All Over Albany

Housing market still cool, AMD plan sort of going forward, retired race horoses get task force, man has to sell his tigers

The local housing market continues to stumble and plod along. The number of single-family home sales in January were down 20 percent from the same period the year before. And the median sale price in January increased one percent to $191,750. [TU] [Business Review]

AMD still hasn't committed to building that chip fab plant in Malta, but it says it would like to get all the necessary permits together so that it could starting building next January. The proposed plan also now includes about 250 more jobs, bringing the total to 1,465. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The retrial of Warren Powell starts today in Hudson. The Halfmoon man was convicted in 1997 of strangling his pregnant wife and dumping her body in the Hudson River. An appeals court overturned the 1997 conviction because of problems with jury selection. [Saratogian]

New York State has formed the New York State Task Force on Retired Race Horses, which will look for ways to keep the horses from ending up in slaughterhouses. [Daily Gazette]

Now that he's been convicted of forging insurance documents, the owner of a private zoo in Greenwich won't be allowed to own leopards, tigers, lions or ligers. But he can keep his bears. [Saratogian]

Mare Ristorante in Saratoga is up for sale. List price: $550,000. [Business Review]

The WEXT Top 15

From our friends at Exit 97.7 WEXT, the 15 most-played songs on the station during the last week:

1. BrokenTift - Tift Merritt
2. Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead
3. Invisible Man - Joe Jackson
4. If I Had Eyes - Jack Johnson
5. Southside of Heaven - Ryan Bingham
6. Whose Authority - Nada Surf
7. New York - Cat Power
8. Love is Free - Sheryl Crow
9. No One's Gonna Love You - Band Of Horses
10. Giants - Ben Karis-Nix, Pompadour - The Kamikaze Hearts, Old Black Dodge - Sean Rowe (tie)
11. Days Aren't Long Enough - Steve Earle w/Allison Moorer
12. Breakable - Ingrid Michaelson
13. Society - Eddie Vedder
14. Free Life - Dan Wilson
15. 2080 - Yeasayer

Dunkin' Pizza comes to Albany

Funny how it looked so much better in the menu board picture

Remember last week when we posted about New York being one of the first markets to get Dunkin' Donuts Pizza? Well, it has arrived. We found it at the D.D. on Madison Avenue in Albany (the one in the little fast food mall in front of Price Chopper). So, we took one for the team yesterday and tried it.

(there's more)

Overheard at the wine bar

Two women are talking over drinks at The Wine Bar & Bistro on Lark Street

1st Woman:

"So whatever happened with that guy? Did that work out?"

2nd Woman:

"No. I'd have to tie him up and gag him to get him to come to a place like this."

Hey, look, it's the Globetrotters

And here we thought they never got caught traveling.

They're playing a show -- er, game -- Wednesday night at the Glens Falls Civic Center. But it seems they're staying in Albany tonight at one of the hotels on Washington across from UAlbany.