Spin Cycle
News, views and commentary on Long Island, state and national politics
Top court: Nassau Co. must pay MTA $26M after long-running lawsuit
Photo credit: Faye Murman
ALBANY -- New York's top court dismissed a Nassau County lawsuit Thursday against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, leaving the county on the hook for almost $26 million and sparking a war of words between two county executive candidates.
It's a tangled case that began in the Gulotta era of Nassau government and involved the fiscally strapped county getting a quick cash infusion --...
Read more »Nassau College faculty union backs Suozzi with a nod to Wink
Nassau Community College's full-time faculty union endorsed Tom Suozzi for county executive this week, becoming the first academic union to give the Democrat public support, union leaders said.
"We are confident that Tom Suozzi can, and will, lead this County to a brighter financial future while also placing a value on public sector employees," said Debra DeSanto, president of the...
Read more »Mangano touts record at GOP luncheon
County Executive Edward Mangano extolled his administration, especially its superstorm Sandy related-activity, at a luncheon of the Nassau County Federation of Republican Women in Williston Park on Wednesday.
“My administration has held the line on property taxes for three consecutive years while being faced with $100 million dollar increases in Medicaid and pension costs,” he said. “Our success...
Read more »Weitzman to Maragos: Release '12 fiscal results
Photo credit: Newsday, 2008 / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Former Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman is calling on Comptroller George Maragos to publicly release Nassau County's 2012 year-end fiscal results, a process traditionally done in February or early March.
Weitzman, a Democrat who is running to recapture the job he lost almost four years ago, said in a Tuesday news release that those results are used by bond rating agencies to evaluate...
Read more »Cuomo: We'll move 'very aggressively' to replace LIPA
Photo credit: News 12 Long Island
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Wednesday he would “aggressively” move to give a New Jersey utility nearly complete control of Long Island’s electric grid, intending to have some major pieces in place by the end of June.
Long Island lawmakers briefed on the governor’s plan said they generally support the idea, although one said the "very, very tight timetable" is a concern. They also are...
Read more »NY Ethics board threatens to release Lopez report
The state ethics panel declared Tuesday it would release its sexual-harassment allegations report involving Assemb. Vito Lopez in mid-May if lawmakers fail to release it themselves.
But the warning clashes with legislators’ promise to withhold the report until a special prosecutor determines whether criminal charges should be filed against the once-powerful Brooklyn politician.
The state...
Read more »Cuomo inks book deal after downplaying aspirations
Photo credit: Getty Images
A major publisher announced Tuesday it has signed Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to a book deal, just hours after he tried to downplay his presidential prospects.
HarperCollins said Cuomo’s book would be a “full and frank look at his public and private life” and “profound moments” of his term in office. It is slated to be published in 2014; terms weren’t disclosed.
“He will reveal the story of...
Read more »Islip GOP backs Musumeci over Greene
Islip Republicans have passed over former town board member Pamela Greene and instead named Anthony Musumeci to run for the open Eighth District legislative seat against the son of exiting Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook).
“Obviously, it was a difficult decision. Both screened fabulously,” said Frank Tantone, Islip Republican chairman. “But it was decided to go with the younger...
Read more »Cuomo court pick to go before Senate panel Tuesday
The state Senate will grill Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s nominee for New York’s top court on Tuesday.
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 61, of Manhattan, who is currently a justice on the mid-level Appellate Division bench, will be reviewed by the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee.
Abdus-Salaam would become the first African-American female to serve on the New York Court of Appeals. She would...
Read more »Bill backing statehood study fails in Suffolk Legislature
A measure backing a state bill for a study on making Long Island a state failed last week in the Suffolk County Legislature.
The home rule message was for a bill introduced by state Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) to create a commission to study the feasibility of creating a state of Long Island, and to authorize a nonbinding referendum on statehood in Nassau and Suffolk in November...
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