Archive for August, 2010
In First Upstate TV Debate, Rice and Schneiderman Are No Shows • 08.31.10
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and state Sen. Eric Schneiderman tonight skipped the first upstate debate for Democratic attorney general candidates, televised by WXXI public broadcasting in Rochester.
It was sponsored by Voice of the Voter, a collaboration between WXXI, the Democrat and Chronicle and WHAM-TV.
Those participating were Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, 64, D-Greenburgh, Westchester County; former state Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo, 47, of Manhattan; and former federal prosecutor and Navy officer Sean Coffey, 54, of Bronxville, Westchester County.
Schneiderman, 55, and Rice, 45, cited previous commitments for their failure to attend, according to the report by Democrat and Chronicle reporter Brian Sharp. A Schneiderman spokesman said he had “campaign events with various cultural leaders and communities.” A Rice spokesman said she was meeting with leaders from New York’s Korean community, taking questions from Flushing residents and then meeting with senior citizens in Queens.
The three candidates seized on the absence of Rice and Schneiderman, with each saying they would be focused on upstate issues.
More from the Democrat and Chronicle’s report after the jump.
(more…)DioGuardi out with first ad: ‘The world’s most expensive credit card’ • 08.31.10
U.S. Senate hopeful Joe DioGuardi is out with his first television ad, a 30-second spot that knocks Congress for overspending.
“In Congress they use this card to vote, but they’ve turned it into the most expensive credit card in the world,” says DioGuardi, a former congressman from Westchester County. “And you get the bill.”
In the spot, which debuts on Thursday, DioGuardi highlights his time in the House and his work as a certified public accountant.View the ad here.
“This credit card is a ticking time bomb that cripples the economy, stops job creation and will make us poor,” he says while holding up his voting card.
DioGuardi is competing against former Nassau County Legislator Bruce Blakeman and economist David Malpass for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in November. DioGuardi is the first of the GOP challengers with a television ad.
Corruption So Blatant All It Needed Was “Neon Lights,” IG Says • 08.31.10
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Inspector General Joseph Fisch teamed up again today to release its second report about alleged misconduct at the state prison system’s food operations department, finding that private vendors were allowed to bankroll office parties and meals for state employees and procurement laws were repeatedly skirted.
The report is the second from DiNapoli and Fisch on problems at the state Department of Correctional Services, again focusing on Howard Dean, the former director of the Food Production Center.
“Dean’s misconduct was blatant, and the only thing missing from advertising his misbehavior was neon lights,” Fisch said.
The initial report last April claimed that for 17 years Dean falsified hotel invoices, collected travel reimbursements and submitted false timesheets—and never worked on a Friday for 17 years.
Today’s report alleged that Dean orchestrated all sorts of deals with vendors out of the Rome headquarters, including “solicited free food and donations from vendors for an annual Christmas party and a three-day-long annual picnic.”
The full report is below, along with the agency’s response, which took blame for poor oversight and said it has since improved its operations.
Dean retired in 2008. The case has been referred to the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office.
Small Business Group Makes First Endorsement, and It’s For Murphy • 08.31.10
The state’s chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business today endorsed Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy in a Republican primary against Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson, Putnam County. It is the group’s first endorsement of the election season.
“Mary Beth Murphy is the right candidate for small business in this race—and the candidate who has demonstrated the strongest support for the small business agenda,” NFIB/New York State Director Mike Elmendorf in a statement.
Unshackle Upstate put out a scorecard yesterday on state lawmakers, giving Ball a score of 52 out of 100. That ranked him 35th among the state’s 150 Assembly members.
Judge temporarily blocks cigarette-tax collection plan for reservations • 08.31.10
Collecting taxes from cigarettes on Indian reservations sold to non-tribal members, a long-sought source of revenue for New York, will have to a wait.
A federal judge in Buffalo on Tuesday issued a temporary block on collecting the tax, which is expected to generate about $150 million for the cash-strapped state.
