All Over Albany

Cuomo says upstate cities need "restructuring," club owner sues Albany over cabaret law, schools opt out of lunch program because kids don't like the food

The US Senate passed the $50 billion Sandy recovery aid bill, and it now heads to the President for a signature. [NYT]

Andrew Cuomo on the fiscal control board he's proposed to help economical distressed upstate cities, to the Times Union editorial board: "[I]f it was a corporation in a private-sector setting, you would be talking about restructuring. If the corporation does not restructure quickly enough, it goes bankrupt, and it goes to bankruptcy court. You need a restructuring here. The answer is not an additional, ongoing subsidy on a fundamental economic model that doesn't work." The Cuomo admin's pension smoothing plan continued to get a mixed reaction from mayors. [TU] [YNN]

Cuomo on the most recent Capital Region economic development grant application, which got a state-low $50 million, again to the TU editorial: "The Capital District's plan ... was siloed ... I think it was not as inclusive as other plans, and it showed." [TU]

Saratoga Springs police say they're searching for the man who robbed the Trustco branch on Congress Monday (map). The suspect implied he had a gun. [Saratogian] [WNYT]

The man found dead in a wooded area of Niskayuna this past Saturday was an attorney at an Albany law firm. [TU]

One of the conditions set by the judge in the upcoming trial of James M. Wells, accused of killing Eddie Stanley in Schenectady: any materials identifying witnesses can only be reviewed by Wells in the presence of his attorney. The judge says the measure is intended to prevent witness intimidation. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

A Schenectady assistant police chief says a recurring obstacle for detectives: witnesses who don't cooperate. [Daily Gazette]

The Niskayuna teen who held police in a standoff for seven hours last September has taken a plea deal that doesn't include prison time -- but does include probation, supervision, and a judge's order to address his mental health problems. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Saratoga Springs police say a man was arrested five times in a week. [Daily Gazette]

A Queensbury pet store owner says a $2500 puppy was stolen from her store -- apparently smuggled out in a sweater. [News10]

The owner of the recently-shut Buddha Tea House club on Pearl Street in downtown Albany has sued the city arguing the cabaret law is unconstitutional. [TU]

One of the reasons more-well-off school districts are opting out of the federal school lunch program: kids don't eat the food as prepared under new guidelines. [TU]

Another RPI fraternity is looking to move off campus into a former church in Troy. [Troy Record]

Niskayuna High School is switching from letter grades to numerical grades -- on a 0-106 scale. [Daily Gazette]

Robert Larsson, an early and influential SCCC president, has died. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

A group of veterans are organizing a plan to display 140 American flags along Route 9 in Loudonville this summer to honor local service members who died in combat. [TU]