All Over Albany

A rumble and then everything went black, sentencing in Blessings Tavern crash, imagining a Governor Trump, triple OT

Schenectady mudslide
+ One of the men trapped in an apartment by the Schenectady mudslide described the what happened from his point of view: "All of a sudden, we heard a rumble and the next thing you know, I woke up and everything was black. I woke up next to my nephew screaming." [News10]
+ Crews demolished two homes and a garage Monday, and officials are examining an apartment building. [Spectrum]
+ City officials say they're not sure yet what caused the slide. State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, who's a civil engineer, said now could be a good time to do a wider review of potential problem spots. [Daily Gazette] [WNYT]

Percoco trial
+ On Monday the prosecution showed emails it alleges indicate Joe Percoco intervened with Empire State Development so that COR Development wouldn't have to reach a labor peace agreement for a Syracuse-area project, and an FBI agent testified about a $15k payment from COR to Todd Howe's consultancy that appears to have then been funneled to Percoco's wife. [TU]
+ Also: The trial has raised questions about Percoco's use of state-funded office space while he was on leave as Andrew Cuomo's campaign manager. [TU]

Sentencing in Blessings Tavern
Michael Carr -- who pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and DWI for the Blessings Tavern crash that seriously burned Niko DiNovo -- was sentenced to six years in prison. [TU]

Gubernatorial election
+ Republican state Senator John DeFrancisco is set to formally announce Tuesday he's running for governor. [Syracuse.com]
+ Republican state Assembly minority leader Brian Kolb, who's already announced he's running, said he'll campaign on the Conservative line if he's not picked by Republicans. [TU]

Governor Trump
Chris Churchill wonders what would have happened if Donald Trump had run for governor of New York. [TU]

Hudson River PCB dredging
The federal EPA says it will look at Hudson River PCB test results gathered by the state DEC as it makes its decision on whether the PCB dredging project is finished. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Tipped minimum wage
The New York State Restaurant Association got together a group of Saratoga restaurants and restaurant employees to push back on the Cuomo's admin's proposed increase in the tipped minimum wage. [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady codes enforcement
Among the changes in Schenectady's buildings department, which has been under scrutiny since the Jay Street fire: having employees address each by positional title and last name. [TU]

School lunches
The Niskayuna school district's lunch program had a budget deficit of more than $250k last year, so the district has brought in Guilderland's food service director to get the program back in shape -- and back onto the federal lunch program. (The district opted out of the National School Lunch Program in 2013 after it said requirements for including more fruits and vegetables was causing students to not buy lunches and/or throw food away.) [Daily Gazette] [Daily Gazette 2013]

Colonie parks and smoking
Colonie is looking at a proposal to ban smoking in the town's parks. [TU]

Triple overtime
The Siena men's basketball team beat St. Peter's in triple overtime Monday night -- and yet the score somehow ended up being just 59-57. [TU]

Stuff going on today

Paris Time
Tuesday-Sunday: The Rep opens its world premiere production of Paris Time. The production runs through February 18. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

The Bodyguard
Tuesday-Sunday: A touring production of the stage version of The Bodyguard is at Proctors. Deborah Cox plays the lead (Whitney Houston) role. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Swan Lake
Tuesday: The State Ballet Theater of Russia will be at The Palace for a production of Swan Lake. Tuesday 7:30 pm -- $38 and up

Gish Jen
Tuesday: The New York State Writers Institute opens the new season of its visiting writers series with Gish Jen at the State Museum. "Gish Jen is a beloved and prize-winning chronicler of the Chinese-American experience in fiction. Her new work, The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap (2017), explores stark differences between Eastern and Western ideas of the 'self.'" Tuesday 7:30 pm, Huxley Theater -- free

Chewing the fat
Tuesday: The Science on Tap series returns to Slidin' Dirty in Schenectady with a talk by Dr. Vishnudas Pai about obesity and weight loss surgery. Tuesday 7 pm -- free admission

Graphic design and abstraction
Tuesday: Painter Andrew Brischler will be at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus for a talk. "Andrew Brischler is a painter whose work explores the intersection of graphic design and abstraction through playful, hand-drawn text and imagery." Tuesday 6:30 pm -- free

Responding to addiction
Tuesday: The Conversations to Build An Inclusive American Community is at Caffe Lena with a discussion about addiction. "Our panel will get an open conversation started by sharing their insights and life experiences regarding the affects of taking a punitive (incarceration) approach versus a therapeutic (treatment) approach to addiction." And poet/activist Amani Olugbala will open the evening. Tuesday 6 pm -- free

Punk Rock Sketch and Sip
Tuesday: The Punk Rock Sketch and Sip is back at the Low Beat. "A different kind of art event, Learn or practice figure drawing with live, alternative figure models, with local artist and educator Robert B. Eaton. Enjoy a complimentary drink while you sketch. All skill levels welcome, attendees are encouraged to bring their own materials but limited materials will be provided to get you started." Tuesday 6 pm -- $12 / $8 students with ID