All Over Albany

Legislative session grinds slowly ahead, CSEA reaches contract deal that includes no layoffs, rabid kitten found in Rensselaer County

Bills covering many high-profile issues continued to be caught in the state legislature's end-of-session tangle. A deal to finally move on the tax cap, rent control, and a SUNY tuition increase reportedly is near (sounds familiar). The same-sex marriage bill continues to be stuck, waiting for a vote in the state Senate -- apparently talks over religious exemptions are still continuing. Andrew Cuomo called for patience. [TU] [AP/Troy Record] [NY Post] [AP/Post-Star] [YNN]

One thing that did shake loose yesterday: an agreement between the Cuomo admin and CSEA on a new contract that would protect the state employee union from layoffs for the next few years. The deal includes a three-year wage freeze and furloughs this year and next. PEF, the other large state worker union, says it's still waiting to hear from the Cuomo admin on its contract offer. [TU] [NYT] [YNN]

The horror: legislators and lobbyists -- unfamiliar with the strange ways of laundromats, dry cleaners, and non-designer underwear -- are running out of clothes as the extended session drags on. [NYT]

Adam Croote, the man accused of raping and attempting to kill a 10-year-old girl in Berne, has a complicated, troubled past -- a story that includes an appearance in the Oval Office at the White House. An anonymous relative described him as "a monster." [TU] [CBS6]

The state trooper who allegedly left the scene of a fatal accident in near the Fulton County/Saratoga County liine is no longer with the State Police -- there are some reports he resigned. [TU] [Fox23]

The estate of the man killed when an Albany police car slammed into the car he was riding in at the intersection of Quail and Madison in 2009 is getting a $250k settlement. [TU]

Philemon Chavis -- the Albany accused of kidnapping, torturing and trying to ransom his wife -- has pleaded guilty. The plea deal includes 19 years in prison. [YNN] [TU]

A Schenectady County woman was sentenced to six months in jail for beating her five-year-old twins with a belt until they had open wounds. [Daily Gazette]

The toxicology report is still not back in the case of Alexander Grant, the Westchester County college student found dead in Saratoga this winter after a strange night. [Saratogian]

A Troy parent on the remarkably sweet separation deal school superintendent Fadhilika Atiba-Weza is getting: "He told us that it would cost around $300,000 to keep the school (School 12) open, and he got paid $250,000! Hello! We could have used that money to keep the school open, even if it didn't keep a school open, or not just our school, it could have saved another school." [Fox23]

The Troy city clerk's office, from which $700 was allegedly stolen over the weekend, does not have a safe. [Troy Record]

The building at Clinton Ave and Henry Johnson in Albany that partially collapsed this week is owned by an economic development arm of the city. [TU]

The Rensselaer County Department of Health says a kitten found in Wynantskill tested positive for rabies (map). [Troy Record]

A little farther afield: Hudson Falls police say a man was tasered in early Wednesday after a police chase -- on bikes. [Post-Star]

The NBA draft is tonight -- Glens Falls is hosting a "Jimmer Jam" to celebrate Jimmer Fredette's expected first round selection. [Post-Star]

A girl from Slingerlands will be competing in a national Braille competition. [TU]