Westchester Legislator Mike Kaplowitz, who opted not to run against state Assemblyman Greg Ball, must have some extra time on his hands. He’s been named leader of the Board’s newly-created Subcommittee on Energy Efficiency.

“Although this county has made great strides in the area of energy efficiency, we need to do more and we need to be aggressive,” Kaplowitz, a Somers Democrat, said in a press release.  “This country is in an energy crisis and due to the lack of leadership on the national level regarding this issue, we must roll up our legislative sleeves and provide energy leadership at the local level.”

Kaplowitz, who is also the Board’s vice chairman, was tapped for the post by Legislator Thomas Abinanti of Greenburgh. Abinanti chairs the Board’s Environment & Energy Committee.

The subcommittee’s first meeting will be 3 p.m. Monday with officials from the New York Power Authority.”

Republicans in the state Assembly and Senate are calling for a repeal of the state’s gas taxes this summer in the wake of soaring gas prices.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County, has a news conference scheduled for tomorrow morning and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, has an announcement scheduled for the afternoon.

Republicans want to suspend a 32.75 cents tax imposed in New York. Yet some leaders have questioned the effectiveness of gas-tax caps or suspensions, saying there is no guarantee that oil companies will pass on the savings to consumers.

That’s been Gov. David Paterson’s opinion in recent days, and Democrats say a gas-tax suspension in the summer months—when about 40 percent of the state’s sales-tax revenue from gas is collected because of the busy travel season—would cost the state up to $800 million in lost revenue.

That would be a tough hit when lawmakers are warning of tough fiscal time ahead. But supporters say the measure is needed to give New Yorkers relief at the pump.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo also spoke at Reform Day today, saying that among his watchdog efforts is a movement to weed out unscrupulous member items obtained by state lawmakers.

Last year, Cuomo instituted a certification process for every state grant that lawmakers secure for their districts, such as money for Little Leagues, churches and other non-profit groups.

The $200 million a year in member items have been under scrutiny in recent years and criticized for widespread fraud.

Yet Cuomo said his certification process is apparently having positive results. He said that of the 6,500 members items passed last year, 2,700 have not yet been presented to his office, suggesting that some fear his review process.

“I think we brought review and scrutiny to the program that hasn’t existed before,” Cuomo later told reporters. “And I think people are looking at those certifications and thinking twice before they sign them—as they should.”

Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith called on Senate Republican Leader Joseph Bruno to join the reform movement in the state, telling an audience of good-government groups in Albany today for Reform Day that “Joe Bruno. Your time has come. Reform is on its way.”

I later asked him to elaborate, and he said that Bruno needs to seek reform to state government.

“Reform is the call of the day and so you can either be on this train or you can be on the station,” Smith said. “And if you’re on the station and the train pulls out and leaves you, then you have to wave to everyone who is gone.”

Smith is seeking to win a Democratic majority in the Senate for the first time since 1965. Republicans hold a two-seat majority, and Bruno was vowed to retain his GOP majority.

Smith, though, said a main problem with state government is that the minority party has little influence, saying “We are no longer the Empire State. You cannot live in a state where for the most part you have legislators who don’t have the ability to do their job” because they aren’t in the majority.

He said the minority members receive few resources, such as only recently getting a phone in their conference room.

He said if Democrats take the majority, minority members would be allowed to bring issues to the floor if there is support within legislative committees.

As for giving more resources to the minority if he takes over, such as the phones, “We’ll just transfer it back to them.”

There was no immediate reaction from Bruno’s office.

Barack Obama told reporters today that he was “outraged” by the comments of Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Monday and that those comments do not ortray the perspective of the black church.

“I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday,” Obama said, according to an Associated Press account.

Wright said Monday that criticism surrounding his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church.

The state Consumer Protection Board is advising recipients of federal rebate checks to buy “necessary, long-term use items, especially those that will help reduce future costs.”

Here are some of there recommendations:
•        Pay down credit-card debt.
•        Make a payment towards a hybrid or more-fuel efficient car.
•        Purchase energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.
•        Buy household items that have long shelf lives, like laundry detergent and toiletries, in bulk to reduce weekly shopping bills.
•        Prepay membership and/or association fees if consumers belong to these groups, or make a payment to defray other monthly expenses.
•        Make a payment toward the principle on a mortgage.
•        Prepay school tuition.
•        Prepay for heating for next year.
•        Purchase government bonds and CD’s to save money.

In new appeal to working class voters, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has released a new television ad in Indiana stressing her upbringing in Illinois. The ad is titled “Dreams.”

“My father served in the Navy and ran a small business,” Clinton says in the ad. “My mother taught Sunday school and took care of us. I come from Park Ridge, Illinois, benefiting from all their hard work and sacrifice.

I carry with me not just their dreams but the dreams of people like them all across our country, people who embrace hard work and opportunity who never waiver in the face of adversity, who never stop believing in the promise of America.

Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano turned 72 earlier this month, which naturally means its time for the annual birthday bash/campaign fundraiser at the Rye Town Hilton.

This year’s event is slated for Wednesday evening and, as usual, expected to draw a crowd of more than 500 people to the hotel – usually mix of prominent Democratic Party activists, business officials (especially those with county contracts) and other Spano supporters.

Spano, who is in the middle of his third term, has already stated his intent to seek a fourth term in 2009.

So far, no Republicans have formally announced a candidacy against Spano. But Rob Astorino, who lost to the Yorktown Democrat in 2005, is expected to challenge him again.

Mike Easley, the governor of North Carolina, endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton today in the state’s upcoming presidential primary.According to the AP, “the two-term Democrat declared the New York senator “gets it.’” “It’s time for somebody to be in the White House who understands the challenges we face in this country,” Easley said.  ”There’s been lots of ’Yes we can, yes we should.’ Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver.”

You’d need to have a certain type of Mom to celebrate this way: With Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, at a pre-Mother’s Day fundraiser in New York City…. Tickets are $100 a head, or $1,000 a head for “premium seating,” depending on how you feel about your Mom (and the Clintons).