new york state

Tim Kremer, New York State School Boards Association - NY School Budget Votes

Brian Shields — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:04:45 +0000

More than 95 percent of the school budgets that went before the voters in New York on Tuesday were approved but, those that exceeded the two percent property tax cap did not fare as well. Only about 30 percent of those spending plans were approved.

The executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, Tim Kremer, tells WAMC's Brian Shields the initial results show 630 school districts budgets were approved with 30 rejected.

New York State Senator Jose Peralta - THE DREAM Act and the New York State budget

Karen Dewitt — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

As New York State budget talks reach their final days, and perhaps even hours, a group of Hispanic lawmakers is pushing for the inclusion of the Dream Act in the budget, It would offer college aid to children of undocumented immigrants who were born in the country.

New York State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried - Bringing single-payer health care to New York

Patrick Donges — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:26:41 +0000

In Albany today, state legislators, patient advocates, labor leaders, and health care professionals unveiled a new proposal for government funded, universal, single-payer statewide health insurance.

WAMC’s Patrick Donges spoke today with New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, Democrat of Manhattan’s 75th district, sponsor of the bill and chair of the Assembly Health Committee.

Flood buyouts for 646 upstate New York properties

Associated Press — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:30:17 +0000

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — With New York officials now proposing to spend $400 million to buy and demolish downstate homes damaged by October's Superstorm Sandy, they say 646 buyout applications have been federally approved for $55 million in a buyout program for upstate properties damaged in 2011 by the back-to-back storms Irene and Lee.

Vox Pop - SPECIAL EXTENDED EDITION - 2013 New York State of the State Address : 1/9/13

Patrick Donges — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:00:00 +0000

2012 was, by most accounts, a year of challenges for New York, not the least of which was the devastation of Hurricane Sandy as she tore up the Eastern seaboard.

In state politics, the assembly remains firmly Democratic, while this year will usher in a new era of governance in the senate by a controlling coalition of Republicans and the five-member Independent Democratic Conference, the effectiveness of which has yet to be seen.

Comptroller DiNapoli says New York debt tops $63 billion

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:00:00 +0000

ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York comptroller says the state government's debt has topped $63 billion, with New York on track to approach its borrowing limit in early 2014.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says Monday the debt burden, averaging $3,253 per resident, is almost three times the national median. New York's debt is second only to California's $96.4 billion in state-funded debt and 80 percent higher than New Jersey, which is in third place.

Vox Pop : Open Forum - Fracking - 1/3/13

Patrick Donges — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:00:00 +0000

As reported this morning by WAMC’s Capital Correspondent Karen DeWitt, an 8 page document drafted last year by New York State regulators which states that the potential health impacts of fracking for natural gas could be reduced or prevented with the right regulation from the state.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation today says the document is out-dated and doesn’t reflect the conclusions of the forthcoming final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on fracking.

NYS Domestic Violence Protection Bills Take Effect January 1, 2013

Allison Dunne — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:26:53 +0000

New York State will have some new laws that take effect January first. One is a multi-layered legislative package that provides new protections for domestic violence victims. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill package October 25^th. One piece of the legislation increases the penalty for repeat offenders to a felony by creating a Class E felony, Aggravated Family Offense. Manhattan District Attorney and President of the New York District Attorneys Association of the State of New York Cyrus Vance, Jr., said this addresses an underlying issue: the ability of offenders to abuse their victims again and again without serious consequences.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer - The Poughkeepsie Journal

Brian Shields — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:40:47 +0000

A congressional committee has been looking into why the federal government overpaid New York State by more than $10 billion for the care of developmentally disabled people in state developmental centers. Congress began its probe after reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal. Mary Beth Pfeiffer, projects writer with the journal, says even though the overpayments were first detected in 2007, they still continued. She spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.

New York State Acquires 69,000 Acres For Inclusion in the Adirondack Forest Preserve

Pat Bradley — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday announced that New York State had purchased 69,000 acres of land from the Nature Conservancy. It’s the largest acquisition of Adirondack lands in more than a century.

The land purchase preserves a significant portion of the Upper Hudson River watershed. More than 180 miles of rivers and streams, 175 lakes and ponds, and six mountains higher than 2-thousand feet are included in the property, and marks the first time the lands have been open for public use in 150 years.