All Over Albany

Police: fatal fight may have been over a phone, state Senator's torture comment gets him a lot attention, snack shack plan turns into "adult" business plan, Giant Voice

Possible cause of the knife fight that left one man dead and another seriously injured Sunday in Watervliet, according to the city's police chief: "the initial dispute was over the use of a phone." [Troy Record]

US Attorney Preet Bharara on his office's efforts against political corruption in New York: "We are redoubling our efforts and will seek to be even more aggressive than in the past." While not officially endorsing any anti-corruption measures, Bharara said "no single fix will get us far down the road to reform." [TU] [State of Politics]

The state Board of Regents is considering whether a 1,250-word research paper should become a graduation requirement for high school students. [TU]

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, arrested for the Boston Marathon bombings, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction. He was questioned by the FBI, and charged, in the hospital where he's recovering from multiple injuries. [US Attorney] [NYT]

Greg Ball, chair of the state Senate's homeland security committee, on Twitter in response to the arrest of Tsarnaev, an American citizen: "So, scum bag #2 in custody. Who wouldn't use torture on this punk to save more lives?" Ball later released a statement in which he said "playing paddy cake with mass murdering killers is not effective in my opinion." It got him on both Fox News and CNN, to rather different receptions (Piers Morgan: "Senator, can you stop being such a jerk?"). The head of the NYCLU called Ball's statement "bordering on the bizarre." [@ball4ny] [NY Senate] [YouTube] [YouTube] [Politics on the Hudson] [TU]

The head of JCOPE -- the state's ethics commission -- has resigned. The Cuomo admin says Janet DiFiore is leaving to run for re-election as Westchester County DA. [State of Politics] [Cuomo admin]

State comptroller's Tom DiNapoli is pushing for a restructuring of the state's billion-dollar brownfields cleanup program, which gives tax credits to developers who clean up and build on contaminated properties. Critics of the program have argued the program has favored large developments over smaller-scale projects in less well-off neighborhoods. [NYS OSC] [TU]

Saratoga Springs police say the six arrests last Friday during a bust at a house on the city's west side was the "final piece" in a narcotics investigation that netted 26 arrests. The raided house is owned by a church and has now been condemned for code violations and filth. [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian]

The sidewalk at the center of the situation that got Troy's planning commissioner suspended is getting installed. [Troy Record]

The owner of the site in North Troy recently proposed as a "snack shack" is now proposing... an "adult establishment." [Troy Record]

Malta town supervisor Paul Sausville now officially has a challenger for the Republican nomination, Peter Klotz. [Daily Gazette]

Dramatic photo of the day: a house fire in Rotterdam -- everyone made it out OK. RFD says the house is a total loss. [Daily Gazette] [News10]

The New York State Humane Society has put up a $1,000 reward for info leading to an arrest in the case of dog found dead from multiple gunshots near the UAlbany campus.

Saratoga County has updated the job description for the supervisor of its animal shelter to includes at least two years of management experience. (The job description got a lot of attention recently when a politically-connected recent college grad was put for the job.) [Saratogian]

It appears the website for the Albany County Democrats was hacked by Anonymous Algeria. [TU]

A message to the FBI on a marquee in Schenectady. [Daily Gazette]

Walmart says it expects to open its new "Neighborhood Market" in Niskayuna in October. [TU] Earlier: The big box gets smaller.

Noted: the site-wide loudspeaker at the Watervliet Arsenal is called "Giant Voice." [TU]