"Secrecy cloaks bond holders - Deal designed to keep money flowing from New Covenant key to fate of charter school"

By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 7, 2007

ALBANY -- The push to keep New Covenant Charter School open in the face of declining enrollment came not from parents, but from a small group of investors with a stake in the property.

But even the underwriter who flew to Albany to argue on their behalf to keep the school open doesn't know who they are or where they live.

Within days of the May 22 announced closing, Jay Hromatka of Municipal Capital Markets Group arrived from Minneapolis to meet with New Covenant's board of directors.

A week later, this past Saturday, the board voted unanimously to keep the school open.

John Grafelman, vice president of Hromatka's firm, said the identity of the investors is shielded by law.

"It would be unusual for us to know," he said.

"One of the reasons for that is it's a very competitive business, underwriting and securities."

Underwriters are financial institutions that purchase new issues of municipal securities for resale.

If the individual investors' names were known, he said, "I could then go to them and cold-call them to sell them other things."

In 2005, New Covenant moved to take ownership of the school building from the Edison Schools, which held the $15 million mortgage for 50 North Lark St.

The school then borrowed $16.6 million through the Albany Industrial Development Agency to enable it to buy the building and equipment.

The board later replaced Edison with a new manager, New York City-based Victory Schools.

Kevin Quinn, an Albany lawyer representing New Covenant, said the IDA insisted that shares be priced at $5,000 each so that individual investors might be attracted.

Still, he said, the majority of the bonds are in the hands of two or three owners.

Michael Yevoli, executive director of the Albany IDA, said he does not know who the investors are either.

"These bonds could be sold and resold," he said.

"We don't have a list of who the actual bond holders are."

"They sell the bonds to whomever."

"Throughout the year, that could change."

Municipal Capital Markets has financed more than 70 charter schools across the country.

Grafelman said the trustee in the bond deal, U.S. Bank National Association, knows who the investors are but does not share that information.

When his firm received a call from Victory Schools that the decision had been made to close New Covenant, Grafelman said, "Jay had to find out what was going on."

"He got an idea of what could and could not be done."

A conference call was put together with Municipal Capital Markets, its partner Herbert J. Sims & Co., and U.S. Bank National Association.

Grafelman said the investors who hold a majority of the bonds were represented in that call, but their names were not disclosed.

"Theoretically, they could be throughout the country," he said.

"Whether these guys are local or in the state of New York or the East Coast, I wouldn't know."

Should the charter school close, the investors would gain ownership of the building through their trustee.

The original agreement with the investors called for enrollment to be 882 in 2007-08, bringing in $8.7 million in state aid.

The agreement also stated New Covenant would pay back $1.28 million at the end of the 2007-08 school year.

To keep the school open, the investors agreed to cut their payment by 35 percent next year and by 30 percent in 2008-09.

That savings would have to be repaid in future years.

Under a proposed draft of the revised agreement, New Covenant would strive to have 600 students next year, 625 in 2008-09.

The school also would hand over to the bond holders any net operating surplus.

Last month, before the closing was announced, the school projected enrollment next fall would be 429.

Now officials are saying they expect 550 students next year.

The revised agreement also calls for the school to increase the number of members on its board from six to nine.

"An organization that large should have a full board of directors," Grafelman said.

"You get a broader view of the community."

The 2005 agreement also projected the school to have 68 teachers and 16.5 other staffers for a total of 84.5 employees.

The agreement assumed that staff pay would rise 3 percent a year, with fringe benefits at 28 percent of compensation.

The revised agreement does not seek to cut teachers, staff or pay to reduce expenses, Grafelman said.

"If you cut your staff, then your program suffers," he said.

Cynthia Proctor, a spokeswoman for SUNY's Charter School Institute which granted New Covenant its charter in 1999, said the revised agreement must be approved but she does not foresee any difficulty.

"We do have to approve the budget that would incorporate this new bond agreement," Proctor said.

"I don't anticipate we would find any large problem."

The Charter School Institute will decide whether New Covenant's charter should be renewed in 2009.

Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.

"Contract talks turn into vote on top cop - Union: Rejected offer a referendum on chief's management style"

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 7, 2007

ALBANY -- There may not be room in this city for more than one steamroller.

And since Gov. Eliot Spitzer has already claimed that title, the city's police union wants Chief James Tuffey to back off.

A long-simmering contract negotiation between the city and the Albany Police Officers Union has become uglier and more public in recent weeks -- pitting the rank and file against Tuffey, the mayor's close ally and hand-picked fixer, charged with, in his words, righting the ship.

Union membership last week resoundingly rejected the city's latest contract offer, 192 to 25, sending the negotiations toward arbitration, said union President Christian P. Mesley.

Last fall, the membership voted 191 to 3 to turn down a previous offer.

The roughly 275 officers have been working without a contract for about 18 months.

But according to Mesley, last week's vote was not so much a message on the substance of the contract offer -- which carried a 4 percent raise each year for the next three years as it was a slap at Tuffey and what many officers perceive as his bullying style of management.

"My guys have no (other) outlet for their anger," Mesley said Wednesday.

The anger perhaps reached a crescendo Tuesday when Mesley told WRGB Ch.6 that officers "hate" the chief.

Mesley later, in an interview on WROW-AM 590, said he regretted using such a strong word.

Since he took the job in December 2005, Tuffey has been adamant that he was hired to change the direction of the department.

"They wanted leadership."

"They got it," the chief said.

"Did I knock a few glasses of water over?"

"Absolutely."

The union's displeasure with Tuffey was laid bare last month when union brass threatened to picket the opening festivities for the Tulip Festival, which would have cast an embarrassing pall over an annual spring rite the city considers a sacred cow.

At the time, Mayor Jerry Jennings insinuated in a television interview that any cop who demonstrated without a permit would be arrested.

That afternoon, the city offered the contract that officers rejected last week.

Officials have said discussions had been ongoing and the contract offer was not directly related to the protest threat.

Jennings on Wednesday said Tuffey has his full support and questioned why the union would lash out so strongly and mix policy complaints with the proposed contract.

"Maybe they're intimidated by somebody who wants to hold them accountable," he said.

Among other gripes, union members say the department is unwilling to grant officers compensation time they are owed when they want it.

They also didn't like the way Tuffey imposed the department's new alcohol policy.

After Detective Kenneth Wilcox was killed last April in an on-duty car crash with alcohol in his blood, Tuffey banned officers from drinking within eight hours of going on duty.

Arguing that the policy is part of standard operating procedures and not subject to collective bargaining, Tuffey circumvented the union, prompting union leaders to protest to the Public Employment Relations Board.

Mesley said the union and Tuffey, in a meeting brokered by the PERB several weeks ago, reached "an agreement in sum and substance" to reduce the time limit to four hours but Tuffey left the meeting without reaching a final agreement.

Tuffey disputes that account, saying all parties knew he had a previously scheduled meeting at a state agency and that the deal remains possible.

The city lawyer handling the case has been away, Tuffey said, which is why nothing has happened since.

"If I reject it, so be it," he said.

"That's my right to do it."

That Tuffey would clash with the union is not necessarily surprising.

In roles with the State Emergency Management Office, Environmental Conservation police and as Cohoes police commissioner in the late 1990s, he developed a reputation as hard-dealing and strong-willed.

Mesley says this is the first time the chief has encountered strong, organized resistance.

Tuffey is a former Albany detective and union leader who cultivated his public image as a straight-talker and won over many segments of the city.

Now he finds himself the target of union opposition he once led against former Mayor Thomas Whalen III.

But Tuffey -- who credits rank-and-file officers with the drop in violent crime -- draws a distinction between his battles with Whalen and today's strife.

"I never, never once insulted the chief of police," Tuffey said, adding,

"I respect the union's position to disagree with me."

Both Tuffey and Mesley agree that the dispute won't disrupt policing in the city.

"These guys have been doing a great job and will continue to do a great job," Tuffey said.

"The men and women continue to do their job professionally."

"And that's all it should be."

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@ timesunion.com.

"Bruno horse buy called no big deal - Senator likely saw little profit from purchase of mares from real estate executive, lawyers say"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 7, 2007

ALBANY -- Lawyers for the real estate executive who sold Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno two mares for $50,000 said Wednesday the senator likely saw sparse profits even after the thoroughbreds' foals sold for $425,000 in the two years after the deal.

Greg Kehoe and Joel Turner, attorneys for Earle I. Mack, said that transaction wasn't a sweetheart deal that resulted in a windfall for the Brunswick Republican.

"These were culls Mr. Mack was trying to get rid of," said Turner.

The lawyers say the two broodmares that make up Bruno's Mountain View Farm breeding operation in Brunswick cost about $1,500 a month in overhead and that the expenses to get their offspring to auction, stud fees, auction house commissions and professional services were also substantial.

They estimate Bruno may have made a marginal profit when Mack purchased one of the mare's fillies at a yearling auction.

Mack paid $105,000 for the yearling, now named Exonerated, at the September 2006 Keeneland auction.

The other two foals were sold at other auctions for $170,000 and $150,000.

The two mares were sold to Bruno in April 2004 as a package.

Mack considered the two no longer worth keeping, Kehoe and Turner said.

Bruno and his aides have refused to discuss the senator's profits from the transactions.

Mack's pedigree consultant, Jack Werk, provided a letter before the deal was completed that said the sale was fair to Bruno.

"Mr. Mack got an appraisal because he wanted to make sure he wasn't gouging Mr. Bruno," Turner said.

"This was a routine deal."

The transaction is being investigated by the FBI.

A federal grand jury looking into Bruno's business dealings subpoenaed records involving the mares from Werk and Mack.

Why the NEW YORK TIMES EMPIRE ZONE BLOG is absolutely worthless to the citizens of New York State who are for a return of constitutional government to NYS:

The blog is not a forum for people to write essays for or against particular politicians or policies.

Patrick LaForge
Deputy metropolitan editor
New York Times

"Sematech funding surfaces in Senate - Bruno introduces bill, but quick passage looks unlikely"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, June 6, 2007

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno has quietly introduced a bill to provide $300 million to the University at Albany for the Sematech consortium to develop a computer chip center, but he isn't saying when he'll pass it.

The bill was introduced Friday, almost three weeks after the Assembly passed the same measure.

But it also was issued as Bruno was both supporting the funding and feuding with Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

He guaranteed support for the Sematech project but demanded a capital funding plan from Spitzer.

Bruno continues to maintain that position as he pushes for at least another $300 million for other upstate economic development projects.

It will be part of today's leaders' meeting among Spitzer, Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Sponsored by Bruno; Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna; and Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem, the Sematech legislation calls for $300 million for an international computer chip research and development center at the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

The Assembly passed its bill, 143-0, on May 14.

Silver and Spitzer have been edgy about the the Senate's "delay."

Supporters of the project say research dollars are being lost because the state commitment isn't locked up.

It's unclear when Bruno will let the bill move in his chamber.

Its first stop was supposed to be the Finance Committee, which met Tuesday without the measure on its agenda.

"We need a capital plan," Bruno said.

"We have needs all over this state ..."

"When we get a plan done, we'll vote for it and I will pass it in my house."

Bruno said that in a meeting last week, he told Sematech CEO Michael Polcari: "This is a done deal; we'll get it done."

"Make your plans ..."

"Don't worry about what others say to be disruptive ..."

"We're going to get it done the right way, with a plan."

"Hopefully the governor ... will understand, we're not going to be steamrolled, we're not going to be stampeded, we're not going to be run over," Bruno added.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Spitzer, said negotiations on a comprehensive capital plan are continuing with "steady progress" while Bruno is being urged to pass a stand-alone Sematech bill.

"We are pushing hard to get him to move on this," she said.

Today's leaders' meeting is also expected to include talks on paid family leave, a Wicks law reform to give municipalities more leeway in contracting for construction, a new Spitzer plan on cleaning up brownfields and, potentially, the death penalty, which Bruno and Assembly Republicans are seeking for cop killers.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

"Lawmakers ask student lenders for data on pricing criteria"

By MARCY GORDON, Associated Press

Last updated: 8:02 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Two Democratic members of Congress and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have asked the biggest student lenders for information on criteria used to price college loans.

Cuomo is investigating possible discriminatory practices in the industry.

He and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, asked in their letters Thursday for details on the lenders' underwriting criteria.

They want to know whether the criteria include a student's college; its location, graduation rate and historic average default rate on student loans; the student's race, gender and age; and parents' income and credit history.

The letters went out a day after Cuomo told the committee that his office has begun investigating lenders for possible discriminatory practices involving the criteria used for pricing student loans.

Already, Cuomo's office has conducted a wide-ranging investigation of conflicts of interest in the $85 billion student loan industry and kickbacks to college officials for steering students toward particular lenders.

In the House, the Education and Labor Committee also is looking into the student loan industry.

The chairman, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., sent letters Thursday to the five top student lenders asking whether they make loans at higher interest rates to students at predominantly black colleges, for example, than to the students at other public and private institutions.

Cuomo said his inquiry was attempting to determine if there were instances of "redlining" in student lending -- loans on unfair terms to people in certain geographic areas based on race or ethnicity.

This practice has occurred with home mortgages.

That means that regardless of a student's individual credit history, if they attend a certain school, they "are affected negatively in a lending decision," Cuomo said in a telephone interview.

He said the investigation seeks to determine, "What are the underwriting criteria and do they take the school into account?"

Cuomo noted that a difference of even a single percentage point in a loan rate "can be huge" in a market in which it costs an average $13,000 a year to attend a public university and about $30,000 annually for a private institution.

The letters from Cuomo and Dodd went to the chief executives of student lender Sallie Mae, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, College Loan Corp., Access Group, U.S. Bank, EdAmerica, Student Loan Xpress, Suntrust Bank, PNC Bank, Regions Bank, Citizens Bank, College Foundation Inc., AES/PHEAA, Nelnet and Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corp.

Miller wrote the heads of Sallie Mae, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION LOCAL POLITICS BLOG:

"Politics and tragedy"

June 6, 2007 at 3:21 pm by Kenneth C. Crowe II, staff writer

Rensselaer County Court Judge Robert Jacon wasn’t supposed to beat Republican District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis in the 2005 race for county court judge.

But he did.

Jacon’s recent decision to release William Pendergast, 18, of Brunswick, who faces vehicular manslaughter and DWI charges, without bail but with requirements to report to probation, wear an electronic monitoring device, not to drive and to surrender his driver’s license has upset people.

DeAngelis’ office asked for bail to be set at $25,000 due to the death of Francis Thomas, 19, of Poestenkill, who died in the crash in which he was riding in the vehicle his friend Pendergast was driving.

Thomas’ mother, Janice Thomas, has contacted both sides of the political aisle in the Rensselaer County Legislature about getting something done to prevent releases without bail from occurring again.

Republican County Executive Kathy Jimino and the Republican majority in the county Legislature have rushed in to condemn Jacon’s action.

