'Derby Days' kick off
Sigma Chi, along with the help of several campus sororities, will be hosting its annual Derby Days celebration along with several groups from SUNY Albany to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network and The Huntsman Cancer Institute during the first week of May.
Canned food and clothing drives are some of the events which will run for the duration of Derby Days this week. There will be two sites, one located in the Union and the other in the DCC, and teams desiring credit donations will put their team sticker on the donations. Other activities include a bake sale today, a brother auction and root beer pong tournament on Thursday, and a carnival Friday on Freshman Hill.
For more information, contact Derby Days Coordinator Derek Clough at clougd@rpi.edu.
Colorado man arrested
A man from Northglenn, Colorado, is being held without bond in the Albany County jail after he allegedly shot his estranged wife and her boyfriend at their home in Cohoes.
Police said Peter McKnight, 45, was jailed under suspicion of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree burglary. Investigators believed McKnight flew to New York on Wednesday with an unidentified relative, then drove to his former home early Friday morning.
McKnight allegedly shot his estranged wife, Adrienne, in the arm, and her boyfriend, in the chest. Both were transported to Albany Medical Center in serious condition. The couple’s five-year-old son was also home at the time but was not hurt, according to officials.
Police initially described McKnight as a “person of interest” in the case, and authorities looked for him for more than a day and a half before finding an abandoned sport utility vehicle that he was suspected of stealing.
A Saratoga County sheriff’s deputy found McKnight walking along a highway in Malta, about 20 miles from Cohoes. “He hadn’t been in this area for a year and a half,” Cohoes Police Det. Lt. Tom Ross said. “It appears he flew in for this [attack].”
Police declined to name the relative, but said he was cooperating with the investigation, and that he has not been arrested or charged.
Spitzer introduces bill
Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, following through on a campaign pledge, unveiled a bill last Friday to legalize gay marriage in New York.
“This legislation would create equal legal protection and responsibilities for all individuals who seek to marry or have their marriage protected in the state of New York,” Spitzer said Friday in a statement announcing his action. “Strong, stable families are the cornerstones of our society. The responsibilities inherent in the institution of marriage benefit those individuals and society as a whole.”
But State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, a Republican, immediately declared himself opposed to the notion of having New York joining neighboring Massachusetts as the only U.S. states permitting same-sex marriage.
Spitzer has said he is aware that Bruno’s continued opposition effectively blocks the measure from moving ahead in the state Legislature. “I do not think there is a realistic shot that it will get passed, but I will submit it because it’s a statement of principle that I believe in, and I want to begin that dynamic,” Spitzer said earlier this week as he discussed his plans to introduce the measure.
Spitzer’s action comes the day after the New Hampshire Senate voted to add the state to the growing list of those allowing civil unions. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has said he will sign the measure, which will allow same-sex unions as of January 1.
