All Over Albany

Money for drinking water systems, the latest fight over the Troy budget, Schenectaday's plans for police body cameras, Phil Bayly is retiring

Drinking water
Albany, Schenectady, and Troy are each getting roughly $500k from the state to replace lead service lines in older sections of their drinking water systems. Joe Coffey, head of the Albany Water Department, says the money could cover the replacement 100-250 of the lines connecting homes to mains -- which he called "a good drop in the bucket." And Schenectady mayor Gary McCarthy says the first step will be working to prioritize which pipes should be replaced. [Cuomo admin] [TU] [Spectrum] [Daily Gazette]

State Senate
A group of top state Democratic Party officials are pitching a plan to re-unify the Democrats in the state Senate in order to regain a ruling coalition there. (The breakaway Independent Democratic Conference is currently aligned in a coalition with Republicans.) If that happens, it would make Brooklyn's Simcha Felder -- a Democrat who caucuses with the Republicans -- the 32nd vote in a chamber otherwise split 31-31. [TU] [Politico NY]

Albany double murder case
The man accused of killing Megan Cunningham in 2013 Albany fire and Shelby Countermine in 2014 allegedly talked with a date about getting "rid of people" and made other potentially incriminating statements to investigators and inmates, according to docs filed in court. [TU]

Sentencing for Cohoes veteran in burglary
Scott Gilligan -- the Cohoes veteran pleaded guilty to a burglary, which he said at the time he was suffering from addiction and PTSD -- was sentenced to 2 1/3-to-7 years in prison, or a six-month "shock incarceration" program. Gilligan and the case for diversion has been championed by Chris Churchill: "Why fill our prisons with the addicted when what they really need is treatment? Why claim that we respect veterans, only to send them to prison when they struggle after their service?" [WNYT] [TU]

Guilty plea in Troy stabbing
The man accused of stabbing a man in the face and torso near a Dunkin' Donuts on Congress Street this past March has pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder. [WNYT] [TU]

Troy budget fight
Mark Robarge details the arguments in the latest fight over a hole in the Troy budget, which is focused on the Madden's administration's proposed trash fee. [Troy Record]

Schenectady police body cameras
A few more details about the Schenectady Police Department's plans to start using officer body cameras. [Daily Gazette]

Shen vote on Clifton Park land
The Shen school district public vote on whether to sell that plot of land to the town of Clifton Park to be used as a park is December 5. [TU]

PEF
Tuning in for the latest episode of internal drama at PEF. [TU]

Capital Roots
A few details about the Capital Roots planned expansion at its headquarters in Troy. [Biz Review]

Autism spectrum
A look at a partnership working to connect local people on the autism spectrum with jobs. [TU]

Bingo
From Politico: "Bingo loyalists roiled by new state restriction." [Politico NY]

Phil Bayly
WNYT's Phil Bayly announced he's retiring in December after three decades at the station. [WNYT]

Kevin Huerter
Shen grad Kevin Huerter was the best player for Maryland in its 72-70 loss to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome Monday night. The sophomore scored 23 points, including 7-9 from three. [Syracuse.com] [ESPN]

Stuff going on today

She Loves Me
Tuesday-Sunday: Capital Rep continues its production of She Loves Me. "This confection of a musical is based on the timeless story by Miklos Laszlo that also served as inspiration for the classic film The Shop Around the Corner and more recently You've Got Mail." Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $25 and up

Astronauts of Inner-Space
Tuesday: The Brain Food for the Curious series of lunchtime talks at the State Museum has New York State Historian Devin Lander talking about The Millbrook Commune, "Timothy Leary's 'Grounded Space Colony' housed on a 2,500 acre estate in Dutchess County." Tuesday 12:10 pm -- free

Science on Tap
Tuesday: The Science on Tap series is at the Albany Pump Station. This month Albany Med neurologist Dr. David Hart "will talk about what we currently understand about disease mechanisms in Alzheimer's, and how those processes give us an opportunity for treatments which slow or stop the disease's progress." Tuesday 7 pm -- free admission

John Yau
Tuesday: Art critic and poet John Yau will be at the UAlbany art museum. "Inspired by the poets of the New York School, he has made the dialogue between visual art and poetry the hallmark of his work and career. His reviews have appeared in Artforum, Art in America, Art News, Bookforum, and the Los Angeles Times. He was the former arts editor for the Brooklyn Rail and in 2012, he helped start the online magazine Hyperallergic Weekend." Tuesday 4:30 pm -- free