Long look into GE and PCBs, fatal stabbing in Troy, Schenectady church damaged by fire, surprise find: a bowling alley

From a long Times Union artilce by Brendan Lyons about GE and PCBs, based on documents the paper obtained through FOIL:

[N]ewly uncovered documents reveal that as early as the 1960s -- decades before the government ordered GE to undertake the [Hudson] river dredging that is scheduled to resume this spring -- company officials were warned of the potential serious health threats of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which their engineers described in confidential memos as "hazardous waste."
The documents also indicate that GE flushed far more PCBs into the river than government regulators have estimated, and that nearly a million pounds a year of additional PCBs were carted away by scavenger crews, dumped with an attitude characterized by a GE engineer in 1970 as "out of sight, out of mind."

More materials related to the article. [TU] [TU]

Troy police say a man was fatally stabbed in an apartment in South Troy Sunday morning (map). [Troy Record]

During a 2012 deposition as part of a civil suit, Troy police chief John Tedesco said the TPD's Internal Affairs Bureau hadn't been thoroughly investigating complaints of excessive force going back as a far as a decade. [TU]

The Cuomo admin is pushing for the proposed $600 million state public health lab building on the Harriman office campus to be privately financed, built, and maintained under an arrangement in which the state would pay lease-like fees to the private builder -- yet the building would be totally exempt from city taxes and zoning. [TU]

Robert Williams was sentenced to 25 years to life for the stabbing death of his estranged wife last May in a residence just off Central Ave in Albany's West Hill neighborhood. [TU]

Four men are headed to prison for a robbery outside a barber shop in Albany's West Hill neighborhood in 2012 -- the incident included a fatal shooting, and the prosecutor in the case says there's "no question" one of them men was shooter, but the DA's office isn't sure which one due in part to a lack of cooperating witnesses. [TU]

Anthony Collins, who pleaded guilty to attempting to kidnap a woman from bus stop near UAlbany's downtown campus, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Collins had been the subject of a documentary project about his struggles with mental illness. [TU] [AOA]

After a defendant accused of a string of burglaries in the city of Albany pleaded guilty Friday, Albany County DA David Soares said in a press release the man had been snagged because of "great police work, arrogance and karma." [Albany County DA]

A federal court has decided not to hear an appeal from Yassin Aref, one of the Albany men convicted as part of the 2004 FBI sting about a fake plot including a missile launcher. [TU]

Local law enforcement agencies say a string of recent massage parlor raids has prompted concerns about possible sex trafficking in the area. [Daily Gazette]

It's still not publicly clear why the principal of Albany's New Scotland Elementary School was put on leave last year -- but the district says it's reached an agreement with him to work on special assignment until he resigns in January 2015. [TU]

St. Anthony's Church in downtown Schenectady was damaged by fire Friday night, including some of the church's frescoes and stained glass windows -- though apparently it was almost a lot worse. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

A bill in the state legislature would loosen doctor-oversight requirements for nurse practitioners. [TU]

Cohoes officials are looking at ways to extend recent development -- such as the Harmony Mills lofts -- into new development in the city's downtown. [TU]

The tenants for the new Socha Plaza on Route 50 in Glenville have been announced. [Daily Gazette]

Surprise find in an old Ballston Spa building: a second-floor bowling alley. [Daily Gazette]

Sports page

The UAlbany men's basketball team beat top seed Vermont in the America East tournament Sunday at SEFCU Arena to advance to conference championship game next Saturday against Stony Brook. Winner goes to the NCAA tournament. [TU]

The UAlbany women's basketball team, the top seed in the America East tournament, face Stony Brook today at SEFCU Arena for the conference title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. [UAlbany]

The Siena men's basketball team lost to Canisius in the MAAC conference quarterfinals Saturday. [TU]

Comments

Thanks for pointing out the GE sights everyone knows about but what about the poor folks downhill of their nasty dump in Nassau! They are "cleaning" it up while pumping out a new chemical DIOXANE which they claim isn't harmful, but of course the same mouth that says that won't drink from the newly "cleaned" water! Lets talk about that!

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