Special election candidates could spend $4 million total, state worker says he gets $95k for nothing, new baggage scanners at airport, ice cream recall
One expert predicts each candidate in the special election to fill Kirsten Gillibrand's former House seat could end up spending $2 million on the race. The chairman of the Republican National Committee was in Albany yesterday to meet with Jim Tedisco about the race. Scott Murphy, the Democrats' candidate, was in DC earlier this week to meet with Nancy Pelosi and Kirsten Gillibrand. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]
The Siena Research Institute reports that consumer confidence in New York State was up a bit last month. The state's consumer confidence is a little lower than the national mark. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]
CDTA could get about $14 million over two years from the stimulus bill that's passed the House of Representatives. But the transit org says it's experiencing a "revenue crisis" and the stimulus money would only be a short-term help. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
A state worker with the State Insurance Fund says he's been relegated to a do-nothing $93,803-a-year job because he sued the Pataki Administration 10 years ago. The man says he sued because he was being discriminated against for being a Native American. [TU]
Friends of David Bacon, the man state police say was murdered 40 years ago in Waterford, say they had always figured Bacon had just moved away and didn't tell anyone. But one friend says Bacon's disappearance always seemed a little weird -- in part because Bacon's car was found with his paycheck left in the front seat. A story about Bacon's disappearance appeared in the Troy Times Record in 1969. State police say they received a tip about Bacon's case last year and it led to the arrest last week of a man who had been living in Arizona. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]
Andrew Cuomo says he will sue CDPHP if it doesn't stop using a database that's been found to jack up bills for some consumers. CDPHP says it's cooperating with the AG's office. [TU]
Trustco Bank is issuing new debit and credit cards after a security breach at a company that processes card transactions all across the country. [TU]
ALB has installed new scanning machines that should speed up the process of screening checked baggage. The three-dimensional scanners are reportedly sophisticated enough to differentiate red wine from white wine. [TU]
Troy and Rensselaer are ">fighting over the water bill again. This time Rensselaer says Troy is unfairly charging it more than Troy charges East Greenbush. During a dispute last year over water bills, the mayor of Troy threatened to turn the water off on Rensselaer. [Troy Record]
Troy's deputy mayor says the city council "should start stepping up to the plate" to answer calls about a new landlord registry. City offices apparently have been flooded with calls after the new registration forms started arriving in landlords' mailboxes this week. [Troy Record]
According to figures out from the Census Bureau, Saratoga County saw increases in the number of farms and agricultural acreage during the middle part of this decade. Other local counties went the other direction. [Daily Gazette]
Stewart's has recalled one of its ice cream flavors over concerns some of the candy in it could be contaminated with salmonella. The company had previously said all of its flavors had checked out OK. There have been no reports of illness from the ice cream. [TU] [Troy Record]
A new multi-person hyperbaric chamber at Seton Health in Troy looks like a submarine. [Troy Record]
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Comments
Re: Randall Hinton
What exactly do I have to do to get a $93,000 a year job as retaliation? Seriously, I think a lot of people would be perfectly content to do nothing all day and pull that salary. I love that this is how our tax dollars are being spent...
... said jess on Feb 5, 2009 at 10:18 AM | link
"The three-dimensional scanners are reportedly sophisticated enough to differentiate red wine from white wine."
Meh, when it can differentiate a Gewürztraminer from a Sauvignon Blanc I'll be impressed!
... said Matt on Feb 5, 2009 at 10:23 AM | link
Re: Albany Airport's new screeening machines... yes, it's all well and good if they can tell red from white wine, but the real test is if can they tell if the champagne's not Korbel.
... said Siobhan on Feb 5, 2009 at 10:28 AM | link
Pffft. I can differentiate red wine from white wine. Call me when it can differentiate between butter and i can't believe it's not butter, then i'll be impressed.
... said turd ferguson on Feb 5, 2009 at 11:40 AM | link
Jess, that would be a directorship. It involves a lot more than writing snarky comments on local blogs about articles he didn't read the whole way through. Good luck!
... said B on Feb 5, 2009 at 12:03 PM | link
If that $93k state worker has a computer at his do-nothing job, the least he could do with his time is fill AOA with witty, insightful comments to make up for this one.
... said Ellsass on Feb 5, 2009 at 12:12 PM | link
It takes real skill to do nothing at work without access to the internet.
... said Cecelia on Feb 5, 2009 at 5:01 PM | link