Items tagged with 'Malta'
That ABC News story about GlobalFoundries
The much hyped ABC World News story about the GlobalFoundries chip fab and Malta aired last night. And it was shockingly bad.
As reported by ABC, the chip fab story is one in which a plucky "tiny American town" got together, put on a show, "beat out of the world," and is now "coming back to life." And (best TV reporter smile voice) look at those crazy white coverall suits people have to wear at a chip fab!
No mention of the fact this "tiny American town" isn't actually in the middle of nowhere, but rather is part of the 59th largest metro area in the country -- and in the middle of the most prosperous county in that metro area. No mention of the $1.4 billion in public incentives used to lure the fab project, including an unprecedented $665 million cash grant. No mention of UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and its focus on chip fab research, the presence of which was key to attracting the fab. No mention of the billions in public and private investment going into this metro area for chip fab research.
There are so many angles to this story that could have highlighted both that Americans are capable of advanced manufacturing -- and the investment, complications, and side effects of attracting that sort of development.
What makes ABC's story even worse is that the correspondent, David Muir, is from upstate New York. He grew up in the Syracuse area, went to Ithaca College, and was on the local TV news in Syracuse. It's not like this place should be totally foreign to him. We're reasonably sure he's heard of the Albany metro area.
But attention is attention.
Thruway tolls increase, Albany schools to use lottery, the weekend in crime, the first baby of 2010
Thruway tolls went up five percent on Sunday, for both cash and EZ-Pass. State comptroller Tom DiNapoli criticized the increase, calling it "the last thing New Yorkers need now." [AP/Saratogian] [Fox23] [NYS OSC] [WNYT]
A 78-year-old woman was killed in Schenectady Saturday night after she was struck by a pick-up truck while crossing State Street near Proctors. The woman had been volunteering at the theater. The SPD says it's investigating the accident. [Daily Gazette $] [TU] [Fox23] [CapNews9]
Troy police say a man stole an idling SUV -- with two kids in it -- from outside a grocery store Friday morning. The TPD says the kids were found 45 minutes later, unharmed, along with the SUV. They say the suspect was arrested later that day. [Troy Record] [TU] [Troy Record]
Officials from the YMCA will be holding a meeting with the public this week to talk about what might be done to save the Washington Ave location in Albany. [Troy Record]
The Albany school district will be switching to a lottery system for filling slots in its pre-k programs. The old system was first-come-first-pick-wait-all-night. [TU]
Joe Bruno convicted, state managers upset they're not getting a raise, another bank robbery, cash for clunker appliances, crackdown on deer jacking
A federal jury convicted Joe Bruno on two felony counts of mail fraud. (here's a breakdown of the counts). "It was very hard to convict him when he's done so much for the area," said the juryforewoman to the TU. As he exited the courthouse, Bruno said to reporters: "It's not over till it's over and I think it's far from over." It sounds like Bruno is already planning an appeal. He faces up to 40 years in jail and $500k in fines -- though the judge has broad sentencing discretion. [TU] [Troy Record] [TU] [Troy Record] [Buffalo News] [NYT]
The Albany County legislature has approved a budget that includes a 5.9 percent tax increase* -- and keeps 100 jobs that were slated to be cut. (*The Record says the legislature approved a budget with a 5.4 percent tax increase, as opposed to county exec Mike Breslin's proposed 5.9 percent.) [TU] [CapNews9] [Troy Record]
Schenectady police say a man was shot on Hamburg street early this morning (map). [TU]
State management and confidential employees are upset that they're not getting raises -- even though the unionized people they supervise are. [TU]
Rumors of Obama visit to the area, Paterson says layoffs on the table, more complaints about student behavior, a big garage sale mistake
It's primary day. Polls are open from noon to 9 pm. If you're not sure where to vote, you can look it up at the State Board of Elections site.
