Voters across the state head to the polls to cast ballots in school budget votes.

At 9 a.m., Mayor Bloomberg speaks at the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board’s 19th Annual Seminar on Ethics in NYC Government, 185 West Broadway at Leonard Street, Manhattan.

At 10:30 a.m., the Independent Budget office releases its analysis of Bloomberg’s executive budget for 2014 and his financial plan through 2017.

At 11 a.m., NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and NYCLU Director Donna Lieberman hold a press conference to speak out against a resolution that calls on Albany to allow religious groups to use New York City public school space for worship services; Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers St., Manhattan.

…The Council’s Education Committee holds a hearing and will vote on the same bill at 1 p.m.

At 11:30 a.m., thousands of nurses and healthcare workers from across New York will rally in Albany in advance of their lobby day, West Capitol Park, state Capitol.

It’s also NARAL Pro-Choice NY’s lobby day, with hundreds of advocates gathering to push for Cuomo’s (yet unreleased) Women’s Equality Agenda.

Also at 11:30 a.m., Common Cause/NY and NYPIRG will unveil an in-depth analysis of soft money giving to housekeeping accounts in New York, LCA Press Room, LOB 130, Albany.

From 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Cuomo’s New NY Education Reform Commission is holding a public symposium on “innovative solutions for restructuring public school systems,” The Huxley Theater, NYS Museum, 222 Madison Ave., Albany.

Also at 12:30 p.m., the New York State DREAM Coalition will call on the Senate to pass the DREAM Act before the session ends. (The Assembly is expected to take up the measure today), Million Dollar staircase, state Capitol, Albany.

From 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m., CUNY administrators, former U.S. Secretary of State and retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell and the commander of the U.S. Army Cadet Command, Maj. Gen. Jefforey Smith, discuss the establishment of an Army Senior ROTC program on all of the university’s campuses; The Great Hall, second floor, Shepard Hall, 160 Convent Ave., Manhattan.

Kerry Kennedy is scheduled to appear tonight in North Castle Town Court as her drugged-driving case ambles toward trial.

Headlines…

Facing growing pressure to resign his leadership post, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for the first time publicly said “I’m sorry” for helping to cover up the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal.

Silver announced he would establish an independent investigator to handle and direct any complaint of that type brought by an Assembly employee, and would make all lawmakers and supervisory staff “mandatory reporters” of harassment complaints.

The NYT calls on Brooklyn residents to reject Vito Lopez’s NYC Council candidacy if he makes good on his threat to run.

The NY Post ties Cuomo firmly to the Lopez mess, calling on him to change his tune on Silver. “So long as the governor defends Shelly, he will be defined by Shelly.”

“People say the speaker should resign…I said, I don’t,” Cuomo said yesterday. “The Assembly will decide who is the leader of the Assembly. They vote. I don’t vote.”

Silver said he hasn’t given any thought to resigning.

“Even after a state ethics report criticized him for covering up allegations of sexual harassment against a powerful assemblyman, even after a prosecutor said his failure to act might have put other women at risk, even after a number of editorial boards called for his ouster, Mr. Silver is still standing strong.”

After Assemblyman Mickey Kearns quit the conference in protest over Silver’s ongoing leadership, a spokesman for the speaker said: “Two members left the Democratic conference today, Vito Lopez and Mickey Kearns. One was a closet harasser, one a closet Republican. Neither one will be missed.”

Some of Lopez’s former colleagues celebrated his departure.

The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, a nonprofit founded by Lopez in 1973 when he was just 31, is likely to survive this scandal, though it will long be linked to the scandal-scarred former lawmaker.

Cuomo invited leaders of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association to the Capitol to tell them to end their public criticism of the SAFE Act, and threatened to remove them from office if they didn’t.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are making clear they are staying out of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, just as the race is about to be roiled by the candidacy of their close aide Huma Abedin’s husband, Anthony Weiner.

Former Brooklyn Councilman Sal Albanese, one of Weiner’s potential Democratic primary rivals, demanded that the ex-congressman pony up $350,000 for the cost of the election required to fill his hastily vacated House seat two years ago.

Chelsea Clinton has quietly taken on a big new job at New York University, tackling what the school calls a “multifaith” role as co-founder and co-chair of its brand-new Of Many Institute.

Removable steel panels up to 12 feet high, preventing river water from once again overwhelming NYC streets, may soon line the West Side Highway and other parts of New York’s waterfront.

GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, uses Cuomo’s image in a new TV ad. (He hasn’t endorsed her).

The judge presiding over the stop-and-frisk trial in NYC has left little question as to her opinion on the practice, criticizing the NYPD’s “high error rate.”

