According to the latest poll by the Siena College Research Institute:

New York State consumer confidence increased 3.1 points in November, while the nation’s confidence increased 3.2 points, according to the latest poll by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 62.2, New York’s overall consumer confidence is 1.9 points below the nation’s* 64.1 confidence level.

“As holiday lights brighten the season, and national economic indicators including jobs reports, stock market increases and early holiday spending offer cheer, consumer confidence rose this month for the first time since May,” according to Dr. Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Founding Director. “Good news, but hold your reindeer. Although we see confidence gains among Democrats and older New Yorkers, the overall willingness to spend remains well below the point at which optimism simply equals pessimism and the index is nearly five points under where the state’s confidence was this time last year. New Yorkers continue to be more pessimistic about the current financial landscape than the rest of the country but are more, albeit not very, positive about the future than the nation. This split exists within our own state as well with Upstate being more optimistic currently than New York City, but the city seeing a better future than Upstate.”

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Mosi Secret of the New York Times writes:

“In 2006, a Queens state senator, Shirley L. Huntley, set up a nonprofit group called Parent Workshop that was intended to help parents navigate the inner workings of New York City’s school system. Then she began funneling state aid to the group, whose executives had close ties to her.

But the money never helped a single family in the school system, prosecutors said Wednesday.

They said four people with ties to Parent Workshop were involved in the theft of nearly $30,000 in state aid that Ms. Huntley had secured.

Indictments made public on Wednesday are evidence of a new effort by New York’s attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, and its comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, to crack down on public corruption.

Senator Huntley, a Democrat, was not named in the indictment, and officials would not say whether she was under investigation. She would not comment on the charges.

Two officers of Parent Workshop, Patricia D. Savage and Lynn H. Smith, are charged with submitting false vouchers to the state for work that was not performed and then keeping nearly $30,000 from the state, according to the indictment.

Two others with ties to the nonprofit group, David R. Gantt and Roger N. Scotland, submitted false documents to cover up the scheme, the indictment said.”

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According to the Siena College Research Institute:

“The Civic Health Index was produced by SRI and the Siena Office of Academic Community Engagement in partnership with the State Commission on National and Community Service: New Yorkers Volunteer and the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC). NCoC has produced national and state civic health assessments since 2006. The report was presented today at Siena College.

Civic health is a measure of the participation and engagement in communities and society. Healthy communities will benefit, and citizens in those communities will display social connectedness, trust in people and institutions, responsibility to address social needs, interest in current events, and participation in civic duties.

“Statewide Civic Health is tough to measure. Based on multiple questions, we provide a score for New York on Social, Trust, Responsibility, Information and Duty. With scores between 58 and 67 percent of the possible, New Yorkers have meaningful social interactions, strong levels of trust in their community and keep themselves well informed. But lower rates of volunteering, charitable giving and especially attendance at community meetings result in lower measures of Responsibility and Duty for New York. Moving the needle will require not only awareness and promotion, but also, making Civic Health part of what New Yorkers do and our leaders endorse,” according to SRI’s Director, Dr. Don Levy.”

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John Marzulli of the NY Daily News writes:

“William Boyland Jr., the Brooklyn assemblyman accused of soliciting a bribe to pay for his lawyers has found another sucker to pick up his legal tab: you!

It didn’t cost the Democrat a nickel to beat the corruption case brought by Manhattan federal prosecutors earlier this year because he was represented by court appointed counsel.

The same legal dream team, Richard Rosenberg and Michael Bachrach, have been appointed to reprise their roles in the new corruption charges filed against Boyland this week by the feds in Brooklyn. It will be on the taxpayer’s dime at $125-per hour, again, because Boyland says he’s broke.”

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Laura Nahmias of The Capitol writes:

“On Oct. 28, 2010, Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. allegedly collected a $3,800 bribe from an undercover FBI agent at a fundraiser in Brooklyn. But state records show Boyland was collecting from the taxpayers, too – by claiming travel, food and lodging expenses as if he were on state business in Albany.

The latest federal charges against Boyland unsealed yesterday, barely three weeks after he beat an earlier corruption case, shine a spotlight on what prosecutors claim is a brazen pattern of trading government actions for cash payments.

But the 29-page complaint also details undercover agents’ secretly recorded conversations with Boyland in hotels, restaurants and his district office in New York City – on the same days he was claiming $165 in taxpayer-funded Albany expenses.”

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According to the Associated Press:

“Less than three weeks after being acquitted in a federal corruption case, a New York state lawmaker was arrested Tuesday on new charges that he sought and accepted bribes from a carnival promoter and two undercover FBI agents posing as real estate developers.

William Boyland Jr., a Brooklyn assemblyman from a long line of politicians, was to appear later Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn on charges of soliciting more than $250,000 in bribes in exchange for performing official acts. There was no immediate response to a phone message left with his attorney.

A criminal complaint alleges that Mr. Boyland was caught on tape in April offering to arrange a deal for the two undercover agents to buy a hospital in his district at a discount and secure state funds for a renovation in exchange for $250,000. It also accuses him of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to help the carnival promoter—who cooperated in the investigation—obtain leases and permits for his business.”

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Sadly, New York State Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan passed away on Nov. 28. The following article was printed in the Daily Freeman:

“State Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan died Monday evening after suffering from ill health for some time, the state Assembly minority’s regional director said.

Steven Neuhaus said Kirwan, R-Newburgh, died with his family at his side while in the hospital. Kirwan was in his late 70s.

“The Hudson Valley has lost a legend and a true patriot,” Neuhaus said.

State Sen. William Larkin, R-Cornwall, a longtime colleague and friend of Kirwan’s, said he was respected statewide.”

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According to an article on CBS New York:

“Retailers are hoping this year’s holiday spending spree will continue with Cyber Monday.

Experts are predicting a record-breaking Cyber Monday following a blockbuster Black Friday.

Online shoppers are expected to spend as much as $1.2 billion on Cyber Monday deals.

A survey by Shop.org found that most retailers believe their online holiday sales will increase at leave 15 percent over last year.”

To read more click here.

Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times writes:

“Spurred by aggressive promotions from retailers, American consumers opened their wallets over the holiday weekend in a way they had not since before the recession, setting records in sales and traffic.

The National Retail Federation said Sunday that spending per shopper surged 9.1 percent over last year — the biggest increase since 2006 — to an average of almost $400 a customer. In all, 6.6 percent more shoppers visited stores on the Thanksgiving weekend than last year. ”

To read more click here.

Ken Lovett of the NY Daily News writes:

“More bad economic news for New York: The state pension fund lost 8.9% of its value over the past three months.

The fund, one of the largest public pension systems in the nation, is now valued at $133.8 billion, down from $146.9 billion at the end of the first quarter on June 30, state Controller Thomas DiNapoli’s office said Tuesday.

DiNapoli says the rate of return the state has received on its investments dipped 7.48% the past three months.”

To read more click here.