All Over Albany

More focus on lobbying group backing Cuomo, guilty plea in fatal beating at Cohoes senior apartments, long allergy season, Post-It prank results in suspensions

The Committee to Save New York -- the lobbying group formed to support Andrew Cuomo -- is being described as being like a super super PAC. It recently came out that the gambling industry had contributed $2 million to the group -- on Sunday Cuomo said it wasn't his place to tell the group to disclose its contributors. [AP/Troy Record] [NYT]

In the Siena poll out today Cuomo's favorability rating has hit 70 percent again. [State of Politics]

There's some dispute over whether the Troy city council's recent smoking ban vote was legal. [Troy Record]

Mark Richardson, the man accused of beating a retired Cohoes man to death and robbing another woman at an apartment building for seniors, has pleaded guilty. He faces 30 years to life in prison. Said the son of the man who died: "I am sure my father is happy up there now that he got justice." [Troy Record] [TU] [Fox23]

The Cuomo admin's state government efficiency seeking task force -- the SAGE Commission -- has missed its June 1 deadline for returning its report. [TU]

A lobbyist who represents the state's racinos says a $40 million expansion of the Saratoga racino will move forward eventually -- though the plan could be reassessed if the racion ends up competing against a nearby full casino. [Daily Gazette]

A Troy man has been arrested for allegedly firing at a man in Albany at Bradford and North Main in March (map). [Troy Record]

A lawsuit filed in Vermont against the Albany Roman Catholic diocese over its handling for sexual abuse complaints against priests is seeking up to 40 years of records related to sexual abuse cases. [TU]

Occupy Albany and neighborhood activists marched through Albany Saturday to call attention to what they say are disparities in the service and treatment afforded different parts of the city. [TU]

State police say a motorcyclist hit 147 mph in a chase just north of the Twin Bridges on the Northway Saturday evening. He also allegedly had a "now unwilling" passenger with him during the sprint. [Troy Record] [TU]

One man died and another was seriously injured after their car apparently went airborne and hit tree near Exit 17 on the Northway Sunday afternoon. [Saratogian]

An accident on Washington Ave in Albany Friday night resulted in two cars flipped on their roofs (map). [TU]

Laurence Spring, the new Schenectady schools superintendent, has a signed photograph from his favorite cognitive psychologist in his office. [TU]

Citizens for St. Patrick's is trying to get a hold of the structural analysis of the church -- which the city apparently doesn't have. [Troy Record]

The owner of the former Angelica Industrial Laundry in Ballston Spa has filed for state brownfields cleanup assistance because of contamination dating back to when the building was used as a tannery (the site started as a tannery in the late 1800s). [Daily Gazette]

A dispute over $209 in allegedly padded time sheet pay for a former Niskayuna school district bus driver has descended into a series of appeals and a lawsuit. [Daily Gazette]

A dog daycare with about 20 dogs has prompted noise complaints in Troy (map). [Troy Record]

After declaring a pilot program a success, Watervliet is expanding its residential waste composting program city wide. [Troy Record]

Almost 30 students at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School have been suspended for a school prank involving about 5,000 packs of Post-It notes. The district's superintendent says it was vandalism. There's video, of course. [TU] [News10] [YouTube]

Allergists say the early spring has prolonged the allergy season. [TU]

There's still no word on the now-year-old application submitted by Chuck Schumer for the Medal of Honor for Henry Johnson. [TU]

The closed section of Campbell Ave in Troy is expected to be open for traffic again in July. Water main replacement there will disrupt service in the area today. [Troy Record] [News10]

Residential units at the big Ellsworth Commons mixed-used development in Malta have been quick to rent -- the retail space not so much. [Saratogian]

Yarn made in Washington County -- and made from locally-produced fiber -- will be sold nationally under the name "Saratoga Collection" and featured in Vogue Knitting. [Saratogian]

An approximately 200-year-old oak tree in Saratoga Springs fell during a recent thunderstorm -- it might have been older than the city. [Saratogian]