All Over Albany

Stefanik and Faso address why they voted for AHCA, closing arguments in Lake George boat crash and Crossgates gunfire trials, 1 Monument Square plan takes step forward

American Health Care Act
+ Elise Stefanik and John Faso were both "yes" votes, Paul Tonko a "no" vote. How New York State's House delegation voted. [AOA]
+ Stefanik statement clip: "The American Health Care Act is not perfect, but it is an important step in reforming our broken healthcare system to help families in our district. As this legislation moves to the Senate, I will continue to work to strengthen the support for those with pre-existing conditions." [Stefanik office]
+ Faso statement clip: "The AHCA contains a provision I authored to eliminate the ability of New York State as of 2020 to impose Medicaid costs on county property taxpayers. ... The provision I authored will bring much-needed property tax relief and keep people and jobs in Upstate New York." [Faso office]
+ Tonko statement clip: "I can only hope Republicans come to their senses and stop this disaster in the U.S. Senate. I encourage everyone to keep up the calls, emails, tweets, posts, letters, etc. The fight to protect our care is not over." [Tonko office]
+ More reaction from New York officials. [TU]

Lake George boat crash trial
Thursday featured the closing arguments for both the prosecution and defense. Cheryl Coleman, Alexander West's attorney, tried to create an equivalency between West and the driver of the other boat, Robert Knarr, because he said he'd had wine with dinner that night. Warren County DA Kate Hogan, referencing West's alleged drug and alcohol use throughout that day: "What's good for the goose is good for the gander? Are you kidding me?" [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Crossgates gunfire trial
Thursday included the closing arguments in the trial of Tasheem Maeweather, accused of firing a gun in the incident that prompted a lockdown at Crossgates. Maeweather's attorney, Lee Kindlon, argued the the prosecution lacked evidence: "They want you to be afraid of a young black male walking through the mall." (Here's an overview of the trial.) [Spectrum] [WNYT] [Altamont Enterprise]

Body found in Hudson
Cohoes police say it appears the body found along the Cohoes shoreline Thursday is a suicide case. [TU]

Schenectady field house arson
One of the men accused of setting fire to the Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons field house last October has pleaded guilty. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Incident involving off-duty Albany police officer
Albany police say an off-duty police officer has been suspended as part of an investigation into a car crash in Pine Hills early Thursday morning. [TU]

Starbucks hidden camera
Colonie police say they've arrested a man for allegedly placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at a Starbucks on Wolf Road. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady police settlement
The Schenectady City Council is considering whether to approve a $75,000 settlement for a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges city police beat three members of a family. [TU]

Momentive settlement
Momentive has agreed to pay a penalty of $1.25 million to settle claims its use of an incinerator at the plant in Waterford violated environmental rules. [The Alt]

Tax breaks
New York State issues one of the highest amounts of tax breaks in the nation -- but it doesn't a good job tracking the effectiveness of those breaks, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. [TU] [Pew]

Albany school board member resigns
Kenny Bruce resigned from the Albany school board Thursday ahead of an expected board vote to pursue misconduct charges against him for allegedly violating confidentiality in the superintendent search. [TU]

Albany bond rating outlook upgrade
S&P Global Ratings has changed the city of Albany's bond rating outlook from "negative" to "stable," citing an expected budget surplus. [TU]

1 Monument Square
The Troy City Council approved the plan to build a movie theater at 1 Monument Square. The project still has to go through planning and historic review commissions. [Troy City Council Facebook]

Inclusionary zoning
The Saratoga Spring City Council discussed an inclusionary zoning ordinance for the city. [Saratogian]

March of the robots
The new Hoffman's car wash on Route 50 in Malta has a new, automated system that the company says will clean cars better -- and use less labor. [Daily Gazette]