All Over Albany

Schneiderman sues Rensselaer County DA over handling of fatal police-involved shooting, 2nd Troy bank robbery this week, Jackson reverses plan to hire RPI activities director

AG's office sues Troy DA
Eric Schneiderman's office is suing to take over the recent Troy case of a fatal police-involved shooting of a DWI suspect. The suit claims Rensselaer County DA Joel Abelove, rushed the case to a grand jury, in violation of Andrew Cuomo's executive order giving the New York attorney general broad powers to investigate and prosecute in deadly encounters between police officers and unarmed civilians. After hearing Abelove's case, the grand jury cleared Troy police Sgt. Randall French of any wrongdoing in the incident, which occurred five days earlier. In a statement on Wednesday, Schneiderman claimed "Abelove's actions not only violate the law but directly undermine the public's confidence in law enforcement." [Record][NYT][TU][Gazette]

Another Troy bank robbery
The First Niagara bank branch in Troy was robbed on Wednesday afternoon -- the second Troy First Niagara branch to be robbed this week. [TU][TWCN]

Alleged sexual assault at Saint Rose
Police say they have video of two suspects leaving a building around the time of an alleged sexual assault at a College of Saint Rose dorm. [TU]

Schenectady police brutality suit
15 Schenectady police officers are defendants in the police brutality lawsuit which claims officers beat, tased and used police dogs on and made racial slurs to three members of a city family who were stopped during a search for a fleeing suspect on an early morning in January of 2014. [TU]

RPI
Following protests earlier this month and outcry from students and alumni, Doctor Shirley Anne Jackson says she has canceled a controversial plan to create the job of executive director of student activities at RPI and says she'll seek student input and involvement more often going forward.[TU]

Albany County and cigarettes
Chris Churchill's on buying tobacco products and Albany County's nanny legislature. [TU]

Albany GOP results
A breakdown of how Albany County Republicans voted in last week's GOP primary. [TU]

Spending $900 thousand to save
New York State has authorized another $900,000 in payments to the Amherst architecture firm working on the design for a new Schenectady rail station -- in an effort to bring down construction costs, after the sole bid for the project came in at $25 million -- more than $10 million over budget. [Gazette]

12% corruption
Attorneys for Dean Skelos say the former Senate Majority Leader shouldn't have to pay hefty corruption fines because corruption only tainted 12% of his career. [Daily News]

Roofless Solar
A company building a 1,700 panel solar field in Halfmoon will offer roofless solar energy to customers in Washington, Columbia, Saratoga, Essex and Rensselaer counties. [Gazette]

Tulip queen contenders
Albany's 2016 Tulip Court.[TU]

Happening today

Film in progress at EMPAC
Artist in residence Patricia L Boyd will be giving a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a video work she's creating at EMPAC. "A networked group of cameras will be rigged in EMPAC's Theater to run continuously, recording horizontal and vertical tracking shots in constant motion. This apparatus, which Boyd describes as an 'overactive metabolism,' is programmed to run automatically, and a human subject, often seen in bed, is captured (in both senses) and made visible through the infrastructure of these multiple perspectives." Thursday 7 pm -- free

The Trip to Bountiful
Thursday-Sunday: Capital Rep's production of The Trip to Bountiful opens Tuesday. (Previews were this past weekend.) The show is the story of Carrie Watts, an aging widow who escapes from the home of her son and goes on a journey to revisit her childhood home. The show stars a number of talented Capital Region actors, including the amazing Barbara Howard, Kevin Craig West, Tony Pallone, and newcomer Joshua Powell. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Dining Out for Life
Dining Out For Life -- the annual fundraiser for the Alliance for Positive Health -- returns. It's just about the easiest way to contribute to charity. Here's how it works: You go out to eat at one of the many participating restaurants that day. The restaurants contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Alliance. And... that's it. (Well, you can also make an additional donation while you there -- look for one of the DOFL captains, who will have info and envelopes.)

Foreigner at Proctors
"I Want To Know What Love Is," "Feels Like The First Time," "Cold as Ice." 8 pm -- $20 and up."