Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:03:45 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Jacob Gershman :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Jacob+Gershman istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/silver-racks-up-air-miles-at-taxpayers-expense/86793/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST How do you get from New York City to Albany? For most state lawmakers, the fastest and cheapest way is either by train or by car. For the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, the answer is a drive to La Guardia, a shuttle to Washington, D.C., an hour of waiting, a flight to Albany, and then a drive from the airport to the Statehouse. Mr. Silver is one of the few state lawmakers from New York City to commute to Albany by air. His itinerary is probably the most circuitous. The... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/new-policy-is-sought-in-albany-after-report/86862/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Government watchdog groups are calling on the state Legislature to tighten a transportation policy that allows lawmakers to commute to Albany by plane, bank frequent flier miles, and send the bill to taxpayers. The demand for stricter standards follows a report in yesterday's New York Sun that the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, frequently takes indirect flights to Albany with layovers in Washington, D.C., racking up large expenses without saving any time. "The current... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/another-assemblyman-was-paid-by-hospital/86389/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A hospital system that may figure in the federal corruption case against a Democratic state assemblyman, Anthony Seminerio, has for years been paying another assemblyman as a consultant, according to state financial disclosure records. Since 2003, a Democratic state assemblyman of central Brooklyn, William Boyland, Jr., has received an unspecified amount of outside income from Brookdale University Hospital in Brownsville. Mr. Seminerio was arrested earlier this month on charges that he used a... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/wall-st-crisis-boosts-profile-of-paterson/86238/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST It took the near-collapse of the world's largest insurance company, the demise of an internationally known investment bank, and a wild Wall Street ride that erased billions of dollars of profits to transform an accidental governor into New York's chief executive. After a week of economic convulsions, David Paterson has emerged as a governor determined to seize the moment, establish his authority, and put to rest lingering doubts that a formerly obscure lieutenant governor could flourish on the... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/taciturnity-is-the-word-on-legislators-pay/86132/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST While other state lawmakers are accustomed to cloaking their financial secrets behind lax disclosure laws, Assemblyman Micah Kellner stands apart. Unlike most of his Albany colleagues, the 29-year-old Democrat of the Upper East Side has no problem providing an unredacted review of his financial disclosure forms. Not that his forms disclose terribly much: The only income Mr. Kellner earns comes from his $79,500-a-year salary as a legislator. "I guess I'm very poor," he said. "It's the most... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/new-york-would-suffer-under-obama-tax-plan/86039/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST New York is one of a handful of states that would be hit with a net increase in federal taxes under Senator Obama's tax plan, according to a new study. Thanks to New York City's heavy concentration of wealth, the Democratic candidate's proposal would end up raising taxes in New York State by a total of $3 billion in the first two years of an Obama administration, while most other states on average would see a lower federal tax bill, the study said. In effect, the Empire State would be... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-bloomberg-wear-brave-faces/85933/ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson are scrambling to assure New Yorkers that city and state finances will survive the financial tornado sweeping through Wall Street. The spate of shocking financial news — the fall of the fourth-largest investment bank in America, Lehman Brothers Holidings; the loss of Merrill Lynch as an independent firm, and the imperiled state of the largest insurer in the nation, American International Group — seemed to take both leaders by surprise. While insisting that... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/election-shows-the-power-of-working-families-party/85644/ Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A casual glance at the results of Tuesday's primary election might suggest an inconclusive and even contradictory theme. Political fortune shined on the Assembly's stalwart speaker, Sheldon Silver, who demolished two youthful opponents, while, in an overlapping district, another veteran lawmaker, Senator Martin Connor, was vanquished by a 28-year-old upstart with a Yale degree, Daniel Squadron. A common thread that has not gone unnoticed among lawmakers is that Messrs. Silver and Squadron, as... