On Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul finally unveiled the changes she wants to make to New York’s flagship climate law, after months of waffling.

The core of Hochul’s proposal is to push back the law’s first big deadlines for emissions reductions. The 2019 law requires New York to cut emissions 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. And it required the state environmental agency to issue regulations by the start of 2024 to achieve those cuts.

Hochul’s administration failed to do so, and was given an ultimatum of sorts by a judge last October: Issue the rules, or change the law.

Last week, the state legislature officially backed Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to offer every 4-year-old in New York a free pre-K seat within the next three years.

New York’s public pre-K program served three-quarters of eligible 4-year-olds last school year. But thousands of children statewide still lack access because their districts have limited seats or don’t offer it at all, New York Focus reported earlier this month. Last year, 49 districts opted out, many citing insufficient state funding, limited space, or staffing issues.

Hochul’s proposal would nearly double the state’s minimum reimbursement to $10,000 per student, but some district superintendents contend that amount would still not be enough to provide a seat to all applicants by the 2028–29 school year.

When the musical “KPOP” shut its doors in December 2022 after just 17 performances, it concluded a disappointing Broadway run. The show, which celebrated Korean music and cost about $13 million to make, sold too few tickets to stay open longer than two weeks.

But there was a silver lining for the show’s producers. About a year after “KPOP” closed, the State of New York awarded them $1.9 million. Taxpayers subsidized the show for an amount that comes out to more than $110,000 per performance, thanks to the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit.

The program began as a one-year, $100 million lifeline during the pandemic, which shut Broadway down for 18 months. It has been extended three times since. Now, Governor Hochul is proposing to grow the program by $150 million, bringing the state’s total outlay to $550 million through mid-2027 — even as Broadway attendance and revenues surpass pre-pandemic levels.

In fall 2023, Queens homeowner Claver Campbell saw an enticing social media ad promising a new roof and solar panels to qualifying seniors. She called the number listed and, within days, was signed up for the home upgrades — and, unbeknownst to her, a loan totaling $160,000. She tried to back out, but found herself stuck with a contract she could not afford.

Campbell eventually sued the companies responsible with the help of the Legal Aid Society, as New York Focus reported at the time. She recently settled the case for an undisclosed sum. But thousands more New Yorkers are in a situation like hers, according to a new lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James — and the state wants their money back.

James filed the suit against the solar company Attyx and two of its lending partners on Tuesday, alleging that Attyx “built its business by defrauding consumers” and made as much as $275 million in the process. The lawsuit claims that the company routinely used false or exaggerated promises of government incentives and energy bill savings to lure customers into solar contracts, leaving them on the hook for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans.