Good Thursday morning.
In the course of my two-decade long career as a political and policy reporter, I covered four sitting governors – five if you count the one who is currently in office, who was a member of Congress and then a lieutenant governor during my time at the state Capitol.
I got to know all of the governors, though I knew some better than others. I saw them many times publicly, of course, but also sometimes when they let their guard down and were simply being themselves – to the degree that’s possible for a professional politician who spends a large amount of their time being “on.”
One of the governors, and veteran political insiders will know exactly who this is, was a very entertaining dining companion, if for nothing else because he was a big fan of eating off other people’s plates.
This is something one generally only does among one’s best friends and/or family, but I can attest that this particular governor did it on the regular, and the fact that he had a fairly long reach – and a sizable appetite – made it all the more humorous.
I personally consider eating off someone else’s plate to require a significant level of comfort and intimacy. It is one of the benefits and privileges of marriage to eat off the plate of one’s spouse, and I think my husband has come to accept that me eating at least some of his food is a foregone conclusion any time we go out to dine.
I also benefit from the fact that my husband’s palate is, let’s say, more limited than mine. He is not, for example, a fan of spicy food or mustard, while I am a condiment queen. He also is not a fan of pickles, which I find incomprehensible. Then again, he did not – as I did – grow up making regular trips to downstate kosher delis, with their ample bowls of sours and half-sours on every table.
Pickling is a method of food preservation that has been around for centuries and generally entails using a brine or vinegar solution (with or without additional aromatics and/or spices) to, through osmosis, replace the water in a variety of foodstuffs. Though cucumbers are perhaps the best known form of pickles, a wide variety of vegetables and fruits can be pickled to great effect.
I have sampled and enjoyed an array of pickled items – from cauliflower and carrots to beets, onions, green tomatoes, and even eggs. I have not ever tasted pickled fruits, but the idea intrigues me. The only things that don’t take well to pickling are delicate items like, say, leafy greens or berries.
Pickles, by the way, are not always fermented, but they can be. If you want to go deep on that, click here. Aside from being delicious, they also are good for you – in moderation, of course, like anything else, given that they are high in sodium and might – if commercially made – have added sugar. On the homemade front, be wary of food borne bacteria that can cause serious illness.
In recent years, pickle brine has become a popular sports drink. No joke, click here for some wonky intel from the the NIH on that.
Interestingly, no less a source than WebMD (one of my FAVORITE sites) has a brief mention of the cucumber pickle origin story, which involves none other than Christopher Columbus, though the practice of pickling dates back centuries.
Pickles are often associated with sandwiches and burgers, and to me they scream “summertime!” But really, one can enjoy them all year ’round, which is lucky for those of us in the Northeast because summer is most definitely a thing of the past (and you shouldn’t be grilling outside anyway right now, given the drought and high threat of wildfires).
Today will be chilly again, with temperatures struggling to get out of the 40s. Skies will be partly cloudy, with the sun making intermittent appearances.
In the headlines…
Donald Trump made a triumphant return to the seat of U.S. power that he grudgingly left four years ago, meeting in the Oval Office with President Biden and observing a decades-old tradition that he defied four years ago when he refused to accept his 2020 loss.
Trump told The NY Post that he and Biden “both really enjoyed seeing each other” when they sat down for a historic post-election get-together in the Oval Office.
“Welcome back,” Biden declared as the two men sat in front of a roaring fire. “Politics is tough, [but] it is a nice world today,” Trump replied after they shook hands. “I appreciate it very much. A transition that is so smooth, it will be as smooth as it can get.”
Melania Trump, the former and future first lady, rejected an invitation from the current first lady, Jill Biden, to have tea at the White House and tour the executive mansion yesterday – a decision that breaks with a decades-old tradition.
Melania Trump plans to split her time between New York, Florida and DC during Trump’s second term in office — “so she can be the hands-on mother to Barron that she is,” a source told The NY Post.
Trump announced he chose Rep. Matt Gaetz, a firebrand lawmaker who has been a harsh critic of the Justice Department, even as he was investigated by it, as attorney general.
But the choice sparked some of the first criticism of Trump’s cabinet selections, as senators questioned whether the Florida Republican would be a serious choice to become the country’s top law enforcement official.
Gaetz resigned from the House yesterday, Speaker Mike Johnson announced, the same day that Trump announced that he had tapped the Florida firebrand to be his attorney general.
The House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, was reportedly prepared to vote to release a highly critical report about the now former congressman on Friday.
Trump does not appear to be interested in assuaging any concerns about a total pursuit of power. Speaking before the House Republican Conference he openly joked about running for a third term, telling the crowd they could “figure something else out.”
Jack Smith, the special counsel who pursued two federal prosecutions of Trump, plans to finish his work and resign along with other members of his team before the president-elect takes office in January, people familiar with his plans said.
Republicans cemented their control of the House after holding onto a handful of critical seats in Arizona and California and defeating incumbent Democrats in key battleground districts, handing the G.O.P. a governing trifecta in Washington.
NBC News called the GOP control of the House along with CNN on Wednesday. The Associated Press has declared 217 seats for Republican candidates, just short of the required 218.
