Cuomo watch: Rough road for toll hike

The state Thruway Authority rattled political cages last week when it unexpectedly announced it was considering a 45 percent toll hike on commercial trucks.

Technically, the authority is independent, but Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo appoints its members and has installed as chairman billionaire Howard Milstein. That has legislators, such as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), saying they expect the governor to get involved and help the authority "find a better way" by reducing the amount, like when Cuomo scaled down a hike in bridge tolls proposed by the Port Authority.

Still, some increase looks likely, given what Milstein describes as the authority's nearly $1 billion debt and Cuomo's infrastructure plans, which include rebuilding the Tappan Zee Bridge. -- Yancey Roy