“I want to ask the state ethics commissioner what the proper ruling is in this area,” Paterson said, according to a transcript provided by his office. “And we’ll abide by it.”

While Paterson said he wants to ask for a ruling, his aides later clarified that the commission did in fact reach out to this office last week to inquire about the free tickets.

The commission is investigating five free tickets that the governor received to attend Game 1 of the World Series. The New York Post reported Monday that Paterson solicited the tickets, and a spokesman gave several versions on how the tickets were obtained.

Paterson said today that the four other tickets—for two staff members, his son and a son’s friend—have been paid for, and that the only issue is whether his ticket should be free. Each ticket cost $425.

The governor’s counsel, Peter Kiernan, sent a letter to the Yankees the day of the game saying Paterson would be attending on official business.

“Everybody is not on official business, only the governor is and that’s why we only sent a letter about the governor,” Paterson said. “The issue is only about me.”

Asked whether he agreed to pay for tickets only after it was reported in the Post, Paterson said “We planned to pay for the tickets all along. We only asked the question about me. Everything else had to be paid for.”

State law prohibits state officials from accepting any gift above nominal value, which the Commission on Public Integrity equates to the cost of a cup of coffee.

A commission ruling last year says that gifts are banned, however offered some exceptions, such as complimentary attendance, food and beverage at a “widely attended event” related to the attendee’s “duties and responsibilities as a public official or state employee.”

But in a footnote, the commission stated that “attendance at events at which the activities are substantially recreational in nature shall not be considered to be for a public purpose or related to a state employee’s official duties.”

To comply with state lobbying laws, Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said the team requires public officials to pay face value for tickets to games. If an official claims they are there on public business, they are required to write a letter that states that.

Blair Horner, legislative director at the New York Public Interest Research Group, said it’s questionable whether Paterson was there on official business and if nothing else he should have gotten an opinion from the integrity commission before he accepted the tickets.

Horner said the Yankees are registered to lobby the state and that constitutes a clear conflict with Paterson accepting the free tickets.

“He shouldn’t have taken them,” Horner said. “He should have just paid out of his own pocket.”

Cuomo rejected state GOP chairman Ed Cox’s comments that she was in an “emotional state.”

“When I chatted with her she was very logical and sober and intelligent and reasoned,” he said on Fred Dicker’s radio show. “We had a personal conversation, but I talked to her about the situation, the circumstances. I talked to her about the Democratic candidate.”

Cuomo questioned whether the congressional race in northern New York has the national implications that many are saying.

“I think it’s going to be a close race. It’s an interesting race from New York’s point of view,” he said.
“All these national pundits who want to say, well, this is a national referendum on what President Obama has done, I think that’s a lot of baloney. This is a very particular situation, it’s a particular district, particular part of the state.”

But Cuomo said “I do think one of the factors is an anti-Albany anger that may be playing out. But I don’t believe it’s a referendum on President Obama.”

After the elections, Scozzafava’s role with her own Assembly minority conference is also in question.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, said this morning that he has spoken with about a dozen of his members in recent days and “obviously they are very disappointed in Dede’s endorsement of the Democratic candidate. Every person to a tee basically said our Washington representative doesn’t need to be another pawn of Nancy Pelosi in terms of what is going on from a national policy, in terms of tax and spend.”

He said, “Dede should have just stayed out of it, and she didn’t and now we’ve got to deal with it.”

Kolb said he would be meeting with Scozzafava, the conference’s minority whip which comes with a $16,500 stipend, after the elections.

“I told Dede that when this is all over we’d sit down and have some very frank and pointed discussions,” Kolb said. “And we’ll see where those discussions take us.”

But Democrats are again pushing their reform package, saying it could thwart future offenses. And they say it would be prevent the type of ethical misconduct that former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno is alleged of. His trial started Monday.

Here’s some of the examples they used this morning from the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn.

From their news release:

—New reporting requirements for consulting services: The indictment charges that Senator Bruno received millions in “consulting fees” from various clients.  The Squadron/Sampson package requires public officials to report annually the names of consulting clients, and include the value of compensation received and a description of the services provided. The current ethics law contains no such requirement for public officials;
—Increased transparency of public officials’ business dealings with lobbyists: requires both public officers and lobbyists to provide detailed reports of their business dealings, including retention and employment, to the relevant ethics commission, creating a real “belt and suspenders” approach to reporting that does not exist under current ethics laws;
—Increased financial disclosure: makes public categories of value (including value of outside income) and adds an additional category of value ($1,000,000 or over, up from $250,000 or over), making it much easier to ascertain if and when lawmakers are being enriched from outside employment;
—Independent investigations: creates an independent investigatory body, with subpoena power, within the legislature to fully investigate any questionable or suspicious business relationships.
—Random reviews of disclosure forms: creates a program of random reviews of annual statements of financial disclosure to ensure full and accurate reporting.

