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Jan
4
2017  ALBANY — Republican Elaine Phillips and Democrat John Brooks were sworn into office Wednesday as new state senators. Brooks joined Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) as the second Democrat to serve in the Long Island senate delegation, which for years has been controlled by Republicans. Phillips, the former mayor of Flower Hill, celebrated the moment with family in Albany at a swearing-in ceremony and by posting an image on her...read more » |
Jan
3
2017  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday proposed free state college tuition assistance to ease the burden of paying for higher education for hundreds of thousands of low- and middle-income students. Cuomo announced the Excelsior Scholarship college degree program, which would help cover the cost of SUNY and CUNY tuition, including at two-year community colleges, for students whose families earn up to $125,000 annually. Individuals also would...read more » |
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Jan
3
2017  WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer prodded President-elect Donald Trump and said Democrats will hold him and the Republican majority “accountable” to the American people and the law as the New Yorker made his first speech Tuesday as Senate minority leader. “With all due respect, America cannot afford a Twitter presidency,” Schumer said as he warned Trump about using social media to make policy. “These issues are complex and demand both...read more » |
Jan
3
2017  Suffolk’s Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory won his fourth term Tuesday to lead the 18-member county legislature for another year, vowing to focus on county’s budget problems. Gregory was voted in on an 11-5 party line vote, with Republican lawmakers nominating Legis. Kevin McCaffrey, GOP caucus leader, as a symbolic alternative. Despite his candidacy, McCaffrey complimented Gregory on being evenhanded with the minority...read more » |
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Jan
2
2017  A 200-member team of investigators has been assembled to help ensure businesses across the state comply with the new minimum wage law that took effect Saturday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his top aides announced Monday in Manhattan. The Multiagency Enforcement and Outreach Unit will hold employers accountable by notifying employees of their rights, collecting their complaints and conducting investigations, Cuomo said. New York...read more » |
Jan
1
2017  Two days before he formally leaves office, retiring Rep. Steve Israel on Sunday symbolically turned over his 3rd Congressional District seat to his successor, Thomas Suozzi, in a “passing of the baton” ceremony at Glen Cove City Hall. Hundreds jammed the City Council chambers and spilled into adjoining hallways, including a slew of Long Island mayors, town officials, state and county legislators and others who will depend on Suozzi to...read more » |
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Nov
15
2016  ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo established a statewide “hotline” Tuesday to report hate and bias crimes and incidents after an “explosion” in “bias-motivated events,” including displays of swastikas and Confederate flags in White Plains, Wellsville, Geneseo and other parts of New York following Donald Trump’s win in the presidential election. Cuomo, a Democrat, said the State Police, the state Division of Human Rights and university...read more » |
Nov
4
2016  Voters in New York encountering problems Tuesday during the general election can call an Election Day hotline for help, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. Schneiderman said his office has created the hotline to help troubleshoot and resolve a range of issues and barriers encountered by voters at the polls, according to a Friday news release. Schneiderman urged voters experiencing problems or issues at the polls to call the...read more » |
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Oct
31
2016  The 1st Congressional District starts on the East End of Long Island and reaches all the way to denser western Suffolk towns. It includes some of the most expensive real estate in the world, as well as working farms, a major research university and many working-class hamlets stung hard by a lack of opportunity. It’s a district narrowly won by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. In 2014, it turned out an incumbent Democrat to elect Lee...read more » |
Oct
31
2016 Assistant Suffolk Deputy County Executive Luis Montes, the top Albany lobbyist in the administration of County Executive Steve Bellone, is now also Islip Democratic chairman. The $144,000-a-year county aide succeeds Gerry Pallotta in the unpaid town leader spot. Party sources say that Montes is expected to be more conciliatory than the more hard-edged Pallotta. “Luis knows how to reach out to everyone,” said Richard...read more » |
