An attempt to reinstate the death penalty comes under fire in the Assembly (Metroland – January 27, 2005) It was a matter of life and death—and justice—this week in Albany, as the state Assembly held a public hearing to discuss the future of the death penalty in New York. The state’s 1995 capital punishment statute [...]

The U.S. Army invaded Albany last weekend, but critics contend that the military had orders to recruit, not to educate (Metroland – September 30, 2004) Acid-rock and synthetic fog filled the Pepsi Arena Friday morning as green lights swept the floor and video screens taller than most homes flashed grainy images of helicopters unloading human [...]

Big names, a party-switching candidate and overlapping platforms in the race for the 46th district state Senate seat (Metroland – October 21, 2004) ‘I’m loyal to my oath of office, not to any party loyalties or party ties,” said Albany County Comptroller and longtime Democrat Michael Conners, who recently became a Republican in order to [...]

Popular abstinence-only curricula teach schoolchildren falsehoods and stereotypes (Metroland – December 09, 2004) When they learn about the birds and the bees at school, children might be avoiding more than just an uncomfortable conversation with their parents. According to a recently released report on nationwide reproductive-health curricula, they might be avoiding the truth. “Abstinence-only education, [...]

An Albany Common Council resolution to create a gun-violence task force nears its one-year birthday, and remains unfulfilled (Metroland – December 09, 2004) Clippings of carjackings and armed robberies, stories about shootings and home invasions—this is the stuff of Leonard Morgenbesser’s collection. And unlike most collectors, he looks forward to the day when his subject [...]

The performance and proliferation of charter schools stirs passions in Albany and Schenectady (Metroland – December 16, 2004) It was an educational week here in the Capital Region, but not all of the lessons learned were the sort you want your kids to absorb. On Monday, representatives from various state and local governments joined with [...]

A sudden announcement has put the Wellington Hotel in a wrecking crew’s sights, but questions still surround the controversial plan (Metroland – August 26, 2004) If a historic landmark falls apart in the middle of the city and no one pays attention, is it a problem? Until there’s more than a decade of neglect, a [...]

Despite a new report saying everything’s rosy, examples show there are no guarantees an Albany convention center will succeed (Metroland – June 10, 2004) Is a new convention center in Albany’s future? A recent announcement by Mayor Jerry Jennings would seem to indicate that it’s a sure thing, but questions still surround the proposal. The [...]

State Legislature passes amended version of convention-center bill (Metroland – July 1, 2004) A number of bills found their way out of the New York State Legislature last week in the annual flurry of activity preceding lawmakers’ departure. Included among the last-minute legislation is a bill that would create the Albany Convention Center Authority—bringing the [...]

Cable contracts are up for renewal around the region, and one community—Albany—still lags behind in providing public access (Metroland – July 15, 2004) By most accounts, the pro- cess of negotiating a city’s TV cable contract usually has a David-and-Goliath feel, pitting local governments with little experience in such issues against powerful cable companies with [...]