All Over Albany

Albany police chief addresses weekend of shootings, growing number of local tech jobs, tax breaks for residential conversions, a planned house made of hemp

Weekend of Albany shootings
Albany police chief Brendan Cox said Monday the four shootings in the city over the weekend "were not random acts." Also: "I have a very hard time believing that these are not connected ..." Common Council member Ron Bailey expressed frustration with what he says has been a lack of action on responding to gun violence. [TU] [TWCN] [News10]

Schenectady mayoral race
Challenger Roger Hull said Monday that he would move to eliminate the public safety commissioner position in the city, and forgo taking his mayoral salary, if an effort to add more police officers. Incumbent Gary McCarthy credited current public safety commissioner Wayne Bennett with helping prompt improvements in the Schenectady PD and called Hull's offer to forgo the mayoral salary "more of a political stunt than anything for good public policy." [TU] [TWCN]

Schenectady police discipline
The issue of the Schenectady public safety commissioner position goes beyond the cost of salary because the city has also been pushing for the commissioner to have the final say on police discipline, not an arbitrator. The city's police union has pushed back on that arrangement, and the case is scheduled to go before a state appellate court next month. [Daily Gazette x2]

GlobalFoundaries layoffs
GlobalFoundaries is moving to layoff some number of its employees in the United States (the company hasn't revealed numbers) -- including a "relatively small" number at the Malta fab. The move follows a buyout the company had offered to employees in an attempt to thin its workforce following the acquisition of IBM chip facilities in the Hudson Valley and Vermont. [Biz Review] [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Transportation funding for NYC -- and what about upstate?
As Andrew Cuomo pledges $8.3 billion for MTA capital projects in the New York City area, state Senate Republicans are asking what about upstate. State Senate majority leader John Flanagan: "Upstate motorists and their families deserve safe and reliable roads and bridges just as New York City commuters deserve a transit system that is second to none." [TU+] [TWCN]

Tech jobs
A tech hiring firm reports that the number of tech jobs in the Capital Region is growing -- and demand is outstripping the supply of qualified applicants, especially for software developers. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Saint Rose financials
The College of Saint Rose has applied to Albany's Capital Resource Corp. for assistance in refinancing some of its existing debt, a move the college says is "critically important to the future of the college." [TU]

Tax breaks for residential conversions in Troy
The Troy IDA has granted tax breaks for residential conversions projects at the Marvin Neitzel Building (444 River Street) and the former Mooradians buildings (599 River Street). [TU]

Saratoga PAC
A look at whose involved with -- and who's opposed to -- the super PAC created by prominent business figures in the Saratoga Springs area in an effort to influence local politics. [TU+]

Hempcrete
A company is planning to building a tiny house in Greene County as a demonstration of "hempcrete," a composite material that includes hemp. [TU+]

Stuff going on today

Adam Johnson
Novelist Adam Johnson will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series to talk about his new story collection, Fortune Smiles. Johnson won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2012 novel The Orphan Master's Son. Tuesday 8 pm, uptown campus, performing arts center recital hall - free