All Over Albany

Two local school districts tagged as facing "significant fiscal stress," plan to reduce sewer overflows into the Hudson, communication mishap resulted in unintended release from jail

In a "fiscal stress" analysis of school districts in the state by the state comptroller's office the the Watervliet school district topped the list of districts facing "significant stress." Said Watervliet's superintendent to the TU: "We're strapped ... The comptroller knows it, the state knows it and now the whole world knows it, but no one will help us do anything about it." Also among the top tier of districts facing "significant financial stress:" Schenectady. Said superintendent Larry Spring to the Daily Gazette: "They only give us 54 percent of the aid we're supposed to get, and then they issue a report saying, 'You're in fiscal stress?' Yes, because you made that happen. I don't see the purpose of the report except to say, 'You're successfully strangling us.'" [NYS OSC] [NYS OSC] [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The state Department of Environmental Conservation announced a $136 million plan involving six Capital Region municipalities in "The Albany Pool" aimed at reducing the amount of sewage that pours in the Hudson River during heaving rains. A key part of the plan: a disinfection system for a pipe called "Big C" near the Port of Albany, which accounts for about half of the "combined sewer overflows." [NYS DEC] [TU] Earlier: Something stinks about the Hudson near Albany

Colonie supervisor Paula Mahan on the possibility of a casino at the First Prize Center: "Personally, I don't think that's the right location for it ... It's right smack in the middle of a neighborhood." [TU]

A federal judge has ruled that the Wandering Dago's lawsuit against the state -- over the food truck being rejected from vending at the Empire State Plaza and Saratoga Race Course because of its name -- can proceed. [TU]

The Fort Edward man accused of causing the death of his girlfriend's infant son last summer has taken a plea deal for a first-degree manslaughter charge that includes 20 years in prison. [Post-Star]

Schenectady police say the death of a man in his State Street apartment is being treated as suspicious while they investigate (map). [Daily Gazette] [TWCN]

An apparent miscommunication between a Schenectady County court and the Albany County jail resulted in a man being released when the court intended him to be held without bail. [Daily Gazette]

Saratoga Springs police said they have "not been able to verify any winning vouchers or lottery tickets" connected to Donald J. Rockenstire, the man found dead in a south Broadway hotel -- his family says SSPD told them on two occasions there was an unclaimed voucher for approximately $1,000. [Saratogian]

A Saratoga County man sentenced to more than five years in prison and more than $3 million in restitution for defrauding a wireless communications company. [Syracuse.com] [TU]

Revealed as part of a state appeals court decision upholding a conviction in an Albany home invasion/robbery: During transport, a sheriff's deputy is alleged to have slipped the defendant a note urging the man to "Confess your sins ... or spend eternity in a prison called hell." [TU]

Bethlehem police released details about a vehicle they're looking for in connection with the bank robbery in Delmar this week. [TU]

Colonie police are warning residents about two men who posed as water department employees in order to gain access to a home. [TU]

North Greenbush police are asking for the public's help in trying to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed Villa Valenti. [Troy Record]

The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese has filed a petition in federal court in an attempt to avoid turning over four decades of personnel records as part a sexual abuse lawsuit, as ordered by a Vermont judge. [TU]

Kathy Sheehan says she'll be using her own car for work-related travel, passing up the city-owned SUV and full-time driver that had been assigned to Jerry Jennings. [TU]