The Year In Pictures 2010

Rallying Cry

(clockwise from top left) Even-tempered absurdity ruled at Jon Stewart’s Oct. 30 Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, D.C.; Joanne Yepsen was part of an impressive, if unsuccessful, attempt to get more women Democrats elected to the New York State Senate; grass-roots teabaggers met in Troy’s Riverfront Park in April to rail against the Federal Reserve Bank; and the Hellions of Troy, among other civic-minded Trojans, rallied in March to lure Google to Uncle Sam’s hometown.

Photo: Alicia Solsman	Photo: Kathryn Geurin
Photo: Alicia Solsman

The People, Yes

(clockwise from top left) WAMC’s iron man Alan Chartock set a personal record of 14 and 1/2 hours on air in the station’s successful October fund drive; Homer devotee Douglas Rothschild reimagined The Odyssey last summer by walking from Troy to Ithaca; Joe Pirro and Emily Petrequin found a successful small-business niche this year selling new and used video games in Albany and Scotia; and, last April, Albany dodgeballers Jasen Von Guinness and Rob Immel helped set a Guinness book-recognized record for playing more than 31 consecutive hours of dodgeball.

 

Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Alicia Solsman
Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Joe Putrock

Around the Corner . . .

(clockwise from top left) Saugerties restaurateurs Emilio and Analia Maya were granted temporary stays of deportation after their work permits were revoked despite the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s promise the brother and sister would earn legal status in return for their work as ICE informants; the contested Rapp Road landfill expansion will displace the residents of Fox Run Estates, including Paula Spratt, by 2015, but their landlord—the City of Albany—turned a blind eye to the remaining residents of the neglected trailer park; the Albany Public Libraries finalized their $29.1 million branch improvement plan, which opened two new branches, expanded and renovated three existing locations and overhauled its collections to better serve the city’s residents.

Photo: Alicia Solsman	Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen
	Photo: Joe Putrock

. . . and Down the Block

(clockwise from top left) A quest for relief from the painful effects of severe nerve damage following a car accident led Dave Lawson to become an advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana, an issue the New York State Senate Health Committee moved one step closer to a Senate vote this year; despite an outpouring of community support, the Washington Avenue YMCA closed its doors in March; disability-rights advocate Michael Volkman was a voice for consumer-directed care in Albany County’s ongoing battle over plans for municipal long-term care; controversial former-state wildlife pathologist Ward Stone retired from his post in a whirlwind of scandal, science and support, but continued fighting the good fight for the public and environmental health of Ravena—a community battling heavy-metal emissions from the Lafarge cement plant.

Photo: Jen Rog	Photo: Alicia Solsman
Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Joe Putrock

Through Your Eyes

This year Metroland invited our readers to share their most newsworthy photos from 2010. We selected a few of our favorites for print; check out the rest and submit some of your own on Metroland’s Facebook page.

 

(clockwise from top left) A crowd at the Santa Speedo Sprint ran down Albany’s Lark Street to raise funds for the Damien Center; Metroland’s own Kathryn Geurin rappelled 18 stories down the side of the Crowne Plaza Hotel as part of Special Olympics New York’s Over the Edge fundraiser; life imitated art at Albany’s Sculpture in the Streets; the capital city celebrated the annual holiday tree lighting with fireworks at the Empire State Plaza.

Photo: Bennett V. Campbell	Photo: Kaila Hortonn
Photo: Sébastien Barré	Photo: Melli Rose

Cover to Cover

Among the Metroland staff’s favorite covers in 2010 were (clockwise from top left) our April Fools edition, in which we “reported” on a miraculously balanced state budget; our Halloween/Election Day cover, whose marriage of politics and horror speaks for itself; our Local Food issue, which celebrated cupcakes, canning, bread and tomatoes; our cover anticipating the arrival of legalized medical marijuana in New York state; and our solar-paneled Earth Day issue, in which, among other things, we introduced the Metroland Green Guide.

 

Local Products

(clockwise from top left) Amish and “English” buyers came together at the Mohawk Valley Produce Auction; Tim Lane of Rock Hill Bakehouse displayed the bounty of his small artisan operation; part of a nationwide movement toward self-sufficiency, local canning classes helped folks stock up for winter; Eco Apple certification at Indian Ladder Farms helped ensure healthy fruit and farming practices.

Photo: Amy Halloran	Photo: B.A. Nilsson
Photo: Kathryn Geurin	Photo: Amy Halloran

 

Homegrown

(clockwise from top left) The Schaghticoke Fair celebrated nearly 200 years of homegrown and homemade foods; the Capital District Community Gardens launched the Produce Project, a program designed to teach high school kids the value of hard work and fresh food; farmers markets like the Troy Waterfront Market were instrumental in battling urban “food deserts”; Robert Duncan of Duncan’s Dairy Farm was determined to beat the odds by returning to small-scale family dairy farming.

Photo: Amy Halloran	Photo: Alicia Solsman
Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen	Photo: Joe Putrock

The Persistence of Art

(clockwise from top left) Saratoga Chamber Music Festival founding director Chantal Juillet said goodbye in August after 20 years at SPAC; the Open-Ended Group curated and presented their installation-performance piece Upending at EMPAC in March; magazine cofounder Seth Tobocman helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of World War 3 Illustrated with a spring exhibit at the Sanctuary for Independent Media; and photographer Laura Glazer documented Phillip Patterson’s ongoing project to make a handwritten Bible.

Photo: Alicia Solsman	Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen
Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Kathryn Geurin

 

The Home Team

(clockwise from top left) Blotto celebrated 30 years of saving lives at WEXT’s Local 518 bash in February; Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde put out a War Cry and earned our pick for Best World Music; veteran indie rockers Dryer opened the nozzle on a new era; After the Fall proved that local hardcore still has wheels with the Collar City EP.

Photo: Martin Benjamin	Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen
Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen

 

Local groove

(clockwise from top left) Matthew Carefully enlisted the help of friends and fans to fashion a Community Balloon; Around the World and Back piled in for a rock and roll joy ride; sitarist Veena Chandra dealt the good vibrations; Skeletons in the Piano threw a demented circus to celebrate Stranger on a Damned Staircase.

Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen	Photo: Joe Putrock
Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Leif Zurmuhlen

 

The Visitors

(clockwise from top left) American Idol star Adam Lambert turned the Palace Theatre into “Glam Nation” in August; things got cute when Matt and Kim came to Northern Lights on Halloween; Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros brought the whole family to Northern Lights in July; Dan Deacon played his first of three area shows at EMPAC back in February (hipster cred if you caught his comedy act at 51 3rd Street in November).

Photo: Julia Zave	Photo: Julia Zave
Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Joe Putrock

 

(clockwise from top left) Q: Were they not men? A: They were Devo at Northern Lights in July; Sleigh Bells brought the “Riot Rhythm” and a wall of Marshall amps to Valentine’s in September; Titus Andronicus heeded the commissioner’s call and came to Valentine’s in July; Public Enemy brought the flava to Northern Lights in August.

Photo: Joe Putrock	Photo: Joe Putrock
Photo: Julia Zave	Photo: Joe Putrock