Elena Kagan!

Kagan is the country’s first female Soliciter General and the second New York woman tapped by President Obama for the US Supreme Court, but she has never been a judge.

Kagan grew up on the Upper West Side and worked on Liz Holtzman’s 1980 US Senate campaign; she was upset when Holtzman lost to “ultraconvservative machine politician” Alfonse D’Amato.

She’s a “good friend” and former Harvard Princeton classmate of ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who insisted, through a spokeswoman, that the two never dated. (Sorry. She went to Princeton and was dean of Harvard Law, the first woman to hold that post).

Tensions have escalated between Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson.

Bloomberg will answer 311′s one millionth call this afternoon. (No link).

Two of the three GOP gubernatorial candidates – Carl Paladino and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy – are hitting the airwaves today, but not Rick Lazio.

Lazio and Paladino got chummy in Canastota.

The 2010 GOP gubernatorial battle has shades of a similiar fight in 2006.

Levy has a toehold in Paladino territory, but new Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy doesn’t see much approval for the county executive “at this point.”

The Legislature is expected to approve a budget extender bill that includes state worker furloughs that aren’t slated to start until May 17.

Temporary workers will not be furloughed, which just makes the public employees unions madder.

The DN praises Gov. David Paterson for the furloughs, saying he’s striking a “blow for fiscal sanity.”

Randy Mastro wants to take the WFP back to court.

AG Andrew Cuomo is reportedly ready to accept the endorsements of the WFP and Independence parties, despite the fact that they are both under investigation. AG hopefuls Kathleen Rice and Sean Coffey are hedging.

The Post reiterates its call for Cuomo to reject the WPF line.

The WFP is making charter schools an issue for candidates seeking its support this fall.

The AG’s race could pit Cuomo and Bloomberg against one another, with the AG quietly supporting Rice and the mayor backing GOP Staten Island DA Dan Donovan.

It’s possible there still won’t be a budget when Democrats gather in Rye to name their statewide slate, which could be bad optics for the party.

Hedge funders who have become charter school champions met with Cuomo at the Regency last month; they’ve also hired Bloomberg’s former campaign manager, Bradley Tusk, and lobbyist Patricia Lynch.

Assemblyman Vito Lopez is one of the pro-charter Democrats.

NYC has set aside $600 million for a big pension fund payments that’s coming due soon.

Sen. Chuck Schumer’s biggest source of campaign cash is the interest he collects on his contributions.

Hillary Clinton insisted she and her rival-turned-boss, the president, have a “great relationship.”

Schumer said he would not give the Obama administration high marks on providing anti-terror funding for New York.

Officials think mechanical failure was to blame for Saturday’s Staten Island ferry crash.

The Tea Party was responsible for Utah Sen. Robert Bennett’s loss.

Rep. Pete King , Dick Morris, Geraldo Rivera and others held a send off for ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who goes to jail May 17.

Will ex-Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno’s sentencing be the straw that finally breaks corruption’s back at the Capitol?

The man who sentenced Bruno, U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe, made his distaste for the Legislature clear from the bench.

The TU slams Democratic leaders for hedging on redistricting reform.

Long Island Assemblyman Phil Ramos could be facing another primary challenge.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle calls for reform of the state’s juvenile justice system.

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