Rick Karlin in The Times-Union’s Capitol Confidential blog reports that both sides of the high-impact hydraulic fracturing gas drilling debate descended on Albany to submit boxes of comments and letter to the Department of Environmental Conservation in time for the Wed., Jan. 11 public comment period deadline. On Tuesday, opponents and proponents of the controversial form of natural gas drilling held dueling press conferences at the Capitol. The DEC will review the comments as part of their effort to decide if New York should allow hydro-fracking. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
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Fernanda Santos in The New York Times reports that New York is one of three states the federal government has added to a watch list because it has not complied with goals it set when applying for financial assistance through the federal “Race to the Top” funding program. U.S. Education secretary Arne Duncan said that despite “significant progress,” New York had “hit a roadblock” in recent months, failing to track student records across school districts and failing to adopt a new system to evaluate the work of teachers and principals. “In the short term, I call on the State Department of Education, local school districts and the union leadership to expedite their negotiations on a teacher evaluation system to prevent the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press release. “Over the long term, we need to overhaul the system and change the law on the books. The Assembly-led legislation in 2010 protected the teachers union at the expense of the students and instituted a system that was destined to fail.” Read the full story in The New York Times.
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, education, Race to the Top, school funding, schools
Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo called five special elections for March 20, coinciding with village elections, including one that will choose who represents most of Columbia County in Albany. Last November, Assemblymen Marc Molinaro ran and won the Dutchess County Executive seat, leaving the 103rd District without representation. So far, Pat Manning, a Republican who held the seat before losing to Molinaro in the 2006 primary, has announced he is running. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, elections, Marc Molinaro, Pat Manning
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos says the State Senate and its Republican majority will pass the Iran Divestment Act of 2012 during a session Monday, Jan. 9. “The Senate’s swift action shows how important it is that we stand together to condemn tyrannical governments like Iran which sponsor terrorism, have attempted to acquire nuclear weapons and threaten U.S. allies like Israel, as Iran has repeatedly done,” Skelos said in a press release. “I applaud [Democrat Assembly] Speaker [Sheldon] Silver for taking the lead on this effort and moving it forward in the Assembly.” The Iran Divestment Act of 2012 (S5917A) was modeled after similar legislation in California and, “conceived with help from the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York,” according to Skelos’ press release, would prohibit companies that provide goods, services or credit worth $20 million or more to Iran’s energy industry from entering into or renewing state and local government contracts. The legislation directs the Office of General Services to create a list of people, corporations and other organizations with investments of more than $20 million in the Iranian energy sector. Those on the list would be excluded from bidding on government contracts. The bill also requires individuals or entities to certify they are not on the list when they submit bids to state and local agencies.
Tags: Dean Skelos, divestment, Iran
Michael DeMasi in The Albany Business Review reports Trader Joe’s will open a 13,000-square-foot store at 79 Wolf Road in Colonie, just north of Albany off the interstate. It will be the closest location of the popular specialty grocery chain to the WGXC listening area. Read the full story in the Albany Business Review.
Tags: food, grocery stores, Trader Joe's
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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s State of the State Address was streamed live at governor.ny.gov and on the WGXC Newsroom, on Wed., Jan. 4 at 1:30 p.m. live from Albany’s Empire State Plaza Convention Center. WGXC’s Sam Sebren spoke with many of the protesters outside the center, who were mostly upset about the possibility of high-impact hydraulic fracturing gas drilling starting soon in New York. Click here to play a collage of interviews with protesters Wednesday in Albany. PLAY CLIP 27:00
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, high-impact hydraulic fracturing, local audio, State of the State Address
The Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) posted its “State of the Schools 2012″ address, a riposte to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s annual “State of the State” speech. Nikki Jones, the organization’s Communications Director, says the state’s poorest districts are the most vulnerable to cuts in the state’s education budget and describes conditions in some schools as appalling. “When Albany slashes school funding, as it has for three years in row, wealthier districts are so much better equipped to protect schools that poor districts,” Jones says. “What we are now seeing in poor districts is appalling: crowded classrooms; greatly reduced class offerings and the elimination of tutoring and other programs. These are severe impacts that must be addressed.” She also challenged the Governor’s continued emphasis on testing. “Judging school based primarily on test scores in two subjects has resulted in teaching to the test, narrowing of the curriculum and a dumbing down of public education,” Jones said.
