Snags (and progress) for the state's implementation of Obamacare, shooting in downtown Troy, Victory Mill residential conversation tax breaks approved

A state Senate hearing with the head of the NY State of Health -- the state's health exchange for the federal Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) -- detailed some of the snags and problems with the program so far, included slow-arriving ID cards and confusion over which doctors are in network. One of the things more or less on track: New York has enrolled a relatively high percentage of young people (getting young people into the pool is forecasted to be a key part of keeping premiums down). [TU] [Capital] [NYT]

A consequence of the recent upswing in natural gas prices: a sharp jump in electricity prices in the state. [TU]

Cecilia Tkaczyk is among the 83 state legislators pushing Andrew Cuomo to for a $1.9 billion increase in state school aid. [TU]

Kathy Marchione is part of a group of state Senators pushing for an overhaul of business regulations in the state. [TU]

State Senator Diane Savino -- who's been an advocate for medical marijuana in the chamber, where previous bills on the subject have been roadblocked -- said new medical marijuana legislation isn't ready yet. Medical marijuana advocates say Andrew Cuomo's plan for a limited trial program at a handful of hospitals doesn't go far enough. [TU] [TWCN]

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Troy police say a man was shot in the chest in downtown Troy around 11:30 pm Monday (map). TPD says it's arrested a woman for the shooting. [WNYT] [TWCN]

The Saratoga Springs Police Department isn't releasing the name of the man found dead in a hotel bathroom last week from an apparent heroin overdose, claiming it's prevented to do so by HIPAA -- but the state's open government expert says the PD isn't covered by the health record privacy law. [Saratogian]

Vermont's governor spent most of his recent state of the state address talking about his state's surging heroin problem -- a problem that's rising here, too. [TU]

Colonie is moving to close the Skylane Motel on Central Ave (map) because of numerous code violations, and is asking for a court to approve a permanent shutdown. (The town has been scrutinizing many of the motels along Central Ave, some which are used to house the homeless.) [TU]

An issue highlighted by Gary McCarthy during his Schenectady state of the city address: corner stores that he says are involved in the drug trade. [News10] [Daily Gazette]

An issue that has apparently been flagged during an IRS audit of the city of Schenectady: how the city compensates employees for work boots. [TU]

Eric Stevenson, a state Assemblyman from the Bronx, was convicted on bribery and and fraud charges. [NYT]

An emerging Republican challenger to Paul Tonko for the 20th Congressional District: Ballston businessman Jim Fischer. [Daily Gazette]

An ice jam on the Kayaderosseras Creek caused some flooding in Ballston Spa, and prompted the closure of bridge. [Saratogian]

The Saratoga County IDA has approved tax breaks for the proposed Victory Mill residential conversion, the developer for which Uri Kaufman, same developer who converted the Harmony Mill in Cohoes. [Daily Gazette]

A developer has proposed a plan to restore the more-than-a-century-old Woodlawn Ave town houses in downtown Saratoga Springs that were seriously damaged by a fire this past summer (map). [Daily Gazette]

An Israeli company called BioHarvest (nee Fruitura) is planning to build a $10 million facility on UAlbany's East Campus to manufacture dietary supplements derived from foods. (See this comment from last fall.) [TU]

Comments

Speaking of Israeli food companies, what happened with the Local Ocean thing in Greenport? Last I'd heard it was abandoned, the company execs were AWOL and the town was worried about what to do with the thousands of fish left behind.

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