The Democratic minority on the county Legislature is in a tough spot.

They sympathize with the Thomas family, according to one party insider.

They also don’t want to turn on Jacon whom they see as a Republican target dating back to the 2005 election.

Jacon is quiet because the case is pending and he can’t comment on a matter that’s before him.

Janice Thomas, however, is scheduled to appear before the county Legislature at 6 p.m. tonight to address the issue.

The majority has a resolution that will be on the Jun 12 agenda asking the state Legislature to “establish mandatory bail standards for any crime in which an innocent person is killed.”

That’s the best that can be done at the local level.

Bail and sentencing guidelines are set by the state Legislature.

Comments

When an innocent person is killed ….

Hhhhmmmm …

As I recall, alcohol was involved in this fatality ….

One person 18; the other 19 ….

Underage drinking ….

A violation of OUR laws here in Rensselaer County ….

They are both riding together ….

The presumption of innocence flies right out the window …..

The question is why are Kathleen Jimino and Neil Kelleher not making an affort to find out where the alcohol was procured from ....

Why aren’t they saying anything about that?

Why are they using a cheap political attack on a sitting judge to obscure the facts in this matter, is my question?

And it is very unseemly for Kathleen Jimino or the members of the county legislature to be attacking a sitting judge, when there is no evidence that he violated any laws …..

Very unseemly, indeed …

And in the Troy Record article “GOP to ask state for bail standards”, it is stated as follows with respect to DA Trish DeAngelis and bail as follows:

“County District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis originally asked for no bail, but later asked for Pendergast to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.”

end quotes

That seems to be a slightly more informative report than what is up above ….

And so ….

Comment by John Galt — June 7, 2007 @ 4:57 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=305#comments

"Racing competitors get information from Spitzer, no commitment"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:15 p.m., Friday, June 8, 2007

ALBANY -- Competitors for the state's lucrative racing franchise were told Friday in closed door meetings about Gov. Eliot Spitzer's interest in picking a video slots operator as well as a separate racing entity, but weren't given any promises.

"Today's meetings were held in order to share the views of the governor's office in terms of the future of racing and gaming in New York," said Spitzer spokesman Paul Larrabee.

"Any characterization that a final decision has been reached or without flexibility would be a premature characterization."

Still, two officials close to the competitors -- the New York Racing Association, Empire Racing, Excelsior Racing Associates and Capital Play -- agreed Spitzer is at least considering the idea of a "reconstituted" NYRA, which has held the franchise since 1955.

Spitzer appears open to keeping NYRA as the operator of Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga race tracks, but the new NYRA could have new top leadership from one of the competitors, said one official who was in the meeting representing one of the competitors.

The officials spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Each of the four competitors have, or are about to have, partners in gaming that could run the video slot machines planned for Aqueduct and possibly Belmont.

Video slot machines are projected to provide hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue to the state and help local economies.

No deadline for new proposals was set to win the franchise that expires Dec. 31.

The scheduled transition to awarding the franchise was disrupted May 1, when casino operator MGM Mirage Inc. withdrew its proposal to develop and manage a video lottery terminal facility at Aqueduct racetrack.

MGM's role was assumed by all four competitors in their proposals made in April.

NYRA is the only entity with experience running Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga race tracks.

NYRA's new management has argued its recent decline into bankruptcy isn't a problem of running tracks, but with the old, nonprofit racing model that couldn't compete for revenue with casinos and other forms of gambling.

NYRA declined comment after Friday's meeting.

Complicating NYRA's future -- and the awarding of the franchise to a competitor -- is NYRA's growing debt estimated between $150 million and $300 million.

Further, NYRA contends it owns the tracks, a claim strongly disputed by the state that could end up in court and threaten uninterrupted racing.

THE NEW YORK TIMES EMPIRE ZONE:

June 6, 2007, 5:18 pm

"Do a Little, Talk a Lot"

By Danny Hakim

Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders met for their latest public meeting this afternoon — their fifth such session in the last five weeks.

An assessment by Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader?

“It’s a lot of time, a lot of rhetoric, a lot of discussion, a lot of conversation,” he said after the more than two-hour session.

“What we need are results.”

These meetings have at least been a change from the budget negotiations in March, which were conducted almost entirely behind closed doors.

At their meeting today, the governor and lawmakers discussed a long list of issues, judging from the rapidly glazing eyes of the audience.

Included among them: allowing cameras in courtrooms, upstate economic development, restrictions on violent video games and expedited approval of power plants.

They did agree to extend for one year a program that offers low cost power to businesses and they appeared to be close to an agreement that would offer workers up to 12 weeks of family leave to care for newborns or seriously ill family members.

Despite the governor’s efforts, it looks as if the old Albany rules will prevail again this year.

There's when a polyglot of unrelated issues are jammed together in a deal on the last week of the legislative session, which ends on June 21.

At one point during the meeting today — 59 minutes in, according to the Empire Zone’s count — Mr. Spitzer said, “I think we’re making good progress.

The comment drew one of the few laughs of the day.

The governor sheepishly added, “Somebody’s got to be Pollyannish.”

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...talk/#more-2083

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

topo, on Sunday mornings upstate, at 6:30 A.M. on WBKK FM, 97.7 FM http://www.wmht.org/radio/wbkk.php out of Amsterdam, the Chartockian Legislative Gazette has a radio version, and this morning, the pro-Spitzer spew pouring out of the radio and into my living room from that show was so overpowering and nauseating that I literally reached out and almost turned the radio right off for a second ...

And this was right in the middle of a segment where they were reporting on this most recent Spitzer-onian "Leader's Meeting" in his room in the Capital, where he is clearly very manly and a man in charge of himself and his surroundings, and he is also in command of the situation that he found himself mired in that day, as the LEADER of all the leaders, the way George W. Bush is the LEADER of all the other leaders on the face of the earth, the situation being, in the words of the Legislative Gazette dude narrating the action, that Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver both were about to allegedly "descend into bickering" like two immature spoiled children and then, the "adult" of the three of them, Eliot Spitzer was going to manfully step in between them and separate them and get the "PEOPLE'S BUSINESS" back on track as "OUR SPOKESPERSON" ....

And then they played the tape of that actual meeting and that actual encounter ....

Which started with Joe Bruno calmly talking about something ....

And all of a sudden, you hear Spitzer break in on top of Joe Bruno to say, "I think we are making progress here, someone has to be Pollyanna ..."

HUH?

What exactly is that taking charge of, pray tell?

Who the hell wants Pollyanna for our governor?

And you cannot hear Joe Bruno about to be descending down into bickering with anyone ....

That is pure invention on the part of the Legislative Gazette ....

WHAT A PUT-ON!

When you hear it on the radio, where you are focused on voices and interchanges, it is incandescently clear that the Legislative Gazette dudes are fabricating a "news story" out of whole cloth on behalf of Eliot Spitzeer, PROPAGANDIZING, when you listen to the actual voices of the announcer for the Legislative Gazette along with Spitzer and Joe Bruno on the tape of that broadcast, which we countryfolks were kind of hoping that with your resources, you could snag a copy of from the Legislative Gazette dudes ....

And listen to that exchange yourself, which has to include the context of the Legislative Gazette broadcast, which is clearly SPITZER PROPAGANDA to me, and not real news at all ....

But I am interested in your thoughts, if you have any, of course, because this may afterall be beneath your own radar, which is cool ....

And so ....

Posted by: John Galt | June 10, 2007 3:05 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._36.html?page=2

"Acting without fear of reprisal - Albany County legislator proposing whistle-blower measure to ensure anonymity"

By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, June 11, 2007

ALBANY -- While a policy protecting county employees who report waste, fraud or other violations has existed for years, a lawmaker wants to establish a more confidential whistle-blower system.

Paulette Barlette, a Latham Republican, will introduce legislation at tonight's of the County Legislature to create a whistle-blower hot line that would be operated by an outside vendor.

Barlette said her proposal is not a new concept.

Governments and school districts throughout the state and country support whistle-blower initiatives in an effort to uncover fraudulent workplace practices and save tax dollars.

Barlette's measure would apply to county government workers "to call in with their concerns or for members of the public at large," she said.

A resolution -- known as the Employee Protection Policy -- was sponsored by then-Legislator Mike Conners in 1992 and passed.

Barlette called it "a very good policy," but "all it does is state that no employee will face any sort of retribution if they voice their concerns or become a whistle-blower on any kind of fraud or abuse of government."

"I've found over the years that even though that policy is in place, employees have contacted me anonymously that they still are not comfortable with coming forward and reporting fraud, misuse of government services or unhealthy working conditions," Barlette said.

"I have gotten letters sent to me over the years, not recently, that have had words cut out of newspapers and magazines and pasted together, so obviously folks are that concerned about confidentiality," she said.

The way it stands now, an employee wishing to report something could call the county executive, county comptroller, county attorney or a county legislator, she said.

"But a way to truly make it confidential and give people a comfort zone so they will feel (at ease) coming forward with their concerns" is to have an outside party accept the reports, Barlette said.

"I respect the right of employees to voice their concerns, report their complaints, and I'm sensitive to the need for confidentiality," she said.

The resolution states that employees are especially apprehensive to come forward if what they wish to report involves "supervisors, department heads or elected officials."

The resolution asks that the county purchasing agent be directed to issue request for proposals for whistle-blower hot line services to maintain a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week confidential reporting system.

The vendor would turn over complaints it receives to designated county officials as well as the legislature, the lawmaker said.

There are vendors who supply these services at a minimal cost, Barlette said.

She also suggested the hot-line information be posted on the county's Web site.

When it comes up on the agenda, the measure will more than likely be referred to a legislative committee for review -- the procedure for all new proposals.

DeMare can be reached at 454-5431 or by e-mail at cdemare@timesunion.com.

"Sergeant suspended over 2 officers' sobriety - Officials say Joseph Pickel allowed cops to go on duty despite being allegedly impaired by alcohol"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, June 11, 2007

ALBANY -- A city police sergeant has been suspended 20 days without pay for his role in allowing two uniformed officers to go on duty after they showed up for work allegedly impaired by alcohol, according to departmental sources.

Sgt. Joseph Pickel's suspension comes as police officials have dropped their investigation of one the officers, Glenn Szelest, but are seeking to fire the second officer, William Bonanni, who has a history of disciplinary troubles and remains on restricted duty, the sources said.

The incident last year unfolded as the department was reeling from a string of alcohol-related car crashes involving officers.

In response, Chief James W. Tuffey enacted a stricter policy that prohibits officers from consuming alcohol within eight hours of reporting for duty.

The policy is now being challenged by the rank-and-file's union, which wants the time limit cut to four hours.

The internal investigation of Bonanni, Pickel and Szelest was launched last November after Pickel filed a report with an assistant chief stating that Szelest and Bonanni appeared impaired when they reported for their overnight shifts at the North Station in Arbor Hill.

After a brief confrontation, Pickel ordered the officers to submit to an alcohol-sensor test which allegedly indicated Szelest was legally impaired while Bonanni had a blood-alcohol level of around 0.16, which is twice the legal limit for driving, sources said.

Both officers remained on duty that night.

Union officials, though, attacked the accuracy of the alcohol tests.

Their president last year stated publicly that the machine used by Pickel may not have been properly calibrated and that the sergeant was not trained to operate it.

Pickel eventually removed the officers from duty, sources said, although it may not be reflected in the department's blotter.

But the veteran sergeant waited at least a day to report the incident and faced discipline for the delay, sources said.

Police officials have said the delay hampered their internal investigation, which would have been handled differently had internal affairs been summoned to the North Station that night.

Instead, internal affairs detectives were left, days later, trying to pin down the officers' whereabouts before coming to work.

Their work included reviewing surveillance footage from a security camera at a North Pearl Street bar where Szelest had allegedly been before reporting for duty.

Bonanni has spent nearly six of his 15 years with the department on administrative leave or suspension -- most recently for his involvement in the accidental shooting death of a bystander on New Year's Eve 2003.

It was not Bonanni's bullet that killed the man and he was later cleared in that incident.

Meanwhile, the Albany Police Officers Union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the department in connection with the alcohol policy put in place last spring by Tuffey.

The chief enacted the policy following the death of Detective Kenneth Wilcox, who had alcohol in his system but was not legally intoxicated when he fell asleep behind the wheel of his speeding cruiser and died in an on-duty crash in April 2006, according to Tuffey.

The fatality came during a series of alcohol-fueled crashes involving off-duty officers.

Still, the union is challenging whether Tuffey's policy should have been the subject of labor negotiations.

Christian P. Mesley, the union's president, declined comment last week, saying he preferred to speak with a different reporter.

Lt. Timothy Close, president of the Albany Police Supervisor's Association, the union representing police sergeants and lieutenants, said their union "recognizes the spirit and rationale behind" the alcohol policy, but that they are "in disagreement with certain portions."

"APSA has offered alternative recommendations for Chief Tuffey's review, and we anticipate continued and open dialogue regarding this matter," Close said, not elaborating.

He declined comment on the circumstances of Pickel's suspension.

"APSA continues to support Sgt. Pickel, who remains a highly respected and effective police supervisor," Close said.

Tuffey said that even though he is negotiating with the rank-and-file union regarding the alcohol policy, the city could challenge any decision to alter it.

"I'm not sure I have to negotiate," he said.

"I think the public interest outweighs that."

"... I still feel that my policy was reasonable."

J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

"Police investigate shootings in Albany - Three men are shot in two separate incidents within 24 hours"

By DAN HIGGINS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, June 11, 2007

ALBANY -- City police are investigating the shootings of three men in two separate incidents within 24 hours.

In the most recent incident, two men were standing on a front porch when they were wounded outside 82 Third St. in the city's West Hill neighborhood, police said.

One victim was struck in the ear and another in the leg shortly after 6 p.m.

Both were taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital.

Their conditions were not made public.

Albany police spokesman James Miller said there were two suspects in the shooting, but a description was not immediately available.

Shortly after the incident, police in the field could be heard saying one of the assailants may have had a rifle.

In the first shooting, a New York City man was wounded in the buttocks in an apparent robbery at 1 a.m.

The victim was leaving a friend's house on the 200 block of First Street when two males wearing ski masks emerged from a parking lot, chased him and fired, Miller said.

The man told police he was in Albany visiting friends.

He was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

No arrests were reported in either incident.

"Bigger database means a backlog - New DNA rules also include getting samples from those already in jail"

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press

First published: Monday, June 11, 2007

ALBANY -- The state is poised to greatly expand its criminal DNA database even as administrators continue to catch up on a backlog created by the last expansion in 2006.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer is working with legislators to require genetic samples from everyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in New York -- a move that would instantly create a new backlog of some 51,000 people already in prison or under some form of criminal supervision.

