All Over Albany

Bronx Assemblyman seen as frontrunner for Assembly speaker, Repp sentenced to 40 years to life, disruptive pile driving, family birthday x3

The scramble to become the next speaker of the state Assembly is now down to three, and it looks like Carl Heastie of the Bronx is the frontrunner. [TU] [State of Politics]

"People familiar with the investigation" tell WNBC that the feds are looking into state Senate majority leader Dean Skelos and his sources of outside income. Skelos's office released a statement calling the report "irresponsible, and does not meet the standards of serious journalism." [WNBC] [NYDN]

Anthony Repp, who pleaded guilty to killing his mother and stepfather with a rock at their Schaghticoke home in 2013, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Rensselaer County ADA said audio of the attack could be heard on a 911 call, with Repp saying at the end, "Bye-bye mom, gone forever." Repp's attorney, Terrance Kindlon, said his client suffers from mental illness, but the specifics of the case didn't fit a defense on those grounds. [Troy Record] [TU] [News10] [WNYT]

The Watervliet School District was tagged as being under "significant" fiscal stress by a state comptroller's office report. The district's superintendent, Lori Caplan, says in a blog post that the report "does not reflect the entire story" and the cost-cutting measures have helped shrink the district's budget deficit. Caplan also tells the Record that "fair and equitable education is being denied to our students" because of the way the state distributes school aid. And to the Times Union: "To me, one of the most important things is that it's not a spending problem, but it's revenue. We're not spending wildly here. It's not a mismanagement of funds ... but to balance my budget on the backs of homeowners would be irresponsible." [NYS OSC] [Watervliet School District] [Troy Record] [TU]

Schodack police say the 69-year-old man attacked this week during a robbery has been in serious condition and not capable of assisting with the investigation. [TU]

Jennica Duell, accused of perjury as part of the investigation into the 2013 Schenectady arson killed three of her children, also changed her story about an unrelated case in 2012, according to records released by the Schenectady County DA's office. [Daily Gazette]

A Schenectady County official says the fatal fire in Rotterdam Wednesday night was caused by a kerosene heater that malfunctioned. [Daily Gazette]

PEF lost a court case in which it argued state employees typically exempt from overtime should have been eligible for it while working extra duty during Sandy after working 40 hours a week, instead of the 47.5 as the state had argued. [TU]

Bethlehem town government and the town's police force are at odds over a new vacation and sick leave restrictions aimed on cutting down on overtime. [TU]

Saratoga County is set to officially transfer ownership of the Maplewood Manor nursing home to a private company Monday (retroactive to this weekend). The company still hasn't reached a deal with the unionized employees at the nursing home. [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette]

The next phase of construction for the Albany convention center will include "disruptive" pile driving. [Biz Review]

It sounds like the relationship between the city of Amsterdam and the World Peace and Health Organization, a Buddhist org that at one time projected to spend billions in the area, has deteriorated significantly. [Daily Gazette]

A baby born at Bellevue Woman's Center this Wednesday shares a birthday with both his mom and older brother. [Daily Gazette]