Officials expect H1N1 flu in every county eventually, first local stimulus project starts, mixed-use development planned for downtown Albany, Dr. Z gets stiffed, the weekend in chase and taser
There were 96 confirmed probable cases of the emerging H1N1 influenza in New York State as of Saturday night, according to the state department of health. Seventeen of the those cases were outside NYC -- and the state health commissioner says they expect that the virus will pop up in every county at some point. Three suspected cases from Schenectady and Albany counties have tested negative -- a suspected case in Saratoga County has gone for testing. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus is now "circulating all over" the country. [NYS DoH] [NYT] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian] [NYT]
The Capital Region's first stimulus-funded project -- the reconstruction of Delaware Ave in Albany -- starts today (map). [TU]
The final tally for spending in the Tedisco-Murphy special election: $3.6 million -- $2.05 million by Murphy and $1.55 million by Tedisco. [TU]
Scott Murphy opened an office in Saratoga Springs Friday (it was Kirsten Gillibrand's old office). Murphy mentioned KG at least six times during his public comments. Apparently the biggest complaint at Murphy's first "Congress on Your Corner" event: Murphy supporters were blocking the nearby drive-up mailbox. [Post-Star] [Saratogian]
A state commission is looking into whether the ghost parking tickets given to some state officials in Albany violated a ban on gifts. [TU]
The state has pulled out of the $300k settlement with the Schenectady man who said he'd been fired by David Paterson's state Senate staff because he wasn't African-American. [Daily Gazette]
Lawyers for Joe Bruno says the federal case against their client should be tossed because the statute being used to charge Bruno is too vague and may be unconstitutional. An expert on these "theft of honest services" cases says that no one's gotten their case bounced for that reason -- but it could, possibly, set it up for later review by the Supreme Court of the US. [Troy Record] [TU]
A body was found in the Mohawk near Rt 9 Sunday. Authorities say they're investigating, but they don't suspect foul play. [TU]
The City of Albany is looking for state money to help it redevelop the old Boyd Printing plant on Sheridan into a new mixed-use project that would include retail space, apartments and condos (map). [TU]
This has the makings of some sort of weird drama: the City of Albany has apparently refused to pay the engineering/pyrotechnics expert who was contracted to help with this year's Tulip Festival show by a now-departed city employee who has a history of fraud. (Earlier on AOA: an interview with the mysterious Dr. Z) [TU]
About 45 percent of people in Schenectady who complained about their property tax assessments this year have been given a break. [Daily Gazette]
The state Canal Corp. would prefer that you not dump your poop in the Erie Canal. To that end, the org is applying to become the longest "No Discharge Zone" in the country. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]
Police say the driver accused of hitting a pedestrian on Central Ave last week -- and then taking off -- tried to cover up the damage to his car by stealing a mirror from a similar car. [Troy Record]
The weekend in chasing and tasering: cops say they tasered a guy in North Albany after he led them on a chase through E. Greenbush, Rensselaer and Albany -- allegedly after stealing a vacuum cleaner; Troy police say they tasered a different guy after he led them on a chase from Troy to Menands in a Ryder moving truck. [Troy Record] [TU] [Fox23]
However much the state's elected officials say they support the state's rail system, few -- if any -- actually ride it -- apparently because the service sucks. [AP/Saratogian]
The production company that's shooting Salt inquired about renting the runways at ALB -- but the airport is required to be open 24/7. [TU]
The number of entries in this year's St. Clement's horse show in Saratoga are down about 20 percent -- probably because of the economy. One person who has entered: Lou Dobbs' daughter. [Daily Gazette]
An Army staff sgt. from Clifton Park came home on leave from Iraq this past week -- and became a father, and got married, in the same hospital. [Daily Gazette]
Counter-cyclical asset: charity murder mystery performances. [TU]
Harry Tutunjian had his head shaved yesterday after someone donated $5k to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. [Troy Record]
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Comments
Yay!!! for the Sheridan Place project and the Barn. I knew that living on Clinton Ave would pay off one of these days.
I'm certain one project will come to fruition, the other I'm concerned about.
... said JVG on May 4, 2009 at 9:58 AM | link
I know that the swine flu (H1N1) thing is wearing on everyone, but if you are interested in learning how to prepare for emergencies and reduce your risk of transmission (for all illnesses), visit the local Red Cross online at www.redcrossneny.org. We have free classes scheduled and would love to see all of you smart and awesome AOA-ers at them!
... said Siobhan on May 4, 2009 at 10:06 AM | link
It took me a little while to realize that people weren't walking up to the Erie Canal with buckets of poop but dumping poop from the boats. Oh Mondays.
... said Katherine on May 4, 2009 at 12:46 PM | link
Re: the state rail system, I totally don't blame anyone for not riding it. My husband and I have been talking about the city needing a high speed rail system for years. The way the system stands now, you can't even hop the train to get from Rensselaer to Schenectady without losing a half an hour one-way and about $30 round-trip. It's way to expensive and not at all cost-effective.
It would be great to have the option to hop a train, much like the Metro-North. But upstate we just don't have that.
... said Summer on May 4, 2009 at 1:13 PM | link
Maybe if rail industries received the kind of federal subsidies that auto and airline industries did, it would be cheaper and more efficient to travel by rail. You can't expect rail travel to be able to compete in a country where the competitors don't need to make a profit to survive. There was supposed to be some dollars in the stimulus package to address the actual rail infrastructure, which is a start at least.
... said Lucy on May 4, 2009 at 3:48 PM | link