Democrat & Chronicle: Editorials
Crunch time
Finally, lawmakers can be expected to become productive
(June 12, 2006) — As usual for this time of year in Albany as the legislative session winds down, it’s crunch time.
Second only to the flurry of activity around the April 1 deadline for adopting a new state budget, the next week represents the […]

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INSIGHT
“That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him […]

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Silver bill would hike Sullivan’s hotel tax
Monticello - There is an 11th-hour move in Albany to hike Sullivan County’s hotel room tax.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, introduced legislation this week authorizing the county to increase the tax from 2 percent to 5 percent. County legislators say they won’t increase the tax unless language in the […]

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New York State Mulls Largest Tax Increase Ever (to fund health care)
New York legislators, not satisfied with having the second highest tax burden in the nation, are pondering what some call “the biggest tax increase in the history” of the state, in order to force businesses to provide employee health care.
The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that […]

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U.S. Assails Albany’s Efforts on Medicaid Fraud
A scathing federal report on New York State’s efforts to root out Medicaid fraud criticized the state for inadequate staffing and lack of commitment to tracking down and punishing health care providers who might be abusing the system.
The report, released yesterday by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid […]

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Medicaid Fraud Mired in Debate by Lawmakers
ALBANY, June 9 — With New York’s $46 billion Medicaid program burdened by a well-documented fraud problem, both Democratic and Republican leaders agree that the state needs to crack down by creating an inspector general’s office.
But that does not mean it will get done.
With less than two weeks to […]

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Democrat & Chronicle: Editorials
Stop double-dipping
Quirk in state law needs to be corrected to aid taxpayers
How much longer must New York taxpayers pay twice to compensate public employees who are injured on the job? For as long as the state Assembly stands in the way of a sensible proposal to correct what amounts to a quirk […]

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HILLARY CLINTON’S DETECTIVE INVESTIGATING JOHN SPENCER!
New York Republican Senate hopeful John Spencer is accusing Sen. Hillary Clinton of mounting a dirty-tricks campaign to torpedo his candidacy, charging that a private detective agency employed by the Clintons during impeachment is now digging into his private life.
Citing campaign finance records, team Spencer says K.T. McFarland, his […]

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SPITZERS’ SWEET CHARITY
The multimillion-dollar charitable trust run by Eliot Spitzer’s parents…..paid “penalties” of $51,768 during 2004, federal tax records show.
The largest grants made by the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust went to…..the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease Research, $250,000; the American Museum of Natural History, $155,300; the Jewish Museum, $50,000; and the […]

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