All Over Albany

Youth football team mourns second gun death, Yassin Aref released from prison, how Sheldon Silver remains free

Second gun death for Pop-Warner team
The shooting death of a pop-warner football coach in an Albany night club last weekend marked the second gun violence loss this year for an Albany Pop Warner football team. [TU]

Silver
How the twice-convicted Sheldon Silver is still managing to stay out of jail. [NYT]

Aref released
Yassin Aref, the Albany Imam convicted on terrorism charges following the raid of an Albany mosque in 2004, was released from prison on Wednesday and will be leaving the United States to join his family in Kurdistan. [WNYT][TU]

Morse
An effort by the Cohoes Common Council to remove embattled Mayor Shawn Morse from the city's Industrial Development Agency. [TU]

Albany elections officials say the South End is dangerous
The Albany County elections commissioners are balking at a plan by county executive Dan McCoy to move their headquarters to the Albany's South End neighborhood -- one called it "a bad, dangerous neighborhood." [TU]

Robert Nickol
Defense attorneys for former state Senate aide Robert Nickol claimed on Wednesday that his ex-girlfriend, whom he is on trial for abusing, had made false abuse abuse accusations in the past. [TU]

Working Families Party supports Cuomo
The Working Families party has dropped Cynthia Nixon from its ticket and is now supporting Andrew Cuomo. [TU]

Prosecutors seek prison in low-show job case
Federal prosecutors want to see former Competitive Power Ventures executive Peter Galbraith Kelly spend up to 18 months in prison for his part in providing a low-show job for the wife of former Andrew Cuomo aide Joe Percoco. [TU]

The Senate 43rd
The race for the retiring Kathy Marchione's Senate seat. [TU]

Diane Neal
Chris Churchill on Law and Order SVU actress Diane Neal's run for Congress against John Faso and Antonio Delgado, and the challenges of facing "machine" candidates on both sides of the aisle. [TU]

White supremacist flyers
UAlbany officials and students are condemning the white supremacist group whose flyers were found hung up around campus last month. [TU]

Schumer
Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Donald Trump reached a "new low" by publicly mocking Christine Blasey Ford in a speech this week. [Spectrum]

Scrapyard to riverside apartments
Niskayuna has issued final approval for a new $26 million housing project to go up on the site of a former auto scrapyard.[Gazette]

Stuff going on today

Capitol Hauntings

Monday-Saturday: The popular Capitol Hauntings tours have started up for the season at the state Capitol. "The tour lasts about an hour, but the chilling, ghostly tales might haunt you forever." Monday-Friday 1 pm and 5:30 pm / Saturday 1 pm -- free (but you must make a reservation and they fill up)

The Royale

Tuesday-Sunday: The Rep continues its production of The Royale. Show blurbage:

Jay "The Sport" Jackson needs one more win to become heavyweight champion of the world, but in the Jim Crow reality of 1905 America, his greatest opponent may not be in the ring. Inspired by the true story of trailblazing boxer Jack Johnson, The Royale bristles with the thrilling rapid-fire dialogue and rhythmic punctuation of playwright Marco Ramirez (Netflix's Daredevil, Orange is the New Black). This powerhouse of a play brings to explosive life the ultimate fight for a man's place in history and packs a punch that will leave you breathless.

Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $20 and up

Tara Westover
Thursday: Tara Westover will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. She'll be talking about her bestselling memoir Educated. "Educated details Westover's experiences as the daughter of strictly Mormon anti-government survivalists on a remote mountain in Idaho that devoted its time and energy to preparing for the End of Days in the mountains of Idaho. ... When she grew older, seeking to escape a violent older brother, and lacking any formal education, Westover taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement." She'd go on to get a PhD in history. (She's also giving a craft talk at 4:15 pm on the uptown campus.) Thursday 7:30 pm, downtown campus, Page Hall -- free

The Bandleader Who Changed America
Thursday: The Egg is hosting a program about James Reese Europe, an influential jazz bandleader who also served with the Harlem Hellfighters during WWI (the same unit with which Henry Johnson served). Event blurbage:

Through the use of photos, film, and live music, this multimedia presentation will focus on the life and music of James Reese Europe (1880-1919), an extraordinary individual who was not only instrumental in the success of the Harlem Hellfighters, an African-American military regiment from New York that was dispatched to fight for France in World War I, but had a major influence in the development of jazz, swing, and contemporary dance music.

Thursday 6:30 pm -- free admission

Literary Local History Walk
Thursday: Maeve McEneny Johnson is leading a walking tour of Albany's literary history. "We'll admire the buildings, visit some Albany neighborhoods, but more importantly, Maeve will tell us the stories behind Albany's surprising literary history. Albany was the home to many literary legends, such as our own William Kennedy and Gregory Maguire." It's a collaboration between the Albany Institute and WMHT as part of the f Great American Read PBS. Wednesday 6 pm -- free

Music

Thursday: The Decemberists at MASS MoCA
Rescheduled from June. 8 pm -- $45 ahead / $55 day of

Thursday: Alice Cooper at The Palace
"A paranormal evening with..." 8 pm -- $39.75 and up

Thursday: The Blue Stones at Browns Fall Sessions
Outdoor concert behind the brewery on the riverfront. With: The Late Shift. 5 pm -- free

Thursday: The Way Down Wanderers at Caffe Lena
Roots. 7 pm -- $20