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Wednesday headlines PM

Mar 02, 2011 3:43 pm
Senate says no thanks to Koch
The Times Union reports that former NYC Mayor Ed Koch pushed his way into the face of Senate Republicans yesterday to reveal that the new legislative majority will renege on its promises to leave redistricting to a nonpartisan citizen's committee, and will handle it as its always been done... in old-fashioned partisan "gerrymandering" style. Majority Leader Dean Skelos raised vague "constitutional concerns" with changing the current system whereby lawmakers from the majority in each house draw lines for themselves, often carving out oddly shaped districts - once noted as being similar to salamanders -- to maximize their partisan advantage.

The Times takes on fracking
The Watershed Post reports on a shift in mainstream media coverage of thegas drilling issue, both within the state and region and on a national basis. "Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has finally hit the big time. Not only did the New York Times make the issue the subject of a front-page series of articles this week, but Josh Fox's Gasland documentary was a runner-up in the "Best Documentary" category at Sunday's Oscar ceremony," they write, noting other major pieces from ProPublica's and the Wall Street Journal. "It's the radioactivity, people."

How many people were in West Capitol Park?
Casey Seiler, Capitol Bureau Chief for the Times Union, has a story up that compares counts between several news organizations and nonprofit organizations on the numbers who came out for Lobby Day in Albany yesterday... or at least those who rallied in front of the capitol. Meanwhile, no substantive reporting of the issues raised, or legislative reactions to "lobbying" efforts by the public, have surfaced anywhere yet.

Task force addresses mandated costs
The Buffalo News reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new Mandate Relief Redesign Team made a first report on March 1, but was silent on anything to do with public union contract talks, or how much local governments must pay for everything from employee health insurance to special education programs. The panel acknowledged more work is needed in those areas and warned that property tax cap measures without accompanying mandate reform could create major problems for everybody.

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