Capital Region News

More hats are in the ring for area mayoral contests - races in the the cities of Saratoga Springs and Albany are heating up...

Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Joanne Yepsen announced her candidacy for mayor on Monday. The Democrat says the Spa City needs “a mayor who has a proven track record of putting partisan politics aside to do what’s best for the city.” 

The 54-year old Yepsen, a member of the County Board of Supervisors, lost in a 2010 bid for the 43rd state Senate seat against then-Senator Roy MacDonald. 

Albany Medical Center is joining a multi-center trial, testing the eggs of the pig parasite whipworm as a potential treatment for Crohn’s disease. 

Crohn's is a severe and debilitating form of inflammatory bowel disease.   For the trial, Crohn’s patients will ingest 7500 microscopic parasite eggs in a tablespoonful of salt water (called TSO suspension) every two weeks for 12 weeks. Another group will be given a placebo. In people, this special form of the parasite egg survives only about two weeks and does not cause infection.

This weekend University at Albany Students will pitch in a neighborhood clean-up initiative.

On Sunday UAlbany students will be in the Pine Hills section of Albany to assist with the annual spring clean-up. Organizers say the event illustrates the cooperation between residents and the many students who live in the popular neighborhood.

The clean-up will be held from noon to 3 p.m., rain or shine, and will begin at the entrance to Albany's Ridgefield Park on Partridge Street, just below Myrtle Avenue.

Collaboration is the focus of a two-day National Academy of Sciences symposium at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, and nano-technology is at the center of the discussion because of the work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, the College of Nano-Scale Science and Engineering in Albany and Global Foundries in Malta, Saratoga County.

Working together in the nano field is vital according to professor Jonathan Dordick, vice president of research at RPI. He spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.

Three-term Albany Councilman Dominick Calsolaro recently announced he won’t see re-election to a fourth term.

He is backing political newcomer Dorcey Applyrs, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student in public health at the University at Albany, to be his successor as leader of the First Ward. Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas talked with Applyrs, a Washington DC native, about her affection for Albany and decision to run for public office.