It was too much of a nice day Thursday to spend hours inside, negotiating complex real estate deals. So, as expected, the political summit designed to break a stalemate at the World Trade Center was brief (about an hour long), and did not end with any large detailed plan or path forward.
Rather, the Read More
With the stroke of Governor John Baldacci’s pen, Maine officially became the fifth state in which gay marriage is legal.
There seems to be something of a rush toward same-sex marriage afoot, with four states now legalizing it (two through the courts and two through legislative initiatives) in the past Read More
In terms of the political strategy they are now pursuing, the national Republican Party can accurately be labeled clueless: blind, shrill opposition to a president with deep personal popularity, reliance on a dated government-is-the-enemy philosophy that voters have roundly rejected as deregulatory excesses have sunk the economy, and unblinking and highly Read More
Governor Jon Corzine thinks David Paterson is doing well, considering.
When I asked him after a joint appearance with Paterson at the Harvard Club about the New York governor’s performance, Corzine said, “I think Governor Paterson came in at a very difficult time—in the circumstances in which he took power, in an incredibly challenging economic Read More
Governor David Paterson this afternoon expressed openness to what he called the “fascinating” idea of his former chief of staff Charles O’Byrne, who resigned last year in a tax scandal, returning to his administration.
Asked by reporters following an event at the Harvard Club this afternoon what he thought about a NY Post editorial Read More
Ornery old James T. Raleigh couldn’t help but snicker.
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine had just publicly christened the maiden voyage of the new Atlantic City Express Service (ACES), the region’s first direct train from New York to Atlantic City in decades, and then abruptly hopped off the illustrious locomotive at its very first Read More
A week ago, on the eve of Kirsten Gillibrand’s appointment to the United States Senate, I wrote that David Paterson was making a smart move in spurning Andrew Cuomo because, in essence, the attorney general wouldn’t have the nerve to challenge him in the 2010 gubernatorial primary.
As of today, I still believe Read More
When Dick Ravitch went before a room full of reporters on the 38th floor of the governor’s midtown offices in December to present his plan to save the M.T.A. from fiscal upheaval, transit advocates who closely followed the process were surprised at an omission.
As expected, the former M.T.A. chairman called Read More
ALBANY—On a conference call this afternoon, David Paterson and four other governors outlined specifics for how they would like to see a $1 trillion federal stimulus shape up, adding a request for education aid.
In addition to money for infrastructure investments and an increase in federal assistance for Medicaid and other social welfare programs, Read More
City and state officials are positioning themselves to garner funding from any new federal stimulus package for various transportation and infrastructure projects. Most of the projects are smaller-scale and nearly ready to start development.
It’s hoped, officials say, that new federal funds from the stimulus will push the projects forward.
Read More
