Capital Region News

Albany officials announced a series of programs today designed to provide funding to individuals and businesses in the city of Albany directly impacted by COVID-19 and Saturday’s riots.

An Albany civil rights leader says the peaceful protest of Saturday afternoon and the violence of Saturday night come from fears among African Americans that a loved one could be killed by law enforcement.

At the peak of Saturday night’s violence in Albany, County Executive Dan McCoy, a former firefighter, took quick action when he learned on social media about a fire. 

Top law enforcement officials in Albany County are discussing how policing and the criminal justice system will function in a post pandemic world.

Protestors have taken to the streets in the Midwest after a Minneapolis black man named George Floyd was killed by police in an incident where an officer was filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes as he lay on the ground, several times repeating "I can't breathe." In Albany, a march is planned for Saturday.

The city of Troy has launched a campaign to encourage the wearing of facemasks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the reopening of the Capital Region.

Over a hundred evironmental groups are urging the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to enforce the plastic bag ban and bottle bill law. The DEC disputes the criticism.

With the Capital Region in Phase One of the reopening process, COVID-19 numbers have been trending down in recent days.

State lawmakers representing the Capital Region say it will be long way back for local businesses now that phase one of reopening has begun.

Concerns remain over environmental pollution from burning toxic materials at the Norlite site in Cohoes.

The Capital Region began the first phase of reopening on Wednesday, but Albany County has seen an uptick in positive coronavirus cases and is issuing a warning regarding socializing this holiday weekend.

A facemask giveaway is scheduled for Friday in Albany.

Sixteen years ago, David Soares upended his former boss in the decisive Democratic primary for Albany County District Attorney. Now, Soares himself is facing a challenge from a former attorney in his office.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has given the Capital Region the go-ahead to begin reopening from coronavirus shutdowns Wednesday, a bit of news county leaders have been wishing for.

New York’s Capital Region is getting closer to reopening from the coronavirus shutdown.

Capital Region municipalities are laying off workers and cutting services with revenues sharply down during the pandemic.

Albany County's COVID-19 numbers released Friday continue to cast a shadow over a possible Capital Region reopening.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has held briefings for 75 straight days during the pandemic, but the legislative session in Albany – scheduled to run through June – has slowed to a crawl after the budget passed in early April. WAMC's Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas spoke with 109th district Assemblywoman Pat Fahy about what comes next.

Democratic New York state Assemblymembers Pat Fahy and John McDonald hosted a virtual town hall Thursday on health disparities found among communities of color during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan hosted a virtual town hall Wednesday night centered on the community health impacts of COVID-19.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan is asking residents to enlist in helping government better manage the pandemic.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County are up.

The first-term mayor of Cohoes addressed allegations that he misused city resources on his property at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the Capital Region now checks six of the seven criteria needed to begin reopening. But, the Democrat’s office says the region is not meeting the metric to show a sustained decline in daily hospital deaths from COVID-19.

Four years after reopening, the Cohoes Music Hall is in a state of flux.

A new Siena College poll shows more New Yorkers than not want to extend “PAUSE” past Friday.

Reopening the economy is an important step to a return to some degree of normalcy, according to two New York state Assemblymembers who held a virtual town hall Thursday to brainstorm with business leaders.

The last mayor of Cohoes and his successor are at odds over dirt and an allegation of theft of services.