ALBANY COUNTY — After receiving “numerous complaints of time abuse” by county employees who were alleged to have been doing political campaign work on county time, an investigation into the allegations by the Albany County Department of Audit and Control is being hamstrung by County Executive Daniel McCoy’s office, according to County

Thanksgiving Eve, which has also been called “Blackout Wednesday,” is one of the busiest drinking nights of the year and the beginning of the holiday season, when there is an increase in instances of impaired driving.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Uber are therefore offering free rides on Wednesday night.

These members of the New York Army National Guard have recently been promoted:

— Frank Quintana from Slingerlands, assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters, received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel;

A panel of experts gathered together last Friday to discuss the emergence of artificial intelligence and automation, and how we should react to it.

The requirement for a child’s placement should be a loving home. To deny children in need access to such homes because of prejudice codified into government rules is against the founding principles of our nation.

These local students have recently earned diplomas:

— Heather Mather of Schenectady earned a master of science degree in investigations with a concentration in financial crimes investigation at Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven in Connecticut; and

Albany International Airport is anticipating near-record passenger travel over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period. Nationwide, the trade association Airlines for America expects traffic to hit an all-time high with 31.6 million passengers taking to the air over the 12-day travel period between Nov. 22 and Dec.

ALBANY COUNTY — Through Dec. 9, the county is running a coat drive for veterans.

Coats are being collected at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, cleaned by by Best Cleaners, and then distributed by The Homeless and Travelers Aid Society and the Veterans Miracle Center.

A tree that will go up in the lobby of the Guilderland Y on Nov. 23 is called the Giving Tree. 

The tree will be decorated with tags that each represent a gift requested by a local family in need.