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ALBANY -- The husband of County Legislator Wanda Willingham was paid more than $45,000 over three years by the county Social Services Department to care for the couple's grandchildren through a program that helps working mothers. But, while it is legal, the arrangement has raised eyebrows. Willingham is chairwoman of the Legislature's Social Services Committee, which in December approved an annual payment of $233,000 from the county to the Capital District Child Care Council. The council provides registration, training, investigations and approves child care providers for county Social Services. Elijah Willingham, the lawmaker's husband, was approved by the council and...

What a difference a bishop makes.When the “Catholic” Association for Lesbian & Gay Ministry attempted to hold a fundraiser in a St. Paul-Minneapolis parish several months ago, Archbishop Niensted quickly put a stop to it.When the same “Catholic” Association for Lesbian & Gay Ministry (CALGM) announces it will host its national conference in Albany, NY, Bishop Howard Hubbard agrees to celebrate Mass for them.Bishop Hubbard turns 75 in a little over two years, but he seems intent on continuing to inflict pastoral damage on his diocese until he retires.This is the same bishop who has publicly praised and gave Communion...

Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings once again stretched his wings of power and vetoed a bill that would have allowed Albany homeowners the privilege to raise and house chickens (and definitely no roosters) in their backyards. (...) What I found amusing about Mayor Jennings argument is that he called the proposal “a flawed and “piecemeal approach” to the broader issue of urban agriculture.” Of course it’s a piecemeal approach, you first put the pieces together and then you enjoy a meal after the chickens are mature. What really is the concern here? A fear that residents are going to raise so...

Albany, GA Woman Fights Off Burglars With Firearm

Andrew Cuomo is sworn in as New York's 56th Governor ALBANY -- Andrew Cuomo was sworn in as New York's 56th governor Friday night, taking the oath of office in a private ceremony at the Executive Mansion. The event was an emotional return for Cuomo and his family, who occupied the mansion during the 12 years his father, Mario, served as governor from 1983 through 1994.It was also a pinnacle moment in the long political career for Cuomo, 53, who ran his father's first campaign in 1982 and long sought to hold the seat himself one day. Mario; Andrew's mother,...

LATHAM, NY - News/Talk WGY-AM, New York State’s first radio station, today is making an historic change in its operations by adding a 24-hour simulcast on FM radio at 103.1 FM. “810 WGY has one of the strongest signals in the country, powering our highly-rated News-Talk giant,” said Kristen Delaney, Vice President and Market Manager of Clear Channel Radio Albany. “We are expecting significant ratings growth by simulcasting on 103.1, which has changed its call letters from WHRL to WGY-FM.” “The decision to simulcast our 24-hour news/talk format on the FM will open up our content to an even wider...

TUSCARORA INDIAN NATION, N.Y., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- An American Indian tribe told motorists it may collect tolls from cars to protest a court decision giving New York the right to tax the tribe's cigarette sales. "It's not just about taxes," a member of the Tuscarora tribe told The Buffalo (N.Y.) News. "This is about our freedom and our human rights. We're supposed to be a sovereign nation, and yet the state keeps trying to tax us." Several dozen members of the Iroquoian-language-family tribe carrying signs and flags stopped passing cars on a two-lane state highway and handed fliers to...

ALBANY -- The Democrats who run the Albany County Legislature like to pass local laws. Critics, often Republicans, say they tend to trample the rights of individuals and private enterprise -- and are yet another intrusion into the lives of citizens. All but eight of Albany's 39 county lawmakers are Democrats. The legislature's penchant for local laws is likely linked to the dominance by the party that lends itself to a governing style of protecting constituents. Across the aisle, Minority Leader Christine Benedict and the other six Republicans and single Conservative have opposed most of the three dozen local laws...

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell is going to war, it seems, in an effort to lure New York hedge funds to her state. Who can blame her? Albany, after all, attacked first — by moving to wrest millions in tax revenue from her state and New Jersey. In the end, alas, New York might turn out to be the big loser. As The Post noted Thursday, Rell’s rolling out the red carpet for hedge-fund bigwigs, offering to meet them over dinner at a fancy Darien steakhouse. She wants to discuss “Connecticut’s advantages” — particularly in the face of Albany’s plan to...

