SBJ 9 Broad Street, #7 Glens Falls, NY 12801
SARATOGA BUSINESS JOURNAL
VOL. 29 NO. 10
★★ The Business Newspaper of Saratoga County ★★
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DECEMBER 2024
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A Local Railway Offers Holiday Cheer And GlobalFoundries Secures $1.5 Billion In Adirondack History On Its Scenic Rides Funding To Triple Malta Campus Capacity
Hal Raven stands with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and an elf as they prepare to head down the tracks on the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railway’s Candy Cane Express. BY PAUL POST Hal Raven could drive the train, but he’d rather be the conductor punching tickets like Tom Hanks on the Polar Express. “That’s my thing, talking with people, interacting, getting kids excited,” he said. His company, the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railway, gives people Christmas-themed memories to last a lifetime on the Candy Cane Express, a fun festive ride that runs through Dec. 22 highlighted by visits from Santa, music, lights and hot cocoa refreshments.
Courtesy of Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railway
Raven, a Queensbury resident, gave up a 28-year railroading career to fulfill his dream of owning a scenic line. It operates year-round between South Greenfield and Hadley on 17 miles of track owned by the Town of Corinth. “We do all the maintenance and repairs,” he said. “When we first took over, weeds were chest high and overgrown. We had to fix all the crossings.” Two previous operators had run tourist trains from Saratoga Springs to North Creek, but couldn’t Continued On Page 14
GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF) and the U.S. Department of Commerce have announced an award of up to $1.5 billion in direct funding to GF through the CHIPS and Science Act. The award follows the previously signed preliminary memorandum of terms announced in February 2024 and will enable GF to expand its essential chip manufacturing and technology development in the U.S., strengthening supply chains and supporting customers across a range of vital end-markets including automotive, smart mobile devices, IoT, datacenters, and aerospace and defense. “The idea of strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing has been five-plus years in the making. With bipartisan support, that idea evolved into the CHIPS and Science Act,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF. “GF’s essential chips are at the core of U.S. economic, supply chain and national security. We greatly appreciate the support and funding from both the U.S. Government and the states of New York and Vermont, which we will use to ensure our customers have the American-made chips they need to succeed and win.” GF’s CHIPS and Science Act award will support three projects: • Expansion of GF’s existing Malta, New York, fab by adding critical technologies already in production at GF’s Singapore and Germany facilities, to enable a secure and reliable supply of domestically manufactured essential chips for the U.S. auto industry. • Modernization and upgrading of GF’s existing fab in Essex Junction, Vermont, to expand production capacity and create one of the world’s leading facilities capable of highvolume manufacturing of next-generation
The U.S. government awarded GlobalFoundries a contract for secure computer chips. Courtesy GlobalFoundries
gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for use in electric vehicles, data centers, IoT, smartphones and other critical applications. • In alignment with market conditions and customer demand, construction of a new stateof-art fab on GF’s Malta, New York, campus to meet expected demand for U.S.-made essential chips across a broad range of markets and applications including automotive, AI in the data center and at the edge, as well as aerospace and defense. The two New York-based projects are expected to triple the existing capacity of GF’s Malta campus over the next 10-plus years, in alignment with expected market requirements Continued On Page 10
Pair Of ‘Shotgun Houses’ On Clinton Street Local Author Francine Dingeman Wins To Be Renovated By Preservation Foundation An Award For Inspiring Children’s Book The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation recently announced that it purchased 128-130 Clinton Street, two small cottages on one property that have been on the Foundation’s endangered property list for more than a decade. Based on preliminary research, it appears that the house at 130 Clinton Street, built circa 1877, was the first house constructed on the property by Dennis O’Brien, who was listed as a laborer residing at 108 Clinton Street. It is particularly unique because it is the only example of a shotgun style residence in Saratoga Springs. O’Brien built the second house, a one-and-a-half- story vernacular front gable house with a full-width front porch, at 128 Clinton Street in 1883. Both houses were built as rental properties. A shotgun style house is a narrow - typically no more than 12 feet wide, rectangular residence typically with two to four rooms arranged one behind the other without a hallway. “As the saying goes, one could shoot a shotgun through the front door and the bullet would fly straight through the back door,” said Samantha Bosshart, executive director. The shotgun house is believed to have emerged in New Orleans in the early 19th century and was predominantly popular throughout the South. According to the directories, the residents of the two houses were laborers, coachmen, teamsters, farmers, maids, gar-
Two historic homes are slated for renovation by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. Courtesy of Saratoga Preservation Foundation
deners, firemen, and employees of various businesses. In 1965, Nettie B. Dekalb and her son Ronald Dekalb acquired the property. The DeKalbs moved into 128 Clinton Street and rented 130 Clinton Street to others. It was during the DeKalb family ownership that the houses fell into disrepair and became vacant. Earlier this year, the Foundation attempted to contact the owner to provide assistance to preserve the buildings Continued On Page 10
Saratoga Springs author Francine Dingeman is celebrating the one-year publication anniversary of her book, The Animal Menagerie: A Curious Collection of A to Z Animal Tales, with an award of literary distinction. On November 9, Dingeman was awarded the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award silver medal in the category of Learning Order (Alphabet/ Counting Books) by the Jenkins Group of Traverse City, Michigan. Since 2006, The Jenkins Group has been celebrating authors, illustrators, and publishers from around the world for their creation of inspiring and imaginative works for young readers. They recognize these works for the role they play in fostering a lifelong passion for reading and learning. The Animal Menagerie, written by Dingeman and illustrated by Marta Maszkiewicz, is an enchanting A to Z picture book filled with captivating characters from the animal kingdom for children ages 4-7. The book is written to entertain and educate by introducing dozens of creative new words into a child’s vocabulary. Each letter of the alphabet comes to life with vibrant illustrations and story vignettes, making early literacy development a delightful adventure. A first-time author, Dingeman is passionate about the art of rhyme and the creative use of words. She is a firm believer in speaking to children with vocabulary that encourages them to reach toward advanced levels of literacy and comprehension. Since receiving the award, her book has gone into a First Edition, Second Printing and is available for $21.99 in a variety of local Saratoga
The Animal Menagerie seeks to build a child’s vocabulary while being entertaining. Courtesy of Francine Dingeman
shops such as Saratoga Outdoors, G. Willikers, Celtic Treasures, Impressions of Saratoga, The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Gift Shop, and at Accents at Allerdice in Malta, and Play Hollow in Ballston Spa. The Animal Menagerie is also available at the Book Cabin in Lake George, The Sagamore Emporium at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont, and at The Burgee Shop at Ocean Reef in Key Largo, Florida. In addition, you can find The Animal Menagerie online at FrancineDingeman.com.