All Over Albany

Sheehan presses case for permanent increase in Albany state funding, Howe testifies at Percoco trial, sentencing in UAlbany rape case, bowling a farewell to the Playdium

State funding for Albany
Kathy Sheehan was back before state legislators Monday pressing the case for Albany's annual state aid to be permanently increased by $12.5 million (the city budget is counting on that money), citing the city's disparity in per capita state funding and the large portion of tax-exempt and state-owned land. Sheehan also delivered a letter to Andrew Cuomo that argues the case. [News10] [TU] [Sheehan admin]

Percoco trial
The much anticipated moment: Todd Howe took the stand for the prosecution Monday in the Joe Percoco trial. Howe, who's already pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, described Percoco as "the closest thing to a brother that I ever had," and detailed he said were efforts to trade Percoco's influence within the Cuomo admin for bribes, or "ziti." [Spectrum] [TU] [NYT]

Troy Police Department
One of the Troy police detectives indicted Friday as part of an alleged cover up of a warrantless drug unit search retired the same day. [TU]

Albany police officer arrested
State Police say an off-duty Albany police officer was arrested early Sunday after he allegedly drove drunk and crashed his car in Colonie. APD says the officer has been suspended without pay. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

Review of death of man in Schenectady police custody
The widow of Andrew Kearse -- the Bronx man who died in Schenectady police custody following a foot chase, and whose family alleges SPD was slow to call for medical help -- says the state Attorney General's office has shown her video of the minutes leading up to her husband's death. [Daily Gazette]

Sentencing in UAlbany rape
Franklin Casatelli -- the 27-year-old Guilderland man convicted of breaking into an dorm on UAlbany's uptown campus and raping a student -- has been sentenced to 37 years in prison. Said the student's sister at the sentencing: "What you have done will not define her. She is a strong and amazing woman and an infinitely better person than you will ever be." [TU] [News10]

Guilty plea in Ravenswood crash
The man accused of driving drunk and crashing into two people while leaving the Ravenswood in Clifton Park has pleaded guilty to vehicular assault. [TU]

Albany schools budget
The Albany school district is facing a potential $2.7 million budget gap and is hoping state funding will fill the hole. [TU]

Saratoga Code Blue shelter
Opponents of siting the new Saratoga Code Blue shelter on Walworth Street have filed a lawsuit in their latest attempt to stop the project. [Saratogian]

Schenectady County sales tax
Schenectady County's sales tax revenue increased more than 7 percent in 2017, one of the biggest increases in the state. [Daily Gazette]

Albany Shaker Road
An engineering firm is studying how to address congestion and safety along Albany Shaker Road in Colonie. [Biz Review]

Cryptocurrencies
An Albany-based company that offers services related to cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin) has been acquired by another company with a local presence for $14 million in cash and stock. The combined company says it's looking to hire people and find office space in downtown Albany. [Biz Review] [TU]

Capital Roots
A look at Capital Roots' expansion plans in Troy. [TU]

Show dog
A collie from Washington County will be competing in the Westminster Dog Show. (Yes, there is much video of multiple collies.) [News10]

Playdium
Chris Churchill bids farewell to the Playdium with an afternoon of bowling. [TU]

Stuff going on today

Michele Norris / MLK Celebration
Tuesday: Award-winning journalist Michele Norris will be at UAlbany as the headline speaker in this year's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Tuesday 7 pm, Campus Center Ballroom -- free

Climate change
Tuesday: Journalist Jeff Goodell will be at Skidmore for a talk about climate change. His most recent book is The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World. Tuesday 7 pm, Palamountain Hall -- free

Jungjin Lee
Tuesday: Artist Jungjin Lee will be at UAlbany's art museum for a talk about the photographic exhibit This Place, which is on display now. Tuesday 6 pm -- free

The Champlain Sea, North America's Last Inland Sea
Tuesday: The Brainfood for the Curious series of short lunchtime talks at the State Museum has a talk about The Champlain Sea. "Not long ago there was an ocean inside New York state. Whales, seals, and other sea life made the area now covered by Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River their home." Tuesday 12:10-12:30 pm, Huxley Theater -- free

Tense Vagina
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. Tuesday 5:30 pm -- $12 / $8 students and seniors

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

Nitty Gritty
Tuesday: The Nitty Gritty Poetry Slam is back at the Low Beat. 7 pm

Bolshoi: Lady of the Camellias
Tuesday: Proctors is showing a filmed version of the Bolshoi ballet production of Lady of the Camellias in the GE Theater. Tuesday 6:30 pm -- $15