All Over Albany

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]

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]