State leaders talk gun control, council votes against St. Joseph's brewery, Stewart-Cousins to head state Senate Dems, no Thruway toll increase, memorable experience
Said Andrew Cuomo Monday about gun control: "I think that it is fundamentally a federal matter because the guns easily transfer over borders. States can help and each state should look at their laws, we're looking at our laws but the most efficient, effective vehicle is a federal law," But Sheldon Silver indicated he thinks the state could be doing more: "The fact remains though that we should have legislation, we should ban all types of assault weapons. We should ban all types of magazines that go with them." And Silver pointed the finger at the state Senate for blocking more gun control in the state. A statement from Senate Republicans about Dean Skelos' position: "In New York State, the majority of gun crimes are committed by criminals who are using illegal guns, and therefore he believes we should take steps to curb illegal gun use by increasing penalties and enacting mandatory minimum sentences." The reaction to the idea of further gun control
State Police say Nikki Hart had an order of protection against Jason Guynup, who's accused of fatally stabbing her this past weekend. Noted, if not necessarily relevant: the Times Union reports Guynup is the brother of Robert Guynup, the man who suffered debilitating injuries when he was shot in Troy's Griswold Heights in 2009 after he complained to police about a group of noisy teens. [WNYT] [TU]
A Glens Falls man has been charged with manslaughter after police say he showed his mentally-ill wife how to use a gun so she could commit suicide. [Post-Star] [WNYT]
After the counting of challenged ballots in the state Senate 46th, George Amedore has declared victory with a 39 vote lead. But about 400 ballots were not allowed by the judge overseeing the count -- and Cecelia Tkaczyk's campaign is heading for an appeal. [TU] [Troy Record/Daily Freeman] [Daily Gazette]
The Albany Common Council voted 10-1 to issue a non-binding resolution opposing the proposed brewery project at the former St. Joseph's church (the decision is actually up to the Board of Zoning Appeals). Some council members expressed support for the efforts of Historic Albany, but said they didn't think the project was appropriate for the Ten Broeck Triangle neighborhood. [YNN] [TU]
Andrea Stewart-Cousins won a vote to head the Democratic conference in the state Senate. She'll be the first woman to head a conference in the history of the state legislature. She replaces John Sampson, who lost the vote 19-6. (Democrats would have a majority in the chamber if not for the five Democrats that formed a coalition with Republicans.) [TU] [State of Politics] [NYT]
The Thruway Authority announced a plan that will head off the proposed 45 percent toll increase for commercial vehicles. Part of the plan: no longer paying the State Police about $60 million a year to patrol the Thruway even though trooper will continue to do so. [NYS Thruway] [State of Politics] [TU]
The jury in the re-trial of Edward McDonough in the Troy ballot fraud case is now deliberating after closing arguments on Monday. Much of the closing statements focused on the testimony of a prosecution handwriting analyst. [TU] [Troy Record]
An off-duty State Police sergeant was charged with DWI after a crash on the I-90 in Albany this past weekend (map). [NYSP]
Gary McCarthy says he'll announce his pick for the next Schenectady police chief shortly after the start of the new year. [TU]
After its website was again hit by malware, the town of Colonie is moving to a new host. [TU]
Citizens for St. Patrick's is trying to get a court to stop the sale of the Watervliet church. The church is slated to be torn down for a new development that would include a Price Chopper. [TU]
The Schenectady school district has more nationally certified teachers than any district in the state outside NYC. [Daily Gazette] [TU]
The Malta town board has extended the moratorium on buildings taller than 45 feet in the town center. [Saratogian]
The company behind Chobani has been fined for pumping millions of gallons of water for its factory in Chenango County without the proper authorization. [TU]
Beatrice Tedisco, Jim Tedisco's mother, has passed away. She was 97. [TU]
Brad Zupp, from Wilton, placed 27th out of 58 competitors at the World Memory Championships. [Daily Gazette]
The Syracuse men's basketball team (barely) beat Detroit for Jim Boeheim's 900th win as a head coach. He then used the post-game press conference to call for gun control. [Syracuse Post-Standard] [Troy Nunes Is a Magician]
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