State law enforcement officials say they are prepared for a new burst of work, which they are confident will lead to more criminals being caught and more innocent defendants exonerated through DNA evidence.

"I'm expecting we're going to see many more crimes solved through DNA analysis," said Robert Maccarone, head of the state's probation division.

The database allows DNA samples from criminals -- usually taken by a swab inside the cheek -- to be compared with samples taken from crime scenes.

New York has taken in about 200,000 DNA samples from criminal offenders since 1996, with the collection rate speeding up in recent years as the list of offenses requiring a genetic sample grows.

Last summer, the database was expanded to encompass an additional 18 misdemeanors, most notably petit larceny, making up almost half of all crimes covered by the database, and it created the need to collect DNA samples from 30,000 offenders grandfathered in.

Law enforcement officials have been working to digest the bulge since then.

Samples are prioritized and sent to a central State Police lab in Albany.

To keep up, the lab in April more than tripled its capacity to about 5,000 a month.

Training has begun on new generations of machines and State Police are arranging to have an outside lab do some work.

"Building permits fall in region - Steep one-year decline in housing activity reflects a national trend"

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Saturday, June 9, 2007

The number of residential building permits issued in the Capital Region dropped dramatically in 2006, and would have continued to fall in the early months of 2007 if not for a rise in permits in Saratoga County.

In 2006, 1,805 residential building permits were issued, down from 2,296 in 2005, or 21.4 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

That's the lowest number of permits issued in the four-county region since 1997.

The numbers apparently reflect builders' response to slack demand last year for new housing, amid a cooling overall housing market.

David Lang Wardle, director of information services at the Capital District Regional Planning Commission, which analyzed the numbers in its most recent newsletter, said the drops -- though steep -- are in line with what happened nationally.

"The housing market kind of hit the wall, and people decided it was no longer a good idea to buy housing as an investment, at least in the short term," Wardle said.

The regional trend would have continued in the first four months of 2007, if not for the strong building market in Saratoga County, according to numbers provided by the New York State Builders Association.

The number of residential building permits in the four-county region increased slightly in the first four months this year, when compared with 2006.

But permits issued fell in every county but Saratoga, where they jumped from 170 in the first four months of 2006 to 200 for the same period this year.

Kirsten Legere, spokeswoman for the state Builders Association, described the residential construction market as still healthy, even if slower than in recent years.

"It's sort of like driving a car at 100 miles per hour and slowing down to 70 miles per hour," she said.

"You are still going fast, just not as fast."

Pam Krissen, executive director of the Capital Region Builders & Remodelers Association, conceded 2006 was a relatively slow year.

But she said 2007 is not as slow as expected and pointed out the construction market is extremely active in some towns.

Clifton Park and Colonie both saw the number of issued permits increase by more than 10 percent in April, when compared with the same month in 2006, she said.

That jibes with what's being experienced in Colonie Town Hall.

"We've got applications coming in left and right," said Denise Sheehan, director of the town's Department of Planning and Economic Development.

"We're busy."

Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com.

"$100M to get to this 'destination' - Planners say cost of preparing New Baltimore site for huge shopping complex could largely be recouped"

By ALAN WECHSLER, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, June 8, 2007

NEW BALTIMORE -- The cost to a bring a "destination" shopping center to Greene County: $100 million to $110 million.

And that doesn't include the shops.

The Greene County Industrial Development Agency wants to spend that sum to prepare the land and build the necessary roads -- including a new Thruway Exit 21B -- to attract a developer to do the rest.

The developer also would have to buy the land from the IDA, helping to recoup most of its cost, officials said Thursday as they announced details about the center for the first time.

Besides the retail stores and factory outlets, the proposed complex would include office buildings, a performing arts center, a farmers market and manufacturing space.

There also would be two hotels, a chain restaurant and apartments.

Also proposed is an "interpretive center" to promote tourism in Greene County.

Total indoor floor space: almost 2.2 million square feet over 330 acres.

The project's price tag is high due to the relocation of Exit 21B north about a half mile.

The cost of the new exit, including a bridge over the Thruway, a toll complex and a dedicated ramp to the retail complex, would be $68 million.

Construction could begin next summer on both the infrastructure and the retail space, and the center could open in the fall of 2009.

This is not the first time the IDA has acted as a developer.

In the last four years, it has created two industrial parks on Route 9W this way.

One of those parks is expected to also house a smaller retail complex called The Shoppes at Greene Flats.

A developer paid the IDA $4 million last month for a site in Greene Business & Technology Park for the project.

But the scope of the new complex far exceeds anything the IDA has done so far.

"We are very confident," Alexander "Sandy" Mathes Jr., executive director of the IDA, said Thursday.

As with the other projects, the IDA wants a say in how the finished product looks -- in this case like a historic farming village.

The IDA anticipates the project could attract as many as 5 million visitors a year, based on traffic studies and discussions with retailers and developers, Mathes said.

Projections are for 70 percent of visitors to come via the Thruway, with the rest from Route 9W.

The latter access would be through Kalkberg Commerce Park, the other industrial park developed by the IDA.

To deal with the extra traffic on Route 9W, the agency would build four roundabouts.

The IDA has adopted a draft environmental impact statement, which speaks to the changes that will take place.

The public can offer written comment on the document over the next 30 days, or attend a public hearing at 7 p.m. June 26 at the Cornell Hook and Ladder firehouse on Gill Road in New Baltimore.

The IDA will need approval from the New Baltimore Planning Board before building.

The project would build on 30 to 40 acres of wetlands.

To mitigate that, the IDA would create or set aside about 1,000 acres of wetlands nearby.

Richard Guthrie, a New Baltimore Town Board member who is active on environmental issues, said the idea of replacing wetlands has worked well with the IDA's previous projects.

"The difference between what was there and what is there now is really spectacular," he said.

Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, said municipalities are the fastest-growing membership segment for his New York City-based trade group.

At a deal-making convention last month in Las Vegas, 800 government officials were in search of retailers.

"They've recognized that retail can be a catalyst for economic development," he said.

Jeffrey Pfeil, a principal in J.W. Pfeil & Co. Inc., a Saratoga Springs-based developer and retail leasing agent, said it might be hard to lure factory outlets to the Coxsackie-New Baltimore area because so many already are located at Woodbury Common, about 90 minutes to the south in Central Valley.

"They're out there," he said of prospective tenants.

"Whether you can attract them to Coxsackie is another thing."

Alan Wechsler can be reached at 454-5469 or by e-mail at awechsler@timesunion.com.

Greene Flats at a glance

The Greene County Industrial Development Agency envisions a complex of nearly 2.2 million square feet off the Thruway that would include "destination" retail stores, two hotels, offices, manufacturing and other attractions.

Here's how the project sizes up:

785,000 square feet: retail space, including a department store, factory outlets, a farmers market and an antiques mall

542,000 square feet: two hotels plus destination entertainment/recreation facilities

100,000 square feet: Greene Center, an interpretive center, which will promote tourism in the county

710,000 square feet: office, residential (apartments) and manufacturing space

6,000 square feet: chain restaurant

Source: Greene County Industrial Development Agency

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Ah, so good to see you back, Mr. Ravi Batra!

I went to a bookstore up here today, Mr. Ravi Batra, to get a copy of Cicero's Selected Political Speechs, and the bookstore, which would pride itself with being "upscale" and catering to an "intelligentsia", this being a bookstore in Troy, NY, which upstate city has what is purported to be a world-class university in it, and Mr. Ravi Batra, no Cicero was there to be found ....

No one is interested, they told me ...

"Look what happened to Rome, after all ..."

"PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THAT STUFF!"

As if that would change much, Mr. Ravi Batra, the "not hearing" ....

The "purposeful deafness" ....

The knowing "not seeing" ....

The intentional pursuit of ignorance as freedom of expression, Mr. Ravi Batra ....

The God-given right to not know nothing at all ....

As if not knowing the wind was going to blow strong tonight would somehow stop the wind from blowing at all ....

Tacitus said, looking back on the times of Cicero, Mr. Ravi Batra, that:

"RARE is the felicity of the times when you can think what you like and speak what you think!"

And I would say to you, Mr. Ravi Batra, from out here in the "provinces", far, far removed from you down in NYC, that those times in our lives up here are rare, indeed, to the point of all but disappearing, and not existing at all .....

REPETUNDAE, Mr. Ravi Batra, from the perspective of one who is out here as a provincial, far, far removed from you, who are in a much more civilized place than I ....

Or PECUNIAE REPETUNDAE, if you will, Mr. Ravi Batra ....

REPETUNDARUM CRIMEN, Mr. Ravi Batra, in Roman law, the crime of bribery or extortion in a magistrate, or person in any public office!

VERRES can do to us what he will, and we are powerless to defend ourselves, Mr. Ravi Batra, powerless ....

The courts are closed to us, Mr. Ravi Batra, our witnesses intimidated .....

Or are bought up on retainer so that their expert testimony is unavailable ....

And our oppressor is Eliot Spitzer ....

Without his efforts in the law courts ....

None of this would have been possible ....

And so ...

Now he governor, Mr. Ravi Batra ....

Selling close access to him to the highest bidders ....

While we are without justice, thanks to Mr. Eliot Spitzer ....

Who we deem for sale ....

And so, Mr. Ravi Batra ....

Consider us the Sicilians ....

Or the Africans ...

Or the Greeks ...

And you be Cicero this time ....

And so ....

Posted by: John Galt | June 11, 2007 4:18 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...rta.html?page=2

"McNally launches bid for DA - Democrat cites lengthy courtroom experience in Rensselaer County"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

TROY -- Democrat Richard McNally announced his run for district attorney Monday, referring to himself as a "lunch-pail lawyer" and taking some shots at the current Republican administration.

In a fiery speech on the courthouse steps before a large crowd of local and state Democrats, McNally cited his nearly 20 years of experience in area courtrooms.

"I have tried cases in every court in this county from Hoosick Falls to Castleton, from Stephentown to Schaghticoke," McNally said with his wife, Karen Carlson, and daughters Sarah, 9, and Eloise, 6, by his side.

"I have been on both sides of the courtroom in some of the most serious criminal cases in this county in the past 20 years."

McNally will try to become the first Democrat to head the Rensselaer County district attorney's office in 15 years and the first Democrat elected to the post since retired Supreme Court Judge James Canfield in 1989.

McNally has some experience in the office.

He served as first assistant to Democrat Louis J. Catone, who lost to Republican Mary O. Donohue in 1992.

Catone was preceded by Canfield who won an assignment to the state Supreme Court in 1991 leading to Catone's short appointment.

More recently McNally, a 1987 graduate of St. John's University School of Law, got a job that gave him a unique perspective on the job he seeks.

He has served in the county court complex as a conflict defender for the public defender's office.

McNally will run against Republican Greg Cholakis, picked by the GOP after the current district attorney, Republican Patricia DeAngelis, decided not to seek re-election.

DeAngelis' one term in the $119,600 a year post has been a bumpy ride.

She and her office suffered several reversals on cases and DeAngelis had been chastised by higher courts for courtroom antics and prosecutorial errors.

"Hot-dog lawyering and courtroom histrionics are the mark of an unprepared prosecutor," McNally said.

"Blather and bluster do not win convictions; good, sound case building, diligent preparation and vigilant watch for the unexpected wins convictions."

McNally lives in Valley Falls, where he serves as village attorney.

He has served in both the district attorney's office in various jobs over the years and in the public defender's office.

Cholakis lives in Troy and works as a public defender in the county courthouse named for his late father, federal Judge Con G. Cholakis.

The Troy resident has been with the office for 14 years and has been practicing law for 15 years.

His sister, Kiki Cholakis, is a Family Court judge.

Bob Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.

"Senate GOP, good-government groups spar over campaign finance"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:23 p.m., Monday, June 11, 2007

ALBANY -- Campaign finance reform, one of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's top priorities in the waning days of his first legislative session, may be taken off the table Tuesday by the Senate's Republican majority.

The Senate GOP will hold the first meeting on campaign finance in its Elections Committee after fending off the Democratic governor on the issue by promising public meetings.

After the committee hears from an elections law scholar, Sen. Joseph Griffo, an Oneida County Republican, "is expected to announce a statewide series of campaign finance reform round-table discussions," according to the meeting announcement.

Senate majority spokesman Mark Hansen wouldn't say if those meetings would be done in time for a bill to be drafted and passed in the session scheduled to end June 21.

"I think this is posturing," said Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters, which has pushed campaign finance reform as the key to reforming Albany.

"There are eight days left in the session."

"Our lax campaign finance laws and the lack of enforcement can't wait for another year ... this should have been addressed a year ago."

Shortly after the Senate Republicans announced their meeting, the good-government groups announced a press conference to be held just before it.

Spitzer had no immediate comment.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has said he supports Spitzer's proposal to dramatically reduce campaign spending limits.

But Bruno has questioned the need for reform and noted that Spitzer can rely on his personal wealth and power as elected incumbent governor to raise campaign funds.

The conflict arose late Monday after a quiet day in which no public statements were made on the state of closed-door, late-session talks.

The Senate Republicans' meeting announcement put Spitzer on notice that the conference is either planning to -- or threatening to -- block Spitzer's campaign finance reform.

Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson declined comment.

Spitzer and lawmakers have held public leaders meetings in an attempt to avoid Albany's notorious late-budget negotiations in which disparate issues are settled in one big deal, then rushed to a vote in the closing hours of the session with little debate or public review.

Some of the biggest items on the table include a capital budget of $600 million to $900 million for statewide projects to be built over several years, although as little as $60 million of which might be spent in the current budget.

Also, expansion of the DNA data base to include samples from all criminals, proposed tax cuts for businesses and senior citizens and raises for lawmakers and state judges.

Another leaders meeting is expected later this week.

The Albany, New York Times Union Capital Confidential BLOG:

"Death By Meeting"

June 12, 2007 at 4:31 pm by Jay Jochnowitz, State Editor

If campaign finance reform didn’t look dead enough this session, this should kill it: the Senate plans to hold a series of five forums on it, starting June 27.

Session adjourns June 21.

Senate Elections Committee Chairman Joseph Griffo suggested there’s not need to rush:

“Campaigns and elections are the very heart of democracy and any reforms to the system need to be aired in public and carefully thought out."

"Involving experts in a public discussion to put together an effective bill is the right way to address the issue rather than trying to rush something through at the end of session.”

The roundtable discussions, featuring invited experts on campaigns and elections, will start with one in Albany on First Amendment issues, and cover, according to the Senate press release, reform efforts in other states, accountability, disclosure, penalties and enforcement, transparency, campaigns by “527” organizations, bundling of contributions, and campaign loans.

Times and places haven’t been announced.

Comments

We’re being fed a bill of goods here by our own NYS Senate with this talk that in some way, shape or manner the First Amendment of the United States Constitution way operates to allow our incumbent elected state officials here in NYS to accept campaign money in any amounts, once they are elected and serving in office ….

