Home health aide pleads guilty to murder of man she'd been hired to care for, focus on pedestrian safety on Central Ave, restored Proctors marquee unveiled

Sara Moore -- the home health care aide accused of killing the man she'd been hired to care for at home off New Scotland Ave in Albany this past February -- pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Moore had been charged first-degree murder and facing possible life in prison without parole. She's now up for 25 years to life. [Albany County DA] [TU]

The state Department of Transportation announced a range of safety measures aimed at making Central Ave/Route 5 safer for pedestrians from the Albany city line to the Schenectady city line. The DOT is also pushing a campaign to raise awareness among both drivers and pedestrians. Eight pedestrians died on the stretch between 2009 and 2013. [NYSDOT] [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Question before the Cuomo admin's Wage Board: Should the minimum wage for tipped employees be raised from $5 to $8 per hour? [TU]

The mother of the Rensselaer man arrested last week for jumping the fence at the White House says her son has been suffering from mental illness. She says her son had apparently been turned away for mental health treatment at an out-of-state hospital because of a coverage problem and he had gone to the White House thinking he could take up the issue the president. [TU] [Troy Record]

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Troy police are investigating a report of a gun shot at the Corliss Park Apartments in Lansingburgh Monday afternoon. The shot was reportedly fired from an SUV and police are looking for the vehicle. [Troy Record] [TWCN]

An Albany County correction officer is still on the job during an investigation of allegations that he sexually assault an inmate. [TU]

Longtime Saratoga County DA Jim Murphy is apparently thinking about resigning this week (he's running for judge), which would trigger a short campaign to replace him at the November election. If he doesn't resign before the end of this week, it's possible that Andrew Cuomo could fill the position with an appointee when Murphy, a Republican, leaves for the bench -- and the appointee could replace the staff Murphy has in place. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian]

The latest proposal for the One Monument Square site in downtown Troy would include a $650k payment to the city for the land. (The 2011 proposal, by a different development group, including a $1 million price for the land.) [TU] [AOA 2011]

A possible part of the first Sheehan administration budget for the city of Albany: a citywide reassessment of property values. [TU]

Schenectady city officials have made some changes the operation of the city's animal shelter, but they stopped short of what some animal advocates had been pushing for. [Daily Gazette]

Dueling calls for gubernatorial race financial disclosure: The Cuomo campaign wants Rob Astorino to release five years tax returns, and the Astorino campaign wants to Andrew Cuomo to allow a tax assessor to reassess the apparently renovated Westchester County home he shares with Sandra Lee. [TU]

A company has proposed building a 3.7-megawatt solar farm on land owned by the town of Bethlehem. [TU]

Proctors unveiled its restored marquee Monday -- digital display panels have replaced the old block letter rows. [Daily Gazette]

Two Catholic nuns have started a new drop-in center in Hamilton Hill to provide a place where people can have someone listen to them about their life. [Daily Gazette]

Comments

While I as a pedestrian applaud any effort to make crossing major roads around here safer - the "buttons stop all traffic including turning" addresses a major issue I see daily - the primary issue is that no one uses intersections correctly as it is, drivers or pedestrians. It's as simple as "pedestrians have the right of way in the crosswalk, so don't act like a jerk and try to run them over when they're in it" for drivers and "wait for the walk signal and cross at crosswalks so you don't hold up traffic like an idiot/get killed" for pedestrians.

Neither drivers nor walkers around here seem to understand these fundamental tenets. Both sides have to do it right for it to work!

Yes, while pedestrians have the right of way, don't abuse that right - meaning don't proceed across the intersection at a snail's pace just because you can, all the while sneering at the vehicle attempting to turn, proceed on green, etc. Also, there's no need to stop in the crosswalk and carry on a conversation with individuals half a block away or in another vehicle, nor do you need to get in personal conflicts with your kids or anyone else in the middle of the damn street. You know.

R, chill out - not everyone is going to sprint across the intersection. The rest makes sense, but sorry, I'll cross as slowly or quickly as I want.

Well, it didn't take long for Alex's appeal to comity, shared responsibility, and common sense to get run over....

To add my 2 cents on this issue: I lived on one of the side streets off Central Avenue in Colonie (Roessleville) for a decade. There are several stretches of Central with no traffic lights for at least half a mile (if not longer). That's a big part of the problem. The lack of lights means many drivers go too fast. Meanwhile, pedestrians who need to cross Central to catch a bus, for example, practically take their lives in their hands.

I understand Alex's appeal for shared responsibility and common sense, but there are parts of Central Avenue that are simply unsafe for pedestrians... and this goes back well before 2009.

Incidentally, my husband and I once watched in horror as a car in front of us hit a dog that had wandered onto Central Avenue near Reynolds Street. I'll never forget seeing the dog's life slip away, while the car that had hit him disappeared.

Sometimes I think Albany's streets are like those shown in the short film "Rush Hour."

http://vimeo.com/106226560

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