All Over Albany

Paterson vetos budget bill, Ely to resign from Schenectady schools, bad day to be a drug dealer in the Capital Region, General Petraeus contacts family of fallen soldier, NYRA cautiously approaches Saratoga meet, Scotia woman wins HGTV Green Home

The state legislature passed its budget plan, which included hundreds of millions of dollars that David Paterson had tried to cut. And then, as promised,Paterson started vetoing the new appropriations in it. Paterson apparently plans to use his line item veto on 6,900 different appropriations. The most significant:$420 million in education aid the legislature added back into the budget. Also on the slate for a veto: member items (you know, pork). Paterson scolded the legislature for using what he called http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/06/gov-paterson-vetos 419-million.html that has characterized fiscal management in this state for far too long." The legislature can now
try to override the vetoes, but that could be a tough task in the Senate because of the close split between Democrats and Republicans. [NYT] [AP/Troy Record] [State of Politics] [TU] [TU][Daily Politics] [State of Politics]

Rick Lazio says if he were Guv., he wouldn't get himself into the the current budget predicament. [NYT]

Schenectady school district superintendent Eric
Ely is resigning, effective Wednesday. Ely had been facing criticism for the Steven Raucci situation -- and had openly been seeking other jobs in other school districts. The school board hasn't released details of its settlement with Ely -- he still had two
years left on his contract. [SCSD] [TU] [Daily Gazette $]

Federal prosecutors announced they busted 22 people on drug-related charges as part of a region-wide sweep yesterday. They say they seized thousands of dollars worth of heroin, cocaine and pot, along with 14 guns. [Daily Gazette $] [TU] [Troy Record] [Fox23]

General David Petraus sent a letter to the parents of a Lake George man killed in combat earlier this month in Afghanistan. General Petraus expressed his condolences to the parents of Benjamin Osborne, and urged them to listen to the opening statement at his confirmation hearing today where he'll address their concerns about Rules of Engagement. [WNYT]

A lawsuit filed against the use of electronic voting machines in New York State suggests the machines are flawed and could lead to thousands of votes being thrown out. [WTEN]

The man shot and killed outside a Schenectady bar this weekend, whose friends drove through emergency room door, was facing rape charges and had a "troubled past." The recent string of gun violence in Schenectady prompted a community meeting last night where residents discussed ways to reduced violence and called on community leaders for help. [Gazette $] [YNN]

Authorities found one smoke detector on the first floor of the Fort Edward home that burned this weekend, killing six children. There were no detectors near the bedrooms on the second floor. [WTEN]

A State Department of Health employee plead guilty yesterday to using more than $16 thousand in state resources to send personal mail and items he sold on EBay. [CBS6]

Parents and teachers at New Covenant Charter School are battling the school's closing with a lawsuit. [TU]

Troy has issued a stop work order on RPI's new Computing Center. City and state fire officials say the access roads to the facility are not wide enough. [Troy Record]

The city of Albany has been violating its own codes on banned pesticides. [TU]

Talk show host and MS sufferer Montel Williams will be in Albany today to lobby legislators to pass a law legalizing medical marijuana. [CBS6]

It is now illegal to ship cigarettes through the mail in New York State. [WTEN]

Before you smoke in Schenectady's public parks, make sure you're in a place where it's legal. [WTEN]

A judge has quadrupled the bail of a former NYC detective charged endangering the welfare of a child for trying to get coerce an 11 year old Albany girl into his truck, after learning the man lied about being able to afford an attorney. [TU]

A Scotia woman is the winner of the HGTV Green Home in Massachusetts. Here's what she won.[YNN] [HGTV]

NYRA officials are moving cautiously into the turn towards the Saratoga meet. [Post Star]

No bobble-heads this year. NYRA's Saratoga give-aways include two shirts a baseball cap and an umbrella. [TU]

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is hoping residents will wear little green buttons identifying them as locals. [Saratogian]