The forms are currently searchable by the lawmaker’s name and counties represented, as well as the occupation of themselves and their spouses.

Lawmakers each year after required to file out the forms, though the law is often criticized because legislators are able to delete how much they make in outside income and who they may have outside business dealings with.

They are required each May to file the reports for the prior calendar year, so the latest files are for 2008.

The New York Post reported today that Paterson sought free tickets to the Yankees home opener last week, which would violate the state’s gift ban for elected officials.

“On one hand it’s incomprehensible and the other hand it’s indefensible,” Horner said. “The Yankees are registered lobbyists. What were they (the Paterson administration) thinking?”

So will the Commission on Public Integrity investigate? They won’t say.

“An investigation is confidential until we issue a notice of reasonable cause,” said spokesman Walter Ayres. “And if we look at something, we’re required to keep that confidential.”

The embattled commission last week quietly dropped an investigation into whether Paterson improperly leaked information to the media about Caroline Kennedy after she withdrew from the U.S. Senate contest in January.

“She made the right decision in suspending her campaign, but in her conversation with me right after that, she was in an emotional state. She was sobbing,” Cox said.

“And she made an emotional decision under a lot of pressure from the White House and the person she considered who would be the next governor of New York, in her mind, Andrew Cuomo, and Speaker Silver, who guaranteed her a job in the Assembly.”

A Silver spokesman said no offer was made.

Cox said the state GOP will be stronger because of its experience in the race. He and other Republican leaders are now backing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

“We’re dealing with a very strong and growing political force that is reacting to the Democratic policies in Washington and in Albany,” Cox said. “We as a party will harness these forces all the way into next year and that will make a very strong force in New York state politics.”

Former state Democratic chairwoman June O’Neill, who has been coordinating the Democrats campaign in the district, blasted Republicans who once backed Scozzafava for criticizing her now.

“As a resident of the 23rd congressional district, I want to thank Dede Scozzafava for her extraordinary show of courage and doing the right thing, and standing up and saying we can’t turn this congressional district over to the radical right,” she said.

O’Neill said the national conservatives’ message won’t work in the closely knit district.

“The fact that these outsiders have come into our home with their hate-mongering tactics and their obnoxious behavior and their telling us everything they are against and not what they are for, I find it personally offensive,” she said.

Several Democrats, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, reached out to Scozzafava yesterday encouraging her to back Owens.

Silver told the Daily News yesterday that he told Scozzafava she has ”’a lot of friends’ on the Democratic side of the aisle and pledged to ‘do whatever I could do to limit the amount of damage [the Republicans] can do to her.””

Silver spokesman Dan Weiller said there was no deal offered.

“Speaker Silver called Dede Scozzafava to encourage her to endorse Owens for the congressional seat,” Weiller said.

But Long alleged that there was more at play, citing a Politico piece that Scozzafava met yesterday afternoon with Rep. Steve Israel, D-Nassau County, who is a leader with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

“It a matter of public record that the Scozzafava family company is in financial difficulty. All her public statements about her withdraw mentioned money problems. Nancy Pelosi is desperate to win this seat,” he said. “Can it be a mere coincidence that Dede demand a face-to-face meeting, then jumps? What did Nancy Pelosi’s errand boy offer in person that they couldn’t discuss over the phone?”

“I’m doing great. Looking forward to this day,” he said in the video posted by Kyle Hughes of nysnys.com. “I’ve been looking forward for a long time to this day. I’ve done nothing wrong, and over the next several weeks that’s going to be proven.”

Jury selection was underway this morning as Bruno seeks to fight back charges that he accepted more than $3 million from people who had business before the state in exchange for his influence.

The trial, which is viewed as having a potentially wide-ranging impact on Albany politics, is expected to last as long as six weeks.

In the race in the 23rd District in northern New York, the Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman—buoyed by the decision Saturday of the Republican candidate to drop out-- has a five-point lead over Democrat Bill Owens, a Siena College poll this morning found.

