Thursday March 11, 2010

New York Political News

Wife, daughter of Harry Reid injured as their minivan is rear-ended

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter were hospitalized Thursday - the wife with a broken back and neck - after their minivan was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck on an Interstate highway in suburban Virginia, authorities said.

Friday March 12, 2010 3:52AM | nydailynews.com

No Apologies for Obama's Supreme Court Slap

Chief Justice John Roberts is getting quite a lesson in First Amendment law - from legal scholar Barack Obama. The White House indicated the chief justice shouldn’t expect any apologies in response to Roberts’ complaint that it was “very troubling” that Obama used the Jan. 27 State of the Union address to cite his disagreement with a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in favor of unbridled corporat ...

Friday March 12, 2010 12:45AM | nydailynews.com

House calls for ethics committee to expand Massa probe

In a sign that the Eric Massa controversy may not go away any time soon, the House on Thursday advanced a Republican measure calling for the ethics committee to "investigate fully" what House Democratic leaders and their staffs knew ahead of time about the ex-congressman's alleged misconduct. The resolution...

Friday March 12, 2010 12:03AM | nypost.com

You can't make this stuff up -- Atlantic Yards edition

DN City Hall Bureau Chief Adam Lisberg files this report from Brooklyn: Outside the fence at the Atlantic Yards groundbreaking today, an NYPD helicopter kept an eye on the 100 or so protesters blowing whistles and blasting air horns. Inside the tent, the politicians and developers and financiers all took turns today praising a glorious day for Brooklyn -- and sometimes letting out a few blasts of ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 11:12PM | nydailynews.com

Liberals Rip Durbin 'Betrayal'

Progressives are hammering Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin today after reports that he will tell senators to oppose a public option amendment. Durbin, you see, was one of 41 senators to sign a pledge to support the public option. So the Progressive Change Campaign Committee says it’s unleashed about 1 million e-mails calling on supporters to hammer Durbin. “Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 9:38PM | nydailynews.com

Of Cuomos And Kaye

A reader wrote in to remind me of the long-standing relationship between Judith Kaye and the Cuomos. Kaye was initially appointed to the New York State Court of Appeals in 1983 by none other than former Gov. Mario Cuomo, the father of AG Andrew Cuomo. She was the first woman ever to serve on the bench of the state`s highest court. Mario Cuomo subsequently appointed Kaye to the post of ch ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 9:36PM | nydailynews.com

Spitzer doc in Tribeca Film Festival lineup

A documentary about the rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer will be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. The festival unveiled part of its lineup Wednesday. The work-in-progress film about the former New York governor is directed by Alex Gibney, whose "Taxi to the Dark Side" won the 2007 documentary...

Thursday March 11, 2010 8:56PM | nypost.com

Cuomo, Recuses Himself From Paterson Probes, Appoints Judith Kaye Independent Counsel

AG Andrew Cuomo just announced he has appointed former Chief Judge Judith Kaye to act as an independent counsel for overseeing the investigations his office is conducting of Gov. David Paterson to avoid "any possible appearance of any political interest or conflict whatsoever." "I have removed myself from the case," Cuomo confirmed. Cuomo said Kaye will not be paid for her services. The invest ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 8:49PM | nydailynews.com

Source: Flake, Jay-Z Cost AEG Racino Contract

The withdrawals of the Rev. Floyd Flake and rap mogul Jay-Z from AEG were the final straws that ultimately cost the group its lucrative racino contract, DN Capitol Bureau Chief Ken Lovett reports. “Such belated removals could not be expected during the ongoing (Lottery) investigation since they created the appearance that AEG was being allowed to conceal relevant information,” an official wit ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 8:30PM | nydailynews.com

Koch's Fix Albany Agenda

A reader forwarded the suggested agenda items for tomorrow`s meeting on reforming state government that is being convened at the offices of Bryan Cave by former Mayor Ed Koch, Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey and New York Civic`s Henry Stern. 1. Support an independent redistricting commission to reapportion the state after the 2010 census. 2. Support the restoration of fisc ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 8:25PM | nydailynews.com

