All Over Albany

Qpoll: Cuomo rating at new low, Jay Street building owner claims hydrants not functioning, Pioneer bank leaves Troy

Cuomo's rating drops again
The latest Quinnipiac poll reports Andrew Cuomo's approval rating have dropped to its lowest point, 44 percent, largely over low grades on his handling of ethics issues. [TU]

NYRA Chairman takes leave over Skelos scandal
NYRA's board chairman is taking a leave of absence following allegations his company provided a "no show job" to the son of former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. [WNYT][Saratogian]

Jay Street building owner says alleges broken hydrants
The owner of the Jay Street apartment building destroyed in a deadly fire in March alleges the hydrants near the building weren't working properly, which, he says, hampered the fire departments response. The Schenectady City Attorney says the hydrants were, in fact, working correctly.[Gazette][TU]

Schenectady officials are blaming the debris from the March Jay Street fire for flooding in city hall this week.[Gazette]

$14 million Hamilton Hill housing project
A $14 million project announced on Tuesday would create 50 new low-income apartments apartments in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill neighborhood, in an effort to revitalize the neighborhood. [TU]

Felon gets political endorsements over incumbent
Democratic committee members in Arbor Hill and West Hill districts in Albanyhave passed over incumbent Merton Simpson to instead endorse Sam Coleman, who pleaded guilty to felony drug possession last year, for the 2nd District seat in the county legislature. [TU]

Saratoga officials want investigation into County Mental Health program
Saratoga Springs officials asked the county on Tuesday to investigate hiring practices at the Saratoga County Mental Health Center after a handful of doctors resigned and other employees have been critical of a new supervisor. [TU][TWCN][Gazette]

Mobile x-ray terrorism case
A federal judge refused to toss out a domestic terrorism case against Glendon Scott Crawford, the Saratoga County man who allegedly planned to create a mobile, remotely operated x-ray device to use against Muslims. [TU]

Wandering Dago
A U.S. Magistrate Judge has ruled against the owners of The Wandering Dago, who claimed OGS was culpable in the deletion of emails between the Cuomo admin's racing and gaming advisor and the president of NYRA, and that the Cuomo administration was involved in denying a permit for the food truck to operate on the Empire State Plaza.[TU]

SCOTUS decision could affect legislative math in Albany
The outcome of a pending U.S. Supreme Court case could mean the loss of three Democratic state Senate districts in New York and the creation of three Republican districts.[Capital NY]

Uber update
The latest on the last minute push to pass that bill that would allow Uber and Lyft to operate in the Capital Region. [TU][AOA]

Pioneer Bank moves to Colonie
Pioneer Bank, which was founded in Troy, is moving its headquarters out of the Collar City to Colonie. [Business Review]

Heroin bust
A state Senate task force held a hearing on heroin and opiate addiction on the same day Albany County announced its largest heroin bust, in which 3,000 bags of the drug were uncovered. [TWCN]

Local Republicans on Pataki for president
George Pataki's presidential campaign isn't getting a lot of support from local Republicans.[Capital NY]

Schenectady homework assistance program in danger
A Schenectady after-school homework assistance program may be forced to close at the end of this school year. [Gazette]

Joint degrees
UAlbany and Albany Law are working to develop more joint degree programs. [Business Review]

Old Guard
Albany native Marjana Bidwell is the first woman to lead the 200-year old "Old Guard" -- the US Army's oldest active duty regiment. [TU]

For the birds
Rescuing parrots in the Capital Region[TU]

Happening today

Henry Johnson
The NYS museum is running a special exhibit to honor Henry Johnson and the battle to have him awarded the Medal of Honor. It runs through June 8.[TU]

Lee's 88 Keys
Wednesday: The Spectrum will be screening Lee's 88 Keys, a documentary about local jazz pianist Lee Shaw, who's now 88 years old. There will be a Q&A with director Susan Robbins following the screening. Wednesday 7 pm - $12

David McCullough
Historian/author David McCullough will be at the State Education Building in Albany for a public event. McCullough will be receiving the 2015 Empire State Archives and History Award. And he'll talking about "his career as a writer, historian, lecturer and narrator" with Harold Holzer (who is, of course, also a noted historian). Wednesday 7:30 pm - $15

Music

Orleans at the ESP
First At the Plaza concert of the summer. With: Barrere & Tackett of Little Feat, Jocelyn Arndt. 5 pm - free

Alex Torres & Friends outside The Egg
The first "Made in the Shade" noontime concert of the summer. noon - free