Midday Magazine on WAMC

After accepting the recommendations of a panel appointed to study how public schools in New York can be improved, Governor Andrew Cuomo made it clear that not all schools are created equal, and they cannot be treated as such. The governor says schools in the poor, high-needs areas of New York must also provide student support in social services. Tim Kremer, the executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, agrees with the governor but has concerns about where the money will come from. He spoke today with WAMC’s Brian Shields.

For the second straight year, January has been dubbed “Falafel Awareness Month” by one regional restaurant. WAMC’s Alan Chartock spoke with Justin Goldman, general manager of Park Falafel and Pizza in Hudson, New York, to find out why.

The shootings of schoolchildren and teachers in Connecticut and firefighters in Western New York have added to one community's worries about safety in public buildings. Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports armed guards will be stationed at a motor vehicles office in Schoharie County.

The Vermont House Appropriations Committee began hearings this week a mid-year budget adjustment.

Although the full Vermont Legislature does not convene until next week, the House Appropriations committee is working on a bill that would make any necessary changes to the existing state budget. Committee Chair Martha Heath says because the session begins late this year, the House speaker felt she should begin hearings early.

The vote to avoid the fiscal cliff left a certain House bill still hanging, as House of Representative leaders did not hold a vote on Hurricane Sandy relief funds, a supplemental appropriations bill. And while lawmakers in the Hudson Valley affected by Sandy voted to avoid the fiscal cliff, they expressed frustration and disbelief at not having the chance to vote on the Sandy Aid package. The Senate did pass a $60.4 billion Sandy disaster relief package a few days ago.  Matt Dennis is the spokesman for Democratic Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who represents the 18th Congressional District, which includes parts of Rockland and Westchester Counties, areas hard-hit by Sandy.

The dreaded drop off the fiscal cliff has been avoided, so what does it mean for our taxes.  Before the agreement, there were dire predictions that many middle-class Americans could see their yearly tax bills go up by some three thousand dollars, if Congress and the White House did not agree on a tax and spending plan by the time the ball dropped in Times Square.

Members of Congress are ringing in the New Year down in Washington, D.C. racing against time to get a deal in place that averts sending the country over the so-called fiscal cliff.

After spending Christmas with the possibility of getting called back to Albany by Governor Cuomo for a special session hanging over their heads, it looks like state lawmakers can relax and enjoy themselves tonight.  Meanwhile, Cuomo has spent the past several days on a family ski vacation up in the North Country. It looks like it’ll be an Adirondack New Year’s for him.

WAMC’s Ian Pickus speaks with  Mark Arsenault, a Boston Globe Metro reporter who covers politics and who wrote this week about the coming Senate seat scramble in the Bay State.

In 2012 communities across Massachusetts have taken strides to limit tobacco use in public places and businesses. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard takes a look at what some communities are doing to reduce smoking, and what some hope to achieve in the new year…

You talk, we listen.  And now you can listen again.  Here are highlights of this week's WAMC Listener Comment Line.