All Over Albany

Regional Economic Development awards today, Troy mayor cuts proposed tax increase by half, historic Saratoga building set for demolition

Regional Economic Development Council awards
The winners of the annual Regional Economic Development Council grants are expected to be announced today. $750 million will be divided for projects around the state. Among other things, the Capital Region is asking for include an $4.24 million to help with the proposed $29.7 million expansion of the Palace Theatre and $4 million Albany's Health Sciences Campus in East Greenbush. [TU]

Troy
Troy Mayor Patrick Madden has submitted a new spending plan to the City Council , calling for a tax increase of 14.5 percent half the size of his original 28 percent proposed hike. Madden says the proposal is not something he's comfortable with, but he's suggesting it to scale back potential layoffs. [TWCN][TU]

Historic Saratoga building coming down today
Demolition is set for this morning for a 150 year old building damaged in a Thanksgiving morning fire. [Gazette]

Threats send police to Shaker High School
Colonie police were called to Shaker High School on Wednesday for a threat that was deemed not credible.[TU]

Guilderland man charged with child sex abuse is free on bail
The former Guilderland school employee facing charges for allegedly victimizing a preschooler will remain free on $75,000 bail. [TU]

Five arrested in Albany drug bust
An 86-year-old man was one of five people arrested on Tuesday in an Albany drug bust. [TU]

CDPHP and St Peter's strike deal
CDPHP and Saint Peter's Health Partners have settled a contract dispute that could have kept members from using St. Peter's doctors and facilities. [Gazette]

Police body camera video
+The question of whether police body camera video is considered part of an officers personnel file is at the center of a decision on public access to such video.[TU+]

+Four years later, how Saratoga Springs police are handling body camera video .[TU+]

Special session
Still no word on whether lawmakers will return to Albany for a special session before the end of the year. [TU]

Niskayuna schools
Voters in the Niskayuna Central School District approved a $5.6 million project that includes a new roof for three schools and improvements at all schools in the district.

Colonie Schools
North Colonie voters will cast ballots next week on a $196.4 million renovation and expansion plan -- one of the largest in Capital Region history. [TU]

Rail company building Fort Edward factory
A Chinese company that builds the world's largest rail transportation equipment is building a factory in Fort Edward. [TU]

Upstate Uber
Chris Churchill on the increased push for upstate Uber.[TU+]

Sotomayor coming to UAlbany
Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor will speak at UAlbany this spring.
[TU]

Stuff happening today

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the Musical at Proctors
Wednesday-Thursday: "The beloved TV classic RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER soars off the screen and onto the stage this holiday season." 7 pm each day -- $20 and up

Camelot
Thursday-Sunday: Capital Rep continues its production of Camelot. Blurbage:

The four-time Tony® Award-winning musical, with one of the richest scores of the Broadway song book, tells the story of the legendary King Arthur, who rules his kingdom with new ideals, bringing peace to a troubled land. This lusty, romantic tale is sure to inspire audiences with a celebrated score that includes the classics "If Ever I Would Leave You," "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood," "How to Handle a Woman" and the title song, "Camelot."

It runs through December 24. Tuesday-Wednesday -- $25 and up

Visualizing uncertainty
FiveThirtyEight data visualization specialist Reuben Fischer-Baum will be at Skidmore for a talk about visualizing uncertainty on topics ranging from politics to weather forecasting to sports. "Conveying uncertainty is one of the most difficult tasks in data visualization. Probabilistic forecasts--especially for events that will occur only a single time--are intuitively difficult for anyone to understand, even those readers or users with strong statistical backgrounds. This puts a special impetus on visualizers to treat these topics with care." Thursday 5:15 pm, Palamountain Hall -- free

MMA
http://news10.com/2016/12/07/first-professional-mixed-martial-arts-card-coming-to-capital-region/

Music

ASO with Yo-Yo Ma at The Palace
Superstar cellist playing works by Dvorak, Wagner, and others with the ASO. 7:30 pm -- $50 and up

Hotel Books at The Low Beat
Spoken word emo. With: Bad Seed Rising, Yellowteeth. 8 pm -- $12 ahead / $15 day of