The high-end clothing line backed by reality star Khloe Kardashian yanked a New York-themed t-shirt from its website, hours after Gov. Cuomo’s administration warned the item may be violating copyright law.

Niagara Falls this year plans to repave only about one-third of the amount of roadway it did four years ago. The culprit, according to city leaders, is the casino cash crunch.

NYC Council Minority Leader James Oddo is renewing a push for legislation requiring that a more stringent standard be put in place before the city Campaign Finance Board hands taxpayer funds over to candidates for elected office.

Madison County will begin its deliberations today on the groundbreaking deal announced last week between the Oneida Indian Nation and the state of New York.

Cuomo and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher rolled out a four-year, “master teacher” $60,000 stipend to high-performing science and math teachers willing to serve as mentors and coaches.

The TU editorializes in favor of farmworkers rights.

Kennedy and Guests>> (TWC ID required)

Tim Kremer Interview>> (TWC ID required)

Steve Greenberg Interview>> (TWC ID required)

Michael Kearns Interview>> (TWC ID required)

The Assembly today scrubbed all references to Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who resigned this morning effective 9 a.m. The nameplate on his chair in the Assembly is gone, as is the sign outside his office. Lopez’s website was removed.

“Mistakes were made, I deeply regret that,” Silver said while flanked by more than a dozen lawmakers, including women, adding that he’s responsible for how the initial complaints against Lopez were handled.

Lopez, a Brooklyn Democrat, resigned this morning from the seat he’s held since 1984 in the wake of the release of two investigations into allegations of sexual harassment made by legislative aides.

A Joint Commission on Public Ethics report found Lopez broke the public officers law and detailed the allegations by the staffers. A report from the State Island District Attorney’s Office found no criminal laws were broken.

But Silver has come under criticism for his handling of the settlement for the initial complaints and the internal push from the Assembly to keep it a secret in order to avoid media scrutiny. The confidential nature of the settlement would allow Lopez to hire more aides, two of whom would subsequently accuse him of harassment as well.

Silver has admitted in the past that he was mistaken in his handling of the case, but today’s news conference was Silver at his most defensive as calls come for his resignation.

“I did not give any thought to resigning,” Silver said. “I’m proud to serve my colleagues for as long as they want me to.”

Saying what happened “weighs heavily on me,” Silver proposed a series of measures that would overhaul sexual harassment claims.

The measures include the creation of an independent investigator to handle claims, mandatory reporting of sexual harassment complaints by Assembly employees and legislators and a ban on confidential settlements.

The proposal would also remove Silver’s office from handling sexual harassment allegations involving legislative employees entirely.

Silver said he did not read the report detailing Lopez’s harassment until Thursday, the same night his office called for the lawmaker to be expelled. The speaker, an Orthodox Jew, observed a Wednesday holiday and had not read the report. His office the day the JCOPE report was released reiterated its call for Lopez to resign, but did not call for his ouster.

“I was horrified with what was going on,” Silver said.

Silver has previously come under criticism for his handling of charges made against his legislative counsel Michael Boxley, who was accused of sexual assault.

But the speaker denied there’s a culture of harassment aimed at women or the idea that the Capitol is a hostile environment for women, pointing out changes made to the Assembly’s intern policy, as well as previous overhauls to how harassment claims are made.

“We’ve made tremendous strides over the last 25 years,” he said. “But clearly there’s more work to be done.”

A “best of” reel of vintage Lopez moments – including when he called NY Post reporter Sally Goldenberg a “sick lady” for daring to inquire about his health (which he routinely says is failing).

Crain’s has an on-line poll on Silver’s future as speaker.

In defense of Silver, Cuomo said sexual harassment is a societal problem, and not something unique to Albany.

Buffalo-area Assemblyman Michael Kearns, a longtime Silver critic, says he’s leaving the chamber’s Democratic majority until the speaker steps down.

“It’s no surprise,” said Silver spokesman Mike Whyland, “He ran as a Republican…he has never supported the speaker.”

Cuomo’s chief of staff Josh Vlasto sent an email exchange with the NY Post’s Fred Dicker to 10 other reporters after Dicker alleged in his column that Cuomo’s office had leaked his exclusive to another outlet.

New Yorkers for Life, the statewide coalition formed in opposition to the abortion plank in Cuomo’s Women’s Equality Agenda, has launched an up to $250,000 ad campaign in opposition to the measure.

Some African American Queens Democrats are unhappy the party’s endorsement list doesn’t include any black candidates.

“How well do you know Weiner?”

