Ali Hibbs

The Honeymoon’s Over

by Ali Hibbs October 9, 2014

“For me, it’s a public-safety issue,” said Mayor Kathy Sheehan when she requested red-light traffic cameras back in May, “This is not a revenue-driven decision at all.” Fast-forward to last week when the mayor released her ...

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WAKA, WAKA

by Ali Hibbs October 2, 2014

Kickball. It’s the new Match.com. “Our wedding was pretty much kickball, but without the grass,” says 35-year-old Elizabeth Galarneau. “It was a kickball wedding. And we wanted to do it that way because that‘s how we ...

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Stop and Think

by Ali Hibbs September 25, 2014

Controversial red-light traffic cameras were the topic of discussion at the Albany Common Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting this week. Legislators considering the proposed ordinance heard comments from Deputy Police Chief Brendan Cox, Assistant Corporation ...

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Empire State of Cheese

by Ali Hibbs September 18, 2014

“A lot of people aren’t even aware of how many world-class producers we have right here, within a 100-mile radius of where we’re sitting,” says Jonathan Milks, Honest Weight Food Co-op’s newest cheesemonger, at a ...

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The Mending Meal

by Ali Hibbs September 18, 2014

The fictional character of a certain Robert Frost poem may well have believed it was good fences, but to Susan Fowler and local volunteers at the nascent Soul Café in Albany, it’s good meals that ...

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When the Lights Change

by Ali Hibbs September 11, 2014

On Monday, Albany city lawmakers will introduce a bill allowing for the installation of cameras at traffic light intersections that would automatically photograph the license plates of cars that run red lights and issue tickets ...

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A Humbling Lesson

by Ali Hibbs September 11, 2014

If Capital Region Democrats had gotten their way this Tuesday, Zephyr Teachout would be the Democratic nominee for the gubernatorial election in November and, by most accounts, would have gone on to become the state’s ...

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A Progressive Challenge

by Ali Hibbs September 4, 2014

The state democratic primaries are only five days away and, to many New Yorkers, it seems as though Zephyr Rain Teachout—true to her eerily appropriate name—has come blowing into the gubernatorial race in its final ...

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Big Bang

by Ali Hibbs August 28, 2014

The blast-cum-collapse could be heard throughout all of downtown Albany. Preceded by a few ominous rumblings, the thunderous boom sounded at about 9:03 AM on Saturday morning, and the Wellington Annex was no more. A ...

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Ones and Zeroes

by Ali Hibbs August 21, 2014

One hundred years ago, people were faced with the choice of learning to read or remaining illiterate laborers who would be left behind as have-nots in a rapidly modernizing world. In the coming century, being ...

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Test Out

by Ali Hibbs August 14, 2014

“Public education, NOT private profits!” Angry educators and parents rallied on the steps of the State Education Department Monday evening to voice their frustration with corporate involvement in the New York public school system—more specifically, with ...

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The Price of Oil Trains

by Ali Hibbs July 31, 2014

One year after oil tankers went off the rails and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec—killing 47 people and leaving a community devastated—local political leaders and community members are growing increasingly concerned about a similar tragedy occurring ...

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Still Here

by Ali Hibbs July 24, 2014

Yes, Occupy Albany still exists. No longer the force of hundreds who camped out in Academy Park almost three years ago, the remaining local members of the historic global phenomenon still cling to the same ...

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It’s a Start

by Ali Hibbs June 26, 2014

New York State is finally set to legalize a medical-marijuana program that will ease the suffering of patients who have waited more than 20 years for relief. But critics say that many more New Yorkers ...

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Agitating Against Agribusiness

by Ali Hibbs May 28, 2014

There was music; there was food; there were people dressed like bees. Approximately 150 people attended the March Against Monsanto event at the Capitol last Saturday. Worldwide, people in more than 420 cities were rallying ...

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The Pot Thickens

by Ali Hibbs May 22, 2014

Medical-marijuana legislation, introduced in some form every year since 1997, was approved by the New York State Senate Health Committee on Tuesday—for the first time ever under a Republican-controlled Senate. While the passage of the ...

This Monkey’s Gone to Hell—and Back

by Ali Hibbs May 14, 2014

He went back every day for more than a year and begged for the monkey. Kept chained outdoors for the first 10 years of her life, Maruka had eaten only junk food and been regularly beaten ...

Not Older, Better

by Ali Hibbs May 8, 2014

“It’s like living on a cruise ship,” said resident Mary Murphy, who has lived at Shaker Pointe with her husband for more than a year. The Murphys made the decision to leave their split-level home ...

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Enjoying the Long View

by Ali Hibbs April 17, 2014

“Everything has really been win-win,” says Tom Rossi. “Especially the solar system. Ready to see the roof?” Rossi is eager to show off the solar panels he and his partner, John Blackburn, had installed on the ...

Covering the Job Creators

by Ali Hibbs March 20, 2014

There is much confusion and misinformation surrounding Obamacare and how it’s affecting small businesses. What is going to change? Will it cost more money? How does the new exchange even work? I recently attempted to demystify ...

Stroll, Socialize, and Shop Local

by Ali Hibbs December 5, 2013

Thanksgiving leftovers are nearly gone. Lights are going up and trees are cut down. Christmas is coming and we are now in the midst of the gift-giving season. Taking advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday ...

Art To Rebuild

by Ali Hibbs April 4, 2012

“The first time I came in here with Darren Scott from the Housing Authority, we got dive-bombed by hawks,” Jeff Mirel says, noticing this reporter’s expression as I step over yet another dead crow. “There ...

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Peaceable Offenders

by Ali Hibbs November 16, 2011

As Occupy protesters downstate were being forcibly evicted from Zuccotti Park this week, local occupiers also were facing off with state police over real estate here in Albany. At the urging of the administration of ...

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Violence Interrupted

by Ali Hibbs October 13, 2011

The statewide anti-violence program known as Operation SNUG (GUNS spelled backward) is scheduled to be shut down tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 14), prompting many who believe in the efficacy of the program to raise a call ...

The Home Front

by Ali Hibbs October 6, 2011

In just three weeks, the leaderless grassroots protest against a widely perceived corporate takeover of federal government known as Occupy Wall Street has seen significant growth in New York City and across the country. More ...

Ali Hibbs

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