Weeks after state university officials warned about looming deficits, state legislators and construction unions are pushing to make SUNY’s financial picture worse. Read More
Latest Work
Upstate electricity customers today got what seemed like good news when Equinor pulled the plug on its Empire Wind 2 (EW2) offshore wind project, one of several being funded by New York customers as far away as Buffalo and Plattsburgh. The announcement however is mainly theater, because Equinor looks poised to squeeze even more money from ratepayers—in a manner that should have state lawmakers deeply concerned about how little control they’ve retained over state renewable energy spending. Read More
Governor Hochul will soon sign or veto a bill designed to gut the ability of school superintendents, mayors and other local officials to discipline public employees. Read More
Most school board members in New York's largest school districts were elected with teachers' union support and many are themselves teachers' union members. Read More
School districts have used more than 400 special meetings—votes held outside the regular May and November election days—since 2011 to approve nearly $9 billion in spending, including about $2 billion last year. Read More
Governor Kathy Hochul this week made around one of the state’s messiest bureaucracies when she took steps to allow bars to serve fans on Sunday morning as they watch their Bills play five time zones ahead in London. But Read More
Plans to lure a Canadian battery company to the Hudson Valley with a slew of government incentives, including job-creation tax credits, loans, and federal subsidies, appear to be a dud. It’s a reminder that when it comes to picking winners in the energy-storage space, taxpayers are often losers. Read More
Governor Hochul’s administration this week urged agency heads to keep their budgets flat next year. It's the most serious acknowledgement yet of state government’s looming financial shortfall. Read More