Tags: education, education budgets, state education, testing
James M. Odato reports in his column in the Albany Times-Union that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hired Alexander Cochran, a former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development aide to then-HUD secretary Cuomo, to run New York’s office in Washington, D.C. “The unannounced appointment of lobbyist Alexander Cochran, who has been an advocate for clients at four Democratic National Conventions, may indicate that Cuomo wants to improve his nationwide political network in case his interests expand beyond Albany,” Odato writes. Read the full story in the Albany Times-Union.
Tags: Alexander Cochran, Andrew Cuomo
New York state’s legislature passed news laws that go into effect in 2012, including middle-class tax cuts, a two-percent tax cap for municipalities, and others. About 4.4 million taxpayers will receive a total of $690 million in personal income tax relief, from that measure. The tax-cap law imposes a cap on the growth of school district and local government property taxes of two percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower. Other laws that go into effect Jan. 1, 2012:
• ORALLY ADMINISTERED CHEMOTHERAPY COVERAGE: Health insurance plans in New York State are now required to cover orally administered chemotherapy treatments. The law (Chapter 559, L.2011, Sen. Lanza) corrects a discrepancy and ensures that chemotherapy treatment, no matter how administered, is covered by insurance companies.
• ROADWAY SAFETY: Drivers are now required to exercise additional caution when approaching, overtaking, or passing any hazard vehicle. Current law requires drivers to move over to adjacent lanes when approaching or passing an emergency vehicle on the side of the road, but not for other hazard vehicles.
• MERCURY: A new law will strengthen DEC’s authority to ban products that contain mercury (Chapter 20, L. 2011, Sen. Grisanti).
• FISHING: A new law will further reduce the number of commercial fishing licenses and permits issued by DEC to ensure the economic viability of the commercial and consumer fishing industry (Chapter 383, L.2011, Sen. Johnson).
• DEFIBRILLATORS: A requirement that dental health facilities possess automatic external defibrillators on their premises (Chapter 65, L.2011, Sen. Golden).
• PIPES: A ban on the sale of hookahs, water pipes, and shisha to minors (Chapter 131, L.2011, Sen. Golden). “Shisha” is any product made primarily of tobacco smoked or intended to be smoked in a hookah or water pipe.
• FIRING FIRE COMMISSIONERS: An authorization for the removal of fire commissioners for dereliction of duties including having an excessive number of unexcused absences from regularly scheduled meetings (Chapter 462, L.2011, Sen. Lavalle).
• BEAR GALLBLADDERS: A new law (Chapter 468, L.2011, Sen. Grisanti) bans the possession and sale of bear gallbladder and bile, a valuable commodity used in some forms of ancient medicine. In New York, black bears have been illegally killed for their gallbladders and bile. New York is one of only five states that currently place no restrictions on the trade in bear gallbladders and bile. The loophole complicates law enforcement, encourages poaching, and puts bears at risk.
• PHOSPHORUS: A new law (Chapter 205, L.2010, Sen. Hassell-Thompson) will ban the sale of household dishwasher detergents that contain phosphorus, which is harmful to lakes, rivers and other water sources. A ban on phosphorus dish detergents used by commercial establishments will not take effect until July 1, 2013. The new law also places new limitations on the use of lawn fertilizers that contain phosphorous.
• CAR SALES: A new law (Chapter 548, L.2011, Sen. Dilan) requires motor vehicle manufacturers and distributors to get the consent of franchised motor vehicle dealers to participate in sales promotion programs that include an expense for the dealer.
Tags: new laws
Jimmy Vielkind in Captiol Confidential reports that the Empire State Plaza skating rink in Albany will open to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday, after being closed for over three years. Skate rental and hot chocolate will be free on New Year’s Eve. The rink is open until 8 p.m., and at 2 p.m. Saturday the Albany Figure Skating Club conducts figure skating demonstrations, and its members will be around all day to offer lessons, and will be open through March. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
Tags: ice skating
Here’s a quick forecast of the coming year in New York state politics, courtesy AM New York’s 2012 forecast. The legislative redistricting process is bound to set off some sparks. State lawmakers must redraw legislative boundaries based on new population data, but Cuomo has threatened to veto their maps because he wants an independent redistricting panel to do it. All 150 seats in the state Assembly and 62 seats in the state Senate are on the line in the Nov. 6 election. Whether the state will hold special elections before then to fill empty seats remains an open questions. Democrats in Columbia and Dutchess county say they’re currently interviewing candidates to fill the Assembly seat for New York’s 103rd district, which includes most of Columbia County. The seat was vacated Marc Molinaro, who takes up his new post as Dutchess County Executive in 2012. Their could be a special election in the district, or the seat could remain vacant through the forthcoming legislative session, and the seat could be eliminated in redistricting.
