All Over Albany

Friday's asks state police to look into snake head, parking official's wife's car got ghost tickets, landfill fined for stinkiness, Skidmore students accused of beat down, rooster finds new home, Tulip Queen crowned

TGI Friday's says the an independent lab has concluded that the snake head found in a side order of broccoli at its restaurant in Clifton Park was added after the veggies were cooked. The company says it's asked the State Police to open a criminal investigation. [TU] [AP/Daily Gazette]

GlobalFoundries says it won't buy the land for the Luther Forest chip fab until it can work out an agreement with construction unions -- and David Paterson's office is participating in the negotiations. Even with all the recent hype, the project still has some doubters. [TU] [Biz Review] [TU]

The vehicle registered to the wife of Albany's Parking Violations Bureau director received 70 ghost tickets, according to documents obtained by the TU. Albany treasurer Betty Barnette has said that her office, which includes the parking violations bureau, had no knowledge of the ghost ticket program. [TU]

A federal appeals court has upheld the $265,000 in damages awarded to a man who says an Albany cop violated his civil rights during an arrest in 2002. The cop -- who's had numerous complaints filed against him -- is still on the job. [TU]

Advocates for same-sex marriage have put together a coordinated campaign to lobby potential swing votes in the state Senate. Many senators have yet to say publicly how they'll vote on the issue. [NYT]

The state Senate and its slim Democratic majority have been quite the drama lately as small groups of senators have tried to get theirs by holding out on various bills. And now this: Kevin Parker, a senator from Brooklyn, has been charged with a felony for allegedly wailing on a New York Post photographer -- Parker is, perhaps fittingly, also the sponsor of legislation that would legalize ultimate fighting in the state. [NYT] [NYT] [NYP] [NYP]

Chuck Schumer has asked the Federal Trade Commissioner to look into those "your car warranty is about to expire" scam telemarketing calls. Apparently Schumer had had enough after he got a fourth call on his mobile last week. [AP/TU] [NYT]

School districts in the Capital Region are cutting 250 teaching jobs because of crunched budgets. [TU]

It cost $283,570 to stage the Dalai Lama's appearance in Albany, according to the World Ethical Foundations Consortium. The org says it was able to cover about half of that with ticket revenue. [TU]

The Albany landfill has been fined by the state for its smelliness -- again. It's the third such fine in the last four years. [TU]

Schenectady's affirmative action director says some construction companies are circumventing the guidelines for hiring women and minorities while working on city contracts. [Daily Gazette]

The CEO of failed Saratoga file sharing startup Wurld Media has been convicted of grand larceny for misappropriating company money. He could get as many as seven years in prison. The exec pleaded guilty last year to falsifying business records. [Daily Gazette] [Biz Review]

Three Skidmore students were charged with felonies after the alleged beat down of a fellow Skidmore student in April. An attorney representing the assaulted student says the attack was prompted by a fight over a woman. [Saratogian]

Troy police say an employee at a pizza shop on Hoosick Street fought off and captured a guy who tried to rob the place. The employee was injured in the scuffle -- the alleged robber bit the employee in the arm bad enough that it required medical attention. [Troy Record] [Fox23]

The Oakwood Cemetery in Troy has 150 years worth of burial space, according to a cemetery supporter. The cemetery is in the process of selling off some of its property help its endowment. [TU]

This year's Tulip Queen is Juliana Hernandez, a graduating Siena St. Rose senior from Loudonville. (She was one of the favorites.) The Mother of the Year is Janet Fish from Schenectady. [CapNews9] [Daily Gazette]

The Sage graduation this past weekend featured a family that got three degrees -- the mother and father both got bachelor's degree and their daughter got a master's. [Troy Record]

A lilac tree in Schuylerville may have been planted before the Revolutionary War. [Daily Gazette]

The Myrtle Ave rooster has found a new home in Columbia County. But now there's word of another rooster roaming around the Southern Blvd area. [Metroland] [TU]