Hoffman leads Owens 41 percent to 36 percent, the poll found.

After Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava left the race Saturday amid strong criticism from conservative Republicans nationwide, Hoffman and Democratic candidate Bill Owens are making a last push today before Election Day tomorrow.

Vice President Joe Biden will be campaigning with Owens today in Watertown. Scozzafava backed Owens on Sunday, amid lobbying from Democrats, though not Gov. David Paterson.

The Siena Poll found that the number of undecided voters has doubled from nine percent to 18 percent since Scozzafava left the race

”Hoffman continues to demonstrate momentum, picking up six points since Scozzafava pulled out,” said Siena spokesman Steven Greenberg. “It appears, however, that the majority of Scozzafava’s supporters have gone to neither Hoffman nor Owens, but rather into the undecided column, which has doubled since Scozzafava ended her candidacy.”

Greenberg said that Hoffman has increased his lead among Republicans, while Owens maintains his lead among Democrats and has taken the lead with independent voters. Owens kept his lead in the northeastern counties, while Hoffman extended his lead in the southern counties. The two are in a dead heat in the northwestern counties, areas that Scozzafava previously led, Greenberg said.

As he seeks to regain the public’s confidence in a bid to run for a full four-year term next year, the Web site lists a series of steps he has taken in his roughly 18 months in office.

And despite persistent talk that he may ultimately bow out of a run next year as he struggles with record-low poll numbers, Paterson again reiterated this morning that he’s running in 2010.

“Those articles are being planted,” Paterson said on John Gambling’s radio show. “People close to me are not talking to the media. People who say they are close to me who have other agendas are doing that.”

He added, “How many times do I have to say that I’m running?”

He was also asked about his sluggish fundraising, and again blamed it on the Senate coup in June, saying he had to cancel a number of events as he dealt with the turmoil in Albany.

His campaign Web site has several upcoming fundraisers listed.

For example, Sen. Thomas Libous’s campaign has registered one of the online petitions—nonewplates.org —that is sponsored by Oswego County Clerk George Williams.

This morning, Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, put out two news releases, saying he and Columbia County Clerk Holly Tanner and Dutchess County Clerk Brad Kendal, will be distributing petitions. Saland has one on his Web site.

Gov. David Paterson was asked this morning The John Gambling Show about the protests and said he is willing to possibly reconsider the new fee, which will increase from $15 to $25. But he said he wants to close the current mid-year deficit first.

Gov. David Paterson’s budget office today is expected to release a mid-year report that shows the state’s deficit will grow to $44 billion over the next five years—an increase of $6 billion from projections in July.

Paterson indicated Thursday that the state’s mid-year budget deficit has grown to $3.2 billion, up from $2.1 billion in July.

He has called lawmakers back to Albany on Nov. 10 to close the current year’s deficit. The Democratic governor has proposed cutting aid in education and health-care to close a third of the gap, with the rest coming through proposals for new revenue and sweeps of money from other state accounts.

While state leaders grapple with this year’s fiscal woes, the long-term picture appears even worse, largely because the state is relying on federal stimulus to help close current budget gaps.

This year’s spending plan, which runs until March 31, uses about $6 billion in federal stimulus aid to help balance the budget.

But when the stimulus money runs out in the 2012-13 fiscal year, state deficits are expected to soar, with a two-year deficit of about $34 billion.

The groups said Monserrate should disclosure of the names of the contributors and amounts of the donations and ban the creation of legal defense funds.

Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Albany, said he plans to put in legislation to do just that.

The commission said earlier this week it has not provided an opinion on Monserrate’s defense fund.

But then again, the commission has never taken action publicly against any lawmaker in its two decades in existence.

Here’s the groups’ letter.

1 on Scribd” href=”http://www.scribd.com/doc/21824559/Legal-Defense-Fund-Complaint-Letter-FINAL-1”>Legal Defense Fund Complaint Letter FINAL¹

There’s just one problem: The state doesn’t have the money to pay for it.

And Paterson said this afternoon during a meeting of legislative leaders that the state’s two-year budget gap has increased to $10 billion, compared to about $6.7 billion in July.

Paterson, however, said in a statement earlier in the day that when economic times are better, the state should put in place the so-called circuit-breaker program, which would limit a homeowner’s property taxes to a percentage of their income. He said the measure should be approved along with his call for a cap on state spending.