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/silver-staves-off-challenge-connor-is-out/85552/ Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, in an impressive display of strength that will act as warning to others who may be tempted to challenge his 14-year reign as one of the Legislature's leaders, dispatched two much younger opponents in yesterday's primary election. Another veteran Albany lawmaker, Martin Connor, was not as fortunate. His 30-year career in the Senate was toppled by a man less than half his age, Daniel Squadron, who before last night's victory was best known... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/mongolian-opposition-leader-finds-limits/84901/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — Standing down doesn't come naturally to Elbegdorj Tsakhia, who was a 27-year-old newspaper editor in the winter of 1990 when in subzero temperatures he helped lead a series of mass demonstrations and hunger strikes here that ended seven decades of communist rule. Now a seasoned politician with two stints as prime minister behind him, Mr. Elbegdorj is more sensitive to the limits of protest in this young democracy. The 45-year-old leader of the nation's leading opposition... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/unions-aim-tv-ad-blitz-at-paterson/83759/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Governor Paterson is coming under increasing pressure to back down on his insistence that lawmakers approve what would be one of the most aggressive anti-tax measures in state history. Mr. Paterson, a Democrat, surprised many earlier in the year when he expressed support for setting a strict limit on how much suburban and upstate school districts can tax their residents each year. Legislation supported by Mr. Paterson would prohibit taxes from increasing by more than 4% a year. The idea... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-sets-a-showdown-on-hospitals/83698/ Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST After infuriating teachers unions with a plan to cap property taxes, Governor Paterson has opened a second front in a brewing budget battle by proposing a round of spending cuts that is aimed squarely at the state's health care industry. After telling New Yorkers to prepare for "painful" cutbacks necessary to close a budget gap that has soared past $6 billion, Mr. Paterson stung hospitals, nursing homes, and insurance companies with an emergency budget plan that slashes Medicaid reimbursement... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-presents-plan-for-16-billion-deficit/83623/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:49:04 EST Governor Paterson today took a large but sure-to-be contentious step toward driving down next year's spiraling deficit, submitting to lawmakers a plan for reducing the gap by $1.6 billion that would compensate hospitals and nursing homes at lower Medicaid rates, force insurance companies to pay more than $100 million in additional fees, and place greater financial burdens on local governments. Mr. Paterson unveiled his proposal eight days before lawmakers are set to return to Albany for a... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/tough-week-awaits-silver-with-a-choice-on-taxes/83600/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, this week will face one of the toughest political decisions of his career: whether to side with Governor Paterson, a fellow Democrat, in passing a cap on property taxes, or protect his relationship with the state's most powerful labor unions. Mr. Paterson and the state's other legislative leader, Senate Republican Dean Skelos, are urging Mr. Silver and Assembly Democrats to approve legislation that would impose a 3% to 4% ceiling on... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/gops-skelos-is-sanguine-on-budget-woes/83496/ Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST As a Republican lawmaker in Albany, Dean Skelos has been criticized by Democrats for what they describe as an abrasive style — one that has earned him the nickname "Mean Dean." When it comes to finding a way out of the state's current financial morass, though, the new Republican majority leader is a leading advocate for a gentler touch. While Governor Paterson in recent weeks has been talking about the state's widening budget hole with a perpetual grimace, using words such as "pain" and... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/assemblys-gay-rites-backers-reap-benefits/83387/ Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Assembly Republicans who bucked party leaders and voted to legalize same-sex marriage in New York have been rewarded with an outpouring of donations from gay rights advocates across the nation. The lawmakers, who before voting for the measure had a relatively low profile in the Assembly and rarely raised money from ZIP codes outside their districts, have benefited from a fund-raising network stretching to at least nine other states. The money has flowed in at such a rapid pace that these... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/senator-scored-for-a-scheme-to-raise-pay/83279/ Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A veteran state senator is coming under fire from an upstart rival for proposing legislation that would award $1,000-a-week bonuses to lawmakers who agree to work full-time and give up their outside incomes. The idea, however, may contain the contours of the compromise necessary for Governor Paterson to give lawmakers their first pay raise in a decade, according to lawmakers and independent observers. They say the governor, who has expressed reluctance about raising lawmakers' pay at a time... