All Over Albany

Senate is still stuck, big drug bust in Wilton, Alive at Five DWI crackdown planned, man accused of impersonating a cop, another local moose sighting

The state Senate is still borked. Local elected leaders are getting nervous because the Senate hasn't passed bills that would extend special sales taxes (this group includes Rensselaer and Columbia counties). Also held up: the new pension tier that was part of David Paterson's deal with the state worker unions. And the lid on the pork barrel is also shut. [TU] [CapNews9] [Buffalo News]

Republicans and Democrats are apparently trading ideas for power-sharing agreements. They're also starting to throw mud at each other. A sample exchange: Pork-throwing adulterer! Liar! [PolitickerNY] [NYP]

Pedro Espada, the lone Democrat in the Republican "coalition," has been reiterating his claim that his position as Senate pro tem gives him two votes -- not just in the event of a tie, but also to establish a quorum. An expert from the the Rockefeller Institute said Espada's claim "just might be correct." But the case law would seem to indicate otherwise. If Espada tries to act in this manner, the Democrats will almost certainly sue. [Daily Politics] [AP/Troy Record] [TU] [NYT]

The revised Schenectady schools budget did pass after all. A re-check of the numbers found a mistake that had resulted in almost 50 fewer "yes" votes. Had the budget not passed, the school district was going to impose an almost 16 percent tax increase as part of a contingency budget. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The Schenectady girl who was rescued from a house fire this past weekend has died. Officials say the fire appears to be arson. [TU] [CBS6]

The DEA busted two people in Wilton yesterday -- and seized 400 pounds of pot and $1 million in cash. One of the people picked up in the bust is a former champion mountain biker who's nicknamed "The Missile." [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette]

Albany County law enforcement agencies will have checkpoints set up tonight to catch drunk drivers after Alive at Five (which will be at its rain location). [TU]

A Waterford man has been accused of impersonating a police officer. Mechanicville police say they guy's car was fitted to look like a cop car. And when they stopped for a traffic violation, they say he told them he was a cop. [Troy Record] [Fox23]

The Albany Police Department wants to expand its motorcycle squad, so four officers are getting motorcycle training. [Troy Record]

A state Department of Transportation spokesman says the accident rate at the Malta traffic circles is "a little bit more than what we'd like to see." Police are going to cracking down on people who don't follow the rules in the circles. [CapNews9]

Albany's Henry Johnson Charter School has canceled its next two days of classes because almost a quarter of its students have called in sick with flu-like illnesses. [TU]

Two bright kids from Arbor Hill/West Hill: one looks like he's headed for stardom -- the other is headed for jail. [TU] [TU]

Ecovative Designs -- the fungus insulation company -- is moving from the RPI Incubator to Green Island. [Troy Record]

There's been another local moose sighting, this time in East Greenbush. [TU]