Each Saturday on the Politics Now blog you'll find a list of stories that caught the eyes of The News' political reporters. Here's a sampling of what they were reading in recent weeks:
"Part-Time Required Hours For Some Full-Time Legislative Staffers," by Kenneth Lovett, the New York Daily News' Daily Politics blog. Calling it one of Albany's "dirty little secrets," Lovett writes that part-timers are raking in the dough while being left with time that can be used for campaign work and other jobs.
"Hillary Clinton would crush Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a presidential race," by Kenneth Lovett, New York Daily News. When Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked the day after this story if he had a reaction to the poll's findings, he had a rather simple response: "No.''
"Senate passes ed pork to Republican districts," by Jimmy Vielkind, Albany Times Union's Capitol Confidential. It's supposed to be the age of no budget pork. But what do you call aid that gets doled out only to partisan districts? Vielkind reports that Republicans in the State Senate pushed through $9.95 million in aid to schools in Republican districts this week, drawing complaints from their Democratic colleagues. Apparently, it's all within the rules.
"Andrew Cuomo vs. Hillary Clinton in 2016?'' by Maggie Haberman, Politco. It's going to be a long five years if this keeps up. Haberman writes Clinton, like Cuomo, is doing her own version of a 2016 White House dance.
“Twitter becomes a key real-time tool for campaigns,” by Karen Tumulty, Washington Post. This piece explores the use of Twitter through examples from both sides of the aisle in Washington, “showing how Twitter is redefining the means by which politicians shape, distribute and refine their messages.” Tumulty writes, “The six-year-old microblogging site came into its own this presidential cycle, but the past few weeks have demonstrated how clearly it has become the tool of choice for getting something into the political bloodstream …”
From Kathy Hochul to Carl Paladino, and from hydrofracking to school aid, people and policies tied to Western New York made news elsewhere this week. Here's a roundup of some political headlines from outside the area.
Politico was one of many national outlets that picked up on the story of Rep. Kathy Hochul and her comments about her rationale for supporting President Obama's contraception mandate. (Our Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Zremski tackled it here.) "Freshman New York Rep. Kathy Hochul is getting a taste of the feverish town hall angst that boiled up and over in 2010," writes Politico's David Catanese -- Hochul feels wrath of the town hall, Feb. 28
Carl Paladino's run for governor was a teachable moment, at least in one way, for Republicans in Onondaga County, according to Capital Tonight. County GOP Chairman Tom Dadey said he is looking for a greater share of the weighted vote at the state Republican convention. “The next time we run a gubernatorial candidate against the Democrats, we’re going to run somebody from Onondaga County,” Liz Benjamin quotes Dadey as saying. “A lot of people voted for Carl Paladino -– all walks of life -– on the Republican line -– and Erie County is the largest county.”-- Erie County Envy, Feb. 28
The New York Daily News' Daily Politics blog notes that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his support for hydraulic fracturing -- but only in certain places in the state. "Bloomberg gave it a thumbs up –- so long as it is not near the New York City watershed or any of the vital conduits that bring water into the five boroughs," writes Glenn Bain. -- Mayor Bloomberg Supports Fracking Outside NYC Watershed, Feb. 29
Rochester officials want a boost in school aid from the state, bringing what the city receives more into line with what other places -- like Buffalo -- get. They've formed a new group called Building a Better Rochester to help their push. -- Mayor Richards, other Rochester leaders seek state aid parity, March 1
December 19, 2011 - 11:35 AM
Each week, The Buffalo News publishes a community-by-community list of the local government meetings for the coming week. Here's what's coming up this week in the City of Buffalo:
--The Aloma D. Johnson Fruitbelt Community Charter School board of trustees will meet at 6 p.m. today in the school, 833 Michigan Ave.
--The Planning Board will meet at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday in Room 901 in City Hall.
--The Council’s Civil Service Committee will meet at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers. The Council’s Finance Committee will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers.
--The Council’s Community Development Committee will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers.
--The Council’s Legislation Committee will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers.
--The Buffalo Board of Education will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the boardroom, Room 801 of City Hall, to interview candidates for the at-large vacancy created by Christopher L. Jacobs’ resignation. The interviews are open to the public.
--The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency will meet at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Room 209 of City Hall.
--Aaron Besecker
Follow me on Twitter: @BeseckerBN
December 7, 2011 - 3:35 PM
The city's state-appointed control board this afternoon approved a nine-year contract for the city school district's white-collar union.
Read more about the deal in Mary Pasciak's story from last month when the Buffalo School Board approved it.
--Aaron Besecker
Follow me on Twitter: @BeseckerBN