Rumors are swirling that President Obama will make an appearance the site of the GlobalFoundries chip fab project in Malta. A source tells the TU that the Obama Administration is "considering" it. WNYT reports that the Secret Service has been doing advance work. A source tells CBS6 that the White House has been interested in the chip fab and how community colleges are involved in training workers. A spokesman for GloFo told the Post-Star that he didn't know "anything definite." [TU] [WNYT] [CBS6] [Post-Star]
Troy Police say they're still trying to piece together the details of the incident that led to a man getting shot in the head. Neighbors say the man had told the group of teenagers in the street to quiet down before the shooting. One neighbor says the shooting "could have been prevented" because residents called police before it happened. Six teens have been arrested for fighting outside the house. [Troy Record] [TU] [WTEN] [WNYT]
The man police say was the shooter in the Second Street murder last month in Albany says he heard shots at the party and ran away. [TU]
David Paterson said yesterday that "everything is on the table" -- including state worker layoffs and furloughs -- in the discussion about how to close the $2.1 billion midyear budget gap. He's called a leaders meeting to work on the cuts. [PolitickerNY] [Daily Politics]
State Senate portions pork in the middle of the night, more investment at Albany Nanotech, questions about near-drowning in Troy, common councilman owes back taxes
The state Senate was in session until 3 am this morning. It ended up passing a package of rules reforms for the chamber, including new guidelines for the distribution of pork and staff funding. The session was anything but smooth -- and the long delay prompted a few senators to leave. [Daily Politics] [TU] [Daily Politics]
Hiram Monserrate -- one of the state senators in the middle of the recent mess -- has been restored to his position as chair of Consumer Protection Committee and given his $12,500 stipend. Monserrate's chairmanship was taken away earlier this year after he was charged with slashing his girlfriend. [TU]
David Paterson's 2010 gubernatorial campaign racked up a $1000 bill for a campaign meeting at a bar in Jersey City. [NYT]
New York State announced that it will be spending $50 million on a "packaging" facility for computer chips at Albany Nanotech -- IBM is also part of the project and it will be putting up $75 million. Also part of the announcement: a new facility at SUNY IT (near Utica) that will work with Albany Nanotech. [Biz Review] [TU]
Plotting and scheming in the state Senate, vote on landfill delayed, Lake George beaches closed, bowling-spectator cop promoted
Today's forecast includes the possibility of severe weather this afternoon and evening. The chance of rain is 80 percent and conditions could include "penny size hail or greater and wind gusts 58 mph or stronger." [NWS] [NWS]
Monday in the state Senate: lots of talking and plotting, but little action. An Assemblyman and a few good government groups are saying that David Paterson could fix the situation by simply appointing a lieutenant governor, and thus giving the Senate a tie breaker. Republicans -- and AG Andrew Cuomo -- say Paterson can't do that. [TU] [NYDN] [Daily Politics]
On a different front, one of the senators has sued the Assembly in an attempt to get it to accept the bills "passed" by the Senate during last week's V8 quorum -- though David Paterson has said he won't the sign the bills even if the Assembly accepts them. [Daily Politics]
Another potential solution that bubbled to the surface yesterday was the idea of co-leadership of the Senate. But it seems the Democrats can't agree with each other, nevermind the Republicans, because many now despise Pedro Espada. And speaking of Espada, he was apparently plotting with the "four amigos" yesterday over lunch at Bongiourno's. [TU] [Daily Politics] [Daily Politics]
The Albany Common Council delayed its vote on the bonds that would fund the landfill expansion. Apparently there's some question as to whether there are enough vote to approve the debt. The landfill could be full as soon as the end of this year. [TU]
Paterson calls special Senate session, twins die in accident, lottery winner allegedly sold crack, man accused of syruping gas tanks
David Paterson is calling the state Senate into special session this afternoon. Whether anything of actual substance will happen is uncertain, though -- in large part because it's not clear who will be running the chamber. Paterson can set the agenda -- and he's putting up 90 largely uncontroversial bills for consideration (he can't make the senators vote, though). When/if the bills are voted on, Paterson says he'll keep the Senate in session for bills related to "reform, fiscal discipline and also civil rights." One of those bills is probably the same-sex marriage bill, though Paterson didn't say that exactly -- probably because Democrat, and outspoken same-sex marriage opponent, Ruben Diaz has been threatening to switch parties if the bill is brought up. [TU] [NYDN] [Buffalo News] [Daily Politics] [PolitickerNY]
While the Senate drama lurched forward yesterday, the Assembly finished its session. [AP]
Twin teenage brothers died Sunday in Rensselaer County after the ATVs they were driving collided head-on. A teen girl was also seriously injured. The teens were not wearing helmets (the TU story says state law requires helmets, the Gazette story says it does not helmets are required). [TU] [Troy Record] [Daily Gazette]
