Closing Down Washington Avenue During the Daytime Makes a Lot of Sense

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Last week, the Albany Police 👮closed down Washington Avenue between Dove Street and Eagle Street, ostensibly because of the Poor People’s Campaign protest as the Fort Orange Club, even though the protesters weren’t actually blocking the street.🙈

I liked how the street closure made it easy for pedestrians to cross the street, to get on with the business of the day, visit the bank, businesses and other state offices. 🏢It also seemed to reduce noise and air pollution.🚗🚌🚚 I can understand how the street closure was a pain for motorists and bus riders — it would have been a short walk to Lark or Eagle Street to catch the bus  — but it also made Downtown Albany more livable and enjoyable.🚶

I think the city should consider closing down Washington Avenue between Lark Street and Eagle Street during weekdays,😎 especially in the summer, when people are out and about getting lunch and crossing the road conducting their business.💼

Flag Day & Flag Etiquette | Military.com

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Flag Day & Flag Etiquette | Military.com

The first celebration of the U.S. Flag's birthday was held in 1877, on the 100th anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. However, it is believed that the first annual recognition of the flag's birthday dates to 1885 when schoolteacher BJ Cigrand organized a group of Wisconsin students to observe June 14, the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as the Flag's Birthday. Cigrand, now known as the Father of Flag Day, continued to publicly advocate the observance of June 14 as the flag's birthday, or "Flag Day," for years.

Just a few years later, the efforts of another teacher, George Balch, led to the formal observance of Flag Day on June 14 by the New York State Board of Education. Over the next few years, as many as 36 state and local governments adopted the annual observance. For over 30 years, Flag Day remained a state and local celebration.

NPR

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Slave cases are still cited as good law. This team is trying to change that : NPR

This story starts — but certainly doesn't end — in 19th century Maryland, when John Townshend updated his will.

Townshend grew convinced at the end of his life that God would punish him if he did not free the enslaved people he owned and give them all of his property. But Townshend's relatives challenged his final wishes in court, arguing that his decision had been the result of a delusion.

That 1848 case was the first U.S. appearance of what became known as the "insane delusion rule," which remains grounds for contesting wills to this day. And Townshend v. Townshend itself has been cited in at least 70 other cases across the country — from New Hampshire to California — over the years, as recently as 2007. How to properly celebrate Juneteenth in the age of commercialization Race How to properly celebrate Juneteenth in the age of commercialization

It's one of thousands of cases involving enslaved people that lawyers and judges continue to cite as good precedent, more than a century after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the U.S.