All Over Albany

APD investigating 2 shootings, Superfund site declared in Hoosick Falls, apartment building planned for DeLaet's Landing

Two Albany shootings
Albany police are investigating two shootings in the city on Wednesday. The first took place near 9am on Wednesday in West Hill, not far from Albany High School.
The victim was sitting in a car in front of a day care center - just a few doors away from the building where pastor Charlie Muller's gun buyback program is run.
Later in the day, in what is believed to be a related incident, a SWAT team closed down roads and entered a house on Judson Street and took two people into custody. Police found evidence consistent with gunshots. [TU][WNYT][TWCN][News 10][WNYT]

Hoosick Falls Water
Andrew Cuomo met with Hoosick Falls officials at the Capitol on Wednesday to discuss the contamination of the village's water.Shortly after the meeting The Cuomo administration announced it would declare the Saint-Gobain plastics plant that contaminated the Hoosick Falls water supply a Superfund site. The move will give the state the power to seek reimbursements for the cleanup costs from the source of the pollution. The state will list PFOA, the chemical that has been found in the village water supply, as a hazardous substance. Superfund money will be used to retest wells, conduct blood tests, install filtration systems at schools and establish a state hotline among other things. [TU][Record][NYT][TU][News10]

School threat leads to lockout
Lockouts have been lifted following a social media threat to schools in Schenectady, Niskayuna and Burnt Hills. The lockout came after a Facebook threat to "shoot up a school" in Schenectady. [TU][Gazette][WNYT]

Pharmaceutical culture blamed during sentencing
A driver who was under the influence of hydrocodone and xanax when he cause a crash that injured a Westerlo family, was sentenced to six months in prison and five years probation. In handing down he sentence, which the victims and their family claim is too light, State Supreme Court Judge Richard McNally placed some of he blame on the medical and pharmaceutical culture. " [TU][WNYT]

NYS and Albany $12.5 million shortfall
As Kathy Sheehan looks to NY State to help fill a $12.5 million structural deficit in Albany, the state announced it will seek proposals to re-program the underused Hariman Office Complex.[Capital NY]

State Ed Commissioner requests more aide for Pre-K
In her first budget hearing, State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, asked state legislators for double Andrew Cuomo's proposed state aide increase, in part to fund efforts to streamline statewide pre-k programs and give teachers the training to meet new learning standards. Elai also made the announcement that state exams for 3rd through 8th graders will no longer be timed. [TU][Gazette][NYT]

DeLaets Landing
The Rensselaer Planning Commission has approved plans for a $15 million apartment building on DeLaets landing - a site that had been under consideration for a casino and a SUNY Poly building. Plans for the new building include 96 units, a garage and a swimming pool. [TU]

Hammer attack
The man charged in a Tuesday evening hammer attack also allegedly charged an officer with a knife and screamed "kill me" at police. [Gazette]

Fatal Saratoga County fire
Crews from three fire departments responded to a fatal house fire on Grange Road in Greenfield Center on Wednesday night. [TWCN]

Missing Cohoes man
Police are looking for a Cohoes man who has been missing since Tuesday. [WNYT]

Schenectady P.D. overtime costs
Police overtime costs reached a high of more than $3.4 million in Schenectady last year. [Gazette]

Saratoga Code Blue
Some homeless people in Saratoga say they were forced to sleep in the hospital on Tuesday night because the Code Blue shelters in the city were closed. [TU][News 10]

Poverty
"What we've been doing for the last 50 years just doesn't work."
Albany County Comptroller Mike Conners talking with Chris Churchill about combating poverty. [TU+]

Animal abuse
A 40-year-old Malta woman will get six months in the county jail and five years probation for allowing a pit bull to starve to death. [Gazette][Saratogian]

Regeneron expansion
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is planning a $25 million expansion project in East Greenbush.[Business Review]

Renovating the walkway
The walkway linking the TU center to the ESP will close for renovations in April . [TU]

On open government
"If I don't upset someone in government every day, I didn't go to work." - Bob Freeman, the executive director for the state Committee on Open Government -- the state's go-to guy for questions about what meetings are open to the public, and when government records can be withheld from the public.[Gazette]

Union applications
Applications to attend Schenectady's Union College hit an all time high this year at 6,570. [Gazette]

Turkey Trot heroes
Two firefighters a nurse and a Troy Turkey Trot volunteer were honored on Wednesday for their part in saving he life of a runner who collapsed at the Thanksgiving Day race. [Record]

Helping homeless vets
A 17 year old Catholic Central senior's effort to help homeless veterans. [TU]

Gas prices
The four days when gas was 36.9 cents. [Marv Cermak]

Happening today
Jeff Dunham
Ventriloquist/comedian Jeff Dunham will be at the TU Center for a show. (Random aside: there's a word for fear of ventriloquism dummies: automatonophobia.) Thursday 7:30 pm - $50.50

Music

The Sea The Sea at The Hollow
Indie folk pop. With: Andrew Mirabile, Cara May Gorman. 7 pm - $10 ahead / $12 at door

Rane Moore + Okkyung Lee at EMPAC
"[A]n evening of solo performances to explore a greater sonic range of the clarinet and cello." 7:30 pm - $18

Montana of 300 at Upstate Concert Hall
Rapper. 7:30 pm - $20 ahead / $25 day of