All Over Albany

State budget deal, heroin problem continues to grow, Troy suspect found (again) in Florida, demand for downtown Schenectady residential

There's a deal on the state budget, and the legislature is scheduled to vote on the necessary bills today ahead of tomorrow's deadline. Part of the budget: the Cuomo administration's property tax "freeze" plan. Also: Andrew Cuomo said he will end the Moreland Commission if ethics legislation in the budget passes. Sort of in the budget: public financing of campaigns in the form of a pilot program for the state comptroller's election (to the dismay of good government groups that wanted a broader public financing system). Not part of the budget: the proposed construction of a new public health lab at the Harriman campus that would have consolidated labs currently located around the Albany area. Said a Hofstra professor of the budget to Capital: "This was the perfect election year budget. Everybody won ... and the full bill doesn't come due for years." [TWCN] [AP/Saratogian] [State of Politics] [Capital] [TU] [Capital]

The FBI has been interviewing Troy city officials about development projects in the city, including the emergency demolition on King Street, the Times Union reports. [TU]

The manager of an addiction recovery center in Saratoga County on the rise of heroin addiction in the area: "This is not going away. I don't see it trending down at all. I don't think it's peaked. I think it's going to continue to grow." Faced with a lack of insurance coverage for drug treatment for her heroin-addicted son -- a probably many families face -- a Rensselaer County woman lured him to steal so he would end up in drug court and receive mandated treatment. [Saratogian] [TU]

The Troy man accused of sexually abusing children -- and taking photos of himself doing so -- was found (again) in Florida on Friday and arrested after a paperwork problem had allowed to him to walk after being initially picked up there. [WNYT] [Troy Record]

Three of the teens accused of assaulting a man at the Schenectady Bow Tie movie theater last summer have pleaded guilty to felony assault. [Daily Gazette]

Two people were taken to the hospital for evaluation after a fire on Washington Ave in Albany the building that houses Terra, the not-yet-open kosher pescaterian restaurant -- the restaurant's owner says its opening will be delayed. [News10] [TU]

In contrast to many Capital Region schools, Schenectady schools exhibit a relatively high degree of racial diversity. (When AOA examined Census data in 2012, Schenectady had the six most-diverse census tracts in the Capital Region.) [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The Albany diocese is considering re-locating Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, which currently has only 133 students. [TU]

Castleton has ended its village court in an attempt to save money. [TU]

Troy officials say a house seized on the East Side is a hoarding situation. [TU]

Elza -- the Troy Police Department police dog who once caught a suspect who had fired at both her and her officer -- has retired. [TU]

Developers say they're seeing strong demand for downtown residential in Schenectady. [Daily Gazette]

Are wolves currently living in the Adirondacks -- maybe, or at least, maybe not yet. [Daily Gazette]

Among the artifacts turned up as part of an archaeological survey of sites in Albany's South End: stoneware beer bottles and oyster shells. [Troy Record]