Lo c a l Volume 9 • Issue 34 • August 29 – September 4 2014
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I n d e p e n d e n t
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F r e e saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com • (518) 581-2480
Final More Than A Furry Friend Stretch Boy with Two Rare Conditions Fundraising for Service Dog
Festivities
by Stephanie Hale-Lopez Saratoga TODAY
by Arthur Gonick Saratoga TODAY
One Last Chance To Dance Under The Summer Sun
Giovanni LaBate
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Well, time flies when you’re having fun. Or you work the arts and entertainment desk at Saratoga TODAY Newspaper. Or sometimes both. It’s been a power-packed summer of great concerts, galas and racing. Parties from wall-to-wall. It’s the season you just don’t want to see go. And yet, the passage of time is inexorable. But before the season’s done, the “Summer Place to Be” has one more big weekend for you. The Final Stretch Festival. Organized by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, it celebrates the final weekend of the Thoroughbred racing season on See Final Stretch pg. 23
Ronald McDonald House Fashion Show Pages 26-27
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Two-year-old Giovanni LaBate of Saratoga Springs has faced many obstacles in his short life. While most toddlers spend the majority of their day playing with toys and coloring, Giovanni’s life has been largely occupied by hospitalizations, doctor’s visits, medical testing and daily therapy sessions. Giovanni was diagnosed with two rare neurological conditions – periventricular heterotopia and porencephaly. Periventricular heterotopia is a condition in which the grey matter in the brain does not migrate properly during early fetal development, forming clumps around the ventricles. Most children diagnosed with this condition develop epilepsy. Giovanni began having seizures shortly after his first birthday. Shortly before birth, as a result of periventricular heterotopia, Giovanni suffered a stroke which caused a See Furry Friend pg. 10
A Place To Call Home by Stephanie Hale-Lopez Saratoga TODAY
Local Initiative Building Homes For Working Class Families
SARATOGA SPRINGS — For most people, Saratoga Springs and affordable housing aren’t synonymous. Whether renting or buying, living in Saratoga Springs can be a challenge for low- and middleincome families. In an effort to bring affordable housing to Saratoga Springs a new project between the city; Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren & Washington Counties; Rebuilding Together Saratoga County; and the Saratoga Builders Association, The foreclosed property is owned by the City of Saratoga Springs.
See Home pg. 7
Weekend Forecast FRIDAY
75|55 SATURDAY
82|63 SUNDAY
84|66