All Over Albany

Push for federal aid for flooded areas, bus driver accused of duct taping girl's mouth, pit bull owner already faced dangerous dog charge, national recognition for Saratoga Farmers' Market

Today is primary day for the handful of elections this fall. Polls are open from noon-9 pm.

Rebuilding after the flooding continues. Route 2 in Rensselaer County is now open again -- as is Route 73 in the Adirondacks, which leads to Lake Placid (map). And schools are opening in Schoharie and Greene counties. [TU] [TU] [TU] [Fox23]

While in Amsterdam yesterday, Chuck Schumer said he'd push the US Senate to move quickly on authorizing funding for FEMA (the federal disaster agency is more or less out of money). As he said after taking a call from the head of agency: "We are going to need lots of help from FEMA." [TU] [State of Politics]

Flood damage along the Erie Canal between Waterford and Utica is so severe that the waterway has been closed indefinitely, probably until next spring. Brian Stratton -- who's now head of the state canal agency -- says its the worst flood damage the canal system has ever seen. The closed waterway has trapped boaters. The lock at Troy that connects the Hudson to the canal system is re-opening after divers cleared debris from the area. [TU] [Fox23] [TU] [CBS6]

Paul Tonko is pushing for the 4-year-old state taskforce charged with examining flooding issues along the state canal system to actually meet -- for the first time. [Daily Gazette]

An electrical transmission tower near Amsterdam fell into the Mohawk this past weekend after the river "basically rerouted itself" around the tower's abutment (the tower's fall is part of what knocked WEXT off the air). A helicopter was part of the effort to install a temporary fix yesterday to bring power back to 20,000 National Grid customers. [Daily Gazette] [YNN]

A bus driver in northern Saratoga County has been accused of duct-taping the mouth of a girl with a developmental disability. Police allege the driver abused the girl on multiple occasions this past winter. [WTEN] [WNYT]

A growing problem in some of the areas hit by flooding: mold. [Fox23]

An engineer with the New York City agency that manages the Gilboa Dam says officials never seriously doubted the dam would hold during the record flooding. [Daily Gazette]

The jobs program proposed by the Obama administration includes more than $7 billion for New York State. [AP/TU]

The state's new system for evaluating teachers, which places increased emphasis on standardized testing, is continuing to stir discussion (and trepidation and excitement). "Several experts" say the state's methods for catching cheating on the standardized tests is "near the bottom" nationally. [TU] [NYT]

Moody's had downgraded Albany County's bond rating one step, though the rating in still in the "very low credit risk" category. [TU] [Wikipedia]

Schenectady's top city attorney says the woman whose three pit bulls are accused of mauling a woman in Hamilton Hill last month also faces a dangerous dog charge from 2010 that was never pursued be she didn't show up in court. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady's city council has approved stiffer fines for property owners tagged with multiple code violations -- even if the violations are not at the same property. [Daily Gazette]

An Albany County legislator has proposed setting up a $150k fund to help property owners shore up roofs and windows on vacant buildings to keep them from decay further. [TU]

Albany police say an off-duty officer was assaulted and robbed in a Pearl Street nightclub's bathroom (map). [TU]

Northeast Health has filed suit against a man for using its logo on a website that alleges malpractice at Samaritan Hospital. [TU]

The flooding around Saratoga Lake has been slow to recede. [Saratogian]

The number of visitors to Spa State Park was down 25 percent through Labor Day compared to the same period last summer. [Post-Star]

A small market and deli is (re)opening in Cohoes in part to serve customers from the Harmony Mills Loft project. [TU]

The Saratoga Farmers' Market has been recognized as the best farmers' market in the state -- and one of the best in the nation. [Saratogian]