All Over Albany

Grandmother arraigned in death of grandson, Albany police chief says focus on pedestrian safety, legislature maybe closer to legalizing MMA bouts

In court papers filed with her arraignment in Schenectady City Court Monday, Gloria Nelligan is accused of repeatedly beating her 8-year-old grandson, Sha'hiim Nelligan, "over a prolonged period," ultimately causing his death. The alleged beating was apparently in response to the boy stealing candy from a neighborhood store. A family friend says the accusation is out of step with the person he knows. A 2007 Daily Gazette story about a support group for grandmothers raising their grandchildren in Schenectady included Nelligan, who's quoted as saying: "I didn't want to raise any more kids. I still don't ... But, I mean, when's it going to stop? I'm trying to break the cycle of abuse, of violence, for all my children." [Daily Gazette] [TU] [YNN] [Daily Gazette]

The "sequester" could mean a cut of $110 million for New York's colleges. Hospitals and health care orgs in the Capital Region are estimating it could mean a cut of $78 million for them. [TU] [Troy Record]

Albany police chief Steve Krokoff after two pedestrians were hit on Central Ave this past weekend, one fatally: "I really want to look at a new way to deal with vehicle traffic." Krokoff says the department is also looking at new tech, such as pedestrian-activated street lighting and traffic cameras. [WNYT] [News10]

The chair of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors says county leaders will push for the repeal of the NY SAFE Act when they meet with state legislators this week. [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian]

More than 100,000 New Yorkers aren't allowed to vote because of felony convictions -- almost half of them are African-American (17.5 percent of New York's overall population is African-American). [TU]

The state Assembly has had a choke hold on legislation that allow professional MMA bouts in the states -- but it looks like it's loosening its grip (though there isn't a bill yet). [TU]

Michael Fayette -- the now-retired state DOT engineer involved in the recent kerfuffle with the Cuomo admin over his disciplinary history and comments to the press -- says he's asked the state Inspector General to look into a top Cuomo aide's disclosure of Fayette's disciplinary record on the radio. [TU]

Department of bad decisions: Dov Hikind, a state Assemblyman from Brooklyn, dressed up as a basketball player for Purim -- in blackface. Hikind justified the costume by citing the holiday, to the New York Observer: "Purim, you know, everything goes and it's all done with respect. No one is laughing, no one is mocking." And on his blog: "This is political correctness to the absurd." To the NYT: "Of course the intention was not to offend anyone. That's the last thing that I ever imagined that would happen, to be very honest. It never crossed my mind." The chair of the state Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus criticized Hikind, calling his actions "callous and repugnant." [NYDN] [NYO] [Dov Hikind blog] [NYT] [TU CapCon]

The lease agreement between Albany County and a private operator for the county's nursing home has been finished and now goes to a vote in the county legislature, the leadership of which has been skeptical of the deal. [Troy Record] [TU]

The city of Troy is settling a lawsuit over alleged use of excessive force by police officers -- the trial for which was scheduled to start today. [Troy Record]

The principal of Albany's well-regarded New Scotland Elementary has been placed on leave -- and the school district isn't commenting on why. [TU]

Albany's fire chief says the fire at an auto garage at Spruce and Lark (map) Monday afternoon started because of a "mishap" while a gas tank was being removed. [TU]

And Tuesday morning: a house fire right around the corner from the garage, on Sheridan. [YNN] [@SKIPSCAM (TU)]

A Saratoga County woman convicted of abusing horses was sent to jail after prosecutors say she violated her sentencing by having horses on her property. The person who reported the violation: the judge who sentenced her. [News10] [TU]

Among the objections to a Schenectady dog census from city council members: "It's dangerous." [Daily Gazette]

Rensselaer County is buying very high resolution aerial images of the county, which could be used for public safety -- or by town assessors. [Troy Record]

Sentence not often seen: "Buyers are pouring into Schenectady." [Daily Gazette]

Troy's city engineer says the A-Mart building o Pawling Ave will have to be demolished soon because of deterioration (map). [Troy Record]

After a years-long approval process, construction has started on a new Planet Fitness corporate headquarters in Rotterdam on the site of the former Main Florist. [Daily Gazette]

If the proposed sale of WNYA to WNYT is approved by the FCC, the Albany market will three pairs of joint-operated and/or jointly-owned TV stations. [TU]