New York news

• Report identifies water contamination at 4 military sites upstate

  06-03-2019 23:59 via timesunion.com
  WASHINGTON _ A new report identifies 101 current and former military installations with potentially hazardous amounts of PFAS _ per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances _ in drinking water, including four sites in upstate New York.
  The upstate locations include Fort Drum in Watertown, the now-closed Griffiss Air Force Base near Rome, the now-closed Plattsburgh Air Force Base, and a Defense Logistics Agency site in Verona. PFAS pollution had been uncovered at each one but the report by the Enviro
  
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• UAlbany athletic director calls coach's comments "unacceptable"

  06-03-2019 23:43 via timesunion.com
  "On Monday, Coach Scott Marr made unacceptable comments directed at the NCAA that I feel compelled to publicly repudiate,'' Benson said in a prepared statement. "Scott's comments were not accurate and, more fundamentally, do not represent the values or opinions of the University at Albany Athletic Department. I have spoken to Coach Marr, and I am confident he understands the gravity of this error in judgment."Benson went on to say Marr has his "full support," and thanked the NCAA for addressing
  
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• Patrols Cars in Nassau Country Are Falling Apart

  06-03-2019 23:24 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Police officers in Nassau County say they need new patrol cars. Roseanne Colletti reports.
  
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• Driver ticketed after striking teen in Troy

  06-03-2019 23:20 via timesunion.com
  TROY —- The driver who struck and injured a teen Tuesday evening on 8th Street has been ticketed for unsafe speed, police said Wednesday.The 16-year-old girl, who police say was walking in the roadway on 8th Street between Rensselaer and Hoosick Streets, was hit around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
  
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• Queens Woman Shocked to Owe Thousands in E-ZPass Fines

  06-03-2019 23:18 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A Queens driver said their E-ZPass bill hit $4,000. Lynda Baquero reports.
  
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• Despite deadly 2018, Albany violent crimes numbers dip

  06-03-2019 23:18 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY - In one of the deadliest years the capital city has seen in the last two decades, other violent crimes like assaults and robberies dropped in 2018 in comparison to the prior year.Fifteen people were killed in Albany last year, many of them by gunfire, yet the number of reported robberies and aggravated assaults in the city declined 15 percent and 4 percent respectively, according to Albany Police Department statistics for 2018. Rapes also dropped 4 percent, figures show.
  
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• Roar! Dinosaurs to Make a Big Comeback at Bronx Zoo

  06-03-2019 23:07 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Visitors to the Bronx Zoo will be transported back in time thanks to an immersive, realistic dinosaur-centric experience.Photo Credit: Courtesy: Bronx Zoo
  
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• Recycling Collection Canceled in Mount Vernon

  06-03-2019 22:51 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Recycling collection has been canceled in Mt Vernon after all the city's garbage trucks failed safety inspections. Ken Buffa reports.
  
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• NY Dems Back Weed and Biden for 2020: Poll

  06-03-2019 22:16 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  More than half of New York Democrats say they prefer a presidential nominee who is more progressive than moderate, with the majority of New Yorkers not backing a hometown candidate for president in 2020, a...Photo Credit: Getty Images
  
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• Brunswick councilman pleads guilty in drunken driving case

  06-03-2019 22:14 via timesunion.com
  SCHAGHTICOKE – A Brunswick councilman pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired in Schaghticoke Town Court Monday night receiving the standard disposition for a first-time offender, the Rensselaer County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.Councilman Daniel Casale's guilty plea resolve the drunken driving charges that arose when he was stopped Feb. 8 by a county sheriff's deputy when his vehicle's headlights were not on while traveling on the street where he lives in the town.
  
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• Albany Training Academy expansion under way

  06-03-2019 22:14 via timesunion.com
  Excavation work has begun on the grounds of the Albany Training Academy for a $39.4 millionexpansion project that would include three new buildings and expanded surface parking.The project, which caught many residents in the Normans Kill neighborhood by surprise, has drawn some criticism from those neighbors, who said they're concerned about the loss of green space.
  