Depending on future state surpluses, the measure could save homeowners between $500 and $1,500 a year in property taxes, he estimated.

“Albany is notorious for two things: overspending and overtaxing. My legislation solves both,” Paterson said in a statement.

At the leaders’ meeting, Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, said he recognizes that the state now faces a $3.2 billion deficit, but warned of cuts that would hurt schools and health care.

He said the impact of the health-care cuts would be more like $744 million because of federal matching funds compared to the $287 million proposed by Paterson.

“That could be the difference between a paycheck and a pink slip for some of our health-care workers,” he said.

Asked by Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, if he support $3 billion worth of cuts, Sampson said “Maybe you’re with it, but we’re not with cutting services to children, to seniors, education. These are things that will have a serious impact on our constituents in the state of New York.”

Paterson ended the roughly 45-minute session by imploring leaders to agree to his cuts, saying nobody likes having to make deep cuts to programs that impact people’s lives.

He’s called a special session for Nov. 10.

“This is going to be a painful budget process,” he said. “Nobody wants to do any of the things that we’re doing. ”

He later told reporters that he’s pleased lawmakers agree with two-third of his proposed budget plan. Cuts aside, the rest of his plan calls for raising revenue and sweeping funds from other accounts.

That’s in addition to the other petition that was recently started.

Monserrate have vowed to stay in office after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault involving his girlfriend, despite a Senate committee that has been set up that will look at removing him. Political forces in Queens are also moving against him.

Here’s the women’s groups letter to Sampson.

OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR JOHN SAMPSON

Dear Senator Sampson:

A court of law recently found Senator Hiram Monserrate guilty of domestic violence-a vicious crime causing serious injury to his girlfriend. Despite the calls by many of our leaders for his immediate resignation (including Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, Congressional members and many state senators), he refuses to step down. In fact, he has shown no remorse for his actions. You must hold him accountable by removing him immediately.

Our elected officials have an obligation to the people of New York to lead by examplethey are expected to set a higher standard. Domestic violence has no place in our society or in the Legislature and must not be tolerated in any form.

We call on you, the New York State Senate, Senator Eric Schneiderman and his newly-formed committee to proceed with all haste to remove Hiram Monserrate from the Senate. You have a responsibility to his constituents, the Democratic Party, and all New Yorkers to do the right thing. Equally, you have a responsibility to yourselves to uphold the institution of the Senate. We await your decision.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that since 1991, only 35 percent, or $11.6 billion, of the money in the state’s Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund went to repair the state’s roads and bridges.

The rest covered state debt payments as well as operating expenses at the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation, DiNapoli said.

The trust fund was created in 1991 to fund the construction and development of state roads and bridges and was to be self-sustaining through taxes and fees. But starting in the 1994-95 fiscal year, the fund began paying debt for bonds from the state Thruway Authority, and later operating expenses for state agencies, DiNapoli said.

The report comes as Gov. David Paterson recently said the state doesn’t have the money to fund a $25.8 billion five-year capital plan for roads and bridges.

“This money should be going toward keeping our roads and bridges safe, not to fund state agency operations,” DiNapoli said in a statement.

After two public hearings this week on the budget, Kruger said the Senate will “develop a deficit reduction plan to close the budget gap without disrupting vital services or imposing any new fees or taxes. And most significantly, the hearings are being conducted in public for all to see and contribute.”

He said more than 100 groups have testified over a two-day period so far. In Long Island, he said parents and children with developmental disabilities spoke about what the cuts would mean to them. And he attached a clip of a mother speaking during the session, which is below.

“There is no doubt that we have to make substantial cuts, but the task at hand is for them to be fiscally responsible and fair. We are in agreement on nearly $2 billion of the Governor’s $3 billion gap closing proposal. But it is no surprise that some aspects of his proposal are simply not acceptable,” he continued.

“Dramatic reductions to higher education opportunity programs for low income students and developmental disabilities services are poorly devised ideas passed off as solutions,” Kruger said in the statement.

“Also, the governor’s Medicaid and healthcare cuts place disproportionate pain on hospitals and nursing homes given they have weathered a number of cuts already. We have to do better and those who do not recognize that responsibility lack the imagination or inclination to come up with new answers to old problems.”

In the meantime, GOP candidate Rick Lazio is out picking up endorsements. After getting the endorsement in his home Suffolk County, the former congressman today announced the backing of Orange County Republican Chairman Bill DeProspo.

