When U.S. Senator Charles Schumer visited Luther Forrest Technology Campus in Malta this past Tuesday he assured area residents, concerned over the proposed AMD plant, that company executives have informed him that they still intend on building their new facility on the campus.

AMD has until July 2009 to accept the state's $1.2 billion incentive package, but they have failed to make any commitment yet.

Over the past year, AMD has struggled financially, which in turn has caused rumors that a local plant will not be built. The company reported a 3.38 billion net operation loss for 2007 and the company faces $5 billion in long-term debt.

Aside from AMD's poor fiscal year, other problems are starting to rise around the project as Saratoga County officials are currently in negotiation with the state Environmental Facilities Corporation to work out their differences over a dispute concerning an $11.5 million state grant for a new water line to the facility.

If the plant does not get built it could mean the loss of an estimated 1,200 area jobs, not to mention the hundreds of construction jobs that would be made available for the facilities construction.

Accused child molester worked with local church program

When Douglas Conrad first got accused of molesting a young boy from Saratoga he had been employed by the Saratoga Springs School District as a bus driver, now it appears the alleged abuser had also worked with a youth group at the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the church's Saratoga division.

He reportedly was employed as a secretary to the church's Young Men's Program and mostly handled clerical duties for the program.

Conrad, 35, of 151 Jefferson St. has been charged with six counts of forcible touching involving three separate incidents. His roommate, James Wiley, 60, has been charged with performing a criminal sex act, a class-E felony

On Tuesday, the mother of two of Conrad's abuse victims appeared in Saratoga Springs City Court for the first time since being charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, after failing to inform authorities about the abuse reported by one of her two children several days after knowing about the incident. 

The case has been adjourned and will resume in court on April 23.

Court refuses appeal over Saratoga Lake water

The Saratoga Lake Association has been refused its appeal by the states highest court concerning there attempt to stop the city from drawing water out of Saratoga Lake.

The decision clears the way for the lake to be used by the city as an alternative water source to Loughberry Lake, where water quality has been declining. The decision also ends any legal options for the Saratoga Lake Association.

However, before the city can begin extracting water from the lake they must first complete an archaeological study in order finish its application to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. City Council members will also have to approve the project's financing and construction.

Spa slaying suspect could face death penalty

A New York City man made his first appearance in court to face charges in a drug robbery and the slaying of his accomplice whose body was found in a Saratoga Hotel.

Roger Aletras, 36, was arraigned on five charges from the December 2002 slaying of accomplice Kevin Arkenau. The two allegedly stole 50 pounds of marijuana and a car from two other people at a motel. The following day, Arkenau was found dead in a Saratoga Springs hotel now known as The Saratoga.

Aletras has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, traveling across state lines to commit armed robbery, use of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime and a crime of violence, possessign a firearm and using a firearm to commit murder.

U.S. Attorneys will decide in the upcoming months whether or not to purse the death penalty in the case. Aletras is already serving a 19 year prison sentence in Pennsylvania on an unrelated firearms conviction.