All Over Albany

Budget negotiations slow as Senate leaves for break, fate of Schenectady's Nicolaus Building in legal limbo, Plug Power inks $600 M deal with Amazon

Budget
Budget progress made on Tuesday night slowed on Wednesday. Andrew Cuomo said there were three main sticking points on the NYS budget : affordable housing, charter schools and a deal to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Cuomo, who has pushed for on-time budgets in the past, says he is alright with delaying the budget until after the legislature's break -- which is scheduled to begin today-- because the state could use more time to get a sense of cuts that could be coming to New York from the federal government . He also reiterated an anticipated need for mid year budget adjustments in 2018. Senate has left for the break with a promise to return only for a complete budget agreement, but Assembly is expected to continue to work on Thursday. Lawmakers won't get paid until the budget is passed. [TU][NYT][CapCon][Politico][Spectrum][News 10][WNYT]

Flooding
The Capital Region is preparing for minor flooding stemming from rain this week and snow melt. [TU]

Schenectady school budget
Schenectady school superintendent Larry Spring presented five different potential budgets to the city school board on Wednesday -- each based on different potential state budget outcomes. [Gazette]

Nicholaus Building
A year after the Nicholaus Building in Schenectady was deemed structurally unstable, following the demolition of the Olander Mattress building next door, the fate of the building is still in legal limbo.[Gazette]

Aftermath of Clifton Park land vote
+BBL says it has no further plans for Clifton Park after a proposal to purchase a parcel of land from the Shenendehowa School District was voted down by residents this week. ShopRite officials say they are would still like to put a store in the area. [Gazette][TU]

+Chris Churchill calls the outcome of the Shen land vote a victory for honesty over " a deep-pocketed misinformation campaign -- and curious meddling from a state senator " [TU+]

Spa City solar park
Saratoga Springs broke ground on Wednesday on the 110-acre solar park located on the capped Weibel Avenue Landfill. [Saratogian]

State exams times
State Ed did not impose time limits on state testing this year, but they're seeking information from schools about how long it took students to complete the exams. [TU]

Road diet
A public meeting is slated for tonight on the second phase of the Madison Avenue road diet.[TU]

Percoco
The attorney for one time top Cuomo aide Joe Percoco are seeking to delay his corruption trial to allow them more time to go through what they say are 11 million pages of documents the federal government has produced. [TU]

Faso challengers emerge
Three Democrats have announced their intention to take on John Faso for the 115th Congressional Seat in 2018.[TU]

Plug Power/Amazon deal
Plug Power has signed a $600 million deal to provide fuel cells for the fork lifts at Amazon warehouses and distribution centers across the United States. [TU]

CMOST space at SUNY Poly
SUNY Poly has decided to rent the space on its Fuller Road campus that was originally designated as the new home for the CMOST children's museum. [TU]

Amtrak
Amtrak is continuing a modified schedule on its Empire Line following a NJ Transit derailment earlier this week, but is hoping to have the full schedule restored by Friday. [TU]

Stuff going on today

The Sound of Music
Thursday-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

ChipandGus
Thursday-Saturday: The comedy ChipandGus returns to Proctors. The actors actually play ping pong during the show. "ChipandGus, is the story of two friends, oddball acquaintances. Set in a rundown game-room of a rundown sports bar in Schenectady, NY, their monthly ping pong game uncovers buried secrets in this moving comedy!" Thursday-Saturday 7:30 pm -- $25

Lindy West
Author Lindy West will be at Northshire Saratoga talk about her memoir, Shrill. t's an "Off the Shelf" event -- West will be talking with WAMC's Joe Donahue for a segment that will later air on the radio. Thursday 7 pm -- $5 (ticketed in advance)