Health insurance for children: If Washington can't get it done, Spitzer will

by: robert.harding

Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 12:24:38 PM EST

Gov. Spitzer announced today that the state will fully fund the SCHIP program by making room in the state's budget to do so.

The budget provides funding to expand the State's version of SCHIP, Child Health Plus, by increasing income eligibility levels from 250 percent to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, making New York's program one of the most comprehensive in the nation. Governor Spitzer made this announcement during his State of the State address and full details of the plan will be outlined in Governor Spitzer's Executive Budget Presentation on Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

"In the face of Washington's inaction, New York State is taking bold steps to ensure the protection and welfare of society's most vulnerable residents: our children," said Governor Spitzer. "President Bush's incomprehensible decision to veto SCHIP has left the duty of insuring children to our state. New York will not allow the failure of the White House to deprive essential health care to those who need it most. This initiative has wide, bipartisan support across the state and I commend all of our partners who have worked tirelessly on behalf of New York's children."

Sen. Hillary Clinton had this response when learning of Gov. Spitzer's plans:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said: "I was proud to support the bipartisan legislation in Congress that would have assisted NY with expansion of Child Health Plus, but the President vetoed it leaving New York and our children on their own. Governor Spitzer's commitment to fully fund the program despite the President's actions will allow tens of thousands of uninsured children to access affordable, quality healthcare and I commend Governor Spitzer for his leadership on behalf of New York's children."

Amen to that. This was an important move. If Bush and his Republican pals won't give us the money, Gov. Spitzer will find the funding for it. Good work.  

State of Upstate Recap

by: robert.harding

Wed Jan 16, 2008 at 14:53:37 PM EST

I saw the local state representatives in attendance, as well as other local dignitaries. Former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra was also there. So the room was a variety of people.

As for the speech, some of the things I mentioned in my preview of the speech earlier this week were mentioned, such as universal broadband, taxes and alternative energy. Overall, I like what Spitzer outlined.

More on the flip.

The Billion Dollar Plan

by: robert.harding

Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 16:33:41 PM EST

Spitzer's plan appears to have similar components. His new fund would help him pay for commitments he made last year in his City by City program. The Democratic governor traveled upstate to dispense state money to spur private investment in urban areas such as Syracuse, Utica and Rochester. The $1 billion he calls for will back up many of those pledges and many more new grants for upstate cities.

The money will also fuel investments in businesses through a Strategic Industries Fund, allow for additional spending on farms and other agricultural operations and for state park restoration projects.

The revitalization plan is expected to be a highlight in the State of the State address scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Assembly chamber and in Spitzer's presentation at Buffalo State College on Jan. 16, his first speech on the state of upstate.

The governor will also talk about spending more on the SUNY/CUNY network, announcing the creation of an endowment fund to help pay for expenses and expansion.

More on the flip.

Spitzer to pay the state $140

by: robert.harding

Thu Dec 27, 2007 at 12:02:05 PM EST

The integrity commission helped Spitzer figure out his liability and determined he did not owe anything, Cockfield said, because the governor only used the aircraft on the first day of his trip when he had state business and did not use state aircraft to return on the second day of the journey, returning by State Police car.

Despite that, Spitzer is paying back $140 out of his own pocket for one hour out of 22 that he spent in Buffalo. The governor multiplied 1/22 times $3,100 -- the cost of a charter plane from Albany to Buffalo -- to figure his payment.

Spitzer is paying the state back because he did attend two fundraisers while he was in WNY - one in Buffalo and one in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford. Even though the state's Commission on Public Integrity ruled that he owed nothing, Spitzer is still paying up.

Spitzer to pay for last week's flight to Western New York

by: robert.harding

Tue Dec 11, 2007 at 12:21:21 PM EST

Spitzer flew on a state plane last Wednesday with an unknown number of aides. Democratic sources say he held court at a Buffalo restaurant that evening with a number of political figures.

The next day, he spoke at a meeting of the state Farm Bureau in Niagara Falls, met with The Buffalo News Editorial Board, gave other interviews and took a brief shopping trip with his wife along Elmwood Avenue. That evening, he held a fundraiser at Jacobs Executive Development Center, the former Butler Mansion now owned by the University at Buffalo.

Democratic sources say the fundraiser, with tickets ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, raised about $75,000, and was hosted by Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, DBuffalo, and Paul F. Ciminelli, a local developer.

No doubt that was the right thing to do. One of the other things mentioned in the article was how Spitzer once flew on a commercial flight to visit WNY and how many politicians couldn't remember the last time a sitting governor did such a thing.

Spitzer announces statewide recall of toys

by: robert.harding

Mon Dec 10, 2007 at 12:41:12 PM EST

From the press release:

Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced that the state Consumer Protection Board's (CPB) Safe Toys NY Campaign found that toys with unsafe lead levels remain on store shelves across the state. The findings resulted from the Governor's call for a statewide investigation of toys being sold in New York and revealed retail practices are in need of improvement in order to protect consumers. While inspections found increased compliance with recall requirements, toys with unsafe lead levels were still being sold. The Governor is also calling on the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to immediately issue a national recall of newly identified products found during investigations and is calling for the CPB to draft legislation to create and improve standards in the industry and better inform and protect consumers.

