Many of state's high school graduates not ready for college, contractors busy with roof snow, St. Rose looking to buy piece of dead-end street, Mr. DeFazio passes away

Only 41 percent of New York State's high school graduates in 2009 tested at levels that indicate they were ready for college-level course work, according to data released by the state Department of Education. [NYT]

Sheldon Silver says he now supports new ethics rules that would require state legislators to disclose their outside income with narrow ranges, and also require legislators who are lawyers to disclose their clients (Silver's past unwillingness to disclose his clients has been an ongoing criticism of the speaker). Andrew Cuomo has reportedly been pressing the legislature behind the scenes to take action on new ethics rules. [TU] [NY Post]

The City of Albany has already plowed through its budget for snow removal. And local contractors say they've been busy clearing roofs of snow. [WTEN] [TU]

Troy is looking for more developers to submit proposals for the redevelopment of the old city hall site. It's already gotten three "request for quotes" responses. [Troy Record] [TU]

The Green County sheriff's office says it's busted a marijuana growing operation in New Baltimore that appears to be the biggest indoor operation ever found in the county. More than 1,200 plants were allegedly found in the house just off 9W (map). The alleged grow house was uncovered after firefighters responded to a basement fire at the site. [TU] [CBS6] [WNYT]

David Greenfield, the Rensselaer man who allegedly told people he had stabbed his girlfriend because it would be easier than trying to break up with her, was convicted of attempted second-degree murder. [TU]

A Waterford father and son are the frontrunners for the creepiest father-son tandem of the year. [Saratogian]

The mother of the child at the center of the case in which a former Schenectady County social services worker has been accused of lying has pleaded guilty to felony reckless endangerment. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady and its police union are reportedly close to sealing a new contract that a three percent raise, a no-layoffs pledge, and a health plan switch aimed at saving money. [TU]

The board that runs ALB is concerned about recent increases in fares, and decreases in passenger boardings. [TU]

The company building the Aqueduct racino is pushing for the state to allow full casino gaming, which NYRA would apparently be OK with. [Saratogian]

Albany Med and Saratoga Hospital are planning to team up to open a new facility in Malta that would include urgent care services. [Saratogian]

Bethlehem is looking at whether it could acquire the up-for-auction Normanside Country Club and its 269 acres of land. [TU]

The College of St. Rose wants to buy the dead-end section of Yates Street in Pine Hills so it can use the land for its new dorm and parking lot (map). [TU]

The Rotterdam Republican Committee is using "help wanted" ads to find candidates for the November elections. [Marv Cermak]

The saga of the Broadway McDonald's in Saratoga appears to be headed toward an end with a "truly one of a kind" burger building. [Daily Gazette]

A Schenectady man says he thinks a big chunk of ice in his yard fell from an airplane. [Daily Gazette]

An RCS sixth grader was on the "Cake Boss" TV show last night. [Fox23]

Anthony DeFazio, founder of A. DeFazio's Imports and a pillar of the South Troy community, has passed away. He was 95. Says Rocco DeFazio of his father: "He always felt you had a responsibility to do it, to help people any way you could. He really believed that." [TU] [Troy Record]

Comments

Ha ha ha the Reagents board is going to make the standards tougher again without doing anything to address the problems that are leading to poor academics.

The problem isn't that the course material, the testing levels, or the teachers, the problem is that the home environments of students are often terrible! That's why the graduation rates are so much lower for poverty-stricken students than well-off ones.

That's another important thing to note - there is no crisis in education for middle class white children. This is a problem with minorities, with the poor, with the people who have been already abandoned by the system, and whose children can look forward to the same abandonment. I imagine it is very difficult to care all that much about academics when you're part of a demographic group that is being targeted by a predatory private prison system.

Western education is a cruel joke perpetrated by vicious old men that hate children and everything that children do.

Hi there. Comments have been closed for this item. Still have something to say? Contact us.

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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