All Over Albany

Hayden allegedly told police he covered toddler's mouth, Cuomo trying to avoid presidential talk, next BusPlus plan: Albany to Troy, complaint about Mr. Ding-a-Ling

Robert Hayden -- the Troy man accused of suffocating a toddler he was supposed to be caring for -- pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges. Court documents indicate Hayden told police he had covered the boy's mouth to get him to stop crying. He also allegedly told police he performed two hours of CPR on the boy -- and then, after realizing the boy was dead, traded a rosary for pot and smoked it. [Fox23] [Troy Record] [New10] [TU]

The Albany man convicted of making hundreds of threatening, racist phone calls to African-American households and real estate agents in the New Scotland Ave neighborhood was sentenced to 1-3 years in prison. James Hennesey apparently tried to convince a probation officer that the calls were "almost like a teenage prank thing" -- the judge wasn't having any of that. [Fox23] [News10] [TU]

The parents of Alexander Grant -- the Boston College student who died of hypothermia in Saratoga after an odd series of events while visiting friends at Skidmore -- have filed suit against nine of Grant's friends. [Daily Gazette]

The city of Watervliet stripped its director of planning and community revitalization of her duty of representing the city at planning board and zoning board of appeals meetings -- just a few hours before the proposed Price Chopper at the site of the former St. Patrick's Church was due to be discussed at the planning board. Supporters of the development are touting the increased tax revenue the new supermarket would bring. [Troy Record] [YNN] [Fox23]

Andrew Cuomo is trying to not to get pulled into "Will he run for president in 2016?" speculation. He said yesterday at the Capitol: "All I'm working on is being the best governor I can be. That's where I am, because that's where I am -- that is really, really where I am in my heart. And that's where I'm going to stay." He also said such discussion risks upsetting collegiality at the Capitol. The situation has people hearing echoes of Mario. [TU] [NYT] [YNN] [Buffalo News]

Schenectady police say they've arrested a man for allegedly kidnapping a Colonie woman he knew last week and trying to ransom her for $2000. They didn't release details of where the alleged kidnapping happened. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

The man accused of leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph on I-890 last November has taken a plea deal that includes up to 3 years in prison. [Daily Gazette]

The nickname of the Fort Edward man convicted of choking and beating a woman and her child during a synthetic marijuana rage is "Psycho." [Post-Star]

Photos of the day: a house fire on Willett Street in Schenectady's Mont Pleasant neighborhood by the Daily Gazette's Peter Barber (map). Two families were displaced by the fire. [Daily Gazette] [YNN]

Instead of next looking to expand BusPlus to the Washington Ave and Western Ave corridors in Albany as previously indicated, CDTA's exec director says the transit org is looking to expand the bus rapid transit system to a line stretching from Albany to Troy. CDTA ridership was up 8 percent during the year the ended March 31. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

A Voorheesville family whose teen son committed suicided two years ago is pushing for state legislation that they say would require school districts to more completely inform parents of available special education options. [TU]

Despite a new federal rule protecting transgender people from bias in the workplace, state LGBT advocates are still pushing for the state Transgender Expression Non-Discrimination Act. [TU]

A judge has rejected the claim by a former Albany County STOP-DWI coordinator that she wasn't subject to the county employee residency requirement because she worked for the sheriff's office. [TU]

Yesterday's Day of Remembrance in Schenectady's Central Park commemorated the lives of 200 homicide victims from the city. [Daily Gazette]

There was a lot of skepticism from residents at a meeting about the trash gasification plant proposed for Bethlehem. [TU]

The city of Saratoga Springs and John Breyo have reached a settlement in which Breyo will get a $1 million refund on property taxes for his 60,000something square foot mansion. [TU]

The Albany Public Library has proposed a budget that includes a 2.7 percent tax rate increase. [TU]

The bill for replacing the garage floor in a Saratoga Springs fire house: $453,000. [Saratogian]

Skidmore has donated 23 laptops to Saratoga County (the county didn't have computers for its Board of Supervisors room). [Saratogian]

The new Albany ShopRite opens today -- the Albany Police Department has issued a traffic advisory: "Motorists who use Central Avenue and Everett Road to access Interstate 90 should expect delays during their commute. If you are not intending to go to the new retail property, alternate routes are suggested until normal traffic resumes." [APD]

State office space "restacking" drama/comedy: there was an uproar over re-approrpiated chairs at the DEC office building in Albany. Cue satirical memo. [TU] [TU CapCon]

A DEC biologist says experts expect an increase in bear sightings in urban areas of the Capital Region. (Please: don't feed the bears -- it often gets them killed.) [YNN]

The town of Malta has filed suit to use eminent domain to acquire the last piece of land necessary to link the Zim Smith Trail to new recreation trails built in Luther Forest. [Daily Gazette]

CBS6 weatherman Neal Estano is leaving the station to sell real estate. [Daily Gazette]

A Malta woman has filed a noise complaint against a Mr. Ding-a-Ling ice cream truck because it is "depriving our child of adequate rest important for health and development" (read: it's waking him up from his nap). [Saratogian ]