William Magee, D-Nelson, who represents the 111th District in Albany, in the Utica Observer-Dispatch, has a guest column where he discusses two bills for farmers that did not get passed in the last legislative session. Magee hopes they will gain favor in 2012. One bill would authorize the creation of farm breweries for the manufacture of beer, A.7449-A. Another would enhance farmers’ ability to market their products directly to consumers by encouraging the development of retail farm operations, such as roadside stands and on-farm markets, A.6282.
Tags: agriculture, beer, breweries, farm stands, farms, William Magee
Michael DeMasi in The Business Review reports that a deal for a Hannaford shopping center on Route 9 in Columbia County topped a list of real estate deals in an 11-county region around Albany in 2011. Kinderhook LLC paid $9.49 million to Widewaters Kinderhook Co. for the 19.1-acre shopping center. The report is based on information provided by the New York State Board of Real Property Tax Services. Widewaters is the company that developed Greenport Commons, the Fairview Ave. shopping center with Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, and other stores. Read Demasi’s article in The Business Review.
Tags: Hannaford, property tax, shopping center, Widewaters
Jonathan Flanders photo of a protester who had been pepper-sprayed Dec. 22 at Occupy Albany.
“Earlier in the day Albany Police and Department of General Services workers broke up the encampment, taking down all of the tents that had littered the park for the past several months. After that happened hundreds of protesters uprooted one, final trademark Occupy Albany Information tent intact, and paraded it around the city for hours…. protesters brought that tent back to Academy Park, set it down for a minute, and then grabbed it back up while chanting in an attempt to continue parading the yellow barn-like tent around the city. Then, without warning, protesters say Albany Police began to block the large group from moving the tent back off the Academy Park property, and onto city streets. In an instant, the peaceful protest turned to chaos, fear and violence as protesters began screaming and yelling, pushing and shoving. Within moments a cloud of pepper spray filled the air, and that’s when the real panic set in. With his eyes closed due to the intense burning, Occupy Protester Bradley Russell said, ‘There was an officer, a mounted policeman on horse, literally riding through the crowd, just spraying, pepper spraying indiscriminately anybody who was in the crowd in front of him, it was completely flagrant.’”
The Occupy Albany group is holding a general assembly Fri. Dec. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Academy Park in Albany.
Tags: Occupy Albany
New York voters are divided on hot-button topics like hydro-fracking, casino gaming, and legislative redistricting according to a new poll released by Quinnipiac University. The results:
• New Yorkers are split evenly on the question of hydrofracking: 44 percent support drilling because of the economic benefits and 45 percent oppose drilling because of environmental concerns.
• A majority of New Yorkers support casino gambling in the state. Polled voters support Atlantic City or Las Vegas style casinos in the Empire State by a 64 – 31 percent margin. The poll reveals a slight gender gap with 68 percent of men supporting casinos (28 percent oppose), while only 60 percent of the women polled did, while 34 percent of women oppose gaming.
The poll also indicates a majority of New Yorkers want an independent commission with no ties to the State legislature to draw district lines. Legislative redistricting will be on the 2012 agenda in Albany. Read the press release from the Quinnipiac University’s Polling Institute.
Tags: casinos, elections, hydrofracking, polls
Crain’s New York reports that Steve Cohen, a former top aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, is being considered for a new post that will ensure that banks comply with any settlement of a nationwide foreclosure probe. The monitor would ensure compliance with any agreement with mortgage servicers, according to a settlement the banks were offered in March. Cohen was Cuomo’s Secretary, and his Chief-of Staff when he was the state’s Attorney General. He officially “departed” government service in June, and returned to private practice, accoridng to New York World. According to the proposal, the job will come with the authority to review records and audit a servicer’s performance. JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup Inc., Ally Financial Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the negotiating banks that will be bound by the settlement. Read the full story in Crain’s New York.
Tags: Albany, Andrew Cuomo, foreclosure
Senate Republicans are planning to bring their challenge of a 2010 law mandating state prisoners be counted at their last known addresses for purposes of legislative redistricting- to the state’s highest court. According to the Times Union’s Capitol Confidential, a group of plaintiffs led by Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, filed a pre-appeal statement Tuesday before the Court of Appeals. Albany County Supreme Court Justice Eugene Devine dismissed the suit Dec. 1. The Republicans are attempting to skip the Appellate Division and have their case heard by the Court of Appeals. Read about the appeal in TU’s Capitol Confidential.
