State employees unions will seek a TRO to block the furlough plan passed yesterday.

The furlough budget extender bill was approved in the Senate along party lines (32-29); it passed the Assembly 82-56.

PEF VP Joe Fox warned legislators: “Do the right thing, and we’ll remember you in November. Do the wrong thing, and we’ll remember you in November.” (No link).

“Somebody said the rat is a good symbol of the governor. I say that’s an insult to a rodent,” CSEA President Danny Donohue told rallying state workers outside the Capitol.

Only six of the 16 other states that have tried furloughs have been able to make them stick.

Gov. David Paterson said the sacrifice state workers are going to make is “only necessary because their union leadership has rejected all other reasonable attempts at compromise.”

PEF President Ken Brynien insisted the union has provided Paterson with alternative budget solutions that would have avoided furloughs.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called the furlough plan inappropriate and predicted the courts would overturn it – and then he voted “yes” anyway.

Assemblyman Tim Gordon, an Independence Party member from Bethlehem, voted “no”, saying: “If it’s not legal, it’s very difficult to vote for.”

Paterson will hold a rally at 3 p.m. in the Red Room to support the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act. (No link).

The state Education Department and the teachers unions have reached a deal on tying teacher evaluations to test scores – just in time for Round II of “Race to the Top” funding.

Citizens Action, a key voting bloc of the WFP, will endorse Sen. Eric Schneiderman for AG.

Elena Kagan once goaded Eliot Spitzer into a pasta-eating contest at Princeton; he consumed seven bowls full.

Tom DeFrank thinks Kagan’s confirmation will be even easier than Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s.

Kagan’s old friends are completely unsurprised by her nomination.

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani doesn’t have a problem with Kagan.

Staten Island DA Dan Donovan is Mayor Bloomberg’s pick for AG – now if only state GOP Chairman Ed Cox can be convinced…

If Donovan runs – and wins – there is no shortage of people interested in his current post.

Bloomberg was, according to a source who has “reliably tracked” his movements in the past, not in Bermuda when the Staten Island ferry crashed last Saturday.

A ferry rider from Queens will file a $5 million lawsuit against the city.

Two senators targeted by the AFL-CIO – Craig Johnson and Jeff Klein – fired back at the union.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is seeking millions of dollars worth of earmarks for Kiryas Joel.

The NYC Charter Revision Commission is considering nonpartisan elections – a pet issue for Bloomberg.

Meet the man behind “If you see something, say something.”

Bronx Democratic Chairman Carl Heastie and Assemblyman Peter Rivera had a peace summit.

The city will pump close to $1 billion into its hospital system to make up for reduced aid from Albany.

Bloomberg will oppose a prevailing wage bill on which the NYC Council is holding hearings today.

Also under scrutiny: The paid sick leave bill being pushed by the WFP. Neither Bloomberg nor Council Speaker Christine Quinn has taken a position on the measure yet.

Pfizer is going to lay off or relocate NYC 1,400 employees after receiving millions of dollars worth of tax breaks to create jobs in the city.

The state Health Department has launched an interactive map to track cancer clusters.

Former Rep. Vito Fossella reportedly “looked uncomfortable” when a comic made jokes about philandering pol John Edwards at the Staten Island GOP Lincoln Day Dinner.

Bloomberg has a new public affairs director.

Marv Cermak would like people to stop touting former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno’s good deeds.

The Utica Observer-Dispatch endorsed Sen. Dave Valesky’s independent redistricting commission bill.

Democratic Senate candidate Regina Calcaterra slammed her opponent, GOP Sen. Ken LaValle, for taxpayer-funded mailers.

The Schuyler County Legislature is the latest to seek a delay in implementation of part of Leandra’s Law.

There’s an on-line petition to keep Rick Lazio off SNL.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey’s GOP opponent criticized the Democratic congressman for voting against a bill urging the president to press for sanctions against Iran.

Mayoral control of the Rochester schools will not happen in 2010, Mayor Robert Duffy said.

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