All Over Albany

UAlbany president says two have been dismissed over bus incident, feds investigating wood chipper death, restaurant group sued over tips, caution urged for High Peaks hikes

UAlbany bus incident
In an email to sent the UAlbany community Thursday, university president Robert Jones said a student conduct board had dismissed two of the women charged in the bus incident from school, and suspended the third for two years. Said Jones in the statement: "I am sharing this information to reaffirm our institution's commitment to accountability and to providing a fair, safe, and welcome educational environment for all." The three women did not make an appearance at the student conduct board hearing citing an conflict of interest on the university's part -- and an attorney for one of the women said the testimony against his client there included "Trumpisms" and misrepresented witness interviews. [WNYT] [News10] [TU]

Also: Video is now out of campus police questioning the women about the incident. [WNYT] [TWCN]

Investigation of wood chipper death
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a man who got caught in a wood chipper while working for a tree service Wednesday. Police say it was the man's first day on the job. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Watervliet fire
A fire destroyed two Watervliet homes overnight Thursday-Friday, a state fire investigator tells News10 officials consider the fire suspicious. [Troy Record] [News10]

Fatal crash on I-90
State Police say one person died in a crash on I-90 westbound in the city of Albany overnight Thursday-Friday that prompted closure of that side of the highway into Friday morning. [TU] [News10]

Fatal Guilderland crash
Guilderland police say one person died, and another was seriously injured, after the vehicle they were in ran a red light at the intersection of Western Ave and the I-87 off-ramp and hit a CDTA bus -- GPD said the driver had a medical emergency. [WNYT] [TU] [TWCN]

Cohoes Little League coach arrested
The federal Department of Homeland Security arrested a Cohoes Little League coach this week on child pornography charges. Police say he's resigned the coaching position, and there's no evidence any of the kids he coached were victims. And his attorney says there's no allegation or evidence he had contact with any children. [TU] [News10] [TWCN]

Hudson River dredging review
A five-year review has started on the effects of the $1 billion Hudson River PCB dredging project -- and many of the involved parties are already saying the project didn't go far enough. [Daily Gazette]

Mazzone Hospitality sued over tips
A former server for Mazzone Hospitality has filed a lawsuit alleging the company illegally withheld tips from banquets and catered events, and did not pay overtime. [TU]

Elise Stefanik and Donald Trump
In a statement about the presidential election, Elise Stefanik said, "I will support my party's nominee in the fall" -- but did not mention Donald Trump. Fellow Republican Congress member Chris Gibson on Trump: "I did not vote for him in primary." (Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the House, said this week he's not ready to endorse Trump.) [TU+] [WNYT] [NYT]

Chris Gibson
Chris Gibson on the sacrifice of family time that a run for governor would have required, at an event in Colonie Thursday: "[A]t the end of the day, we're on this earth for such a short period of time, and you have to ... I think put priorities first things first." [TU]

Debate over residency for Troy officials
The Troy City Council moved one step forward in the process of removing a residency exemption for appointed city officials. [Troy Record]

Albany bond rating
S&P has dropped the city of Albany's bond rating one step (it's still relatively high) citing among the reasons uncertainty about state aid. [TU]

Affordable housing in Schenectady
A new $18 million affordable housing project in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill neighborhood will be named after Joseph Allen, the city's first African-American city council member. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Primary problems
How Albany and Schenectady counties almost ended up holding primaries in which one voter was eligible to vote. [TU+]

Survivor
"People with knowledge of the situation" tell the Times Union an Albany County assistant district attorney is currently in the South Pacific competing on Survivor. [TU+]

The High Peaks
DEC is urging hikers to be cautious on, or postpone, hikes above 2,500 feet because of muddy trail conditions from ice and snow melt. [NYS DEC]