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/republicans-seek-support-from-billionaire-golisano/83216/ Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST With billionaire Thomas Golisano poised to pump money into legislative races and potentially threaten the balance of power in the state Senate, Republicans yesterday made one last attempt to persuade the Rochester businessman not to support Democrats. In an 11th-hour appeal, Senate Republicans presented Mr. Golisano with a lengthy letter asserting that, unlike Democrats, they share a common ground on taxes, spending, and other fiscal policies. Republicans sent the letter days before Mr... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/editorials/silvers-not-buying-the-act/83104/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST When Governor Paterson yelled, "Fire!" last week, Albany's most cautious politician, Sheldon Silver, had the nerve to ask, "Where?" The governor had breaking news. The deficit, he said, had jumped by more than $1 billion and lawmakers needed to do something about it. Now. The speaker remained composed. "Let's sit around for a few more weeks and analyze a little more data before we act precipitously," he reportedly said in a radio interview. The Daily News's editorial board accused Mr. Silver of... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/albany-full-of-ideas-for-savings-initiatives/83033/ Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST It's called the $600 million challenge. Decrying an out-of-control deficit, Governor Paterson is ordering state lawmakers to return to Albany for an emergency "economic session" next month and brainstorm ways to come up with that much money through "savings initiatives." Fortunately for the legislators, the governor didn't specify what he meant by "initiatives," leaving them with plenty of room for interpretations that don't entail actual budget cuts. Lawmakers interviewed said they have quite... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/governor-calls-raising-taxes-a-last-resort/82962/ Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST When Governor Paterson needed to get a handle on the state's rocky finances, he sought the counsel of one of America's most prominent economists, Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz. The governor, however, doesn't appear to be taking the Columbia University scholar's advice. On the issue of how to bridge the state's widening budget gap, Mr. Paterson and Mr. Stiglitz are miles apart. Asked yesterday if he would raise taxes, Mr. Paterson said he would do so only as a "last resort," saying he... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-calls-for-action/82884/ Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Note: Correction appended. Governor Paterson's dramatic "call for action" on the state's rapidly widening deficit is inspiring a backlash from lawmakers and other powerful statehouse players. In a rare televised address, which effectively marked an early start to next year's budget negotiations, Mr. Paterson vowed to rein in excess state spending, raising the specter of state layoffs and cuts to areas that are normally off-limits in Albany and ordering lawmakers back to the capital next month... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/era-of-austerity-is-expected-from-paterson/82800/ Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Albany's responses to past fiscal crises suggest that Governor Paterson's sounding of the alarm bells on the state's finances foreshadows a rise in taxes. This evening, when Mr. Paterson is scheduled to speak on statewide television to draw attention to New York's budgetary turmoil, he will be following the paths of other state leaders, such as Governors Pataki and Cuomo, who at times aired their own warnings of fiscal calamity. Mr. Paterson, who in his address is expected to announce plans for... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/opinion/inherit-the-whirlwind/82716/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST It's easy to write off the Spitzer administration as an unmitigated disaster. The former governor's legacy was best captured by Albany's one-man think tank, E.J. McMahon, who described it as a "parking lot whirlwind — stirring up the trash and pushing around shopping carts, but leaving no fundamental change in its wake." What we forget though was the presence of an actual whirlwind. To Eliot Spitzer's credit, he wanted to be a tornado and kick up dust and debris while lawmakers raced for cover... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spitzer-aides-charged-in-troopergate-probe/82625/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Three senior aides to a former governor, Eliot Spitzer, and a former state police superintendent violated state ethics laws by plotting against a former Republican majority leader of the Senate, Joseph Bruno, the state's top ethics body has concluded. More than a year after the Spitzer administration was hit with allegations that it improperly used the state police to dig up travel records that could prove damaging to the former Senate leader, the State Commission on Public Integrity handed... