All Over Albany

State worker union says it rejected another no-layoff deal, horse breeder charged with animal cruelty, whupping charges lessened, bakery's sales up with help of cupcakes and Facebook

Note: the TU's site was loading erratically, if at all, for us this morning.

One of the state worker unions says it rejected a deal offered by the Paterson administration in which the creation of a new pension tier would guarantee no layoffs. According to many reports last week, the Paterson administration has offered a handful of deals involving cuts in raises or other concessions in return for a no-layoffs guarantee. The unions have rejected these deals. [TU]

As of Friday afternoon the unofficial count from the New York State Board of Elections has Scott Murphy up 35 votes on Jim Tedisco in the 20th Congressional District special election. The counting of absentee ballots continues this week. Democrats in Columbia County accused Republicans participating in the count there of "acting in bad faith." What happens if the election ends up in a tie at the end of all this counting? You guessed it: we get to do it all over again. [NYS BoE] [TU] [Troy Record]

The horse breeder accused of not providing proper nourishment to horses on a farm in Coxsackie was formally charged with animal cruelty on Friday. A human society official described the farm as a "puppy mill" for horses. [AP/Saratogian] [TU]

The four Schenectady teens who recently committed suicide were linked by a common leader of sorts who was the the first to kill herself. [Daily Gazette]

The state lottery reported record revenue last year of $7.66 billion (the 9th year for record revenue). It generated $2.54 billion in profit. [Biz Review]

A waste disposal consortium that includes the counties on the western edge of the Capital Region says it doesn't process enough garbage to pursue future plans. Meanwhile, the consortium that dumps garbage at Albany's Rapp Road landfill has too much. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Saratoga County missed out on landing a Samsung flash memory chip fab after officials from Austin, Texas touted the strong Korean presence at the University of Texas. [TU]

Schenectady police say they're seeing more suspects who are using bulletproof vests. [Daily Gazette]

Police say a former couple in Albany has been engaged in a series of retribution that's involved arson, a broken car window and a stabbing. The couple reportedly have a child together. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]

Two Saratoga Springs commissioners are fighting over whether non-profits should be allowed to hold "coin drop" fundraisers on streets in the city. [Daily Gazette]

The Schenectady man recently charged with a felony for "whupping" his misbehaving son has had the charges changed to a misdemeanor. [Daily Gazette]

An Albany family says the city should pay for the sewage backup that caused $10,000 in damage to their home last August. The city says it's reviewing records to determine whether the storm that caused the backup was "ordinary" (in which case the city would pay) or "an act of God" (in which it would not pay). [Fox23]

A "Justice for Joe Bruno" web site has apparently been drawing parallels between the former state Senate majority leader and... former US Senator Ted Stevens. [Saratogian] [JfJB]

Sometime over the winter vandals did $5000 worth of damage to the Saratoga Springs Skatepark. The opening of the park could now be delayed. [Saratogian]

Soup kitchens and missions around the Capital Region served Easter dinners yesterday -- 1500 in Albany (up from 1200 last year), 500 in Schenectady and 65 in Saratoga. [CapNews9] [Troy Record] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian]

The owners of PJ's barbecue say they're working to start up a franchise of barbecue restaurants that will offer a sort of pan-US selection of barbecue (styles from around the country). This idea has been cooking for a while. [Saratogian] [Fun in Saratoga]

Perreca's Bakery in Schenectady says it's seen an upswing in sales after it started making cupcakes -- and promoted them on Facebook. [Daily Gazette]