All Over Albany

AG seizes Abelove's email, teen pleads not-guilty in Blessings Tavern crash, hundreds of pounds of bricks fall from Western Ave building, Cuomo signs free tuition legislation

Suspect in fatal Albany shooting may have City Hall connection
The Times Union is reporting that the nephew of Albany City Councilman Mark Robinson is a suspect in the shooting that killed the brother of Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan's adopted son earlier this week. The paper cites "law enforcement sources" indicating an investigation into a potential retaliation scenario involving an early incident of gunfire. [TU]

Albany homicides
The murder of Christopher Hardy is Albany's fifth homicide since Thanksgiving. [TWCN]

AG's office seizes Abelove's email
The NYS Attorney General's office has seized the email of Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove as part of an investigation into Abelove's handling of Edson Thevenin by a Troy police officer.[TU]

Plea in Blessings Tavern crash
Michael Carr pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to a string of charges in connection with the October crash that destroyed Blessings Tavern and left a passenger from his vehicle, 16-year-old Niko DiNovo severely injured, with burns over 95 percent of his body. [TU]

Body of state Court of Appeals Associate Judge found in Hudson
The body of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first black woman on the NYS Court of Appeals, was found floating in the Hudson near Manhattan Wednesday afternoon. Police say there was no sign of criminality in her death.[TU] [NYT][WNYT]

Bricks fall from Western Ave home
Parts of Western Avenue was closed on Wednesday afternoon, when several hundred pounds of brick and limestone fell to the street from the roof of a home. [TU][WNYT]

Free college tuition
Andrew Cuomo officially signed New York's free college tuition legislation on Wednesday. Chris Churchill warns that free tuition could turn into a loan if a student takes a job outside the state up to five years after graduation. [News 10][TU+]

School budgets
Schenectady's proposed school budget would cut taxes and increase staff thanks to a more than $10 million state aid hike. [Gazette]

Shen budget
Clifton Park voters will consider a $169.9 million budget plan in May that would hike taxes by 2.1 percent. [Gazette]

School board member sentenced for larceny
Charles "Chip" Locke, the former president of the Saratoga Springs Board of Education, will spend six months in jail under the terms of a plea deal for stealing more than $15,000 from a parent-teacher group at Greenfield Elementary School. [TU]

Plotterkill safety
With the help of state funding, Schenectady County will make safety improvements at the Plotter Kill Preserve in Rotterdam, where a Clifton Park teenager fell to her death in 2015. [Gazette]

Guilderland Schoolhouse
The Guilderland Central School District has restored $35 thousand in funding for the controversial Cobblestone Schoolhouse which is owned by the district and on the National Register of Historic Preservation. [TU]

Cohoes surplus
A recent audit shows Cohoes had a $658,000 budget surplus in 2016. [TU]

TU Center making money
Albany's Times Union Center has averaged a $1million surplus since 1998, something uncommon for municipally owned entertainment venues. [TU]

New rookie at Spa City PD
The newest rookie on the Spa City police force got his name from a classroom for 5th graders. [TU]

Stuff going on today

Ruth Gilligan
Novelist Ruth Gilligan will be at the State Museum as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. She'll be talking about her new novel Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan. "The narrative gradually weaves together three main characters whose stories are set in 1901, 1958, and 2013 to reveal the unknown history of Ireland's Jewish community." Thursday 8 pm, Huxley Theatre -- free

Famine and plague
Anthropologist Sharon DeWitte will be at the Sage Troy campus to talk about her research into the spread of the plague -- "The Black Death" -- in medieval Europe. "Dr. Dewitte will highlight how bioarchaeological research on past epidemics such as the Black Death can improve our understanding of emerging diseases and human-pathogen coevolution in general, and its relevance for living people." Thursday 5 pm, Bush Memorial -- free

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Today-Sunday: A touring production of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is at Proctors. "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King's remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history." Wednesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Music

The Felice Brothers at Cohoes Music Hall
Folk/roots rock. 8 pm -- $25

DADA PEOPLE at Troy Music Hall
"French pianist Frank Woeste collaborated with American trumpeter Dave Douglas on a new repertoire for jazz quartet, with trumpet, bass, piano, and drums. The project is inspired by the life and work of Man Ray and his colleagues in the Dada and Surrealist movements of the 20th century." 7:30 pm -- pay what you will

Dan Navarro and Darden Smith at Caffe Lena
Folk rock guitarist + folk singer/songwriter. 7 pm -- $20

The Kane Brown show at Upstate Concert Hall is sold out.