New York NOW

The partial meltdown of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant leads people to ask if a similar disaster could occur at the Indian Point nuclear plant near New York City. A recent U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission report states that one of the reactors at Indian Point has the highest risk of an earthquake causing core damage (which is how harmful radiation escapes) of any U.S. reactor.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher visits 'New York NOW' to discuss the new NYSUNY2020 challenge grant, which allows the SUNY research centers at Stony Brook, Buffalo, Albany and Binghamton to compete for $140 million in state economic development funds; Zimpher also makes the case that SUNY be allowed to set its own tuition. Also, the debate over a property tax cap for New York heats up in Albany.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will travel New York State on a 'People First' tour to build popular support for three key items on his agenda: a property tax cap, government ethics reform and a marriage equality law for gay and lesbian New York couples. Meanwhile, the Real Rent Reform Campaign demonstrates at the Capitol to ask for renewal of rent regulation laws that are set to expire on June 15.

The Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act would allow nurses to practice without a written agreement with a licensed physician. Family nurse practitioner Jane Nugent says the bill would give nurses the security of knowing they can practice even if a doctor retires or moves, but Robert Hughes of the Medical Society of the State of New York says it would fracture the healthcare delivery system.

Same-sex marriage groups coalesce under an umbrella group, New Yorkers United for Marriage, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears prepared to lead a push for marriage equality legislation. Advocates see the current session as their best chance to pass gay marriage. Also, a new $57.5 million Department of Energy grant could make New York's Capital Region a center for solar power research and manufacturing.

Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy touts the state's passage of a budget that closed a $10 billion budget gap without raising taxes and says that school districts responding to a two percent cut by laying off teachers or cutting programs should look to potential management cuts instead. Duffy says the legislature and the governor will now work together on a property tax cap, rent reform and economic development.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver laments that New York State government did not include the 'millionaire's tax' in the recently-passed budget, saying that doing so could have saved teaching jobs. Gov. Andrew Cuomo responds that school districts should avoid cutting teachers by using rainy day funds to get them through to a budget increase next year. 'News flash,' says Cuomo. 'It's raining.'

New York's 2011-2012 budget caps spending on education and Medicaid and eliminates 3,700 prison beds to close this year's deficit without raising taxes and cuts next year's projected deficit from $15 billion to $2 billion. State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R) calls it a responsible budget, though protesters at the Capitol clearly disagree. 'New York NOW' offers analysis of the new budget.

Congressmen Chris Gibson (R) and Paul Tonko (D) agree on the need to reduce the federal budget deficit, but diverge on how to do so. The two representatives also agree on the importance of nuclear safety regulations in New York, but veer apart on health care law. Also, Casey Seiler and Karen DeWitt analyze Gov. Andrew Cuomo's aggressive demand for an on-time budget from the state legislature.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Edmund Morris discusses his third volume on Theodore Roosevelt, the boisterous former president and New York governor. Moving from history to the present day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver say they are making progress on the state budget as Cuomo asks school districts to find budget efficiencies.