The ruling is a victory for the Seneca and Cayuga Indian nations, the two tribes that have come out in vehement opposition to the tax-collection plan approved earlier this summer.
Seneca Nation President Barry Snyder said in a statement that the “ruling sets the stage for an orderly and thoughtful legal review of what we believe is an illegal, ill-conceived attempt by New York State to use the Seneca Nation, and other Indian Nations located within its boundaries, as piggy banks to balance the State Budget.”
Lawyers for the state and the tribes are due back before Judge Richard Arcara on Sept. 2 for a hearing.
In addition to a lawsuit filed earlier this month that challenges the legality of the state’s plan, the Seneca Nation of Indians on Monday night voted to withhold casino revenue payments to the state in protest of the collection plan.
The state has received more than $700 million in the last 10 years from the casino revenue, according to the Seneca tribe.
Morgan Hook, a spokesman for Paterson, said the amount owed to state for the first half of the year is about $30 million.
Paterson signs 66 new laws, vetoes 26 bills • 08.31.10
Gov. David Paterson announced this afternoon that he has signed 66 bills into law and vetoed 26 bills. Some of the highlights of the ones he signed are:
—Employers who give workers leave time to attend funerals for family members must give the same leave to same-sex committed partners.
“I have consistently said that we must continue onward toward the goal of equality, whatever setbacks we may face,” Paterson said in a statement. “I am pleased today to sign this new law, which provides grieving partners with leave time to attend their loved one’s funeral.”
—Businesses that classify workers as independent contractors on construction projects will be subject to monetary and criminal penalties under the Construction Industry Fair Play Act. Misclassification is a kind of payroll fraud. Workers are denied basic protections and benefits like unemployment and workers’ compensation, and the fraud gives businesses that don’t follow the law an unfair advantage, according to the bill’s sponsors. Up to 15 percent of workers in New York’s construction industry can be misclassified at any one time.
Frank Spencer, vice president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Eastern District said in a statement that by passing the Construction Industry Fair Play Act, “New York has joined other states in the region and around the country that have clearly and substantively addressed the harm construction worker misclassification does to workers, good employers and taxpayers.”
-State infrastructure agencies - the departments of Transportation and Education, the Housing Finance Agency, the Housing Trust Fund Corp., the Environmental Facilities Corp., the Dormitory Authority and the Urban Development Corp.—must provide funding for infrastructure in a way that is consistent with smart-growth criteria.
The governor vetoed a bill that would have set up a state War of 1812 200th anniversary commemoration commission to plan War of 1812 reenactment tourism events. Paterson vetoed legislation last year that would have set up the commission.
“Governor Paterson’s veto of this piece of legislation is a direct affront to the social and economic needs of Upstate New York, and to the legislative process. After the bill was vetoed by the Governor in 2009, we worked closely with his office to re-craft the legislation and were told that it met his office’s specifications,” said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, Westchester County, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for attorney general.
“We are shocked by his subsequent action, and find this veto to be both mystifying and hurtful to taxpayers statewide, and especially Upstate New Yorkers, who would have benefited economically from the increase in tourism this bill would provide,” he added. (more…)
State re-educates schools on enrolling non-U.S. citizens • 08.31.10
The state Education Department has issued a guidance letter to school districts following a New York Civil Liberties Union analysis last month that found at least 20 percent of districts may be unlawfully barring or discouraging immigrant students from enrolling. The NYCLU wrote to 139 school districts “with problematic enrollment practices” to clarify the law, as well as the state Education Department. The group, which surveyed the nearly 700 school districts in New York last school year, said it had tried a number of times to reach out to the state Education Department on the issue but hadn’t been successful.
The Education Department’s guidance letter says the agency has received questions from schools on the matter and clarifies that students can’t be denied a free public education on the basis of their immigration status.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 18 years ago that the 14th Amendment guarantees the right to a free public education, and states are in violation if they deny undocumented children the same education given to United States citizens, according to the NYCLU. State law guarantees a free public education to children older than 5 and younger than 21 who have not earned a high school diploma. Schools can ask for a student’s age and address but not about a student’s or parent’s immigration status. The 139 districts had been asking either directly or indirectly for information on students’ immigration status, NYCLU said.
