Politics

The Erie County Legislature agreed to put up the $5 million promised to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery by County Executive Mark Poloncarz, but it was along fight.

The New York State Legislature took final action on measures that could be used against President Donald Trump and his associates, including a backdoor way for Congress to view the president’s tax returns.

There is going to be a change at the top in the state’s Republican Party. Erie County GOP Chair Nick Langworthy has gathered the support of the majority of county chairs and will be replacing Ed Cox In July. The two met with the media Tuesday to talk about the transition.

Advocates for a bill that would allow terminally ill New Yorkers to end their own lives say the legislation has its best chance yet for passage in the Democratic-controlled state Legislature.

The New York State Senate acted Wednesday on measures that they say will improve safety on the state’s roads, including adding cameras to the stop arms of school buses.

After the failure to include legalized recreational marijuana in the New York state budget earlier this year, sponsors of the legislation say they are introducing a new bill that they hope stands a better chance at becoming law.

When Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced the city's budget for the approaching fiscal year, much of the discussion centered on a lower property tax rate and the ambitious set of goals outlined in the $508 million spending plan. After reviewing the proposal, Geoff Kelly of Investigative Post has raised several questions about some projected revenues. At the top of the list:  $11 million in casino revenue from the Seneca Nation of Indians, a funding line that is unlikely to be realized anytime soon.

Progressive groups, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, say they’re frustrated that action on left-leaning issues has stalled in New York in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Two bills approved Wednesday in the state Senate could affect President Donald Trump and his associates.

A laborer with the Erie County Department of Public Works, let go last summer while away on active duty with the Army National Guard, is being reinstated to his county job, County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Monday. The move was announced just moments before Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw and the head of the union representing Sgt. Rapheal Ramos were to host a news conference demanding the employee's rehire.

Howard Zemsky is heading back to the private sector after four years running New York's Empire State Development Corporation.

A bill that would create a back door method to release President Donald Trump’s taxes is moving through the State Senate and could be voted on as early as next week.

With his announcement today, former Vice President Joe Biden enters a crowded field of Democrats running for President in 2020. Bruce Fisher, Buffalo State Professor of Economics and Finance, acknowledges the difficulty ahead for Biden in separating himself from the many challengers. Still, Fisher, who worked as press secretary during Biden's 1988 Presidential bid, sees his former boss as a force in the campaign. "Biden is a very formidable candidate because he is going to be able to connect to Trump's base."

Public campaign financing could be coming to New York by the end of this year, now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature have created a commission to come up with a plan.

Almost two years ago, Democratic state Sen. Daniel Squadron from New York City resigned -- suddenly, after nine years in office. He said then that state governments were “petri dishes of corruption,” and announced a new effort that would focus on state laws and state elections. A year and a half later, his group, Future Now, has spent about $5 million on elections in Maine and New Hampshire.

Buffalo has a new interim City Comptroller, after a Common Council appointment Tuesday. It is an appointment subject to the voters in June and November.