NY Focus

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Articles

Hundreds of New Yorkers’ Lives could be saved each year under new program

1 month ago | ithacavoice.org | Sam Mellins |NY Focus

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. ALBANY, N.Y. — James Urtel desperately needs a kidney. His own failed in 2012 — when he was 42 years old, working as a horse trainer — and he went through eight years of dialysis before being matched for a transplant. But his new kidney was heavily scarred and doctors told him it likely wouldn’t last longer than a year.
Housing hopes, or housing half-measures? State of the State 2025

Jan 15, 2025 | ithacavoice.org | Sam Mellins |NY Focus

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. ALBANY, N.Y. — When it comes to housing, Governor Kathy Hochul has been banging on the same drum for years: New York isn’t building enough. In public appearances and interviews, she has repeatedly emphasized that New York’s housing shortage is driving up costs and pushing people out of the state.
Senate Democrats lock down as secret committee comes to light

Jun 23, 2024 | niagara-gazette.com | Chris Bragg |Sam Mellins |NY Focus

This story first appeared in New York Focus, a non-profit news publication investigating New York state politics. Sign up for their stories at nysfocus.com/newsletter. •••ALBANY — Early Tuesday morning, a select circle of state senators began filing into the office of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, on the fourth floor of the state capitol building in Albany.
Senate Democrats lock down as secret committee comes to light

Jun 23, 2024 | lockportjournal.com | Chris Bragg |Sam Mellins |NY Focus

This story first appeared in New York Focus, a non-profit news publication investigating New York state politics. Sign up for their stories at nysfocus.com/newsletter. •••ALBANY — Early Tuesday morning, a select circle of state senators began filing into the office of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, on the fourth floor of the state capitol building in Albany.
Competition Heats Up For Coveted New York Casino Licenses

Jun 11, 2024 | straighttothepoint.substack.com | NY Focus |Steve Ruddock

NEWS: New York’s downstate casinos are still years away, but the competition for the available licenses is heating up. QUICK HITTER: Illinois Governor signs sports betting tax increase into law. VIEWS: ESPN Bet is in the early stages of its life, and there are already calls to pull the plugs. NEWS: Fantasy sports operators team up to create the Coalition for Fantasy Sports and appoint a former LVS executive to lead the charge. BEYOND the HEADLINE: Underdog Fantasy partners with the UFL.
Your guide to the 2024 State Budget fight

Mar 15, 2024 | ithacavoice.org | NY Focus

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. Between now and April 1, New York’s lawmakers will negotiate how to spend the state’s billions. They may or may not hit their April Fool’s Day budget deadline. Along with allocating state funding, they have to sort out a host of contentious policy issues, from health care workers’ wages to tenants’ rights.
The billion-dollar debate splitting New York’s renewable energy industry

Nov 12, 2023 | niagara-gazette.com | Colin Kinniburgh |NY Focus

IT’S BEEN THE FIGHT of the summer in renewable energy world. Will states shell out more cash to solar and wind developers who won contracts before pandemic-related inflation slammed their projects? Trade groups for the developers argue that the subsidy hikes are the only way to keep planned renewables afloat and get them built in time to meet rapidly approaching climate deadlines. Others aren’t so sure.
Why your energy bills are going up. New York’s labyrinthine 'rate case' process, explained.

Aug 14, 2023 | niagara-gazette.com | Colin Kinniburgh |NY Focus

New York Focus is a non-profit news publication investigating how power works in New York state. If you live in New York City, get ready for a big electric bill this month. Behind the spike is a little-known, deeply bureaucratic process: Meet the “rate case.”It’s a long, winding, technical ordeal, structured in many ways like a court case, that dictates how much New Yorkers pay for some of the most basic daily necessities: energy and water. And it’s hardly restricted to New York City.
Will a fear of fires burn New York?

Aug 7, 2023 | niagara-gazette.com | Nathan Porceng |NY Focus

New York Focus is a non-profit news publication investigating how power works in New York state. It takes about an hour to drive to the Canadian border from the tiny town of Croghan, New York. The area is heavily forested, on the edge of the sprawling Adirondack Park, and in the event of a wildfire, local volunteers bear responsibility for controlling and containing the blaze — even if it’s on state land. So far, they’ve had success.