Protests Expected in Albany Until State Budget Is Signed By Spectrum News Staff Albany/Capital Region PUBLISHED 2:38 PM ET Apr. 03, 2021 PUBLISHED 2:38 PM EDT Apr. 03, 2021
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Protesters are expected to hold rallies at the New York State Capitol over the weekend until the budget is signed.
They will be similar to the one held Friday morning, where advocates for renters, excluded workers, and the homeless wanted to wake up Governor Cuomo and urge him to keep them in mind when negotiating the budget.
They re calling on the state to fully fund housing, health care, and education in the final budget agreement by taxing the wealthy.
By Mitch Perry Pasco County PUBLISHED 6:04 PM ET Apr. 01, 2021 PUBLISHED 6:04 PM EDT Apr. 01, 2021
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There are four people on the April 13 ballot for two city council seats in New Port Richey: incumbents Matt Murphy and Mike Peters and challengers Kate Connolly and Rachel Giuliani-Hagenbaugh.
Spectrum Bay News 9 spoke with all four candidates this week. In the first of a two-part series, we focus on the two challengers.
What You Need To Know
Four candidates running for city council in New Port Richey
Two women are challenging the incumbents
Election is on April 13
Rachel Giuliani-Hagenbaugh says she represents the “everyday resident” whose voice is too often not heard in New Port Richey city government.
Is This the Year NYS Pays Its Foundation Aid Debt? By Susan Arbetter City of Albany PUBLISHED 4:14 PM ET Mar. 31, 2021 PUBLISHED 4:14 PM EDT Mar. 31, 2021
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One of the biggest questions surrounding the budget this year is whether it will include $4.3 billion for the state’s neediest schools: that’s $1.4 billion in Foundation Aid each year for the next three years.
Foundation Aid is the primary funding mechanism for school districts.
Advocates have been fighting for this funding since 2006, when, in the wake of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court lawsuit, former Governor Eliot Spitzer promised to provide $8.5 billion a year in additional education aid for New York City and other needy school districts. He was only able to provide a portion of the funding for one year before the housing crash turned the state’s
UPDATED 6:42 PM ET Mar. 31, 2021 PUBLISHED 6:22 PM ET Mar. 31, 2021 PUBLISHED 6:22 PM EDT Mar. 31, 2021
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It has been a tough 12 months for students, parents, and teachers as the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic set in across New York. Schools were closed, forced to come up with remote learning plans on the fly, and then adopt in many places a hybrid model.
Now state lawmakers are inching toward a budget agreement that could boost direct aid by $4.2 billion over the next several years. It s a goal that s been long sought by education advocates and will come on top of federal relief approved this month by Congress.