All Over Albany

State leaders reach agreement on agency for the protection of people with disabilities, dogs found locked in a storage container, wild parakeets in Watervliet

There's a lot of dealmaking going on at the Capitol ahead of the end of the legislative session this Thursday. Foremost among the deals: Andrew Cuomo, Dean Skelos, and Sheldon Silver announced an agreement on legislation to create the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, the new agency proposed to investigate cases of abuse and neglect of people with disabilities. The creation of the new agency was one of Cuomo's foremost goals for the current session and he said it was possible he would keep the legislature late in order to pass it. Critics of the plan say such cases should be handled by outside law enforcement, not by the state. [TU] [Cuomo admin] [State of Politics] [NYT]

Other deals among the Three Men and the legislature: a bill for the temporary state takeover of NYRA, a bill to make all viewing of online child pornography illegal, and cyberbullying legislation. [NYDN] [AP/Troy Record] [AP/TU]

After passing on a plea deal earlier last week, John Batease pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the death of toddler Asiah Maxam in Schenectady last summer. Batease told the judge he had thrown the child against his crib twice, and then tossed him into the air and watched him hit the floor. Batease was supposed to have been taking care of the child, the son of his former girlfriend. [Daily Gazette] [TU] [Fox23]

Medical marijuana is already legal in New York State under certain circumstances because of now largely-unkown law dating back to 1980. [TU]

The three Republicans competing to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate debated Sunday night on YNN. The debate highlighted some differences among the candidates. [TU] [State of Politics] [NYT]

The Democrats running for a chance to face Chris Gibson for the 19th Congressional district: Joel Tyner and Julian Schreibman. [TU] [TU]

The three people taken into custody for the Cohoes home invasion that involved a beating of an elderly man last week have been charged. [Troy Record]

Four Hoosic Valley High School students have been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the school with swastikas and profanities. Two of the charges against them have been tagged as hate crimes. [Troy Record] [TU]

A mother and son in Duanesburg have been charged with keeping 13 dogs locked in a storage unit. They also allegedly had multiple dogs in their mobile home and "an overwhelming odor of excrement." The mother has apparently been cited for previous animal violations. [Fox23] [Daily Gazette] [WNYT]

State Police say a man was arrested for a burglary in Saratoga County after he allegedly dropped his mobile phone while fleeing the property, and it was used to track him down. [Saratogian]

Jah-Lah Vanderhorst trial: Vanderhorst's mother testified Friday that her son, accused of fatally stabbing Tyler Rhodes in Albany's Hoffman Park, had been harassed by Rhodes. [TU]

After being sentenced to a year in jail, former Albany police officer Robert Schunk is out on bail for an appeal of his conviction in Saratoga County. [TU]

The Troy gun buy back's multiple gun turn-in days have netted 44 guns. [Fox23]

The city of Schenectady proposal to require dog owners to have liability insurance is being scaled back to only cover owners who've been cited for a loose or dangerous dog. [TU]

The dogs accused of biting a man more than 100 times in Pittstown last week have been ordered to be euthanized. [TU]

The owners of a hardware store in downtown Watervliet -- where there's been a hardware store for 50 years -- say the two-year reconstruction project of 19th Street is one of the reasons the store is closing (map). [TU]

The one bidder for the foreclosed-upon Cambridge Hotel: Glens Falls National Bank. It's the second time the bank has bought the hotel after foreclosure. [Post-Star] [TU]

The Adelphi Hotel in Saratoga Springs is back open for the season -- and under new ownership. [Saratogian]

A former rectory in Cohoes is being redeveloped with the intent of being a dormitory for RPI and Sage students (map). Distance to RPI campus: 4.2 miles. [Troy Record] [Google Maps]

This past weekend on Front Street in Ballston Spa: pole vaulting. [Daily Gazette]

A pair of parakeets have built a nest on a utility pole in Watervliet (map). [TU]