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Bob Solarski

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He married that summer and was offered an intership at the local NBC affliate [[Wikipedia:WPTZ|WPTZ]] in [[Wikipedia:Plattsburgh, New York|Plattsburgh, New York]]. He received a degree in Mass Communications.

I took the 7-8 year plan through my hometown college. I worked for years in a great restaurant called Anthony's (in Plattsburgh, still exists.... still great) with my two brothers, and made many lifelong friends. In fact, just two years ago we (waiters, bartenders, etc.) began holding reunions at a plantation near Atlanta. Then I sold cars for a year. Then I helped friends open a restaurant. Then a buddy and I opened our own place for a while. Then my wife-to-be said she wouldn't marry me unless I had a degree. So I cracked down with the intent of going to law school. I killed off my last credits in college with a 12 credit internship at WPTZ during the summer of 1988. (Bio is wrong about 1987 grad date... not sure where that came from). Got married that summer too. Then, the news bug hit me... and I was offered a job in December of that year when a reporter left. I accepted, thinking it would be a temporary gig until I got into law. Next thing I know, I'm 49 years old, writing this.

'''Early Career'''

At some point during the intership, he was offered a position at WPTZ when a reporter left the station. Hired as a general assignment reporter for the NBC station , his area included St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties; although on occasion he was sent to [[Wikipedia:Montreal|Montreal]] for several special-event stories.

While at WPTZ, Solarski was assigned events and news stories which generated out of the [[Wikipedia:St. Regis Mohawk Reservation|St. Regis Mohawk Reservation]] in Franklin County, New York. The reservation is also known by its Mohawk name Akwesasne. He focused his reporting on the reservation's internal and external struggles with casino gambling. The reservation is situated on over 30,000 acres extending from New York State and into the Canadian providences of Quebec and Ontario.

The problems and controversy at the time of Solarski's tenure centered around the tribe's Warrior Society and various contemporary elected chiefs which supported gambling and bingo houses, while the longtime traditional chiefs opposed the actions.

Gambling was adopted in the late 1980s. Currently there is the [http://www.mohawkcasino.com/ Akwesasne Mohawk Casino] and the [http://www.mohawkpalace.com/ Mohawk Bingo Palace]. These two enterprises along with other tribal businesses are currently one of the largest employers in Northern New York.

With the NBC afflication, before long Solarski began doing morning cut-ins during the [http://today.msnbc.msn.com/ Today Show] with [[Wikipedia:Bryant Gumbel|Bryant Gumbel

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