Mother faces charges connected to discovery of infant's body, state sues OxyContin makers, Rensselaer planners reviewing gondola plan

Investigation of infant death in Schenectady
Schenectady police have charged Heaven Puleski, the mother of 4-month-old Rayen Puleski, with a string of felonies related to the discovery of a body now believed to be her baby. The charges include one count each of tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a human corpse, felonies, as well as misdemeanor child endangerment but she has not been charged with murder. Puleski is in Schenectady city jail awaiting arraignment today. An autopsy on the child is expected to take a while. [Gazette][WNYT][TU][News 10][Spectrum]

Opioid suit
New York State is suing the maker of OxyContin for allegedly downplaying the risks and overstating the benefits of opioid products, helping to fuel an addiction and overdose epidemic. [TU]

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Gondolas
Rensselaer planners are now reviewing the $25 million proposal to put a gondola between the city and an area near the TU Center in Albany. Representatives for the project say they have secured 80 percent of the necessary funding for the project. [TU][Business Review]

Sinkhole
Crews are working on a sinkhole that developed overnight on North Main in Albany near Washington Avenue. [TU]

Cuomo spending
Andrew Cuomo spent about $7.5 million -- mostly on television ads -- in less than a month and still has $24.4 million left in his campaign fund.[Politico]

Troy pools
Rensselaer County's effort to help reopen the pools in Troy.[WNYT]

Convicted kidnapper dies in prison
Convicted kidnapper Gary Thibodeau, who recently lost an appeal to overturn his convictionion in the kidnapping of an 18-year-old Oswego County woman, died at Coxsackie Correctional Facility on Sunday. [TU]

Schenectady travel and tourism
For the second year in a row travel and tourism spending is up in Schenectady. [Gazette]

Airbnb
Airbnb is donating $10 million to nonprofit organizations in an effort to show New York legislators the impact of tax collection and remittances. [NYT]

Where the wind blows
Fate, romance, and tracking where the wind blows pollution. [TU]

Stuff to do today

ValleyCats
Wednesday-Thursday: The ValleyCats return from their all-star break for a a two-game home stand at The Joe against Connecticut. Wednesday is George Springer bobblehead night, and Thursday has post-game fireworks. Wednesday-Thursday -- $6.50 and up

Altamont Fair
Tuesday-Sunday: County fair season continues with the Altamont Fair. It's the county fair for Albany, Schenectady, and Greene counties. Tuesday-Sunday various times -- various admission prices

Capitol Park After Dark
Wednesday: The Capitol Park After Dark series is in West Capitol Park in Albany is showing the 1947 noir Out of the Past starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, and Rhonda Fleming. Wednesday 8 pm -- free

WTF
Tuesday-Sunday: The Williamstown Theatre Festival continues with a production of the Carson McCullers play The Member of Wedding (Tavi Gevinson is part of the cast) and Dangerous House, a new play by Jen Silverman (Samira Wiley is part of the cast). Tuesday-Sunday various times -- various prices

Park Playhouse
Tuesday-Saturday: This is the last week for The Park Playhouse's production of the satire How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in Washington Park. Tuesday-Saturday 7:30 pm -- lawn seats free / reserved seats $14 and up

Washington Ave Walkabout
Wednesday: The Historic Albany Foundation's Walkabout Wednesday series has a history walking tour about Washington Ave. "Historic Albany Foundation, with grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Preservation League of New York State, is working toward listing portions of Washington and Western Avenues from the Alfred E. Smith Building to the Downtown SUNY Campus on the National Register nomination as Albany's newest historic district." Wednesday 5:30 pm -- $10

Philadelphia Orchestra
It's the last week of the Philadelphia Orchestra annual run at SPAC. This week's schedule:
+ Wednesday: The Orchestra Unleashed!
Wednesday-Saturday various times -- $18 and up

Rockin' on the River
The Rockin' on the River series in Troy's Riverfront Park has Skeeter Creek, with Sydney Worthley. Wednesday 5 pm -- free admission

Lunchtime at the Plaza
Wednesday: The Lunchtime at the Plaza series of lunchtime shows (thus the name) at the ESP has School of Rock. Wednesday at noon -- free

Freedom Park
+ Wednesday: The concert series in Scotia's Freedom Park has The Joey Thomas Big Band. Wednesday 7 pm -- free

Comments

Gondolas! Skyways! Flyovers! Oh, my....

When is the government in the city of Albany going to start addressing the clear infrastructure problems that exist:

- You can't drive more than 1/10 of a mile on the majority of streets in the city without hitting a suspension damaging pothole. Just go check out New Scotland Ave. and Hackett. Maybe the one strong exception is the newly paved portions of Madison.

- The sewers system is in distress. It rains parts of the city gets flooded. We have sinkholes being created due to un-maintained, maybe unchecked infrastructure, remember when one swallowed a person's SUV?

- I think the city owe's it to its citizens how its going to start addressing these problems, with a comprehensive report, based on facts.

- I also think the city owe's it to its citizens to share if events like Alive at 5, are actually making the city money at the end of the day, and if its not, I think Alive at 5 should be put on hold for a few years, so we can spend the money on making sure people's basements don't flood. Because their won't be anyone attending the concerts in a few years when everyone's car is getting trapped in sinkholes, and they are bailing out their basements, and at the auto repair shop getting new suspension parts put in, nor will they have the money to buy things from the businesses that are supposed to benefit from the added foot traffic.

@John

1. Potholes exist in every municipality that has a freeze/thaw cycle. Albany is by no means the worst city in this regard. We can always strive to do better but potholes are a fact of life in this region. We should encourage people to report them on See Click Fix.

2. Sewer infrastructure is replaced as needed. It is impossible and ludicrously expensive to replace it all at once. There is no real way to "monitor" for sinkholes before they happen. The city is building an additional facility to handle sewer load in Lincoln Park as we speak. You should look into why sewer systems flood in heavy storms and what can be done to alleviate that. Albany, as an older city, has a Combined Sewer System Here is the plan to fix it: https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/95122.html

3. Sure and I think you may find that they do if you are looking.

4. The economic benefit that Alive at 5 and similar events provide to local businesses are certainly worth the costs. To say that "everyone" has cars getting trapped in sinkholes and flooded basements is pretty ridiculous and not productive conversation.

@Sean

I don't want to start a conversation on here like our mayor did with the APD, but I will respond to your comments in hopes that it improves things.

1. Yes, potholes do exist, I am disappointed the measure of success is "the worst city in this regard". I have reported several potholes on Click Fix. I reported one pothole on May 29th, which was assigned to DGS three months ago and still has not been fixed.

Additionally, I reported a sidewalk repair that was needed as it represents a clear tripping hazard, especially to the blind person that lives on my block that requires a seeing eye dog to get around, this was also assigned to DGS three months ago and has not been addressed.

2. Its disappointing to hear the best policy with the sewer infrastructure is waiting for something bad to happen. It seems like there has to be a better pro-active approach. Can't the city camera lines and create a database of lines that have issues and schedule them up for replacement?

4. Where is the data to show the economic benefit?

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