Here’s DeProspo’s statement:

“I am supporting Rick Lazio for Governor of New York because I believe he is the right candidate with the new ideas to turn New York state around. We need a candidate for Governor with a record of accomplishment and Rick Lazio is that candidate.

As a Congressman, he oversaw some of the most sweeping federal housing reforms in our lifetime, and helped author the first balanced budget in a generation. His proposal for a hard property tax cap will help ease the burden on working families here in Orange County and his plan to grow jobs is what the New York  needs. Most importantly, New York desperately needs new leadership, and that’s why I’m supporting the one candidate who has promised to bring sweeping change to our Government. I wholeheartedly offer him my endorsement.”

“As a co-author of the Violence Against Women Act, I find it offensive that Sen. Monserrate has not already resigned, “ Slaughter said in a statement this afternoon.

“Domestic violence is unacceptable from anyone, let alone from an elected official of the State of New York. Sen. Monserrate should resign immediately for this serious offense, and if he does not, he should be removed from office by the Senate.”

Monserrate drew strong criticism from good-government groups this week after it was reported that he has set up a legal defense fund and that it was allowed by the Legislative Ethics Commission.

“Secretly authorizing a private legal defense fund is beyond outrageous, even by Albany standards,” said NYPIRG’s Blair Horner. “We see no legal basis for ignoring the gift ban law and allowing wealthy individuals to pay a legislator’s legal bills. The Legislative Ethics Commission has conspired to create a million-dollar loophole in the gift ban.”

But the Legislative Ethics Commission put out a statement late yesterday saying it never authorized the defense fund.

“By statute, opinions of the Legislative Ethics Commission are confidential. Such confidentiality ensures that individuals subject to our jurisdiction seek guidance and advice from the Commission with respect to the laws we administer,” the statement reads.

“Consistent with the statute, the Commission does not comment as to whether a particular individual has requested, or has opted not to request, an advisory opinion. In addition, the law clearly provides that advisory opinions issued by the Commission or its predecessor committee are binding on the Commission only with respect to the individual requesting the opinion. Consequently individuals subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission are encouraged to seek advisory opinions specific to their circumstances.”

“With respect to the issue of legal defense funds, the Legislative Ethics Commission, established in 2007, has received no requests and issued no opinions regarding such funds. Further no member of the Commission either as a member of this body or as a member of its predecessor Committee, has ever considered the issue of legal defense funds.”

As the World Series starts tonight between the Yankees and Phillies, the inter-state wager calls for the state with the losing team to offer a weekend vacation to a resident of the state with the winning team.

Accommodations, meals and travel will be donated by local companies, Paterson said in a news release.

“I hear the City of Philadelphia is beautiful this time of year, and I expect that after six games, a lucky winner in New York will get to tour that historic American city. But we’ll make sure they’re back in time for the ticker-tape parade on Broadway,” Paterson said in a statement.

“In the unlikely event that the Bronx Bombers drop the series to Philly, we may not convert the lucky winners into Yankee fans, but once they visit this great state, they will become fans of New York.”

So if the Yankees win, a New Yorker and guest get to stay at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia, eat dinner at the the Prime Rib steakhouse, get VIP access at a cultural event and have brunch at Parc restaurant at Rittenhouse Square.

If the Phillies win, a Pennsylvania resident and guest would stay at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in Manhattan and eat at the 21 Club. Transportation will be provided by Amtrak.

To participate, New Yorkers can put in for a lottery at www.iloveny.com. (Although it doesn’t appear the contest has made it on the site yet.)

In Pennsylvania, contestants can submit an essay of 250 words or less on why they are a Phillies fan. Rendell will pick the winner.

Winners must be 21 years or older; the sweepstakes begins today and ends Nov. 6.

After she dropped out of the race, leaks were provided to the media about Kennedy’s personal life, including that owed back taxes and had a nanny problem, as the reason why Gov. David Paterson had not intended to pick her. But the claims were never proven.

Good-government groups sought to have the commission investigate the release of the information about her.

1 on Scribd” href=”http://www.scribd.com/doc/21757444/CPI-Kennedy-Inquiry-Closed-10-23-09-1”>CPI Kennedy Inquiry Closed 10-23-09¹

A federal judge ruled Friday the law would take effect Saturday. The sides agreed to let stores comply by Nov. 8.

