On The Story with Trishna Begam

Nocturnal Cookies is a local cookie delivery service in the Albany area. They deliver freshly baked cookies to your doorstep.

This week Wendy Wright discusses how she came up with the idea for the Albany market, how she started her own business with limited knowledge of running a business and the pandemic related roadblocks that

You can order Nocturnal Cookies through their website https://www.nocturnalcookies.com/

Or through meal delivery services like GrubHub

Annie Berdar, is this week's guest. She is the co-founder and creator of Bare Blends smoothie bar. Annie's path to starting up her own company was a unique one. She went to school for molecular biology and chemistry with the intention of pursuing a career in medicine. The future held another plan for her: business owner.

The company she helped create now has franchise locations and has opened up stores outside of the Capital Region.

Annie discusses her passion for healthy habits, healthy eating and her advocacy for combatting food insecurity.

Bare Blend Locations

Tom LaPorta is this week's guest On The Story. He is the Microbiology Line Manager at St. Peter’s Hospital. Tom helps us dissect the differences in rapid testing vs PCR testing. Why one is more reliable than the other. 

He also answers questions about when to get a rapid test, and how soon after being exposed to COVID one should test for the virus.

The 2021 holiday shopping season is zooming by.  A few more days to go until the 25th of December.  Brad Godwin, Regional Vice President of  rewards app Shopkick, has a key advice to help holiday shoppers get the most bang for their buck over the next few days.

Dr. Tomoko Udo, an Associate Professor at Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior, School of Public Health, University at Albany joins me for a discussion about the Omicron variant, what is known about the variant, and what researchers are still trying to find out.

UPDATE: A big congratulations to the winning group RISSE . They received a $10,000 grant from United Way of the Greater Capital Region for their pitch to expand their after school programming.

http://www.risse-albany.org/home/

Releasing episode 35 a little early on a Monday because on Wednesday, December 1st, (2021) evening I will be at Revolution Hall, in Troy to emcee Perfect Pitch, a "Shark Tank' style event.

In this episode Erin Napoleone chats about the purpose of this event, the $10,000 grant that's on the line, and the issue that's getting attention this year -- affordable childcare.

For Event Details, Finalists and Tickets: https://www.unitedwaygcr.org/perfectpitch

To read more about the local Sharks https://www.unitedwaygcr.org/news/2021-sharks

Owner of Saratoga's Broadway Deli, Daniel Chessare discusses running his Jewish-style deli during a pandemic and why he felt more prepared despite many unforeseen challenges for the restaurant industry.

Chessare is bringing back a free chicken dinner program to his Deli, crediting the success his restaurant has had this year and wanting to spread some goodwill throughout the Saratoga Springs community. The restaurant is giving away free chicken dinners, no questions asked, to those in need of a hot meal in November or December. You can find out information here, https://www.instagram.com/p/CVu6dfGAUFi/ (read the post caption on where to place the order if you need a dinner).

He also discusses the restaurant's social media posts that address bad customer behavior, what needs to change about the industry and why he thinks some businesses are seeing worker shortages.

Wendy Burch, the Executive Director of NAMI in New York State, the National Alliance on Mental Illness discusses the challenges in the mental health community, how to get help, and the resources needed to reach more people.

Wendy was featured in part of a News10ABC special report about a local woman's mental health journey. You can watch that story here : https://www.news10.com/news/special-reports/troy-mom-using-social-media-to-address-mental-health/

Where to connect with NAMI:

https://www.naminys.org/

https://www.instagram.com/nami_nys/?hl=en

Lydia Kulbida discusses her special report on Forest Park Cemetery, why the cemetery is open to the public one day a year, and where its scary reputation originated from online.

You can watch her full report here: https://www.news10.com/video/brunswick-cemetery-slowly-being-restored/7112061/