All Over Albany

Pedestrian struck and killed on Central Ave, jail phone calls at issue in Vega trial, NYCLU protesting proposed law about ALB security screenings, she's leading the parade

Pedestrian death on Central Ave
Colonie police say a pedestrian died after being hit by a vehicle on Central Ave -- the force of the crash threw her into another lane where she was hit by a second vehicle. The crash prompted the closure of the westbound side of Central Ave at Tull Drive (map) and the off-ramps at Exit 2 of the Northway were closed. [TU] [News10]

Trial in the death of Vanessa Milligan
The admissibility of phone calls Gabriel Vega is accused of making from jail to his mother and a girlfriend in which it sounds like they're discussing the investigation of the case has become a point of contention between the prosecution and defense -- Vega's attorney says the calls shouldn't be allowed because they didn't get them until after the trial started. The prosecution says it discovered the calls last week and gave them to the defense this past weekend. [TU] [TWCN]

Also Monday, prosecutors played an interview in which investigators told Vega a DNA test had indicated he was the father of Vanessa Milligan's baby. [Troy Record]

April 17 fatal shooting by Troy police
The family of Edson Thevenin has filed a wrongful-death claim (the first step in a lawsuit) against Rensselaer County DA Joel Abelove and members of the Troy Police Department. [TU]

Priest pleads guilty
An Episcopal priest who had served at a Delmar church took a plea deal in a case in which he was accused of trying to record a woman in a changing room at a Salvation Army store -- he faces three years of probation. The The Episcopal Diocese says the priest has submitted a letter of resignation to the Delmar church. [Albany County DA] [TU]

EBT fraud
The owner of the former Broadway News in Troy has taken a plea deal in a case in which he was accused of stealing more than $152k by running fraudulent purchases through the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card system and keeping a slice of each transaction. He's facing probation and full restitution. [Troy Record] [TU]

ALB security screening
The New York Civil Liberties Union is protesting a proposed Albany County law that would make it a crime to refuse additional security screening at the TSA checkpoint at ALB. [TU]

New Troy planning commissioner
The Troy Local Development Corp. voted to augment the salary of Troy's new commissioner of planning and economic development by $15k, a move that a spokesman for mayor Patrick Madden says "a way to attract and retain talent" and city council president Carmella Mantello called "an end run around the budget process." [TU]

Jay Street fire
The city of Schenectady is moving to foreclose on 100-102 Jay Street -- one of the properties demolished following the March 2015 fire -- for back taxes. [Daily Gazette]

Northeast Energy Direct pipeline
Kinder Morgan has formally withdrawn its application with the feds for the Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline, which would have passed through parts of Albany and Rensselaer counties on its route from Pennsylvania to Boston. [TU]

Halfmoon
The fastest growing Capital Region municipality (by percentage) between 2010 and 2015: Halfmoon, up 10 percent. [Daily Gazette]

Batcheller Mansion
The historic Batcheller Mansion in Saratoga Springs has new owners (one of them is the head of the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna), who plan to keep it operating as an inn. [Daily Gazette]

"When those fellows came back, they would say 'Isn't that something, those ladies on horse patrol'"
The grand marshal for the upcoming Troy Flag Day parade will be 91-year-old Josephine Smith, who served as a military police officer during WWII -- she'll be the parade's first female grand marshal. [Troy Record]