Dave Lucas

The Carey Institute in Rensselaerville is organizing a large cycling festival, to take place this fall.  To gear up for that, the Institute has taken a stand on doping in the sport of cycling: tonight they are screening the "Armstrong Lie" documentary to be followed by a panel discussion featuring professional cyclists.

Capital District OTB has partnered with a Rochester developer - they've come up with a $300-million idea to build a casino at Thruway Exit 23.  Albany Common Council members were briefed on the plan Friday afternoon.

On Thursday, St. Pius School in Loudonville was the backdrop for a thank-you ceremony at a student assembly for all the work and support that came from the Capital Region for recovery efforts after Typhoon Haiyan. 

The deadly November 2013 storm, also known as Typhoon Yolanda, devastated some coastal areas of the Philippines.  Catholic Relief Services CEO Dr. Carolyn Woo discussed her recent trip to the Island Nation where she surveyed the damage and where Catholic Relief Services has been helping typhoon victims for over a year.

  Capital District OTB has partnered with a Rochester developer - they've come up with a 300 Million dollar plan to build a casino at Thruway Exit 23.

Though today is the first official day of spring, some municipalities are looking at dwindling snow-removal budgets.  Drive anywhere across the Capital Region, down through the Hudson Valley into Westchester and New York City, and you'll find an abundance of potholes thanks to a polar vortex-driven winter that  goes down in the books as one of the snowiest since recordkeeping began, one that strained municipal budgets already pared and stretched by changing economic times.

The budget being negotiated in Albany will establish not only how much state aid school districts will receive, but it also could affect the age many kids start going to school, when they begin standardized tests and even influence whether they go to public or private school.

Education issues are prominent this budget season in Albany. This includes the pre-kindergarten debate prompted by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and a tax credit advocated this week by Cardinal Timothy Dolan that could boost Catholic school attendance.

Officials in the Capital Region blame the sputtering housing market on the polar vortex and unusually cold winter.

The Independent Democratic Conference, which controls the New York Senate with the Republicans, has released a list of proposals they say would lower the cost of living for seniors.

The conference on Wednesday proposed lowering the cost of prescription drugs, establishing an independent consumer advocate to help protect seniors from rising energy costs, enacting a Paid Family Leave plan for families to take care of their relatives, and freezing rent payments for middle-income seniors across the state, among other proposals.

Elections were held in villages across New York Tuesday. Republicans have emerged victorious in a closely-watched Albany County mayoral race.

The 24-year run of incumbent Ravena Mayor John Bruno has come to an end: the democrat bested 535 to 302 votes by local businessman Bill Misuraca, whose strong showing surprised some political observers. His GOP running mates also toppled the sitting democratic trustees. The Republican party has gained considerable ground over the last few years in the surrounding town of Coeymans, which apparently has now influenced Ravena politics.

The Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is positioned to merge with the SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica. A new college would be created.  A draft summary of the merger plan, obtained by the Utica Observer-Dispatch, says the new school would be called SUNY Institute for Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology, or SUNY INSET.  Expectations are the merged institution's Marcy facility would provide the Mohawk Valley with the strong, technologically trained workforce it needs to attract more high-end technology companies.