Albany man killed in hit-and-chase, many ignoring residency requirements, fire destroys historic buildings in Kinderhook, no more lion burgers

An Albany man -- Paul Merges Jr. -- died early Saturday morning after he was hit by a pickup truck while riding his bike in uptown Albany -- an incident that prompted a multi-town chase, according to the Albany County Sheriff's Office (map). ACSO says the pickup truck driver, Pablo Cruz of Schenectady, has been charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, DWI, and parole violation. ACSO says Cruz had been speeding east on Central Ave when a sheriff's investigator tried to pull him over -- Cruz continued into Albany where he hit Merges. ACSO says the body of the bicyclist was pinned to the ladder rack on Cruz's truck -- and stayed there as Cruz was pursued through Colonie, Niksayuna, Schenectady, and Rotterdam at speeds approaching 100 mph -- evading at least one road block. Merges was a father of two and had worked for the state, most recently for the state Department of Taxation and Finance. [ACSO] [WNYT] [Fox23] [News10] [TU]

Schenectady police two people were stabbed during a large fight at a downtown club early Sunday morning (map). The fight included as many as 100 people, SPD says. A resident tells WNYT that they also heard what sounded like gunshots. Police are investigating the stabbing -- five people were arrested on charges not related to the stabbings. [Daily Gazette] [TU] [WNYT] [AP/Fox23] [YNN]

Guilderland police say a Virginia man led them on a chase Saturday night that allegedly included the man driving over spike strips laid down to stop him -- and hitting two police cars. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Troy police are looking for the driver involved in what appears to have been a hit-and-run involving a motorcyclist Friday evening (map)

"Dozens, possibly hundreds" of municipal employees around the Capital Region are ignoring residency requirements, according to Times Union reporting/analysis. [TU]

UAlbany School of Business Weekend MBA ad 2012 summer

About 65-70 percent of Capital Region physicians have made the switch to electronic medical records, according to the CEO of the Health Information Xchange of New York. [Daily Gazette]

A soon-to-take-effect state law will make it illegal for businesses to request your social security in all but a about dozen circumstances. [TU]

The two presidential electors with Albany addresses: Jerry Jennings and Andrew Cuomo. [NYSNYS/Troy Record]

The back-and-forth over the Albany County nursing home has prompted a county budget veto threat from county exec Dan McCoy. [TU]

The woman mauled by three dogs in Schenectady in 2011 has filed suit against the dog's owner, the owner's landlord, and the city of Schenectady alleging they had been notified of an earlier attack by the dogs and took no preventative action. [Daily Gazette]

State Police have ID'ed the body of a man found in a burned out truck in Rensselaer County last week (general area map). [TU]

The state notified the contractor heading up the Erie Boulevard reconstruction that it missed targets for minority employment -- just days before work on the project ended for the season. [Daily Gazette]

What appeared like a simple $5,000 real estate deal for the city of Schenectady has turned into a drama. [TU]

Two historic buildings burned in downtown Kinderhook Sunday evening. Kinderhook's fire chief says the buildings will probably have to be torn down -- "It's going to be like missing a tooth in a smile." [YNN] [Fox23] [WNYT]

There still no indication from the owner of Crossgates Mall about what it plans to do with a group of homes it's holding vacant in a small subdivision adjacent to the mall (map). [TU]

About 85 percent of the seats were filled for the multi-week run of Wicked at Proctors -- drawing about 50,000 people. [Daily Gazette]

This year's Troy Turkey Trot had more than 8,000 participants, a record. [Troy Record]

The chair of SPAC's board of directors -- Susan Phillips Read -- can't ask for donations for the arts org because she's a state Court of Appeals judge. [Saratogian]

Farther afield: a World Table Tennis Championship Training Center has opened in Fultonville (map). [Daily Gazette]

Dave's Pizza and Burgers on Fuller Road has taken the lion burger of its menu after complaints. [TU]

The lever voting machine, once the mighty ker-CHTHUNK of democracy, now just surplus and scrap. [TU]

____

ACSO Fatal AA DWI Arrest Cruz 11-24-2012a

Comments

The first story is just tragic. IMHO, 22 years in prison isn't enough for what happened.

Sometimes I encounter a link to an external page, such as the Daily Gazette, but the page requires a paid subscription. I don't know what we call these kinds of links. They're not dead links, because they link to an active page, as intended. But they're not exactly live links either, because without the required paid subscription you cannot continue any further. 

Hmm. Not quite dead, but not quite alive. There's got to be a name for these things, if I can just put my finger on it....

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