All Over Albany

Cuomo pushes for minimum wage increase, frustration over youth violence in Troy, mom charged for son's stripper party, number of $100k Albany employees doubles

Andrew Cuomo on raising the minimum wage: "Minimum wage because if you work full-time you shouldn't be below the poverty rate. If you work full-time you shouldn't be poor, and if you work full-time you shouldn't have to choose between eating and paying your rent. That's why we have to raise the minimum wage." [YNN]

The Albany Police Department says one of its officers was arrested for DWI Sunday morning after a crash on S. Main Ave (map). APD says Max Etienne has been suspended without pay. This isn't the first time Etienne has ended up in trouble -- in 2008 he was ticketed for leaving the scene of a crash, and was the subject of an investigation in which it was alleged that he lost his gun on Lark Street. [APD] [TU]

"I am so sick and tired of burying our youth," said Rev. Willie Bacote at a community meeting, on the recent fatal stabbing at the Corliss Park apartments: "We're getting to a point where there won't be any youths left whatsoever." [WNYT] [Troy Record]

The mother of the Gansevoort 16-year-old who had strippers at his birthday party last November has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child for lining up the strippers. In November police said that "several" teens got lap dances at the party -- five of the party's attendees are alleged to have been under 17 years old. Here's the photo that surfaced on Facebook and seems to have set off the investigation. [Post-Star] [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Derek Cianfrance, the director of The Place Beyond the Pines, tells the Daily Gazette that there will be a premiere in Schenectady -- and the event was part of the deal when the film's distribution rights were sold to Focus Features. The when and where hasn't been announced. The Times Union reported Saturday that some local officials felt snubbed by what they regarded as Focus ignoring them. [Daily Gazette] [TU] [TU]

State Police say one person died in a single vehicle crash early Saturday morning in Schodack. The driver, who was seriously injured, has been charged with DWI. The three women in the car -- all under 21 -- are cousins. [NYSP] [News10] [TU]

The driver in the ultimately fatal car-bicycle collision on Route 22 in Hoosick last September has been indicted on manslaughter and vehicle manslaughter charges. [TU]

A stockbroker who had worked for McGinn, Smith pleaded guilty to stealing about $2.2 million from investors in a Ponzi scheme after he left the firm. (Of course, Timothy McGinn and David Smith also were recently found guilty of running their own Ponzi scheme.) [TU]

The civil case against David Soares that stemmed from the Signature Pharmacy steroids case has been dropped. (The company pleaded guilty to a felony charge recently.) [TU]

Up for consideration in Troy: a proposed law that would require parolees living in the city to register with police. [Troy Record]

The number of Albany city employees who were paid $100,000 or more was 153 in 2012 -- more than double the number of the year before. Only seven had six-digit base salaries -- the rest got there through overtime and/or retirement payouts. [TU Local Politics] [TU]

The Schenectady Fire Department spent $1.1 million last year responding to false alarms. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady police say six officers helped rescue three dogs and two birds from a house fire Sunday (map). One of the officers was bitten in the process. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

State Police say a three-car crash on the Northway near Exit 10 ended up with a flipped-over armored car. Noted: "Money did not spill out of the truck." [TU] [WNYT]

A Schenectady man fought a traffic ticket he was issued at the Watervliet Arsenal -- in federal court. [TU]

Kathy Marchione is donating her pension from working in town and county government to charity. [TU]

Profile of the Schenectady YMCA "single room occupancy" apartments -- and some of the men who live there. The program will be moving to a new building that includes a bathroom in every unit. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Paul Tonko endorsed an alternative plan to the sequester. [TU] [ABC News]

Matthew Tully -- a lieutenant colonel in the New York Army National Guard who was wounded in Afghanistan, and a founding partner in the local law firm Tully Rinckey -- will be awarded a Bronze Star. [TU]

Kirsten Gillibrand and Paul Tonko were in East Greenbush Monday pushing for grants for high-tech manufacturing. [Troy Record]

As many as 8,000 chickens died in a fire at a chicken farm in Catskill Saturday. [WNYT]

Up for study: passenger rail service from Mechanicville. [Daily Gazette]

First building in Cohoes with solar panels: the Pig Pit. [Troy Record]

Compared to the middle school social environment, heavy metal is easy. [TU]

A Troy couple -- married 76 years -- is said to have been married the longest of any couple in New York State. [Troy Record]

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APD: Albany Police Officer arrested for Driving While Intoxicated

On February 17, 2013 at approximately 5:03 AM the Albany Police Department responded to a call for an auto accident in the area of South Main Ave & Bancker St. The caller stated that a dark colored SUV had crashed into a row of parked cars on South Main Ave and possibly fled the scene.

Upon arrival, Officers located a dark colored SUV with front end damage near the accident scene. The operator, Max Etienne, was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated and cited for Unsafe Lane Movement and Refusal to Submit to a Breath Test. Additionally, he refused to submit to a chemical test. Etienne, a 10 year veteran of the department, was suspended without pay. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Albany City Police Court.

The investigation into the accident will continue and further charges may be pending.