Despite optimism, U.S. Chamber small business survey shows stalled hiring

Gas Prices, Over-Regulation Seen as Top Threats for Small Businesses Looking to Expand The U.S. Chamber of Commerce surveyed 1,339 small business executives to determine their concerns about the direction of the economy and its effect on their businesses. As the headline reveals, t
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Atlantic City gambles on tourism marketing

Atlantic City casino
New Jersey’s gaming mecca will spend $20 million to blitz New York and other nearby metro areas with advertising touting the seaside destination. Lisa Fickenscher of Crain’s reports on Atlantic City’s unveiling of a $20 million marketing campaign aimed at luring non-
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Siena Poll: Cuomo approval ratings strong

A new Siena College Poll released this morning shows Governor Cuomo is viewed favorably by nearly three-quarters of voters, and nearly two-thirds give him a positive job performance rating.
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Buffalo News: New pension reform eases local burden

Raises Contribution of Workers to Fund Aaron Besecker of The Buffalo News does a good job of detailing how Tier VI, just passed in Albany, will benefit the local economy in Western New York. This passage caught my eye: “There has never been a 30-year period, or even a 20-year pe
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Quietly, a budget deal is reached in Albany

ALBANY — No flash. No sizzle. No last-minute protests, and no late-night dramatics. This is not how Albany ordinarily works. But on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders said that they had agreed to a $132.6 billion budget for the state’s next fiscal year, an
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Governor Cuomo defends deal-making for pension reform

Governor uses compromise to achieve major goals In this morning’s Times Union, Rich Karlin and James M. Odato write about the compromises Governor Cuomo made in order to get pension reform passed. It came down to backing off his threat to veto gerrymandered redistricting lines i
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Business Council statement on passage of pension reform

ALBANY—“The pension reform agreement reached today is an important step in the right direction. For the first time, we have a public employee pension system that contains the option of a defined contribution plan for some future non-union public employees. The private sector has a
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Governor announces passage of Tier VI

Pension Reform Will Save State and Local Governments including New York City More Than $80 Billion Over 30 Years The Governor has announced what we’ve been reporting all morning, passage of what he calls a “sweeping pension reform plan that will save state and local govern
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State Capitol: deals across the board

Pension Reform, Redistricting, Casinos, DNA Database, Teacher Evaluations, and More Here are some of the stories that touch on the many deals lawmakers have struck – and there’s still two weeks to the budget deadline. The New York Times: In Albany, Plan to Cut Pensions Tak
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Marathon session yields deals on redistricting, pension reform and casinos

Expansion of DNA Database Includes Almost Every Criminal During a session that went late into the night Wednesday, New York State lawmakers agreed on most of the year’s agenda. Redistricting The legislature approved a reconfiguration of the state’s Assembly and Senate dist
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