Good morning, it’s Monday and March is almost over already.
For those of you keeping track at home, the state budget is due Thursday. It’s a VERY unusual year in Albany, to say the least, and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the constitutionally mandated deadline for an on-time spending plan will be reached.
But we have an adult-use cannabis legalization deal. So there’s that.
Today is National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which is observed to thank and honor the veterans of that conflict and their families for their service and sacrifice.
The Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975, claiming more than 58,000 American lives. It was, until recently, this country’s longest war. If you recall much from history class – or maybe you lived through that era – you’ll recall that the vets returning from Vietnam were not exactly welcomed home with open arms in many cases.
They came back to a place that was in the throes of political upheaval, with a population that was not, writ large, in support of what these soldiers had done.
And here’s a frightening statistic: Over the past decade, U.S. veteran suicides top Vietnam War fatalities.
Maybe you’re a deeply committed peace activist, and I think most people would say they’re anti-war, generally speaking. But having lived with a Vietnam Vet for much of my life, I can say with certainty that their mental health struggle is real – no matter how much support they are lucky enough to have.
And so on this day, I’ll be taking time to make a call and check in, and also say thanks for all you did on my behalf.
It is also Seward’s Day, which is a legal holiday only in the state of Alaska, as it commemorates the signing of the Alaska Purchase treaty on March 30, 1867. The day is named for then-Secretary of State William H. Seward, who negotiated the purchase of what was our 49th state from Russia.
Seward, in case you weren’t aware, was born in Orange County, NY, and later moved to Auburn, where he was elected to serve in the state Senate. He was elected governor in 1838 and the re-elected to a second (what was then two-year-term) in 1840.
He was regarded the leading Republican candidate in the lead-up to the 1860 presidential race, but the party ended up going with some guy named Abraham Lincoln, who later appointed Seward to serve as Secretary of State.
And then, Alaska.
We’ve got another high wind warning in effect until about 4 p.m., with winds between 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. Showers will clear fairly early on, and there will be bright sunshine in the afternoon, though temperatures will only hit the mid-40s.
In the headlines…
A canal services firm announced early today that salvage teams “partially refloated” the colossal container ship that is wedged across the Suez Canal, without providing further details about when the vessel would be set free.
The vital trade route could soon reopen and end days of global supply disruptions.
While shipping officials and the Egyptian authorities cautioned that the complicated operation was still underway, they expressed increasing confidence the ship would soon be completely free.
Former White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said most coronavirus deaths in the United States were avoidable.
Adm. Brett P. Giroir, the testing czar, said the Trump administration lied to the public about the availability of testing.
“Premature” reopening measures throughout the U.S., along with COVID variants, are to blame for a recent spike in coronavirus cases, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely.”
COVID infections are on the rise again and some state leaders are sounding the alarm over their latest trends.
A year after becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection.
The good news: COVID-19 infection rates and deaths aren’t rising in New York state. The bad news: They aren’t falling, either.
Countries are racing to immunize adults against Covid-19 and move toward a more normal future. To achieve the vaccination rates that health authorities are aiming for, the shots must eventually reach the arms of children and teenagers, too.
Nearly 50,000 New Yorkers have died of COVID-19, data shows.
New York has introduced a digital app that allows individuals to prove they have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or have recently tested negative – part of an effort to fast-track the reopening of businesses, sports arenas and entertainment venues.
The Cuomo administration largely ignored a county official’s pleas for COVID-19 tests for nursing homes at the pandemic’s height last spring — even as the governor allegedly secured the then-scarce tests for his relatives.
The Excelsior Pass is the first of its kind to be rolled out in United States and allows specific sites that administer COVID vaccines or test for the coronavirus to upload the data to the app.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin today in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was seen in a disturbing video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during a fatal May 2020 arrest.
President Biden expressed confidence that a “rational” gun control bill can pass the evenly-divided Senate.
Biden could tighten gun control quickly by closing a legal loophole that permits the sale of “ghost guns” which are available in pieces packaged in easy-to-assemble kits, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Biden is putting his foot on the gas pedal and moving ahead with his plans to sell an expansive infrastructure proposal this week as he faces mounting pressure to act on other legislative priorities that have become increasingly difficult to ignore.
