All Over Albany

Prosecutor: "This is one of the most heinous crimes I've ever seen," Gillibrand's push for reform of military's handling of sexual assault cases hits roadblock, lawsuit over K-cup ingriedents

Schenectady County prosecutors said Thursday that a medical assistance call this past December prompted the unraveling of the case in which a Schenectady man, Herman N. Robinson, is accused of serially raping a girl since 2006 when she was 11 years old, impregnating her, and then killing the baby shortly after it was born. "Individuals who requested anonymity because the investigation isn't over" tell the Times Union that Robinson allegedly left a suicide note in which he said he had buried the body of the baby in a local park (the baby hasn't been found). Schenectady County ADA and special victims bureau chief Tracey Brunecz: "This is one of the most heinous crimes I've ever seen," Brunecz said the young woman's family was "shocked" to hear about the allegations. And she said the woman, now in college, is "a remarkably strong young lady." [Daily Gazette] [TU] [TWCN] [WNYT]

The Troy City Council voted in favor of a resolution seeking an outside review of the Kokopellis incident. [Troy Record]

UAlbany's site plans for the Cuomo admin's Start-Up NY program have been approved. (Start-Up NY is the program in which companies locating on site connected to colleges or universities can get a range of incentives, including paying no taxes for 10 years.) [TU]

The state's unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in January, the lowest level since December 2008, the state Department of Labor reported. But the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro was down 1,700 non-farm jobs in January 2014 compared to January 2013. [NYS DOL]

Kirsten Gillibrand's bipartisan push to reform how the military handles sexual assault cases hit a road block in the Senate, falling five votes shorts of the 60 needed for a floor vote (because of the filibuster). [NYT]

The sheriffs for both Albany and Saratoga counties were among more than a hundred local officials statewide to join a letter criticizing the Cuomo admin's two-year property tax freeze plan. [TU]

A group of state legislators are proposing the creation of a new "Career and Technical Diploma" option for the state's high school students. [TU]

Chuck Schumer is for pushing for the creation of a statewide database of "that would track heroin and other drug-related crimes, overdoses, deaths, hospital admissions and more." [Chuck Schumer office]

Schenectady is getting a $3 million loan from the feds for the demolition of about 80 vacant or damaged buildings in the city. Schenectady mayor Gary McCarthy: "These are houses that are burnouts. They're ones that are really beyond having any salvage values or the chance for rehabbing them." [Chuck Schumer office] [Daily Gazette]

The Albany County Sheriff's Office says a reported slashing in Voorheesville led to an arrest of a man in a car at Colonie Center. ACSO says a search of the man's nearby apartment found 410 bags of heroin. [ACSO]

Albany police say a man was arrested in Sheridan Hollow (block map) early Thursday morning after he allegedly tossed away a loaded handgun during a chase. [APD FB]

The Albany County DA's office says two men were sentenced to 12 years in prison for a shooting on South Pearl Street last September. [Albany County DA]

A man allegedly stole a wallet from an office in Saratoga Springs in Wednesday, was then chased by people from the office, and ended up running into... a convention of police officers. [Daily Gazette]

The number of alleged code violations continue to pile up for the owner of the Skylane and Blu-Bell motels in Colonie. [News10]

The Colonie zoning board of appeals rejected the plan to build a soccer complex next to the Memory Gardens cemetery. [TU]

The Saratoga County Water Authority says the new filtration system necessary to address a problem with chlorine disinfection byproducts will cost between $4 million and $6 million. (Ballston and Clifton Park had stopped buying water from the authority because of the problem.) [Daily Gazette]

A key part of the successful argument made in a state appeals court by attorneys for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany about why two closed churches in Troy should continue to be tax exempt: The facilities are still used for prayer services once a month. [TU]

The GE Hudson River dredging project will be focusing on a stretch of river from Schuylerville to Stillwater this summer. [Saratogian]

Schenectady-based Fortitech, which makes blends of nutrients for adding to food products, is suing Green Mountain Coffee Roasters alleging the coffee company improperly left Fortitech with more than 200 tons of pre-mix for what appears to have been apple cider K-cups. [Daily Gazette]

Mark Mahoney, who won a Pulitzer Prize when he was at the Post-Star, and Mark McGuire, who had worked at the Times Union for years, are both joining the Daily Gazette. [Daily Gazette]