Covering the politics, policies and people of New York State government.
Legislators and student advocates of the CORE coalition (College Opportunity and Resource Expansion) rallied to ensure that Governor Cuomo’s Excelsior Scholarship program include undocumented students, part time students and students with disabilities. The Excelsior Scholarship, announced in January, would cover tuition costs for students whose families earn less than $125,000 […]
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor gave an energetic talk to students, faculty and Capital Region residents at the SEFCU Arena on the University at Albany campus as part of the school’s Speaker Series. Justice Sotomayor reflected on her life growing up in the Bronx, and walked around the […]
Lester “The Lion” has passed at 82. Lester Shulklapper was the king of the lobbyists in Albany. He and I philosophically disagreed about pretty much everything but I loved the man dearly. He represented just about everyone who had power and money. We are talking about the banking industry […]
Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has appointed Sen. Kevin Parker minority whip in the Democratic Conference. The Brooklyn senator said he was “honored to be given the important leadership position.” “I am looking forward to continue working with my colleagues in developing a legislative agenda and passing bills that […]
Preet Bharara will join the NYU School of Law as a distinguished scholar in residence beginning April 1, 2017. Bharara, the hero United States attorney for the Southern District of New York known for taking on political corruption head-on, was fired by President Donald Trump after one of the longest […]
So, after Donald Trump said during his campaign that Preet Bharara should be reappointed, he has now fired the man. Bharara, of course, was not only the best U.S. Attorney in the country and a hero of epic proportions, he was also a modern day Eliot Ness. The list […]
Members, supporters and advocates for the New York Civil Liberties Union rallied Monday outside the Capitol in support of several bills they say would protect and expand civil rights. Public defense funding and reform, reproductive rights, transgender discrimination, electronic privacy, and police data transparency were all on the agenda for […]
Andrew and Donald, the saga continues. It turns out that Andrew, slick dude that he is, has lucked out. He thought that Hillary would be president. He was wrong or possibly just playing it cagey. Then the heat got turned up and everyone wanted to know what and when Andrew […]