“Less than a week was not enough time for New York’s 21,000 food stores to come into compliance,” said James Rogers, president of the Food Industry Alliance. Rogers said stores will have to re-program every cash register and bottle-deposit machine to account for the nickel deposit.

While the program will start Saturday, stores will have a grace period of one week to phase-in the program, said Morgan Hook, a spokesman for Gov. David Paterson.

The 5-cent deposits on bottles of water were scheduled to start June 1 as an expansion of the 27-year-old law that requires deposits on bottles and cans of soda and beer. But lawsuits from bottlers and stores had stopped it temporarily.

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts lifted an injunction late Friday and said the deposits would start Saturday.

The New York State United Teachers union is up with a radio ad across the state knocking Gov. David Paterson for his proposed mid-year cuts to education, saying the cuts would hit schools in the middle of their year and cause “chaos” at schools and colleges.

With storm sounds and music in the background, the ad calls on the Legislature to reject Paterson’s cuts, which includes $686 million to schools over their fiscal year.  “Governor Paterson’s deep budget cuts could bring on a devastating storm that rips apart public education,” the ad states.

Paterson, meanwhile, was a guest host on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning and talked again about the need to curb state spending, saying the state faces not only a deficit, but a cash flow problem that could reach $2 billion to $3 billion by December.

“It’s a seminal moment in New York,” he said. “If we balance this budget and make the hard decisions that we have to make, if we recognize that we have spent more than we have and you just can’t spend money you don’t have, then we’ll be alright.”

Above is the full ad and here’s Paterson’s clip on the state’s economy.

Last week, Paterson and his office expressed concerns that a national health-care bill would mean higher Medicaid costs for New York, which already takes up 32 percent of the state’s current $132 billion budget.

Skelos warned the state’s congressional delegation—26 of the 28 House members are Democrats—to vote against any federal health-care reforms that would mandate more Medicaid costs on New York.

Today, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a public option will be part of the reforms, but states can opt out of it.

Here’s Skelos’ letter to Sen. Charles Schumer today.

1026.Medicaid Ltr to Congress

New York’s senators—Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand—are betting cheesecakes from Junior’s while Pennslyvania’s senators—Arlen Spector and Bob Casey—are putting up cheesesteaks from Philadelphia on the outcome.

Here’s their quotes:

“I give Senators Specter and Casey credit for sticking with their team but I can already taste those delicious Philly cheesesteaks,” Schumer said. “And even though the Phillies won the World Series last year, there’s no comparing the Yankees’ 26 World Series victories to the Phillies two. When the dust settles, I am confident that the Yankees will be victorious and Senator Gillibrand and I will be enjoying our Philly cheesesteaks.”

“It’s great to see the Bronx Bombers back in the World Series with so many familiar faces from their storied run in the 1990’s,” Specter said.  “Unfortunately for the Yankees, tradition alone will do them little good against Charlie Manuel’s fearsome lineup.  I look forward to enjoying the New York cheesecakes, although nothing will be as sweet as the Phillies’ back-to-back titles.”

“After impressive performances in both the National League Division and Championship series, I am confident that the Phillies are well on their way to becoming back-to-back World Series Champions,” said Senator Casey. “If the Phillies keep up their extraordinary efforts at the plate, on the mound and in the field, it is only a matter of time until Senator Specter and I are able to enjoy some delicious cheesecake.”

“I look forward to a great World Series and enjoying a cheese steak to celebrate the Yankee victory with my friends Senators Casey and Specter,” said Senator Gillibrand. “It should be a terrific matchup between two great organizations, but I give the edge to the Bronx Bombers. The last team to win back-to-back World Series championships was our Yankees – that record will hold strong this year. Their lineup and pitching is superb and New York does have the best fans in the world.  Go Yankees!”

Paterson also announced he’s holding a public leaders’ meeting Thursday in New York City. He’s also asked to address the full Legislature on Nov. 9 to discuss the state’s fiscal problems.

“In this fiscal crisis, we cannot afford to delay action or continue spending at our current rate. The Deficit Reduction Plan, while painful, calls for the necessary sacrifices we need to keep our State afloat,” Paterson said in a statement.

His budget office said it is putting out a daily “Did You Know” on his budget-cutting plan. Today’s installment notes that “did you know that 95 percent of school districts have reported undesignated reserves in excess of their proposed DRP reduction?”