We here in NYS are not governed by the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution in our own state in connection with our dealings with our elected state officials and this question of whether, once elected, they have any right whatsoever to be out there on the street, holding out their hands for money, as if they were beggers or street walkers, when they are instead supposed to be engaged in the people’s business, since that is what they are accepting their paychecks for ……

We here in NYS are in fact governed by the Bill of Rights of the NYS Constitution, which document dates to 1777, whereas the U.S. Constitutional Convention which ultimately gave us the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights did not even convene until 1787, after the American Revolution was over, when in a time of peace, it was becoming readily apparent that the Articles of Confederation which bound the 13 original states together in a time of war, were woefully inadequate to bind them together in a time of peace ….

And so, we ended up with the U.S. Constitution, circa 1789, here in NYS ….

But the U.S. Constitution does in no way alter the Bill of Rights of our NYS Constitution, or our relationship with our elected state officials here in NYS and in fact, the provisions of our NYS Bill of Rights here in NYS are far superior to the protections afforded to us as NYS citizens when we are in some other state of the union, and not NY, by the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, including its First Amendment ….

So unless this Senate Elections Committee Chair Joe Griffo dude, a Utica-area Republican, is going to have some recognzed expert on the NYS Constitution in there during this alleged hearing, my take is that these hearings are nothing but a SHAM and a PUT-ON …..

On us, the citizens of the State of NY who are to be the recipients 24/7 of the protections of the Bill of Rights of the NYS Constitution ….

This Griffo dude is going to try and play us like a Stradivarius violin with this First Amendment public hearing of his, is my thought ….

Having some expert he went out and found somewhere out there coming in to tell him and the senate Republicans that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution supercedes and suspends the Bill of Rights of the NYS Constitution ….

And more the fools us, if we let him snow us under with yet more pure BULL**** coming out of the halls of government down there in Albany, New York …

And so ….

Comment by John Galt — June 12, 2007 @ 4:36 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4820#comments

"Senate GOP ignores Spitzer timetable on campaign reform"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:33 p.m., Tuesday, June 12, 2007

ALBANY -- The Senate's Republican majority set their own timetable Tuesday for reforming New York's campaign finance laws, ignoring Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer's priority of tightening the laws by the end of the legislative session.

Senate Election Committee Chairman Joseph Griffo announced the Senate majority will begin its "round-table" discussions with invited experts on June 27 -- a week after the legislative session ends.

Those meetings could be followed by the public hearings that Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno had promised weeks ago.

nwhile, Spitzer still insists the Legislature must agree to substantial reforms of Albany -- including campaign finance reform -- before he will agree to another bill that would lead to pay raises for lawmakers

governor also asked for a new bill that would take the lawmakers' raise proposal out and let the widely supported measure to increase judges' pay stand alone

"ave long said that until we get the changes in government structure that I believe are necessary, I would not be supportive of a pay raisepitzer said.

"t continues to be my posture."

"We'll see how it plays out."

"I'm more than happy to have conversations about pay raises when -- if we get those other issues dealt with."

"I just think the first statement to the public needs to be: `We understand the people's business,'" Spitzer told reporters.

In an Albany tradition Spitzer hoped to avoid, the Legislature and the Democratic governor appear headed to a last-minute, big deal on disparate issues.

That could include Spitzer's campaign finance reform and the legislative pay raise most earnestly sought by the Assembly's Democratic majority.

It's also likely the proposed New York City traffic congestion fee could be a last minute issue.

The plan, supported by the Senate's Republican majority on behalf of its major benefactor -- Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is intended to reduce pollution and traffic in parts of Manhattan.

The legislative session is scheduled to end June 21.

"It appears like with a lot of issues around here, they are just letting the clock run out," said Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters.

She said most legislators hate campaign finance reform because, "It's how they get elected and stay elected."

"What we see in Albany is inaction, posturing and rhetoric," said Rachel Leon of Common Cause-New York outside the Senate Elections Committee meeting room.

The good-government groups, including the New York Public Interest Research Group, seek the closing of what they call a loophole in election law.

It allows a company that creates a limited liability corporation to face the same contribution limit as individual -- up to $55,900 -- instead of the $5,000 corporate limit.

An analysis by Common Cause recently found the Senate GOP's campaign committee received $580,000 from LLCs in 2006.

The groups seek to end the "LLC loophole" -- as was done in federal election law -- and to limit contributions by all donors to reduce the influence of money on decisions in Albany and the power of incumbency.

They also want to ban "soft money," contributions to a political party, but are no longer calling on the Legislature to adopt public financing of campaigns this year to level the playing field between incumbents and challengers.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who supports Spitzer's campaign finance reform, had no immediate comment.

Griffo, the Republican Elections Committee chairman, said the majority wants to research what changes are needed by talking to national experts.

"We want to do it, but we want to do it right," Griffo said.

"Involving experts in a public discussion to put together an effective bill is the right way to address the issue rather than trying to rush something through at the end of session."

"This isn't Vermont," Leon said.

"We have many compelling reasons and scandals to point to."

"Investigation launched after fugitive captured - Albany police chief wants to know how shackled man was able to escape from office"

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007

ALBANY -- A parolee wanted in a double shooting was shackled and facing attempted murder charges when he walked out apparently unnoticed from the city detective office Monday night, Albany Police Chief James Tuffey said Tuesday.

Duane W. Morrison, 20, of Brooklyn, was caught four hours later in Schenectady, prompting Tuffey to launch an internal investigation into how the 6-foot-1-inch, 240-pound suspect escaped.

Back in custody, Morrison was arraigned Tuesday morning in city court, one of three men charged with the Sunday night shooting that left Deontint Davis, 26, of Albany, clinging to life.

Morrison had slipped out of a second-floor interview room at the detective office above South Station between Arch Street and Morton Avenue at 9 p.m. Monday night, Tuffey told reporters.

He was captured by a fugitive task force at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

At the time of his escape, Morrison was being held on the parole warrant, shackled at his ankle to the floor, police said.

fey declined to discuss details of the escape -- including how police believe Morrison fled custody, whether his escape was captured on security cameras, how many officers were in the building or how he got to Schenectady.

The Office of Professional Standards, the department's internal affairs unit, began its probe by daybreak Tuesday, Tuffey said, vowing to "retrace every step" and make the results of the investigation public.

Investigators began interviewing on-duty officers late Monday night and into Tuesday morning, Tuffey said, adding that department policies would be reviewed.

"He was in our detective office, and that's all I want to say until the investigation is complete," the chief said, adding: "We believe we know what exit door he used."

The ranking officer at the time was a detective lieutenant who the chief declined to identify.

Tuffey stressed that city police -- working with federal marshals, drug enforcement agents and Schenectady Police -- were able to recapture Morrison.

Asked whether the public was ever in danger, the chief responded: "He was a danger before we brought him in," referring to Morrison's initial arrest.

The escape comes at an awkward moment for the chief and the department, less than a week after discord between Tuffey and the Albany Police Officers Union, spurred by a contract fight, spilled into public view.

The union president, Christian P. Mesley, said many of the younger officers resent what they see as Tuffey's bullying style of management and the union overwhelmingly rejected the city's latest contract offer as a message to department brass.

The union is in the midst of fighting Tuffey's new policy governing how long before work officers must refrain from drinking alcohol.

Tuffey is seeking to fire one officer who allegedly violated the policy last fall and suspended a sergeant who did not promptly report the alleged transgression.

Tuffey also has been under pressure from the Common Council to address what some of its members see as a gun violence problem.

Meanwhile Tuesday, Davis, one of the two victims in Sunday's shooting, remained in the intensive care unit at Albany Medical Center Hospital with rifle wounds to his shoulder and head, friends and authorities said.

"He's the peacemaker, that's what they call him," said Valerie Riley, who described herself as a close friend of Davis.

"He's a wonderful guy -- always smiling, always trying to help somebody."

Riley said Davis was an innocent bystander.

She said he had recently been working in a Central Avenue store with his father.

"I can feel the prayers," Riley said.

Jerry Cooley, 26, who was shot in the left leg, was no longer listed as a patient at St. Peter's Hospital on Tuesday, according to hospital officials.

Cooley is on parole for a drug sale conviction.

The two were shot on the porch of 84 Third Ave. with a .22-caliber rifle, according to court records.

Morrison was picked up by police Monday for questioning in connection with Sunday's shooting.

He and two other men -- identified as Tavarus Blackwell, 19, of Brooklyn and Siheen Drayton, 21, of Albany -- were charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting, which police said appeared to be retaliation for a dispute Saturday.

Authorities declined to elaborate on what led up to the shooting or what led them to Morrison, Drayton and Blackwell.

Morrison's parole would have ended in late May had he not violated the terms of his release by failing to keep appointments, said Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the state Division of Parole.

Tuffey said his prior arrests included robbery.

In addition to attempted murder, Morrison is charged with felony second-degree escape and misdemeanor criminal impersonation for giving police a false name -- Shawn Battle -- apparently in an effort to conceal the fact that he had an active parole warrant, authorities said.

All three defendants are being held at the Albany County jail without bail.

Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@ timesunion.com.

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

John Galt, are you saying that the NYS Constitution does not protect an individual's right to free speech or that the US Consitution does not apply to citizens of NY?

It would seem that if a NYS law restricts an individual's right to free speech in violation of Article I section 8 of the NYS Consitution it is likely that it would be violative of the US Constitution.

It would also seem that if a NYS law was violative of the First Amendment of the US Consitution it would likely be violative of the NYS Constitution.

Comment by phill — June 13, 2007 @ 7:21 am

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4820#comments

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

Comment by John Galt — June 13, 2007 @ 3:51 pm: phill, to answer your question as fully as I can, Sect. 8 of ART. I of the Bill of Rights of the NYS Constitution, which is part of OUR organic law here in NYS, most certainly does protect our right to free speech as NYS citizens within NYS:

§ 8. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions or indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.

The 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution, in the so-called add-on Bill of Rights, which did not come about until after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The free speech clause of the Bill of Rights was added on to the U.S. Constitution as an after-thought after 1789, if you will, because people in states like NY were fearful of losing rights under the new federal government that they already possessed as citizens of their own states.

James Madison’s version of the speech and press clauses, introduced in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789, provided:

“The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.”

That language, you will note, is very similar to what the people of the State of NYS already had in OUR Bill of Rights ….

Then a special committee rewrote Madison’s language to some extent, adding other provisions from Madison’s draft, to make it read:

“The freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and consult for their common good, and to apply to the Government for redress of grievances, shall not be infringed.”

In this form it went to the Senate, which rewrote it to read:

“That Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and consult for their common good, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Subsequently, the religion clauses and these clauses were combined by the Senate.

The final language was agreed upon in conference.

Since independent of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, sect. 8 of ART. I of OUR NYS Constitution already clearly states that in the State of NY, “no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech”, it can be seen that any attempt by our NYS government to do so would be a violation of OUR rights as NYS citizens here in NYS ….

If our state government attempted to restrain or abridge our liberty of speech here in NYS, I don’t believe, however, that the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution would be of much value to us, since that applies to Congress, and not the NYS legislature ….

And the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does diddly-squat to protect responsible speech, anyway …

All it seems to do is to cover pornographers, not honest citizens ….

And with that said, with respect to the “strength” of OUR NYS Constitution protecting us as mere common citizens here in NYS, supposedly, anyway, this is what OUR NYS Court of Appeals had to say about the matter eleven years ago, in 1996, in Ricky Brown et al. v. State of New York, 89 NY2d 172:

“Constitutions assign rights to individuals and impose duties on the government to regulate the government’s actions to protect them.”

“It is the failure to fulfill a stated constitutional duty which may support a claim for damages in a constitutional tort action.”

“The underlying rationale for the decision, in simplest terms, is that constitutional guarantees are worthy of protection on their own terms without being linked to some common-law or statutory tort, and that the courts have the obligation to enforce these rights by ensuring that each individual receives an adequate remedy for violation of a constitutional duty.”

“If the remedy is not forthcoming from the political branches of government, then the courts must provide it by recognizing a damage remedy against the violators much the same as the courts earlier recognized and developed equitable remedies to enjoin unconstitutional actions.”

“Implicit in this reasoning is the premise that the Constitution is a source of positive law, not merely a set of limitations on government.”

Now, that legal analysis does not apply anywhere outside of NYS, so that a person in Massachusetts or Texas could not rely upon this law in their home state, and if we were to be traveling outside of NYS, and were to somehow come afoul of the laws limiting speech in some other state of the union, say Texas, we would likely have a great degree of trouble in relying upon this legal analysis regarding constitutional protections here in NYS from the NYS Ct. of Appeals in a court of law in Texas …

The point that I am making above is that neither the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution nor sect. 8 of ART. I of the NYS Constitution overtly give a citizen the undeniable inalienable right to give money to any politicians, and neither give any politicians the right to take money from anyone, once they have sworn their oaths and are now in office ….

For our NYS Senate to be attempting to justify their continuing to take money from people and corporations on 1st Amendment grounds is to me, a life-long NYS citizen, specious and a mockery of us as NYS citizens, as if we were just a bunch of ignorant schlubs out here, devoid of any knowledge whatsoever of our history and our laws ….

Sorry to be overlong, but your question demanded more than a two or three word response ….

And so ..

And by the way, phill, thanks for asking that question in the first place, so that this matter could then be addressed further in here, as it was for me in my formative years here in NYS way back when this stuff used to be taught to us in grade school out in the countryside after WWII …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4820#comments

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

Comment by John Galt — June 13, 2007 @ 4:04 pm: As to the weakness and uncertainty of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Commentaries to the U.S. Constitution provide as follows:

Probably no other provision of the Constitution has given rise to so many different views with respect to its underlying philosophical foundations, and hence proper interpretive framework, as has the guarantee of freedom of expression–the free speech and free press clauses.

The argument has been fought out among the commentators.

“The outstanding fact about the First Amendment today is that the Supreme Court has never developed any comprehensive theory of what that constitutional guarantee means and how it should be applied in concrete cases.”

Some of the commentators argue in behalf of a complex of values, none of which by itself is sufficient to support a broad-based protection of freedom of expression.

Others would limit the basis of the First Amendment to one only among a constellation of possible values and would therefore limit coverage or degree of protection of the speech and press clauses.

For example, one school of thought believes that, because of the constitutional commitment to free self-government, only political speech is within the core protected area, although some commentators tend to define more broadly the concept of “political” than one might suppose from the word alone.

Others recur to the writings of Milton and Mill and argue that protecting speech, even speech in error, is necessary to the eventual ascertainment of the truth, through conflict of ideas in the marketplace, a view skeptical of our ability to ever know the truth.

