Assemblyman James Skoufis

New York state lawmakers and parent advocates gathered at a school district in Orange County Wednesday to promote a bill to ensure all students with disabilities participate in high school graduation ceremonies.

A New York state assemblyman from Orange County in the Hudson Valley is drafting legislation to repeal a clause in the new tuition-free pubic college program for middle-class students. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Wednesday enacting the program. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has more.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill requiring emergency medical technicians to be checked against the sex offender registry before being employed.

Two New York state lawmakers from the Hudson Valley say help is on the way for a local lake overrun with an invasive plant.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has vetoed for the second consecutive year an annexation oversight bill sponsored by Hudson Valley lawmakers.

A hospital in the Hudson Valley that was set to close its emergency department October 1, pending state approval, has put its closure application on hold.

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney was in Orange County Thursday, calling on the U.S. Coast Guard to listen to Hudson River communities when it comes to a proposal to establish anchorage sites in the river. Maloney and local elected officials want public hearings earlier in the process.

A New York state Assemblyman from the Hudson Valley says he will seek re-election instead of running for the Senate. 

New York’s Joint Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction kicked off a series of statewide forums last week. One of the co-chairs continues to push for a number of reforms he called for last year.

A Democratic assemblyman is exploring a run for the New York state Senate seat that has been occupied by the same Republican since 1991. Assemblyman James Skoufis believes now is the time for change and new ideas in the 39th district, where Bill Larkin serves as senator. Skoufis has set up an exploratory committee enabling him to raise funds for a potential run.

An assemblyman from the Hudson Valley supports New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposals for ethics reforms, but would like to see at least one go even further, especially following corruption convictions of various lawmakers.

Governor Cuomo in his January 13 state-of-the-state address called for limiting outside income as one portion of ethics reform. Democratic Assemblyman James Skoufis would like to see even stronger wording.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer stood at a rail crossing in Orange County on Thursday to talk about needed safety upgrades. The Democrat says there have been too many accidents and close calls at the site and he’s urging CSX to come to the table.

Kurt Hahn is emergency manager for the Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on Hudson. He showed Senator Chuck Schumer the area along the CSX tracks in the village where a November 25 accident occurred, the most recent at the site.

(Hahn and Schumer discuss accident along tracks.)

The Orange County executive held a public forum last night as part of the county’s parallel review of the controversial annexation proposal from the Hasidic Jewish village of Kiryas Joel. The forum drew several hundred residents and elected officials.

A New York state assemblyman from the Hudson Valley has authored legislation to reinstate a tax on banking corporations.

A New York state assemblyman introduced legislation today to dissolve the Committee on Open Government and replace it with a commission that has enforcement powers. He says the bill was prompted by the Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel’s alleged closed government tactics.

A public comment session on the Hudson Valley Hasidic Jewish village of Kiryas Joel’s controversial annexation proposal was held Tuesday evening — despite calls from some elected officials and area residents to postpone the session because of inclement weather. A village spokesman is defending the decision to press forward.

A New York state assemblyman from the Hudson Valley stands ready to take action against a local gas station owner if prices at a few stations near West Point aren’t lower by next month.

Democratic Assemblyman James Skoufis has written to the head of the only two gas stations in the Town of Highlands in Orange County asking that he lower prices that tend to run about 30 to 40 cents higher than in surrounding areas.

Several New York state legislators from the Hudson Valley haves signed onto a letter imploring the MTA to provide Orange and Rockland commuters with a one-seat ride to New York City’s Penn Station.

Two bills concerning West Point have passed the New York state Assembly and Senate. They now await the governor’s signature.

Representatives from Caesars Entertainment Thursday night unveiled some details of their proposed casino resort for Orange County for the first time in public. Area residents voiced more support than not. And the main focus was a longstanding concern in the area – traffic. 

Some New York state lawmakers are hosting their annual state budget meeting in Rockland County Thursday afternoon.

Voter turnout in off-year elections is generally much lower than in presidential election years, and turnout among young voters is no exception. Three politicians who have set records for being the youngest in one political office or another have ideas about where the problems lie. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has part two in our special series The Vote.

When it comes to cutting a hospital’s ER hours, a New York state assemblyman from the Hudson Valley has introduced legislation to require public input on the issue, and prohibit hospital executive bonuses in connection.

New York State’s Moreland Commission, in an effort to root out public corruption, is looking into lawmakers’ outside income. After some lawmakers rebuffed the Commission’s requests, its co-chairs indicated subpoenas were forthcoming.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was in the Hudson Valley this afternoon, his second stop of the day in communities that qualify for funding for recovery and rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy, Tropical Storm Lee, and Hurricane Irene under a new state program.

Governor Cuomo visited Stony Point, hit hard by storms before and after the bruising Hurricane Sandy last October. He says it is inarguable that we are living amid a new weather pattern.