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• Snapchat User Seeking Nude Photos Threatens HS Girls: Police

  06-03-2019 21:16 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  An anonymous Snapchat user asked several high school girls to send over nude photos — and threatened to retaliate if they didn’t, police said.Photo Credit: AP
  
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• Private schools sue over state plans for educational inspections

  06-03-2019 21:16 via timesunion.com
  A group of 11 private schools including the Albany Academies is suing the state Education Department over new rules that require outside inspections to make sure students are meeting curriculum and subject guidelines.
  
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• NY Man Gouges Out Grandma's Eyes Over Debit Card: Prosecutor

  06-03-2019 21:13 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A Long Island man blinded his grandmother by gouging her eyes out during an argument, prosecutors say.Photo Credit: Getty Images/Suffolk County District Attorney's Office
  
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• Japanese Dollar Store Daiso Coming to NYC This Week

  06-03-2019 21:10 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  The popular Japanese dollar store Daiso will open its first East Coast location this week.Photo Credit: Pexels/CC
  
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• Cops: North Greenbush suspect is behind a dozen other break-ins

  06-03-2019 20:42 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY - A Greenville man, who police say is responsible for a dozen commercial burglaries in 2018 in the Capital Region, has been charged with the burglary of two North Greenbush businesses, police said Wednesday.Jaime Velez, 54, was charged by North Greenbush police for two counts of burglary, petit larceny and two counts of criminal mischief.
  
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• Debris Crashes Onto Car From Subway Tracks Again, Pol Says

  06-03-2019 20:36 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A piece of debris crashed onto a car from an elevated subway track in Queens — less than a month after a beam fell from the tracks and pierced a car windshield, narrowly missing the driver, a local politician...Photo Credit: Twitter/Jimmy Van BramerThis story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
  
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• NY Dems Back Progressiveness, Weed and Biden for 2020: Poll

  06-03-2019 20:18 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  More than half of New York Democrats prefer a presidential nominee who is more progressive than moderate, with the majority of New Yorkers not backing a hometown candidate for president in 2020, a new NBC 4 New...Photo Credit: Getty Images
  
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• Prosecutor: They left her for dead on a snowy Albany median

  06-03-2019 20:08 via timesunion.com
  No one disputes that Tamale Harris was there when Keshia Richards took heroin on March 13, 2018 at a Rensselaer motel during a night-long party.No one disputes that the next morning he and Jodi Noisseau took the 24-year-old back to Noisseau's apartment on Partridge Street in Albany to let her sleep it off.But everything after that is part of the question that will determine whether Harris is guilty of manslaughter, tampering with evidence and concealment of human remains and conspiracy.
  
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• Divorce Billboard Turning Drivers’ Attention Away From Road

  06-03-2019 19:29 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  At first glance, an Albany billboard appears to feature a giant raised middle finger, but it’s actually a ring finger.Photo Credit: Rose Szymborski / Pexels
  
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• Photos: Bishop marks Ash Wednesday

  06-03-2019 19:10 via timesunion.com
  Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany offered Mass at various Capital Region locations on Ash Wednesday.Students, faculty and staff at La Salle Institute received ashes from the bishop at the Troy school.Wednesday begins the 40-day Christian season of Lent, marked by reflection and preparation for Easter.This year, Easter is April 21.
  
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• Saved from deportation, city mission chef returns to Albany

  06-03-2019 18:59 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY — Kinimo Ngoran, the Capital City Rescue Mission chef who spent six weeks in federal custody facing the possibility of deportation, returned to the city Wednesday afternoon.He returned to cheers and tears as he got out of a car at the city mission on South Pearl Street.
  
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• Saved from deportation, Albany chef comes home to tears, hugs, calls for action

  06-03-2019 18:59 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY — Kinimo Ngoran, the Capital City Rescue Mission chef who spent six weeks in federal custody facing the possibility of deportation, returned to the city Wednesday afternoon.He returned to cheers and tears as he got out of a car at the city mission on South Pearl Street.
  
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• Capital Region training opportunity for nonprofits addressing health

  06-03-2019 18:56 via timesunion.com
  The NY StateWide Senior Action Council is looking for small community-based organizations from around the Capital Region who are interested in addressing social determinants of health.
  
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• Assembly acts to raise age to 21 for tobacco purchases

  06-03-2019 18:56 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY - Legislation increasing the minimum sales age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 is expected to pass the state Assembly for the first time on Wednesday.
  
