Paterson says he will force Senate into session, judge snagged in DWI sweep, bristling at being New York's pay toilet, vinyl records store opens in Schenectady
David Paterson says he will call the state Senate into special session tomorrow if the body doesn't get to work today. Said Paterson yesterday of all the drama: "Over the last couple of weeks, the senators' conduct has been laughable." Paterson says Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman would preside over the special session -- a provision that some say could be unconstitutional or create a conflict of interest. The session would focus on "emergency" issues such as the sale tax extension for some counties. Not on that list: same-sex marriage, though Paterson says he intends for the Senate to vote on the bill before the summer break. [TU] [NYDN] [PolitickerNY] [Daily Politics] [NYT]
Two things that might prompt Senators to start moving: they can't hook up their cronies with patronage jobs until the situation's resolved; and all their pork is currently locked in the barrel. [TU] [TU]
A man was stabbed to death in Schenectady Saturday morning. Police say they haven't identified a motive. [TU] [Fox23]
Police say an Albany County family court judge was snagged as part of the county-wide drunk driving sweep last Thursday. Green Island police say the judge tried to evade a checkpoint at the Troy-Green Island Bridge and led police on a short chase. [TU] [Troy Record]
The Albany Police Department is reportedly trying to fire two members of the force -- the detective accused of driving drunk through Albany into Bethlehem in February; and the sergeant who's been accused of trying to cover for the detective. [TU]
State and Saratoga Springs police blanketed a wooded area near The Track on Friday to hunt for a "missing" girl. Witnesses said they saw a four year old wander into the woods with a man. Even though no missing persons were reported, police turned out 40 officers, K9 units and a helicopter. No girl was found and the search has been called off. [TU] [Post-Star] [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette]
Kirsten Gillibrand is apparently finding her swing as US Senator. [AP/Post-Star]
Say some people from the West Texas town where the PCB sludge from the Hudson is being sent: we don't want to be New York's "pay toilet." [AP]
The state agency responsible for issuing liquor licenses is broken. [Daily Gazette]
The New York State Bar Association has endorsed same-sex marriage. [TU]
There could be a lot of turnover this year on the Albany Common Council. [TU]
Albany has been named an "All America City," thanks in part -- it seems -- to its Henry Hudson impersonator. Troy was recently one of "the 25 cities and towns that best express our national values" by a conservative news magazine. [TU] [TU] [Troy Record]
The Route 9P bridge over Saratoga Lake is will be alternating one-way for the next year. [Daily Gazette]
A vinyl record shop recently opened in Schenectady. [Daily Gazette]
A Saratoga Springs High School senior is finishing up 13 years of of perfect school attendance. [Saratogian]
A guy in Latham set a world record last week by playing 1,800 holes of golf. [CBS6]
Jack Byrne -- he of the eponymous Mechanicville car dealership -- has been selling cars so long that one of his first sales is now appears at vintage car shows. [Troy Record]
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On the personal side, I agree that the Hudson should be cleaned up, but don't go and drop the "trash" in one of my former home towns! Lubbock has enough to deal with from the oil smell, the smell of the cattle stock yards, they don't need a sludge smell emanating from the soil during hot summer days! I mean, West Texas isn't the prettiest, but aren't there better places to deposit this stuff? As I recall there are hundreds of miles of Nevada desert that are not populated, or am I wrong?
... said Kari on Jun 22, 2009 at 9:59 AM | link
Of course the NYBA endorses gay marriage- more clients for divorce settlements. But seriously, that's great news. The more people involved in the law who support this the closer we are to the law makers supporting it.
... said KatherineSass on Jun 22, 2009 at 10:25 AM | link
heres another decent article about anit-sprawl upstate
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_26/b4137034253598.htm
... said JVG on Jun 22, 2009 at 11:52 AM | link
Sorry, after the opening sentence, "Saratoga Springs is anti-suburbia", the tears of laughter filling my eyes made it too hard to see clearly enough to read the rest of that article. I'm sure it's great though, just like other things I'll never see -- say, Transformers 2, or a dramatic reading of the I Can Has Cheezburger book -- are great.
Kari: I find this issue only fair, since for decades prevailing winds have been carrying all of the air pollutants from the mid- and southwest to have them dumped on New York, wrecking many of our ecosystems.
... said B on Jun 22, 2009 at 12:15 PM | link
Downtown Saratoga Springs may be "anti-sprawl" (let's be honest, ALL downtowns are "anti-sprawl" by default") but check this out http://www.cdrpc.org/ In 2000, Saratoga county's population in 2000 was roughly 201k. Saratoga Springs pop was 26k. 13% of people in the county live in the city of SS. Extending the projection to 2040 and you get 258k and 35k (13% again). Watch the populations of Wilton, Clifton Park, and Halfmoon explode. Note limited to shrinking projections for more densely developed areas like Waterford, Mechanicville, and Saratoga Springs. Sure both the county and city of SS are growing, but the projections suggest the sprawling land-use pattern to sure continue.
... said daleyplanit on Jun 22, 2009 at 3:28 PM | link
FWIW (and maybe not much)...Clifton Park and Halfmoon (and perhaps even Malta) cannot reasonably be considered Saratoga Springs suburbs. I do wonder however about a statement suggesting that SS is anti-sprawl when the Exit 15 area has to be one of the worst examples of suburban crap the capital district has to offer. Granted, it's not actually IN Saratoga Springs, but would it exist without proximity to the city?
... said Bob F. on Jun 22, 2009 at 3:44 PM | link
I agree - Clifton Park, Halfmoon, and Malta are definately not Saratoga suburbs, and exit 15 is a complete crapfest. These places were desinged for one form of transit and one acess only - the car. Clifton Park, I should say, is working hard on changing that with community trail plans and neighborhood connections.
... said daleyplanit on Jun 23, 2009 at 9:34 AM | link