondack Balloon Festival draws thousands

Also: ‘Get Offline, Get Outside Challenge’ encourages youth and families to experience outdoors • Dr. Randy Cale’s Terrific Parenting: When screens hijack teens’ emotional balance: Part 1

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Monday, September 22, 2025

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week ahead. Before you head out or enjoy that morning cup of coffee or tea, check out some of the top stories on our website. Be safe and enjoy the day. — Ron Rosner, Senior Editor e-edition                            obituaries ‘It’s so beautiful’: 2025 Adirondack Balloon Festival draws thousands QUEENSBURY, N.Y. — The Adirondack Balloon Festival returned for its 52nd year this weekend, drawing thousands to the Capital Region to enjoy the incredible balloons and all the excitement that come with such a highly anticipated tradition. Whether attending as a pilot or a spectator, the weekend was full of ballooning fun and incredible views — be that from the ground or flying high up in the air. “It’s my fourth year participating as a pilot, but I’ve been here five years before that as crew,” Benjamin Wagoner, who piloted the “Aer O’Knot” Balloon, said. “Interacting with all the people, […] Read more → 'Get Offline, Get Outside Challenge' encourages youth and families to experience outdoors NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the launch of a new challenge that encourages New York's kids and families to put down their phones and take a break from social media to have fun outdoors. According to a press release from the governor's office, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's "Get Offline, Get Outside Challenge" is part of the state's many efforts to help address the youth mental health crisis by encouraging teens to engage in interesting and exciting outdoor activities. "New York State has so many great things to do outside and I want our young […] Read more → Dr. Randy Cale's Terrific Parenting: When screens hijack teens' emotional balance: Part 1 The Unexpected Cost of a "Normal Life" Every parent sees it: the phone in hand, the late-night scroll, the twitch of anxiety after hours online. We think, "everyone's doing it," and we let it slide. After all, screens are everywhere now.  They're in classrooms, restaurants, cars, bedrooms, even bathrooms.  How could it be that dangerous if it's so common? Yet the research is telling us something very different. Studies now show that four or more hours of daily screen time is linked to dramatic increases in anxiety and depression among kids and teens. One large national study reported that those […] Read more → Appeals court keeps New York's gun restrictions in place By MICHAEL R. SISAK NEW YORK (AP) — No guns for Elmo, Spider-Man or anyone else in New York's Times Square — and don't try sneaking them into the subway, either. That is the decision Friday from a federal appeals court effectively upholding a New York state law that bars firearms in "sensitive" locations, including […] Read more → Upcoming calendar ART AUCTION: The Friends of the Poestenkill Library Hidden Talent Art Auction is a fundraiser featuring works by local artists and artisans. Bidding begins October 11 and will remain open until October 18 at 12 pm. The auction takes place at the Poestenkill Library located at 9 Plank Road in Poestenkill. To view and bid […] Read more → Calendar Sunday, September 21, 2025 HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING: The Greenbush Historical Society is meeting at the East Greenbush Library on Sunday, Sept 21 at 2pm for a program on the Erie Canal which is celebrating its bicentennial next month. Tom Ragosta, the Watervliet city historian and curator of the Watervliet Museum, will be speaking. The canal […] Read more → SNAPSHOT: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake rising senior plans career as an engineer A rising Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake senior has a clear goal in life and chose Capital Region BOCES to give her future a jolt. Megan Emerich is in her second year of the Electrical Trades program at Career and Technical Education Center where she is learning the finer points of electrical work. She chose the program not as a pathway to a career as an electrician, but rather to power-up her knowledge of electricity as she prepares for a career as an electrical engineer. Students in the two-year Electrical Trades program learn fundamental skills in electrical theory through classroom instruction and hands-on […] Read more → Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren't keeping up Federal and state legislators have sought to tackle the scourge of NCII abuse. Read more → Instead of selling, some rural hospitals band together to survive It's an alternative to giving up local autonomy and joining a large hospital system. Read more →

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