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Archive for August, 2011
Lippman Wins Judicial Compensation Fight
Aug 31st - 9:00 pm
Last Friday, as the state and much of the East coast was preparing for Hurricane Irene, the 7 members of the judicial compensation commission met to vote on a proposed pay raise for New York’s judges.
After a few hours of occasionally heated debate, they voted 4 to 3 to approve a plan that will increase pay for state supreme court judges to $174 thousand dollars by 20-14 – a total increase of just over 27 percent.
The salary for all other judges will rise by the same percentage. Unless the legislature and the governor object, judges will receive their first pay bump next April after seeing their paychecks stagnate since January 1995. This is something my next guest has been fighting for since he became Chief Judge of New York State back in 2009.
Brodsky Warns Of Inadequate Evac Plans
Aug 31st - 9:00 pm
It’s hard to say to families who lost loved ones, or saw their homes destroyed by flood waters, but overall the damage in New York State was not as bad as many people had feared – especially in New York City and Long Island. But former Assemblyman and Attorney General Candidate Richard Brodsky says elected officials shouldn’t be patting themselves on the backs. He sees many flaws with the state’s current evacuation plans.
Farms Heavily Impacted By Storms
Aug 31st - 9:00 pm
Dean Norton, President of the New York Farm Bureau, joined Liz from Rochester to talk about Irene’s impact on New York’s agriculture industry.
The Red Cross Needs Your Help
Aug 31st - 9:00 pm
The images over the past few days have left many stunned. Entire villages washed away by flash floods. Hundreds rushed out of their homes just minutes before their homes were engulfed in water. For those who saw the images on the TV, they might be asking what they can do to help. It turns out, you can do a lot. The Red Cross is in bad need of volunteers and they are asking people to sign up ASAP.
Skip Zimmerman is the head of the volunteer division of the Red Cross of Northeastern New York. He joined Liz on Tuesday.
Extras
Aug 31st - 6:03 pm
President Obama’s big jobs speech before a joint session of Congress next Wednesday conflicts with a GOP presidential debate.
House Speaker John Boehner wants Obama to reschedule for the following night. So far, no dice.
Obama will head to Paterson, NJ Sunday to survey storm damage there. It does not appear he’ll come to NY.
Add Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz to the list of electeds pissed off about being left off Obama’s disaster declaration list.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo returned to Margaretville today to survey storm damage.
Alec Baldwin would rather spend time traveling the world with his hot 27-year-old girlfriend than “handcuffed to the emergency command center in Maspeth during a hurricane” as mayor of NYC.
The Watertown Daily Times praises Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for his prosecution of local public corruption.
The Jewish Voice endorsed (Catholic) Bob Turner in NY-9 over (Jewish) David Weprin, citing Weprin’s “yes” vote on same-sex marriage. (No link).
More endorsements in the downstate Sept. 13 special election races.
Laurence O’Donnell challenges the “America’s Mayor” myth.
Rudy Giuliani is keeping the 2012 flame alive, telling the AP: “‘I’m going to sit down and talk it over with Judith, wake up one morning and have a decision.”
Sarah Palin will attend a Tea Party event in Iowa after all. Christine O’Donnell will not.
Dueling reporters on the NYS economy. Here and here.
More press for Rachel Figueroa-Levin, the woman behind @ElBloombito.
A Karner Blue goes ballistic over the thought of potential extinction.
Snooki the anchorwoman? This is oddly mesmerizing.
Hayworth’s Dual Ask: More Aid + More Cuts
Aug 31st - 4:03 pm
Rep. Nan Hayworth sent a letter to President Obama today, asking for Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties to be included in the disaster declaration issued earlier today.
At the same time, the NY-19 Republican voiced support for the call by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor that any additional disaster funding be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budgt.
So, to recap: The congresswoman is seeking more spending by the federal government here in New York to help with the post-Irene recovery – a move that would, if she and Cantor had their way, require additional cuts at a time when Washington is already polarized over reductions mandated by the debt ceiling deal passed early this month.
Hayworth’s letter comes the same day FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate visited the storm-ravaged Catskill town of Prattsville with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and acknowledged his cash-strapped agency (with just $800 million in its coffers) won’t be able to foot the entire clean-up bill for the multi-state disaster.
And for the first time today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo put a pricetag on the New York recovery effort: At least $1 billion.
Cuomo had asked for expedited federal disaster designation for 26 counties, and Obama this morning heeded that call for eight of them: Albany, Essex, Greene, Schoharie, Schenectady, Delaware, Dutchess and Ulster.
