All Over Albany

Remembrances of men killed in Afghanistan, auditor: Albany water department had lots of unpaid bills, push for Troy marina

Remembrances of the two men from the region killed in Afghanistan this past weekend: the wife of Joseph Morabito, from Greene County, recalled how her husband "couldn't just stay home and sit on the couch and watch TV and just be a regular citizen ... It just wasn't in him anymore. He had to do something. He had to make a difference, even if it was just a slight difference." And the former head of the New York National Guard remembered Todd Clark, an Army lieutenant colonel from the Albany area, as "a leader who took care of his men." [TU] [YNN] [Daily Gazette]

Saratoga Springs police have identified the woman hit and killed by a man accused of driving drunk Friday: 55-year-old Jamie Jo McBride, from Washington State. It's not clear why she was in Saratoga. [Saratogian] [TU]

A report from the Albany city auditor concludes the city's water department has "an excessive number of unpaid bills from 2010, 2011 and 2012" -- more than $1 million -- even though it has the money to pay them. The water department's CFO has resigned. Said an assistant commissioner to the Times Union: "The bottom line is, the bills weren't being paid. ... The mail was coming in and it was being put in a pile and not processed." [Albany city auditor] [TU]

Not surprisingly, tech is a growing part of the Capital Region economy, according to a Brookings Institution report. Also not surprising: the best jobs are going to people with more education. [Daily Gazette] [BI] [TU]

The group that oversees the the Round Lake Library Board of Trustees passed a resolution calling on the board to re-instate a librarian recently let go after she closed the library early because of a tornado warning -- and resignation of the library director who did the sacking. The issue apparently has the tiny village of Round Lake fired up, drawing more than 100 people to the meeting. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

With just about week to go in the current session of the legislature, Andrew Cuomo will reportedly introduce a bill that includes public financing of campaigns. [TU]

The Saratoga County IDA approved $70 million in bonds for GlobalFoundries to finance infrastructure upgrades at the Luther Forest Technology Campus. [Saratogian]

"People familiar with the choice" tell the Times Union that the search committee for a new NYRA head has settled on an attorney and former environmental non-profit executive. Also: the org's state oversight board is concerned about how a new contractor for online betting was picked. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Thirty-five percent of full-time students who enroll in a New York community college graduate with an associate's or bachelor's degree in six years, according to a think tank report. [TU]

The Albany County legislature approved the re-bid contract -- costing $86k more than the original bid -- for the renovation of downtown Albany office space for a satellite campus for SCCC. [TU]

The Albany County legislature has approved an expansion of the county's human rights law to cover gender expression. (A state bill -- the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, GENDA -- has been in the legislature for years.) [Troy Record]

Former Albany police officer Robert Schunk faces one year in jail after the state Court of Appeals passed on an appeal of his conviction for criminal mischief and harassment in Saratoga County. Schunk was fired by the APD after a string of off-duty incidents. [Saratoga County DA] [TU]

Saratoga Springs politics: Who scooped the compost and where? [Saratogian]

A group of downtown Troy business people is aiming to upgrade, and operate, the city's marina this summer. [Troy Record]

An Albany Common Councilman has proposed naming part of the waterfront near the Corning Preserve "Jennings Landing." [TU]

The city of Schenectady has started selling houses it seized last year for unpaid taxes. [Daily Gazette]

Among the inventions developed by students in a Niskayuna High School engineering class: a baby monitor for hearing-impaired parents. [Daily Gazette]

One of the owners of Mexican Radio says their aiming for an end-of-the-year opening for the Schenectady location. [Marv Cermak]