Seven things New Yorkers should know (according to the CBC) about municipal labor contracts in NYC.

The Cuomo administration is trying to generate support for its plan to overhaul LIPA by getting business groups to sign on to a letter it is circulating.

Hillary Clinton will deliver the next lecture in the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate University on Oct. 25.

Developer Carl Paladino’s $14.7 million plan to convert the decaying Arctic Freezer Building next to the Niagara Thruway is getting $634,000 in tax breaks through the Erie County IDA.

A new mailer from Republican NYC mayoral hopeful John Catsimatidis includes a pointed reference to “years of mismanagement” at the MTA.

A state judge says Hudson River Rafting Co.  can resume guided trips in the Adirondacks but must post a $50,000 bond and cannot rent rafts or kayaks to customers who captain their own boats on rivers requiring licensed guides.

New York Downtown Hospital has laid off its entire paramedic and EMT staff in  preparation for a takeover by New York Presbyterian.

Is practicing journalism a criminal act? It appears the Obama administration might think so.

Cuomo said at a Red Room cabinet meeting this afternoon that the scandal-scarred Legislature can repair its image by passing his agenda before the legisaltive session ends in June.

“I think it’s going to help us get the agenda done because I think the Legislature is going to realize there’s been a lot of bad publicity about the New York state Legislature and then that thing becomes writ large,” Cuomo said. “There’s been bad publicity. You know how you counter bad publicity? Good publicity? You know how you get good publicity? Do something. Pass bills that will help people of the state of New York.”

Cuomo is still pushing a women’s agenda that includes a controversial move to strengthen abortion rights, a measure he insists he won’t drop from the proposal.

“There’s no reason to not get the whole 10,” Cuomo said.

When it comes to public financing of political campaigns, another provision that has run into a wall of opposition in the coalition-led Senate, Cuomo acknowledged that Republicans were “adamant” in opposing that measure.

“I understand their opposition to public finance. They’ve been clear. They’ve actually been more clear as time has gone on,” Cuomo said.

The scandals — most recently the resignation of Assemblyman Vito Lopez over allegations of sexual harassment — have threatened to have a destablizing effect on the Legislature as calls mount for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to resign the post he’s held since 1994.

Cuomo this afternoon again criticized Silver’s handling of the confidential settlement for Lopez’s legislative aides, but said he did not support the speaker’s resignation.

“I believe the speaker mishandled the complaint and the situation,” Cuomo said. “It is different, however, than what Vito Lopez did, which is actually be the person who was abusing women. One is you didn’t handle it well, the other is the actual act.”

The governor added that sexual harassment isn’t just a problem confined to the state Capitol in Albany, reiterating that it’s an impetus to pass his women’s agenda. Cuomo last week said it would be the “height of hypocrisy” for the Legislature to not pass it in the wake of the scandals.

“On the speaker I’ve said it’s totally appropriate level of conversation, how was it handled, could it have been handled better? We were waiting for facts before we commented,” Cuomo said. “I think it’s an appropriate level of discussion. It’s an important topic. It’s a societally important topic.”

Silver this afternoon is expected to unveil a package of reforms to how internal sexual harassment claims are handled in the state Assembly.

Since the passage of the same-sex marriage bill two years ago, GENDA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in employment, housing, public accommodations and credit, has become a top priority for the LGBT community in New York.

The measure has passed the Assembly for six consecutive years. But it has never been taken up in the Senate, thanks largely to the fact that it’s a bit of a bridge too far for many Republican lawmakers.

ESPA today released an April 29 letter from Schumer and Gillibrand to the three Senate leaders – Jeff Klein, Dean Skelos and Andrea Stewart-Cousins – saying that passage of GENDA would “once again position New York as a beacon of civil and human rights.”

Almost immediately upon inheriting former Sen. Hillary Clinton’s seat, Gillibrand set about becoming a champion for LGBT rights, and lobbied hard on behalf of the gay marriage bill before the then-GOP controlled state Senate took it up in June 2011. Schumer came out in support of same-sex marriage in March 2009. At the time, he was the last remaining statewide elected official who had supported civil unions over marriage for gay couples.

UPDATE: Interestingly, this letter – which, as I noted above, is dated April 29 – was released on the very same day Schumer is facing pressure from gay activists over over whether a provision sought by same-sex couples will be included in the  immigration reform bill. Republicans consider this provision a deal killer, and Schumer very much wants to see a deal done.

According to POLITICO, Schumer held a meeting today with prominent New York gay elected officials, and the meeting became “heated at times,” and former Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell was one of the more vocal attendees.

US Senators GENDA Letter by liz_benjamin6490