Judge replaced
The New York State Court of Appeals recently removed Troy City Court Judge Henry R. Bauer from the bench. Earlier this year the state Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended his removal from the position, citing coercion of guilty pleas, examples of excessive bail being set, and instances where Bauer did not inform defendants of their right to counsel.
In response to the removal, the Troy City Council appointed Joseph Ahearn, the assistant district attorney, to replace Bauer.
In addition to filling the seat immediately, Ahearn was also selected to replace Bauer on the ballot next week. He will run on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence tickets while his challenger Christopher Maier, who lost in his bid to become district attorney last year, will run on the Democratic and Working Families party tickets.
Reservations required
Amtrak has announced that reservations will be required on their Northeast trains during the Thanksgiving holiday, between November 22 and November 29, with only a couple of exceptions. In response to last year’s record setting number of travelers at 596,000, Amtrak will also be adding additional equipment in order to accommodate a large number of travelers. The rail company is also encouraging those who will be traveling by rail to purchase their tickets well in advance.
Amtrak has also said its carry-on policy will be strictly enforced in order to ensure the safety and comfort of the travelers. It allows only two carry-ons per traveler but does not include purses, laptops, and briefcases. Holiday timetables will be made available in the Northeast by mid-November.
New LED research
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is funding new LED research at RPI’s Lighting Research Center. The study will compare the fluorescent lighting currently used in supermarket freezers to the lighting produced by light emitting diodes. It will focus on performance differences, energy savings, and shopper preferences.
The Lighting Research Center will be collaborating with General Electric’s GELcore and Tyler Refrigeration. A freezer with a prototype LED lighting system has already been implemented in the frozen food section of one of Albany’s Price Chopper locations. The hope is that this new technology will offer a more energy and cost efficient way to keep freezers lit.
