Another Bridgegate Resignation
More Bridgegate fun:Gov. Chris Christie announced today that David Samson, whose chairmanship of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has come under fire in recent months, has resigned.Samson, a close ally of Christie and a former attorney general of New Jersey, is reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Attorney of New Jersey in the face of accusations that his law firm, Wolff & S
Sheldon Silver Says Budget Talks "Have Slowed"
From State of Politics:Assembly Speaker Sheldon made his second impromptu visit down the hallway of the Legislative Correspondence Association Friday morning, confirming to reporters that he is indeed still in Albany and no final agreement had been reached on a spending plan....Talks have apparently stalled on the budget, Silver said. “Leaders meetings have not been quite as productive,” Silver sa
Rev Up Those State And City Financial Audits Of The Charter Networks
As I posted this morning, the charter operators got pretty much everything they wanted in budget negotiations - higher per pupil state aid, free rent, and a guaranteed right to space.But there is one interesting item in the deal according to Ben Chapman at the Daily News:It will also for the first time allow the city and state controller to audit charter schools.If the state and city comptrollers
Will Cuomo Allow Any Changes To NYC Teacher Evaluations?
I've posted the past few days about how much Andrew Cuomo likes to stick it to his "friend," Bill de Blasio, on issue after issue.Anthony Weiner and Michael Powell of the NY Times both wrote about this earlier in the week, with "jerk" Anthony Weiner going so far as to call Cuomo a "jerk" over it.Yesterday Cuomo got everything he wanted in the budget deal on the charte
Cuomo Sticks It To De Basio
That's the Post's takeaway this morning:Charter schools will be big winners in the new state budget under a tentative deal hammered out by Gov. Cuomo and legislative leaders Thursday night, sources close to the talks said. For the first time the privately operated schools will be eligible for government funds to cover the costs of leasing classroom space in private buildings, Albany sources said.
New York City May Have $2 Billion Surplus At End Of Fiscal Year
From Crains:The city could end this year with a $2 billion budget surplus, or about $244 million more than Mayor Bill de Blasio has been anticipating, according to an analysis of the mayor’s preliminary budget by the Independent Budget Office released Wednesday.Assuming most of that surplus is used to pay down next year’s expenses, the IBO predicts that the city will also end next year with a surp
YESTERDAY
Isn't It Time For Bridget Anne Kelly To Throw Christie Under The Bus?
From the NY Times:Gov. Chris Christie, seeking to stanch the damage the scandal had caused to his political fortunes, fired her as his deputy chief of staff after that, calling her “stupid.” But the report commissioned by Mr. Christie and released Thursday doubles down on a strategy of portraying Ms. Kelly as duplicitous, weeping frequently and dependent on men for approval and stability....Ms. Ke
3-27-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Call Sheldon Silver And Ask Why Tests Only Count For TeachersI am glad that they are taking the high stakes from the CCSS tests away for two years for children.But they are keeping those stakes for teachers, so if you are a teacher in the New York State public school system, you may have 40% of your evaluation based upon a battery of performance assessments and state Common