Police say a Schenectady man stabbed his adult step daughter and her friend after the man got into an argument with his wife at a Father's Day party on Sunday. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
Senate is still stuck, big drug bust in Wilton, Alive at Five DWI crackdown planned, man accused of impersonating a cop, another local moose sighting
The state Senate is still borked. Local elected leaders are getting nervous because the Senate hasn't passed bills that would extend special sales taxes (this group includes Rensselaer and Columbia counties). Also held up: the new pension tier that was part of David Paterson's deal with the state worker unions. And the lid on the pork barrel is also shut. [TU] [CapNews9] [Buffalo News]
Republicans and Democrats are apparently trading ideas for power-sharing agreements. They're also starting to throw mud at each other. A sample exchange: Pork-throwing adulterer! Liar! [PolitickerNY] [NYP]
Pedro Espada, the lone Democrat in the Republican "coalition," has been reiterating his claim that his position as Senate pro tem gives him two votes -- not just in the event of a tie, but also to establish a quorum. An expert from the the Rockefeller Institute said Espada's claim "just might be correct." But the case law would seem to indicate otherwise. If Espada tries to act in this manner, the Democrats will almost certainly sue. [Daily Politics] [AP/Troy Record] [TU] [NYT]
The revised Schenectady schools budget did pass after all. A re-check of the numbers found a mistake that had resulted in almost 50 fewer "yes" votes. Had the budget not passed, the school district was going to impose an almost 16 percent tax increase as part of a contingency budget. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
Senate drama staggers forward, calls for Tuffey to be fired, APD starts rewards for tips program, it's DMB weekend in Saratoga
The state Senate -- or, at least, part of it -- went into session yesterday... for about 20 minutes. Hiram Monserrate -- one of the Democratic switchers -- walked out, bring the session to a halt. Monserrate said he's trying to bring more Democrats into the coalition -- but other suspect he's playing both sides in an attempt to the score the best deal. [TU] [NYT] [NYDN] [NYP]
Another hold up in the Senate yesterday: Democrats locked the cabinet that holds the bills.
Most of the action yesterday was in court, where Democrats tried to challenge the overthrow. The didn't win much -- and they'll be back in court today. However, they did get an order blocking Pedro Espada, who's (maybe?) the new Senate president pro tem, from becoming acting governor were something to happen to David Paterson. Apparently some are concerned that Espada could issue pardons if Paterson traveled out of state -- even a pardon to... himself. [AP/Daily Gazette] [Daily Politics] [TU]
Espada is apparently trying to pull other Democrats into the coalition by pushing for a vote on the same-sex marriage bill. [Daily Politics]
The big issue in the background of this whole struggle: redistricting. [Newsday]
Now that Albany police chief James Tuffey is back at work in an administrative role, Shawn Morris and Corey Ellis -- both mayoral candidates -- are calling for him to be fired. Tuffey said he's not going anywhere. Jerry Jennings says he still supports Tuffey: "I run this city. They don't run this city. I made this decision, I'll stand by it." [TU] [Fox23]
Local gas prices drop, dog saves elderly couple from fire, Schenectady cops to be re-organized, local company develops fungus insulation
Gasoline prices have dropped below the $3 mark in some parts of the Capital Region -- though there's still wide variation between different neighborhoods. And gas here is still more expensive than it was last year at this time. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record] [Saratogia]
The two candidates running for the 21st Congressional District (McNulty's seat) debated last night. Paul Tonko, a Democrat, called himself "a problem solver by profession" (he was an engineer). Jim Buhrmaster, a Republican, touted his "real world experience" and the fact that he's a parent (Tonko doesn't have children). Top issue, according to each candidate -- Tonko: energy; Buhrmaster: the size of government. [CapNews9] [Fox23]
The executive committee of SUNY's Student Assembly is a supporting a resolution that calls for modest annual tuition increases. Tuition hasn't gone up since 2003. The system is facing a budget gap of as much as $210 million. [TU]
Firefighters say an elderly couple in Malta were able to escape their burning house early this morning after their dog alerted them to fire. The dog didn't make it out. [CBS6] [TU]
Investigation into Obama-Osama mixup, enrollment surges for local community colleges, fire wood in high demand, opossum knocks out power in Troy
The Rensselaer County legislature has decided to investigate how absentee ballots in the county ended up listing Barack Obama as Barack Osama. [TU]
Albany County's proposed 2009 budget includes a 4 percent property tax increase, the first in four years. [TU]
Malta, Malta, Malta:
+ The transfer of AMD's state incentive package to its spinoff depends on a vote by the Empire State Development Corp. And that spin-off company will be organized in the Cayman Islands -- though it will pay US taxes on operations in this country. [TU]
+ AMD doesn't think its technology sharing agreement with Intel will pose any problem. At all.