The White House, breaking with tradition, now lists the “Biden-Harris Administration” on its website rather than simply, “the Biden Administration.”
The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials — often referred to as “vaccine passports” — that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID as businesses reopen.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced a deal to legalize cannabis for adult use in New York.
The sale of recreational marijuana would be legal for adults 21 and older in the Empire State under a bill top lawmakers agreed to late Saturday. It’s expected to pass both chambers of the legislature as soon as next week.
There will be a 13 percent tax on marijuana sales, with 9 percent going back to the state and 4 percent split between cities and counties.
Individual New Yorkers could grow up to three mature and three immature plants for personal consumption, and local governments could opt out of retail sales.
In addition, the bill creates a cannabis management office and a regulatory framework that would cover adult-use, medical marijuana, and cannabinoid hemp, the latter which includes CBD products.
Cannabis revenues will be split between schools and public educations, communities “disproportionately impacted by the drug war,” and drug treatment, prevention and education programs, state Sen. Liz Krueger said.
Lawmakers are zeroing in on a blockbuster deal that would funnel $4.2 billion in additional aid to public schools across New York state over three years to comply with a controversial court ruling.
Facing a looming deadline and with multiple moving parts, a bill that would have forced numerous companies to help pay for the recycling of their product packaging has been taken out of budget talks.
The New York state attorney general’s office has subpoenaed dozens of officials in the Cuomo administration, including his top aide, requesting that they produce documents as part of an investigation of sexual-harassment accusations against the governor.
Biden and Cuomo have shared a long political friendship, but that alliance has been strained as Biden and White House officials continue to field questions about the controversies surrounding the governor.
One state senator told The NY Post that most of the Democrats in the chamber already see Cuomo as dead in the water, and lawmakers are now competing to fill the coming power void in Albany.
Parents say their lawsuits against three New Jersey school districts helped pressure them to bring students back for some in-person classes, or at least get on that path.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio trumpets his school reopening as a major triumph, the number of students showing up in buildings each day still totals less than 15 percent of all kids in the system, attendance data show.
State Sen. Brian Benjamin used money from his campaign account to pay for “constituent services” at a Harlem jazz club at roughly the same time he and his wife held their wedding celebration there, raising questions about campaign finance rule abuse.
Mayoral candidate and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams took a swing at city and state leaders as he welcomed the return of indoor fitness classes, a move he called for months ago.
The Catsimatidis family is torn over the NYC mayor’s race, with billionaire GOP donor John and his daughter Andrea, who heads up the Manhattan party, each supporting different candidates.
Amazon and UPS have plans to open package-distribution centers in the waterfront Red Hook, Brooklyn enclave, promising jobs but also generating traffic fears.
Contract workers hired to help disinfect the New York City subway during the pandemic are asking the M.T.A. to support a job they say goes far beyond wiping down poles.
LIRR riders can expect a bump in service this morning, three weeks after MTA officials slashed service on the railroad in a move that quickly backfired and led to sardine-packed commutes.
A review of data from the Capital Region’s largest suburban police departments revealed Black people are arrested and ticketed at rates that far exceed their percentage of the population in the mostly white communities.
Portions of a whistleblower’s lawsuit filed in 2017 that accused the company that built the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge of covering up defects in the high-strength bolts used to hold the 3.1-mile twin span in place were unsealed after a state appellate court ruling.
Cuomo ordered that flags be flown at half-staff for State Trooper Joseph Gallagher, who died Friday, three years after he was struck by a vehicle while on duty.
The New York Power Authority’s former treasurer is suing the agency in federal court, claiming she was wrongfully fired after she tried to demote a subordinate she had earlier brought on board but didn’t prove up to the job.
The Troy Waterfront Farmers Market’s first outdoor market of the season will be Saturday, April 3, returning to Riverfront Park, the same location as last fall.
Albany High School has its first Black valedictorian in 152 years.
A children’s graphic novel by the creator of the popular “Captain Underpants” series was pulled from circulation last week by its publisher, which said that it “perpetuates passive racism.”
The New Yorker Union announced that it authorized a strike against its publisher, Condé Nast.
