All Over Albany

A woman and two men in the room, family moves toward lawsuit over home demolition, Troy rethinking dangerous dog law, remembering Dan Dwyer

State Senate leadership
After a leadership vote Monday, Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins will be majority leader when the state Senate is back in session in January -- and she'll be the first woman to hold the position. On being one of the three men -- now two men and a woman -- in the room: "Women hold up half of this state, so the fact that there was never a woman in the room has always been something that I found troubling." [Spectrum] [TU] [CBS6]

Sheridan Hollow home demolition lawsuit
The Albany family who's housed ended up demolished after an adjacent emergency demolition on Orange Street in October is moving toward filing a lawsuit against the city. [TU]

The Thruway
A former NYS Thruway official at an infrastructure industry event in Colonie Monday said the Thruway is in an "an old age crisis" and the state is facing possible spending of $500 million to $1 billion a year to restore the system.

Kirsten Gillibrand
There's a group of prominent Democratic Party donors who are irked by Kirsten Gillibrand's call last year for Al Franken to resign from the Senate over allegations of sexual misconduct -- so much so that a Politico article speculates the rift could hurt a potential Gillibrand presidential campaign. Gillibrand in response to the article, on Twitter: "Silencing women for the powerful, or for your friends, or for convenience, is neither acceptable, nor just." [Politico] [@SenGillibrand]

State legislature pay raise
Sara Foss: "Legislators should enact meaningful ethics reforms, and then make the case that they deserve a salary bump." [Daily Gazette]

St. Clare's pension problems
The state legislators who represent Schenectady are calling for some sort of intervention to address the problems with the former St. Clare's Hospital pension fund -- from the state bailing out the fund to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany pitching in. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady police
Schenectady's public safety commissioner says the city's police department won't be revising its policies regarding arrestees and requests for medical attention -- as recommended by the state Attorney General's office in a review of the death of Andrew Kearse -- until after the police chief returns from FBI training in mid December. [TU]

Troy dangerous dog law
The recent case involving a dog named Luna is prompting Troy officials to reexamine the city's dangerous dog law to maybe be more flexible. [TU]

Immigrants
The Troy woman who recently had her deportation case dismissed says she's now in a situation where she can't work because she doesn't have a green card and has been advised to not pursue public benefits because that could affect her application for the green card. [TU]

Guns
A Glenville gun shop owner keeps a bottle of bullets on the shop's counter -- they're all the rounds the shop has taken out of guns after customers brought the guns in and thought they were empty. [CBS6]

Hamilton Hill Arts Center
A look at the Hamilton Hill Arts Center's expansion plans. [TU]

Buster
Chris Churchill has an update on Buster, the dog credited with helping to save a Niskayuna man from an overdose and then later was seriously injured when he struck by a car. [TU]

Dan Dwyer
Assemblyman John McDonald remembering Rensselaer mayor Dan Dwyer at Dwyer's funeral Monday: "His legacy will be marked by the development along the waterfront that's already begun and will continue. Personally, as an individual who worked closely with him, he was just such a decent human being; he really was just loved people." [Spectrum]

Stuff going on today

Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley
Tuesday-Sunday: The Rep opens its production of Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley, based on characters from Pride and Prejudice. "In this charmingly imagined sequel to Jane Austen's masterwork, the ever-dependable Mary Bennet is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings' romantic escapades. When the family visits for Christmas, an unexpected guest sparks Mary's hopes for independence, an intellectual match -- and possibly even love?" Tuesday-Sunday various times -- $22 and up

Daesha Devón Harris
Tuesday: Artist Daesha Devón Harris will be at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage Albany campus to talk about her work using photography, video, and experimental print techniques to explore individual and collective stories and history. Tuesday 6:30 pm -- free

The Winter's Tale
Tuesday: Proctors is showing a filmed version of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre production of The Winter's Tale in the GE Theatre. Tuesday 2 pm and 6:30 pm -- $12