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DA will not prosecute man arrested under <st1:stockticker>SAFE</st1:stockticker> Act

COLUMBIA COUNTY - The Columbia County District Attorney is making good on a promise not to prosecute a man arrested under the SAFE Act.

DA Paul Czajka told NewsChannel 13 he would not prosecute Gregory Dean Jr.

Dean was pulled over earlier this month after police say the light over his license plate was out.

Police say he also had a gun in his car.

While they say it was possessed legally, it had nine rounds of ammunition, which exceeds the state's new limit of seven rounds.

NewsChannel 13’s Dan Levy was in court for the decision.

Cuomo : Create tax-free zones around SUNY campuses

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to create tax-free entrepreneurial zones tied to State University of New York campuses.           

Cuomo's proposal would give full tax credits to new businesses in select communities with state college campuses.           

The governor announced the proposal Wednesday at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, part of the University at Albany. He didn't say how expensive his plan might be or for how long the tax breaks would last. He didn't take questions from the media.           

The Legislature would have to approve the proposal.           

Cuomo plans to make announcements later in the day at the University at Buffalo and Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Details of those announcements haven't been released.

Unemployment rate drops in Capital Region

CAPITAL REGION - The jobless rate in the Capital Region is dropping.

New statistics out Tuesday from the state show the unemployment level in the Albany Schenectady Troy area has dropped from 7.2 in April of 2012 to 6.5 last month.

Glens Falls dropped from 8.3 to 7.8.

The State's jobless rate is also 7.8 percent.

NY reports crackdown on repeat drunken drivers

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York officials say their crackdown on repeat drunken drivers through new rules imposed last September has resulted in 3,164 potentially dangerous motorists being kept of the state's roadways.

NY group preserves land along Hudson River

NEW BALTIMORE, N.Y. (AP) - A waterfront parcel along the Hudson River offers new opportunities for kayakers, hikers and nature observers, thanks to the preservation efforts of Scenic Hudson.

School district residents head to the polls Tuesday

SOUTH COLONIE- "The old axiom no news is good news, I guess we're living with that right now," said Tim Kremer, Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association.

No news, Kremer said, meaning no outcries or big rallies against proposed school budget votes slated for tomorrow. A far cry from last year, when the property tax cap went into effect, leading to lay-offs, program cuts and school closures.

"There have been cuts and such, but slowly we're creeping back. Last year we got state aid, this year we get additional state aid of a billion dollars," he said.

But the increase wasn't enough for South Colonie schools, which is putting a budget before voters that exceeds the cap. The tax levy increase of 4.98% closes an eight-million-dollar gap, reduces spending and combines modified sports. It also cuts 90-95 positions.