By Flickr user ejpphoto
Good morning!
Announcement: We have dates for Justice Works 2015! It’ll be May 30 & 31 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY. Let us know that you want to come by clicking here.
Issues
Obamacare plans popular in NY. According to a newly released survey, when asked if they would renew their insurance plan, 92% of New Yorkers responded that they were at least somewhat likely to do so. Crain’s
Charter school billionaires who bankrolled Senate elections already looking to cash in. “The opportunities to change public education are immense,” said Kyle Rosenkrans, CEO of the Northeast Charter Schools Network. “If we don’t raise the cap and fund charters more fairly, it will be all for naught.” Daily News
Push for minimum wage increase before new legislature sits. Some are encouraging Governor Cuomo to call the legislature back to session this year to pass a minimum wage increase before the Republican majority takes over in the Senate. Wall Street Journal
Buffalo subject of “Whiteness Project.” A1 of the Buffalo News today features coverage of a PBS interactive video series about white people being interviewed about being white. Without comment… The Buffalo News
Corporations jockey for Common Core contracts worth billions. Now that states are working on implementing Common Core, companies are pushing for their products to be key parts of implementations. Wall Street Journal
Farm won’t allow gay weddings. Capital Region attraction, Liberty Ridge Farm, has stopped booking all wedding ceremonies after a court fined them $13k for refusing a same-sex ceremony. They’re still booking receptions. Times Union
Profile: Campbell Brown’s education fight. The Observer profiles Campbell Brown’s charter school advocacy and her anti-union fight. New York Observer
Inside Baseball
Cuomo appoints new OCFS Commissioner. Governor Cuomo has appointed Roberto Velez as commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services. “Roberto Velez most recently served as Vice President for Corporate Compliance and Counsel for Acacia Network, Inc., a Latino-based network of agencies offering health, housing and economic development services to New York City residents.” New York Nonprofit Press
NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney will be taking a reporting position with Capital New York starting on Monday. Capital New York
De Blasio wants IDC to stay with Dems. “There’s a very serious agenda that has to be achieved in Albany and I think everyone should be judged on how they respond to that agenda. Look, I think the citizens of this state are watching carefully and they’ll make their judgments in the future based on how people handle this moment,” he said. Capital New York
PCCC to meet with Clinton staff. Progressive Change Campaign Committee will be meeting with Hillary Clinton’s staffers “soon” about a broad range of progressive issues. MSNBC
Elections
The Progressive Economic Narrative works. Richard Kirsch makes the case that Democrats who ran on a populist economic narrative won. We just need to use it more. Huffington Post
Money in Politics
Messages about money in politics didn’t work. I missed this long analysis from earlier this week that contends lefties weren’t successful in using anti-money in politics messages during this year’s election. But, “Some activists seeking to curb the political power of wealthy interests also see the anti-Koch strategy as problematic.” Washington Post
Jindal’s spending is questioned. Republican Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who will only continue his elected political career if it means running for the presidency, has spent a boat load of campaign cash from his state-level political campaign account on what some view as the first steps in running for federal office, which would be an ethics violation, if not downright illegal. New Orleans Times-Picayune
$127M in secret cash funded US Senate victories. According to a new Brennan Center report, $127M was spent in 10 US Senate races by groups that are not required to disclose their donors. Bloomberg
Opinion Pages
New York Times Editorial – Turnout was terrible in the elections, we need to make voting easier.
Times Union Letter to the Editor by PAUSE’s Sandy Steubing – Sandy urges Governor Cuomo and State DEC Commission Martens to ban oil trains.
Buffalo News Editorial – They say SUNY tuition hikes are ok because it’s still cheaper than private schools and other state’s schools.
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