All Over Albany

Quinnipiac poll: Cuomo has high approval, big turn out for public hearing on Port of Albany oil boilers, arrested for allegedly skipping out on lunch tab at ESP

The impending storm has caused a number of early closings and cancellations and plane and train service interruptions. Andrew Cuomo is urging people to prepare for the storm and avoid unnecessary travel today. The state has 1,789 plows, and 291,000 tons of salt to use. [TU][WNYT]

A new Quinnipiac poll reports 59 percent of New Yorkers say Andrew Cuomo deserves to be re-elected. The Q poll also reports Cuomo would beat either Donald Trump or Rob Astorino by a very wide margin. [TU]

Several hundred people showed up Wednesday night for a more than three-hour public hearing on the Global Companies request to build boilers for heating crude oil at the Port of Albany. More than 70 people spoke out against the plan, some accusing the state of dropping the ball on regulating the Global Companies operation at the port.[TU][WNYT]

The Cuomo administration obtained a waiver allowing Jerome Hauer, the head of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, to carry a handgun at work -- four days after the Times Union ran a story about Hauer using the laser sighting attachment on his gun as a pointer in a meeting with a Swedish delegation. [TU]

Kathy Sheehan formally submitted Albany's application to the New York State Financial Restructuring Board, part of her administration's effort to close the city's $16 million deficit. [TU]

Federal and local officials have announced a reward of up to $12,000 for information on the person who set a fire that killed a father and three children in Schenectady in May, and severely burned another child. Friends and relatives of the family held a vigil on Wednesday to remember the victims and call attention to the case.[WNYT][News 10][TU]

A forum Wednesday that was planned to feature supporters of the Troy Police Department ended up with a fair share of speakers who were critical of the department and pointing out what they say are abuses. [Record]

A Troy police officer who is African-American spoke out on his personal Facebook page against people who he says are trying to make the Kokopellis incident a racial issue. [Record]

More on Troy police chief John Tedesco and pastor Willie Bacote.[TU]

An attorney for a 19-year-old arrested in an incident at a Troy convenience store in March says video from the incident shows police slammed his client into a parked car -- a car that the client was later charged for allegedly damaging. [WNYT]

Democrats in the 21st Congressional district are endorsing Aaron Woolf, a small business owner and documentary film producer from Elizabethtown, for the seat currently held by Bill Owens. [TU]

The Saratogian reports that Saratoga County DA Jim Murphy is seeking support from county Republicans for a run for the Saratoga County Court judge post being vacated by judge Jerry Scarano at the end of 2014. [Saratogian]

A pair of Troy councilmen are calling for the state Comptroller's Office to review the city's finances in the wake of a clerical error that resulted in an overpayment of $300,000 to the Troy Public Library.[WNYT]

A janitor at Niskayuna High School found a .45 caliber bullet on Wednesday morning, on a beam in a secured room used to house heat pumps. [TU]

Niskayuna's school board met with parents Wednesday to get input on how to save money and generate funds to close a $2 million budget gap. [News 10]

A water main break on Fifth Avenue in Troy Wednesday temporarily closed nearby streets due to flooding, and coated nearby cars with ice. [Record]

Traffic issues are hindering a plan to add a hotel and banquet hall to the historic Rip Van Dam building on Broadway in Saratoga Springs. [Saratogian]

The Adirondack Trust Company has named a new president to replace longtime president Charlie Wait, who will now become chairman and CEO of the bank. [Record]

Time Warner Cable customers will eventually be Comcast customers if Comcast's purchase of TWC is approved by federal regulators. [AP/TU]

In case you needed it, a warning not to skip out on your lunch tab.[TU]

The owners of a horseback riding and training facility in Gansevoort are working to expand the facility to care for retired racehorses. [Saratogian]