All Over Albany

Allegations and counter allegations over absentee ballots in Albany, complications related to the Hilton Albany labor dispute, supervisor sues his own town, "avalanche of interest" in dough boys

Scrutiny of absentee ballots in Albany
A group of current and former local elected officials appeared outside the the state Board of Elections offices in downtown Albany Monday morning to call for an investigation of the use of increased use of absentee ballots in the Albany primary election -- a few of the political figures targeted in the accusations say they were making it easier for people to vote and the allegations are an attempt to suppress dissenting votes. [TU]

Gun shop robberies
+ The burglary of a Central Ave gun shop early Sunday morning in which five handguns were stolen took just 17 seconds. Police say they don't think it's connected to the recent gun shop burglary in Glenville. [WNYT x2]
+ A gun shop owner tells News10 it's not realistic to lock up a shop's guns every night. [News10]

Albany police and immigrant communities
An important question prompted by an incident in which an Albany police officer allegedly told a person while responding to a domestic violence call, "If you're going to live in this country, you need to learn to speak English": What is the APD is doing to make sure it can communicate with people among the city's diverse array of immigrant communities, some of whom speak languages for which finding a translator might be difficult? [TU]

Trial in the death of Noel Alkaramla
Scenes from jury selection in the trial of Johnny Oquendo, accused of killing Noel Alkaramla in Troy and dumping her body in a suitcase in the Hudson River. Nine jurors were selected Monday. [TU] [Troy Record]

Civil confinement
An explainer on the process by which the state could move to keep the man who served time for trying to kidnap a Saratoga Springs High School cross country runner in prison beyond his sentenced term. [Daily Gazette]

Hilton Albany labor dispute
+ The Cuomo admin has instructed state agencies to not book events or rooms at the Hilton Albany because of the ongoing contract dispute there between the hotel and hotel workers. [TU]
+ The dispute has organizers of the Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts festival thinking about what they'll do if workers are still picketing in January. [TU]
+ Chris Churchill uses the situation to highlight the fact that major hotel projects in downtown Albany have all received large tax breaks. [TU]

Milton supervisor sues town
Milton supervisor Dan Lewza is suing the town for more than $300k alleging that's he suffered because details of a settlement between the town and an employee who alleges she was harassed by Lewza ended up in the Times Union. [TU]

Saratoga Springs mayoral race
An overview of some of the issues in the race for mayor of Saratoga Springs. [Saratogian]

Malta supervisor race
Issues related to development have been at the center of the discussion in the race for Malta supervisor. [TU]

Cohoes budget
The proposed Cohoes budget includes no tax increase. [Troy Record]

Schenectady City Council
Sara Foss says disagreement among members of the Schenectady City Council can be good. [Daily Gazette]

Bald eagle crash
Police say a bald eagle crashed into the windshield of a school bus on I-88 in Duanesburg Monday morning. [Daily Gazette]

40 years of Halloweens
A Rotterdam woman has hosted nursery school students at her home for Halloween for 40 years. [Daily Gazette]

Dough boys
A co-owner of Esperanto says there's been "an avalanche of interest" from the shop's dough boys being offered in some Stewart's and they're selling thousands of the dough boys a week at the stores. [Daily Gazette]

Stuff going on today

Halloween

It's today, of course, so here's a reminder to stock up on some candy for trick-or-treaters. Also: keep an eye out for them if you're driving in the evening.

Fun Home
Tuesday-Sunday: The touring production of the Tony-winning musical Fun Home will be at Proctors. It's based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Ghost or Ghoul?
Tuesday: The State Museum's "Brainfood for the Curious" series of short lunchtime continues with a talk about costume and dress in the museum's collection, including items with a Halloween theme. Tuesday 12:10 pm, Huxley Theater -- free

Music: Bonerama at Parish Public House
New Orleans brass funk. With: Oobleck. 8 pm -- $18 ahead / $22 day of