Ethical misconduct increasingly is the reason state lawmakers leave office, Citizens Union said in a report released today. Fourteen legislators have left office in the past 10 years because of ethical misconduct, criminal charges or similar issues. Five of them left in the 2007-08 session.

   “We are facing not only a fiscal crisis here [...]

   County clerks delivered four boxes of petitions opposing the state’s requirement that all drivers get new license plates starting next spring and pay $25 for them. They had collected signatures from more than 100,000 New Yorkers who want the state to quash the requirement, which would raise $130 million for the state.

   The signature [...]

   Gov. David Paterson made the rounds of some radio shows today to give an update on where negotiations stand on closing the state’s $3.2 billion budget deficit. Lawmakers were in town for a special session Tuesday, but they left without reaching an agreement. The governor is calling them back Monday and Tuesday.

   As the governor [...]

   The H1N1 flu vaccine is becoming more widely available across the state, Gov. David Paterson announced today. County health departments are planning clinics that had been put off because the national supply has been lower than anticipated.

   “Due to delays in manufacturing the H1N1 vaccine, our statewide vaccination campaign has not been mobilized as [...]

Two New York employees who were allegedly selling and using drugs, watching television and sleeping in a concealed “man cave” on state property instead of working pleaded guilty today to defrauding the government, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced.

Gary A. Pivoda, 48, of Glennon Road in Latham, an Albany suburb, and Louis Marciano, 50, of Willow [...]

   The New York 2010 Census Complete Count Committee kicked off a campaign to make sure state residents are counted in next year’s U.S. Census. Gov. David Paterson signed an executive order to form the committee, which will be composed of the heads of all state agencies and authorities.   

   The census is used to [...]

   More than 1,000 health-care workers who traveled to the Capitol Thursday to protest the governor’s proposed $278 million in health-care reductions.

   “We simply cannot sustain any more cuts in our hospitals, in our nursing homes or in our home-care division. Today we’ve got to make it clear: No more health-care cuts. Enough is enough!” [...]

   New York received a score of 20 on the Pew Center on the States’ new report evaluating whether states are in fiscal peril. All states were compared with California, which received the highest score—30. Revenue is down more in New York than California—17.1 percent to 16.2 percent. The national average is 11.7 percent.

   New [...]

   Thousands of New York health-care workers are planning a rally in Albany tomorrow to protest Gov. David Paterson’s proposed $470 million cuts to hospitals, nursing homes and home-care providers.

   The governor has called for the reductions as part of his plan to close the state’s $3.2 billion mid-year budget deficit. The Legislature was in Albany yesterday [...]

   State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today that he reached an $875,000 settlement with CVS Pharmacy Inc. over the sale of expired products in New York, including milk, eggs, medicines and baby formula. 

   CVS, which has about 432 stores in the state, has agreed to implement specific policies and procedures aimed at preventing the sale of [...]