Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign didn’t go so well, but the former New York City mayor  still seems to be a welcome presence among state Republicans.

Giuliani is listed as the keynote speaker at the New York Republican State Committee’s annual dinner on May 29, according to a copy of the invitation circulated by the Westchester GOP. Tickets for the reception and dinner at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Manhattan start at $1,000.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Brunoe and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco are listed as “special guests.”

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is poised to endorse Barack Obama’s candidacy for president.

Edwards was to appear with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., today as Obama campaigns in a critical general election battleground state, according to an Associated Press account.

UPDATE- Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe issued this statement concerning Edward’s endorsement of Obama.

“We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over.”

Putnam County legislators want residents, caregivers, doctors and others to tell them how the lack of health care coverage or inadequate insurance affect them and the community.

To find out, they plan two public hearings.

The first is Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bureau of Emergency Services on the Donald B. Smith campus, 112 Old Route 6 in Carmel.

On June 14, there will be a second hearing at Putnam Valley High School from 10 a.m. to noon.

For more information call the Putnam County Legislature at 845 225-8690.

Gov. David Paterson signed legislation this morning that would require sexual offenders to register their online screen names with state authorities and ban them from joining Internet social networking sites.

Paterson was joined by legislative leaders and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who pushed for the legislation after reaching settlements with sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, over inappropriate material on their Web pages.

The law will:—Require sex offenders to register all of their Internet accounts and Internet names and email addresses with the State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
—Authorize the Division of Criminal Justice Services to release the information to social-networking sites and other online services to help prescreen or remove sex offenders from using the site and potentially notify police.
—Mandates that convicted sex offenders who are serving a term of probation, conditional discharge or parole be prohibited from using the Internet to contact children.

There were also some funny exchanges during the press conference that Liz at The Daily Politics recounts.

From GNS reporter Dan Osburn:

The Senate Democrats urged the Republican majority today to bring legislation to the floor that would place a moratorium on foreclosures resulting from subprime mortgages.

“In the first quarter of 2008 the rate of foreclosures throughout the state has increased by 40 percent,” said Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith. “Let’s keep people in their homes.”

Smith argued that the bipartisan legislation could prevent up to 125,000 foreclosures in the next year.

Without the moratorium and other reforms, foreclosures could result in an average property value decline of $18,000—leading to a $65 billion tax base decline, Smith said.

A subprime loan is made at a high rate, usually made by people who do not qualify for prime-rate financing.

The Legislature and governor have already set aside $25 million to provide grants for non-profits to counsel and provide legal representation people with subprime loans.

The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed a package of bills last week to tackle the subprime crisis, yet the Senate Republicans, who are in the majority, have not come on board.

Democrat Barack Obama received the endorsement today of NARAL Pro-Choice America  — which doesn’t seem to have been a popular move with the group’s New York chapter.

“This decision was made internally by NARAL Pro-Choice America, based in Washington D.C., and without the consultation of the NARAL state affiliates across the country,” NARAL Pro-Choice New York said in a statement this afternoon.

The New York chapter of the abortion rights group has been a staunch supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, endorsing her in the 2000 and 2006 Senate races.

“NARAL Pro-Choice New York will not be issuing an endorsement at this time,” the statement said. ” NARAL Pro-Choice New York believes that this endorsement in the Democratic primary is premature. We are fortunate to have two pro-choice candidates in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. When a nominee is named, NARAL Pro-Choice New York will stand proudly with the pro-choice Democratic candidate in order to defeat anti-choice Republican candidate John McCain in November.”

Not really, but the press release yesterday from Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County, said he “lashes out at Gov. Paterson: Upstate Czar must remain.”

Let’s just say Alesi, who chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business , mildly criticizes Paterson over planning to do away with the two-headed, upstate-downstate Empire State Development Corp.

But the “lashing” is making its way around the blogosphere today, so here it is and you can judge for yourself.

Gov. David Paterson today said he’s committed to improving the upstate economy, saying the recently approved state budget includes $700 million for upstate economic development projects.

He said he supports Upstate Empire State Development Chairman Dan Gundersen, but wants to change the agency’s structure so it has one chairperson for the entire state – instead of the upstate-downstate branches that exist now.

“We’re very happy with the work Chairman Gundersen has performed, bringing businesses in and establishing a headquarters in Buffalo,” Paterson said.

“Somehow unfortunately his name got confused with a different issue that has to do with the leadership of any agency that I think should be centralized because upstate and downstate are interrelated.”

He said by having an upstate and downstate chairman, “we wound up in competition with each other” and initiatives, such as reforms of Industrial Development Agencies was stalled.

He said that in some cases, the state was paying for the same services twice by having a bifurcated agency.

“If somebody ran a business like this, you would want the CEO fired,” Paterson told reporters in Albany. “I’m the one running the business no matter what anyone else says. I’m the one who is responsible for this dysfunction and I’m trying to change it.”

“In changing it, I have not the least less desire to invest and to pay attention to the upstate region. But what I will say is that I understand the anxiety and the fear a lot of the business leaders and elected officials have from upstate.

“They feel that decade after decade—and I think the facts would bear out that they are right—that we have ignored nearly 50 counties in this state, time and time again.

He said he understands how upstate feels, having served as a senator in Harlem in which state leaders often ignored their difficult plight.

“I am well aware of how agitated people can get when they feel government is letting them down,” he said. “And we are not letting them down in the state. We are going to have a strong and vibrant development plan for the upstate region.”

He said that even Empire State Development doesn’t think the two-headed system is working.

“I invite you to go to people who work in ESDC and when you find someone who thought that structure was working, please give them my phone number, I’d like to talk to them,” he said.

By a 60 – 33 percent margin, Democrats say Barack Obama should pick Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate, a national Quinnipiac Poll found today.

Also, Obama or Clinton leads Arizona Sen. John McCain. Obama leads McCain, the GOP nominee, 47 – 40 percent while Clinton is up 46 – 41 percent, the poll found.

Among Democrats, Obama is ahead slightly as 45 percent say they want to see him win the nomination, while 41 percent want to see Clinton as the nominee.

And Democrats say 63 – 34 percent Clinton should stay in the race.

“Party leaders may be cringing over the potential damage to Democratic chances in November from the endless primary campaign, but two-thirds of the rank-and-file think Clinton ought to keep battling,” said Quinnipiac pollster Mickey Carroll.

“The ‘dream ticket?’ Three out of five Democrats like the idea.”

Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo yesterday endorsed the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket.

“Look, what we want more than anything is to win, and to win you’re going to need all the votes she gets and you don’t,” said Cuomo on CNN’s The Situation Room. “The best way to do it is to invite her on the ticket. If, in fact, at the end of process you win, which it looks like you might very well, then why not add her to the ticket?”

She wrote this to donors today:

Dear Friend,

There are some people out there who want to declare this race over now, before all the ballots have been counted or even cast. There are some who say they don’t know why I’m in this race. So let me tell you why I’m still running.

I’m in this race for everyone who needs a champion. For the hardworking families who are losing sleep over gas prices and grocery costs and mortgage payments and medical bills—but who never lose that American can-do spirit and optimism.

I’m in this race for the more than 16 million people like you who have supported me—for the people who have put their hearts into winning this race. You never gave up on me, and I’ll never give up on you.

We are in the homestretch. After sixteen months, there are only three weeks left to compete in the final contests. With your help I’m going to keep fighting until every last American has a chance to be heard, and as we learned last night in West Virginia, I know we can win.