All Over Albany

IDC leader Klein denies sexual assault allegation, Saratoga County has state's largest gender pay gap, rain and higher temps prompt flood warnings

Jeff Klein denies sexual allegation
State Senate IDC Leader Jeff Klein is denying allegations that he forcibly kissed a female staffer outside Justin's on Lark Street in 2015. State Senator Diane Savino, who is dating Klein and was at the bar on the night in question, came to his defense. Savino says on the night in question, the staffer invited Klein to a Seder dinner, which he declined, in full view of herself and other colleagues. [TU][Huffington Post][Spectrum][Politico][NYT]

Saratoga county pay gap
Saratoga County has the largest pay gap between the sexes in the state, with women, on average, making $18,539 less than their male counterparts.[TU]

Rensselaer State of the County
Steve McLaughlin gave his first State of the County speech on Wednesday, calling for investment in infrastructure and expansion of the tax base in the county. McLaughlin told a crowd of about 175 people that in 2018 "Rensselaer County is poised to be a leader in the region and the state."[TU][Record]

Trustco robberies
Albany police are investigating a series of robberies at Trustco banks in the Capital Region from November through January. [WNYT]

Armed robbery
Police are searching for the man who robbed a Colonie mini mart at gunpoint early Monday morning.[TU]

"The People's Republic of Cohoes"
Chris Churchill looks into why the $100,000 in donations still has not been distributed to victims of the recent Cohoes fire, and examines what he calls "The People's Republic of Cohoes," where a citizen who was critical of Mayor Shawn Morse was arrested this week on a dubious charge. [TU]

Flooding
Rain and warmer temperatures have raised some concerns about flooding in there region this weekend. [TU]

Albany Mayor buys Arbor Hill home
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and her husband have purchased an 1857 "fixer upper" home in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood. [TU]

Prison care packages
Opponents say that privatizing the handling of prison care packages has created stringent restrictions on food, reading material and other items shipped to prisoners. [TU]

Planning board chairman resigns after sexist remarks
The chairman of the South Glens Falls Planning Board has resigned after an article in the Post Star this week revealed that he used the Bible to request that the village mayor select a male for an open seat on the planning board. In a letter to the village and the Post Star, he called his remarks prehistoric and unbecoming of a public servant. [Gazette][Post Star]

Woman charged with injuring dog
A Troy woman is facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly injuring a dog so badly that the animal had to be euthanized.

Skidmore
Skidmore College will get $35 million over 30 years from the Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation to help finance a $100 million Center for Integrated Sciences building.

Niskayuna schools
Niskayuna schools are nearly full and expected an increase in students in the coming years. [Gazette]

Medical marijuana
In the face of changing Federal regulations about marijuana, New York is taking steps to expand and protect its medical marijuana program. [Gazette]

Schenectady's highest earner
"After 10 years of working here, I still enjoy coming to work," Schenectady police sergeant Jeffrey McCutcheon, whose overtime pay makes him the city's highest earner for the third straight year. [TU]

"When you look back on it, this has really been probably the greatest show on Earth for me"
Troy police chief John Tedesco looks back on his 20 year career with the department. [Spectrum]

State symbol
Among the important topics up for debate in the State Legislature -- changing the official state symbol. [TU]

Schenectady church ministers to poor
Sara Foss on the First United Methodist Church in downtown Schenectady and their ministry built entirely on "giving people the things they need to stay clean, healthy and comfortable."[Gazette]

Stuff going on today

Screen

Victoria
Thursday: WMHT is showing a preview of the new season of Victoria at the Albany Institute. Diane Shewchuk -- the curator of the museum's exhibit about Victorian fashion -- will be there to answer questions about costumes. And admission is free that evening at the museum. Thursday 5 pm and 6:30 pm -- free (registration required)

Movies
This can be a good week to catch up on the movies that came out in December. A ton of high-profile, anticipated, or positively-reviewed films are playing locally now.

Skating

The ice skating rink at the ESP is open for the season, and if you're looking for some midweek fun, you might think about stopping by for an evening skate (or day skate, depending on your schedule). The rink is open Monday-Sunday 11 am-8 pm (closed 3-4 pm for maintenance) -- *weather permitting*. It's free to skate. Skate rentals are $4 / $3 for kids / free on Fridays.

Swinburne: The city of Albany's Swinburne Skating Rink is also open for the season.

Wine and Dine for the Arts

Thursday-Saturday: The annual Wine and Dine for the Arts festival returns to downtown Albany. (This year's main location will be at the Empire State Plaza.) The multi-day event includes tastings, chefs and restaurants, seminars, and competitions for sliders and bartenders. Thursday-Saturday various times and prices

Music

Thursday: Rebelution at Upstate Concert Hall
Reggae. With: Raging Fyah. 8 pm -- $25

Thursday: The Last Revel & The Slocan Ramblers
Bluegrass. 7 pm -- $20