All Over Albany

State of the State sets in a difficult financial year, Siena poll shows consumer confidence up, memorial service scheduled for slain Troy family

State of the State
In a 90 minute State of the State address on Wednesday, Andrew Cuomo laid out his plans for what is shaping up to be a very difficult financial year for the state. The agenda took aim at federal government policies like DACA repeal and tax reform, and included plans to get rid of the tipped wage for hospitality workers, battle sexual harassment, end cash bail for misdemeanors, make voting easier in the state -- setting Cuomo's platform for the upcoming gubernatorial race. Here's a closer look at six things mentioned in the speech, and here's the full text of the speech.[NYT][TU][AOA][NY.GOV]

+Chris Churchill on the State of the State, from the size of the podium("it makes the governor look like an immigrant from the isle of Lilliput.) to the content of the speech. [TU]

+Sara Foss on the things left unsaid in the 90 minute address.[Gazette]

Consumer confidence
A new Siena poll says consumer confidence is on the rise in New York. [TU]

Troy quadruple murder
A memorial service is slated for Saturday for the family of four murdered in their Troy apartment in late December. Meanwhile, the two suspects in the case are expected in court today. [Record]

Nassau groundwater
A public meeting on Wednesday focused on efforts to protect Nassau groundwater from a suspected carcinogen around the Dewey Loeffel Landfill Superfund Site. [TU]

Fires
+The cause of a fire that destroyed a Schodack home on Wednesday afternoon is under investigation. [TU]

+A dozen animals died in fire in Albany County.[WNYT]

Win for the Wandering Dago
A federal court ruled this week that the state ban on the Wandering Dago food truck was unconstitutional, claiming that keeping the truck from operating on the plaza based on its name constituted "viewpoint discrimination." [ WNYT][TU]

Possible Klein challenger
Alessandra Biaggi, a recent aide to Andrew Cuomo, has formed a campaign committee to raise money for a potential run against Jeff Klein, who headed up the eight- member breakaway Independent Democratic Conference. [TU]

Bank robberies
Albany police are investigating two separate bank robberies the occurred on Wednesday on State Street and Whitehall Road. [TU]

Schenectady taxes down, but water & sewer rates up
Some Schenectady residents are frustrated by increases in water and sewer fees, even as taxes dropped slightly in the city. [Gazette]

Cold snap
+Residents of the Malta Gardens and Mobile Home Park have been without water for serveral days because of frozen pipes.[WNYT]

+AAA Northway says they handled 2,000 emergency service requests on Tuesday alone -- among the largest volume they have had in a single day. [Gazette]

The faces of soldiers
A Saratoga man is trying to find the identities of the soldiers in the sketches made by his father before a bloody WWII battle. [WNYT]