All Over Albany

Morse accuser details alleged abuse, Stefanik to vote "no" on tax plan, school bus driver accused of being intoxicated on the job, Andrew Cuomo's ghosts

Allegations against Shawn Morse
Colleen Keller, one of the women alleged to have been abused by Cohoes mayor Shawn Morse, has issued a statement pushing back on Morse's claim there was no abuse: "The abuse started out with me being physically pushed, grabbed and verbally degraded. It escalated from there." [TU]

Saratoga Code Blue shelter
The Saratoga Springs zoning board of appeals heard arguments during a public hearing Monday night about whether the Saratoga Code Blue shelter should be allowed to operate at a location on Walworth Street. Opponents are arguing the shelter would violate the zoning for the property. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Republican tax plan
+ Elise Stefanik announced Monday she will vote "no" on the Republican tax plan, because "the final bill does not adequately protect the state and local tax deduction that so many in our district and across New York rely on." John Faso is also a "no" vote. [Post-Star] [Daily Gazette]
+ In her statement, Stefanik referred to "Albany's failed leadership and inability to rein in spending," which didn't go over well with Andrew Cuomo. [TU]
+ Cuomo said Monday that a shutdown of the federal government prompted by Democrats in Congress would be a justified move to fight to the tax plan. [Politico NY]

The school year
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia says officials are looking at the idea of allowing school districts to start the school year before September 1 and to count instruction time by hours instead of days (so that half days can count). [TU]

Potential Gillibrand challenger
A look at a potential Republican challenger to Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate. [Politico NY]

Andrew Cuomo's ghosts
Chris Churchill imagines Andrew Cuomo as unmoved Ebenezer Scrooge. [TU]

SAFE Act
County clerks say they're facing a big wave of handgun license recertifications in January because of the SAFE Act and want the Cuomo admin to help clear things up. [TU]

Albany fire
A fire on Livingston Ave in Albany Monday evening displaced two families. A dog also died, despite resuscitation efforts by fire crews. [News10] [WNYT]

School bus driver accused of being intoxicated
The Albany school district says a bus driver showed up to the Montessori Magnet School Friday smelling of alcohol and briefly drove off with kids on her bus. The district says the bus company concluded the driver was over the limit for commercial drivers and it's in the process of terminating the driver. [TU] [WNYT]

13 arrests after party
The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office says 13 people -- 12 of them teens -- are facing charges after a house party in Ballston the Saturday after Thanksgiving. [Daily Gazette]

Common taxi rules
The Schenectady City Council is reviewing CDTA's plan for a common set of rules for taxis in the Capital Region. [Daily Gazette]

TU Center video boards
Sara Foss is not a fan of the new video boards on the exterior of the TU Center. [Daily Gazette]

Scarves
Why there are scarves waiting to be taken in Schenectady. [Daily Gazette]

Vroman's Nose
Vroman's Nose is now owned by New York State and is designated the Vroman's Nose Unique Area. [Daily Gazette]

Stuff going on today

She Loves Me
Tuesday-Sunday: This is the last week for Capital Rep's 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

The Muppet Christmas Carol
Tuesday: The Cohoes Music Hall is showing The Muppet Christmas Carol. (Michael Caine plays Scrooge.) Tuesday 7 pm -- $5

Nitty Gritty
Tuesday: The Nitty Gritty poetry slam series is back at the Low Beat in Albany. Tuesday 7 pm