Not much has changed in state Senate, Gillibrand cut off at Sotomayor hearing, judge admonished for not getting work done, pair accused of using kid to aid burglaries

Now that the state Senate leadership mess has been resolved, the chamber can move on to the really important stuff: staffing budgets. Oh, and Pedro Espada says was made majority leader because senators "trust" that "I can lead that house." [AP/Troy Record] [CapNews9]

Already bolstered by the state Senate's "extraordinary" sessions, downtown Albany restaurants are pulling for a special session. [CapNews9] [TU]

Chuck Schumer (video) and Kirsten Gillibrand (video) introduced Sonia Sotomayor at her Supreme Court nomination hearing yesterday. KG went on so long that she had to be cut off by Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (the first gavel comes at 6:25 in her video). Gillibrand does have a reputation for being loquacious. [SchumerTube] [GillibrandTube] [TU] [NYT]

Joe Bruno has already spent more than $450k on lawyers this year as part of his defense against federal corruption charges. [Daily Politics]

CSEA members showed up at last night's Albany County Legislature meeting to protest the planned five-day furloughs of county workers. The union says workers found out about the furlough via the media. Albany County exec Mike Breslin says the county is facing a $20 million budget gap. [Fox23] [CBS6]

The hiring of a new probation director in Rensselaer County has set off a domino sequence of accusations. Democrats say the legislator leaving her seat to become the county's probation director was picked not because of qualifications, but because she's politically connected. And the person being appointed to fill the now-open legislature seat is being criticized because her husband's bar is reportedly more than $40k behind on its taxes. [TU] [Troy Record]

A Troy City Court judge has been admonished by a state panel for falling behind on cases before his court. Some of the civil actions have been stuck for as many as six years. [Troy Record] [TU]

Schenectady swore in nine new police recruits yesterday. With a handful of current officers facing termination, the new crop puts the force back at full strength. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Robert Henry, the Troy man who allegedly escaped from a Tennessee prison in 1980 (he contends he was pardoned), made bail yesterday -- and says he's not going anywhere. [Troy Record]

A man and woman have been charged in Rensselaer County with using an 11 year old to help them on a string of house break-ins. They allegedly had the girl climb through small windows -- even a dog door. [TU] [Troy Record]

UAlbany's plan to construct two five-story dorms on the southeast corner of the uptown campus is drawing concern from neighbors (map) [TU]

SCCC wants Schenectady County to help it pay for a $1.65 million "skywalk" over Washington Ave near the armory. [Daily Gazette]

Shepard Park beach on Lake George is still closed after last week's sewage spill. [Post-Star]

The Gateway Diner on Central Ave in Albany has been sold for $2.4 million (map). [Marv Cermak]

Yep, it's been a chilly July. [Daily Gazette]

Comments

I can't be the only one who thinks Espada is delusional.

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