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• Iona men's basketball aiming for MAAC Tournament history

  06-03-2019 18:22 via timesunion.com
  The Gaels have won nine straight tournament games over the past three years at TU Center. They've prevailed as the No. 2 seed (2016), No. 3 seed (2017) and No. 4 seed (2018).La Salle (1988 to 1990) and Siena (2008 to 2010) are the only other schools to have earned three MAAC titles in a row.The Gaels have won 17 of their past 19 contests at TU Center, including six of seven against Siena during the regular season."It definitely gives confidence to our players, for sure,'' Cluess said. "They're d
  
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• Man threatened to bomb courthouse, troopers say

  06-03-2019 18:14 via timesunion.com
  A 53-year-old Poughkeepsie man is under arrest after sending a letter threatening to blow up a state courthouse in New York City, State Police said.Dominick Volino was arrested Tuesday in Florida on a charge of making a terroristic threat, a felony. Troopers said Volino was trying to get out of the country when he was taken into custody.
  
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• New York school tax proposals are within the cap

  06-03-2019 18:13 via timesunion.com
  With an average increase of 2.6 percent statewide, this year's proposed school property tax increases are the highest since 2014, although just a bit more than the 2.5 percent increases proposed a year ago.
  
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• Soares says end cash bail as Republicans urge discussion on justice reforms

  06-03-2019 18:02 via timesunion.com
  ALBANY — Albany County District Attorney David Soares and 13 prosecutors from across the country sent a letter Wednesday to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and New York's legislative leaders urging an end to cash bail and noting that "many people are jailed simply because they are too poor to purchase their freedom."Soares, president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, signed the letter as an individual prosecutor and not on behalf of the organization.The district attorney
  
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• 19 Hurt, Some Leap 3 Stories, as Fire Devours NYC Home

  06-03-2019 17:41 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  More than a dozen people were hurt, two of whom were clinging to life, when a two-alarm fire tore through a three-story building in the Bronx early Wednesday.Photo Credit: News 4
  
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• Three teams chosen to compete for contract to design, build $750M Wadsworth lab

  06-03-2019 17:37 via timesunion.com
  Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the three teams that will compete for the contract to design the new Wadsworth Center in Albany. The $750 million project will replace the aging Wadsworth Center facilities, that serve as the public health laboratory for the state Department of Health.
  
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• Zoo Owner Vows to Wipe Egg Off Face if April Stays Pregnant

  06-03-2019 17:32 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  The owner of New York's Animal Adventure Park, the upstate zoo made famous by the sensational fourth pregnancy of the now-iconic April the Giraffe, says the delivery of her fifth baby is "imminent" -- and vowed...Photo Credit: News 4This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
  
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• Taco Bell Workers Fired After Wild Video of Mob Attack Surfaces

  06-03-2019 17:27 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Workers at a Philadelphia Taco Bell were fired after a man accused them of beating him and his girlfriend in an unprovoked attack that was captured on video.
  
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• NYPD Officer Convicted in New Year’s Day Road Rage Attack

  06-03-2019 17:24 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  An NYPD officer has been convicted for pistol-whipping and bashing another driver with handcuffs during a road rage attack on New Year’s Day last year, prosecutors say.Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York
  
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• 19 Hurt, Some Leap From Window, as Fire Devours NYC Home

  06-03-2019 17:12 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  More than a dozen people were hurt, two of whom were clinging to life, when a two-alarm fire tore through a three-story building in the Bronx early Wednesday.Photo Credit: News 4
  
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• Man Shot by NYPD Yelled He Had Gun, Took Out Wallet: Sources

  06-03-2019 16:41 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  A emotionally disturbed man shot by police in Harlem shouted that he had a gun before pulling an object out of his pocket that is now believed to have been a wallet, law enforcement sources close to the...Photo Credit: News 4 NY
  
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• MTA Looks to 6 Tech Startups to Help Ease Transit Woes

  06-03-2019 16:37 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  The MTA hopes the tech industry might be able to solve its problems, and has six startups busily working on them right now.Photo Credit: @sidritc/Twitter
  
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• Warrant Wednesday: Troopers on hunt for fugitives

  06-03-2019 16:24 via timesunion.com
  State Police said they are searching for a child abuser, a scammer, and a man they caught with 10 pounds of marijuana as part of their Warrant Wednesday effort to enlist the public's help in the search for fugitives.
  