Tags: NY Supreme Court, prisoners, redistricting
Watch DEC’s Martens on Hydrofracking on PBS. See more from NEW YORK NOW.
On last weekend’s episode of WMHT’s “New York Now,” DEC Commissioner Joe Martens took questions from viewers on hydraulic fracturing natural gas drilling in New York, which the state is currently considering.
Tags: DEC, gas drilling, hydraulic fracturing, Joseph Martens
Film director Josh Fox heralds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s recent report tying hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to contaminated water in the small town of Pavillion, Wyoming in Friday’s Guardian. Fox included the testimony of several Pavillion residents in his 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary “Gasland.” In The Daily News, Glenn Blain writes about how New York’s anti-fracking activists are drawing strength from the EPA report. But DEC spokesman Emily DeSantis told Blain the EPA report was “specific to Pavillion.” “New York would require rigorous casing and cementing standards and a minimum of 1,000 feet of separation between the high-volume hydraulic fracturing activity and the deepest ground water,” DeSantis added. Read the full story in The Daily News.
Tags: EPA, gas drilling, hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracking, Josh Fox, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, southern tier
The Nation’s Katrina Vanden Heuvel credits several major unions, the Working Family Party Citizen Action, NYCC (the ex-ACORN group), AQE and scores of other organizations large and small for reviving the millionaire’s tax in Albany. But, the Occupy movement, it’s actions on Wall St. and Park Ave., led “Governor One Percent” to propose a tax plan that taxed the state’s highest earners and emphasized fairness over austerity, according to Heuvel. Read the full story in The Nation.
Tags: Albany, Andrew Cuomo, income tax, Occupy Wall Street
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the distribution of $785 million in economic development funding today.nThe orchestrated event at The Egg is Albany was hosted by Maria Bartiromo of CNBC and included a videotaped interview with former President Clinton, praising the process. The top winners appear to be Western New York, Long Island, and the North Country, whose regional economic development plans received the most funding. Some of the funding to make its way to the region includes $1.5 million for an ice skating facility at Windham Mountain, and $2.2 million for a rail “transloading” facility in Columbia County, serving businesses in the Capital Region that do not have rail access. The Governor’s office has posted a press release with details about the distribution of development funding throughout the state: .
Greene County projects awarded $2,617,222:
• Village of Hunter, Main St. Revitalization Program, $372,000
• Town of Prattsville, Main St. Revitalization Program, $215,000
• Greene County, Microenterprise Assistance Program, $200,000
• Greene County, NY Spring Water, $280,000
• Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corp., RESTORE 2011, $50,000
• Ski Windham, Destination Windham, $1,500,000
Columbia County projects approved $7,847,990:
• Village of Kinderhook, Wastewater Collection System, $285,000
• Valatie Housing Group, Valatie Senior Citizen housing, $1,669,265
• The Olana Partnership, Olana Restoration Project, $274,125
• Hudson Opera House, First Floor Restoration, $400,000
• Housing Resources of Columbia County, an Emergency Repair program and two Home Improvement Programs, $675,000
• Historic Hudson, Dr. Oliver Bronson House Restoration, $300,000
• Columbia County IDA, Coulumbia County Rail Transloading Facility, $2,208,600
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: economic development
The New York State Senate unanimously passed an income tax restructuring bill late Wednesday night after a day of closed door negotiations. The Senate voted, 55-0, to approve the tax code changes on Wednesday night, and the Assembly was poised to follow suit. The remarkably rapid progress of the tax revisions and the clandestine nature of the negotiations was criticized by some government watchdog groups. Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times describes how Cuomo has used similar tactics he describes as “stealth manuevering” to pass the same sex marriage act, a property-tax cap, a reworking of ethics rules and extensive budget cuts. The New York Public Interest Research Group said that the actual legislation — 33 pages and over 19,000 words — was posted online 26 minutes before the Senate began voting on it.
Rick Karlin of the Times-Union reports that lawmakers are planning to vote on the income tax overhaul bill. The overhaul is expected to generate $1.9 billion. For a look at how $108 million of it might be spent see the appropriations bill posted on Karlin’s “Capitol Confidential” blog. The bill includes money for flood recovery, jobs training and $1 million for foreclosure prevention. Read the full story in the Times-Union.
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, income tax, taxes
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave this video message about his new jobs plan, unveiled today.
