All Over Albany

Legislature passes budget extenders, Sonia Sotomayor visits, concerns voiced about Rezone Albany, it's Free Cone Day

State budget past deadline
With the state now past its deadline for a new budget...
+ The state Senate and Assembly approved budget extender legislation Monday that will fund the government through the end of May. (And state employees will be paid this week.) [TU x2]
+ Though the government will keep running, the lack of a new budget creates significant uncertainty about aid for local school districts as they head toward budget votes later this spring. Also left hanging: The city of Albany and its push for $12.5 million in additional aid. [TU] [News10]
+ Legislators aren't happy about the situation -- and there's a lot finger pointing, especially at Andrew Cuomo. [Politico NY] [TU] [Spectrum]
+ The hang-up for the budget continues to be a handful of proposals that are not necessarily budget related, such as the push to raise the criminal age of responsibility. [NYT]
+ The budget extenders include almost $1.8 billion for Cuomo admin economic development projects. [Politico NY]

Sonia Sotoymayor
Sonia Sotomayor's visit to the Capital Region this week included a talk with Albany Law students Monday evening. She'll be at Sage Tuesday morning, and then at UAlbany Tuesday evening for an event open to the public. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Start-Up NY
Number of jobs created last year as part of the Cuomo admin's highly-publicized Start-Up NY program in 2016, according to Empire State Development: 757. [TU]

Shen land vote
Tuesday is the public vote on whether the Shen school district should sell 32 acres of undeveloped land in Clifton Park to a developer for projects that would include a new supermarket. On Monday a group called Friends of Clifton Park Open Space said that mailers that had gone out ahead of the vote had misrepresented the group's stance on the issue, trying to make it look like the group support the sale. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Rezone Albany
Among the speakers at a public hearing Monday evening about Rezone Albany: residents who said they were concerned the zoning overhaul could change the character of their neighborhoods. [TU]

Albany police academy
The first group of recruits from the city of Albany's new police academy graduated Monday -- the city started its own academy in an attempt to put more emphasis on community policing. [TU]

Guilty plea in attack on pregnant woman
One of two Schenectady women accused of tying up a pregnant woman and threatening her over rent money has pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and faces nine years in prison. [Daily Gazette]

Pedestrian hit in Guilderland
Guilderland police say a pedestrian was hit while she was crossing Western Ave at Johnston Road Monday morning. [WNYT]

Saratoga Springs solar
A solar farm on a capped landfill that's set to come online later this year is projected to save the city of Saratoga Springs $100k per year on electricity. [Daily Gazette]

Stuff going on today

Sonia Sotomayor
Tuesday: Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor will be at UAlbany for a talk in SEFCU Arena. It's free and open to the public, but you must request a ticket via UAlbany's online ticketing system. (See the link for details.) Tuesday 6:30 pm -- free

The Sound of Music
Tuesday-Sunday: A touring production of the stage musical The Sound of Music is at Proctors. The Broadway musical features music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein. (And it was from the 1959 musical that the hugely famous film was adapted.) Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Henry Johnson: A Tale of Courage
Tuesday: WMHT has a preview screening of its new documentary Henry Johnson: A Tale of Courage at the State Museum. A discussion will follow the screening. Tuesday 6 pm -- free (RSVP requested)

YouthFX
Tuesday: There's an encore screening of YouthFX's new slate of short films at The Spectrum. The young filmmakers will be there for Q&A after the screening. Tuesday 7 pm -- $10 / $8 students

1984
Tuesday: Three venues around the area -- the Opalka Gallery, Proctors, and The Tang -- will be showing a film version of 1984 as part of a nationwide event. All three sites will include some sort of discussion element or accompanying event for the screening. Tuesday various times

Free cone day
It's Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's shops, including the locations here in the Capital Region.

Music: Anais Mitchell at Caffe Lena
Singer/songwriter. 7 pm -- $30

Music: NE-HI at The Hollow
Garage rock. 9 pm -- $10 ahead / $12 day of