Albany Times Union Local News

SCHENECTADY –A dilapidated city-owned vacant property in Mont Pleasant that over the years has devolved into a dumping ground will soon be history.

City Councilman Ed Kosiur said 792 Francis Ave. is one about three dozen buildings that city leaders approved for demolition Monday during their City Council meeting. Schenectady has owned the building, which appears to be falling apart, since 2017.

ALBANY — A malfunctioning pump system excessively drained water from Buckingham Pond during the weekend, but officials responded and have fixed the cause of the problem.

Residents noticed that Buckingham Pond's water levels were very low. The City Water Department responded and stopped water from draining out of the pond.

The pond, which is about one-third of a mile long and sits on five acres of land bordering Berkshire Boulevard, has a maximum depth of five feet, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Created in the late 1920s, Buckingham Pond houses various species of fish including Common Carp, Goldfish, Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, and Yellow Perch. A walking trail also surrounds the pond.

SCHAGHTICOKE - A town man was arrested last week Monday for allegedly stealing a utility task vehicle, Washington County Sheriff's Office said.

NORTH GREENBUSH - A public hearing is being held for a proposed 156-unit condominium development on Whiteview Road at Monday night's Planning Board meeting.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Town Hall, 2 Douglas St., Wynantskill.

A retired University at Albany biology professor and his wife are giving $5 million to create an endowment for a high school science program as well as funds for the university's biology department and scholarships.

Lake Placid

Officials in the Adirondack villages of Lake Placid and Tupper Lake are looking at reducing power costs through a technique called peak shaving.

Researchers from Clarkson University will study how the two villages could use battery storage to reduce power consumption during periods of high electricity demand. Currently, both villages receive low-cost power from the New York Power Authority, but must pay market rates for power once that allotment is used.

The study is being funded by the New York State Energy and Development Authority.

LATHAM — Tim Kremer, who since 1998 has been the face of the state School Boards Association, will be retiring at the end of the year.

Kremer came to the association after a similar role in Ohio, for a total of four decades of education service.

Dr. Richard Propp, a longtime physician at Albany Medical Center, was best known for his grassroots work fighting for universal health coverage. He died Monday at age 84.

Saratoga Springs

The Saratoga Casino Hotel is adding five charging stations for electric vehicles as part of its ongoing energy efficiency efforts.

Located on Crescent Avenue, the 117-unit hotel expects to open five two-port charging stations next month that can charge up to ten vehicles. Located near the hotel's Jefferson Street entrance, the stations will be free to guests.

The hotel has also upgraded lighting with LED fixtures and added more recycling receptacles around the property.

ALBANY – Nearly a dozen officers responded to the March 16 incident at a First Street home that later led to the arrest of one officer and the suspension of two others.

What about the rest?

Albany police Chief Eric Hawkins was peppered with this question and other concerns from dozens of residents at a forum Monday to discuss the alleged police brutality incident in West Hill.

"All of them are complicit in the crime that took place," said Anthony Muhammad, the Albany representative of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam. "You have a big job ahead of you sir, and we need more arrests in this case."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture makes loans to small colleges that have trouble accessing funds. Some question that, while college officials say it is helpful.

WILTON – For decades, Republicans have held the top seat in town. But with the upcoming retirement of long-time Supervisor Arthur Johnson, who decided not to seek re-election in November, the Democrats think they have a chance to capture the seat.

Democratic Party Chair Pat Tuz said Nancy Dwyer, whom the committee also endorsed for supervisor in 2017, will win over voters this time around by promising to listen to constituents, not developers.

"The town has exploded in growth in the last 10 years," Tuz said. "The Republicans don't represent the diversity the town now has. We have very educated people in the town. Why not put them to good use."

ALBANY — A woman who was allegedly raped as a 12- and 13-year-old in the early 1990s by NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere may testify at his upcoming criminal trial to buttress the Justice Department's charges that he sexually exploited another underage girl in 2005.

Federal prosecutors said too many years have lapsed to file criminal charges in the earlier case. But they said the woman's accusations from the 1990s incidents, which were first disclosed in a 2012 Times Union series on NXIVM, should be allowed into evidence to demonstrate Raniere's alleged pattern of sexually abusing young girls.

The charges of child exploitation and possession of child pornography are part of a broader racketeering and conspiracy case against Raniere, 58. He also is accused of multiple acts of fraud, identity theft, money laundering, sex trafficking, forced labor and altering evidence in a federal civil case.

Local Sri Lankans mourned in shock after Easter Sunday terror attacks killed hundreds in the country they described as beautiful, diverse and peaceful for the past decade.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The remains of a World War II soldier who went missing in the final weeks of the Guadalcanal campaign have been positively identified 76 years after he was listed as missing in action, according to the U.S. government.

Skeletal remains recovered two years ago on the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific are those of Pfc. Dale W. Ross, who has surviving family in Ashland, Oregon, according to a statement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Ross' remains were identified with the help of Donna Esposito, a WWII researcher, from Scotia, N.Y.