House Republicans still hope to extend their lead by winning a couple of yet-to-be-declared seats, notably in California, where significant numbers of late arriving mail ballots remain to be tallied.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune will take over as majority leader in January, heading a new Senate Republican majority of at least 52 in tandem with the incoming Trump administration — a challenging assignment for a veteran, let alone a newcomer.
A week after winning her re-election bid, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said she’s inviting Trump to tour the semiconductor manufacturing industry in New York.
Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro left the door wide open to future public service after conceding his reelection loss to Democrat Josh Riley in NY-19, including not ruling out making a play for North Country Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik’s seat.
New York will reportedly revive its once-abandoned plan for the nation’s first congestion-pricing program, but at a reduced rate of a $9 toll for most vehicles to enter the toll zone, marking a 40% reduction from the price previously approved by the MTA.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who plans to eventually increase the base toll, intends to announce the state’s revised proposal today, lowering the initial $15 charge for cars to enter Manhattan’s core at peak hours.
The plan will also reduce the tolling credits — discounts given to drivers who already paid a toll to enter the city by tunnel — by 40%, from $5 to $3.
The governor is expected to discuss an alternate revenue source for the MTA to make up for the lost $6, a 40% decrease in revenue.
Hochul received a stern warning this week from a bipartisan group of lawmakers: revive the New York City congestion pricing plan at your peril.
Hochul wants New York to become the next Silicon Valley and said that more energy sources will have to come online to power those potential partners, with one option being onsite nuclear reactors.
Hochul has asked Amtrak’s leaders to rethink their plans to reduce trips between Albany, the Hudson Valley and New York City as well as other scheduling modifications that the corporation is proposing while it undertakes rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel.
The State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies began its public hearing series in Buffalo explaining the region and the state’s complicated history with slavery.
New data out from the State University of New York system shows an increase of 2.3% in enrollment from last fall. Last year, SUNY saw an increase of 1.1% from the year prior.
New York state’s population could plummet by more than 2 million people by 2050 – a drop of more than 13%, a shocking new study claims.
The New York City Council voted overwhelmingly yesterday to pass a bill banning landlords from forcing tenants to pay broker fees, though Mayor Eric Adams has voiced concerns about the measure and could veto it.
The bill, which has been sharply opposed by the city’s real estate industry, would require whoever hires a broker to pay the fees the broker charges to facilitate an apartment rental.
The New York City Council is scrambling to reassert control in its ongoing power struggle with Adams after a painful defeat on the November ballot. Lawmakers voted 49-1 to establish their own Charter Revision Commission.
Winnie Greco, a longtime Adams aide now under FBI investigation, was a key player at a secretive fundraiser that netted the future mayor what appears to be illegal campaign cash, according to interviews with purported donors to the event and video footage.
A video recently discovered on YouTube and reviewed by THE CITY and The Guardian reveals an event, hosted by New World Mall president Lian Wu Shao and his family at their Long Island mansion, that doesn’t appear to have been a grassroots fundraiser.
After coming under federal indictment, Adams reportedly appeared at a food giveaway event in Manhattan last month that was also attended by a scandal-scarred Turkish business tycoon who reportedly could testify against him at his corruption trial.
The mayor’s office paused a lucrative lease that had been handed to a billionaire Adams donor — following cries of “corruption” by the City Council.
Jozette Carter-Williams, the widow of slain Officer Gerard Carter, is running for City Council in Staten Island. Carter-Williams will be running against Councilmember Kamillah Hanks, who is in her first term representing the North Shore of Staten Island district.
Comptroller Brad Lander warned that a Trump presidency would pose “grave risks” to New York City — including nearly $8 billion in federal funding thrown into jeopardy.
The city is suing to close down 28 Men’s Spa on the West Side, claiming in court documents filed Wednesday that the spa’s roster of masseurs offered “manual stimulation of the penis” to three undercover cops during separate incidents last summer.
The NYPD has more eyes in the sky — thanks to a new high-tech drone force that officials say have already paid dividends in the five boroughs.
Dozens of firefighters were battling a brush fire in Inwood Hill Park at the northern tip of Manhattan yesterday, just days after fires in wooded areas of Brooklyn, the Bronx and New Jersey spread smoke across New York City.
A volunteer firefighter was arrested on Long Island on Tuesday after the Suffolk County police said he intentionally set a fire in a wooded area, at a time when New York State is seeing a jump in brush fires and wildfires amid dangerously dry conditions.
The future of an NYPD cop who fatally shot a man during a traffic stop in the Bronx is coming down to two very different versions of events painted during an internal disciplinary hearing that wrapped up yesterday.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan made two appointments to fill vacancies created by the 2024 general election.
The College of Saint Rose, which closed in June and has now filed for bankruptcy, was authorized yesterday to begin sales of pianos, books and other items that are valued at less than $10,000 each.
The DEC denied a bid for air and solid waste management permits from Saratoga Biochar Solutions, rejecting the company’s proposal for a plant to create carbon fertilizer from treated sewage sludge and wood waste.
An employee was hospitalized after being bitten by a dog Monday night at the city of Troy’s Department of Public Works garage.
A Troy daycare that suddenly shut its doors in July now appears to be licensed for a new child care facility with a new owner at the same location and with the same director — although the building remains empty.
Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh told stock analysts during a third-quarter earnings that he is hopeful the company can finalize terms of a nearly $1.7 billion federal loan guarantee package before the GOP controls the White House and possibly Congress, too.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
