All Over Albany

Continued focus on police/community interactions, Chris Gibson for governor?, licensing of street musicians proposed in Saratoga Springs

Focus on police after Dontay Ivy's death
Monday's Albany Common Council meeting included many public comments from people concerned about the recent death of Dontay Ivy and police/community interactions. [TU] [CBS6]

Herman Robinson trial
The trial of Herman Robinson -- accused of serially raping a young woman in Schenectady, and killing a newborn he fathered with her -- started Monday. The prosecutor called the alleged murder "a display of unspeakable violence." [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Attempt to prevent further domestic violence
The Schenectady Police Department is using a new "lethality assessment" in an attempt to identify high-priority domestic violence suspects. [Daily Gazette]

About that report that Apple chips would be made at the GlobalFoundaries fab in Malta...
Chuck Schumer said it's not a done deal, yet. [TU]

Chris Gibson for governor?
A look at how Chris Gibson is positioning himself for a possible run for governor. Also, that NYT article includes this classic downstate quote, from the head of the Queens Republican Party about an event there: "[Gibson] stayed until the end of this thing and close to 10 o'clock was driving back to Kinderhook ... Wherever that is." [NYT]

By the way: There are signs pointing to Andrew Cuomo planning a run for a third gubernatorial run. [TWCN]

The ceiling for VLTs?
For the first time since VLTs were introduced, the "net win" -- the net revenues remaining after payout of prizes to players -- was down during the fiscal year that just ended at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway compared to the year before. The decline was slight -- less than one percent -- to $158.5 million. A Saratoga Casino official attributed the flat revenue to weather and maturation of the VLT market. [Biz Review] [NYS Gaming] [Daily Gazette]

Music on the street
There's a proposed plan for Saratoga Springs to license street musicians. [Saratogian]

7 steps for Albany
Chris Churchill on seven "relatively simple and inexpensive ways to make Albany a better place." [TU]

The hard sell
The Girl Scouts are trying a handful of approaches to reverse declines in cookie sales. [TU]

On this date

The city of Saratoga Springs was incorporated on April 7, 1915. The city's predecessors were formed in 1819 (town of Saratoga Springs) and 1826 (the village of Saratoga Springs).

Some perspective, guys

On the news of JetBlue starting service at ALB in December:

People are freaking out about Jet Blue routes in #Albany. Geez, calm down. It's not like it's a grocery store.

— Kate Regan (@LowerItUp) April 6, 2015

Stuff going on today (Tuesday, April 7, 2015)

The Crusades of Cesar Chavez
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Miriam Pawel will be at the Sanctuary for Independent Media to talk about her book The Crusades of Cesar Chavez. Blurbage:

In "The Crusades of Cesar Chavez: A Biography" (Bloomsbury Press / March 10, 2015, paperback), a finalist for the 2014 National Book Critics Circle Award in biography, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Miriam Pawel offers a comprehensive biography of Chavez. Chavez emerges here as a visionary figure with tragic flaws; a brilliant strategist who sometimes stumbled; and a canny, streetwise organizer whose pragmatism was often at odds with his elusive, soaring dreams. He was an experimental thinker with eclectic passions--an avid, self-educated historian and a disciple of Gandhian non-violent protest. Drawing on thousands of documents and scores of interviews, Pawel's portrait of Chavez deepens our understanding of one of his most salient qualities: his profound humanity.

Tuesday 7 pm - $10 suggested donation / $5 students and low income

Music: Zappa Plays Zappa at The Egg
Dweezil Zappa playing his father's music. (This show had been sold out, but a small number of tickets were released late last week.) Tuesday 8 pm - $34.40 and up