Everybody had a good laugh when Tina Fey, as Sarah Palin, said, “I can see Russia from my house.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo can see the state of Pennsylvania, at least metaphorically, from his office, and apparently he likes what he sees. more

If you’re like me, you couldn’t be more frustrated with the way things are going in Washington lately, with all the gridlock; the endless bickering and partisanship; the negative, divisive tone; and votes made not in the spirit of doing good for the people but just to score political points and headlines. more

Long Beach Medical Center is expected to reopen this evening, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said, after many of the hospital’s 230 patients were evacuated to Nassau University Medical Center … more

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced earlier today that he has deployed an additional 1,000 New York National Guard troops to augment the state's Hurricane Irene response efforts, bringing the total … more

Smoking is now officially prohibited on Long Island Rail Road platforms. Citing the dangers of secondhand smoke, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law on Monday that forbids commuters from smoking on … more

As ideas go, we think Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order, announced last week at SUNY Old Westbury, creating 10 state regional economic development councils, including one for Long Island, is brilliant. The concept of streamlining the development process — now a byzantine maze of bureaucracy — may be of great value. more

Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council on July 27 to redefine the relationship between the state government and businesses, in order to stimulate regional economic development and create jobs statewide. Cuomo made his announcement at SUNY Old Westbury. more

My last two columns, “As promised: keeping tabs” (June 30 – July 6) and “Is the bloom off the rose?” (July 21-27) provided information to evaluate the session-ending accomplishments of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Two fundamental questions were raised. Has there been a real transformation in addressing the way the “people’s business” is being managed in Albany? Do our political leaders really understand that the state of New York is still headed down a path of fiscal instability and requires levels of real reform hardly evident to date? more

Malvernites Therese Lendino and Laura Casini started the next chapter of their lives where the first began — on Queens Boulevard, near Borough Hall and the Criminal Court House. It was there … more

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo launched the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council on July 27 to redesign the relationship between the state government and businesses, in order to stimulate regional economic development and create jobs statewide. more