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/patersons-tax-cap-plan-may-end-up-costing-city/82525/ Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The exclusion of New York City from Governor Paterson's signature tax relief proposal is drawing complaints from state lawmakers, who say the governor's plan to set strict limits on how much school districts are permitted to tax each year would end up costing the city. Embracing the recommendations of a special state commission led by the Nassau County executive, Thomas Suozzi, the governor is urging Assembly Democrats to pass a bill that would prohibit school districts from increasing annual... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/senate-backing-silver-blocking-property-tax-cap/82281/ Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST State Senate Republicans say they will return to Albany next month to pass Governor Paterson's proposal to cap local school property taxes. Legislative momentum behind the plan, which would cap annual growth in school district tax levies at between 3% and 4%, stops at the Assembly chamber's door. Assembly Democrats, who are closely aligned with the plan's most powerful critic, the state's largest teachers union, are indicating they won't follow the Senate's lead in passing the measure. "I think... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-obama-defeat-would-be-victory-for-racism/82115/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Governor Paterson, who became New York's first black governor following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer, is lashing out at the press for describing him as an "accidental governor," implying in a speech that the term's frequent usage was motivated by racial bias. In a speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's annual convention in Cincinnati, Mr. Paterson also suggested that the defeat of Senator Obama by Senator McCain in the presidential contest would be a... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/silver-wins-a-ruling-related-to-aides-sexual/82080/ Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST A state Supreme Court judge ruled this week that the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, and a former top aide convicted of sexual misconduct are not obligated to repay the state the cost of settling a civil suit brought by the female victim, who charged that Mr. Silver failed to punish a known sexual predator. In 2006, under the direction of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the woman's case against the state was settled for $507,500, with virtually all of the money borne by... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/real-estate-school-gay-activists-give-to-paterson/81984/ Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Real estate developers, school choice proponents, and gay rights activists are among Governor Paterson's most generous contributors. Mr. Paterson, who surprised many in Albany by raising $3 million since becoming governor in March, drew contributions from a constellation of Albany interests, such as trial lawyers, contractors, teacher unions, state troopers, insurance, and health care companies, according to filings submitted yesterday by his campaign committee to the State Board of Elections... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/senator-plans-run-as-democrat-and-republican/81899/ Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST A Democratic state senator who is infuriated by his party's views on gay marriage and abortion rights is running for re-election on the Republican Party line, and says he is considering switching his allegiance to the Republican majority leader, Dean Skelos. Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister who represents the 32nd district in the south-central Bronx, said he isn't loyal to either party but is seeking to advance his conservative policy positions by taking advantage of the... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/how-payroll-of-paterson-dwarfs-all/81802/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Governor Paterson has been paying his aides more money than do governors in other states and paying some of them more than many New York state lawmakers or judges make. Mr. Paterson's 28-year-old director of communications, Risa Heller, makes more money than New York's 69-year-old chief judge, Judith Kaye. Ms. Heller, a former top press aide to Senator Schumer who joined the administration in the spring, earns $175,000, which is $19,000 more than Chief Judge Kaye, who occupies the state... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/eye-on-2010-paterson-ups-fund-raising/81793/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Aiming to deter primary challengers in two years, Governor Paterson has ramped up his fund-raising operation, pulling in more than $3 million in donations since stepping in for Eliot Spitzer in March, according to his campaign office. Mr. Paterson's political committee has raised more than $3.2 million since it was established three months ago, campaign officials said yesterday. The governor, who came into office with about $100,000 in his campaign coffers, now has roughly the same amount of... