All Over Albany

Family questions handling of Troy police fatal shooting investigation, Albany aiming to save $100k with new lights, the kindness of regular people

April 17 fatal shooting by Troy police (updated)
Friday morning the family Edson Thevenin -- the man fatally shot by Troy police during an incident near the Collar City Bridge -- spoke to the media about the case, saying Troy police have changed their story about what happened multiple times. Said Thevenin's wife, Cinthia, about the handling of the case: "They were just trying to wrap things up as quickly as they can and sweep it under the rung. They were hoping it would just go away and we wouldn't ask questions." [TWCN] [TU]

In light of the current dispute between state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Rensselaer County DA Joel Abelove over who should have jurisdiction to investigate the case, a look at an opinion piece Abelove wrote for Times Union this past August about the Andrew Cuomo executive order moving the power to investigate deaths of unarmed civilians at the hands of police to the AG's office: "I remain committed to handling all cases, including those involving law enforcement officers, with impartiality, fairness and honesty, without fear or favor -- but in a lawful and transparent fashion." Abelove continued to decline publicly commenting Thursday. A question in the case: Could Thevenin's car -- which police allege he used to pin an officer against another vehicle -- be considered a weapon? [TU+] [Troy Record] [WNYT]

Stabbing in downtown Troy
Troy police say they're investigating the stabbing of a woman near State Street and the Frear Alley (map) Thursday night. TPD says sounds of moaning led people to discover the woman -- she was taken to the hospital for surgery. [News10] [TWCN] [TU]

Albany apartment fire
A fire at multi-unit home in West Hill late Thursday afternoon has displaced 13 people. Residents say it appears a problem with electric wiring caused the fire. [News10] [WNYT]

The smell of... something
Apparently there some sort of funk in the air around the Capital Region this morning. [@chris_churchill]

New lights, less money
The city of Albany is installing new LED lights at city facilities that it says will eventually save the city $100k a year on energy costs. Kathy Sheehan says the city is also looking at ways to save on the $4.2 million it spends each on street lighting. [City of Albany] [TU]

What money? And for what?>
A look behind the scenes of Albany County leadership and confusion about $1.5 million. [TU+]

Safekeeping
New York State is set to spend $410,000 on a replacement case for the draft of the Emancipation Proclamation that's in the State Library's collection. [TU]

Former state prisons
The repurposing of recently-closed state prison facilities -- like Mt. McGregor in Wilton -- is turning out to be a slow process. [TU]

For the prosecution
Philip Mueller, retiring this week after serving for many years as the lead homicide prosecutor for the Schenectady County DA's office: "You don't generally win by being smarter than the other guy, you win by being better prepared and outworking them." [TU+]

Mural project
A national mural project made a stop in downtown Troy Thursday. [Troy Record]

Old wood
The co-owner of a vintage lumber company about taking apart a 150-year-old barn in Wilton: "It's humbling ... We have all this equipment now. They were doing this all by hand, probably from sketches. It's been here since the mid-1800s. It's a work of art." [Saratogian]

Regular people
A Wolff's Biergarten employee after fellow employees organized get him a replacement car and his vehicle caught fire on the way to work recently: "It's like a gift from God, except God just happens to be regular people." [TU]