All Over Albany

Dannemora escapees still not captured, state legislation goes to the dogs, she's not dead

Dannemora manhunt
Authorities have yet to capture Richard Matt and David Sweat, who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility last weekend. On Friday Clinton County DA Andrew Wylie told the media that the prison employee who's been implicated in the escape gave the two men contraband, but not power tools. The Times Union reports that "a State Police document" it obtained indicates the woman "admitted to providing power tools." And "sources" tell CNN the woman provided "hacksaw blades, drill bits and lighted eyeglasses" to the men. [TU] [TWCN] [TU] [CNN]

+ "Those close to the situation" tell the Times Union that a recent request to lock down the whole prison to search for weapons was turned down the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision "amid" concerns of overtime costs. [TU]

+ The manhunt, which includes more than 500 officers, has most recently focused on an area just to the east of Dannemora. [News10] [TWCN]

+ Residents of the area are starting to tire of the commotion and stress related to the hunt. [TWCN]

Troy crime
Troy police say they're focusing resources on the Old Sixth Ave area (map) to crack down on suspected gang activity (it's the area where Tyreek Prince was fatally shot recently). City Councilman Robert Doherty tells TWCN that at least one resident was reluctant to work with police because of fears of retaliation from others in the area. [TU] [TWCN]

"Guys, can you give me a break?"
Saratoga Springs police released body cam video in which Saratoga County public defender Oscar Schreiber, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI earlier this year, says to officers during his March arrest: "Guys, can you give me a break? I'm a lawyer and the chief public defender." [TU]

To the dogs
NYT's Jesse McKinley: "They bark at their lobbyists, never talk to lawmakers, and periodically lose control of themselves in the halls of the State Capitol. And yet, for all of that, there is one constituency whose interests are exceptionally well represented in Albany this year. Dogs." [NYT]

Sheldon Silver
Now that's he's not speaker of the state Assembly, Sheldon Silver has voted against multiple bills supported by the Democratic majority in the chamber. [Capital]

Ace distribution center
Ace Hardware is getting more than $3 million in tax breaks for the $27.5 million expansion of its distribution center in Wilton. Though the project could increase warehouse space by as much as 50 percent, it will only be adding about 25 jobs to the approximately 290 currently there, in part because the new facility will be highly automated. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian]

The Stockade
Almost four years after Irene, a few houses in the Stockade still sit damaged and vacant -- there's a plan now to renovate them. [Daily Gazette]

The graduate
Thelma Marie Coleman, a 78-year-old Albany resident, will graduate with a bachelor's degree from Empire State College this weekend. [TU]

Quote

"I mean, at 90 I could be dead, but I'm not!"

-- Alice Kirtley of Albany, to News10 after a Social Security Administration error classified her as deceased, a situation that's been difficult to fix. [News10]