For the past nine months I’ve been working with eight Boy Scouts from my parish, including my own 13-year-old son, toward the completion of their Ad Altare Dei medal, a fairly rigorous religious program for Catholic Scouts that requires them to study the seven sacraments one by one. Service projects and prayers, Powerpoints and collages are all part of the “homework” that has to be done before they conclude with a weekend retreat. I recently helped the boys with the Holy Orders chapter and thought it would be a good experience for them to attend an actual ordination. So this...

Alert: Urgent! Oppose Reproductive Health Act. Possible action by Friday. The Reproductive Health Act would define abortion as a ?fundamental right,? making it impermissible to regulate it, even for minors and even very late in pregnancy. Do what: Contact your Senator and Assemblyperson in Albany. When: Immediately ? Monday! The current session would normally be expected to end on June 28, and if this bill is to see action it would be this week. If a budget is not passed, the session will be extended in some way, but we cannot count on that. Why now: The Democrat leadership may...

ALBANY – Bishop Howard Hubbard ordained the largest group of new priests since 1984 at a ceremony Saturday at the newly reopened Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The five priests ordained include Rendell Torres, 39, a Los Angeles native now residing at Our Lady of Victory Rectory in Troy. “Although as a child I considered the priesthood, as an adult I was reawakened to my priestly vocation when a long-term relationship with a girlfriend was at its romantic peak,” said Torres, who considered marrying his girlfriend before returning to his calling. “I never felt as peaceful as I do preparing...

ALBANY -- An assemblywoman under fire for sponsoring a bill that asks cops to shoot gun-wielding suspects in the arms and legs brushed off the outrage yesterday -- although she admitted she is no expert on police work. Asked about her critics' contention that the proposed legislation will put police lives at risk, Annette Robinson (D-Brooklyn) told The Post: "I understand that." She insisted that cops use too much force, but acknowledged she is unqualified to assess the issue.

ALBANY, New York, May 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The world premiere of the abortion industry exposé "BloodMoney" has been delayed by what its producers say was the pressure that pro-abortion activists put on the owner of the theatre where the film was to feature. The Albany Times-Union reports that Roman Jaquez, a filmmaker from Troy, New York and producer of "BloodMoney," said that the owner of the Spectrum 8 Theatres called him over a week ago to inform him that he had canceled the screening after receiving phone calls from pro-abortion activists threatening to picket the theater for debuting the...

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February was not a kind month to New York State politicians. Last week, only a few days after declaring his candidacy, New York Gov. David Paterson announced that he would not run for reelection. Why the sudden change? It came to light that one of Paterson's top aides was accused of assaulting his live-in girlfriend in New York City, and that members of the Governor's State Police security detail urged her to avoid pressing charges. The night before the woman was to appear in court to seek a restraining order against the aide, Gov. Paterson himself called to "chat." She...

The subject kept coming up all the time. “Everybody I talked to over the past year has been saying, ‘Ugh, it’s so awful,’ ” former Mayor Edward I. Koch said recently. At lunches and dinners, in meetings with clients, law partners, fellow alumni of public service, business associations and good government groups, the conversation invariably turned to the political chaos in Albany. “I finally said to myself, somebody’s got to do something,” Mr. Koch recalled. “And if no one else does anything, notwithstanding the fact I’m 85 years old, I’m going to throw myself into it.” So Mr. Koch is...

ALBANY — A 22-year-old city man is under arrest for drowning a cat in his bathtub and then attempting to set it on fire. Police Officer Kevin Paul was on routine patrol Sunday at about 6 p.m. when he spotted a small fire in a vacant lot on Yates Street. The officer went to investigate and saw Caleb Capen, of 1156 Madison Ave., standing near the intentionally-set fire with a dead cat inside paper and plastic bags. While being questioned by detectives, Capen admitted to grabbing the cat by its back legs and holding it underwater until it stopped breathing...

Formal cooperation in another’s evil act (that is, undertaking to help expressly another to perform an act known to be evil) is itself evil. Davis, Moral and Pastoral Theology (1938), I: 341-342. There are no exceptions to this rule; no supervening circumstances can ever render formal cooperation in evil good.The use of [illegal] drugs “inflicts very grave damage on human health and life [and] . . . is a grave offense. Clandestine production and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.” CCC...