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• Calling hours Saturday for Cohoes homicide victim Sara Pascale

  06-03-2019 16:06 via timesunion.com
  CLIFTON PARK - Calling hours will be held Saturday for Sara Pascale, the 31-year-old woman who was allegedly stabbed to death at her Cohoes apartment.Friends and family can visit Pascale's family between 1 p.m. and 5 .m. at the Catricala Funeral Home Inc., 1597 Route 9, according to her obituary.Police found Pascale's body after being called to the Remsen Street apartment she shared with Andrew Lathrop at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday. Lathrop, 23, was located nearby and taken into custody.
  
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• Advocates call for New York to legalize gestational surrogacy

  06-03-2019 16:02 via timesunion.com
  Advocates, lawmakers and families will be at the state Capitol Wednesday to call for the passage of a bill that would legalize gestational surrogacy in New York.
  
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• Siena women's basketball not discouraged by poor finish

  06-03-2019 15:58 via timesunion.com
  It begins with a game against the Gaels (4-25), whom the Saints (12-17) swept during the regular season. Siena prevailed 59-47 in Loudonville on Jan. 6 and 66-45 in New Rochelle on Feb. 7.But Jaques pointed out the Saints lost to Iona in the MAAC quarterfinals two years ago after Siena won both regular-season meetings.Also, the Gaels have played better lately with three wins in their past five games, though two of those victories were over last-place Saint Peter's.
  
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• ‘A-Mayo-Zing’: Heinz to Release New Mayo-Based Condiments

  06-03-2019 15:51 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Mayonnaise lovers, rejoice!Photo Credit: Business Wire
  
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• Group touts natural gas savings, wants more pipeline capacity, fracking

  06-03-2019 15:41 via timesunion.com
  Houston-based Consumer Energy Alliance Wednesday said New Yorkers have saved more than $30 billion in the past decade on their energy bills thanks to lower natural gas prices.But the group also said savings could be even greater if more pipelines to deliver the product could be built and if fracking could tap into existing Marcellus shale gas deposits in the state's Southern Tier.
  
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• Police find missing Rensselaer woman

  06-03-2019 15:30 via timesunion.com
  RENSSELAER - Police say they have found a missing 87-year-old woman who vanished from a home on Broadway.Winnifred Crossman was found unconscious in a yard on Washington Avenue at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, roughly three hours after relatives discovered she was missing.
  
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• Missing: Woman, 87, in Rensselaer

  06-03-2019 15:30 via timesunion.com
  RENSSELAER - Police say they need the public's help finding a woman who walked away from her home.Winnifred Crossman's family discovered she was missing Wednesday morning. The 87-year-old woman was gone from the home and a door was left open at her home on Broadway.
  
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• Looking for Details on Rogue N.Y. Police Officers? This Database Might Help

  06-03-2019 15:05 via nytimes.com
  The Legal Aid Society has created a searchable database of lawsuits filed against the police since 2015 to help identify problematic officers and units.
  
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• Looking for Details on Rogue N.Y. Cops? This Database Might Help

  06-03-2019 15:05 via nytimes.com
  The Legal Aid Society has created a searchable database of lawsuits filed against the police since 2015 to help identify problematic officers and units.
  
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• NYC Rider Shoved on Subway Stairs, Slashed in Random Attack

  06-03-2019 13:52 via nbcnewyork.com
  
  Authorities are looking for a man in connection with yet another bizarre, unprovoked subway attack -- this time in Queens.Photo Credit: Handout
  
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• Woman injured in Schenectady shooting, report says

  06-03-2019 13:37 via timesunion.com
  A Menands man was charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly fired in to a crowd of people outside a bar last week, the Daily Gazette reports.
  
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• Colonie man drove drunk on Thruway, police say

  06-03-2019 13:02 via timesunion.com
  A Latham man is charged with two felonies after State Police said he drove drunk on a highway.Police stopped William M. Biette, 42, just before 3:30 a.m. on Interstate-90.
  
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