All Over Albany

Start of trial connected to Jay Street fire, Troy police detectives indicted, decision on Boreas Ponds use, tracking vacant buildings in Albany

Jay Street fire trial
Jury selection starts Monday in the trial of Kenneth Tyree, the former Schenectady building inspector facing charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the case of the fatal 2015 Jay Street fire. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Percoco trial
Todd Howe is scheduled to finally take the stand this week in the Joe Percoco trial -- and the defense attorneys in the case have been working to portray him as a liar. [NYT]

Troy Police Department
Two Troy police detectives were indicted Friday on charges related to an alleged covering up of a warrantless search executed by the TPD's drug unit. Their attorneys say they didn't do anything wrong. The special prosecutor in the case -- Columbia County DA Paul Czajka -- praised the TPD officers who spoke up about the situation. [TU] [Troy Record] [News10]

Arrest in Schenectady hit-and-run
Schenectady police have arrested a 64-year-old Amsterdam man for the hit-and-run crash that seriously injured Jet Thackrah, who had been walking near Erie Boulevard and Union Street. Thackrah's family says he suffered multiple serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. [Daily Gazette] [News10]

Boreas Ponds
The Adirondack Park Agency voted Friday to split the Boreas Ponds tract into two classifications, "wilderness" and "wild forest." That second category -- which covers about 44 percent of the roughly 20,000 acres in the tract -- allows vehicle and snowmobile access. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Opioids
+ The story of a retired State Police sergeant in Saratoga County and his pursuit of the dealer who sold heroin to his daughter before she overdosed. [TU]
+ Albany County exec Dan McCoy was in Cleveland last week testifying in federal court as part of the lawsuit the county has joined against pharmaceutical companies over opioid addiction epidemic. [TU]

Schenectady casino
Walking through the various streams of revenue the Schenectady casino has provided/will provide to local municipalities -- and questions about why projections were higher. [Daily Gazette]

Vacant buildings in Albany
Albany issued more than 700 citations last year for unregistered vacant buildings, and a city official says it's looking at making the city's vacant building register easier and more enforceable. [TU]

Schenectady landslide
Exploring some of the possible causes of the recent Schenectady landslide. [Daily Gazette]

Colonie landfill
As Colonie waits on a decision about whether it will be allowed to expand its landfill, it's diverting waste to a landfill in Rensselaer. [TU]

School budgets
A review by the Daily Gazette found that almost half of school districts in this region hadn't posted their approved budgets online as the state law requires. [Daily Gazette]

Jason Gough
Chris Churchill on Jason Gough's decision to leave to WNYT in order to pursue advocacy efforts on the part of people sexually abused as children. [TU]

Gideon Putnam
The Gideon Putnam is now expected to be closed until March 15 because of damage from a water main break in the hotel's basement.

Stuff going on today

Tense Vagina
Monday-Tuesday: Sara Juli will be at UAlbany's Performing Arts Center for a performance of Tense Vagina, "a comedic movement/theatre work about motherhood and bladder control." Monday and Tuesday 5:30 pm -- $12 / $8 students and seniors

The Underground Railroad of Troy
Monday: The Underground Railroad History Project's Paul Stewart will be at the Troy Public Library for a talk about the Underground Railroad in Troy. "He will also be debunking common misconceptions many may assume are historical facts, such as houses with secret rooms being an indicator that they were apart of the underground railroad." Monday 6 pm -- free (registration required)

UAlbany women's basketball
Monday: The UAlbany women's basketball team faces UMass Lowell at SEFCU Arena. Monday 7 pm -- $10 and up