All Over Albany

Arrest in Schenectady arson cases, APD updated policy on taser use, superintendent alleges she was harassed after pregnancy, 400 points

Schenectady arson arrest
Schenectady officials announced Friday that they've arrested a man suspected of being responsible for five arsons in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood. Police credited an anonymous call and surveillance camera video for helping lead to the arrest. Officials did not address a possible motive for the fires. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [News10]

Albany police tasers and body cameras
Acting Albany police chief Brendan Cox briefed a Common Council committee on the APD's new guidelines for taser use, including multiple categories of people for which officers would be restricted from using the stun guns. (It has now been a month and a half since Dontay Ivy died in police custody after being tasered.) [TU]

Oil trains
"Three meeting attendees" tell Capital that "state environmental officials have said in private meetings that it may be legally difficult for them to oppose construction of a heating facility at the Port of Albany that would allow tar sands crude to be transported through New York." [Capital]

Guilty verdict in fatal Albany shooting
Two men were found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death Sylvester Scott on Grand Street in December 2013. They face 25 years to life. [Albany County DA]

Zervos sentenced
Damien Zervos, who pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting Charee Akins-Maddox in a Lark Street home in October 2013 while Akins-Maddox's four children were there, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. [Albany County DA]

Remains found in Coeymans
Police are investigating the remains of a body found last week in Coeymans. [WNYT] [News10]

Alleged Lansingburgh fire target
A man tells News10 he was the target of a recent Lansingburgh fire. [News10]

State Police lab
Testimony during a recent murder trial in Albany County Court from the one of the State Police forensic scientists suspended as part of the alleged cheating scandal on a certification test for a new DNA analysis tool indicated that she and others were pressured by supervisors to complete the qualification tests and, in an earlier statement to investigators, reported that she was told "it didn't matter if we didn't understand it." [TU+]

Troy settlement with photographer
The Troy City Council's finance committee will be looking at whether to approve a $30k settlement between the city and a former Troy Record photographer over a pending federal case in which the photographer alleges a Troy police officer arrested him while he was taking photos on Congress Street in 2011. [TU]

Superintendent files complaint
The East Greenbush schools superintendent has filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging some board members started to treat her differently after she reported she was pregnant and are trying to get her to resign. [TU] [Troy Record]

Schenectady casino site
The Times Union continues its look at pollution at the Schenectady casino site by examining GE's involvement at the site for more than three decades. [TU+]

Last resort housing
A look at how motels are used as last-resort emergency housing by local social service agencies -- and some of the problems associated with that. [Daily Gazette]

Quote

Jack "Zucchini" on the person who's alleged to have stolen equipment from the Zucchini Brothers van, to the Daily Gazette:

"I never once hated this person ... He was doing the best he could on that day. There's no room for hate. I approach everything with love, no matter what. And I think when you do that, you get what you put out."

[News10] [Daily Gazette]

Sports page

The UAlbany men's lacrosse team fell to Notre Dame 14-10 in the NCAA tournament. The Great Danes' Lyle Thompson had 1 goal and 3 assists to finish his career with 400 points, the NCAA Division 1 record. [TWCN] [Syracuse.com]

Stuff going on today (May 18)

Welcome to Night Vale
A live stage show from the popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast will be at The Egg. The podcast is about the ongoing strange happenings in a small town. Monday 8 pm - $30

Front Parlor
The Front Parlor storytelling series is back at The Olde English in Albany. This month's theme is "untold stories." Monday 7:30 pm

Music: Brit Floyd at The Palace
"The World's Greatest Pink Floyd Show." 8 pm - $25 and up

Music: Davy Knowles at The Low Beat
Blues-y rock. With: Sly Fox and The Hustlers. 7 pm - $9.77