A SMALL STEP UP FROM THE RAT RACE GERBIL HEATS A STRETCH FROM SARATOGA.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: MARK MCGUIRE Staff writer

COLONIE Sure, Saratoga is the August place to be. But if it's year-round racing you want, go to Latham.

Every Sunday night, you can see live thoroughbred racing from Rodentvelt Raceway, in the back of Dee Dee's Tavern on Route 155.

It's 10 feet of racing excitement, with gerbils flying by as fast (as slow as?) as 2 feet a minute that's 44 hours per mile, sports fans. Best of all, it's for charity.

Gerbils? Yeah, gerbils. Purebred (maybe). No Lasix. No amphetamines like on television's ``M*A*S*H,'' when Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III gave the drug to Radar's mouse Daisy in that race against the …

Abbood is Eckerd VP.(Eckerd Corp. has named Albert Abbood vice president of sales and procurement for front-end merchandising)(Brief Article)

LARGO, Fla. -- Eckerd Corp. has named grocery store veteran Albert Abbood as vice president of sales and procurement for front-end merchandising.

"Al brings significant experience in all areas of merchandising, sales and procurement," Eckerd senior vice president of merchandising Don Gwizdala notes. "We are very pleased to have someone with such an accomplished track record join our company's merchandising team."

Prior …

Newcastle postpones tribute to Gary Speed

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Newcastle's planned memorial tribute to its former midfielder Gary Speed has been put back two weeks to Dec. 17 so his wife can attend.

Newcastle intended to honor the Wales manager, who was found dead at his home on Sunday, by having a Welsh tenor sing at St. James' Park prior to Saturday's English Premier League match against Chelsea, before conducting a minute's …

Compromise close on controversial proposal

The debate about controversial plans to replace an Oldfield Parkhouse with a modern block of flats continues.

After a year of often fierce confrontations, developer MargaretFavager and the Junction Road and Environs Residents' Group have comeclose to a compromise over the future of 43 Upper Oldfield Park.

But a small number of people remain opposed to the proposeddevelopment of 14 luxury flats.

Six formal objections have been submitted to council planners, aswell as one representation supporting the planning application forthe flats.

The small number of official representations reflects the extentto which concerns relating to two previously unsuccessful …

Face-to-face interventions help chronically ill.

Face-to-face interventions help chronically ill

George is a 67-year-old man with diabetes, cardiac problems, and asthma who takes more than 10 medications. He is insulin- and oxygen-dependent, lives alone, and is illiterate.

When Vicki Manning, RN, began visiting George in his home as part of the LifeMasters Supported Self-Care Medicare demonstration program for dual-eligible beneficiaries with multiple chronic illnesses, it took several sessions to build up enough rapport for George to admit that he never learned to read and write.

Using pictures and drawings, Manning taught George about his illness and how to manage his medication and treatment regimen.

She drew symbols on his medicine bottles and on a chart to help him learn when to take each medication.

After six months …

APPIER, METS HOOK MARLINS.(SPORTS)

Byline: Associated Press

MIAMI -- Kevin Appier is finally getting some breaks to go his way.

Appier (8-10) scattered nine hits and had an RBI single Thursday night as the surging New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins 5-2 for their fourth straight victory.

``If you only look at his record, you can't appreciate what he's done,'' Mets manager Bobby Valentine said. ``Ninety percent of the time, he's given us an excellent chance to win the game.''

Appier allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings to pull the Mets within seven games of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. He struck out four and walked one.

Appier is 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA and seven …

Purchase Intentions Survey reveals more aggressive plans as the economy improves: the second annual Automatic Merchandiser 12-month Purchase Intentions Survey uncovers rising optimism as more operators gear up for long-term growth.

As economic conditions slowly improve, operators are making plans to offer more of the latest and most improved vending equipment, according to the second annual Automatic Merchandiser Purchase Intentions Survey. Operators queried throughout the country in mid-August reported the account downsizing has hindered sales since mid-2000 began to reverse in the first quarter of 2004.

While customers are not adding workers in large numbers, most operators agreed that conditions have improved. The nation's unemployment rate dropped from a 5.9 percent average in 2003 to 5.6 percent through the first half of 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Higher levels of employment traditionally translate to higher vending sales.

To secure new locations and improve customer relations in existing accounts, vending operators realize they need to offer new equipment. The Purchase Intentions Survey indicated that operators in 2004 have more aggressive purchasing plans than they did in 2003, when economic conditions were less promising.

Automatic Merchandiser sent an e-marl survey to 3,800 operators in mid-August, asking for specific purchase plans in every major equipment category. Approximately 200 completed questionnaires were returned within one week.

Candy/snack venders lead list

Nearly 60 percent of the respondents plan to buy new candy/snack machines in the next 12 months, almost 40 percent plan to buy single-cup brewers, and 40 percent plan to buy refrigerated food machines.

The 58.56 percent planning to buy new candy/snack machines this year surpasses the 53.5 percent that announced such plans at this time last year. The candy/snack segment is the segment that operators targeted with the most aggressive buying plans in both of the last two years.

Purchase intentions in the cold drink area are less promising. Just over 34 percent of respondents plan to buy new cold beverage machines this year, compared to 40 percent last year. However, operators traditionally buy fewer cold drink machines since they use machines provided by bottlers.

The respondent base included a high percentage of larger operators, both this year and last year. While the survey was designed to represent all size operators, the results indicated that larger firms responded in greater numbers. Close to 30 percent of the respondents indicated they are active in manual foodservice, which is about twice as high as the industry average, according to the Automatic Merchandiser State of the …