Resource Guide: CBS 6 is your front row seat for Obama's visit

When President Barack Obama comes to the Capital Region on Monday, you can see every step of his journey as it happens right here on CBS6Albany.com.

We’ll have LIVE streaming coverage of every event throughout the day starting at 6 a.m. right on our homepage and a special report starting at 11 a.m. on CBS 6. The report will also stream live here on the Web if you’re not near a TV.

If you take any good videos or pictures during the day, send them to: news@cbs6albany.com

Check out our Obama in the Capital Region Photo Gallery!

Resource Guide

We’ve put together a guide, below, complete with everything you need to know about the president’s visit.

The bottom line is to expect delays in and around the HVCC campus all day and in and around Albany International Airport when the president arrives and departs.

CDTA buses will be rerouted and only minor changes are expected at the airport, according to the organization.

Route 4 between Morrison Avenue and Winter Street Extension will be closed to traffic and CDTA buses in Troy will be rerouted from between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. -- specifically buses #24 Albany-Troy-Rensselaer and #85 Waterford-Troy
ShuttleBee.

Anyone with questions can call 482-8822 or visit CDTA’s Web site.

Albany International Airport will remain open on Monday. Spokesman Doug Myers said no major delays are expected due to Air Force One except for possible backups on the roads in and around the airport when the president arrives and departs -- 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. There will also be a detour at E-Lot during the President's two-hour stay.

CBS 6 has learned that Rep. Paul Tonko (D-Amsterdam) will fly on Air Force One with Mr. Obama from Washington, DC to the Capital Region.

HVCC

Because classes will go on, the school said students and staff should plan for a longer commute. HVCC President Andrew Matonak said everyone should make sure they have parking permits properly displayed in their car and that they are carrying an up-to-date college ID as a precaution.

The college has also put together a special class schedule for Monday morning which can be viewed here.

Mr. Obama and the wife of the vice president, Dr. Jill Biden, will tour an emerging technology classroom on the HVCC campus after which the president will give a speech about the economy at the Senior Automotive Lab at about 11:30 a.m.

“It’s bigger than Hudson Valley,” Matonak said. “This president really understands the power of community colleges toward helping our communities, first of all withstand the economic downturn, but also to put us in a position where we’re able to transform our workforce into those 21st century jobs that we need to have.”

Tickets are not being made available to the general public, but select lawmakers, staff and students will be in attendance.

Security will be tight both at the airport and at the college where crews have spent days getting ready for president’s visit.

[See Marci Natale’s report on the HVCC preparations]

Also check out Teresa Priolo’s report on the security detail and what she learned from other places the president has visited recently.

History

When Mr. Obama and Mrs. Biden land, it will mark the first time a sitting president has visited the Capital Region since Bill Clinton came to UAlbany in 1994.

[Liz Bishop looks back at past presidential visits]

Political Overtones?

Josh Kraushaar from POLITICO.com told CBS 6 the president’s trip is a good opportunity for appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillbrand to boost hear name recognition and raise money ahead of her first-ever statewide run next year.

“This is a very important region for both the White House and democratic strategists looking at the congressional campaign landscape,” Kraushaar said. “New York has become a key state for Democrats, both with Kirsten Gillibrand and a couple key congressional House races.”

Kraushaar said those who follow politics closely know she’s been endorsed by the White House, but this trip will help make that more public.

He also said if a serious Republican challenger enters the Senate race, we could see President Obama back in the Capital Region in the coming months to lend a hand.

Later on Monday, Mr. Obama will tape an interview on the "Late Show" with David

Letterman. CBS says this will be the show's first visit by a sitting president. Obama has appeared on the Letterman show five times, but this time he's the only guest.

Mrs. Biden has been teaching for almost 30 years and continues to teach at a community college near the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden himself paid a visit to the area in July, when he appeared at Shenendehowa High School in Saratoga County to tout the federal government's economic stimulus program.