Free Republic

Jolly ol' Joe always in Nick of time St. Jude's Santa marks 80th visit By Tom Bailey Jr. baileytom@gomemphis.com December 21, 2002 The children formed a remarkable line to Santa's lap Friday at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They approached St. Nick with their limps, their scarred scalps, their tethering tubes, their masked faces, their bald heads, their wigs, their tracheotomies, their crutches and with inky X's on their skin showing where to aim the radiation. Some staggered to Santa, exhausted from the day's cancer treatment. One was so tired, she never woke as Santa placed gifts in the toy...

It’s about time. Both houses of the state legislature passed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s massive $254 billion state budget package Thursday night following days of debate and over a month delay past the April 1 deadline. Lawmakers made the final votes on the spending plan Thursday evening after fierce debate over a provision slipped into the budget — first revealed by The Post — that could leave state taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars of legal fees for Attorney General Letitia James. “This certainly is the height of hypocrisy,” state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) said during debate on...

The bulk of the mammoth $254 billion state budget deal was unveiled Wednesday with some last minute self-serving quietly slipped into the batter before Albany lawmakers were set to finally vote on it. The spending plan documents — nicknamed “The Big Ugly” in capital lingo — provide a last-minute, warts-and-all look at much-anticipated legislation focused on New York City’s mental health crisis, recidivism problems and more. Gov. Kathy Hochul ran a victory lap Wednesday after a deal to revamp the state’s discovery laws — a move to combat a slew of criminal cases that have been getting dismissed on technicalities....

Mayor Eric Adams begged state lawmakers on Tuesday to fork over another $1.1 billion to deal with the migrant crisis ASAP — even though the governor isn’t budging. Hizzoner said the Big Apple needs the dough in 12 weeks as Adams’ opponents quickly questioned how City Hall cooked up the massive number on its wish list. But Adams was adamant that the city — which he said spent more than $6.9 billion during the years-long migrant crisis — relied on the money, despite him also crowing about his administration’s “savings” and steps to reduce the number of migrants in the...

N.Y. imam sentenced in terror sting Staff and agencies 08 March, 2007 http://www.localnewsleader.com/elytimes/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=72974 By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago ALBANY, N.Y. - The former imam of an Albany mosque was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for his role in a money laundering scheme involving a fictional terror plot set up as an FBI sting. "I never had any intention to harm anyone in this country," the 36-year-old Kurdish refugee said. "And I don‘t know why I‘m guilty." The informant asked Hossain to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday attacked President Trump over a potential pardon of Sheldon Silver, the corrupt former speaker of the New York Assembly — and suggested it could be “a favor for someone in the Jewish community.” During a radio interview in Albany, Cuomo called the notion of freeing Silver from prison — where the Manhattan Democrat is serving 6 1/2 years for a $4 million bribery and kickbacks scheme — “just confounding” and the culmination of “four years of bizarre.” “It’s almost as if he’s trying to purposefully create anarchy and desecrate the entire system on the way...

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has reportedly been canoodling with a lovely lobbyist, and it’s all the talk in Albany — but he is refusing to comment on her and scoffs at the notion of a conflict of interest. The 56-year-old powerful Dem has been in a romantic relationship with 32-year-old Rebecca Lamorte, a lobbyist and communications coordinator for the union Greater New York Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust, or LECET, since at least November, according to the outlet NY Focus. Heastie got feisty with reporters when asked about the couple Monday morning, bristling at the suggestion he should discuss...

New York City Council members feeling the heat from thousands of angry co-op and condo owners are urging state pols to OK tax breaks over a new “green” mandate that could cost more than $20,000 per unit. The City Council had actually approved the mandate, the Climate Mobilization Emissions Law, in 2019 requiring residential buildings to initially curb their greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and ultimately by 80% by 2050. But as the Big Apple’s already-financially-pressed residents flood members with complaints about how much more the regs will cost them, local pols are turning to Albany for help, seeking their...

In their annual one-house budget resolutions, Democratic majorities in the state Assembly and Senate laid out their negotiating position for this year’s budget deal with Gov. Hochul. They’ve decided to spend more — $13 billion more than the governor’s already-record $233 billion executive budget. And tax high earners and corporations more too, despite Hochul’s opposition.

Democrats in the state legislature want to scrap Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed cuts to education funding — and jack up taxes on New York’s highest earners. The state Senate’s wide-ranging response to Hochul’s budget proposal, released late Monday, also dashes New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ plea to extend his control over Big Apple public schools. The Senate’s proposal is a largely symbolic part of the process meant to scope out the parameters around which legislative leaders and the governor will hammer out the state’s budget behind closed doors in the coming weeks. Hochul’s $233 billion budget proposal released in...

