comings and goings 3-27-2013

There are a couple of new businesses getting ready to open in the downtown. Although the closing of Oddities Ink deprived Rensselaer of the services of a tattooist, that void appears to be short-lived. In its former quarters on Kellner Street a new tattooist seems to be preparing to open: Inksane Barn.

 The windows in the small space next to Ardent Papers and Photography are covered with paper, but there is a sign on one of them saying that Studio 23 Hair Salon will be opening soon.

Ardent Papers and Photography will have an open house on the evening of April 4 and the morning and early afternoon of April 5.

Everyone except perhaps those who make money with snow removal is welcoming the closing of winter and the opening of spring. We still have some rather large piles of snow in some of the parking lots, such as the one in the parking lot of 5/3 Bank. However, six weeks ago it was much, much larger.

Spring is still not quite here. The ice cover on the Great Lakes is still a bit over 70%. The highest it reached this winter was 92.2%, which was a couple percentages away from the highest recorded level.