All Over Albany

APD says community policing contributing to crime drop, gun legislation Cuomo priority, cause of fire that killed teen not yet determined, a movie about a hot dog

The number of violent crimes is dropping the city of Albany, and police chief Steve Krokoff is attributing the drop in part to the department's community policing initiatives and statistical analysis. [TU]

A Schenectady police lieutenant set a new department record for highest annual pay last year at $171,423, thanks to overtime. [TU]

A string of arsons this past summer -- and the Campbell Ave closure -- pushed Troy Fire Department overtime 41 percent higher than the amount budgeted for last year. [WNYT] [TU]

The number of full time, active members of the Saratoga Springs police department is down 25 percent since 2009. [TU]

After sifting through the Boy Scouts of America "perversion files" posted by the Los Angeles Times, the Times Union says it found records that include information on "more than two dozen leaders from Capital Region Scout troops." [LAT] [TU]

New gun legislation appears to be Andrew Cuomo's top priority. What looks like will be a contrast in between Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature: whether assault weapons should be banned. [TU] [TU]

Reports of violent incidents in New York State juvenile detention centers have quintupled over the last five years -- aides say it's a result of a new approach and a lack of resources. [TU]

Niksayuna fire officials say a 14-year-old died in a house fire Friday morning (map). They say she was the only person home at the time. Officials say the cause of the fire hasn't been determined yet. [Daily Gazette] [Fox23] [TU]

Schenectady police are continuing to keep a lid on details of the death of retired nun Mary Greco, which has been tagged as a homicide. [Daily Gazette]

The proposed lease for the privatization of the Albany County nursing home would require the new operator to care for the "least able and sickest." [TU]

The Saratoga City Center says an upcoming gun show will not include the AR-15, the type of semi-automatic rifle used in the Newtown shooting. [Saratogian]

The McGinn Smith trial is scheduled to start today in federal court in Utica. The pair of investment advisers, who had an office in Albany, are accused of running a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded investors. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady officials say they're investigating a Schenectady Police Department platoon Christmas party that's alleged to have included strippers -- as well as, the Daily Gazette reports, "angry women gathered outside Johnny Goo's Clam Shack the night of the party, watching through large glass windows as their husbands and boyfriends danced with the strippers." [Daily Gazette]

State Police say man led Albany police on a chase down I-90 Sunday night after almost hitting two APD officers -- he's then accused of crossing the median, going the wrong way, and crashing. [News10] [Fox23]

A Troy Fire Department battalion chief was involved in a crash while pulling out of a fire station to respond to a fire Saturday evening. The other driver was ticketed for failure to yield. Both the chief and other driver were taken to a hospital and have been released. [Troy Record] [Fox23] [News10]

Controversial zoning applications: in Delmar, a child care center; in Troy, an auto shop and towing service. [TU] [TU]

Inmates from the Albany County jail were part of the crew that took down the Capital Holiday Lights in the Park. Inmates also helped put the lights up. [YNN] Earlier: In jail, but out working

Leaders in the town of Chatham told residents the new budget included 4.8 property tax increase -- but the increase in the rate was actually much higher because of a mistake, and apparently no one noticed until tax bills went out. [TU]

Historic sites around the Capital Region have teamed up to lobby for state funding. [TU]

Raymond Colucciello -- who's worked in school districts around the Capital Region, he recently finished a stint as interim superintendent in Albany and is now doing the same for Fonda-Fultonville -- says he hasn't called in sick once in 53 years. [Daily Gazette]

The tentative plan for the Schenectady Armory: indoor practice space for sports teams, and concerts. [TU]

Farther afield: a Pittsfield, Massachusetts man is accused of stealing a parrot from a pet store and the trying to sell the bird to a variety of businesses, among them a pub and "The Hot Dog Ranch." [News10]

Says historian and FDR expert Joseph Persico, who lives in the Capital Region, of the new film Hyde Park on Hudson to Paul Grondahl: "It was a movie about a hot dog." [TU]