Topics Reporter's Notebook
New York Business Groups Rally Around Trump-Backed Pipeline

Business interests have launched a campaign to back National Grid’s demands for more gas, with fingerprints of the utility’s lobbying firm.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   August 29, 2025
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Troubled Bronx Charity Continues to Receive Government Grants

New York lawmakers are giving more money to the Bronx Community Foundation, which has failed to spend it in the past.

Sam Mellins   ·   August 28, 2025
Advocates Float Contempt Ruling for New York Prison Agency

The Legal Aid Society alleges that DOCCS declared an overbroad emergency to keep incarcerated people locked in their cells for upward of 20 hours a day.

Chris Gelardi   ·   August 20, 2025
Brooklyn Power Broker Files Raft of Lawsuits for Doctor Tied to Alleged Fraud

Frank Seddio is representing Jules Parisien in over 500 cases — despite the physician’s history of insurance fraud allegations.

Chris Bragg   ·   August 18, 2025
Major Pipeline Moves Closer to Approval in New York as Critics Decry ‘Bargain’ with Trump

Public comments are closing soon for an underwater pipeline project that sprang back to life this spring after talks between Hochul and Trump.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   August 8, 2025
Why Won’t New York Lawmakers Call a Special Session to Address Trump’s Cuts?

Fiscal advocates warn the governor and state lawmakers against punting a difficult discussion on how to deal with imminent cuts.

Jie Jenny Zou   ·   July 24, 2025
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Shadowy Political Attack Targets Harrison Mayor Amid Primaries

A harsh mailer capitalized on recent reporting about a controversial rezoning deal in the Westchester town.

Chris Bragg   ·   June 24, 2025
Lobbyists ‘Deploy’ to Stop Sovereign Debt Reform Bill

Four lobbying groups representing Wall Street firms are trying to block the bill from passing in the final days of the legislative session.

Julia Rock and Chris Bragg   ·   June 12, 2025
Ad Campaign Funded by Chemical Industry Skirted Campaign Finance Rules

A campaign group run by New York’s business lobby and backed by the American Chemistry Council failed to submit copies of mailers it sent in support of candidates.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   May 15, 2025
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Health Execs’ Charity Gave Away Millions. Don’t Ask Where it Went.

The Modim Foundation is tied to a health insurer that will begin providing coverage to thousands of New York’s home health aides in May. It refuses to disclose where its gifts go, in a violation of tax law.

Sam Mellins   ·   May 1, 2025
St. Regis Mohawk School at Risk as State Funding Falls Short

Governor Hochul’s budget allocates only a fraction of what the state Board of Regents suggested for three state-owned Indigenous schools.

Bianca Fortis   ·   March 30, 2025
As Deaths Mount in New York Jails and Prisons, Advocates Rally for Oversight

They want to beef up the powerful but little-known State Commission of Correction.

Chris Gelardi   ·   March 29, 2025
Photo triptych of three images: Governor Kathy Hochul at a Buffalo Bills game, frozen water pipes, and the Court of Appeals.
Bills Receipt, Clean Water Funding, and Court of Appeals

A $1,700 Bills suite tab was paid with campaign funds, bipartisan support for clean water funding, and New York’s top court upheld a man’s conviction despite his negligent lawyer.

Chris Bragg, Sam Mellins and Colin Kinniburgh   ·   January 31, 2025
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Green Funding Feint, Foundation Aid Update, and Lobbying Fines

Hochul proposes school funding updates and a climate funding alternative. A prominent lobbying firm racks up fines.

Bianca Fortis, Colin Kinniburgh and Chris Bragg   ·   January 24, 2025
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Covering Governor Hochul’s 2025 State of the State

Our team will be descending upon Albany on Tuesday. Here’s what they’ll be watching.

New York Focus   ·   January 13, 2025
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Cannabis Connections, and Prison Abuse

Updates about an increase in emissions, violence within New York’s prison system, and a breakup of two nonprofits over cannabis in NYC.

Sam Mellins, Chris Gelardi and Colin Kinniburgh   ·   January 9, 2025
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