Chris Bragg, New York Focus’s Albany bureau chief, reflects on how even the most familiar topics brought new twists to his coverage in 2024.
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New York is an incongruous state. We’re home to fabulous wealth — if the state were a country, it would have the tenth largest economy in the world — but also the highest rate of wealth inequality. We’re among the most diverse – but also the most segregated. We passed the nation’s most ambitious climate law — but haven’t been meeting its deadlines and continue to subsidize industries hastening the climate crisis.
As New York’s only statewide nonprofit news publication, our journalism exists to help you make sense of these contradictions. Our work scrutinizes how power works in the state, unpacks who’s really calling the shots, and reveals how obscure decisions shape ordinary New Yorkers’ lives.
In the last two decades, the number of local news outlets in New York have been nearly slashed in half, allowing elected officials and powerful individuals to increasingly operate in the dark — with the average New Yorker none the wiser.
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New York Focus education reporter Bianca Fortis reflects on the most important education stories in New York this year, and what to keep an eye on next year.
New York Focus reporter Julia Rock reflects on her varied coverage of state policy in an end-of-year wrapup.
New York Focus climate reporter Colin Kinniburgh reflects on his environmental coverage over the past year and what’s coming on the beat in 2025.
The state is due to unveil a “cap and invest” program — its biggest effort yet to fund climate initiatives. But fears about hiking prices may limit its scope.
New York Focus reporter Sam Mellins reflects on what he learned this year, and teases what lies ahead for 2025.
An advisory group set up under a 2021 state law finalized its proposals to cut child poverty in half.
