All Over Albany

A quick recap of the week

2009-11-14T14:58:57Z

]]> Here are a few highlights from the past week on AOA:

+ Jess told us about some fun headbands by local designer Casey Dwyer.

+ We talked with one of the New York State investigators who went undercover to bust black market sales of animals.

+ Eat this: the carnitas burrito bowl at Chipotle.

+ Jess told us about the virtual tattoo parlor built by a local company.

+ The DMV released the design for the new license plate -- and it seemed like everyone had a reaction.

+ What was up in the Neighborhood this week: quality time with llamas, the humane society, hiking, odd German cakes, apple cider, the Troy Winter Market, potatoes, veggie burgers, a price cut, coupons, the flu and those people.

+ Kaitlin went shopping around the Capital Region for boots.

+ A few of the items found on Craigslist this week: a lonely golfish, tickles, a beautiful girl on the bus, meddling kids, a guy wearing Crocs and a lobster that sings Elvis.

+ The vintage photo blog Shorpy featured a 104-year-old photo from the Capitol, which prompted us to look into the history of "the Million Dollar Staircase."

+ Both Siena and UAlbany tipped off their basketball seasons.

+ And Albany County is holding a big H1N1 flu shot clinic at the TU Center on Sunday for priority groups -- you have to pre-register.

If you'd just like the whole week unfiltered, check our listing of the last seven days of AOA.

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment or sent along a photo or idea this week!

This week was brought to you by...

2009-11-13T21:35:00Z

]]> Fred believes his bagel grew on a tree. Fred was misinformed.

]]> Like Fred here, we dream of a utopia where all the pixels are free and bagels grow on trees. Until that day comes, AOA must depend on the kindness of Advertisers.

This week your AOA information fix was brought to you by the really nice local businesses listed below. Check them out, support them when you can, and tell them AOA sent you.

Want to advertise with us? Here's how.

+ Restaurants from all over the Capital Region will be serving all sorts of good food on Thursday night (November 19th) at the Beaujolais Nouveau tasting at Michael's Banquet House. All Proceeds go to The AIDS Council of Northeastern New York. There's still time to get your ticket.

+ The holidays are sneaking up faster than you think. Best Cleaners will clean your carpets and tablecloths so there will be no sign of family disapproval. They'll also pick them up and deliver them to you at no extra charge.

+ It's time to order your holiday turkey from the Honest Weight Food Coop. They've got free-range Local Turkeys at $4.29/lb, but you have to get your order in by Tuesday, November 17th.

+ On your way home from the office next week, stop by The Wine Bar and Bistro on Lark for their "Wine After Work" happy hour. Stop by weekdays for the new Wine After Work Happy Hour. $5 for house wines and $3 pints of beer. Check out the wine list and menu on their new website.

+ The Midtown Tap and Tea Room is booking holiday cocktail parties. Check out their new menu for lunch or dinner.

+ The Albany JCC is offering 30% off gym memberships -- but hurry, you've got to sign up today.

+ Tournament of Pizza sponsors Sunmark Federal Credit Union have all kinds of savings tips on their Facebook page. You'll also find details on their on-line defensive driving courses.

photo: Flickr user jesse.millan

Albany LEGO block on display

2009-11-13T20:00:00Z

William Leue's LEGO sculpture/model/reconstruction of a block of Elm Street in Albany is on display at the main branch of the Albany Public Library until December.

Leue told the TU that it took more than 5000 blocks to construct the model.

photo: William Leue

Hole in the floor

2009-11-13T19:28:10Z

Speaking of staircases: it is likely that Troy design firm id29 has a cooler staircase in its office than you have in yours.

Listening for gunfire

2009-11-13T18:30:00Z

Good Magazine produced this short video piece about the ShotSpotter system, which Troy has been using for about a year now. ShotSpotter installs microphones around a city to listen for gunfire -- and then the system calculates where the shots were fired so police can respond. The Good video looked at a California city's use of the system:

Troy's system apparently covers about a square mile of the city -- though officials haven't disclosed the coverage area. There's some question as to whether the system detected the shot fired in the Second Street murder in October.

