All Over Albany

APD fires officer arrested for DWI, bill would ban neck ties on doctors, Clifton Park teen named a Presidential Scholar

The Albany Police Department announced yesterday that it's fired Brian Lutz, the officer who was arrested for alleged DWI in Menands last December. The APD say Lutz was fired because his driver's license was revoked following the arrest because he refused an alcohol test -- and you need valid driver's license to be an officer. But what about spokesman James Miller, who also refused the test? Chief Steve Krokoff says because Miller pleaded guilty to DWAI (a violation) he was able to apply for a conditional driver's license. [Troy Record] [Fox23] [TU]

Andrew Cuomo says a new plan for the Capitol restoration project will cut two years from the timeline and save $2.3 million. (The project started in 2000 and was projected to finish in 2014 at a cost of $48.7 million.) Said the governor of the long timeline: "It shouldn't take 15 years. When a project takes that long, I think it's problematic from a project management point of view." Cuomo called the changes to the project a metaphor for the "new attitude we want to bring to state government.". [Cuomo admin] [TU] [State of Politics]

The state Senate has passed a bill that would make texting-while-driving a primary offense -- meaning drivers could be pulled over just for that. The offense would also add two points to a license. [Daily Politics] [YNN]

Keith Dare, the convicted rapist accused of attacking a woman in her apartment on Dove Street in Albany last November, has pleaded guilty. He faces 25-years to life in prison. [TU] [YNN]

A group of state senators is pushing for legislation that would prohibit doctors and other medical professionals from wearing neck ties in clinical settings out of concern for infection control. [State of Politics]

Andrew Cuomo has declined his invitation to the annual Legislative Correspondents show -- perhaps the first time a first-year governor has done that in the 111-year history of the show. [State of Politics] [Daily Politics]

State Police say two men were struck by an allegedly drunk driver after they pulled off to the side of I-787 following an accident yesterday afternoon. Police say the the third driver hit the stopped car one of them men was sitting in, which then hit the other man who was standing outside. [Troy Record] [TU] [CBS6]

Tami Demers, the owner of a Saratoga County title insurance company that pleaded guilty to a scam in which she stole the money from new mortgages that was intended to pay off old mortgages, was sentenced to 1-3 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $500k. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

An Albany man says someone set fire to the American flag he had flying outside his Sheridan Ave home (map). [WTEN]

The demolition of the former Troy city hall is caught in yet another legal delay. [Troy Record]

The news that Troy city council Democrats are looking to create a minority majority council district has set off a flurry of accusations. [Troy Record]

The issue of whether Colonie town employees have to live in the town -- or the county -- has prompted another lawsuit. [TU]

One of the Schenectady's old firehouses is up for auction. [TU]

Columbia County has had what appears to be a small boom in second homes, according to Census Bureau data. [TU]

Schuyler Smith, an 18-year-old from Clifton Park who's been taking math classes at Union College since he was 13, has been named a a U.S. Presidential Scholar. [Daily Gazette] [US Department of Ed]

Sign on an overpass in Utah: "Osama got Jimmered." [Fox23]