tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62432134873289114512011-07-30T16:05:48.478-07:00Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We’ll update you every other week with tidbits and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-22412522316410251282010-07-26T07:50:00.001-07:002010-07-26T07:50:59.054-07:00

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with insider news and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol. Seeing Stars Last week, two of New York’s greenest celebrities, folk singer and environmental hero Pete Seeger

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-57183108394729217092010-07-12T06:21:00.000-07:002010-07-12T06:22:00.703-07:00

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with insider news and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol. INTRODUCING . . . THE 2010 SUPER BILL SUPER STARS The 2010 New York State Legislative Session is over, at least for

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-45210184174651628352010-07-08T06:55:00.001-07:002010-07-08T06:55:40.299-07:00

END OF SESSION WRAP UP The 2010 New York State Legislative Session is largely over, although some action on the state budget remains, including possible overrides of the Governor’s line-item vetoes, (more than 6,700 to be exact, read more here) the State Assembly has gone home and the Senate may be back next week to pass the final piece of the budget—the revenue

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-1365730927422616952010-06-28T09:49:00.000-07:002010-06-28T09:50:07.219-07:00

Environmental Bills Hang in the Balance Last week, Governor Paterson set a hard deadline for the final New York State budget: today. While the budget has dampened a lot of expectations for victories this year, (you might remember the “Memorial Day Massacre, click here to read more about the Environmental Protection Fund and the state budget) we’ve got quite

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-14822728362319541112010-06-14T07:30:00.001-07:002010-06-14T07:30:29.125-07:00

Climate of Change: How Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Strengthens New York Business Tomorrow, Environmental Advocates of New York will release a report documenting three companies (Mascoma Corporation in Rome, Solar Energy Specialists in Brooklyn, and Zerodraft Energy Specialists in Syracuse and Albany) across the state that stand to benefit from New York State

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-57552276915941155222010-05-31T06:56:00.001-07:002010-05-31T06:56:53.730-07:00

NYS LEGISLATURE SWALLOWS POISON PARKS BILL Last week, Governor Paterson backed the New York State Legislature into a corner. In a move to correct his own errors in underfunding the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in his budget proposal earlier this year, the Governor forced a vote on his proposal to provide money to open state parks at the

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-67319423933414090562010-05-17T06:55:00.000-07:002010-05-17T06:56:20.864-07:00

DOUBLING DOWN: THE FURLOUGH LOW-DOWN In an effort to save cash, Governor Paterson announced a few weeks ago that he would include a one-day-a-week furlough plan for certain New York State employees in his emergency spending bills — the bills that keep New York State government running without a budget. Although the Legislature held their noses and signed-off on the Governor

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-50325514889256751212010-05-03T06:10:00.000-07:002010-05-03T06:11:16.181-07:00

FRACTURING THE STATE ON NATURAL GAS DRILLING? Last week, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that the New York City and Syracuse drinking watersheds will be treated differently from other watersheds when it comes to natural gas drilling. These unfiltered watersheds will be excluded from the pending generic environmental review

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-73620260672115467542010-04-19T13:45:00.001-07:002010-04-19T13:45:33.687-07:00

EARTH DAY 2010: 40+ YEARS OF VICTORIES On Tuesday, April 20th, hundreds of New Yorkers from every corner of the state will descend on Albany to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the 20th anniversary of Earth Day Lobby Day in the State Capitol. Environmental Advocates of New York will be celebrating like we always do by meeting with state leaders and lawmakers

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-39924303343240701652010-04-06T06:02:00.001-07:002010-04-06T06:02:55.618-07:00

BUDGET WATCH, CONTINUED New York leaders and lawmakers didn’t wrap up the state budget in time to meet the annual April 1st deadline. However, the State Senate and the Assembly did introduce their respective budget plans before leaving Albany for the holiday recess. And the news isn’t all bad. You may remember that earlier this year Governor Paterson introduced his

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-83143233945916764192010-03-22T06:01:00.001-07:002010-03-22T06:01:35.256-07:00

NY'S ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY FORCED TO CUT OVERSIGHT OF OIL & CHEMICAL SPILLS Environmental Advocates of New York has done a little research and we uncovered that based on the Governor’s proposed budget cuts the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will soon be forced to cut responses to oil spills by more than half and inspections of petroleum and chemical storage