A broader-grounded view is variously expounded by scholars who argue that freedom of expression is necessary to promote individual self-fulfillment, such as the concept that when speech is freely chosen by the speaker to persuade others it defines and expresses the “self,” promotes his liberty, or the concept of “self- realization,” the belief that free speech enables the individual to develop his powers and abilities and to make and influence decisions regarding his destiny.

The literature is enormous and no doubt the Justices as well as the larger society are influenced by it, and yet the decisions, probably in large part because they are the collective determination of nine individuals, seldom clearly reflect a principled and consistent acceptance of any philosophy.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constit...ent01/07.html#1

As for me, I will take the certainty of the NYS Bill of Rights protecting my rights while a citizen here in NYS over the whims and vagaries of the U.S. Constitution, any day of the week, and the point still remains that nowhere does the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution explicitly give anyone a right to give money to a politician here in NYS, once that politician has taken the oath of office, and more to the point, the 1st Amendment does not give any authority whatsoever to any politician here in NYS to take money from anyone once in office, and while in office …

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4820#comments

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Biz leaders rip paltry N.Y. judge pay scales"

BY JOE GOULD, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, June 13th 2007, 4:00 AM

Rookie lawyers at nearly 100 local law firms make more than state judges - and business leaders say it threatens to lower the quality of New York courts.

Heavyweights such as Zagat survey publisher Tim Zagat, ABC News President David Westin and public relations czar Howard Rubenstein showed up at a breakfast sponsored by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York yesterday to support pay raises for the state's jurists.

"The idea that first-year associates at law firms are paid more than judges is shocking to me," said Zagat, who called the situation "absurd."

Some 98 firms started new hires at $160,000, excluding bonuses, according to a New York Law Journal article.

Meanwhile, pay for New York judges is the second lowest in the nation when adjusted for the cost of living, according to a National Center for State Courts report.

"We all want a first-rate justice system for the State of New York," said Barry Kamins, president of the New York City Bar Association.

"We need it to protect the business interests in this, the business capital of the world."

Top salaries for New York judges have been $136,700 a year since January 1999, while inflation has risen 30% since 1996, the report notes.

In 2004, 28 judges had outstanding pension loans, but as of March, there were 117 judges - about 10% of the entire judiciary - who have outstanding loans against their pensions.

The substandard pay is hindering the courts from attracting and retaining talented judges.

"The future of the judiciary is at stake," said Chief Judge Judith Kaye.

The raises have become a bargaining chip in a stalemate between Gov. Spitzer and the Legislature, according to Kaye.

Legislators have refused to grant judicial pay raises without pay raises for the Legislature.

Spitzer won't approve legislative raises without the Legislature's cooperation on campaign finance reform.

"We're caught in a deadly squeeze," said Kaye.

"The judges are hostage to the other branches of government at the cost of an independent judiciary."

jgould@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/bronx/...pay_scal-1.html

ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

ITEM: Chief Judge Judith Kaye renewed her threat to sue over judges’ salaries …

JOHN GALT REPLIES: And what a load of crap this judicial salary business is getting to be!

Click on this link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/bronx/...pay_scal-1.html

Which takes you to a NEW YORK DAILY NEWS story entitled “Biz leaders rip paltry N.Y. judge pay scales” by JOE GOULD, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER, Wednesday, June 13th 2007, 4:00 AM, where you will find this following:

“We all want a first-rate justice system for the State of New York,” said Barry Kamins, president of the New York City Bar Association.

“We need it to protect the business interests in this, the business capital of the world.”

end quotes

NEWS FLASH, there, Barry Kamins ….

We citizens of this state don’t have judges here in NYS to protect business interests ….

We citizens have judges here in NYS to protect OUR rights from transgressors like business interests ….

We don’t want judges who are blatantly biased towards protecting business interests here in NYS ….

We want judges who are in there to dispense justice, fairly and impartially …

This sounds like a QUID PRO QUO deal here, to me ….

Big business comes out to lobby on behalf of hefty raises for NYS judges, in return for which the judges then protect the interests of business, against us ...

And so …

Comment by John Galt — June 13, 2007 @ 6:29 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4824#comments

"Guilty pleas in mortgage fraud case"

The Business Review (Albany) - May 10, 2007

The owners of a Clifton Park real-estate business have pleaded guilty in federal district court to bank fraud and income tax evasion.

Matthew Kupic and Francis Disonell, both 37 and both of Clifton Park, admitted their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that they ran between March 2000 and August 2003.

The two men were the owners of Team Title Abstractors and Real Estate Consultants, which was located on Route 9 in Clifton Park.

The charges carry potential penalties of 30 years in federal prison and a million dollar fine for bank fraud, five years in prison and a $100,000 fine for tax evasion.

The two men will be sentenced in September.

The two men also agreed to forfeit $600,000 each, according to U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby.

Prosecutors accused the two men of defrauding banks and other mortgage lenders by securing excessive mortgages for residential properties through the use of phony loan applications and settlement statements.

They then diverted the mortgage funds for their personal use.

Kupic and Disonell would find below market properties the owner was selling and that needed substantial repairs.

They found buyers for those properties and promised them ownership of income-producing properties and money to make the needed repairs.

Kupic and Disonell would then either provide the buyers with the money they needed to close the deal, or they would put money into their bank accounts to increase the chance of the lenders approving the loans.

That money was then withdrawn when the loan was finalized.

Sales contracts and other documents were falsified as part of the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Phony documents were used to make it appear the properties would be rehabilitated.

Through a complicated series of multiple purchases, the pair disguised the purchasers' actual financial status.

Once the loans were made the sellers received their actual asking price for the property not the price that the false loan application specified.

Kupic and Disonell shared in the extra proceeds.

Between them the two men were said to have diverted $1.9 million to themselves and others in 54 real estate transactions.

The total amount of the mortgages issued was $3.6 million and in most cases the properties went into foreclosure soon after the deal was done.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/...07/daily32.html

"Brunswick superintendent to fight for job - David T. Burnham has been on paid leave over unspecified conduct"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 14, 2007

BRUNSWICK -- Brunswick Central School Superintendent David T. Burnham, who has been placed on paid leave, has done nothing wrong and will fight to keep his job, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The Board of Education voted 9-0 Tuesday night to place Burnham on administrative leave from his $135,000-post, effective June 5, while his conduct as superintendent is investigated.

"This action was unnecessary and hasty."

"My view was that they were creating issues and perceptions that were unnecessary," said Burnham's lawyer, E. Stewart Jones.

Jones said he could not directly address the conduct issues raised by the school board.

He said it did not involve criminal activity.

"It's conduct that is totally unrelated in his role and function with the school district as superintendent."

"It's purely a private matter," Jones said.

The school board issued a statement after its vote saying it is constrained in what it can say about Burnham's conduct because it is a personnel issue.

"This was an extremely difficult decision that the Board of Education did not take lightly," Mary Roach, the attorney for the school board, said in the statement.

"The board understands that this action will undoubtedly trigger questions and concerns among our staff, students and community members."

"However, as a matter of policy the school district will not comment publicly on personnel matters," Roach said.

Burnham, 59, was named superintendent in December 2006, after serving as interim superintendent.

He previously was superintendent of the Greenville school district.

He also was principal of Philip Livingston Magnet Academy in Albany and John L. Edwards Elementary School in Hudson.

He taught for 18 years in the Voorheesville school district.

The school board named former Shenendehowa Superintendent John Yagielski acting superintendent at a daily rate of $600.

"Malta developer says plan isn't tied to AMD - Work on Malta's Ellsworth Commons retail, housing complex to begin in summer"

By DAN HIGGINS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 14, 2007

MALTA -- Town officials near Luther Forest Technology Campus expect a boom in retail and real estate near the proposed Advanced Micro Devices computer chip factory.

But the developers of Ellsworth Commons, a dense mix of apartments and shops, expect success regardless of AMD.

Construction on Ellsworth Commons -- a development of 22 upscale townhouses, 310 lofts and apartments, and 73,000 square feet of retail space -- will begin this summer in Malta, about 5 miles from the future home of AMD's chip fab.

Town officials said they want to create a downtown environment, including one that would be attractive to AMD workers.

Neil Swingruber, one of two members of Albany Partners LLC, said demand exists for his project with or without jobs provided by the computer chip manufacturer.

"Of course, any kind of development that creates jobs would be great, but we have been with our project for the last two years, far before AMD offered us any firm commitment," Swingruber said.

He said his other development in Malta, the 235 luxury Steeplechase apartments, is full after a year of operation, showing that rental and condominium demand remains high.

Malta Supervisor Paul Sausville said Ellsworth Commons might have passed muster with the town's Planning Board, but he believes it's too large to be a blueprint for all future building projects.

"We have no ambitions to be Saratoga Springs."

"We want a village environment," he said.

That said, he acknowledged AMD's arrival will make it important for the town to be attractive to employees who will be looking for someplace to live.

Malta is a community of 13,000, many of whom live in far-flung subdivisions and shop at small plazas.

But under a plan begun in 2000, town leaders want to create a "downtown" area that will give the community a center and offer more choices for housing and shopping.

Town officials mapped out a swath of Route 9 near Route 67 around which, they hope, careful zoning and planning will eventually produce a downtown.

"We want it to be walkable and have the shopping and amenities that our residents want," Sausville said.

The Ellsworth Commons plan is the first attempt to bring that vision to life.

It will be built on the east side of Route 9, across the street from Malta Town Hall, not far from Northway Exit 12.

Peter Klotz, chairman of the Planning Board, said Albany Partners designed the Ellsworth Commons project to fit almost exactly with the planning documents the town drew up in the last seven years, as it molded its plan for a downtown.

"In some ways this is the first of that kind -- they looked at our plans and built a project based on what we described," he said.

Klotz, however, also said Ellsworth Commons' proposal, despite hewing closely to the town's plans, is larger than envisioned.

Another large development, called Park Place, is under review by the Planning Board.

It would be just south of the new roundabout on Route 9 at Route 67 and would contain 115,000 square feet in retail and commercial space, 235 apartments or condominiums and 50 single-family homes.

"It would be OK to have two or three large developments like that, but not five or six," Klotz said.

Higgins can be reached at 454-5523 or by e-mail at dhiggins@timesunion.com.

"Poestenkill water district planning begins - $9.7 million project could cost homeowners $55 to $65 per month"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

POESTENKILL -- The town has started planning its first water district, a $9.7 million project to serve the town's more-populated western side, that will be the biggest public undertaking in its history.

A year ago, the town was awarded a $9,029,151 no-interest loan from the state Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund and a $220,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Fund for a municipal water district.

The project has been considered for several years in the rural town of 4,054 residents who have private, drilled wells.

Under the plan, 12-inch mains would run from Troy, the source for the town's water, along Spring Avenue east, along Weatherwax Road and for a short distance on Snyders Corners Road.

A branch of the larger main will also be laid along Route 355.

Smaller 8-inch mains will branch out from the larger pipes.

The town will have the option later to drill its own wells and use the connection to Troy as an emergency backup.

Town officials are preparing a townwide referendum on the district July 31.

The time and place of the vote will be announced soon, officials said.

Some people at recent public hearing on the matter showed support, but there are detractors.

"Some people are intimidated by the costs of the project, while others just want to see the town left rural," Town Supervisor Peg Schmidt said.

"But development is coming."

"The town, for instance, will have 50 new homes built over the next two years."

The town also has another problem that would be solved by municipal water.

Tests have shown that traces of trichloroethane, dichloroethane, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), bacteria and other contaminants are in local wells.

"Some people's well water is actually orange," Schmidt said. "I don't think iron oxide is good to drink."

Schmidt also said many of the small residential lots in town do not meet the required separation distance between well and septic system.

Everyone within a water district pays for the capital costs of building the water system.

People opting to hook up to the system will also pay for using the water and the system's operation and maintenance.

Estimates of the cost of the water district are $55 to $65 per month for a typical household and include capital costs, water use and operation and maintenance costs.

The exact rate structure must be approved by the state comptroller's office.

Poestenkill Water District 1

Cost $9,767,606

Annual debt payment (30-year interest-free) $325,587

Homes and businesses served 745

Average customer cost per month $55-$65

"The gender gap narrows as girls take to violence - Assaults are on the rise among female teens, and officials hope to nip the problem in the bud"

By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, June 10, 2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Inside a closet-size office at Saratoga Springs High probation officer Kelley Bayer sits face to face with a petite girl.

Their conversation -- Bayer sounding like a mom, the teen mostly answering "nope" -- is serious.

The 15-year-old beat up a schoolmate and has been charged with assault, landing her on probation and facing twice-monthly sessions with Bayer.

"How are things at home?" Bayer asks the ninth-grader.

"They're going pretty good," the girl responds.

She hasn't had any run-ins with police and is staying out of trouble.

Across the Capital Region, such conversations are happening with increasing frequency as probation departments see more and more teens.

Saratoga County's probation officers are handling caseloads of up to 80 kids -- more than double last year.

Other departments have had to hire staff to keep up.

Albany County added five probation officers to its juvenile division in two years.

In many cases, the troubled teens are girls.

In just a year, Schenectady County saw criminal complaints involving girls double in 2006 to 162.

That exceeds national statistics compiled by the FBI that also show more arrests of girls.

From 1980 to 2003, arrests of teenage girls for aggravated assault rose 9 percent, while simple assault counts increased some 11 percent, according to that agency's Violent Crime Index.

"All of a sudden you have a justice system dealing with more and more girls and they don't know what to do with them," said Shari Miller Johnson, a Duke University researcher.

"Girls' dynamics are difficult to maneuver, and we still don't know to what extent what we know about boys applies to girls."

Though males still dominate the system, girls are landing on probation for fighting and other crimes traditionally associated with boys.

As a result, part of probation's new, tailored approach throughout the state is to directly address the needs of girls.

"We're seeing more of an influx in the numbers of females in the system," Albany County Probation Director Patricia Aikens said.

"We're consciously aware of what's happening."

Probation departments have turned to a high-tech tool to help them intervene earlier and tailor treatment to teens' individual needs.

Probation officers quiz the youngsters on everything from their crimes to their hobbies and their parents and plug their responses into a computer program called the Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument, or YASI.

Schenectady County provides the best lens by which to view the tool's impact.

YASI helped officials there see the number of girls likely to commit another crime triple in two years to 32.8 percent in 2006, according to Joseph Mancini, deputy director of probation who oversees Schenectady County for Juvenile Justice.

The county, which began using YASI in 2003, hopes to add four probation officers and -- for the first time -- have some work during after-school hours due to the increasing arrests.

And the YASI is providing a road map to solutions.

"The focus is on things in the child's life that can be changed," said Robert Maccarone, chairman and state director of probation.

"The software is taking the information and comparing it against the information from probation."

The program then generates a profile for each teen including whether he or she is low-, moderate- or high-risk to commit another crime.

A low-risk teen may need counseling while a high-risk one may need anger management classes or substance abuse treatment.

