School board member party photos draw interest from police, DMV fees going up, Albany FreeNet expanding, cutbacks come to David Paterson's face

The Schenectady County DA says police will be looking into photos (originally posted on Facebook) that show a Schenectady school board member and his wife -- who's a teacher -- drinking from a Jagermeister luge and doing a keg stand at their son's high school graduation party. [TU] [WTEN] [Daily Gazette $]

DMV fees go up today -- the cost of renewing a driver's license is going up $14.50. Next year, car registrations will require a new license plate ($25) -- and keeping the same license number will cost an extra $20. Jim Tedisco called the higher fees a tax increase. Rensselaer County's clerk said the state legislature is treating the DMV like "a cash cow." [TU] [Saratogian] [WNYT] [CapNews9]

David Paterson and other state officials were at a middle school in Albany yesterday to raise awareness about prep for flu season. Officials say the recently emerged H1N1 flu is likely to flare up in schools. Local school districts and colleges say they're getting the word out about preventive measures to parents and students. [CapNews9] [Fox23] [TU]

A state comptroller's report indicates that county sales tax receipts in the Capital Region are down more than six percent this year. In Saratoga County, which the report indicates is down 12 percent, officials said the numbers seemed off the mark. [NYS Comptroller] [Saratogian]

Saratoga Springs' finance commissioner says the city could be facing a budget gap as big as $4.5 million because of lower sales tax revenue and the lack of VLT money from the state. That's about 12 percent of the total budget. [Saratogian]

HVCC has record enrollment this year -- about 13,000 students. One complication: it only has about 3,600 parking spots. [WTEN] [Troy Record]

Tech Valley Communications says it will be expanding coverage for Albany FreeNet, the city's constellation of free wi-fi points. It's also removing the one-hour/day limit on use of the system. [CapNews9] [TU]

Parents in Scotia are upset that the village has barred cars from driving on the street in front of an elementary school during drop-off and pick-up times on school days -- and the school district has gone to court in attempt to block the law. [CBS6]

SPAC says attendance for the Philadelphia Orchestra was up significantly compared to last year -- but was still down slightly from two years ago. [Post-Star]

Lydia Kulbida is coming back to local TV. She'll co-anchoring a new 4 pm newscast on WTEN that starts September 21. [AOA] [WTEN]

David Paterson is now rocking a more clean-shaven look. He attributed his new beardless face to "cutbacks." [AP/Troy Record] [PolitickerNY]

Comments

>>The Schenectady County DA says police will be looking into photos (originally posted on Facebook) that show a Schenectady school board member and his wife......

oh jesus christ. you know what's more disturbing in the world of education? (and will actually HAVE an impact on children?) -- reading rainbow getting cancelled.

"funding is partially to blame, but the decision to end Reading Rainbow can also be traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming. The change started with the Department of Education under the Bush administration, which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading — like phonics and spelling."

i WORK as an elementary school reading teacher, and i can tell you that there is something very, very wrong going on here.

With a firebug loose around Schaghticoke, we needed some good news:

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2009/08/31/news/doc4a9b420b0ccf2694770449.txt

That's change you can believe in. FIRST BABY

Gotta love the gov's reasoning: "We are in a recession." If that were actually true and not a political excuse, then the fees would be repealed as soon as the recession is over.

Don't hold your breath.

What do you do when the people are hurting in your state? Kick 'em where it counts. That'll learn 'em.

(sorry for the grammar, Reading Rainbow lost funding, you know)

The hike in DMV fees doesn't bother me, but the BS with EVERYBODY having to get new plates is utterly stupid. I'd gladly just send them the $25 to avoid the hassle of dealing with the DMV an extra time. Really, just take it directly out of my paycheck. And an extra $20 for people to keep the same plates they already have? That just strikes me as unnecessary.

The day I'm on the same side of an issue as Jim Tedisco is a dark day indeed for NYS.

Say Something!

We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.

What's All Over Albany?

All Over Albany is for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. In other words, it's for you. It's kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who can help you find out what's up. Oh, and our friends call us AOA.

Search

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine