All Over Albany

Focus forming around property tax cap, senators squabble over seating arrangements, cable rates increasings, that's a lot of laundry

Yep, it's still cold. But today's high is forecasted to be in the upper 20s (heat wave). And there's a chance of snow. [NWS]

The various actors at the Capitol now appear to be pointed in the direction of a property tax cap -- and the push back is now focused on getting a "circuit breaker" provision (ties a property tax rebate to income) and stronger rent control. Andrew Cuomo said yesterday he's not on board with a circuit breaker. [YNN] [TU] [State of Politics]

The big drama at the Capitol yesterday: the seating arrangement in the state Senate. [State of Politics]

A study of a potential consolidation of police services in Schenectady County concludes that the various agencies are not willing to merge -- but they are open to sharing some administrative services, which could save the City of Schenectady as much as $560k/year. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Fox23]

Prosecutors in the Ayerious Benson case requested a DNA sample from the Troy teen in order to test a letter he allegedly sent to prosecutors apologizing for the shooting of a man last April. [Troy Record]

Troy leaders are continuing to squabble over the demolition of the old city hall. [TU]

A former part-time Schenectady County employee has filed a $420 million lawsuit alleging the county doesn't do enough to award jobs to minority workers. [Daily Gazette]

Guilderland, Bethlehem and Clifton Park had some of the lowest unemployment rates in the state last year, according to a calculation by the state Department of Labor. [TU]

Albany County reports the Times Union Center ended last year with a profit of about $1 million -- that's down about $700k from the year before. [Troy Record] [TU]

As Verizon prepares to introduce FiOS TV in some spots around the Capital Region, TWC has increased rates. [TU]

The Saratoga Springs school district canceled classes yesterday because it couldn't get many of its buses to start in the cold weather. [Saratogian]

RPI football coach Joe King -- who's headed up the Engineers for 22 seasons -- is leaving the school. [Troy Record]

Members of a Wilton family have a combined 112 years of service in the military. [Post-Star]

The winning Powerball ticket sold in a Catskill laundromat is worth "24 million giant washer washes and more than 5,000 years of dryer time." (The $48 million ticket sold at a Wilton Stewart's on Christmas Day still hasn't been claimed.) [YNN] [Fox23]