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/painless-paring-is-the-plan-for-paterson-budget/81604/ Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Governor Paterson has described his most significant budget-cutting undertaking as painful but necessary medicine for New York's fiscal maladies. In Albany, however, pain is relative. For the Department of Environmental Conservation, complying with the governor meant coordinating an advertising program with another office. For the Olympic Regional Development Authority, it meant scrapping a snowboarding competition. For one tiny agency, it meant getting by without a summer intern. During budget... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-widens-budget-while-demanding-cuts/81507/ Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST When Governor Paterson in late May was promoting an effort to slash the budgets of his state agencies by 3.35%, he delivered an unusually harsh warning to his commissioners. "If you can't cut 3.35% off of your budget and still be effective, I would ask them to go back and take another look at it," Mr. Paterson said before a gathering of reporters in Albany. "If that doesn't work, maybe we'll have somebody else take a look at it." For the former lieutenant governor, whose administration must... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/rochester-billionaire-targets-silver-with-new-pac/81208/ Thu, 3 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Billionaire Thomas Golisano has set his sights on the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, who may soon bear the brunt of the Rochester Republican's new political action committee. Mr. Golisano, a three-time gubernatorial contender who is forming a PAC to spread his wealth to candidates across the state who pledge their support for his movement against Albany's establishment, is considering bankrolling an effort to topple Mr. Silver, the longest-serving Democratic speaker in... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-skelos-profess-common-ground/81125/ Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST While professing a common ground on the issue of property taxes, Governor Paterson and Senator Dean Skelos emerged from their first formal meeting since the latter was anointed majority leader without an agreement on how to slow down the rapid growth in local school tax levies. Saying he had a "productive discussion" with the governor, Mr. Skelos, a Long Island legislator who succeeded Senator Joseph Bruno last week as the state's top Republican, expressed hope that lawmakers and the governor... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/senator-skelos-reintroduces-himself-to-new-york/80943/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Dean Skelos, who became the top Republican in Albany on Tuesday when Joseph Bruno announced his retirement, enters his first full week as the Senate's majority leader with plans to reintroduce himself to state and city leaders. The 60-year-old Nassau County native has scheduled sit-down meetings with Governor Paterson, a Democrat whose relationship with Mr. Skelos is untested, and Mayor Bloomberg, an important financial contributor to the embattled Senate Republican conference. In a recent... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/roger-stone-says-mta-chief-raised-his-rent-due/80836/ Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Apparently, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman, H. Dale Hemmerdinger, hasn't forgiven Roger Stone for accusing him of prank-calling Eliot Spitzer's father. Mr. Stone, the self-styled libertine political operative who may have had a hand in the downfall of Eliot Spitzer, says he moved out of his 40 Central Park South apartment after Mr. Hemmerdinger, his landlord, increased his $7,000-a-month rent by 35%. Last month, Mr. Stone, who has a primary residence in Miami, packed up his... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/skelos-elevated-as-leader-of-tenuous-gop-majority/80616/ Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST ALBANY — With the Republican Party's control of the state Senate hanging in the balance, the newly installed majority leader, Dean Skelos, is opening his term as one of the three most powerful people in the Capitol with a promise to reduce the state's spiraling property taxes. After an extended and poignant farewell to his 79-year-old predecessor, Senator Joseph Bruno, in what was the first legislative leadership shake-up since the end of the Cuomo administration, Mr. Skelos stopped short of... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bruno-will-step-down-in-albany/80567/ Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST The sudden retirement announcement by the Republican majority leader of the Senate, Joseph Bruno, and the expected transfer of power to a suburban senator, Dean Skelos, leaves the party's last stronghold in New York government in a state of grave uncertainty. Mr. Bruno's decision to walk off the Albany stage by the end of the year after starring for 14 years as one of the Capitol's "three men in a room" comes at a critical moment for his conference, which has only a two-seat majority and enters... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/republicans-pick-for-seat-held-by-fossella-dies/80483/ Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST A retired financier whom Republicans had hoped would be their best bet to replace Rep. Vito Fossella of Staten Island died yesterday morning. Francis Powers, 67, a board member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, died of natural causes in his sleep, Republican Party leaders said. Late last month, Republicans endorsed him to challenge the Democratic candidate, Council Member Michael McMahon, for the Staten Island and Brooklyn 13th District seat, which opened up after Mr. Fossella... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-fails-to-win-over-mccall-on-tax-cap/80400/ Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST While Governor Paterson has been able to convince Senate Republicans of the benefits of a property tax cap, he's had no such luck with one of his closest political allies. The Democratic Party's nominee for governor in 2002, H. Carl McCall, who has known Mr. Paterson since the latter was a teenager, said he has strong reservations about the governor's high-profile plan to cap local property taxes around the state. "I don't think it's a way to solve the problem," Mr. McCall said in an interview... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/new-york-republicans-reverse-course-on-tax-cap/80301/ Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST In a dramatic policy shift, Senate Republicans in Albany say they are pulling back on their opposition to Governor Paterson's proposal to force school districts to limit the annual growth in property tax levies. Under pressure from his conference members, the Republican majority leader of the Senate, Joseph Bruno, is poised to break with the Assembly Democrats and join the governor in supporting a tax cap. Mr. Bruno is "definitely warming up to a tax cap," a Republican senator of Brooklyn... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-senate-near-deal-on-foreclosures/80200/ Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Over vehement opposition from the banking and mortgage lending industries, Governor Paterson and legislative leaders are moving closer to an agreement on legislation that will make foreclosing on homes more difficult for lenders. While rebuffing a push by Assembly Democrats to impose a one-year delay on foreclosures, Senate Republicans are considering a scaled-back version of a program bill that was submitted by the Paterson administration and passed by the Assembly. Among the more significant... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-denies-making-harsh-comments-about/80077/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST As Governor Paterson sought to distance himself from a published report quoting him discharging a lengthy, blistering critique of Mayor Bloomberg, lawmakers and others in Albany were left wondering whether the alleged comments were just a blowing off of steam or the first salvo in a possible contest between the two leaders in 2010. Around the Capitol, lawmakers expressed amazement at the harshness of the remarks attributed to the normally even-keeled governor, who was quoted in the New York... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/opinion/stalking-horse-on-the-loose/80015/ Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST The overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic in the ballot box wouldn't have been possible had not the fractious Serbian opposition leadership momentarily put aside its divisions and conflicting ambitions and unite behind one strong candidate. Closer to home and eight years later, the speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, is confronting a democratic upheaval in his Lower Manhattan district, where he has wielded power with token opposition since the beginning of the Carter administration. The talk... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/albany-surprise-bruno-opposes-tax-cap/79964/ Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST A dispute in Albany over Governor Paterson's proposal to cap growth in school property taxes has opened a surprising rift in the state Senate. In a vivid illustration of the topsy-turvy world of state politics, the Senate Republican majority leader, Joseph Bruno, is siding with the teachers unions and blocking the measure, while the Senate Democratic leader, Malcolm Smith, is not only supporting a cap but says he wants to restrict taxes even more aggressively than the governor. Mr. Bruno... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/fbi-albany-raid-seen-as-part-of-wider-probe/79749/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST A raid by more than a dozen FBI agents on the Albany offices of the lobbying and consulting firm of the former head of the state Republican Party is part of an investigation that sources said may be connected to a Republican who served in Congress, John Sweeney, and concern a wider federal probe of influence peddling on Capitol Hill. Double-parking their cars, about 15 agents descended on the State Street suite of the former party official, William Powers, and herded the employees into a room... JACOB GERSHMAN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spitzer-mulls-starting-vulture-fund/79666/ Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Eliot Spitzer, in his first big business venture since he was shamed out of office by a prostitution scandal, is shopping around a plan to start a vulture fund that would scoop up distressed real estate assets around the country, revamp them, and flip the properties for a profit. Late last month, the former governor of New York gathered a group of high-level Washington, D.C.-based labor union officials in a conference room at the headquarters of his father's real estate business in Manhattan...