The budget office also put out a list of each district’s reserves.

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts lifted an injunction late Friday that had held up the state’s attempt to start the so-called Bigger, Better Bottle Bill, which will allow for the state’s deposit law to be extended to bottles of water.

Environmental groups hailed the judge’s decision, saying it will provide incentives for people to return empty bottles of water.

“Adding a deposit on water bottles will result in higher recycling rates and noticeably cleaner communities,” said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate with the New York Public Interest Research Group.

The program was scheduled to start June 1 as an expansion of the 27-year-old law that requires deposits on bottles and cans of soda and beer. But lawsuits and complaints from bottlers and stores stopped it from going forward.

Still, companies had been preparing for the new law for months and had expected to go into effect after Batts indicated the injuction would be lifted in late October.

Stores said they expect an influx of new deposits, and some bottlers indicated retail prices will be higher because of the additional cost of collecting the bottles.

In a statement, Nestle Water, a party in the lawsuit, said it will comply with the new law, but said the law needs to be expanded to include sugary water drinks.

“The law needs to be improved to provide for more recycling, more convenience and fewer costs for consumers,” Kim Jeffery, CEO of Nestlé Waters, said in a statement.

Paterson reiterated that he will put the legislation on the special session calendar, but when asked if the votes are there to pass it in the Democratic-led Senate, he said that it’s not for him to answer.

“I would not really be in a position to answer that question right now,” he said. “I just know that the advocates asked me to put the bill on the calendar along with the other unfinished bills that would have been on the calendar in June. And I complied with that.”

He also was asked about the decision last night to no longer require health-care workers to get the H1N1 vaccine.

While his press release last night indicated the suspension of the program was because of a shortage of the vaccine, he said today that was only part of it, saying they also didn’t want to put anyone out of work.

“I think health-care workers service people and part of the protocol of a health-care worker is that you don’t want to put anyone in the position of being further infected,” he said.

“But what I think is the case is that the health-care worker should face penalties or even job loss in this difficult health-care emergency crisis, I think was a little over the top.”

Asked he received a flu shot, he said he didn’t because he’s allergic, but said he would like to get the H1N1 shot when it becomes available to the general population.

Asked by Fred Dicker if he wants Paterson to be the party’s candidate next year, DiNapoli offered an array of answers as he seeks to run for a full term himself next year.

“There’s a lot of politics that is going to play out as we go into next year,” DiNapoli said. “He’s our governor now. I support our governor. I want him to be successful, and as we go into next year, I plan to be on the ticket. I am running and if he’s running we need to have a unified Democratic ticket if we’re going to win.”

So does that mean he supports Paterson as the Democratic nominee?

“I want us to have a winning ticket. We have an incumbent governor and if he’s going to be our candidate we need to support him. We all need to work together doing that,” DiNapoli would only say.

Asked if he would support Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for governor, DiNapoli responded, “Andrew Cuomo has done a great job as attorney general.I’ve not heard that he’s announced he’s running for governor.”

   Besides needing more time to develop the plan, state officials recently learned the U.S. Department of Justice intends to intervene in the lawsuit and they haven’t yet been able to review all the paperwork, according to Assistant Attorney General Barbara Hathaway, who sent a letter requesting an extension to the judge. 

   Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled that about 4,300 mentally ill people living in New York City adult homes were not receiving adequate care, a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, which require they live in the least restrictive setting possible.

   Disability Advocates Inc. sued the state six years ago on behalf of the adult-home residents. Adult homes are for-profit entities that have been widely criticized for their care. Many former patients at psychiatric hospitals were discharged into group homes after the state began deinstitutionalization in the early 1970s. 

   It’s unclear whether the Health Department and the Office of Mental Health will propose remedies on a statewide basis. New York has 380 group homes.

   But the decision is expected to have national implications on treatment for people with mental illness. The Department of Justice has requested permission to intervene in the case “in order to ensure that the broader public interest is represented in this litigation,” the agency wrote in a letter to Garaufis, who is taking up the matter today.

   Here is another excerpt from the letter:

   “The United States has primary regulatory and enforcement authority under Title II of the ADA, and therefore has a strong interest in ensuring the proper and consistent application of its ADA regulations. Moreover, the United States seeks to intervene because of the significance and scope of the proposed remedy, which will help transform the lives of individuals with mental illness whom the Court found to be living in segregated communities, a great concern for the United States.