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-3342564703016954502010-03-08T06:21:00.000-08:002010-03-08T06:22:19.800-08:00

EPF ISO FS LTR WITH NYS LAWMAKERS Tomorrow, Environmental Advocates of New York, and dozens of conservation, community, environmental, public health, parks, zoos, botanical gardens and other groups will launch an advertising campaign that calls on New York leaders and lawmakers to restore critical resources to the State’s Environmental Protection Fund. Governor

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-72535985786983092332010-02-22T10:04:00.001-08:002010-02-22T10:04:31.737-08:00

SORRY FOLKS, PARK'S CLOSED For some time now, Environmental Advocates of New York has said that the health of our shared environment isn’t too high on Governor Paterson’s priority list. After hemming and hawing on plans to reduce global warming pollution from power plants last year, cutting staff at the State’s Department of Environmental Conservation & Office of Parks &

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-17768063273109348862010-02-08T06:05:00.001-08:002010-02-08T06:05:29.962-08:00

TIME FOR NEW YORK STATE LAWMAKERS TO SHOW NEW YORK SOME LOVE Governor David Paterson’s spending plan for 2010-11, released earlier this year, would cut critical environmental programs to the bone, shut down state parks, and leave state agencies like the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) without enough staff to meet their responsibilities. The Governor

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-65675101708692707712010-01-25T05:58:00.001-08:002010-01-25T05:58:34.763-08:00

GOVERNOR TAKES AXE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS Governor David Paterson’s spending plan for 2010-11, released early last week, would cut critical environmental programs and state agencies to the bone. Environmental Advocates of New York condemns the Gov’s proposal to cut the State’s Environmental Protection Fund by $69 million, as well as his plans to cut staff at the

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-21796400910697916262010-01-11T06:37:00.001-08:002010-01-11T07:21:37.768-08:00

2010 GREEN TO-DO LIST This week, Environmental Advocates of New York released our legislative priorities for 2010. Our to-do list includes legislation and actions designed to protect the state’s environment and our quality of life. You’ll recognize some of this year’s top tier issues, but some are new. Climate change: The Global Warming Pollution Control Act would

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-29443707490430473692010-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:002010-01-08T12:50:35.921-08:00

NEW YORK'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND IS TIED UP IN KNOTS Environmental Advocates of New York released a report last week revealing for the first time how executive meddling, staff shortages and bureaucratic red tape are strangling New York’s environmental trust fund. According to the report, Tied Up In Knots, the Environmental Protection Fund has been raided to the

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-31782017726317080632009-12-14T13:00:00.000-08:002009-12-14T13:01:25.821-08:00

NOT Quite READY FOR “DRILL” TIME As part of Environmental Advocates of New York’s ongoing investigation into how staff and resource shortages at the State’s primary environmental agency impact air and water quality, we’ve turned up some startling facts. Most recently, our research uncovered that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has insufficient staff

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-21774424430271425872009-11-30T13:43:00.000-08:002009-11-30T13:44:12.027-08:00

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with insider news and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol. 4th Special Session is the Charm? For the last few weeks, members of the New York State Assembly and Senate have

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-59288193787332648202009-11-16T06:58:00.000-08:002009-11-16T06:59:22.162-08:00

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with insider news and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol. NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE MEETS IN "SPECIAL SESSION" Governor Paterson called lawmakers back to Albany last week

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-16512477117561189462009-11-02T06:36:00.000-08:002009-11-02T06:37:12.934-08:00

November 2, 2009 Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with tidbits and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol. DRILLER BACKS OFF "FRACKING" PLANS DUE TO NEW YORK STYLE HEADACHES Last week Chesapeake Energy

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-35268837235890905172009-10-19T07:15:00.000-07:002009-10-19T07:16:14.851-07:00

GOVERNOR RAIDS CLEAN ENERGY FUNDS TO FILL BUDGET GAP As part of Governor Paterson’s $5 billion deficit reduction plan, the Governor proposes sweeping $90 million from the pool of auction proceeds generated by New York’s role in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and cutting the Environmental Protection Fund by $10 million. While we’ve come to expect

