A Wisconsin school official who backed Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining reforms in that state has been named superintendent of schools in Westchester County's Katonah Lewisboro School District, despite mass protests organized by local teachers' unions. Read More
Based on per-capita federal data, USA Today reports that "New Yorkers get more government aid per person from social programs than residents of any other state." The Empire State's Medicaid spending per-person alone is more than double the average, but we're also high in other categories of social assistance. Read More
The use of the term "stakeholder" to describe representatives of labor unions, businesses and advocacy groups with an obvious vested interest in the outcome state policy deliberations seems to have soared under Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has appointed... Read More
Some of the residents of New York's more than one million rent-stabilized apartments pay less than the legally allowed rent. How many? Nobody knows. The Rent Guidelines Board's most recent "income and expense study" found a gap of about 15 percent... Read More
You'll have to wait 'till tomorrow for today's promised data -- since today's New York Times has provided fodder for a diversion. The Times reports that the 2,820 households at the Penn South co-op building are doing some "soul-searching." Read More
Yesterday, The Torch looked at what your rent pays for. Today: How long do New York renters keep their apartments? Read More
New York's infrastructure is shot, and money is short. Nonetheless, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) is pursuing a contracting strategy that tends to increase highway and bridge construction costs, by linking bid awards to project-labor... Read More
The State Assembly has passed a souped-up bill to extend and expand rent regulations. Last week, The Torch presented some numbers on regulated renters' income. Today's short installment: What does the rent pay for? It costs $855 each month in operating costs... Read More
Have you filed your New York personal income taxes for 2010? If so, you've just been reminded once again of how complex and confusing our state tax code has become. Read More
New York State’s political campaign contribution limits automatically are "indexed" to rise with inflation in the years following general elections. But the state's personal income tax brackets, exemptions and standard deductions are not adjusted... Read More
Albany's rent wars are heating up, as E.J. wrote earlier this week. If rent regulation -- which caps annual price increases for half of New York City's rental housing -- is supposed to help the poor, it's not efficient at this job... Read More
We’ve been calling on the state Legislature to implement a policy of “proactive disclosure” of public information – and the Niskayuna Central School District has just helped bolster our case. Recently, a local taxpayer questioned the size of increases in administrative salaries. She based her analysis on... Read More