Albany

BY KEN GIRARDIN Months of bad decisions and inaction by New York state officials have put school districts in the awkward position of having to give pay raises to most teachers while laying off others. The districts could have avoided

BY IAN KINGSBURY Governor Andrew Cuomo is withholding 20 percent of state school aid allocations pending federal bailout negotiations. The decision has been met with alarm and objection from district leaders and New York teachers unions. Yet notably absent from pleas to maintain funding

Most of the newest retirees eligible for pensions over $100,000 from the New York State and Local Retirement System were retired police officers, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. At least 362 of the system’s 702 six-figure

BY BILL HAMMOND A new report from the state Health Department tries to deflect blame for thousands of coronavirus deaths in the state’s nursing homes—but undermines its own case by withholding data and engaging in tendentious analysis. Most glaringly, it

Governor Andrew Cuomo expects to serve as Secretary of State in the administration of Joe Biden following private discussions with the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee earlier this week, sources close to the Governor tell The Chronicle. In that circumstance, Western

Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul late this evening to lead what is being colloquially referred to as a ‘tiger task force’ of civic leaders that will be tasked with the objective of landing the world’s largest logistics

BY E.J. McMAHON New York State’s biggest public pension fund lost money on its investments during the fiscal year that ended March 31—a completely unsurprising result, given the coronavirus crisis and its impact on financial markets in early spring. State

BY BILL HAMMOND New York’s per-capita Medicaid spending soared to more than double the nationwide rate in 2018, widening its gap with the other 49 states. New York’s version of Medicaid, a health plan for the low-income and disabled, cost

BY E.J. McMAHON New York City’s five municipal public pension funds ended their 2020 fiscal year with a net investment gain of 4.44 percent, well below their 7 percent assumed rate of return. That shortfall, reflecting the pandemic recession and

ALBANY, NY – NYS Senate Republican Leader Robert Ortt and members of the Senate Republican Conference today demanded that the Senate Majority leverage its subpoena power to compel Governor Andrew Cuomo, Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker, and any state

BY MIKE NORRIS I’ll never forget receiving the briefing from NYS Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker in early March with fellow colleagues about the dangerous potential of the coronavirus and the immediate need for emergency funding for preparation and equipment.

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) and Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes (R-C, Caledonia) announce the New York State Legislature has passed legislation to designate a portion of state route 63 in the Town of Geneseo as the “Savannah Marie Williams Memorial Highway.”  Williams, an 18-year-old

The newly ascendant Republican Leader in the State Senate is slamming the New York City Council’s $1 billion budget cut to the New York Police Department last week and is taking steps to prevent its implementation. Senator Rob Ortt (R

BY MATT WEIDINGER Various reviewers (including me) have noted the rapid growth of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. That’s the temporary federally funded unemployment benefit program created in the March 2020 CARES Act that is designed to assist self-employed individuals,

BY E.J. McMAHON New York’s economy ended the first quarter of this year in virtual free fall, the latest federal data show. The Empire State’s real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 8.2 percent in the first three months of 2020

BY E.J. McMAHON The final set of pre-pandemic U.S. Census population data for cities, towns and villages provides localized details on a familiar New York pattern: widespread decline upstate, and a few small pockets of growth amid the general stagnation

Everyone in the business community agrees: Governor Andrew Cuomo must begin to deal fairly with the Seneca Nation of Indians in order for Niagara Falls to thrive as a global destination. For too long, his hostile posture has destroyed countless opportunities for

NEW YORK – In response to a video of the Buffalo Police Department pushing a 75-year-old man to the ground, causing serious injury during an anti-police brutality demonstration, Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement: “The video captured on