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-48464323485072720392009-10-05T06:21:00.000-07:002009-10-05T06:22:10.656-07:00

GREEN GROUPS CALL ON GUV & DEC TO PROTECT NY FROM DRILLING At long last, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released their draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for oil and gas drilling. The draft could determine how New York State regulates industrial natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (often called

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-65986013840445637452009-09-21T06:50:00.000-07:002009-09-21T06:51:03.507-07:00

GREEN JOBS FOR A GREENER NEW YORK When the New York State Senate returned to Albany on September 10th, lawmakers overwhelmingly voted the right way on legislation that will save New Yorkers money by increasing the energy efficiency of an estimated one million homes and businesses and create new green jobs. Green Jobs-Green New York, which passed by a vote of 52

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-84160040339926115412009-09-08T09:51:00.000-07:002009-09-08T09:52:18.111-07:00

NEW YORK STATE SENATE PRIMED TO MOVE ON GREEN BILLS Late last Friday, the New York State Senate released a list of bills (“session draft proposed calendar agenda subject to revision”) that the house may or may not take up on their return to Albany this Thursday, September 10th. This is a step in the right direction. The list includes three bills that

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-18860579261598306222009-08-10T06:41:00.000-07:002009-08-10T06:42:23.192-07:00

FRIDAY: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES Just one day after taking the visionary step of setting a goal for New York State to reduce its contribution to global climate change, Governor David Paterson is turning his back on the environmental community, not to mention a host of other public interest groups, by releasing Executive Order #25. As far as we’re concerned

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-14368019979010366442009-07-27T06:36:00.001-07:002009-07-27T06:36:33.721-07:00

GREEN GROUPS' FACE OFF AGAINST MR. CLEAN DELAYED On July 23rd, a New York State Supreme Court judge rejected legal briefs filed by household cleaning giants Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight and Reckitt-Benckiser in a right-to-know case filed by environmental and public health advocates. Oral arguments in the case were scheduled to

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-11787204453601462842009-07-13T06:02:00.000-07:002009-07-13T06:03:18.127-07:00

NEW YORK'S LONG LEGISLATIVE RAIN DELAY IS OVER Last Thursday, just a few hours after the Governor presented his new Lieutenant Governor (the well-respected public transit advocate and all around good guy Richard Ravitch) to the public, Albany was ablaze in rumors and innuendos about how a new Lt. Gov would help or hurt the ongoing Senate stalemate. And then

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-81336886888680220342009-06-29T06:39:00.000-07:002009-06-29T06:40:12.366-07:00

Lather, Rinse & Repeat: No New NYS Senate News As you probably know by now, after a mere five months as the majority party in the New York State Senate, the Democrats became the minority on June 8th when two Senate Dems broke ranks to vote with Republicans to install Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) as Majority Leader—replacing Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans)—and

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-57787758511323051962009-06-15T06:47:00.001-07:002009-06-15T06:47:45.160-07:00

Now Playing: New York State Senate Interrupted As the New York State Senate battles over who gets more bacon bits (here, here and here for details), several critical environmental bills are stuck in limbo. These measures include a cap on global warming pollution, arguably one of the biggest challenges facing New York, a new electronic waste policy

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-75376920951824913722009-06-11T08:25:00.000-07:002009-06-11T08:26:54.612-07:00

Chaos Reigns: New York State Senate Flips Yesterday afternoon, as members of Environmental Advocates of New York’s crackerjack staff and Board of Directors were busy meeting with State Senators to encourage them to reduce the state’s contributions to global warming, a coup took place. After a mere five months in the driver’s seat, the Majority became the Minority once

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-59388091983134993762009-06-01T06:25:00.000-07:002009-06-01T06:26:07.797-07:00

$80 Million Held Hostage to Polluter's Lawsuit Environmental groups went to court last month to defend the nation’s first plan to cut global warming pollution from power plants, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Five groups filed papers (http://www.eany.org/news/RGGIAmicusBrief_05202009.pdf) in State Supreme Court supporting New York in its defense

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-51499517116156213522009-05-18T06:25:00.000-07:002009-05-18T06:26:33.947-07:00