+ The new chip fab won't be turning chips until 2012. [Daily Gazette]
+ Malta has a couple of "new urbanist" developments in the works for its downtown -- but some, including the town supervisor, worry the developments will be too dense. [TU]
Both HVCC and SCCC are reporting surges in enrollment, probably because of the weakening economy. Hot program of study at HVCC: overhead electric line worker. [TU]
Troy City Hall to be knocked down, Bruno says Spitzer was "nuts," something may be rotten at Colonie's dump, local unemployment rate up
A $6 million slab of Bruno bacon, probably the last of his pork, will be put towards a project that includes the demolition of Troy City Hall. A riverfront park and underground parking garage are slated for its place. There doesn't appear to be a solid plan for where the new city hall will go, but Harry Tutunjian and the city council -- who have been fighting over this for months -- are vowing to work together on the relocation. [TU] [Troy Record]
Joe Bruno will officially resign from his state Senate seat at midnight tonight. In an exit interview of sorts with the Troy Record, Bruno says he'll miss the power that comes with being one of the The Three Men in the Room. He also says that he "knew there was something wrong with" Eliot Spitzer after their first meeting, describing the former gov as "certifiably nuts." [Troy Record]
The Town of Colonie, the state DEC and the AG's office are investigating whether a trash hauler defrauded the town landfill of $15 million in revenue. The company has been accused of working with landfill employees to systematically underreport the amount of garbage it's been dumping. In May, a former employee reportedly complained that they had been fired for not going along with the alleged scheme. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]
The candidates for the 21st Congressional District (McNulty's seat) got together last night to talk about their positions on a range of topics. "Change" was apparently a popular topic. [Daily Gazette] [Daily Gazette]
The head of AMD, the company talking about building a massive chip fab plant at Luther Forest, stepped down yesterday. Hector Ruiz had been under pressure after the company reported losing more than $1 billion last quarter. The new CEO is reportedly a star engineer who's respected on Wall Street. AMD has still not officially committed to the Luther Forest project. [TU] [NYT]
The Capital Region unemployment rate hit 4.9 percent last month, that's a full point higher than the same period last year. [TU]
Don't you just hate it when your star artist neighbor won't quit bugging you about that 90 acre parcel of land in Rensselaerville until you sell it to him? [TU]
Teen charged in Kathina Thomas shooting, school tax cap going nowhere, Schenectady cops to get a coach, a good year for syrup
Police have arrested a 15-year-old for firing the shot that killed Kathina Thomas. Jermayne Timmons, an Albany High student, was charged Tuesday night. No one from his family accompanied him to the arraignment. As person said to the Gazette of Timmons, "He's only a kid himself." And what about the more than $20,000 in reward money? APD chief James Tuffey says it didn't play much of a role. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
Oscar Mora, ane of the organizers of that big drug operation in Schenectady (the one with wich the former police chief Greg Kaczmarek's wife was allegedly involved), accepted a plea deal yesterday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Schenectady County Judge Karen Drago scolded Mora for "polluting" the community. [Daily Gazette] [TU]
It looks like a state cap on school property taxes isn't going to happen during this legislative session. [Daily Gazette]
Schenectady is going to spend $40,000 over the next year-and-a-half to hire a wellness coach in an attempt to help its cops lose weight. [TU]
The Town of Malta is trying to sort out whether it's OK to keep a pet horse in your backyard. [Daily Gazette]
This year apparently had a great maple syrup season. The weather was "just right" according to one producer. [Daily Gazette]
Spitzer still the gov -- for now, Troy enforces code violations against "Virtual Jihadi" gallery, Albany Marines headed to Iraq, firemen remove man from tree, Schenectady cop takes time on the job to take in bowling
Will Eliot Spitzer resign today? Yes... or, at least, maybe. [TU] [NYT]
The City of Troy has shut down public gatherings at the gallery that was showing Wafaa Bilal's "Virtual Jihadi" for code violations. The exhibition drew protests Monday -- and they were led by the city's public works commissioner, who also happens to be in charge of code enforcement. The gallery had been previously cited for violations, but the director of the gallery says the city is censoring the work. And he says the original code violations came after the gallery showed a film that was critical of the mayor's policies. [TU] [Troy Record] [Daily Gazette]
The Marine reserve unit based in Albany will be going to Iraq later this year. [TU]
The Schenectady fire department was called last night to remove a man from a tree alongside I-890. [Daily Gazette]
Malta is looking at plans to concentrate its new development into a walkable downtown. [Daily Gazette]
A Schenectady cop was caught watching his son bowl in Scotia while he was supposed to be on patrol. "No, that's not acceptable," mayor Brian Stratton told the Gazette with a sigh. [Daily Gazette]
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?