![A Long Island Rail Road conductor standing inside a train gestures with his hand.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/NCbn_fP_jR35I8y89WQ-brL8SnuJV9O24EeMtGOeJtM/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9MSVJSLWNvbmR1Y3Rvci5qcGc.jpg)
Before Kathy Hochul paused it, the tolling program lost the little labor support it had when the Transport Workers Union withdrew its backing this spring.
![A $100 bill behind a transparent photo of an EKG reading.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/tVO5AV75G1R_J6jMcHQheSrjdNs7eLBM6d3wCihLPgE/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9KYWlsLU1lZGljYWwtQ2FyZS1JbGxvLnBuZw.jpg)
More counties are turning to private corporations to run medical care in jails. The companies have deadly track records.
![Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at his desk in the state Capitol](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/RSLFpS9BlUzLzGiZM4LgvhXzOa_IvRrJjif8u2qPl5M/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9oZWFzdGllX3NwZWFrZXJfcGxhY2FyZC5qcGVn.jpg)
Rebecca Lamorte was let go by her employer in June, prompting the Assembly Speaker to place an upset call to her boss.
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/YubH6G3yrrWUHY23b--vP5cKN1m6sBuO-6Zr-GpSmxY/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9jaXptYXppYS1raW5nc3Rvbi1yZW50LXJlZ3VsYXRpb25zLmpwZw.jpg)
For tenants in the first upstate city to adopt rent stabilization, benefiting from the law’s basic protections is an uphill battle.
![An electric MTA bus is charging at an electric charging port.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/7mMrUoYOURLZxmnEBstxAp9gu1iqH6s_MCFL9_EPtRM/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9lbGVjdHJpYy1idXMtY2hhcmdpbmcuanBn.jpg)
As the state has backpedaled on congestion pricing, it has made no progress on nearly half of its other transit-related climate goals.
![A sign for the Guthrie Cortland Medical Center](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/JnhFO3colPD_gwyee3N0o8BIY9rgHQou8r86Utm4QmY/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ndXRocmllLWNvcnRsYW5kLW1lZGljYWwtY2VudGVyLmpwZw.jpg)
Medicare Advantage plans are spreading across upstate New York, despite a reputation for denying care. In Cortland County, retirees kept it at bay.
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/TEPxDH44HXKUAgODmlrHQlHFXSlDUG1jWau7IjWeIIc/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9OWS1wb2xpdGljaWFucy10cmFuc2l0LnBuZw.jpg)
Some of the state’s top Democrats slammed the governor, while others supported the pause or stayed mum. Republicans want congestion pricing killed altogether.
![Governor Kathy Hochul at an event](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/_A46OmTK27BFCM-WJzZbK4DgNRv1e4-8oAHbdnyxf2I/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWxfY29uZ2VzdGlvbl9wcmljaW5nX3F1ZXN0aW9ucy5qcGc.jpg)
After the governor declined to answer questions, a New York Focus reporter was ejected from her event.
![MTA workers in a tunnel](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/PfI9aHkOSIPeK8J_-KELv5jHGW_AEjr4IW4qs3qLSFk/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9zZWNvbmRfYXZlbnVlX3N1YndheS5qcGc.jpg)
We asked 26 lawmakers who support the congestion pricing pause how they propose to fund transit upgrades. Most shrugged.
![Governor Hochul in front of](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/GD50CGBwNSbxKzIvHJbqJJdX5402u2jSMEf_XBx7r6M/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWxfY2xjcGFfZGVhZGxpbmVzLmpwZw.jpg)
The state is blowing past key milestones on the way to its big emissions targets.
![A house damaged by a storm, set against a background of oil rigs.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/gUPd-_AmIW-tVN4mluqev2hncu27FHZS7adeRk2nM2g/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9jbGltYXRlLWhvbWUtaW5zdXJhbmNlLnBuZw.jpg)
As climate disasters threaten a home insurance crisis, a new state bill aims at the problem’s root.
![A blurred Kathy Hochul](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/2JfwV7CwBQoqAfDAs-u0YgXCW19U7AOigWZUoxwaymU/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy83XzIwMjQtMDYtMDctMTUxNTA0X2t2dmwuanBn.jpg)
Since announcing her plan to put the program on ice, the governor has not appeared in public.
![A hand places a ballot with the Solidarity PAC logo in a ballot box.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/x3eRny9IB2bVGX2zaRCRmOZ-BAghkyhLxMukWKjYaiQ/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9zb2xpZGFyaXR5LXBhYy1iYWxsb3QtYm94LnBuZw.jpg)
The recently formed Solidarity PAC has mobilized big finance and real estate to target socialists and the Working Families Party.
![DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon (red jacket, left) with Governor Kathy Hochul at a Women's Equality Day event in Albany on August 26, 2022.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/_RvCr3JPGbgaZeenO8rgM_qH-HJUPCWtfr2VBryKK3o/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9yZWFyZG9uLWhvY2h1bC5qcGc.jpg)
No state pursues workers for overpaid unemployment benefits as aggressively as New York. A proposed reform is colliding with New York’s own repayment problem.
![New York State Capitol in front of question marks](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/M6F27FtwFni0zLkJUlsCFTOVh0tMlYp_2-UTkdI-VpM/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9zZWNyZXQtc2VuYXRlLXdvcmtpbmctcnVsZXMtZ3JvdXAuanBn.jpg)
A secret group of Senate Democrats helped decide the fate of nearly 650 bills over the last month. Just don’t ask any questions.
![Kathy Hochul in front of traffic](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/4R9-ZKRT2zJQoU_sXVWvF51MgEW4LOE__Ks2TUKzsAw/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWxfY29uZ2VzdGlvbl9wcmljaW5nLmpwZw.jpg)
Lawsuits had threatened to kill congestion pricing. Now, it might take a lawsuit to save it.
![A mostly-empty floor of slot machines at Resorts World Catskills, with one gambler sitting off to the side.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/X-ndk4w0kAaf1fdsoxGpfIRxUGy-hvHtBGunaJ0ttYg/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ydy1jYXNpbm8tZmxvb3IuanBn.jpg)
Legislation to accelerate New York’s casino process copies a lobbying firm’s draft version nearly word for word.
![A nurse stands at a computer in a school nurse's office](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/FJ2J3EJc_gZZt7_2slyntRuLLOm2GSCjXDYSd_oQ_6I/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy90ZWxlaGVhbHRoLW51cnNlLmpwZw.jpg)
In rural school districts where doctors are hard to find, in-school telehealth services seemed like a good solution. Then New York state stopped funding them.
![New York Governor Kathy Hochul shakes hands with someone in a Buffalo Bills uniform at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/qmb9H8P21nPQ87--u-HNo5Px2Rw1owG9dcS9RpnUoa4/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtYmlsbHMtaGFuZHNoYWtlLmpwZw.jpg)
Asked for records related to top politicians’ use of a Buffalo Bills suite, Empire State Development cited potential interference with a law enforcement investigation.
![An ornate Senate staircase in New York's Capitol building in Albany](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/iv-wgkwKDtecsNae8nNHOphIGPeToQPMGAe-rz-hpdU/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9zZW5hdGUtc3RhaXJzLXdvcmtpbmctcnVsZXMuanBn.jpg)
You haven’t heard of it, and your state senator might not have either. The Working Rules group helps determine the fate of hundreds of bills at the end of each legislative session.