The counties left out so far (although Fugate intimated today it would likely not be long before at least some of them are added to the list) include: Bronx, Clinton, Columbia, Kings, Montgomery, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Warren, Washington and Westchester.
Alec Baldwin For Mayor…Of Syracuse?
Aug 31st - 2:41 pm
For months, 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin has been mulling a run for mayor of New York City. But if that doesn’t work out, he could always run in his mom’s hometown.
During a visit to the New York State Fair to help promote his mother’s charity, The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, Baldwin explained to YNN’ Bill Carey that the task of fund raising and campaigning in a packed Democratic primary in New York City may be too daunting for his busy schedule.
Instead, Baldiwn said, “well maybe I can be mayor of Syracuse.” He then quickly changed his mind after learning incumbent Stephanie Miner is a fellow Dem–and scoffed at the idea of mounting a primary challenge against her.
Check out Bill’s full interview with Baldwin on his charities and if and when he could make a (serious) decision about running for office.
House Delegation: Add Six Counties To Disaster Relief (Updated)
Aug 31st - 12:55 pm
Twenty members of New York’s House delegation are calling on President Obama to name seven six additional counties as disaster areas in order for them to be eligible for federal aid.
Though Obama did name eight counties to the list earlier today, the lawmakers say Columbia, Kings, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Washington counties need to be declared major disaster areas soon.
Update — The office of Rep. Maurice Hinchey initially sent out an incorrect release on the letter, including Suffolk County erroneously.
From their letter:
Given the scope of the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene, we appreciate that you approved several of the requested counties for Individual and Public Assistance, and ask that you approve all counties requested by Governor Cuomo. The assistance of FEMA and other federal agencies is urgently needed to prevent further infrastructure damage, ensure public health and safety, restore public utilities and transportation systems, and recover from tremendous public and private property damage.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had originally called for 26 of New York’s 62 counties be declared disaster areas in the wake of the storm. The governor said today that the cost of the damage was likely $1 billion and growing. The total cost of the damage nationwide is believed to be $6 billion.
Speaking in Prattsville, Greene County, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said it was likely more counties would be named disaster areas, but the initial eight counties were named in order to speed up the aid process.
Lawmakers who signed the letter include: Reps. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22), Nita Lowey (NY-18) and Paul Tonko (NY-21) and also include Reps. Chris Gibson (NY-20), Eliot Engel (NY-17), Pete King (NY-3), Steve Israel (NY-2), Timothy Bishop (NY-1), Gary Ackerman (NY-5), Gregory Meeks (NY-6), Joseph Crowley (NY-7), Jerrold Nadler (NY-8), Charles Rangel (NY-15), Edolphus Towns (NY-10), Yvette Clarke (NY-11), Michael Grimm (NY-13), Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), José Serrano (NY-16), Bill Owens (NY-23) and Nan Hayworth (NY-19).
The full letter is after the jump. More >
MoveOn For Schneiderman
Aug 31st - 12:52 pm
AG Eric Schneiderman’s battle with the Obama administration over his refusal to agree to a $20 billion mortgage crisis settlement with big banks has become a rallying point for the disaffected left.
Schneiderman, who has long been a darling of the progressive set, has picked up support from a wide variety of liberal stalwarts – from labor unions to the New York Times editorial board to Rep. Jerry Nadler et al – since he was kicked off a multistate settlment panel after balking at a deal that would, among other things, prohibit future inquiries on fraud by lenders.
(I should also note that Schneiderman does have some support on this one from moderates, too. All 21 Democratic members of New York’s congressional delegation – including upstaters Bill Owens, Kathy Hochul, Paul Tonko, Brian Higgins and Louise Slaughter – signed a letter in support of the AG).
Now add to that list the powerhouse lefty organization MoveOn.org, which sent an email to its 5 million members today, urging them to sign a petition informing Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner that they oppose “sweetheart deals for Wall Street” and support letting AGs like Schneiderman continue with their investigations.
“Thankfully, some state attorneys general are standing up to Geithner and Wall Street,” the email reads. “They refuse to settle with the banks until a full and real investigation exposes the role these banks and their executives played in the crash of our housing market and economy.”
“Eric Schneiderman and Beau Biden, the attorneys general of New York and Delaware, are holding strong despite enormous pressure from the administration to accept the deal. Schneiderman’s insistence that these crimes be investigated and prosecuted has now gotten him kicked off the settlement committee.”
“Owning a home is part of the American Dream, and justice for homeowners is an essential part of the American Dream movement. We have to stand behind Schneiderman, Biden, and other state attorneys general, and not let Geithner and a yes-man settlement committee brush banks’ criminal behavior under the rug.”
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