[via]

Siena tips off tonight

2009-11-13T17:15:00Z

The Siena men's basketball team opens its regular season tonight on the road at Tennessee State (in Nashville).

This could be a big year for the Saints. They return four starters from last year's team, which reached the second round of the NCAA tournament (for the second straight year). They were the #1 team in the MAAC pre-season poll, with two players on the conference first team. And the Saints have been so good over the last few years that "major" schools are now reluctant to play them.

You can catch the play-by-play of tonight's game on Talk 1300 at 7 pm, pre-game at 6 pm. (The TU had a Q&A today with Robert Lee, the Saints play-by-play announcer.) And the Recovery Room in Troy will be showing a live video feed from the game.

Stuff to do this weekend

2009-11-13T16:00:00Z

]]> Bad Boy/Chef Anthony Bourdain comes to Schenectady on Sunday.

]]> "So much time and so little to do. Strike that -- reverse it."

Another weekend. Here's your golden ticket. OK, not so much a golden ticket as a list of fun stuff to do. But hey, that's good too.

Did we miss anything? Add it to the list.

And have fun!

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Heated exchange between Bruno and judge, guilty pleas in man cave case, Intel settlement could be good for chip fab, Schenectady Armory off the auction block

2009-11-13T15:12:44Z

Joe Bruno Trial Day 9: Judge Gary Sharpe angrily scolded Bruno for making a comment to his attorney after Sharpe allowed prosecutors another chance to question a witness at the end of the day. "For once in your life you don't control something - I do," said the judge. Bruno then reportedly responded with borderline sarcasm, "I understand very clearly what is happening here, Judge, very clearly." The exchange apparently prompted Bruno's team to file for a mistrial this morning -- the motion was denied. Earlier in the day, two top officials for Wright Investors Services testified that Bruno helped them land contracts with 10 labor unions. [Troy Record] [NYDN] [NYT] [Daily Politics] [TU]

Adrian Thomas was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the death of his infant son. He's also been barred from contacting his wife or other children. Thomas' attorney says they'll be filing an appeal. [TU] [Troy Record] [CapNews9]

The two men accused of running the "man cave" in the ESP have pleaded guilty. As part of the plea, one guy is going to jail for a year and the other has to do community service -- and they both have to pay a combined $3,500 in restitution. The state AG's office has also released video of the two men kicking back in the man cave. [Troy Record] [CapNews9] [NYS AG] [TU]

An anonymous donor is offering a $10,000 reward for info leading to the conviction of the person who duct-taped and bagged that beagle in Saratoga County. The dog is now back with its owners, who live about five miles from where the dog was found. [WNYT] [CapNews9] [Post-Star] [TU]

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Uncalifornian

2009-11-12T21:30:16Z

The Pew Center on the States reviewed the fiscal conditions of all the states to see which ones were most in danger of turning into another California (that is, completely broke). And get this: New York's not too bad -- it ranked in the middle of the pack. NY's 17 percent drop in state revenue did rank as the sixth steepest drop in the nation. [via]

A few steps into the past

2009-11-12T19:00:00Z

The vintage photo blog Shorpy featured a 1905 photo of the capitol's Great Western Staircase yesterday. Be sure to click through to see the large versions of the photo.

That staircase has quite the history. From a state assembly tour of the capitol:

The Great Western Staircase, also known as the Million Dollar Staircase, took an unheard of 14 years to construct, from 1883-1897 and cost, more than one million dollars. The delays in constructing this magnificent staircase were two-fold. Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and built by Isaac Perry, the staircase contains 444 steps and reaches 119 feet high. is renowned as an outstanding example of American architectural stone carving excellence.

Here's a more extensive photo tour of the staircase on the site Northeast Architecture, which includes more of the history behind the steps.