Six Degrees Of Separation, Albany Style

The nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), just announced that Gov. David Paterson`s former campaign spokeswoman, Tracy Sefl, has joined its board of directors. Sefl, who quit Paterson`s campaign one month before the Times broke abusegate, "will help lead the organization as it expands its victim service, public educat ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 7:59PM | nydailynews.com

Wilson Engages

GOP state comptroller hopeful Harry Wilson took a shot today at his Democratic target, incumbent Tom DiNapoli, accusing him of being "directly responsible for the fiscal calamity the state is facing." "After more than 20 years in the State Assembly voting for every back-door borrowing scheme and fiscal gimmick imaginable, Tom DiNapoli is now trying to portray himself as a fiscal reformer," Wilson ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 7:27PM | nydailynews.com

13th SD, By The Numbers

Hiram Monserrate has so far spent $56,473 on his campaign to win back the seat from which he was expelled by his colleagues last month, according to his 11-day pre-special election financial filing. Monserrate`s biggest expense? Legal fees. He dropped $35,000 on the Madison Avenue firm McLaughlin & Stern. This is not to be confused with the legal defense fund Monserrate set up to cover ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 7:03PM | nydailynews.com

House Votes for New Massa Probe

The House voted nearly unanimously this afternoon for a new investigation into the messy departure of ex-Rep. Eric Massa, seeking to learn who knew what when. Massa, of Corning, insists he’s done nothing sexual or criminal, but sources say the ethics complaint that led to his departure contains charges he groped three male staffers. With Massa’s resignation, he takes himself out of the juris ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 6:57PM | nydailynews.com

Skyler Softens Bloomberg Response To Ravitch

During a brief scrum with LCA reporters in Albany today, Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler sought to highlight the more positive aspects of his boss` response to the Ravitch report, noting the mayor had praised the LG and didn`t pan his proposal in its entirety. "The fiscal discipline that the Ravitch plan imposes is very similar to the fiscal discipline the city has lived with since the 70s ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 6:31PM | nydailynews.com

Holder Failed to Disclose Brief on Detainee Policy

A Justice Department spokesman said the omission by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. during his confirmation hearings was inadvertent.

Thursday March 11, 2010 6:11PM | nytimes.com

Another Paterson Budget Forum

Gov. David Paterson will continue his get-back-to-business tour next Monday with a second budget town hall meeting, this time in Westchester County. "We will not close this monumental budget deficit without the help of all New Yorkers. This reality demands our attention and the people deserve an opportunity to ask questions, present ideas and hear directly from their leaders," Paterson said in a ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 6:00PM | nydailynews.com

Opening A New Front On Monserrate

Fight Back NY`s latest mailer against Hiram Monserrate takes a new approach, focusing on his steering of public funds to a controversial Queens nonprofit instead of his domestic violence conviction. The LGBT-funded PAC`s raison d`etre is to defeat senators who contributed to the defeat of the marriage bill last year. But its backers have also made clear that it is willing to achieve ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 5:23PM | nydailynews.com

AEG Is Dead (Updated)

The state today finally pulled the plug on Aqueduct Entertainment Group, DN Capitol Bureau Chief Ken Lovett reports "The Division of the Lottery has concluded that it cannot issue a gaming license to Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG)," Paterson`s office announced in a statement. "Therefore, the state has officially withdrawn its support for AEG to develop and operate a video lottery termi ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 4:59PM | nydailynews.com

Skelos: Ravitch Plan Is 'Surrendering'

Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos strong disagrees with LG Richard Ravitch’s contention that the state’s $9-billion-plus budget deficit is too big to close in one budget cycle, the DN`s Glenn Blain reports. “That’s surrendering,” Skelos said this morning during a press conference to unveil another GOP effort to restore the STAR rebate program." Skelos said he agrees with sta ...