All Over Albany

Trying to understand suspicious Schenectady fire, missing Wilton woman found dead, hit and run on Central Ave, UAlbany women playing for another trip to NCAA tournament

Parkwood Boulevard fire
Karen Kirsch, whom firefighters rescued from the fire that destroyed her Schenectady home on Parkwood Boulevard last wee, on the possibility that someone set it in connection with her son's shooting death in December 2014: "This really could be a wrong address, it could be some stupid maniac who just wanted to set a house on fire ... We've tried to play this over and over again and none of it makes any sense." [TU]

Missing Wilton woman found dead
Police say the body of a 20-year-old Wilton woman had been missing since last Friday was found in a wooded area off Route 9 Thursday. They say they're continuing to investigate, but the death does not appear suspicious. Police say the woman had left her mother's home in the early morning wearing nothing but pajama bottoms and there were indications she was under the influence of drugs. [Saratogian] [TU] [TWCN] [Daily Gazette]

ID of body found in the Hudson
Troy police say an autopsy has concluded that the body found in the Hudson River near the Corning Preserve this week was that of a Poestenkill man who had been missing since Christmas, and they do not suspect foul play. TPD says the man was last seen on video on 4th Street in Troy toward the Menands Bridge in the early morning of December 25. [Troy Record] [TU]

Hoosick Falls
It appears that one of the components included in the filtration systems involved by the state and contractors in homes in Hoosick Falls was not to be used in systems processing water for human consumption -- DEC says it's working to replace the valves. [WNYT]

Hit and run on Central Ave
Albany police say they're searching for the driver in a crash involving a vehicle and pedestrian at Central and Ontario Thursday evening. [TWCN]

Troy liquor store robbery arrest
Troy police say the man arrested this week for allegedly robbing DeMeo's Wine and Liquor store was on parole from a murder conviction -- and it was a parole officer in Albany who ID'ed the man from the store's video. [TU] [WNYT]

Campbell Ave sinkhole
Campbell Ave in Troy re-opened Thursday following the weeks-long repair of a sinkhole. [TWCN]

$15 minimum wage
+ State Senate majority leader John Flanagan on where his conference is at on the proposed $15 minimum wage: "There's no resolution on that. I'm not going to offer comments that I can't back up. We are having ongoing discussions. Our members have raised a myriad of concerns." [TWCN]
+ A member of the Saratoga-Capital Region parks commission on the possible increase to $15 an hour and how that would affect state parks staffing: "This is going to be tragic for parks ... He's (Cuomo) going to have to find more money. If he can't, parks are going to suffer and the residents of New York are going to suffer." [Saratogian]

How the state Assembly handles sexual harassment
A look at the speed with which the state Assembly's ethics committee handled the recent case in which Assemblywoman Angela Wozniak was accused of sexually harassing one of her staff -- and how it compares to the relatively slow pace of other cases of alleged sexual harassment involving members of the chamber. [TU+] [Buffalo News]

Challenger for Hugh Farley
Schenectady Democrat Chad Putman is officially into the pool to challenge Republican Hugh Farley, the 84-year-old 20-term incumbent in the 49th state Senate district. Putman has been alive roughly the same number of years Farley has been in the state Senate. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Challenger for Angelo Santabarbara
Republican Peter Vroman is again lining up to challenge Democrat Angelo Santabarbara for the 111th state Assembly district. [Daily Gazette]

Judges
Another look at some of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that goes into races for judgeships. [TU+]

School breakfasts
Schenectady County public schools are tops in the state for participation in free breakfast and lunch programs. The Schenectady city school district offers free breakfast to all its students in its elementary school classrooms, which officials say has helped students be more focused. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Combined sewer overflows
Even with the "Sewage Right to Know Act," Environmental Advocates of New York says there are spills of raw sewage into waterways that are still going unreported to the public. [TU]

Pawling statue
The campaign to build a statue honoring Albert Pawling, Troy's first mayor, has reached its fundraising goal. [Troy Record]

UAlbany women's basketball
The UAlbany women's basketball team plays for a trip to the NCAA tournament in the final of its conference tournament at SEFCU Arena.