All Over Albany

Troy considering size of police force, Miner says she's still considering gubernatorial run, focus returns to Albany County Legislature grants, more Troy parking meters

Troy police
Troy mayor Patrick Madden says the city should get an independent expert to assess the size of the city's police force with an eye toward expanding the force in order to purse community policing. [TU]

NXIVM
The state Attorney General's Office has temporarily suspended its investigation of a non-profit associated with NXIVM because of federal criminal case investigation of the org. [TU]

Siena coach investigation
A "person who witnessed the incident but is not authorized by the school to comment" tells the Times Union that they saw Siena men's basketball coach push a player out a chair during a team review session, an incident Brendan Lyons reports is now a subject of the investigation of Patsos. [TU]

Race for governor
+ Former Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner -- a Democratic and frequent Andrew Cuomo critic -- has a registered a state-level campaign committee and says she's seriously considering a run for governor. [Politico NY]
+ Andrew Cuomo's formal campaign organization appears to be getting a slow start. [Politico NY]

Schenectady stabbing
Schenectady police say a 47-year-old woman is accused of stabbing a 35-year-old woman at Summit Towers early Tuesday morning. [Spectrum]

Sentencing in Grand Street fatal stabbing
The man convicted of fatally stabbing Marc Douglas near Grand and Madison in Albany last summer has been sentenced to 25 years to life. [TU]

Not guilty verdict in Albany shooting
The man accused of shooting Alonzo Garaycochea in a Clinton Ave apartment in Albany last year was found not guilty. [WNYT]

Joel Abelove
The defense for Rensselaer County DA Joel Abelove in the case brought against him by the state Attorney General's Office has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against the DA, arguing the evidence doesn't support the charges. [The Alt]

Child Victims Act
Chris Churchill: "Something about the Child Victims Act got the attention of New York's teachers unions. But what? They aren't saying." [TU]

Pay raise for state legislature
Sara Foss: "The Legislature doesn't deserve a raise and everybody knows it." [Daily Gazette]

Regents test portfolio
The state Board of Regents is looking at the possibility of swapping out one of the final Regents tests for graduation with a portfolio of work. [Daily Gazette]

Climate rally
Activists are planning a climate rally march from Sheridan Hollow to the state Capitol April 23. [TU]

Albany County grants
An emergency $12,900 grant issued by the Albany County Legislature has prompted questions about the process and the previously-stated intent by chair Andrew Joyce to reform the grant program. [TU]

Municipal budgets
+ Residents of Ballston Spa filled a public meeting about a proposed 25.9 percent property tax increase in the village -- and there was criticism generally about the how things are being run. [Spectrum] [TU]
+ Cohoes mayor Shawn Morse says the city's 2017 budget finished with a $617k surplus. [TU]

Troy parking
The city of Troy will deploy more parking meters downtown starting in May. [TU]

Schenectady sports field fees
The Schenectady City Council has tabled a proposed fee increase for sports fields after pushback from residents, especially cricket teams. [Daily Gazette]

Grossman's building
There's a plan to demolish the Grossman's building on Erie Boulevard in Schenectady and replace it with a gas station. [Daily Gazette]

Pickleball
Barry Wygel picks up a pickleball paddle in Clifton Park. [Spectrum]

Stuff going on today

Blithe Spirit
Tuesday-Sunday: Capital Repertory Theatre opens its new production of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit. (It was in previews this past weekend.) "One highly spirited wife is fun - but two is fertile ground for this smash comedy hit of the London and Broadway stages from the witty pen of Noël Coward. Meet cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine, re-married to Ruth but haunted (literally) by the ghost of his late first wife, the clever and insistent Elvira who has been conjured up by a visiting 'happy medium,' one Madame Arcati." The production runs through May 6. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

History of Albany's Streetcar System
Tuesday: Albany city historian Tony Opalka will be at the Albany Public Library Washington Ave Branch for a talk about the history of Albany's streetcar system. (Albany -- and the greater Capital Region -- once had a very extensive network.) Tuesday 5:30 pm -- free

Andrea J. Buchanan
Tuesday: Andrea J. Buchanan -- co-author of The Daring Book for Girls -- will be at UAlbany and the Guilderland Public Library as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. The UAlbany appearance -- 4:15 pm in Campus Center Room 375 -- will be about her new memoir The Beginning of Everything: The Year I Lost My Mind and Found Myself. And the Guilderland Public Library event -- 7 pm at the library at 2228 Western Ave -- will be a conversation on writing for children and young adults. free

Peter Golden
Tuesday: Peter Golden will be at Congregation Shaara Tfille in Saratoga Springs for an event organized by Nortshire Bookstore. He'll be talking about his novel Nothing is Forgotten. Tuesday 6 pm -- free

Giselle
Tuesday: Proctors is showing a filmed version of the Bolshoi Ballet production of Giselle. Tuesday 2 pm and 6:30 pm -- $15