Notes from around town

 WROW morning host Ben Patten has been flying solo since co-host/traffic reporter Monica Velez left the station nearly 2 years ago. That's about to change.

On January 6, Patten is finally getting a new on-air partner, but now, his workload between 5-10 am (ET) is about to be cut in half. Albany Broadcasting, WROW's parent, signed veteran DJ Jaime Roberts, who had been cut by WTRY's parent, iHeart Radio, a few weeks back. Roberts will take over as host of Magic in The Morning, while Patten continues to read the news, sports, and lottery results. JAMZ 96.3 personality Miles Reed and Albany Street host/weekend DJ Bill Williams are sharing duties with the traffic reports after Flounder left a couple of weeks back. Flounder had also been a DJ at Alt 104.9, which has undergone another format change in recent months.

Roberts, for her part, joins another WTRY alum, John Gabriel, on the Magic roster. Stay tuned.

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The taco wars in downtown Troy claimed two victims recently.

Tatu Taco, which was equal parts a Mexican restaurant and tattoo parlor, gave up the ghost in October, unable to generate enough business to pay the rent on the 1st floor of the Vicini building at Congress & 4th Streets. Just across the street, Street Taco, which had been open a couple of years, quietly shuttered as well, as business had gravitated to La Capital Tacos, occupying the former Capitaland Taxi stand at Ferry & 4th.

Meanwhile, more buildings, presumably for apartment buildings, are going up in downtown.

Memo to Mayor Mantello: We need a theatre and/or a sports arena in downtown, not more apartments.