Notes from around town

 Cyber-bullying remains a problem in schools. At least one school district in the 518 is looking to do something about it.

The Albany Times-Union reports today that Bethlehem High will require students to lock their phones during the school day, starting in September.

The stated objective is to enable students to focus more on schoolwork (of course) and save their social media needs for after school. There's bound to be some pushback, of course, but if this works out, other schools in the area will follow suit. It's also meant to be a deterrent against bullying, so we'll see how it goes.

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A few months ago, Midtown Grocery, aka Lucky Stop, on the corner of Congress & 3rd streets, was shut down by the city. Improvements were made, and the store reopened. However, it's gone dark again, and this time, there is no indication that city officials had anything to do with it, which suggests the store may be permanently closed this time.

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Glenville realtor John Bevilacqua has been in business for over 20 years, but until last fall, flew under the radar.

WROW morning host Ben Patten did something about it.

Patten brokered a deal with Bevilacqua for a new home in the area, and, impressed with Bevilacqua's efficiency and business sense, Patten put in a good word with his bosses at Albany Broadcasting, WROW's parent, and, right before the holidays, he began recording commercials on the air for Bevilacqua's business, Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty, sometimes with Bevilacqua. Last month, Bevilacqua joined the WROW roster with a half hour talk show, moderated by John Gabriel. Listeners are encouraged to call in during the 30 minute show.

Let's just say Bevilacqua is finally getting his just due.

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I have to share this last item.

Saturday, I was on a bus en-route to Walmart in Brunswick. A fellow boarded at Samaritan Hospital, looking rather shabby. By the time he came off the bus, other passengers were happy to see him leave. He told the bus driver he'd lost his pass, so she let him on. Others were moving to the back because of an odor on the fellow. You'd swear he was Pepe LePew in human form, but the truth is, as he pulled up his pants (wasn't wearing a belt), he had one giant poop stain on the back of his briefs. I'm not making this up. The sweatshirt he was wearing didn't reach his waist because he didn't pull it all the way down. An orange bracelet suggested he was a patient at the hospital (one guess), but that could not be confirmed.

It's safe to say once the bus reached the garage, though, that they had to fumigate it with Lysol........