All Over Albany

Conners planning appeal on Albany High referendum, DiNapoli audit reveals Troy finances "precarious", help for Saratoga Code Blue shelter, bill to make St. Patrick's Day school holiday

Effort to overturn Albany High School vote
"Gross incompetence is speaking very highly of the effort that was put out. This was an absolute sham of an election." -- Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners on the recent referendum on the proposed Albany High School renovation. Conners is investigating the vote and plans to file an appeal on behalf of a group of Albany residents who want to see the city throw out the vote and hold a new referendum in April. [TWCN][TU][WNYT]

Troy finances
Tom DiNapoli's office has confirmed the findings in a draft audit of Troy obtained last month by the Times Union, that show the city's finances are in a "precarious position" due to poor budgeting, overuse of emergency funds and insufficient funding for capital costs.[TU]

Hoosick Falls water
The EPA is testing baseball fields in Hoosick Falls today for the presence of PFOA.
The State Department of Financial Services and the EPA have set up a mobile command center to help answer the questions of homeowners in the village. [TWCN][WNYT]

Maximum sentence in ponzi scheme
"I've considered all the arguments and, frankly sir, you are a predator," --the Albany County Court judge who imposed the maximum 5â…“ to 16 year sentence on the Queensbury man who was convicted of a $5 million, 13-year ponzi scheme. [TU]

DWI
Police charged a lawyer for the State Gaming Commission with DWI, after finding him passed out with an open container behind the wheel of a car that hit the front steps os a Scotia day care center on Monday. [TU]

Guilty plea in child drug death
A Kingsbury man pleaded guilty in connection with the death of a toddler from heroin and cocaine . Relatives of the child say authorities knew there were drugs in the home, but did not remove the child. [TU][WNYT]

Help for Saratoga Code Blue shelter
The United Way of the Greater Capital Region have announced an effort to raise $32,000 for the Code BlueSaratoga
The shelter now needs to comply with a new state law requiring it to be open at 32 degrees rather than 20 degrees, which means it needs to be open more often. [TU][Saratogian]

Audit spurs pistol permitting investigation
A longtime Rensselaer County employee has been placed on administrative leave while the county investigates problems with pistol permit files, uncovered by a recent internal audit. [TU]

Casino roads
Schenectady City Councilman Vince Riggi is concerned about who will maintain the new Schenectady streets that will be part of the Rivers Casino a& Resort project at Mohawk Harbor and what those roads will be named. [TU][Gazette]

Solar Cohoes
Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse said Tuesday that they city expects to save about $200,000 a year with a new solar power program and will apply the savings to parks, roads and public safety programs. Morse expects a combination of solar and an upgrade to high efficiency LED lighting to save the city up to $7 million in the next 25 years. [TU][Record]

Schenectady savings
Mayor Gary McCarthy says Schenectady will save more than $1,800,000 over the next fifteen years as a result of the recent sale of refunding bonds.[News 10]

Registered sex offender sentenced for abusing child
A registered sex offender from Glenmont will spend up to 80 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a child. [TU]

Rensselaer Republicans endorse Marchione
The Rensselaer County Republican Committee has endorsed state Sen. Kathleen Marchione in her re-election bid. [Record]

Bootleggers regains liquor license
Bootleggers in Troy has reopened after 70 days and is getting one last shot at a liquor license after a December raid found 175 people who were under 21 at the bar. [TWCN]

Snow winners/losers
Who wins & who loses when it doesn't snow? [Gazette]

Saint Patrick's Day holiday
A state senator from Queens wants to make St. Patrick's Day a school holiday in heavily Irish districts. [TU]

Greenwich dog a Westminster winner
An Australian Shepard from Washington County has won the agility title at Westminster Kennel Club. [Gazette]

Happening today

"When We Were Liberal: Explaining the Twentieth Century"
Skidmore historian Jennifer Delton will be a talk about liberalism in the United States. "There was a time not so long ago when liberalism was the dominant political ideology of the United States. And then it wasn't. While much has been written about why it failed, this talk examines the reasons it was as successful as it was in the twentieth century." Delton's talk is this year's Moseley Faculty Research Lecture. Wednesday 8 pm, Palamountain Hall - free

Hoop
The UAlbany men's basketball team, second in the America East standings, takes on Stony Brook, first in the conference standings, at SEFCU Arena. Wednesday 7 pm - $12 and up

Cooking
Chicken parts versus the whole | Arts Center of the Capital Region
Jillian Naveh leads a class in which "you'll learn how to fabricate a whole chicken into parts, as well as cook the whole chicken to taste the difference between the two preparations." 6 pm - $67.50