Karen DeWitt

1 month ago | timesunion.com | Karen DeWitt

Andrew Cuomo appears to be steamrolling his way to becoming New York City’s next mayor, his Act III in American politics. And during this surreal and unbelievably fraught time — as an oligarch burns down the federal government, the president mounts a shambolic trade war with Canada, and a U.S. health secretary recommends cod liver oil instead of vaccines to stem a measles outbreak — that might not be such a terrible thing. I’m not the first person you’d predict to express this opinion.

Jan 19, 2025 | timesunion.com | Karen DeWitt

My friends have deserted me. At least when it comes to avidly following the news. It was just a few short weeks ago, namely before Nov. 5, that we were all on text chains analyzing minute details in the latest polls, offering each other running commentary on each twist and turn of the presidential campaign, assuaging each other’s fears that what we viewed as an existential threat would not happen.

Jun 22, 2024 | timesunion.com | Karen DeWitt

It’s November 8, 1994. I’m at a hotel ballroom in Midtown Manhattan, covering then-Gov. Mario Cuomo’s reelection night party for New York’s public radio stations. Cuomo, a national figure and a hero of the liberal left, was seeking a fourth term in office. In my recollection, many of his aides and advisers that night were hopeful, even confident, that he would succeed.

Jun 20, 2024 | wamc.org | Karen DeWitt

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Thursday that will regulate how children use social media. Hochul championed the bills, making them her top priority in the final days of the legislative session. “Today, we save our children,” Hochul said.

Jun 17, 2024 | wamc.org | Karen DeWitt

Gov. Kathy Hochul is warning New Yorkers to take precautions during this week’s extreme heat wave. Hochul said Tuesday that cooling stations are being set up across the state, and she has deployed the National Guard to portions of upstate. She said 50 guard members have been deployed to Syracuse and Albany, where the heat is expected to be the worst on Tuesday. It will be bad later in the week in the downstate area.