Cap Carbon - New York Lawmakers in D.C. are hard at work on legislation to cut global warming pollution, but that’s not the whole story. State measures, like one on the table in Albany, would cut climate pollution further and faster and help ease New York’s transition to the new, renewable energy economy. So while Congress might get most of the media attention, there’s

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-56460782987566429712009-05-11T09:13:00.000-07:002009-05-11T09:14:19.532-07:00

Done (MTA) Deal It’s not perfect, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) got what it needed to avoid widespread service cuts and a massive fare increase. Late last night, New York State lawmakers passed a refinancing rescue plan for the beleaguered MTA. And just in time, too. Without a plan in place, the MTA would have been forced to cut service and

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-25935509065518709762009-05-11T09:11:00.000-07:002009-05-11T09:13:30.879-07:00

Governor’s Executive Order Could Dam up Safety Regulations An executive order signed by Governor Paterson last week has Albany insiders concerned that it could be used to roll back regulations that protect our air, water and land. Executive Order #17 requires all state agencies to assess how all current and future regulations could impact municipal property taxes.

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-56729488603443134072009-04-20T08:04:00.000-07:002009-04-20T08:05:25.175-07:00

TWO DAYS LEFT TO RAISE SOME GREEN Last week Environmental Advocates of New York launched a campaign to raise $4,000 by Earth Day to support our email action alert service. We’re almost half way there. Please consider making a donation to celebrate Earth Day in the next two days so we can keep providing this service free-of-charge to thousands of New Yorkers who care

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-32620382465222416462009-03-23T06:52:00.000-07:002009-03-23T06:54:24.401-07:00

MARCH MADNESS: BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN It’s that time of year again. The New York State budget season has arrived. The budget needs to get wrapped up by March 31st. And there’s a lot of pressure to get it done on time. Perhaps due to the twin pressures to get a deal done while making ugly budget cuts, Governor David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-24531856175132522402009-03-09T10:59:00.000-07:002009-03-09T11:00:15.752-07:00

GOING, GOING, GONE. NEW YORK'S ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST FUND According to our review of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, New York’s Environmental Protection Fund is going broke. Current funding requests will zero out the Fund before the end of the State Fiscal Year on March 31st. Now Governor Paterson and Budget Director Laura Anglin

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-44820260964078157752009-02-23T06:40:00.000-08:002009-02-23T06:44:18.470-08:00

WINE INSTEAD OF CLEAN WATER Why is New York State adding staff to review liquor permits but not water pollution permits or hazardous waste siting permits? Environmental Advocates of New York did a little state agency sleuthing and we were surprised by what we found.As you may already know, Governor Paterson put an agency-wide hiring freeze in place to address the state budget shortfall.

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-31401733561585391242009-02-09T06:25:00.001-08:002009-02-09T06:25:57.275-08:00

WE LOST THIS BATTLE. WE HAVEN'T LOST THE WAR. Last Tuesday night, New York State lawmakers passed a measure to plug the current year’s budget hole at the expense of the Environmental Protection Fund (and a lot of other worthy programs, too). The “deficit reduction bill” cut the Fund by $50 million. The agreed-to bill took some of the sting out of Governor Paterson’s

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-66653279354729851142009-01-26T06:28:00.000-08:002009-01-26T06:35:35.027-08:00

GREEN THE STIMULUSWow. That was quite a week. We witnessed a peaceful and historic transfer of power and Representative Kirsten Gillibrand was tapped to become New York’s junior Senator (click here to read more about the Gillibrand pick in the New York Post), and there’s so much more on the horizon.In the coming days, Congress, and later the Senate, will vote on the $850 Billion stimulus package

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6243213487328911451.post-79260039154527853752009-01-12T09:44:00.000-08:002009-01-21T09:47:53.297-08:00

ENERGY EFFICIENCY KEY TO FIX SORRY STATE OF THE (NY) STATEAmid the ever-gloomy economic crisis, Governor David Paterson gave his first State of the State address last week and he talked a lot about energy. Environmental Advocates of New York praised the Governor for recognizing the need to increase the state’s investment in energy efficiency and clean energy, critical

Capitol Insidernoreply@blogger.com