Tagged: budget cuts

Local members of Congress are pleased to see the U.S. Postal Service withdraw its plan to halt Saturday mail delivery. But the decision still leaves several unsolved issues.

Earlier this week the U.S. Postal service announced that it would delay implementation of a plan to halt Saturday mail service sought by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

The announcement came after the Board of Governors met to discuss a piece of legislation included in the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress last month that requires six-day mail delivery.

Out of the cuts included in the House Ways and Means proposal, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a public agency that promotes investment in the arts and sciences, is facing a 15 percent reduction in state funding. And arts advocates are moving quickly.

Matt Wilson is head of MASSCreative, an organization that lobbies in support of cultural organizations and arts and sciences education.

Federal officials are advising travelers to expect longer wait times during the Easter weekend at the border crossings with Canada in western and northern New York.

New York State lawmakers were  finished work on the state budget Thursday evening, completing the spending plan three days before the deadline.   

The Assembly held a marathon day of voting to wrap up work on the budget , after the State Senate finished up in a midnight session earlier.

Debate on the floor included criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, over $90 million dollars in cuts to providers of services for the developmentally disabled. Lawmakers have set up a task force to try to mitigate the cuts.

The looming automatic federal budget cuts - or sequestration - will trickle down to all parts of the economy.  During a meeting on business confidence, northern New York officials predicted serious consequences for some economic sectors in the region.  They are also disappointed that Congress can’t, or won’t, work to find the 2-percent cuts in the federal budget.