From a 1894 NYT article about work on the capitol:

The greatest architectural work on this continent has just been completed in Albany -- in the construction of the western staircase of the new Capitol. Architects who have seen it declare that for originality of design, for beauty, and for accuracy of finish its equal does not exist even in the old country.

The staircase includes the busts and faces of a bunch of historical figures -- a list that was not without some controversy. From a 1898 NYT article:

In carving heads on the great Western staircase in the Capitol, the features of half a dozen men who were prominent only in the local affairs of Albany were made. This has caused considerable ill-feeling, even among Albanian, and it is a question of but a short time, when the faces in stone will be "worked over" from those of obscure persons into those of historical nes.

(Thanks, James G and Dan!)

photo via Shorpy

Adjourning for lunch

2009-11-12T18:15:00Z

Jack's Brad Rosenstein tells NYT that the downtown Albany institution has been getting extra lunch business from the Joe Bruno trial -- "We're seating at least four or five parties a day from the trial."

Craig and his wonderful list

2009-11-12T17:16:38Z

The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.

Good or bad, we'll let you decide...

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H1N1 shot clinic Sunday at TU Center

2009-11-12T15:23:31Z

]]> An electron micrograph of H1N1 virions. The image has been colorized.

]]> The Albany County Department of Health is holding a free H1N1 flu shot clinic at the TU Center this Sunday. Apparently there will be about 4,500 doses available.

The health department's web site stresses that you must register in advance -- and it's currently registering Albany County residents in the following priority groups:

Pregnant women
Persons who live with or provide care for infants under 6 months old
Children 6 months - 4 years old
Health-care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious materials
Children and adolescents 5-18 years old who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications

You can register online (be sure to follow the link for the appropriate priority group) -- or by calling 447-4505 from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm (Arielle says she registered her toddler this way this morning).

Turnout at other H1N1 vaccine clinics around the Capital Region has been strong, so it's probably a good idea to register sooner rather than later.

Saratoga County: Saratoga County Public Health has an H1N1 flu shot clinic for priority scheduled for tomorrow in Saratoga Springs. It's by appointment only, though. And when we checked this morning (after a three dials to get through), it was full. The person handling the calls said the county is hoping it will receive more doses next week.

image: Cynthia Goldsmith / CDC

Bruno speaks out about case, dog found duct-taped and bagged, another student mugging in Pine Hills, Albany High production prompted by protests

2009-11-12T15:04:52Z

Joe Bruno called into Talk 1300 yesterday to complain about the federal case against him. During the segment, Bruno said of the federal investigation of him: "I wasn't a terrorist.... I never abused the public trust that people put in me. I never, never used politics to make money. I just didn't do that." Bruno's comments may not go over well with the judge presiding of his case, who has warned both sides in the trial about speaking outside of court -- and just the day before said scolded them in court: "This is not an election campaign." [NYDN] [TU] [TU] [NYT]

About Gary Sharpe, the judge in the Bruno trial: An op-ed in the Troy Record this past weekend questioned whether the judge had a conflict of interest because his son works as a prosecutor in the Albany US Attorney's office -- the same office that's prosecuting Bruno. The head of that office told the NYDN yesterday that Sharpe's son has had no involvement with the case. [Troy Record] [NYDN]

David Paterson said he will pull the $25 fee for the new "EmpireGold" license plates -- if someone can come up with a way to replace the $129 million the fee is projected to contribute to the state budget. [NY Post]

The Paterson Administration projects that increases in the fee that retailers pay to be sellers of tobacco products will reduce the number of tobacco retail outlets by 40 percent. [TU]

A group of hunters in Saratoga County say they found a dog wrapped in duct tape and stuffed in a garbage bag. [WNYT]

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The search for winter boots

2009-11-11T19:00:00Z

]]> So many boots. So much ugliness.

]]> Kaitlin Resler Not to be a downer, but snow is coming.

Piles and piles of snow.

We're all thinking it -- tugging our winter coats out of closets and waiting for the gloves and scarves to go on sale. Then, there is the trickiest part of the winter ensemble: the winter boot.

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