All Over Albany

Albany Med nurses vote to unionize, Cynthia Nixon gets key endorsement, Siena basketball coach out, $2 a bowling pin

Albany Med nurse unionization
Albany Med nurses voted to unionize with the New York State Nurses Association 1,161-582. Nurses there say they're seeking a voice in staffing decisions as well as fair wages and benefits. [TU] [News10]

NXIVM
Federal prosecutors allege in a lettered filed in federal court that NXIVM founder Keith Raniere "has a decades' long history of abusing women and girls." [TU]

Race for governor
+ The Working Families Party endorsed Cynthia Nixon over the weekend. Ahead of the announcement when it became apparent he wasn't going to get the endorsement, Andrew Cuomo said he wouldn't be seeking it. The last two labor unions that were part of the Working Families Party also exited. (The endorsement also possibly has some implications for future ballot lines.) [Politico NY x2] [NYT] [Politico NY]
+ Chris Churchill on Nixon's recent comment -- in jest or not -- about upstate starting around Ithaca: "We shouldn't laugh, because downstate myopia has real-world consequences. When upstate is ruled, as it usually is, by downstate politicians with so little understanding of its needs, wants and culture, the region can only continue to suffer and dwindle." [TU]

Siena coach out
+ Late Friday afternoon Siena announced that men's basketball coach Jimmy Patsos had resigned -- though the school said the investigation into alleged verbal abuse would continue. In a statement Patsos said he continued to deny any wrongdoing. [TU] [WNYT]
+ Over the weekend, the Times Union reported that a friend of Rick Pitino -- who was recently pushed out of Louisville after a string of scandals -- said the Hall of Fame coach was interested in the coaching job at Siena. Pitino's response to the Louisville Courier Journal about the story: "Nope." [TU] [LCJ]

Texting while driving
The number of tickets issued for texting while driving is way up over the last few years, both in the Capital Region and across the state. [TU]

Rent assistance
There's a push for a state law that would make it illegal for landlords to turn away potential renters for using public rent assistance -- United Tenants of Albany says it found more than 150 such listings over a year. [TU]

Motel fire
A fire over the weekend at the Budget Motel in Colonie displaced 23 people. [TU]

Albany police
A vice president of the union that represents Albany police officers says a recent arbitration decision on raises is "a slap in the face for every member in this police department." [TU]

Albany High School
The Albany school district formally broke ground on the renovation/expansion of Albany High School. [News10]

Siena free speech conference
An inside report from the conservative conference at Siena -- touted as a free speech conference -- that featured Roger Stone and James O'Keefe. [TU]

March for Science / gun rights march
The March for Science on Saturday in West Capitol Park coincided with a march for gun rights. [Daily Gazette]

Erie Boulevard
Charting the recent evolution of Erie Boulevard in Schenectady. [Daily Gazette]

Vale Urban Farm
Sara Foss checks in with the Vale Urban Farm. [Daily Gazette]

Albany Empire
The nostalgic and the new mixed at the first game for the new Albany Empire arena football team at the Times Union Center. [Daily Gazette]

Playidum auction
Scenes from the Playdium auction, where bowling pins were going for $2. [WNYT]

Stuff going on today

Downtown Albany Restaurant Week
Monday-Saturday: Restaurant week continues in downtown Albany. Eighteen restaurants will be offering three-course, fixed-price meals for $25. (Reservations are always a good idea during any restaurant week.)

Wordfest
Monday-Sunday: Albany Word Fest returns at locations around the area. It is an annual celebration of poetry and spoken word. This year's festival includes readings, performances, and a regional poetry slam. And there will also be a 24-hour Readings Against the End of the World event. Monday-Sunday various places and times

Front Parlor
Monday: The Front Parlor storytelling series is back at the Olde English in Albany. This month's theme: "Getting' Schooled." Monday 7:30 pm

Not-so-smart phones
Monday: Kathleen Searles -- an assistant professor of political communication at Louisiana State University -- will be at Skidmore for a talk titled "Not-so-smart phones: News and Information Loss in the Mobile Era." "Her interests include news media, campaign advertising, and political psychology. Specifically, her research examines the ways in which choice conditions media effects, with a particular focus on the content of partisan news, and the influence of campaign ads on political behavior." Monday 5 pm, Palamountain Hall -- free