All Over Albany

Arrest made in Troy fatal stabbing, Amsterdam casino proposal to ask for reduced license fee, the scrap metal magnate and his pottery collection

Troy police say they've made an arrest in the fatal stabbing of Amber Lynne Fernald in a North Central apartment early Friday morning. Alexis Torres of Troy has been indicted on charges that include second-degree murder. [Troy Record] [TU]

The driver accused of hitting and killing Jamie Jo McBride as she crossed Ballston Ave in Saratoga Springs in a crosswalk last June has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving. The incident was caught on a video camera from a nearby school bus. The Saratoga County DA's office says it expects Paul E. Nicholson II to be sentenced to 3-9 years in prison. [Saratoga County DA] [Daily Gazette]

Casinos:
+ The team behind the proposal for a casino near Amsterdam will ask the state to cut the casino license fee in half, and request an extension for its application. [TU]
+ A concern about the proposed casino at the former Alco site on the Mohawk River in Schenectady: flooding. [Daily Gazette]

Local state Assembly members Pat Fahy, John McDonald, and Phil Steck have proposed a group of bills related to the transport of crude oil. (As you know, the Port of Albany has become a major node in the rail distribution network for crude oil.) [TU] [TWCN]

One of the takeaways from a Times Union/Siena College poll of upstate residents on education issues: more than 80 percent of respondents said they agreed the implementation of the Common Core has been rushed. The poll also reported 94 percent of respondents were in favor of increasing vocational training. (The crosstabs are worth reading through -- 27 percent of respondents in the poll had children in public school.) [Siena SRI] [TU x2]

The search is expected to resume today for a woman missing after a group's raft overturned Friday in the Kayaderosseras Creek in Saratoga County. There was flash flooding around the region Friday. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The Schoharie County man accused of using pliers to forcibly pulling three permanent teeth from the mouth of a girl in his care has taken a plea deal that includes four years in prison. [TU]

A state comptroller's office audit has concluded that the Hoosic Valley Central School District in Rensselaer County adopted "unreasonable" budgets that overestimated appropriations and raised taxes beyond what was necessary to fund district operations. [NYS OSC] [TU]

The city of Schenectady will be canvassing neighborhoods for unlicensed dogs this summer. [Daily Gazette]

Bethlehem is creating a task force to study the problem of nuisance deer. [TU]

Troy police say a woman was sent to the hospital after she fell through the roof of a vacant building in Lansingburgh early Saturday morning. [News10]

It looks like the Democratic challenger to Jim Tedisco for 112th state Assembly seat (district map) will be a Jared Hickey, an attorney who's never run for office before. [Daily Gazette]

The herd of very rare San Clemente Island goats at a Ballston Spa farm has grown to 16 -- and there are photos of goat quadruplets. (Gazette story from 2012.) [TU]

A profile of Adam Weitsman, the head of a $1 billion scrap metal operation with locations throughout upstate New York -- and his collection of 19th-century American decorated stoneware, which he has donated to the State Museum. [TU]