"It is startling to learn that tainted toys are still lingering on our shelves," said Governor Spitzer. "I am calling on retailers to ensure that dangerous toys are removed from store shelves, and am strongly urging the CPSC to issue an immediate national recall of the products we identified, so that all kids can be protected and consumers can have confidence in the toys they purchase. The federal government, through the CPSC, has the responsibility to protect the public from unsafe toys, but a lack of funds and inadequate staffing hamper their ability to act in a timely manner. That leaves us with no choice but to act on our own to protect New Yorkers as soon as we become aware of a safety hazard, in this case, lead paint on toys."

Yesterday, I just happened to be in Wal-Mart (only department store in Orleans County) when I thought I would wander over to the toy aisle and see what the shelves looked like. The shelves were still packed. What's worse, apparently they will tell you if something has been recalled but they won't take it off the shelf.

And if the general thought of lead in your kids' toys doesn't scare you, maybe listing specific toys will get your attention:

In addition, following strict protocols, a random sampling of toys was collected in three rounds from retail outlets in Albany and in New York City and tested by DOH's Wadsworth Center. The Center performed chemical analysis of the paint from each toy for lead content. The CPB was then able to track distributor information so that the appropriate actions could be taken.

The three tainted toys, all bought in dollar stores and made in China, had paint that exceeded the federal standard of lead levels allowed in paint, which is 600 parts per million (0.06 wt% lead). The three toys are:

"Army Force" Car Set, which are green and black, Lot # ES35146, UPC Code 6010785146, and are imported by Encore Sales, Concord, Ontario, Canada;
"Sprite Tractor Trailer" toys, which are green and orange and have no identifying information on the packaging; and
"Wrestle Mania" action figures, which are multicolored and distributed by AA of America from New Jersey.
The toys also had no identification numbers on the packaging.

Here in Orleans County, we lost Fisher Price/Mattel a decade ago when they left for Mexico. Of course, the excuses revolved around cheaper labor, cheaper cost of production, cheaper taxes. In other words, cheap labor = cheap production = a cheap PRODUCT.

I think if you asked people now, they would spend, say, $1.50 on their toy car to make sure it was American made and lead-free compared to $.97 for that same toy car that could have enough lead to kill your child.

Spitzer dropping license plan

by: robert.harding

Tue Nov 13, 2007 at 21:58:18 PM EST

The governor, who is to announce the move formally on Wednesday, said in an interview Tuesday night that he did not reach the decision easily. "You have perhaps seen me struggle with it because I thought we had a principled decision, and it's not necessarily easy to back away from trying to move a debate forward," he said.

But he came to believe the proposal would ultimately be blocked, he said, either by legal challenges, a vote by the Legislature to deny funding for the Department of Motor Vehicles or a refusal by upstate county clerks to carry it out.

What a shame. The plan was solid. Did they make mistakes in announcing the plan? Maybe, maybe not. I hoped that the endorsements from Richard Clarke and others would help the plan gain some supporters, but obviously that wasn't the case.

And then, of course, how could we forget the politics involved. The Republicans played the fear card over and over again and some Democrats didn't help. In fact, just as the Republicans tried to use this issue for political gain, I fear the only reason some Democrats didn't support the issue was to protect their own backside in the elections.

Just what we need... politicians who just hope to get reelected and not represent the people.

I wouldn't doubt that, down the road, Spitzer reintroduces a similar plan. Let's face it, the plan is a good one. But with people like Bruno and Tedisco roaming our state, I don't see a compromise. Anything Spitzer does will be under a microscope.

New York's current and future driver's license policies

by: robert.harding

Thu Nov 01, 2007 at 09:57:17 AM EDT

First off, let me start by saying that this has been somewhat of a national issue ever since Governor Eliot Spitzer announced the plan late in September.

Since that announcement, Lou Dobbs has stuck his nose in and tried to make it sound like Eliot Spitzer would be just "giving away" driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. That isn't true.

There's also been the frequent Republican fearmongering regarding this issue.

So what is the policy now and what will it be by the end of 2008?

Spitzer's driver's license plan backed by counterterrorism official

by: robert.harding

Fri Oct 19, 2007 at 11:10:53 AM EDT

From the Buffalo News:

A former White House counter-terrorism chief is endorsing Gov. Eliot Spitzer's policy to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

The backing by Richard A. Clarke, who has served as a senior White House adviser in the last three presidential administrations, is intended by the Spitzer administration to counter a growing stream of opposition to the plan by Democrats and Republicans, including many in law enforcement.

The article, unfortunately, doesn't include any quotes from Clarke. Sometimes the News posts these things the day before they actually post a full article in the newspaper, but we'll see. I hope this is something that they can get a whole story out of.

UPDATE: The Governor's Office has issued some more information about Clarke's endorsement of this plan. There is a statement by Clarke regarding the plan and a speech was given by Gov. Spitzer regarding the plan and Clarke's backing of the plan.

I agree with Michael. This should've been done from the start, but it certainly is better late than never.