May 22, 2013 — One day after the state's powerful Assembly Speaker admitted "glaring failures" in his handling of a sexual abuse case, the Albany establishment seemed to be moving on, with the usual round of press conferences, bill passage, and leaders meetings.  Go to full article

May 16, 2013 — Governor Cuomo is calling on Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the subject of a scathing ethics commission report on sexual harassment, to resign from office or be expelled.  Go to full article

May 15, 2013 — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is turning his attention to a previously announced plan to help communities in financial distress.

The governor is offering more details of his plan to set up a restructuring panel to help local governments on the brink of insolvency. He's also putting some money behind the plan...according to the Associated Press, $80 million.

Cuomo says his proposed financial restructuring panel will help local governments in distress merge and consolidate services, possibly lay off more workers and to permanently restructure operations.  Go to full article

May 14, 2013 — Lawmakers in Albany tried to carry on as usual in the wake of one of the worst scandals in recent decades. Recent corruption arrests have overshadowed most other news coming out of the Capitol. And much of this week's legislative session has been cancelled.

But politicians who were in town insisted that their agendas are not being derailed.  Go to full article

May 13, 2013 — The state ethics commission report on the Assemblyman Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal might finally be made public later this month.  Go to full article

May 10, 2013 — Gov. Andrew Cuomo, joined by union and business leaders, and representatives from county governments, offered more details of a plan to build three new gambling casinos.
The governor says he wants to limit the locations to upstate regions for now, to prop up the failing economy. He says upstate needs jobs like it needs "oxygen". And he says having a downstate location would devalue the upstate centers.  Go to full article

East Montpelier, VT, May 09, 2013 — Dairy farms in Vermont and northern New York have faced a major labor shortage, which means that migrant laborers from Mexico and Guatemala are now milking many of the region's cows.

Farm country here is not an easy place to be a migrant worker: It's rural, hard to get around, and there's not a big Latino population. But a new law means that migrant workers in Vermont will soon be able to drive legally.  Go to full article

May 08, 2013 — A hearing by Senate Republicans on New York City's public campaign financing system was overshadowed by protests, as government reform groups and other members of the public were denied entry, and noisy protests ensued.  Go to full article

May 07, 2013 — The Vermont legislative session is winding down for the year, but lawmakers still plan to tackle some hot button issues over the next week.  Go to full article

May 06, 2013 — Former Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson turned himself in to federal authorities Monday, after being accused in a nine count indictment of embezzling nearly half a million dollars from mortgage foreclosure accounts, and then trying to cover it up.

According to the federal compliant, Senator Sampson is accused of embezzling $440,000 in funds that he was entrusted to care for as a court appointed referee on four foreclosed Brooklyn properties.  Go to full article