The juvenile system also uses YASI to assess teenagers referred to as "persons in need of supervision," which means they haven't committed a crime but are on a wayward path.

The goal is to catch kids -- whether girls or boys -- early in the juvenile justice system and give them the help they need before their crimes escalate, Aikens said.

Sports is no longer a panacea.

"We gave them a basketball or football and thought that would save their lives," said Andre Leppanen, a Rensselaer County youth gang specialist.

The answer to why girls fight seems to be as complex as the tools being used by the probation system to help them.

Daisy Smythe, a foster mother in Schenectady, says fighting can be a cry for help, especially for girls who don't have a sense of belonging.

"No girl is going to rip out a girl's hair because of what she's wearing; she is carrying some internal stuff," said Smythe, 72.

"She is angry and looking for a fight, and any little thing will tick her off."

Jessica, a 17-year-old who ended up in the probation system for fighting, landed at St. Anne Institute, a residential home in Albany for troubled girls.

She fought so much on her arrival in May 2006 that she ended up in a special unit.

Through counseling, she is managing to control her anger and is expected to leave St. Anne in August.

"When you don't have that right guidance from parents or adults, you really don't know which way to go sometimes so you just go the way you know and for me that was fighting and getting upset and expressing myself through fighting," Jessica said.

Richard Serapilio, house principal of school, math, science and technology at Schenectady High School, says girl fights can be tough to break up.

"I think the biggest issue is that females can't let things go and it tends to fester," the veteran educator said.

"You think you solve an issue and three weeks later, it's back again."

Michael Gunning, Shaker High School's psychologist, says girls face a greater expectation to stand their ground and avoid being labeled a wimp every time they are challenged, while boys -- who still fight more than girls -- can sometimes talk macho.

"When they say they're going to fight, they mean it -- they're going to fight," he said.

Yet researchers argue the perception of girl violence trumps the statistics.

The increasing arrests stem from tougher domestic abuse laws and zero-tolerance policies for fighting in schools.

And, they note, society's view of girls' behavior stems from the arrests.

Girls are not more violent than they were 10, 20, 30 years ago and the gender gap hasn't changed," said Darrell Steffensmeier, a Penn State University professor.

"They might be more verbally aggressive, more mouthier and use more foul language, but not physically violent."

Steffensmeier was among researchers, practitioners and policymakers who studied female delinquency and published the report "Girls Study Group: Understanding and Responding to Girls' Delinquency."

Researcher Melissa Sickmund points to the popularity of girl fights and female boxing that have further glamorized violence among females.

"We see it everywhere, so it warps our perception," said Sickmund, with Pittsburgh-based National Center for Juvenile Justice.

For the probation officers and counselors helping the teens, both the increasing focus on early intervention brought about by YASI and the increasing numbers of girls in the juvenile justice system have prompted shifts in the way they work.

Lisa Karam, a veteran Rensselaer County probation officer, says she looks at a teenager's body language -- such as a menacing glance -- when assessing how to help the juvenile delinquents change.

"My biggest thing is their attitude," Karam said.

"Is this person taking ownership for this or is this behavior acceptable for this family and they just got caught?"

Leppanen, the Rensselaer County gang specialist, said pairing misguided teens with a mentor or offering athletic programs isn't enough any more.

He has seen girls suffering from a lack of discipline, respect and education -- all wrapped around self-esteem issues.

Those psychological issues have prompted a combining of those programs with activities like prison visits and college tours.

"We want to show them where they are headed with this stuff (gang activity)," said Leppanen.

"A lot of these kids are born without hope and they don't realize there is a way out."

Bill De Joy, with Conifer Park in Glenville, which treats substance abuse, revamped its system that he said treated youngsters too much like "mini-adults."

A big change was holding more structured discussions, including group and individual therapy, and providing more recreational outlets.

"We have learned what works best is to get to know them and treat them as more than just an addict," said De Joy, the facility's adolescent program director.

"Instead of pointing out their flaws, we engage them, and they point out their own flaws."

The girls at Conifer, who De Joy said tend to experiment with pills, generally need the most counseling for guy problems and the scars of sexual assault.

"The girls' therapy tends to deal more with trauma, such as how they put themselves in precarious situations and how it's affected their state of mind," he said.

Back inside Bayer's tiny Saratoga High office, the girl tells Bayer that she assaulted her schoolmate because she had grown tired of the other girl spreading rumors about her.

The teen is now learning other ways to resolve such conflicts.

When Saratoga County goes online with YASI next year, the software program will help guide these conversations.

Now, Saratoga uses a single sheet of eight questions and relies heavily on the experience of its probation officers.

Kathy Kuznia, Saratoga County's deputy probation director, said YASI will be a godsend.

"It's the wave of the future," she said, noting that one-third of the county's increasing caseload are juvenile delinquents.

"It's going to help us assess the needs of juveniles and their families and initiate the appropriate services in a much more timely manner ... and hopefully cut down on recidivism."

The girl being supervised by Bayer has so far had two counseling sessions and says she has learned a valuable lesson from her first brush with the law.

"The lesson that I've learned is to deal with it differently because you can get into a lot of trouble," she says.

Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.

Risk factors

If you know a teen who might be troubled, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office identified the following life influences and character traits -- when viewed as a whole -- that could mean a child is heading toward delinquency or violence:

ages 6-11 influences -- family poverty, little parental involvement, harsh/lax/inconsistent discipline, abusive parents, weak social ties or antisocial/delinquent friends; traits -- substance abuse, aggression, hyperactivity, concentration issues, medical/physical problems, low IQ, dishonesty, poor performance in school ages

12-16 influences -- family poverty, broken home, little parental involvement, harsh/lax/inconsistent discipline, abusive parents, family conflict, delinquent siblings, gang membership, weak social ties or antisocial/delinquent friends, neighborhood with adult crime and drug use; traits -- aggression, hyperactivity, concentration issues, physical violence, risk taking/drug selling, crimes against people, low IQ, substance abuse, poor performance in school, truancy

I'm attaching the full text of a just completed paper, "A Critical Evaluation of the Energy Plans and Actions Announced in April 2007 by New York's Governor, NYSERDA and New York PSC." The Executive Summary is shown below. Unfortunately, the attachment is a rather long paper. It does demonstrate conclusively that Washington, DC, is not the only center of political-lobbyist power that produces "energy plans" devoid of rational underpinning..
********************************

June 12, 2007

A Critical Evaluation of the Energy Plans and Actions Announced in April 2007

by New York’s Governor, NYSERDA and New York PSC

Executive Summary



Recent energy policy announcements by the Governor of New York, the President of NYSERDA, and the Chairwoman of the NY State Public Service Commission must leave many people in New York – especially in Upstate and Western New York -- wondering what their elected and appointed leaders in Albany have against them.



New York’s Independent System Operator (NYISO), which manages the wholesale electric grid in NY and works to assure that electric service will be reliable, has concluded that New York will require additional generating capacity as electricity demand grows.



The Governor’s focus on the challenge of providing adequate electricity for New York may be a good sign, but the steps that he and other State officials announced in April are unlikely to achieve the goals he announced. Some of those steps would not be in the best interest of the people of New York -- particularly its electric customers and taxpayers, or homeowners in many rural areas and others who enjoy the state’s scenic areas. The claims of economic benefits and additional jobs, apparently assembled for the Governor by state officials, are not credible.



The costly proposals by the Governor, NYSERDA and NYSPSC to force greater use of “wind energy” are particularly puzzling. The state officials appear to be unaware of facts about wind energy that have been uncovered during the past two years – facts that contradict claims made by the wind industry and other wind advocates. For example, the officials seem unaware or unconcerned that:



· Huge wind turbines (35+ stories tall) produce very little electricity -- which electricity is low in quality and value because it is intermittent, volatile, unreliable and unlikely to be available when most needed.

· Wind turbines cannot be counted on to produce electricity at times of peak electricity demand (late summer afternoons on hot weekdays in July and August), and will not replace the need for the electric industry to add [i]reliable electric generating capacity to supply increasing electric demand or replace aging generating plants.

· Huge tax breaks and subsidies for “wind farm” owners – not environmental and energy benefits – are the primary reasons that companies are eager to build wind farms.

· Wind energy advocates have greatly overstated environmental and economic benefits of wind energy and greatly understated adverse environmental, ecological, scenic, property value and human impacts.



In fact, policies and programs announced by the state officials would result in:



· Transferring nearly $ 1.3 billion additional dollars from the pockets of ordinary electric customers and taxpayers to pockets of large “wind farm” owning companies, particularly Noble Environmental Power (majority owned by JP Morgan Partners, LLC), Massachusetts -based UPC Wind, and Community Energy, Inc. (wholly owned by Iberdola of Spain).

· Spending billions of capital investment dollars on energy projects that produce little electricity when needed and have little favorable local economic impact.

· Undermining the property values, peace and tranquility of thousands of families in rural New York who would be forced to live in the shadows of hundreds of huge, noisy wind turbines, and destroy some of New York’s beautiful scenery.



New York already has some of the nation’s highest tax burdens and, except for Hawaii, the highest residential electricity prices. The steps announced by the Governor, NYSERDA and NYSPSC are likely to make the situation worse.



This brief paper reviews and evaluates key aspects of energy policies and plans announced by New York State officials, and contrasts their electricity plans with those of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) which is responsible for the reliability of New York’s electricity grid. Both sets of plans have major implications for the people of New York.


[i] NYSERDA – New York State Energy Research & Development Authority

And thanks for that evaluation and information, Snuf ....

It does demonstrate conclusively that Washington, D.C. is not the only center of political-lobbyist power that produces "energy plans" devoid of rational underpinning ...

It's appreciated in the spirit of this thread ....

And so ....

"Local mining bans win support in Assembly - Bill that keeps state from overruling community objections goes to Senate"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 14, 2007

ALBANY -- A bill that would block the state from approving mining operations in communities like Nassau over local objections passed the Assembly this week and is now in the Senate.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Tim Gordon, I-Bethlehem, was prompted by anti-mining forces in the town of Nassau, where the Department of Environmental Conservation granted a mining permit last month.

The bill passed in the Assembly, 141-3, on Monday.

West Sand Lake-based Troy Sand & Gravel got a permit to mine graywacke stone, which is used in road paving and other construction applications, from 93 acres of a 214-acre parcel southeast of Pikes Pond off Route 66.

The stone has a high-friction surface when crushed, and is highly valued by the state for highways.

The matter is tied up in the courts so the company has not started mining.

Opponents, including Residents Against Mining, planned to hire experts to challenge the project on issues of hydrogeology, visual impact and increased truck traffic.

But in December, DEC said opponents had not raised serious enough issues to warrant hearings.

The town, facing three mining applications, all in one general area containing a vein of the rock, passed a law last year banning all mining.

Town Supervisor Ray Seney has said the town intends to enforce the law.

Andrew Gilchrist, the attorney for the mining company, said the company has already begun legal action in state Supreme Court in Rensselaer County challenging the legality of the town law and whether it applies to the permit.

The company notes the application was filed two years before the local ban was passed, and argues it should be grandfathered in under the law and any state mandates.

Callanan Industries has applied to mine 76 acres near the intersection of Dunham Hollow and Greenman Hill roads, about two miles southeast of Troy Sand & Gravel's proposed site.

It has also applied for a 39-acre mine on the east side of Route 66 and north of Gardner Hill Road.

"NY unemployment rate increased to 4.4 percent in May"

Associated Press

Last updated: 3:44 p.m., Thursday, June 14, 2007

ALBANY -- New York's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.4 percent in May, up from 4.1 percent in April, but down from 4.5 percent in May 2006, state Labor Department officials said Thursday.

Nationally, the rate was 4.5 percent in May.

New York City's rate rose to 4.9 -- the same as last May -- from 4.4 in April.

Of the five boroughs, the Bronx had the highest rate -- 6.1 percent.

Excluding New York City, the state's rate rose slightly from 3.9 percent in April to 4 percent in May, down from 4.3 percent last year.

For individual counties, the highest rate was 5.3 percent, which was registered in Hamilton, Clinton and Fulton counties.

Putnam and Tompkins counties both had the lowest rate at 3.1 percent.

------

On the Web: http://www.labor.state.ny.us

"Bruno, Silver break with routine - Legislative leaders meet in public in cafeteria, discuss medical marijuana bill"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 14, 2007

ALBANY -- As they work on a deal to legalize marijuana for treating very sick New Yorkers, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver met publicly in an unusual coffee break to field press questions and declare they have never smoked pot.

The two caused some intrigue during a relatively routine week.

Lawmakers have noted the lack of a sense of urgency as dozens of issues remain unresolved and the June 21 close of session nears.

In a meeting dubbed "two men in a cafeteria" by Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, Bruno and Silver invited the press to sit in while Bruno drank a Dasani water and Silver sipped a large decaf.

For a half-hour they fielded questions, while Gov. Eliot Spitzer attended a fundraiser in Seattle.

"We have to keep reminding them that there are 212 legislators and just one executive," Bruno told Silver.

He also showed disappointment that Spitzer has not included the legislative leaders in plans to give the racing franchise to one of four bidders.

"The governor took total control," he said.

"It has to end up in the Legislature."

The Assembly passed Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried's bill to legalize marijuana use for sufferers of various "life-threatening" illnesses, such as cancer patients dealing with both pain and chemotherapy.

The bill, opposed by many Assembly Republicans, would let patients or their caregivers possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana that they grow themselves or obtain from illegal dealers.

Bruno supports legalization for medicinal purposes, although the Senate will consider an alternative bill being prepared by Sen. Kenneth Leibell, R-Patterson, giving the state Health Department authority to grow and distribute marijuana for a narrow group of patients with chronic diseases, including glaucoma.

Gottfried said that would put the health commissioner in danger of violating federal narcotics laws.

Silver said he has never used marijuana; Bruno said he doesn't even know what it smells like.

Silver said the Assembly won't vote on a bill to allow cameras in courtrooms, which passed the Senate, because of concerns it would sensationalize trials.

Bruno said he and Silver want to reach a deal on capital projects and extra money for schools and community projects, along with discretionary legislative funds.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

Session rolls on

Five days remain in the scheduled legislative session.

Wednesday's developments: The Assembly passed a bill legalizing medical use of marijuana.

The Senate pledged to come up with its own version.

The Senate passed legislation to let school districts phase out property taxes and substitute the revenue with increased state aid, and freeze school taxes for senior citizens, but it isn't expected to go further this session.

Today: Leaders will meet publicly with Gov. Eliot Spitzer at 2 p.m. to discuss outstanding issues.

