All Over Albany

Fatal crash following chase, Tonko not a fan of health care bill, back-and-forth continues over Peter Young programs, 50 episodes about Steven Raucci?

Fatal crash after chase
State Police say one man died -- and two State Troopers were injured -- during an episode Saturday night in which the man led police on a high-speed chase from Schoharie County to Rotterdam, where he crashed his vehicle into dump truck hauling snow. State Police say the man had indicated in a call to his girlfriend that he intended to kill himself by crashing into something. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Police conduct
+ Brendan Lyons reports that a Schenectady police lieutenant was suspended following an incident "in which a woman's head was split open when she was picked up and slammed down onto a station bench by two officers, and then charged with a crime that portrayed her as the aggressor." He reports there's video of the incident. [TU]
+ An off-duty Troy police officer was charged with DWI following a crash into a Colonie police vehicle early Saturday morning in Colonie. Troy police say the officer has been "relieved of his duties" pending an investigation. [TU] [News10] [Troy Record]
+ An association that represents district attorneys statewide has decided to not file a brief in support of Rensselaer County DA Joel Abelove's challenge of the Cuomo executive order giving the state Attorney General authority to review cases in which unarmed civilians die during interactions with police. (Investigators with the state AG's office recently seized a county-owned phone used by Abelove as part of their investigation into Abelove's handling of the grand jury review of the death of Edson Thevenin in Troy.) [TU]

American Health Care Act
+ Paul Tonko, not a fan of the Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act: "Trump Care is a health care disaster." Also: "This will bring us back prior to the days of the ACA. This is not about helping working families. It's a tax cut for the rich." [WNYT] [TU]
+ Elise Stefanik and John Faso have been reluctant to stake out a public position on the plan. [TU+]

Hoosick Falls
A problem facing the Hoosick Falls after rejecting the settlement offer from Saint Gobain and Honeywell: How to pay, right now, the approximately $900k in costs the village racked up while responding to the contamination of its water supply. [Politico NY]

Peter Young
+ The commissioner of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services is defending her agency's efforts to shut off funding for the Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment programs, citing "administrative, operational and fiscal deficiencies." The Times Union has reported that an attorney for the agency used obscenities during a meeting last year with Young and others in which he delivered the message the state would no longer fund the program. [TU+] [TU]
+ Chris Churchill on that meeting: "It's beyond outrageous that such invective was directed at an 86-year-old priest -- a priest! -- who has been helping addicts since Andrew Cuomo was in diapers." [TU+]

Free tuition plan
+ The Cuomo free SUNY tuition plan is catching criticism from private colleges that say the proposal would significantly hurt their enrollments and advocates who say it doesn't do enough for low-income students. [Daily Gazette]
+ Another criticism: The plan doesn't provide enough help to non-traditional students. [TU+]

SUNY Poly
How the scandal surrounding SUNY Poly has resulted in an exodus of engineers and other talent. [TU+]

School tech
A look at how local school districts are using the "Smart School" state aid for tech: everything from laptops to security cameras. [Daily Gazette]

Mohawk River
A new study of Mohawk River water quality points to ongoing problems caused by combine sewer overflows. (That is, sewer systems become overwhelmed and sewage ends up in the river.) [Daily Gazette]

Trains
The long-awaited upgrades to local rail infrastructure should open some longstanding bottlenecks -- but it's unclear if there will be additional service to capitalize on the upgrades. [TU+]

Albany poverty initiative
The city of Albany announced its plans for how to use $1.5 million anti-poverty funding from the state. [TU+]

Mindfulness
How the Albany school district has been incorporating the practice of mindfulness into classrooms. [TU]

Steven Raucci
The This American Life piece about Steven Raucci has been optioned for TV, with a producer projecting 50 episodes about it. [Daily Gazette]

UAlbany vs. UConn
The UAlbany's women's team lost to UConn 116-55 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. (That might sound brutal -- and it is -- but UConn is the Death Star of women's college basketball.) [TU]

Stuff going on today

Front Parlor
Monday: The Front Parlor storytelling series is back at The Olde English in Albany. This month's theme: "Leap of Faith." Monday 7:30 pm

The Who: The Kids are Alright
Monday: The Palace's movies series is showing The Who: The Kids are Alright. Monday 7 pm -- $5

The Red Shoes
Monday: Proctors is showing the influential 1948 film The Red Shoes. Monday various times -- $5

Siena Hip-Hop Week
Monday: The annual Hip-Hop Week returns to Siena with a handful of programs open to the public. On Monday pioneering female rapper MC Sha-Rock will be giving a keynote lecture. 7 pm