Dave Lucas

A Capital Region charter school could close for good due to academic failure.  A last-ditch effort is under way to save it.

Some 220 students at Ark Community Charter School in Troy may be displaced if final court proceedings affirm a SUNY Trustees Charter Schools Committee decision that agreed with findings by SUNY's Charter Schools Institute that Ark failed to meet its academic goals.

New York's Senior US Senator was in Troy Monday, pledging to fight possible federal cutbacks in Department of Housing and Urban Development funding to the city -  the battle cry may be moot.  

Senator Chuck Schumer voiced concerns that Collar City census figures dropped below 50,000 residents, it could lose Community Development Block Program funds earmarked for neighborhood improvements.  "It would deprive Troy of about $2.5 million in CDBG funds each year, and that would de-leverage and reduce private funding by millions and millions more."

Dan McCoy, a Democrat, is Albany County's fourth county executive. He was born, raised and resides in Albany, where he has worked as a public servant his entire professional career. McCoy recently sat down with WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas to talk about his broader role as a community leader.  

New York Senator Chuck Schumer was in Troy today to kick off his campaign to prevent the Department of Housing and Urban Development from reforming the Community Development Block Program in a way that would remove the Collar City from eligibility.

People count. A census tally of the number of residents that came up 54 citizens short could cost Troy funding the city has come to rely on.

As New York awaits a decision from the state’s highest court on whether communities have the right to use local zoning laws to ban the use of land for oil and gas activities, several local governments in many states are regulating hydraulic fracturing.  Experts from affected states recently briefed reporters on the growing trend of community control over fracking.

This weekend marks the 10th Annual Albany Juneteenth Celebration. The free community event is planned for Sunday, in Washington Park.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation called for the liberation of Confederate slaves on Jan. 1, 1863, its effects weren't immediate.  Two and a half years later, the emancipation took effect—when the Union army rode into Galveston to enforce President Lincoln's executive order.

Juneteenth has been sporadically celebrated in the South as a black independence day ever since June 1865, when slaves in Texas learned of their freedom.

Apple added what’s known as a "kill switch" to iPhones last September. Authorities say that has sharply reduced robberies and thefts of the popular smartphone. Now, Microsoft and Google will a kill switch to their smartphone operating systems.

Hard Rock Cafe has dropped into the competition for a regional casino on a 24-acre site along the banks of the Hudson River.

De Laet's Landing in the city of Rensselaer is where Hard Rock International, with partners David Flaum and Capital Region OTB, would like to site a $150 to $200 million gambling resort. Earlier this month, the common council voted 6 to 1 approving the casino project. Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer:  "That name is going to draw a lot of people." 

Most Americans are opposed to the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, according to a new public opinion poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. The odds of a merger happening may be tipping toward the cable companies. 

There are opinions, and then there is action – or lack of interest. The poll showed just 11 percent of the public supports the $45.2 billion merger, 56 percent oppose it, and 32 percent had no opinion. The Public Service Commission has been holding hearings on the merger in New York this week.

A federally proposed water rule has New York farmers and others around the nation up in arms. They see it as an attempt to regulate virtually all water, and warn if implemented, the measure will raise the phrase "red tape" to a whole new level.