Tags: Andrew Cuomo
Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo may, after all, raise taxes on the wealthy to solve some of the state’s budget woes. So far, Cuomo has refused to renew a so-called “millionaire’s tax” but now he is reconsidering, in the face of a larger-than-expected budget deficit. State lawmakers may return to Albany as soon as Tuesday to consider budget remedies. Kaplan’s story in The New York Times says legislative leaders were considering creating new tax brackets, with higher tax rates for the state’s largest incomes. Read the full story in The New York Times.
Tags: budgets, millionaire's tax, taxes
Local governments have complained for years about unfunded mandates: laws from the Federal government or states that require local governments to do something in particular, without providing any money to pay for that action. State Senator James Seward (R/C/I – Oneonta), who represents Greene County in Albany, has a new reverse-unfunded mandate. Seward is circulating an on-line petition to shift Medicaid funding from local governments to the state. Seward says the property tax cap signed into law earlier this year is limiting local governments abilities to pay for Medicaid. So he wants the state to pay for it in Senate Bill 5889-B, which proposes an eight-year gradual state takeover of the local Medicaid costs. By 2019, the state would shoulder Medicaid costs, but Seward does not say how New York would pay for those new costs.
Tags: James Seward, Medicaid, property tax cap, unfunded mandates
Video taken by Sullivan County radio producer and anti-drilling activist Sabrina Artel at the DEC’s public hearing on gas drilling in Binghamton, November 17, 2011.
Lissa Harris of The Watershed Post reports that NY State Department of Environmental Conservation has extended the deadline for public comment on the state’s current draft of fracking regulations. The original deadline was December 12, 2011. Members of the public will now have an additional 30 days to comment, through January 11, 2012. The DEC is taking comments via electronic submission through their website, which also hosts the full text (over 1500 pages) of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement that spells out the DEC’s proposed regulations. Read the full story in The Watershed Post.
Tags: DEC, hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracking
Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential reports that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is releasing state funds for some food banks and disaster relief agencies — except none in our area. In addition, Cuomo’s staff has been fanning out across the state to help at local food bands — except not in our area. The food banks getting state funds include:
• Food Bank of Western New York (located in Buffalo) – $121,000
• Foodlink (located in Rochester) – $107,000
• Food Bank of the Southern Tier (located in Elmira) – $59,000
• Food Bank of Central New York (located in Syracuse) – $147,000
• Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York (located in Albany area) – $200,000
• Food Bank For Westchester – $64,000
• Food Bank For New York City – $199,000
• Long Island Cares, Inc./The Harry Chapin Food Bank – $103,000
Other funds are going out to:
• Broome County Council of Churches (Broome County): $60,000
• Delaware Opportunities, Inc. (Delaware County): $60,000
• Grace Episcopal Church (Orange County): $60,000
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County: $60,000
• CACHE, Inc. (Sullivan County): $60,000
• Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless: $60,000
• Regional Food Bank of Southern Tier (Chemung County): $80,000
• Regional Food Bank of Central NY (Onondaga County): $80,000
• Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY (Albany County): $100,000
Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, food banks, hunger, Hurricane Irene
Screen shot of YNN coverage of first DEC hydraulic fracturing hearing Wed., Nov. 16 in Dansville, NY.
Tags: DEC, hydraulic fracturing
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo directed that flags on state government buildings be flown at half-staff on Wednesday, November 16 in honor of a Fort Drum soldier who died in Afghanistan on November 11, Veterans Day. Private First Class Theodore B. Rushing died in Kandahar province of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 71st Cavalry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Drum. Private First Class Rushing was from Longwood, Florida.
Tags: Afghanistan, Fort Drum
Albany Times-Union reporter Cathleen Crowley reports, via Twitter, that another 20 protesters were arrested as state police enforce an 11 p.m. curfew late in the state-owned Lafayette Park. Just under 40 protesters were arrested late Saturday and Sunday, and Albany District Attorney David Soares says he will dismiss the trespass tickets. Albany County Republican Chairman Don Clarey is calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to supersede Soares. The State Police are being basically laughed at by the local DA,” he told Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential. “We have a curfew, we have a set of laws, and we should abide by it. I don’t favor beating anybody in the head, but I do favor enforcing the law.” Meanwhile, at Occupy Wall Street, police began clearing Zucotti Park for “cleaning.” Many protesters were being arrested, and there are ongoing protests throughout Manhattan on Tuesday. Thursday, Nov. 17, is the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street.
