All Over Albany

Suspected case of H1N1 tests negative, Salt filming continues, acre of garbage revealed, cop crashes through storefront window, bakeries call for cupcake exemption

One of the local suspected cases of the emerging H1N1 influenza has already tested negative. Samples from as many as six suspected cases in the region are still being tested. [TU]

Andrew Cuomo says his office is widening its investigation of kickbacks and other fishy stuff going on with the state pension fund. Andrew Cuomo says "a national network of actors" was involved in defrauding the fund. A handful of people with connections to former state comptroller Alan Hevesi, who ran the fund, have already been indicted. Allegations of wrongdoing at the fund stretch back to at least 2002. [TU] [NYT] [Daily Politics]

A group of politically-appointed attorneys that allegedly maneuvered their way into protected jobs at the state Department of Taxation and Finance have been told by civil service that they need to explain why their jobs shouldn't be revoked. [TU]

The state recently settled a civil rights lawsuit filed by a Schenectady man who said he was fired from his job as a photographer for the state Senate in 2003. The man, who's white, alleged that he had been fired by then-Senate minority leader David Paterson's staff because he wasn't an African-American. [NY Post]

Albany Common Councilwoman Barbara Smith says she wants to know whether it was just a coincidence that a former Albany cop was picked for child porn shortly before he was scheduled to testify about the ghost ticket scandal. [TU]

Filming for Salt continues today through Monday in downtown Albany. Traffic was reportedly all tied up downtown yesterday after filming started again. [TU] [@rmadeo]

Acting on a tip, the TU found an acre of what appears to be illegally dumped garbage at a Superfund site in Colonie. The TU also reports that the garbage includes medical waste -- but a Colonie official dispute that claim. The town says it's applying to the state for $2.5 million to clean up the site, which also contains PCBs. [TU][CapNews9] [Fox23]

Fire investigators say they're not sure what caused the fire at the old Saratoga Winners yesterday. The nearby Crescent Bridge on Rt 9 had to be closed during the fire so that pumper trucks could transport water to fight the fire -- they're were no hydrants near the club. [TU] [Troy Record]

The Saratoga DA, Saratoga Springs police and Skidmore officials got together yesterday to talk about the reports of Skidmore students openly smoking pot on campus last week. DA Jim Murphy says he now believes that original media reports of cops turning a blind eye to the smoking were "not accurate." Murphy added that next year's 420 event will be "an entirely different experience." [Daily Gazette ][CapNews9] [Saratogian]

Scott Murphy will be in Saratoga Springs today at 2 pm for his first "Congress on Your Corner" session. [Saratogian]

Cohoes and Watervliet have gotten together $50k to study whether it makes sense to consolidate their fire departments. [Troy Record]

Construction has begun on the Saratoga Springs' much-debated South Side Recreation Center. [Saratogian]

A Troy cop was went through a storefront window yesterday while pursuing a suspect -- his bulletproof vest apparently saved him from serious injury. [Troy Record]

Bakeries are pushing the Albany County legislature to exempt them from the law that bans the use of trans-fats. [TU]