New York NOW

A joint legislative hearing took place in Albany this month to examine the status of broadband in rural areas across New York. What they heard is there's still a lot of work to do. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam), one of the co-chairs of the hearing, discusses what issues are standing in the way of getting a more universal coverage.
 
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New York made national headlines this week becoming the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes.  We'll hear arguments for and against the move from Governor Cuomo, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and a vape shop owner in Schenectady.  Mike Gormley of Newsday and Shannon Young of Politico help us analyze the week's news at the Reporters Roundtable.
Also, we head to the North Country where local community members, not state or federal government officials, have restored the grounds of a forgotten burial ground.Visit nynow.org for more

The news that starting April 2020 residents would have to pay a new $25 fee when they register their car, plus an extra $20 if they want to keep the same number, overshadowed the new plate design. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have hammered Governor Cuomo over the news. Capital Region State Senator Jim Tedisco stops by this week to decry what he calls a "highway heist" by the governor.
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Tim Kremer, the longtime executive director at the New York State School Boards Association, joins us in-studio as we look back at bills passed and signed into into law during the year and how it will affect students going forward. We'll look at everything from the "Red Flag" Law to busses that will eventually be equipped with stop-arm technology.
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This week Hank Greenberg, the president of the New York State Bar Association, talks about the organization's priorities including legislation that could help rural communities attract and keep lawyers.
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The Grand Old Party here in New York is coming off a rough 2018 that saw them lose control of the state senate, as well as a number of important congressional seats. This, of course, is on top of the fact that a Republican hasn't won a statewide race since 2002.
Earlier this summer there was a change in leadership as longtime chairman Ed Cox was officially replaced by Nick Langworthy.  Our Karen DeWitt sat down with the Western New Yorker this week to discuss the party's plan heading into an important 2020 election year.
 
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Danny Donohue, the longtime face and voice of the organization, sits down this week to discuss his memorable battles with several New York Governors and the future strength of unions after the recent Supreme Court ruling in the case Janus vs. AFSCME.
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This week on New York NOW, author David Woolner discuss his fascinating book on Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Marist College Professor and Senior Fellow and Resident Historian of the Roosevelt Institute describes in great detail the burdens the 32nd President felt in “The Last 100 Days: FDR at War and Peace.”
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Albany-area native Gordon Smith will discuss what he went through in his teenage years at his local church, how it affected him then and now, and why he's filing his lawsuit. Attorney Jennifer Freeman, Smith's lawyer, discusses the number of legal suits that her office is handling in anticipation of the mid-August date.
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The state has been in the process of making community connector trails for snowmobiling in the central and southeastern part of the park, but an injunction was put in place a few years ago that halted the proposed 27-mile stretch. Now the question is how big does a tree have to be in order to be spared for such a project?
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