All Over Albany

Cuomo and school districts at odds, police surge in student neighborhood, Watervliet officials using iPads, a whole lot of corned beef

Andrew Cuomo and school district officials from around the state were odds yesterday as the governor reiterated his cry for districts to reduce spending by cutting administrators' salaries, finding efficiencies, and reducing waste and abuse. Cuomo accused the groups protesting cuts to education aid of using threats to distract people from a political game. Shen superintendent Oliver Robinson called Cuomo's remarks "absolutely obscene." One of the main points of contention: whether districts should use fund balances to fill budget gaps created by cuts to state aid. [Buffalo News] [AP/Troy Record] [TU] [State of Politics]

Said a project manager at the Knolls Atomic Power Lab during a meeting with irked Niskayuna residents last night about the problems with a radioactive cleanup at the site: "We shouldn't have had the errors we did have last fall." [TU] [Daily Gazette]

This just in: St. Patrick's Day can be celebrated without rioting. [TU]

Albany police and code inspectors have surged into the student ghetto following the kegs 'n eggs unpleasantness. An officer said almost every house they visited with code enforcement had some sort of violation. [WTEN] [TU]

Albany County DA David Soares on whether Albany police should crack down more on public drinking: "Pulling people away from managing crowds and dealing with abusive individuals to write General City Ordinance Violations would not be the most appropriate use of those resources." [WNYT]

Chris Gibson broke ranks with House Republicans and voted against de-funding NPR. [Saratogian]

Colonie police say they've arrested two men for allegedly invading a Latham home last Friday and duct-taping the residents and stealing electronics (map). [TU]

Albany police say two people were stabbed near Lincoln Park Thursday night (map). [Fox23]

Troy police say they're aren't sure how or why a car ended up in the Hudson in Lansingburgh -- but they plan to fish it out today. [Troy Record] [YNN]

The city of Watervliet has equipped city officials with iPads in an effort to reduce paper waste and make information easier to access. [TU]

North Greenbush has apparently had some success using rubberized asphalt to reduce the incidence of potholes. [Fox23]

Anxiety-induced shopping run of the week: potassium iodide pills. (Yes, you're almost certainly fine without them.) [Daily Gazette]

A Saratoga-based org set up to provide for the care of retired race horses has reportedly fallen behind on payments to farms that are caring for the animals -- and some have ended up starved or neglected. [NYT]

A group in Saratoga County is trying to warn teenagers about "the dangers" of NCAA tournament pools. [Post-Star]

A Clifton Park woman has sold 2.3 million of an eyeglass repair screw that she invented. [Daily Gazette]

A Mechanicville family has a menu from when Abraham Lincoln dined in Albany in 1861. [TU]

Apparently when it comes to St. Patrick's Day: Saratoga > Albany. [Daily Gazette]

The Washington Tavern in Albany celebrated 40 years of ownership by the Byrons. [TU]

The South End Tavern in Troy served more than half a ton of corned beef yesterday. [Troy Record]