All Over Albany

Thousands turn out for casino opening, man arrested for grabbing women in Albany, guilty verdict in Guilderland crash, it's snowing

Snow day
There are lots of closings and delays in the region today. [Gazette]

Rivers Casino opening
+About 3,500 people showed up on Wednesday for the opening of Rivers Casino. [TU]

+Meanwhile, things were relatively quiet in the city's downtown. [Gazette]

+According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the casino is part of a trend -- states betting on gambling as a new source of revenue.

Sanctuary in Bethlehem
About 150 people turned out on Wednesday as Bethlehem's town board voted to support sanctuary practices for undocumented immigrants. [WNYT]

Arrest in two forcible touching incidents
Albany police arrested a city man for allegedly forcibly touching a 15-year-old girl on her way to Hackett Middle School, and grabbing a 22-year-old woman who was walking on New Scotland Avenue. [TU]

Colonie child porn arrest
Colonie police have arrested a man for allegedly sending seven child pornography videos to an undercover police officer. [TWCN]

Runner hit by truck
A jogger was seriously injured when he was hit by a truck in Colonie on Wednesday. Police are not planning to charge the driver of the truck. [Gazette]

Pascuzzi convicted in fatal Guilderland crash
After less than one day of deliberation, a jury convicted Tyler Pascuzzi of aggravated vehicular homicide in the 2014Thruway crash that killed his two passengers and injured another motorist. [Gazette][TWCN]

Washington Park traffic
In light of last weekend's fatal hit and run in Washington Park, Chris Churchill looks at options that could make the park a safer place for motorists and pedestrians to coexist. [TU+]

Teen arrested in car theft
Police have arrested a 15-year-old from Schenectady in connection with the theft this week of a car left running on Central Avenue with a sleeping toddler inside. [TWCN]

Machette robbery
A Schenectady man is under arrest for allegedly using a machete to rob a Dollar General store in the city, making off with a $5 bottle of shampoo. [Gazette]

Albany County overtime
Overtime earnings have pushed a pair of Albany County corrections officers into the county's top ten earners. [TU+]

Skier killed
A 58-year-old skier from Orange County was killed on Wednesday when he lost control and hit two trees at Hunter Mountain. [TU]

Global Companies opposes permit process
Oil terminal operator Global is refusing demands by the State Department of Environmental Conservation to file a new air pollution permit application, claiming the department is "making up the rules as it goes along" and that their company is being "treated differently" than other port businesses. [TU]

Salt
Troy residents are concerned about the health dangers of clouds of salt blowing from a large salt pile that has become an issue for the Riverside neighborhood.
[TU]

Sex offenders protesting New York phone restrictions
Convicted Sex offenders in civil confinement in New York are balking at a new phone restriction that would allow the state to contact people they call and ask them if they want to continue receiving calls from a registered sex offender. [TU]

The cost of a constitutional convention
Over at Politico, a look at how a $350 million price tag got slapped on to a constitutional convention, and became an urban legend. [Politico]

Saratoga skateboard park
Saratoga Springs is looking at proposals for a $50,000 to $60,000 renovation of its skateboard park. [TU]

Troy Prep to open high school
Troy Preparatory Charter School will add a high school in the next school year. [TU]

Homeless registry
Shelter of Saratoga is using a new tool in its fight against homelessness -- a registry for homeless persons. [News 10]

Stuff going on today

Thomas Friedman
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will be at Proctors for a talk titled "The Big Trends Shaping the World Today: Economics, Technology and Geopolitics." Thursday 8 pm -- $35 and up

The Physics of Everyday Life
Physicist/author/TV personality Helen Czerski will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. She'll be talking about her new book, Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life. Thursday 8 pm, uptown campus, Performing Arts Center -- free

The Village Idiom
Ndaba Mandela -- the grandson of Nelson Mandela -- will be at RPI for a talk. "Ndaba Mandela will deliver a presentation titled 'The Village Idiom: Empowering Youth Through Education, Interconnectivity, and Employment,' where he will address the critical issue of how education and interconnectivity leads to employment in all areas - from the largest universities, to the smallest local schools." Thursday 7:30 pm, EMPAC -- free (registration required)

Ice Ages
The State Museum's Science Cafe series will be back at The Hollow in downtown Albany, this time talking about the museum's new exhibit about New York during the various ice ages. Thursday 6 pm -- free admission

The Thrill of Romance
A new Pine Hills Film Colony series -- "The Thrill of Romance!" -- starts at The Madison with the Douglas Sirk film All That Heaven Allows, starring Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Thursday 7 pm -- $10

Upstate Collage Night
The Upstate Collage Night series will be at The Tang Museum on the Skidmore Campus. "Upstate Collage Night is an art party! Our roaming glue-and-scissors-social is a celebration of ephemera featuring a refined collection of vintage magazines to cut up and remix." Thursday 6:30 pm -- free

Music

SteelDrivers at Troy Music Hall
Won the 2016 Grammy for best bluegrass album. 7:30 pm -- $27

Gibson Brothers at Caffe Lena
Bluegrass -- playing two shows (the 6:30 pm show is already sold out). 8:30 pm -- $37