“We applaud the State Education Department for providing guidance on the law and the United States Constitution to help ensure that all of New York’s children are able to attend school and get an education,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement. “The Supreme Court ruled 28 years ago that all children have an equal right to a public school education, regardless of their immigration status. It’s critical that every school district in the state is aware of that and doesn’t unknowingly exclude immigrant children.”
Udi Ofer, NYCLU advocacy director, said dozens of school districts wanted to follow the law but weren’t sure how to do it. Many districts updated their policies based on what they learned from the advocacy group.
The Spencerport Central School District near Rochester no longer has the following on its student registration checklist: “If your child is not a U.S. citizen by birth, please bring your child’s I-94 form [or] Resident Alien Card. If the card is expired it will not be accepted.” The Fairport Central School District outside Rochester got rid of the requirement that students who are not citizens present I-94 forms or alien registration cards to schools, NYCLU said.
Group Targets Espada In New Mailer • 08.31.10
The New Roosevelt Initiative is continuing its campaign to oust embattled Sen. Pedro Espada in next month’s Democratic primary, putting out this mailer today that knocks the Bronx senator and calls on voters to back his primary foe Gustavo Rivera.
The group, led by Democratic activist Bill Samuels, has made Espada their top target heading into the Sept. 14 primary.
The mailer hits on Espada’s main troubles—Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s investigation into Espada allegedly looting $14 million from his health-care clinic, his lead role in last year’s Senate coup and his brief refusal to return to Albany earlier this month to pass the budget.
Chemung County for Paladino • 08.31.10
The gubernatorial campaign of Republican Carl Paladino is inching further east.
Paladino netted the endorsement of the Chemung County Republican Party. It is the third county to go to Paladino, a Buffalo real estate developer, in August. Granted, Chemung County was never too hot on Paladino’s challenger, former Rep. Rick Lazio. Chemung GOP leaders originally endorsed Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy in March. Levy, a Democrat-turned-Republican, dropped out of race after the state party designated Lazio its preferred candidate.
Recently, Paladino has been able to garner the support of Genesee County and Cayuga County.
Cuomo Investigates State Fair • 08.31.10
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today said his office will investigate potential “patronage, cronyism and waste of taxpayer money” at the New York State Fair.
The move by the Democratic candidate for governor comes after a scathing report by the Inspector General’s Office earlier this month that found former State Fair Director Peter Cappuccilli, Jr. misspent more than $900,000 during his 10-year tenure at the fair.
Cuomo said his office has issued subpoenas to several contractors and other related entities, including the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, as part of a civil investigation into the fair, which is located in Syracuse. His office received a necessary referral from the governor’s office to conduct the probe.
The effort also includes a criminal investigation of Cappuccilli’s alleged offenses, Cuomo said.
Cappuccilli served as fair director from 1995 through 2005, and Inspector General Joseph Fisch alleged he diverted $78,000 for personal use and squandered an additional $870,000 lavish parties and other questionable expenses.
The State Fair, one of the largest and longest running fairs in the nation, runs from Aug. 26 through Sept. 6. It was started in 1841. Roughly 1 million visitors attend the fair each year, bringing in about $16 million a year in revenue, Cuomo’s office said.
“The fair is a source of pride for all New Yorkers and we must protect it,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Our actions are aimed at ending systemic problems that have created a culture of patronage and cronyism at the expense of taxpayers.”
State Fair Director Dan O’Hara said the fair will cooperate with the attorney general’s probe.
“Certainly we are going to cooperate if he looks a little deeper in the operation here,” O’Hara said. “Since I became fair director in 2007, I’ve taken many actions to eliminate cronyism, nepotism and other things to bring both transparency and accountability to the fair.”
