Here And Now
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to be in Nassau County, where he’ll deliver a version of his State of the State and budget addresses at SUNY Old Westbury in the Student Union Center Building, 223 Store Hill Rd., Long Island, 11 a.m.
Mayor Bloomberg delivers his final State of the City address at noon at the Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave. between Sixth and Flatbush Avenues, Brooklyn. (It’s also the mayor’s birthday).
At 1 p.m. Sens. Cecilia Tkaczyk and Neil Breslin join Assembly Members Patricia Fahy, John McDonald, Angelo Santabarbara and Phil Steck to call for 30-day education budget amendments, Room 130, Legislative Office Building, 181 State St., Albany.
The State Procurement Council meets at 11 a.m., Meeting Room Six, North Concourse Level, Empire State Plaza, Albany.
From 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m., the NYS Business Council presents the fifth in a series of regional briefings about state legislation/budget proposals concerning businesses in 2013; Hodgson Russ LLP, 24th floor, 1540 Broadway, Manhattan.
At 9:50 a.m., former Chief Judge Judth Kaye, chair of the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, delivers the keynote address for a symposium on race, law and justice, Carroll St. Gymnasium, 1650 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn.
From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz and his wife, Jamie, host a Valentine’s Day party where couples married for at least 50 years will renew their vows; El Caribe Country Club Caterers, 5945 Strickland Ave., Brooklyn. (It’s also the BP’s birthday!)
At 3 p.m. Sen. Tim Kennedy calls for stopping a proposed youth football ban, Johnnie B. Wiley Sports Complex, Jefferson Avenue and Dodge Street, Buffalo.
Headlines…
According to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s spokesman, JCOPE’s report on the Assemblyman Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal indicates that the speaker will be cleared of any legal misconduct in the ongoing investigation.
The spokesman, Michael Whyland, urged the Legislative Ethics Committee to release the JCOPE report “immediately.”
Said Lopez’s attorney: “I received a call that I’m being sent a report from JCOPE which has been referred to the Legislative Ethics Commission, and I’m assuming that it’s the same old allegations that have been in the press in the past, and we will deal with them as we go forward.”
Several members of the two separate legislative ethics panels told Tom Precious they had not yet seen the report.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn is poised to pick up a key union endorsement from the Mason Tenders District Council, delivering a setback to Democratic mayoral rivals who are seeking labor’s support.
…that pretty much answers this question.
In his 12th and final State of the City address today, Bloomberg will propose a citywide ban on plastic-foam food packaging, including takeout boxes, cups and trays.
Debate continues over whether Bloomberg’s successful push to overturn term limits and seek a third four-year term was worth it for NYC.
Cuomo pushed back against the suggestion his administration is playing politics in further delaying a decision on hydraulic fracturing, saying the issue is “too important to make a mistake.”
“President Barack Obama one-upped (Cuomo) when he proposed raising the minimum wage in his Tuesday evening State of the Union speech, but it’s unclear if the president’s proposal will help or hinder Cuomo’s quest.”
Another critical audit of the MTA from the state comptroller’s office.
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli criticized Cuomo’s budget for borrowing too much (among other things) and got into a verbal pissing match with Budget Director Bob Megna.
Hillary Clinton’s adopted home of Chappaqua is on board for 2016.
A wealthy Greek Democratic donor says Clinton’s husband confirmed to him that she’ll be running in four years.
Former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi might want a re-match with the Republican who ousted him in 2009, Ed Mangano, but he’ll have to get through a primary against self-funding fellow Democrat Adam Haber first.
Forms for pistol-permit holders to opt out of having their information public will be available starting tomorrow.
Just a day after hundreds of gun rights advocates rallied in Albany against Cuomo’s new gun-control law, others affected by the strictest-in-the-nation regulations weighed in with objections of their own at a hearing in Buffalo.
Rep. Peter King and other Republicans plan to join Democrats in offering a House version of a bipartisan Senate bill to impose universal background checks for gun purchases.
King collaborated on a pro-background check OpEd with Rep. Mike Thompson, a California Democrat.
ICYMI: Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner upped the ante in her verbal war with Cuomo over his pension smoothing plan, likening it to the “fiscal recklessness that plunged New York City into a fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion to limit debate and force an “up or down” vote on Obama’s defense secretary nominee, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, before the week is out.
While school districts now allocate 11.8 percent of their payrolls for retirement costs, taxpayers will have to contribute 16.25 percent next year, the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System told school districts earlier this month.
Cuomo’s SAGE Commission released its final report on ways to cut costs in government and issued several recommendations, and found – among other things – that the merger of two WNY bridge authorities is worthy of further study.
Rape victim Lydia Cuomo was shocked when the GOP sponsor of the “rape is rape” bill she’s advocating, Sen. Cathy Young, quietly changed the bill without telling her.
For the second time in a month, former Sen. Shirley Huntley pleaded guilty to criminal corruption charges.
Syracuse schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras proposed a preliminary 2013-14 district budget that would raise spending by 2.3 percent but still cut nearly 96 positions.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Liz Benjamin on February 14, 2013 at 6:27 am, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |
-
gecannonphd
-
gecannonphd
-
gecannonphd
-
Rza
-
gecannonphd
-
BusterBrown


Take Capital Tonight and the State of Politics blog with you everywhere you go with our iPhone app! The mobile application features our blog posts, interviews, and a report news tool to send us your political news tips.