Tags: Occupy Albany
Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that New York State’s budget deficit grew $350 million to around $3.5 billion total. Vielkind says the “mid-year financial report” is causing a stir in Albany. The document missed its legal deadline, and now Gov. Andrew Cuomo says its announcement may bring state legislators back to Albany early to, presumably, cut more spending or reintroduce the so-called millionaire’s tax. The state’s financial report said:
“Weak and unsettled economic conditions around the world — illustrated by the Eurozone financial crisis, volatility in the financial markets, and persistently disappointing data on employment, consumer confidence, and income — have darkened the State’s fiscal outlook. The significant positive receipts results early in the fiscal year have been largely eroded as the economy weakened in the summer months. With the prospect of a weak bonus season on Wall Street, even more negative pressure is being placed on the State’s receipts outlook.”
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, budget deficit
Several local “Occupy” actions to report this weekend:
• Friday at 2 p.m., a group of folks calling themselves “Occupy Hudson” on a Facebook events page organized at a park along Warren St. in that city, and then held a brief protest at the Bank of America in Hudson on Warren St. The Register-Star includes a report about the protest.
• Sometime “Friday evening,” a group protesting the ongoing labor negotiations between Verizon employees and management used the word “occupy” in front of a reporter Jeff Alexander of The Daily Mail outside Town Hall in Catskill, and there is a story about that protest in the paper.
• Late Sunday night 13 protesters at Occupy Albany were arrested, according to Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential. State Police arrested and charged 13 Occupy Albany protesters with “trespass” for refusing to leave state-owned Lafayette Park for the neighboring Academy Park. On Saturday night, 24 protesters were arrested at Lafayette Park.
Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential highlights this video Kyle Hughes at nysnys.com took of Albany Fire Chief Robert Forezzi inspecting Occupy Albany. “My concern is for the safety of the occupiers, the safety of the public, and that’s why we conducted this safety inspection,” Forezzi told the Times-Union’s political blog. “If they follow our direction today I think everything will be safe here.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
Tags: Occupy Albany
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced the extension of some tax filing and payment deadlines for affected taxpayers, tax preparers and relief workers in counties that were declared disaster emergencies by Governor Andrew Cuomo after Hurricane Irene. Visit the department’s website for a complete list of taxes that will be accepted later from anyone affected by the storm in Greene, Columbia, Albany, Delaware, Dutchess, Rensselaer, and Ulster counties. Phone calls may be directed as follows:
• Forms and Instructions: 518.457.5431
• Withholding Tax: 518.485.6654
• Miscellaneous Business Tax: 518.457.5735
Tags: Hurricane Irene, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, taxes
Traffic may be a bit thicker heading into Albany Tue., Nov. 1, as there will be temporary lane closures on I-87 northbound from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., the New York State Thruway Authority reports. Repair work on the bridge over the Normans Kill Creek will only affect northbound traffic just south of Exit 23 (Downtown Albany, I-787, Route 9W). And you can tune in in the vicinity to the Highway Advisory Radio (1610-AM) for information.
Tags: I-87, New York State Thruway, Normans Kill Creek, road work
Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that while New York State Senate staffing has dropped eight percent since July 2010, Greene County’s representative there, Republican James Seward, has hired an additional temporary staffer. Columbia County’s representative in Albany, Republican Steve Saland, also did not cut staff, as his remained the same from last year. Most departments of New York government have seen staff cuts in the past year. See the full Senate information through the link, and read the full story in Capitol Confidential. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: James Seward, Steve Saland
Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares talked with Keith Olbermann, the former MSNBC host whose show “Countdown” now airs on Current TV last night and confirmed he was not prosecuting Occupy Albany protesters arrested for trespassing or other violations. “The concern was law enforcement locally sparking greater interest and sparking, quite frankly, a fuse we wouldn’t be able to control,” Soares said. “Things have been fine, and the relationship couldn’t be better.” Occupy Albany protesters have been in that park since last Friday, Oct. 21. Occupy Wall Street protesters began round-the-clock actions Sept. 17. Watch the video from Current TV above, or read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
Tags: Occupy Albany
On The Air
WGXC is on 90.7-FM now, at full-power, 3300 watts. We cover all parts of Greene County except parts of the mountaintop, and all of Columbia County except for a bit of Western Columbia County south of Germantown. WGXC also covers a large part of southern Albany County. We have heard reports that the signal is getting from Delaware County to Great Barrington, from Selkirk to Saugerties, from Pine Plains to the I-90 extension.
Local weather/webcams
National Weather Service, Albany
Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page
When the computer is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information in Harlemville. Check dates and times to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was turned off.
Greene County webcams:
Catskill webcam: Thomas Cole House Claude Mirror
Nearby webcams:
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