Search for suspect in Crossgates gunfire, Cuomo says New York is a refuge, Troy officials work to reduce tax increase, three legs and one new home

Crossgates gunfire
Guilderland police chief Carol Lawlor said Sunday that police are searching for one suspect in the Crossgates gunfire incident on Saturday, and there have been no arrests. Lawlor said there was one shot fired during the incident: "It wasn't somebody who went to shoot up the mall, it was an isolated incident between two individuals." As many as 16 different law enforcement agencies responded to the mall. [TU x2] [WNYT] [Daily Gazette] [News10]

Guilderland police say anyone who might have left something at the mall during the lockdown and evacuation can get in touch with the department or the store they were in about retrieving their items. [News10]

Trump presidency
+ Andrew Cuomo in a Facebook post this weekend: "As New Yorkers, we have fundamentally different philosophies than what Donald Trump laid out in his campaign. So let me be absolutely clear: If anyone feels that they are under attack, I want them to know that the state of New York - the state that has the Statue of Liberty in its harbor - is their refuge." [Andrew Cuomo FB]
+ Prompted by Donald Trump's comments about abortion and his potential Supreme Court picks, state legislators are pushing for an update of New York's abortion law. [Politico NY]
+ The two local affiliates of Planned Parenthood say they've received an outpouring of support after last week's election. [TU]
+ There was an anti-Trump rally outside the state Capitol this weekend. [TWCN]
+ Shenendehowa school district superintendent Oliver Robinson: "[O]ver the past several days, seemingly emboldened by the Trump presidential win, I have been informed of an increasing number of cases of students demonstrating, in words and action, extreme bigotry - both racist and anti-Muslim. We are better than that as a school community and I am soliciting your assistance to ensure that remains the case." Jessica Córdova: Open letter to Shenendehowa schools about incidents at at Acadia Middle School and High School West. [Shen school district] [Jessica Córdova blog]

Cuomo campaign contributions and the Albany convention center
The Times Union charts contributions made by LLCs connected to Columbia Development to Andrew Cuomo's campaign fund and developments in the Albany Capital Center project. [TU+]

Auditing the Albany Convention Center Authority
Albany County comptroller Mike Conners says his office will audit the Albany Convention Center Authority's handling of more than $10 million the authority has received from a county hotel tax. [TU+]

Marijuana
Looking at the prospect of whether the Massachusetts vote to legalize recreational marijuana could set off changes in adjacent states, including New York. [TU+]

Troy budget
The Troy City Council met with mayor Patrick Madden Saturday to talk about ideas to reduce the proposed 28-percent tax increase in the next city budget -- and some of the difficult choices that might have to be made. The four council Republicans, including council president Carmella Mantello, who have split off into their own group say they can get the tax increase down to 14 percent, but won't present how to do so until Tuesday. [Troy Record] [TU]

School district votes
How much of an issue is it that local school districts often put large spending projects up for special votes that don't coincide with November elections or spring budget votes? [TU+]

Mercury in the Mohawk
While the now almost-decade-long process of setting up a new state water pollution permit for the Norlite plant in Cohoes moves slowly along, state tests taken in March indicate the plant is releasing mercury into the Mohawk River at levels much higher than current state water quality standards. [TU+]

Niskayuna Co-op
The leadership of the Niskayuna Co-op says its seen declining revenues since the ShopRite opened nearby. [Daily Gazette]

Jack
How a (now three-legged) puppy thrown out a moving car on Central Ave found a new home. [TU]

Niko Dinovo
Members of the Dallas Cowboys wore bracelets Sunday honoring Niko Dinovo, the Colonie teen who was badly burned in the Blessings Tavern crash -- the Cowboys are his favorite team. [News10]

College hoops
+ The UAlbany men beat Penn State 87-81 Friday night. [TU]
+ The Siena men beat Cornell 89-78 Sunday at the TU Center. [Troy Record]
+ The UAlbany women lost to both Kentucky and Miami on the road in Lexington, Kentucky this weekend. [UAlbany]

Stuff going on today

Music: Festival of Praise at The Palace
Gospel show headlined by Fred Hammond. 7 pm -- $48 and up

Comments

Thank God the shooting at the mall was just a one off thing....I feel so much better now.....so reassured by the Guilderland PD!!! Are you kidding me??? This is pathetic......the mall probably hasc8-10,000 people there daily or more and all they can provide is some nice high school kids as security! The mall needs FULL TIME police presence walking up and down and down and up the mall at all times! They can surely afford to hire real cops to act as a dtererent!!!So pathetic......still waiting to see the hidden camera footage......can't believe they don't have any....

I've already e-mailed CDTA about this, but I wanted to say a huge thank you to the driver of Bus 4090 (Route 10).

My boyfriend and I had just arrived at Crossgates moments before the shot(s) were fired. We had just passed H&M going toward the middle of the mall when my boyfriend heard a bang and panic erupted. The videos of the wing where Champs and CVS really don't capture what it was like mid-mall. It was hundreds of people fleeing, people yelling "run" and "gun,' people streaming down every escalator with absolute terror in their eyes.

We were part of what was called the "spontaneous evacuation" and made it outside where this driver was already on his phone, presumably calling a supervisor. He then started getting people (some of whom were on the verge of panic attacks and one woman in a wheelchair) aboard in an orderly fashion, waiving fares, and keeping an eye out for more trouble. He then did a great job of getting through absolute gridlock (with a lot of scared drivers trying to cut off the bus) and getting us away from the chaos as safely and quickly as possible.

I'm a regular bus rider and I've had my share of issues with drivers who've been rude or worse (I even witnessed a driver buy drugs from a passenger). But this driver really deserves a LOT of credit for handling a very bad situation so well.

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For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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