What we know so far about the Arab Muslim l: Mufid Fawaz Alkhader. * Born in Iraq. * Oct/7/2023: shouted "free Palestine", fired two rounds outside a NY Temple as they were about to celebrate Hanukkah. * His English is limited . * Age - 28. __ LINKS: 1 2

New York once again has the dubious distinction of being labeled “the least free state” in America, according to a report issued by libertarian-leaning think tank The Cato Institute. The Empire State ranked dead last — 50th — for policies impacting economic, social and personal freedoms in 2022, the report claims. By comparison, Florida ranked 2nd after New Hampshire as the most free state in the union. Cato said New York is a fiscal basket case. The state ranked 50th for economic freedom and scored at or near the bottom for debt and state and local taxation, government consumption, land...

A 24-year-old transgender socialist who referred to herself as a 'poly, kinky trans, lesbian' announced her bid to unseat a Queens assemblyman accused of sexual abuse and become Albany's first openly trans legislator. Émilia Decaudin announced that she is running for the District 37 Assembly seat in an interview with THE CITY on Tuesday. Decaudin said she would run against Assembly member Juan Ardila, who has resisted calls from party leaders to resign over accusations of sexual misconduct. She credits her decision to run with the 'the lack of leadership in the district right now' along with a need for...

A 24-year-old transgender democratic socialist announced her bid to unseat a Queens assemblyman accused of sexual abuse and become Albany’s first non-binary lawmaker. Émilia Decaudin, who is a member of New York’s Democratic Committee, said Tuesday she would run against Assembly member Juan Ardila, who has resisted calls from party leaders to resign over accusations of sexual misconduct. If Ardila finishes his term, Decaudin would not face off against him at the ballot box until next year’s primary election. The self-described “socialist organizer” and “transgender rights advocate” said in a press release she would work to make Assembly District 37...

It could be the plot of a dark comedy if it weren’t a science tragedy. A janitor working in a laboratory who was annoyed by an incessant beep reportedly flipped a switch that killed the noise — but also shut off a storage freezer, destroying decades of scientific work, according to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab in Troy. The cleaner’s alleged carelessness cost the lab at least $1 million in damages, a lawsuit the university filed against its third-party cleaning service charges. “People’s behavior and negligence caused all this,” Michael Ginsberg, RPI’s attorney, told the Times Union in Albany. “Unfortunately,...

ALBANY – Controversial “Clean Slate” legislation will no longer allow murder convictions and other serious felonies to get sealed after Albany Democrats tweaked bill language on Monday. The proposal would allow convicted people to apply to have their crimes nixed from their records after they serve their sentences, parole, and probation as well as a period of three years for misdemeanors and eight years for felonies. Narrowing the scope of the bill, which also exempts sex crimes, comes as Albany Democrats near a final deal on passing the bill before the scheduled end of the 2023 legislative session on Friday....

Black activists are slamming New York governor Kathy Hochul (D.) for moving to ban flavored tobacco products while allowing rampant access to flavored marijuana. "You’re telling me that my 21-year-old son can buy all the cannabis he wants, but my grandmother who’s been smoking for 65 years can’t get a cigarette? It doesn’t make sense," said Corey Pegues, a retired black New York Police Department executive who is urging lawmakers to reject Hochul’s proposal. Pegues said the governor’s proposed legislation, which was tucked in her Jan. 10 State of the State plan, will disproportionately affect black voters. Critics say the...

Employees at an Amazon warehouse near Albany overwhelmingly rejected a unionization effort on Tuesday, delivering a blow to an upstart labor union seeking to organize workers at the retail giant. The tally was 206 votes in favor of the union and 406 votes opposed. Officials said 949 workers at the ALB1 warehouse were eligible to vote on whether they should become part of the Amazon Labor Union. Four ballots were voided. The results of the election still need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board. The results mark the latest setback for the Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots...

Records were created under disciplinary procedures mandated by Pope Francis to govern investigations of child sexual abuse allegations against bishopsALBANY — The Archdiocese of New York is waging a legal battle to block the disclosure of more than 1,400 pages of internal records related to its investigations of Howard J. Hubbard, who served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany from 1977 to 2014. The records are being sought in connection with a Child Victims Act case filed against Hubbard, the Albany diocese and deceased former priest Francis P. Melfe, who like Hubbard is a target of multiple...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand strolled into an upstate eatery maskless, in violation of a statewide mandate, according to video footage posted by the irate restaurateur. John La Posta, manager of the Innovo Kitchen in Latham, said Gillibrand blew past a large sign reading “masks required to enter,” and that his own staff didn’t even have time to ask her to put one on as she quickly brushed past them toward the tables.