Keshia Clukey

3 weeks ago | newsday.com | Keshia Clukey

ALBANY — A highly controversial bill known by opponents as physician-assisted suicide and supporters as medical aid in dying is "likely" to be voted on in the Democratic-led State Senate in the next week, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Thursday.

3 weeks ago | newsday.com | Keshia Clukey

ALBANY — Long Island school districts would be required to enter into labor agreements to employ union-level wages and protections under a bill in the State Legislature that opponents say could inflate costs and increase taxes. The proposed legislation would require school districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties starting next year to enter into what’s known as a project labor agreement, or PLA, for any construction or improvement projects costing $1 million or more.

1 month ago | newsday.com | Keshia Clukey

ALBANY — Businesses that pay manual workers biweekly, violating New York’s century-old weekly pay law, will no longer be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages under provisions in the state budget that provide flexibility for first-time offenders. The law, which has roots in the Industrial Revolution era, aims to protect manual laborers.

1 month ago | newsday.com | Keshia Clukey

ALBANY — New York State Democratic lawmakers are eyeing legislation that would reduce plastic packaging, increase recycling and move utilities away from fossil fuels before the legislative session ends in June. Proposed legislation also includes bills to increase the 5-cent bottle deposit to 10-cents to encourage recycling and to create a rebate for commercial landscapers who switch to electric leaf blowers.

1 month ago | timesunion.com | Keshia Clukey

BETHLEHEM — Police have ruled out foul play after the body of David P. Betterton Jr. of Dutchess County was removed from the Hudson River Tuesday night. Betterton, 41, was reported missing to State Police on Jan. 19, Bethlehem police said Wednesday. An investigation found his body had become attached to a barge that was coming from New Jersey through the Hudson River channel, and became detached while it was docked at the North Albany Port Terminal.