Son pleads guilty to killing his mother, what food stamp cash bought, uncertainty about full casino gambling in Saratoga, celebrating Melville
Joshua McWain, the Greenfield man accused of killing his mother with a floor buffer and then burying her body in a shed under a "world's greatest mother" statue last October, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Friday. He faces 19 years to life in prison. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Saratoga County DA] [Saratogian]
Allan McBee, a 19-year-old from Watervliet , pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Ska-Kim Miller in South Troy in March 2012. He faces 15 years in prison. [TU] [Troy Record]
A Schenectady County grand jury has cleared Schenectady police in the fatal shooting of a man who was alleged to have been holding his roommate hostage at knife point in May. A report by the DA's office backs up the decision. [Daily Gazette] [TU]
The Daily Gazette tracked people who allegedly flipped their food stamps for cash as part of what authorities say was a large-scale scheme at a Schenectady grocery store and found that many people spent the money on items such as rent, utilities, and toilet paper. [Daily Gazette]
In Saratoga there's uncertainty and uneasiness about the possibility of full casino gambling -- and its effect on horse racing. Tangentially related: the new head of NYRA says expanding the season at Saratoga is a possibility. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
Glenville police say a man was killed when he ran a red light and his vehicle was hit by an oncoming pickup truck. [WNYT]
Investigators are looking into whether a second person was involved in the allege scam involving a Troy woman and the Boston Marathon bombing victims fund. [TU]
Schenectady police say a man accidentally shot himself when the loaded gun in his waistband went off Friday night. SPD said he ended up being charged with multiple felonies because the gun turned out to have been reported stolen in North Carolina. [Daily Gazette] [TU]
State Police say a 55-year-old Schenectady man was arrested after a search of his home allegedly found 172 growing marijuana plants and 18 pounds of processed pot (map). [NYSP]
A Menands village justice has tossed some of the evidence against an off-duty Albany police officer charged with DWI. (This is the case in which two other off-duty police officers were recorded on video urging the officer to refuse a breath test.) [TU]
About 1.2 billion gallons of crude oil are transported through the Port of Albany each year -- and the amount could more than double after the granting of new permits. [TU]
"Assembly sources" tell the Times Union that Sheldon Silver is "more deferential" toward certain factions in the Assembly, and recently that's included a bloc of 31 female Democratic Assembly members. [TU]
In Schenectady there's a push for the school district to recognize major Jewish and Islamic holidays. [Daily Gazette]
Troy school district officials are hoping the $51 million renovation of the former Doyle Middle School will help draw students back from charter schools. [TU]
Gary McCarthy has chosen to not renew the contract of the Schenectady city assessor because she's not a city resident (and chose not to move). [Daily Gazette]
There's now a primary care health clinic for backstretch workers at the Track. [Saratogian]
The owner of Augie's Restaurant in Ballston Spa is vowing to rebuild after an overnight fire destroyed the restaurant. [Saratogian]
The remains of Dominick J. Licari -- a World War II aerial gunner shot down in 1944, and whose remains were recently found in New Guinea -- were flown to ALB Friday so they could be transported to Herkimer County for burial. [TU]
Celebrating Melville in Lansingburgh. [Troy Record]
"Tish hasn't even gone to campus and is already the most popular girl at school." [TU]
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Comments
It's doubtful making the season at Saratoga longer will make much of a difference in the attendance - right now, it's viewed as an event and not just 'the regular situation'. It would make sense if the Track was full to capacity more days than not - demand outpacing supply - but this is just the opposite.
By that reasoning, if they want to increase attendance per open day, they should actually cut a day (Monday? Wednesday?) from the schedule per week. This concentrates attendance, at the possible risk of eliminating those that could only attend on the day cut - but the top jockeys (and horses) only race certain days as it is, so it's not like the caliber of racing is equally distributed through the week.
... said Alex on Aug 5, 2013 at 11:49 AM | link
Very clever AOA... Hats off to you for the DG paywall sidestep. The food stamp article should be required reading for every adult.
... said Jason on Aug 5, 2013 at 11:51 AM | link
This must be New York logic - it's okay to set up OTB all over the state and let people bet on horses, but there are some real concerns that if casinos provide other services, because if people start gambling, W-WHO WILL PAY ATTENTION TO THE HORSES??
Seriously - I look forward to being able to play Texas Hold 'Em without having to go underground with it.
... said Lucas on Aug 5, 2013 at 10:18 PM | link