All Over Albany

Schumer and Cuomo push back on Congressional tax plan, Bow Tie looking for refund on 1 Monument Square, fiber optic Saratoga?, designing the Cohoes riverfront

New York vs. the Congressional Republican tax plan
Chuck Schumer and Andrew Cuomo made a rare joint appearance Monday outside a home in Selkirk to push back against the tax plan moving through Congress that would remove the deduction for state and local taxes. Cuomo called it "an attempted death blow" to the state. And Schumer described eliminating the deduction as "double taxation on the middle class." The offices of John Faso and Elise Stefanik said the local Republican Congress members don't support the elimination of the deduction. [Politico NY] [TU] [Daily Gazette] [News10]

1 Monument Square
In its letter canceling its land development agreement for 1 Monument Square, Bow Tie is demanding the return of its $60k deposit and the reimbursement of $186k it says it spent on the project. [TU]

Teachers and students
There's research that indicates that students of colors perform better in school when they have at least a few teachers who are people of color -- yet people of color make up small percentages of the teaching workforce in districts such as Albany and Schenectady. [TU]

Wilton lockdown
The Saratoga County Sheriff's Department says the Wilton teen thought to have had a gun and made suicidal threats was found early Monday evening and is getting a mental health evaluation. The incident had prompted a lockdown at schools and colleges in Wilton and Saratoga Springs. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Drug bust
Albany County DA David Soares says an Albany man arrested last week is one of the area's "major traffickers" of drugs. Authorities allege the man, who was stopped on the Thruway with a woman, had more than half a pound of heroin in the vehicle, and the search of the man's home and business turned up more than three pounds of cocaine as well multiple guns. [TU] [Albany County DA]

Guns stolen
Glenville police say three or more people stole about 40 guns from a gun store early Monday morning. [Daily Gazette]

Troy fires
A Lansingburgh resident about the vacant building fires that keep popping up, to WNYT: "That's an abandoned house right there and all my neighbors are like 'you're next, what about you.'" [WNYT]

Smoking
The Schenectady City Council voted to ban smoking within 50 feet of city-owned buildings. [TU]

Elections
A large majority of the members of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors are running unopposed for re-election. [Saratogian]

Affordable housing
The Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority is looking at how to upgrade its largest low-income housing complex. [TU]

Fiber optic Saratoga Springs
A company has approached Saratoga Springs about laying fiber optic cable throughout the city for internet access. [Saratogian]

Mount MacGregor
Empire State Development has rejected the three bids made for the Mount McGregor prison site in Wilton and is working up a new development approach. [Daily Gazette]

Guilderland hotel conversion
The Guilderland IDA has approved $32 million in bonds for a private company to convert the Best Western Sovereign Hotel on Western Ave into an assisted living facility. [Biz Review]

Boyhaven
Why would the state buy a chunk of the former Boyhaven Boy Scout camp from the town of Milton for three times what the town is now buying it for? [TU]

Cohoes riverfront
RPI students will be involved in working up possible designs for piece of riverfront near the 112th Street Bridge. [Troy Record]

Sports skepticism
Sara Foss is skeptical there will be fan support for the return of the new-again Albany Patroons and arena football at the TU Center. [Daily Gazette]

Stuff going on today

Gather at The Table
Tuesday: Sharon Leslie Morgan and Thomas Norman DeWolf -- co-authors of Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade -- will be at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus to talk about their work and sign books. Tuesday 6:30 pm -- free

Hi-Phi Nation
Tuesday: Barry Lam will be at Skidmore a presentation about Hi-Phi Nation, "the first sound and story-driven show about philosophy, weaving philosophy with narrative storytelling, investigative journalism, and sound design." Tuesday 7 pm, Palamountain Hall -- free

Film Columbia
The Film Columbia film festival continues in Chatham this week. The schedule includes a bunch of films that are already getting attention because of screenings at other festivals and/or they're eagerly awaited because of stars or directors involved. through Sunday various times and prices

Music: Amos Lee at The Egg
"An intimate solo evening with..." With: Mutlu. (It looks like there are just a few tickets left.) 8 pm -- $52.50 and up