THE NEW YORK SUN

"Big Spitzer Donor In Line For Lucrative State Deal"

By JACOB GERSHMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun

June 15, 2007

ALBANY — A casino entrepreneur who was one of Governor Spitzer's largest political donors and who provided Mr. Spitzer with discounted trips on a private jet during the gubernatorial campaign is positioned to win a video gambling contract with the state worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Excelsior Racing Associates, one of whose main investors is Richard Fields — who donated $200,000 to the Spitzer campaign through his various limited liability companies — has emerged as the leading candidate to take over video lottery gambling operations at one or more horse racing tracks in the state.

The emergence of Excelsior as the leading contender to run the lucrative casinos is threatening to place Mr. Spitzer, who has vowed to restore integrity to state government, in an awkward position.

Mr. Spitzer is aggressively pushing lawmakers to rein in campaign finance rules, urging them to agree to slash contribution limits across the board and to ban donations from limited liability companies, which have been used by contributors to circumvent individual donor limits.

Mr. Fields was one of the top LLC contributors last year, giving about four times the individual limit to the Spitzer campaign through his various entities.

Earlier this year, the Spitzer administration indicated that despite the contributions, Mr. Fields was unlikely to find the state accommodating.

"Time will tell whether Fields means anything to us."

"I think you're going to find out pretty quick the answer is no," an administration official who asked not to be identified told The New York Sun in February.

"He was a means to get from point A to point B at one point during the campaign."

"And later on, he wanted to be helpful in a campaign context."

Said the official: "I am positive we won't be talking about Fields in three months or six weeks."

A spokesman for Mr. Spitzer said yesterday the administration is not inclined to favor Excelsior but is left with few options because the other two companies bidding for the franchise have indicated they are not interested in a partnership with the racing association.

This month, the administration decided that rather than prolonging a legal battle with the New York Racing Association over land claims — the association has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to block the transfer of the franchise, claiming it owns the land on which the tracks sit — it would seek to allow NYRA to continue operating the tracks under a new leadership, with a separate private entity in charge of video gambling at Aqueduct and possibly Belmont.

The Assembly and the Senate, which have the power to approve the awarding of the franchise, are considering the arrangement.

"We are not pushing anybody."

"Obviously, we would have preferred that there would be other bidders," the spokesman, Darren Dopp, said.

"At this point, there doesn't appear to be other bidders interested in this particular arrangement."

Excelsior's strong standing has provoked outcry from one of its competitors, Empire Racing Associates, which is alleging that the for-profit venture colluded with the New York Racing Association to split up operations in an arrangement that would give the association control over racing and one of the bidders control over gaming.

NYRA, a nonprofit entity, has held the franchise to operate Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, and Aqueduct since 1955, losing millions of dollars and facing charges of financial mismanagement.

The franchise is set to expire on December 31.

A spokeswoman for Excelsior, Katie Burke, denied the charges, saying, "The allegations of collusion are unequivocally and patently false."

"The meetings with NYRA never transpired nor did the conversations they allege."

Empire is denying that it is not interested in a partnership with the association.

"We are interested in any scenario that protects the interest of New York's horsemen," said David Vermillion, a spokesman for Empire, which is backed by major players in the national horse racing industry.

Mr. Fields's assistance to the Spitzer campaign emerged as a campaign issue in August when campaign records showed that the then attorney general received discounted trips on a private jet belonging to Mr. Fields that shuttled the candidate to fund-raising stops in Arizona and Ohio.

Following federal standards, Mr. Spitzer reimbursed Mr. Fields at a first-class commercial rate that was significantly less expensive than private air transportation.

The state lobbying commission launched an investigation into Mr. Fields to determine if the trips violated lobbying rules.

Soon after, Mr. Spitzer, who was never accused of any legal wrongdoing, announced that going forward he would pay for the full cost of such flights.

In January, it emerged that Mr. Spitzer and his wife also flew on private jets belonging to Mr. Fields to attend a July fund-raiser hosted by the developer in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Mr. Spitzer's January 15 campaign filings showed that the campaign returned more than $100,000 to Mr. Fields to cover expenses that exceeded the maximum amount that each of his companies was allowed to contribute.

http://www.nysun.com/article/56687?page_no=1

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And on another note, Mr. Ravi Batra, related to these newly-minted law school graduates here in NYS getting $160,000 a year to start out as lawyers in NYS, which then allegedly necessitates boosting the salaries of sitting judges in NYS so as to be able to buy their alleged continued independence from something, anyway ....

I note in my studies and researches that in the time of your hero, Cicero, in the days of the Roman Republic that it was unlawful or illegal for Cicero or other lawyers or advocates in that time to charge a fee to the person that they were representing in court for that representation ....

In our own time, with these law school graduates getting $160,000 before they have done a single thing on behalf of anyone, we as a society have obviously gotten quite far away from this Roman practice, where the amount of justice that one received was not supposed to be tied to the amount of justice that one could afford to buy, as is the case here in NYS today, or at least that is the perception ...

Which leads me to believe that rather than asking how much these judges should be getting on a yearly basis as their salaries, we should be asking why these young lawyers just out of law school are worth a thin dime, let alone $160,000, before they have proven their worth to society as a whole, and not just the segments of it that can afford to buy the justice not available to those without the similar resources to buy it for ourselves ....

What we need to do here in NYS is to go back to the principles in place in the time of Cicero and once again make it illegal for lawyers to charge a fee for representing people in court, and then what we need is a set of laws calling for mandatory jail time for lawyers who suborn perjury in the prosecution of innocent people, as well as mandatory jail time for lawyers who conceal evidence and who bring on false and malicious prosecutions to harass and intimidate citizens here in NYS who are fighting to root out corruption in our government here in NYS ....

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | June 17, 2007 8:26 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...nd_ends_41.html

"N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor"

By AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer

16 June 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. - District Attorney Mike Nifong will be disbarred for his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, a disciplinary committee decided Saturday.

Even the veteran prosecutor said the punishment was appropriate.

"This matter has been a fiasco."

"There's no doubt about it," said committee chairman F. Lane Williamson.

Nifong sat motionless, one hand resting over his mouth, as Williamson recounted how he engaged in dishonest and deceitful conduct.

He said Nifong's early comments about the case — which included a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl" — were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.

"At the time he was facing a primary, and yes, he was politically naive," Williamson said.

"But we can draw no other conclusion that those initial statements he made were to further his political ambitions."

Nifong will not appeal the punishment, his lawyer said.

"He hopes this helps restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system of North Carolina," said attorney David Freedman.

"On one hand, it's very devastating."

"On the other hand, he's been going through this process for a long time, so you always have some semblance of relief when the process is over with regardless of the outcome."

The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

The committee, after deliberating for a little more than an hour on Saturday, unanimously agreed with the bar on almost every charge — including the most serious allegations — that Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation."

State Bar prosecutor Douglas Brocker told the committee that as Nifong investigated the allegations that a stripper was raped and beaten at a March 2006 party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team, he charged "forward toward condemnation and injustice," weaving a "web of deception that has continued up through this hearing."

"Mr. Nifong did not act as a minister of justice, but as a minister of injustice," Brocker said.

The verdicts and the punishment did not appear to surprise Nifong, who acknowledged during sometimes tearful testimony Friday that he would likely be punished for getting "carried away a little bit" when talking about the case.

During Saturday's closing arguments, Williamson repeatedly interrupted Nifong's attorney, Dudley Witt, as he discussed the DNA testing.

Williamson questioned why it took several months for the defense to get DNA test results that found genetic material from several men in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player.

"It wasn't just one little oversight," Williamson said later.

"This was conduct over an extended period in a very high-profile case."

Aware of those test results, Nifong pressed ahead with the case anyway and won indictments against Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.

State prosecutors later concluded the three players were "innocent" victims of a rogue prosecutor's "tragic rush to accuse."

Nifong made "multiple, egregious mistakes" as he pursued the charges, but not intentionally, his attorney said in closing statements.

"It didn't click," Witt said as he tried to explain one of his client's errors.

"His mind is just his mind."

"That's the way it works."

"It just didn't click."

Brocker said Nifong had to have known he was making improper comments to reporters.

Nifong said he regretted some of his statements, including a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl."

He also focused on when Nifong learned about the full extent of the DNA test results and when he shared that information with the defense.

Nifong gave defense attorneys an initial report on the DNA testing in May 2006 that said private lab DNA Security Inc. had been unable to find a conclusive match between the accuser and any lacrosse players.

But lab director Brian Meehan testified this week that he told Nifong as early as April 10, 2006 — a week before Seligmann and Finnerty were indicted — about the more detailed test results.

Nifong testified that when he gave the defense the initial report, he "believed at the time that I had given them everything."

The disciplinary hearing committee had the choice of suspending Nifong's law license or taking it away entirely.

Nifong told the panel hearing the case Friday that he would resign from his post as Durham County district attorney over his handling of the rape charges.

The players' attorneys have pledged to seek criminal contempt charges next week in Durham.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Mark, from my perspective as an older upstate NYS citizen, that business in the state of North Carolina in connection with the disbarment of District Attorney Mike Nifong for his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape really serves to demonstrate the disparity in legal ethics between the state of North Carolina and New York State, where in the article "N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor" by AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer, 16 June 2007, Nifong's attorney, David Freedman, stated with respect to Nifong that:

"He hopes this helps restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system of North Carolina" ...

Up here, in "IRON DUKE" Joe Bruno's personal fiefdom of Rensselaer County in upstate NYS, the Democrats, Eliot Spitzer's people, are running for Rensselaer County District Attorney a political lawyer who openly and blatantly covered up a politically-connected hit-and-run assault on an engineer up here who was attempting to prosecute Joe Bruno on misdemeanor charges of alleged wilfull violations of the NYS Public Health Law in connection with Joe Bruno's subdivision in Brunswick, N.Y. across the Hudson River from Albany, by prosecuting the victim of the hit-and-run based on suppressed evidence and suborned perjury ....

In North Carolina, that same conduct just cost Nifong his job as district attorney, and it got him disbarred, to boot ....

Whereas here in NYS, that same type of conduct is what gets you certified as "politically-reliable", and it earns you a shot at being the district attorney ...

And you don't have to fear being disbarred ....

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | June 17, 2007 5:01 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._41.html?page=2

"Prosecutor charged with DWI"

By RYAN HUTCHINS, Special to the Times Union

Last updated: 2:37 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2007

ALBANY -- An Albany County assistant district attorney assigned to city court was charged early Saturday morning with drunk driving, police said.

Joseph Meany was arrested after a neighbor called police around 3:15 a.m. and said the prosecutor had crashed into two parked cars on the way to his Eliot Avenue home, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Detective James Miller.

"When they interviewed him he was slurring speech, glassy eyed and they detected the odor of alcohol on him,'' Miller said Sunday.

Meany refused a field sobriety test and was also charged for that, Miller said.

He took one several hours later and allegedly recorded a blood-alcohol content of .24 percent, three times the legal limit.

"It was definitely an unfortunate situation,'' District Attorney David Soares said in a statement read by spokeswoman Heather Orth.

"Joe is a valuable prosecutor.''

The Albany DA's office will not be prosecuting the case, Orth said.

They will apply for a special prosecutor first thing Monday morning.

Meany has no prior drunk driving arrests and is charged with misdemeanor DWI.

He was released from custody after an arraignment Saturday morning.

"Lawmakers push to divest NY from companies with terror ties"

Associated Press

Last updated: 2:03 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2007

NEW YORK -- State Sen. Jeff Klein called Sunday for New York state to divest its pension funds from companies that do business with the nations on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist nations: Syria, Iran, Sudan and North Korea.

"Do we really want our dollars going to our enemies?" said Klein, a Democrat who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester.

"Clearly it seems strange that New York state is sending young men and women overseas, however we're not yet tapping our most important weapon, our pension fund."

Joined by other lawmakers at a news conference in front of the United Nations, Klein released a report that found that New York's public employee pension fund has about $12 billion invested in 235 companies that have direct dealings with the four nations.

Those companies include Chevron Corp., Coca-Cola and Royal Dutch Shell.

"As citizens of New York we can show that we are still as united against terrorism as strongly as we were on September 11th, but New York's future cannot be in conflict with the crusade for moral righteousness that this country faces on a daily basis," Klein said.

A growing number of states have passed or are considering legislation to pull their investments out of companies that conduct business with the four nations on the State Departmet list.

Misssouri led the way last year when it became the first state to order its employee pension funds to dump shares of companies that deal with those four countries.

At least six states -- California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey and Oregon -- have begun to divest public pension funds from Sudan, where the government and its militia allies are accused of pursuing a genocide campaign in the Darfur region.

Last week, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said he would pursue possible divestment of funds from Sudan, saying, "The genocide in Darfur is a challenge to our collective capacity to do good."

Klein said he has introduced legislation, The New York Terror Free Investment Act of 2007, that would require the state comptroller to to divest from and refrain from any further public pension fund investments in the four nations on the terror list.

"New York State has the second largest pension fund in the United States after California," he said.

"If the big pension funds get together and pass these laws there's a tremendous amount of leverage."

State Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat, said, "By diverting our investments from countries that sponsor terrorist organizations, we are not only securing the future of New York's investment portfolio, we are making the world safer from terror."

"New York should lead the march toward fiscal and moral responsibility."

Klein's report was compiled with the assistance of Conflict Securities Advisory Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based research and consulting firm.

Divestment as a means for political change was used successfully against South Africa's apartheid government during the 1980s.

"Bruno backing daughter's employer"

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, June 18, 2007

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's push to keep Bellevue Woman's Hospital open has a personal subtext: his daughter, Katie Bruno Hynes, works at the Niskayuna institution.

The eating disorders program she works for was funded under a Bruno initiative about two years ago.

Bruno Hynes, the mother of Rachel Bruno, a 21-year-old whose anorexia made headlines when she went missing last summer, makes $15 per hour as a part-time counselor, said Bellevue President Anne Saile.

Bruno's daughter began working at Bellevue last fall after her daughter was found.

Saile said Bruno Hynes was hired for her skills, not because of her father.

The $30,000 the senator directed to the hospital doesn't pay his daughter's compensation, which comes from different funding, Saile said.

Saile said Bruno's daughter, one of four outreach coordinators, helps set up support group meetings and serves on an advisory board.

"I reached out to her because Kate has life experience that none of our outreach coordinators have," Saile said.

"I thought it was important to have someone with her perspective join our team."

On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill to exempt Bellevue from the list of hospitals slated to be closed under the Berger Commission plan to consolidate New York's health care system.

It was the only bill among several dealing with preserving hospitals that made it to the Senate floor for a vote.

Some GOP majority officials were curious that Bruno had gone to bat for Bellevue when bigger hospitals are destined to be closed and tampering with the closing plan risks $1.5 billion in federal funds.

Asked if Bruno's daughter's employment is a factor in the senator's support of Bellevue, Bruno spokesman Mark Hansen said the Brunswick Republican has determined the hospital provides "unique and critically important health care services ... to women throughout the Capital Region" and enjoys strong community support.

