All Over Albany

Fatal hit and run in Rotterdam, jury deliberating in Vega trial, questions about handling school bullying, one class at a time

Fatal hit and run in Rotterdam
Rotterdam police say a man was killed in a crash with an SUV Sunday night (map) -- and the SUV then took off. The family of the man says they're not sure why he was at that spot at the time, and a neighbor (or neighbors -- they're unnamed) tell WNYT and News10 that man said shortly before that someone was trying to kill him. [Daily Gazette] [WNYT] [News10]

Trial in the death of Vanessa Milligan
The jury in the trial of Gabriel Vega, accused of killed Vanessa Milligan and setting fire to her Lansingburgh residence, is set to return for a third day of deliberation Tuesday. Closing arguments were this past Thursday, an on Friday the jury requested to hear a read back of some testimony from the trial. [TU] [Troy Record] [TWCN]

Maximum in Schenectady arson case
The Schenectady woman convicted of setting fire to her bakery -- with a tenant in an upstairs apartment -- so she could collect insurance money was sentenced 25 years to life in prison. It's the maximum sentence and more than what the prosecution recommended. [TWCN] [Daily Gazette]

Call for external investigation of incident involving Schenectady mayor
Vince Riggi -- who's the only non-Democrat on the Schenectady City Council -- says that the State Police or some other outside agency should investigate the incident which mayor Gary McCarthy apparently followed a woman as she drove her van to Schenectady police headquarters. SPD has said it's found no criminal behavior by anyone involved in the incident. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Guilty plea in crash that killed three
The man accused of driving under the influence in the Duanesburg crash that killed three people last September has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and faces 6-18 years in prison. [Daily Gazette]

School bullying
A look at a lawsuit two parents have filed against the South Glens Falls Central School District alleging the district didn't do enough to address the bullying of their son, who committed suicide -- it prompts questions a gray area in the Dignity for All Students Act and some of difficulties in handling bullying in schools. [TU+]

Rensselaer County alleged racial discrimination suit
Rensselaer County has settled a lawsuit that alleged racial discrimination in the county sheriff's department under the former sheriff -- and included evidence the current sheriff told a lieutenant of Lebanese ancestry that "should shave his goatee or he would be put back on the terrorist watch list." [TU]

ALB security
In an opinion issued at the request of the county legislature, Albany County's attorney said the proposed law that would make it a crime to refuse additional screening once a person has entered the security checkpoint at ALB would likely be a violation of the 4th Amendment. [TU+]

Albany sinkhole
It could still be a few days before the sinkhole at Madison Ave and New Scotland Ave is fixed because the repair crew is waiting on a special liner to repair the sewer line. [News10]

Vacant buildings
+ Two vacant buildings nearby each other on Clinton Ave in Albany caught fire early Sunday morning, and are set for demolish. [TU]
+ Cohoes is moving to tighten its codes for vacant buildings in an attempt to combat blight. [TU]

Downtown money
A look at the $10 million in state money that's up for grabs for Capital Region downtowns as part of the Cuomo admin's latest competitive funding contest. [TU]

Apartment construction
An interesting, tangential bit from an article about Trustco's to tighten its policies at the urging of the feds: During a conference call this past January Trustco's CEO questioned whether the lending market for apartment and hotel construction in the Capital Region was overextended and the new development was outpacing population growth. [TU+]

Saratoga Springs City Hall Music Hall
A proposed plan for mandated court capacity expansion would convert the third-floor music hall in Saratoga Springs City Hall to court space. [Saratogian]

Albany mosaic
A new mural in Sheridan Hollow will be the product of a group of people that includes 3,000 students. [TU]

One class at a time
Siena's graduating class this year included a woman who got her degree while taking one class a semester while she also worked at the school, starting out 11 years ago as a switchboard operator. [Daily Gazette]