All Over Albany

The earth shook, woman mauled by three dogs, trouble checks in at Colonie motels, Albany County exec candidate will be unopposed, not so great year for local corn

You might have heard: there was an earthquake yesterday. The quake, a 5.8 magnitude with an epicenter in Virgina, was one of the strongest to hit the East Coast during the last century -- yet there appears to have been little damage. Andrew Cuomo said in a teleconference that the state had inspected both the Indian Point nuclear plant (see previous seismic concerns) and the Tappan Zee Bridge (old, already falling apart) -- and both were found to be undamaged. (There was some damage to landmarks in Washington, DC.) A geologist at the State Museum says the shaking in the Capital Region was the equivalent of about a 4something magnitude quake. The shaking prompted many buildings in the Capital Region to temporarily evacuate yesterday. One person who didn't reportedly evacuate -- the person working the crane about the state Capitol. Communications networks all along the East Coast were congested and slow for about 20 minutes following the quake. [AOA] [NYT] [State of Politics] [AP/Troy Record] [WNYT] [Troy Record] [State of Politics] [Fox23]

The unemployment rate was 7 percent in the Capital Region last month, according to data from the state Department of Labor. It's the lowest July rate since 2008 -- though the area had fewer jobs last month than July 2010. [NYS DOL] [TU]

The trial of parole officer Nicholas Kordas for allegedly raping one of his parolees was declared a mistrial yesterday after the jury decided it couldn't reach a verdict. [TU]

Former Troy city clerk William McInerney is scheduled to plead guilty Friday as part of the Troy ballot fraud investigation, "two people with knowledge of the matter" tell the Times Union. [TU]

Schenectady police say a woman lost both ears while being seriously mauled by three dogs in Hamilton Hill early Monday morning. [TU]

State flags will be at half staff in honor of Army Pvt. 1st Class L. Douglas Cordo, who died during an attack in Afghanistan last week. Kordo is from Kingston and has family in Ballston Spa. [CBS6] [TU]

An Albany Common Council committee spent three hours hearing about and discussing a potential ban on hydrofracking in the city -- though there doesn't seem to be much chance there will ever be drilling for gas there. Also yesterday: gas industry reps declined to appear at a hearing on hydrofracking held by state Senator Greg Ball. [TU] [TU]

The Washington County sheriff's office says a two-year-old was found in the woods after having gone missing for about 24 hours. The family didn't report him missing until about 19 hours after last seeing him because they thought someone had picked him up. [CBS6] [Saratogian]

Schenectady police say a man was shot during an argument Tuesday night in the Vale neighborhood (map). [Daily Gazette]

The alleged murder at a motel along Central Ave in Colonie this past weekend was just the latest in a series of incidents at the string of motels along that stretch. [TU]

Republican Nathan LeBron wasn't able to get enough signatures to get on the ballot for Albany County exec -- that means Democrat Dan McCoy will run opposed. [TU]

Jack Cox Jr. is trying to enter the Troy mayoral race as a candidate with the newly-created Revolutionary Party. [Troy Record]

Marlon Anderson -- former write-in candidate for Albany mayor, frequent blog commenter -- alleges that CDTA denied him a promotion because he's African-American, and then fired him when he complained. [TU]

Schenectady's school board has voted to restrict student use of mobile phones and other similar devices to before/after school and during lunch. [Daily Gazette]

A group of Rensselaer residents say they're considering a lawsuit in an attempt to stop an asphalt plant that was recently approved for the Port of Rensselaer. [Troy Record]

Schenectady police recently went through a neighborhood knocking on doors and checking for unlocked cars as early as 4:40 am in an attempt to detain an allege car robber. [Daily Gazette]

A terrorist group that draws inspiration from the Unabomber has been targeting nanotechnology researchers around the world -- which could be of concern to research centers in the Capital Region. [Chronicle of Higher Education] [TU]

The Sage Colleges and Excelsior College have created an undergraduate program for people on the autism spectrum. (press release) [TU] [Sage]

The weather this summer has been good for apples, not so good for corn. [YNN]

A second Quintessence has opened in the former Chez Sophie diner spot in Malta. [Saratogian]