Republican senators and their two new Democratic allies waded through a crowd of protesters today to convene a session of the Senate – only to find the bills they planned to act on locked up in a desk. They quickly adjourned until Monday. The locked-desk ploy by Democrats – and the continued [...]

Democrats and Republicans were battling in state Supreme Court this morning over whether a new Senate majority could take control of the chamber.

Republicans claimed that Democrats are creating chaos by not allowing the new majority to hold a session.

Democrats were seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the new majority from taking over, saying Republicans and [...]

The new coalition that hopes to rule the state Senate didn’t win any friends with the media today.

As scores of reporters, photographers and other media types milled around outside the Republicans’ office waiting to be allowed into a press conference early this afternoon, they were told instead to gather outside the Senate chambers – about [...]

Sen. Tom Libous, R-Binghamton, not only has Democrats to worry about as he helps to lead what he hopes will be a successful return of power to Republicans in the Senate, he also is suffering from a herniated disc.
“I’m in pain,’’ Libous said today. “I’m using a cane.’‘
He spent the morning at Albany [...]

Counties could be forced to raise property taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars if Democrats follow through on their plans to not allow the Senate to reconvene any time soon, county leaders said today. That’s because bills needed to extend sales-tax laws in 47 counties beyond this November have yet to be [...]

The Senate today is going to pass a resolution determining how $85 million in discretionary money – known as member-item spending or pork barrel – is to be spent.

As in past years, members of the majority party are to get most of it – about $77 million, with the minority getting the crumbs, amounting to [...]

Seeking to get attention off the state’s current economic woes and onto hopes for the future, Gov. David Paterson today announced plans to devote more taxpayer money to high-tech research targeted largely to energy and health care. In what was billed as the first stop on a statewide tour touting economic-development initiatives, Paterson [...]

The move by President Obama to name North  Country Republican  Congressman John McHugh as secretary of the Army at first blush looks like a shrewd political move since it gives Democrats  a chance to capture his seat in a special election, giving them all but two of the state’s 29 House members.

But there was buzz [...]

The Assembly today failed to take up a bill that would mandate overtime pay for farm workers – a proposal bitterly opposed by farmers who say it would add $200 million in costs to the struggling industry.  The bill was on a list of bills the Assembly had planned to take up.

Assembly Agriculture Committee Chairman [...]

Hold on, Idaho, you haven’t passed New York yet.

The Empire State held onto its position as the nation’s third-largest producer of milk last year, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.

New York cows produced 12.432 billion pounds of milk last year, just ahead of Idaho’s 12.315 billion and far behind California (41.2 billion) [...]