Susan Arbetter

Albany

Political Anchor at Spectrum News Capital Region

Political Anchor at Spectrum News Rochester

Political anchor for Spectrum News. Formerly WCNY, WMHT, WAMC. Emmy, Murrow, AP, NYSBA, Scripps-Howard, Headliner & NY Women's Press Club Hall of Honor

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Articles

N.Y. bill would aim to counter threat of federal funding withholdings to state

2 days ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

Due to pandemic aid, New York state currently receives more money from the federal government than New Yorkers send to Washington in federal taxes. Not only is this four-year trend about to end, but it is also a shift from a decades-long imbalance that former U.S. Sen.
N.Y. early intervention providers hope for 5% increase

6 days ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

If you have a child with a learning disability, a hearing issue or a speech impediment, he or she may need what’s called “early intervention." These are evaluations and therapeutic help for young children who may have developmental delays and/or disabilities. The Agencies for Children’s Therapy Services, or ACTS, is an association of 40 early intervention agencies which provide services both in-home and in community settings.
Survivors of domestic violence push Hochul’s agenda on discovery law changes

1 week ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced a framework compromise between the state’s district attorneys and legislative leadership regarding the state’s discovery laws. Discovery is the formal process of exchanging information about witnesses and evidence between the prosecution and the defense in a case that they’ll present at a trial. It’s been amended multiple times since it overhauled in 2019.
Heastie: N.Y. Assembly Dems 'OK in moving forward' on discovery compromise

1 week ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, one of the “three people in a room” who hammer out the contours of a state budget, announced Tuesday that progress was being made on one of the stickier issues holding up the spending plan: Discovery. He told Capital Tonight that over the last four days, he and his staff, working with the five New York City district attorneys, came up with a framework of a deal on the issue that he presented to his conference Tuesday.
N.Y. comptroller audit indicates state still needs to learn lessons from COVID

1 week ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released an audit on Friday showing that much of the medical equipment, including oxygen tanks, ventilators and CPAP machines purchased by the Cuomo administration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic have just been sitting around in their original packaging in warehouses in various parts of the state. Some of this equipment needs regular maintenance, which it has not received.
State Sen. James Skoufis: 'Don’t call it a mask ban'

1 week ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

One of the issues holding up the state budget is a push to institute a mask ban, though one of proposal’s authors would prefer you didn’t label it “a ban." His argument is that the proposal is much narrower than a full ban on masking. “There is a characterization out there that this is a mask ban; this is not a mask ban,” Skoufis told Capital Tonight. “The only circumstances during which the wearing of masks would be banned is if that individual is harassing or menacing someone.”Gov.
A victory for not-for-profit hospice, if Hochul signs the bill

1 week ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

A bill prohibiting the establishment of new for-profit hospices in New York state has passed both legislative houses. The bill (S3437 Krueger/ A565 Paulin) has been kicking around the Legislature for three years. In 2022, it passed both houses of the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. In 2023 and 2024, the bill was only passed by the Senate. In her 2022 veto message, Hochul stated she wanted the stakeholders in the state’s Master Plan for the Aging to weigh in on the issue.
Heastie: 'We are not trying to go to war with Gov. Hochul'

2 weeks ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

As first reported by WNYC’s Gothamist, New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is proposing legislation that will continue paychecks to lawmakers if the budget is late and if the governor includes unrelated policy items in the spending plan. The proposal comes as the legislature and the governor appear to be stalled on a variety of policy issues in budget talks. The legislation is one of the most aggressive tactics the legislature has taken against Gov. Kathy Hochul since she took power in 2021.
Asm. Pamela Hunter talks dire impact of cuts to veterans services, state budget

2 weeks ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

Just last week, Secretary of U.S. Veterans Affairs Doug Collins announced he would be cutting the department’s workforce by 80,000 people, which includes numerous veterans. It’s an issue close to the heart of Army veteran and Syracuse Assemblywoman Pam Hunter, speaker pro tempore of the state Assembly. Hunter is a member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs as well as the chair of the Subcommittee on Women Veterans. “This is not what our veterans deserve,” she told Capital Tonight.
Majority of N.Y. Senate Dems condemn Trump administration’s actions

2 weeks ago | spectrumlocalnews.com | Susan Arbetter

Thirty-five of the 41-member Senate Democratic conference in New York are condemning the Trump administration for what they see as violations of laws and norms. In what could be the first of its kind in the nation, the senators issued a joint statement late last week criticizing the administration’s failure to follow due process; its chaotic dismantling of federal programs; its “wholesale attacks” on lawyers and judges; and the lack of due process offered to immigrants.