All Over Albany

Saratoga in Decline blogger arrested for child porn, , Proctor's Theater building in Troy gets tenant, cold snap freezing sap

John Tighe, the blogger behind Saratoga in Decline, was arrested on child pornography charges Wednesday after an investigation allegedly found evidence of child pornography on his computer. Tighe has been an outspoken critic of NXIVM, and has used his blog to speak out against a number of people in power. His attorney, Lee Kindlon has questioned the manner in which the investigation has progressed and told the Gazette: "Anytime someone wants to speak truth about powerful people and that speaker is then silenced, it has broad implications for how our society functions." [TWCN][TU][Gazette]

The State Financial Restructuring Board has accepted Albany's request to review the city's books. [Capitol Confidential]

One-time Albany Republican mayoral candidate Nathan Lebron is seeking to run for Governor on the Libertarian line.[TU]

Queens state Senator Tony Avella has switched from the Senate Democratic Conference to become the fourth member of the Independent Democratic Conference. [TU]

The Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce is moving into new office space in the Proctor's Theater building in downtown Troy, which has been vacant for decades. [TU]

President Obama has announced that GE researchers in Niskayuna will contribute technology and manufacturing expertise to new institutes in Chicago and Michigan in an effort to boost high tech manufacturing and bring jobs back to the US.[Gazette]

GE has opened a new lab in Albany to develop new methods of safely repairing wind turbines. [TU]

About 100 people showed up on Wednesday for another public forum on police behavior in Troy, part of the ongoing discussion stemming back to the January incident at Kokopellis night club. The forum's panelists called for an objective police review board.[TU][Record]

Says the woman who sued a Troy police officer and the city for battery and false arrest and lost: "So yeah, grant you, I might have lost, but maybe he'll think twice about doing it to somebody else. Maybe my daughter, you never know." [WNYT]

An ethics investigation has concluded that Troy Council President Rodney Wiltshire does not have a financial interest in Kokopellis nightclub. [Saratogian]

An Albany man was found guilty of attempted robbery and attempted assault for trying to steal from a 92-year-old woman on Central Avenue [TU]

A Stillwater man and woman are facing drug and child endangerment charges after police conducting a drug raid say they found heroin and discovered a 5-year-old child in the house. [TU]

When police arrested a Bronx man after a fight on Pearl Street last Sunday he was allegedly found carrying 106 pieces of crack. [WNYT]

Mechanicville High School went into lockdown on Wednesday afternoon when a written bomb threat was discovered -- no explosives were found. [TU]

The editor of the New York Observer originally tried to hire a political science major who was managing an ice cream shop in New Jersey to write the article that ran this week on Eric Schneiderman, but the man gave up the assignment early on, when he was convinced that the article "was supposed to be basically a smear piece."[NYT]

SUNY officials said Wednesday they will delay a decision on whether to close Troy's Ark Community Charter School. [TU]

Saratoga Public Works Commissioner Skip Scirocco, the only Republican on the City Council, said Wednesday that he would vote against locating a casino in the city. [TU]

Spa State Park had a record 2.9 million visitors in 2013, 700,000 more than in 2012. [Saratogian]

The latest cold snap is freezing the sap in maple trees and affecting the maple syrup industry.[WNYT]

Stewart's will be opening chains in the Syracuse area. [TU]

Three couples dealing with Alzheimer's Disease renewed their marriage vows in Clifton Park this week.[Saratogian]