Capital Region News

Three-term Albany Councilman Dominick Calsolaro recently announced he won’t see re-election to a fourth term.

He is backing political newcomer Dorcey Applyrs, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student in public health at the University at Albany, to be his successor as leader of the First Ward. Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas talked with Applyrs, a Washington DC native, about her affection for Albany and decision to run for public office.

Right now, at the North Albany branch of the Capital District YMCA on North Pearl Street in Albany, students of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, under the supervision of veterinarians, are offering subsidized veterinary care for dogs and cats, including physical exams and vaccinations, as part of the college’s Southside Well-Pet Clinic. 

A decades-old problem that plagues large cities is about to meet a new, digital foe.

The city of Albany is turning to smartphone technology in the fight against urban blight: Mayor Jerry Jennings announced the activation of The Graffiti Buster.   The free app was about a year in the making, the brainchild of Tim Varney, a partner at Troy Web Consulting. Albany's Department of General Services cleans up hundreds of incidents of graffiti every year.
 

A popular three-term Albany city councilman says he won't make another run. Dom Calsolaro has been thinking about stepping aside for awhile:
 
"I just think it's time for a change. Hopefully the city will be changing in more ways than one with other elected positions. I have a person, her name is Dorcey Applyrs, she's a young African-American woman, a phD candidate the school of public health, she really wants to do this job, she's excited about it, she has the energy..."

Citizens turned out for a Monday evening public hearing regarding some amendments proposed by chip fabrication company GlobalFoundries for its Fab 8.2 project that will impact Malta's planned development district.  

GlobalFoundries is seeking amendments pertaining to clean room space, enlarging the fab's overall footprint, extending building height limits and revised traffic mitigation.

The prestigious EMILY’s List, regarded as the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, is endorsing Kathy Sheehan for Mayor of Albany. Sheehan is the fourth mayoral candidate EMILY’s List has endorsed in 2013.

Over the weekend Sheehan, currently Albany City Treasurer, picked up the endorsement of Albany political heavyweight Jack McEneny.

What started out as a police training exercise has ignited community outrage and attracted the attention of the NAACP.

The Albany Police Department is taking some heat after pictures and complaints about what is described as a "training exercise" went viral on Facebook.

This November, residents of the City of Albany will go the polls to elect a new mayor. The Democratic Party has dominated the Albany political scene for decades. There is one hat "officially" in the ring as a few potential candidates calculate their chances of making a run for office.

The future of New York's capital city has, for decades, been entrusted to the mayor - and for the most part, those who served were long-tenured: Erastus Corning 42 years, Tom Whalen for 10, and incumbent Jerry Jennings, who has been in office since 1994.

The Palace Theatre, the grand cultural and entertainment facility that sits in the heart of downtown Albany, will soldier on. A new management team promises to keep the venue’s momentum, and traditions alive.

The RKO Palace's doors first opened in October 1931. Built during the Depression, it was the largest theatre in a city already noted for having several opulent movie houses. A nickel would buy an afternoon of entertainment.

The Palace was sold to the Fabian chain in the early 1940s. Fabian operated it until closure in September, 1969.  

The SNUG program was launched by the New York State Senate in 2009. The program aims to reduce gun and gang violence. SNUG, which is “guns” spelled backwards, came to Albany in 2010, but funding the program has been a struggle. Shootings dropped by 29 percent during SNUG’s first eight months of operation in New York's Capital city. Albany Common Councilor Barbara Smith, representing the 4th ward, hails the program as a success.

 

The Schenectady County League of Women Voters is holding a series of forums looking at the importance of agriculture and the future of the family farm.

A proposal leaked last week by the Associated Press indicating the State University at New York may spin its fast-growing College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering away from the University at Albany, creating a 65th campus, was addressed by a CNSE official Wednesday.

This November, residents of the City of Albany will go the polls to elect a Mayor. Capital region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas recently sat down with Albany's Treasurer and Chief Fiscal Officer Kathy Sheehan,  the first person to launch an official campaign challenging incumbent Mayor Jerry Jennings.

The University at Albany’s community service efforts to improve the quality of life in the Capital Region has earned the institution a place on the 2013 U.S. President’s Higher Education Honor Roll. Officials say that contributing to this national designation was the 39 percent student-service participation rate and three exemplar UAlbany programs including Albany, Hudson, Schenectady and Amsterdam, that address pressing community needs in the areas of minority health care, affordable mental health services and improved information literacy in low-performing and other schools.

The so-called "Skidmore Stalker" has waived extradition and will be returned to Saratoga County. 

Authorities tell the Albany Times Union that 49-year old Lance Leonard appeared in an Atlantic City courtroom on Wednesday and declared he would not fight his return to New York. He was arrested earlier this month after allegedly threatening a Skidmore College student. The campus was locked down for a time after the threat was received.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A written proposal shows the State University at New York may soon create its 65th campus, spinning its fast-growing College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering away from the University at Albany.

The proposal obtained by The Associated Press is confirmed by two people familiar with the internal discussions. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to announce the proposal. It would have to be approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature.

The founding director of Albany Pro Musica has suffered a major stroke.

Officials with the Albany Pro Musica board say David Griggs-Janower was stricken during surgery on Friday. After speaking with is family, a decision was made to give two performances scheduled for this weekend.

Concerts scheduled beyond this weekend are in question.

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced the lineup for the 36th annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, one of the most celebrated and longest running jazz events in the world.

Two-days and two-stages of live, world class jazz comes to Saratoga at the end of June. SPAC President and Executive Director Marcia White says this year's roster of artists is nothing short of electrifying.

The jazz festival will be held on Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The festival will be topped off by a fireworks display

Business and energy industry leaders have gathered in Troy for the two-day "Capture the Energy" conference.

Frank Murray is President and CEO of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority - NYSERDA helped sponsor the event, organized by New York Best, a consortium of government, academia and private industry focused on developing the energy storage industry in New York State.

Michael Field is with the Raymond Corporation in Green, New York just North of Binghamton. He says with new technologies, those new jobs will come.

Residents in one Columbia County community have had it with wind turbines:  neighbors along Carson Road on Winchell Mountain in Ancram say they've been awakened in the middle of the night by noises as loud as foghorns or hovering helicopters, so intense that the windows in their houses rattle.

This afternoon Albany Academy launched a 15-month bicentennial celebration.  The symbolic chiming of the clock tower bells, rung for the first time in 84 years, commemorated the beginning of a third century of education at the Albany Academies. Students, parents, faculty and alumni gathered at the Boy's School Front Circle to mark the 200th anniversary.

Looking for something to do today? A Cinderella story of sorts is taking place this weekend in the Catskills. 

There's trouble ahead for a local Housing authority. 

The new president of the University at Albany is appealing to Capital Region business and community leaders to support a new five-year funding plan.

President Robert Jones presented a plan that calls for $293 million over five years for critically important capital improvements, renovations, and upgrades to the university’s aging campus facilities, spanning more than 5.8 million square feet.  He says the revitalization and renewal plan will preserve the university’s existing infrastructure while creating an estimated 2,500 Capital Region jobs.