Spin Cycle

In the Dos Equis beer commercial, "the most interesting man in the world" signs off with the message: "Stay thirsty, my friends."

In state government, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the most interesting man in Albany, sends fellow elected officials the message: "Stay nervous, my friends."

A tension-laced meeting took place at the offices of the new Joint Commission...

Nassau County, facing a projected $45 million deficit, is to release its 2013 budget on Monday, Sept. 17.

The county charter typically requires the budget to be released by Sept. 15, but exceptions are made when that date falls on a weekend, said Brian Nevin, spokesman for County Executive Edward Mangano. This year, Sept. 15 falls on a Saturday.

County officials have said to expect a...

Lawyer Ravi Batra's resignation letter from the state's joint ethics commission merits note for, well, its uniqueness. Here it is, without commentary.

jcope...

The Suffolk comptroller’s office has begun withholding a $20,000 monthly check to homeless shelter provider Haven House/Bridges after an audit earlier this summer found the nonprofit owed the county $540,000.

Comptroller Joseph Sawicki said Suffolk began dunning the agency because its proposed repayment offer amounted to only $300,000 over three years.

Sawicki’s audit found that Haven...

A move to force the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics to hold part of its meeting Monday in public to clear the air about the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Assemb. Vito Lopez failed by an 8-5 vote.

Supporters said keeping the meeting open would “restore public integrity.” Opponents said it wasn’t permissible under the statute that created JCOPE -- all discussions...

Nassau Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt warned Monday that the county would shut West Shore Road if  safety is a concern, leading a Democratic legislator to complain that closing the waterfront roadway would isolate residents of Bayville and Mill Neck.

The exchange began when Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) asked about the status of a $9 million project for the first phase of reconstructing...

In the general election, the broader perception is that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has little to no interest in turning the state Senate back over to the Democrats -- in contrast to ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who came charging out of the gate declaring it a priority. Remember, from just the other day, it was Senate minority conference leader John Sampson who put the pesky (for gubernatorial optics) Ravi Batra...

The politics of who investigates politicians, when and for what becomes more complicated than the cases themselves.

For the first time in New York, appointees of the governor have a direct, immediate role in probing a major scandal in the State Legislature, a separate government branch. For this reason, the recently exposed sexual harassment charges against Assemb. Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn)...

Far from Long Island, a congressional race in northern New York is tilting toward the Democrats, according to a new poll released Monday.

In the district that represents most of the state’s North Country, Rep. Bill Owens (D-Plattsburgh) leads Republican Matt Doheny 49-36, according to the Siena College survey. The district had almost always been Republican until Owens won a special election...

Southampton town board member Bridget Fleming has earned the Long Island Progressive Coalition endorsement in Thursday’s Democratic primary for New York’s 1st State Senatorial district.

Fleming, 52, a former city prosecutor, will face off against Jennifer Maertz, 36, an insurance litigation attorney who ran for the same seat on the Democratic line in 2010. Maertz was ultimately defeated by...