Tag Archives: NY State

Wal-Mart Death Stampede

It truly is Black Friday. A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said. The 34-year-old employee, a temporary maintenance worker, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m. Witnesses said the surging throngs …

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NY: Two Dem Senators Want A State Referendum On Marriage Equality

The battle for New York senate majority leader continues as a trio of Democratic senators say they want a Latino in the post, not current Minority Leader Sen. Malcolm Smith, who is African-American. And two of the three, Sen. Carl Kruger and Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. say they want a state referendum on marriage equality rather than a legislative approval. …

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Dems Take NY Senate Majority

The Democratic Party has won a majority in the New York State Senate for the first time in 44 years. And not since 1935 have the Democrats controlled both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion. However, the presumptive Senate Majority Leader, Malcolm Smith, faces a quartet of Democratic senators (all from NYC) who have so far refused …

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NY Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith Won’t Talk About Marriage Equality

You may recall that in September I worried about NY Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith’s tepid enthusiasm for marriage equality. If the Democrats seize the majority next week, it will incumbent upon Smith as the new Majority Leader to finally put the issue before the Senate, potentially the final step for approval as the Democrat-dominated Assembly has already approved the …

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Joe Bruno Announces Retirement

Oh, happy day! New York State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Brunswick), long the greatest obstacle to getting LGBT rights advanced in the state, has announced that he will not seek reelection. Bruno’s decision will end a more than three-decade career that led him to become one of the most powerful men in state government, and the defacto leader of …

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NY State Assembly Approves GENDA

Via the Empire State Pride Agenda: Today the New York State Assembly voted 102-33 to amend the state’s human rights law to include anti-discrimination protections based upon gender identity and expression. The bill (A.6584a), known as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) bans discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, credit, public accommodations, and other areas of everyday life. “The …

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Our Blind Governor

The New York Times has a fascinating story on how Gov. Paterson deals with his blindness in his daily duties. It is a phone number that just a handful of the governor’s senior aides know. At the end of each day they call in and record briefings, laying out what he needs to know about the following day. They recite …

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Paterson Sworn In As Governor

I just watched our new governor, David Paterson, being sworn in at a joint session of the state legislature. Probably like most of the people of New York, this was the first time I’d heard Paterson speak and I found him quite charming. After taking the oath of office (which was followed by a standing ovation and chants of “David! …

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Was Wall Street Behind Spitzer’s Downfall?

The Sunday Times is speculating that Eliot Spitzer’s downfall might have been orchestrated by Wall Street bankers angry with Spitzer’s vigorous pursuit of white-collar criminals. Both of the banks that reported Spitzer’s money transfers (which proved to be payments to the Emperors VIP Club) had been the subject of investigations by Spitzer’s office. When the case against the one man …

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Gone

Spitzer: “I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me. To every New Yorker, and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize. Over the course of my public life, I have insisted — I believe correctly — that people regardless of their position or power …

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NYS Assembly’s O’Donnell Advances
To Key Education Post

Openly gay New York State Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell (D-NYC) has been named to the Standing Committee On Education. O’Donnell was the prime sponsor of the Dignity For All Students Act, the anti-bullying and discrimination in public schools legislation which passed in the Assembly last week. O’Donnell: “I believe this advocacy to be the most important aspect of this appointment.” The …

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Bisexual Wins Seat In NY State Assembly

On Tuesday, openly bisexual Micah Kellner won his special election to the New York State Assembly, defeating Republican, yet gay-friendly and progressive, Gregory Camp. Kellner is the first openly bisexual person ever elected to the state Assembly and joins as the fifth openly LGBT person presently serving in the state legislature. The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund released a statement: …

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