Bruno himself picked up an award last Friday from the New York State Comprehensive Care Centers for Eating Disorders, a group of institutions, including Bellevue, that received a total of $1.5 million because of Bruno.

Tax rebate touted Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Democratic Assemblyman Bob Reilly of Colonie will push this week for a "home rule" message allowing Clifton Park residents to receive $150-per-household checks.

Both have both offered legislation to allow the rebate, totaling $2.25 million, which would come from surplus money in the town.

Clifton Park in past years has been criticized by the state comptroller for having too much cash on hand.

The rebate, believed to be the first of its kind statewide, faces legal and technical questions since it represents essentially a redistribution of income.

Much of Clifton Park's money comes from county sales tax receipts, but those revenues come from all over the county.

The Town Board may vote tonight on the rebate, said Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett.

Contributors: Capitol bureau reporters James M. Odato and Rick Karlin. Got a tip? Call 454-5424 or e-mail jjochnowitz@timesunion.com.

"Parole officers inquiry target - Some subpoenas for personal phone and e-mail records were issued after reports of allegations that managers imposed a policy which left violent parolees free"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, June 18, 2007

ALBANY -- The state Division of Parole used governmental subpoenas to sift through the private telephone and e-mail accounts of an unknown number of parole officers on more than two dozen occasions over the past several years, according to documents released to the Times Union under the Freedom of Information Act.

The subpoenas were issued under laws that give state agencies broad authority in examining the job performance of employees.

But it's not clear that the state workers were ever told their private records had been subpoenaed, nor is it known whether the information gleaned from the documents resulted in any disciplinary action.

It's unclear why state officials needed access to the private telephone records of parole officers and-or their spouses and acquaintances, whose records also may have been subpoenaed, according to a former internal affairs officer.

The information sought included detailed telephone records, the identities of people using certain Internet screen names and information on private e-mail accounts.

Some of the subpoenas were issued in 2005 and 2006, following a report in the Times Union exposing allegations that dangerous parolees were being set free and going on to commit crimes such as murder, rape and assault.

The report was based, in part, on an internal document that raised questions about whether there was an informal policy to limit the arrests of parole violators.

Parole officers privately accused the Pataki administration of trying to curtail the rearrest of parole violators to reduce the number of people being returned to jail and prison.

Administration officials said the allegations were unfounded.

Officials under Gov. Eliot Spitzer, including new parole Chairman George Alexander, said no subpoenas were used to try to identify agency sources who might have provided information to the newspaper.

The leak investigation included instances of parole officers being whisked into unmarked sedans and brought to headquarters to be interrogated, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Manuelita Clemente, an outspoken Manhattan-based parole officer and union leader, said her telephone company refused to disclose whether her records had been subpoenaed, and many other officers also have been left wondering if their information was targeted, and why.

Telephone and Internet service companies routinely decline to inform customers, even upon request, that their records have been subpoenaed.

The companies, which usually turn over the records without question to government agencies, invoke their secretive policies even though they are not prohibited from telling a customer their records have been turned over.

The subpoenas were signed by top officials, including former chairman Robert Dennison.

Many were issued during a period of unrest at the agency, under former Director Anthony G. Ellis.

Ellis, a colonel for State Police internal affairs, had been appointed to the parole job by then-Gov. George Pataki.

During his tenure, internal investigations increased dramatically and rank-and-file employees accused administrators of using strong-arm tactics to monitor workers' activities, including during off-duty hours.

Copies of the subpoenas were released to the Times Union only after the newspaper appealed the agency's initial decision to deny access to the records.

But before being turned over, the subpoenas were heavily redacted.

Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government, said the agency went too far.

Terrence X. Tracy, the Division of Parole's chief counsel, removed the names of all telephone or Internet service companies that received the subpoenas, as well as government agencies, including Nassau County, which was subpoenaed last year for the personnel records of five parole officers who worked part-time jobs as child protective caseworkers.

"It seems clear the disclosure of the recipient in no way identifies the parole officer who might have been the subject of an investigation," Freeman said.

"The provision in the Freedom of Information Law that deals with personal privacy does not extend to corporate or government entities."

Parole officials declined last week to explain why they needed access to a parole officer's personal telephone or Internet accounts.

"We stand by our position that there may be circumstances that require the use of such subpoenas and we believe that we have the statutory authority to issue them," said Mark Johnson, an agency spokesman.

He added: "The division is currently putting together a policy concerning the issuance of subpoenas for personnel matters."

"We will share that policy with you when it is completed."

A former Division of Parole internal affairs officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of strict rules that prohibit employees from speaking to the media, said last week that parole officials may have crossed a line.

The officer said parole officials are not empowered to conduct criminal investigations that do not involve parolees.

"There is no occasion where they would have to access an outside (computer) server for anything that had to do with employment purposes, unless they were suspected of criminal activity," the former internal affairs officer said.

"There is no employment reason for it, and if it's a criminal investigation it should be turned over to a law enforcement agency."

Under state law, parole officers are considered peace officers and do not have the same investigative powers as police officers.

The Division of Parole, like certain other state agencies, already has the ability to keep tight tabs on the telephone calls and Internet activity of parole officers who are using state equipment.

The former internal affairs officer said parole's Albany headquarters -- called Central Office -- once had two computer screens set up so that internal investigators could monitor the online activity of parole officers in real time.

"For private e-mails, though, they're just snooping," the source said.

"I can't think of a single reason that they would have to access an officer's home server."

State laws that empowered agencies to subpoena documents, records and testimony of witnesses as part of personnel investigations predate the advent of the Internet.

In some states, and federally, lawmakers have sought to curtail abuses of authority by enacting privacy laws that limit the type of information that can be obtained by government agencies.

For now, though, the Division of Parole may not have overstepped its authority.

"The provisions are stated so broadly that as long as the information is pertinent in the most general way to a legitimate investigation of the agency or other official body, it seems to be covered by the statute," said Vincent Bonventre, an Albany Law School professor.

"There are other privacy concerns because of cellphones and e-mails that were just not addressed when these statutes were originally (enacted)," Bonventre continued.

"I think it's reasonable to expect that if you work for the government you give up some privacy, but I think some people would be surprised the extent to which they've surrendered their right to privacy when they work for the government."

J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

Internal inquiry

Internal investigative subpoenas by state Division of Parole 2002-06:

Internet: 10

Telephone: 15

Employment records: 6

Arrest reports: 2

Sign-in books at detention facilities: 2

Real estate transactions: 1

Source: NYS Division of Parole

"Soares fires prosecutor charged with DWI"

By CAROLE DEMARE, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 1:32 p.m., Monday, June 18, 2007

ALBANY -- District Attorney David Soares fired today the prosecutor who was arrested for drunken driving over the weekend.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Meany was charged early Saturday after he crashed into two parked cars on the way to his Eliot Avenue home.

Meany was assigned to Albany City Court where he handled misdemeanor cases.

"As the District Attorney, I cannot in good faith allow a person who took an oath to enforce the law, to knowingly break the law and then continue prosecuting people for the same crime,'' Soares said in a statement.

"Mr. Meany was a valuable member of this office but unfortunately, he will no longer be working as a prosecutor in Albany County,'' the DA said.

"I have recused my office from prosecuting Mr. Meany."

"As with any citizen who abuses drugs or alcohol, I hope he receives the treatment he obviously needs and I wish him well in all his future endeavors.''

Meany refused to take a field sobriety test, police spokesman Detective James Miller said.

Hours later, at the station, he took one and allegedly recorded a blood-alcohol content of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit.

RE: U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby mightily agitated by leaks concerning the federal investigation of Republican NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph "BIG JOE" Bruno ...

http://www.wten.com/global/video/popup/pop...mp;rnd=52308452

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION LOCAL POLITICS BLOG:

"WFP party names its picks"

June 15, 2007 at 3:09 pm by Tim O'Brien, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

The Working Families Party is endorsing candidates in dozens of local races.

They are especially highlighting their support for Democrat Mike Manning in the race for mayor of Watervliet and Democrat Ken Zalewski in his bid for the District 5 seat on the Troy City Council.

Interestingly, the WFP — which often (more than often really, closer to usually or almost always) backs Democratic candidates - also endorsed incumbent Marjorie DerGurahian for an at-large seat on the Troy council.

DerGurahian, a past council president who has fallen out with the GOP, was discussed as a possible Democratic candidate but was not endorsed by that party.

The WFP endorsed two of the three Democratic candidates running at-large but substituted DerGurahian for Wayne Foy, another former Republican.

Comments

It’s interesting to note that the WFP endorsed Rensselaer County DA candidate Richard McNally over Greg Cholakis ….

By endorsing McNally, of course, the WFP has endorsed McNally’s prior conduct as an assistant Rensselaer County District Attorney ….

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=193#comments

Which puts the integrity quotient of the WFP right on down to the bottom of the barrel ….

And takes away any credibility that that party might have had with respect to restoring integrity to government in Rensselaer County …

And so ….

Comment by John Galt — June 18, 2007 @ 4:33 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=345#comments

"No shuffle to Buffalo for upstate czar - Saratoga Springs is home of governor's nominee, as Senate GOP questions help for ailing areas"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, June 19, 2007

One state senator criticized him for living in the relatively prosperous city of Saratoga Springs rather than down-at-the-heels Buffalo.

Another complained he hadn't returned her calls.

Still another gave him a pop quiz, asking if he could name Long Island's largest pharmaceutical company.

Daniel Gundersen, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's choice for upstate economic czar, didn't know that answer (OSI Pharmaceuticals), and he endured a morning of complaints Monday and tough questioning by Senate Republicans.

But he also showed he can dish out the criticism.

Gundersen told senators who will likely vote on his confirmation later this week that New York lags in attracting new businesses.

"New York is behind the curve when it comes to economic development."

"Let's realize that."

"Let's move forward," he said.

And when one of Gundersen's main questioners, Sen. John Flanagan, R-Northport, pointed out that the Department of Economic Development is controlled by a public corporation rather than the Legislature, Gundersen reminded him that also was the case under former Gov. George Pataki.

"This is the way, senator, that it's been structured now for a very long time," he said.

Gundersen, who comes to New York after running economic development efforts in Pennsylvania, has been nominated by the Democratic governor as co-chairman of the department, better known as Empire State Development Corp.

There was little indication he wouldn't be confirmed for the $160,000-a-year job by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Also expected to be confirmed is Patrick Foye, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer and former United Way executive, as co-chairman, focusing on downstate.

Still, the hearings gave Republicans an opportunity to take issue with Spitzer's economic development plans.

Sen. Dean Skelos of Long Island asked whether his region was being taken for granted, while James Alesi, of East Rochester, expressed dismay at Gundersen's Saratoga County choice of residence.

"When we were promised an economic czar for upstate, we were told he would be in Buffalo," said Alesi, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.

Flanagan said the Department of Economic Development is "not even listed on the state Web site as a state agency."

"We need to be able to figure out who do we go to, who do we thank and who do we blame?" he said.

Gundersen replied that he and Foye will be held accountable, adding that until now, "there has been no scorecard for the agency."

Empire State Development Corp. spokesman Errol Cockfield Jr. said Gundersen has temporary housing in Buffalo, and that since Albany is the state capital, he needs to be close to it.

"He spends a considerable amount of time in both places," Cockfield said, adding Gundersen is logging about 1,000 miles per week traveling upstate.

Monday's hearing came as upstate Republicans, led by Sen. Majority Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, have been tussling with Spitzer over capital funds for economic development.

Spitzer is proposing $300 million for the Sematech nanotechnology computer chip research program in Albany and another $300 million for Empire State Development Corp.

Bruno says he wants $300 million for projects his members want funded.

Gundersen had his supporters in the Senate, even from the Buffalo area.

"It would have been nice to have him in Buffalo or Niagara Falls but Saratoga is considered upstate," said Sen. Antoine Thompson, D-Buffalo.

Thompson said he believed Gundersen will take a more holistic approach to economic development than Empire State Development has in the past.

The agency has been run by Pataki appointee and fund-raiser Charles Gargano.

"It's been project-based as opposed to having a specific strategy," he said.

Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.

Gannett News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"The incredible shrinking gov - Spitzer is drifting away from bold reforms we need"

Tuesday, June 19th 2007, 4:00 AM

So this is the way Gov. Spitzer's first legislative session ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

The guy who barreled into office vowing to change everything is reduced to dickering with the Legislature over video game violence and the fat content of school snacks.

These worthy but small-bore initiatives are a far cry from the sweeping reforms that Spitzer promised to bring to Albany.

"Mark my words," he famously pledged to the Democratic convention last summer.

"We will change the way the state does business, and it will start on day one."

He repeated that sentiment in his State of the State speech in January.

"Our first objective is to reform our government - not merely for the sake of reform, but because if our state is to prosper again, we need a government that is a catalyst for change instead of an impediment."

Almost as soon as those words left his lips, however, Spitzer fell into one of Albany's worst habits: engaging in secret negotiations with legislative leaders and selected interest groups.

As a result, state government still does business pretty much the same way as ever - behind closed doors - and that's ultimately why Spitzer's reform agenda stalled.

Impatient to get things done, Spitzer chose to focus on getting results fast rather than slogging through a balky democratic process.

He figured he could save a lot of time and energy by haggling with two leaders - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno - instead of all 212 members of the Legislature.

This time-dishonored system produced quick agreements on some fronts.

After huddling behind closed doors with business leaders and labor unions, for example, Spitzer won a deal that promises to cut the cost of workers' compensation insurance even as it improves weekly benefits for injured workers.

He reached a similar accord with Silver and Bruno on confining certain sexual predators in psychiatric centers after they leave prison.

But secret talks proved costly in the state budget.

While Spitzer declared victory because he overhauled funding for schools and won key cost controls in Medicaid, overall spending mushroomed at several times the rate of inflation.

And when it came to fixing government itself, closed-door talks with Silver and Bruno were exactly the wrong way to go.

Even though he won with a 70% mandate, Spitzer is outnumbered two to one whenever the three men go into their room.

Thus, an ethics law negotiated by the Big Three disappointed good government groups because it still allows the Legislature to police its own members, a recipe for inaction.

And the so-called "budget reforms" they agreed to were so weak that the Legislature violated the law almost as soon as the ink dried.

The Assembly and Senate were supposed to give their members written summaries of the final spending plan before putting it to a vote, and that didn't happen.

Meanwhile, a far more important item on the fix-Albany to-do list - limiting excessive campaign donations - seems to be going nowhere.

Spitzer wants reform.

So does the public.

But Silver won't give up money from labor PACs and Bruno won't close a loophole that brings him big bucks from business interests.

Spitzer is dangling a pay raise for the Legislature in hopes of changing lawmakers' minds in the last three days of the session - exactly the kind of sleazy deal that you'd expect from Albany.

Spitzer should get out of that back room - and go back to the people who elected him in the first place.

whammond@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/0...inking_gov.html