Unlike traditional taxis, Uber passengers aren’t expected to tip; you can’t even add a tip on the app. However, Uber did recently settle a class-action lawsuit by allowing drivers to solicit and receive tips, but only in cash. One big problem: This policy appears to be illegal in multiple states. [More]
upstate new york
Restaurant Where 260 Diners Got Ill On Thanksgiving Has Closed Its Doors
By 2.21.17
Last Thanksgiving, hundreds of people who ate at one western New York restaurant fell ill thanks to what local health officials later determined was gravy containing the bacteria Clostridium perfringens. Some of those sickened diners have now filed lawsuits, and now the eatery is shutting its doors for good. [More]
Restaurant’s Gravy Blamed For Mystery Illness That Sickened Hundreds On Thanksgiving
By 12.22.16
While public health authorities haven’t conclusively proven which foodborne pathogen made hundreds of people sick after Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant in western New York, they do know which food item made people sick. Gravy was served at a low temperature that allowed Clostridium perfringens bacteria to thrive. [More]
Restaurant Made Hundreds Of Customers Sick On Thanksgiving Day
By 12.14.16
Hundreds of Thanksgiving diners at a restaurant in western New York apparently got a little something special with their holiday meal that made them all sick when they should have been enjoying the extended weekend. [More]
Time Warner Wants $20,000 To Connect Rural Customer To Broadband
By 11.6.14
Ten years ago, a man in central New York decided to build a house in a rural area. This seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, but broadband Internet wasn’t as crucial to modern life then as it is now. There are Time Warner Cable lines in the small town of Pompey, southeast of Syracuse, a third of a mile from his house, but Time Warner says that it would cost more than $20,000 to connect him. [More]
Lululemon Tries To Inspire Buffalo Sports Fans, Enrages Them Instead
By 10.16.14
What does it take to get the attention of an athleticwear company that has offended an entire region? A Twitter campaign, perhaps along with a slow news week. Lululemon installed what they thought was an inspiring mosaic at the entrance to their store in Buffalo, NY. Instead, they learned that dredging up near misses is actually quite upsetting to sports fans. [More]
Adults Set Bad Example, Punch Cop In The Face During Chuck E. Cheese Brawl
By 4.7.14
Another weekend has passed, and so has another round of kids’ birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese establishments across the country. Guests enjoyed the pizza, the games, and the animatronic animals. Visitors in New Hartford, New York probably didn’t enjoy another fixture of the chain: brawls between adults that require police intervention. [More]
Another Weekend, Another Restaurant Owner Meltdown On Facebook
By 10.21.13 — Updated: 10.22.13
There was a strange confluence events in downtown Troy, N.Y. this weekend. A concert and several parties, all intended for college students, were canceled at the last minute. Bored young adults roamed the streets. All this was too much for one nearby late-night eatery. The person running their Facebook page had a meltdown that measured about a 7 out of 10, where a 10 is Amy’s Baking Company. [More]
Free To Good Home: 1930s Diner
By 7.26.13
If you’ve always dreamed of owning a ’30s Fodero metal diner and you have access to a very, very large truck, the management of the Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y. would like to hear from you. This vintage diner, formerly known as Quintessence, now belongs to the hospital and is on property that’s about to be turned into a parking garage or something. [More]
Kodak Takes Another Slow, Sad Step Toward The Death Of Film
By 6.14.13
Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last and continues to fight for relevance. You may be surprised to learn that one of the business lines they’ve kept has been film manufacturing for still photography and movies. Not enough, though, because Kodak is about to lay off the 61 workers who make acetate film base in the company’s Rochester, N.Y. home. [More]
Bank Investigators Do Not Need You To Withdraw $6,000 Cash And Give It To Them
By 4.25.13 — Updated: 4.26.13
Bank fraud is pretty serious business, and investigating it is important work. Banks do not, however, need you to help. If someone calls you up claiming to need your help with an investigation, do not help them. Do not withdraw thousands of dollars from the bank and give it to the “investigator.” It’s too late for two elderly women outside of Albany, New York, who withdrew $5,800 and $6,400 from their accounts, respectively. [More]
Walmart Worker Allegedly Prostituted Himself In Store Bathroom During Breaks
By 4.24.13 — Updated: 4.26.13
A Walmart employee in upstate New York allegedly made very productive use of his time during overnight shifts in the store. Unfortunately, he did so by advertising his services online as a prostitute, then meeting clients in a store bathroom during his breaks. Great efficient use of time, but also kind of illegal. [More]
Cashier Allegedly Scammed Lottery Winner Out Of $5 Million Ticket, Waited 6 Years To Cash It In
By 11.16.12 — Updated: 7.23.13
A maintenance worker in Syracuse, N.Y. claims that he won $5 million on an instant lottery ticket. He took it back to the store where he had purchased it, and the store owner’s son told him that he had only won $5,000. The man offered him for $4,000 in cash for the ticket. The store owner’s two sons sat on the ticket for six years, then turned it in to the state lottery. The lottery sensed that something was not right here. [More]
Police: Man Tried To Rob Banks While Brandishing Toilet Plunger
By 5.1.12
A toilet plunger isn’t a terrifying weapon to anyone but germaphobes, or maybe a child with nightmares of being chased by Daleks. Yet a man in Utica, NY thought that it made a terrifying enough weapon that he attempted to rob three different banks while threatening tellers with the plunger. None of the robberies were successful.
You Probably Shouldn't Trust Document Forgers With Your Personal Information
By 4.5.12
Sophisticated new ID-authentication systems mean that determined teens need sophisticated new fake IDs in order to get into clubs and buy booze. Enter ID Chief, a now-defunct site based in China. Provided with your photo, name, and Social Security number, ID Chief could provide you with a license from any state you choose, good enough to fool the scanners at even the finest liquor stores. The price? A money order for $75. Oh, and they sell your personal information to the highest bidder. [More]
Walmart Greeter Asks For Receipt, Customer Punches Her In The Face
By 12.28.11
On Christmas Eve in Batavia, N.Y., an elderly Walmart greeter asked a 26-year-old customer for the receipt for her electronics purchases. Instead, the customer allegedly punched her in the face and tried to flee. A mob of customers chased her and prevented her car from leaving the parking lot, and she’s now in jail, charged with two counts of assault. Here’s the unusual part: the customer had receipts for all of her purchases. [More]
By 7.1.09
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When a power line falls in your neighborhood, be patient. Wait for the proper authorities to take care of it. Above all, don’t try to clear it out of the way using an industrial saw. A man in Pond Eddy, NY did that against the advice of firefighters, and was electrocuted. [Newsday] (Thanks, AJ!)
