The latest stories from

October 7, 2025- Gov. Kathy Hochul championed $2 billion for "inflation refund" checks, but new reporting from Gothamist/WNYC Capitol reporter Jimmy Vielkind indicates that some of that money will be collected back by the federal tax man. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&a...

October 7, 2025- Plattsburgh Town Supervisor Michael Cashman, the Democratic nominee in the November special election for a North Country assembly seat, talks about why he's running, his approach to serving, and why he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=tr...

October 7, 2025- Oswego County Administrator Phil Church, president of the New York State Association of Counties, explains how federal changes to the administration of Medicaid and food assistance programs will cost local government millions of dollars without relief from the state. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&play...

Sept. 29, 2025 - After imposing restrictions on Styrofoam food containers and packing peanuts, the state is going to prohibit the sale of disposable polystyrene containers next year. We consider this environmental initiative with Jeremy Cherson, associate director of government affairs for Riverkeeper. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&pla...

Sept. 29, 2025 - An additional $340 million in this year's state budget is supposed to make breakfast and lunch available in schools to students all over New York without any out-of-pocket costs. We learn about the implementation of universal school meals with Katy Headwell, the Director of School Nutrition Services at Shenendehowa Central School District ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker....

September 30, 2025- The Hochul administration is being taken to court for relaxing state laws designed to ensure private school students are receiving a basic education. We discuss the lawsuit with Michael Rebell, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, and Adina Mermelstein Konikoff, executive director for Young Advocates for Fair Education. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?epis...

Sept. 29, 2025 - A wide range of products derived from Kratom are showing up on shelves all over New York, so Assemblymember John McDonald, a capital region Democrat, makes the case for imposing age restrictions on sales. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&episode_image_...

Sept. 29, 2025 - State Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Pete Harckham, a Westchester County Democrat, discusses the approval process for a controversial new gas pipeline and outlines his advocacy agenda for 2026. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&episod...

September 26, 2025- Environmentalists are hoping a gas pipeline proposal for New York City gets rejected by state regulators for a fourth time, but interested business and labor groups think it deserves new consideration. We talk about the controversial proposal with Daniel Ortega, executive director of New Yorkers for Affordable Energy. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode...

September 26, 2025- We get to know Jennifer Saunders, the new head of the state museum in Albany. We discuss why she was interested in the leadership role, the future of long-stalled renovations, and navigating turf wars at the Capitol. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&amp...

September 25, 2025- The Hochul administration has green lit an overhaul of the Capitol complex, including a $25 million commitment to integrate the Empire State Plaza into the surrounding community. We explore this mandate - in a Dispatches from Planet Albany excerpt - with OGS Commissioner Jeanette Moy. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&p...

September 25, 2025- State regulations for cannabis beverages can be limiting for producers and confusing for consumers, so the manufacturers of hemp-derived drinks want more latitude in New York. We talk about the regulatory landscape with Jake Bullock, CEO of Cann, a THC-infused beverage producer. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlis...

September 25, 2025- It's been about three years since Micron Technology announced a major development for central New York and work on the project could begin this fall. We get an update on the implementation of this potentially $100 billion investment with Glenn Coin, a reporter with Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&...

September 24, 2025- If federal environmental regulators are going to back off some water protection measures, how should state policymakers work to preserve clean drinking water? We examine this changing landscape with Robert Hayes, senior director clean water at Environmental Advocates NY. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&a...

September 23, 2025- New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner and CEO RuthAnne Visnauskas discusses an investment in manufactured homes and how it could promote homeownership in communities with low-property values. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&episod...

Sept. 23, 2025 - Assemblymember Robert Smullen makes the case for creating a state process to setup roadside memorials to recognize traffic deaths. The Mohawk Valley Republican's son died in 2024 after being hit by a motor vehicles. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&epi...

Sept. 23, 2025 - The Trump administration's hostility to immunizations, including the COVID-19 vaccine, has prompted state action to preserve access to these public health services. We explore what the landscape looks like in New York with Dr. Scott Guisinger, vice president of pharmacy for Price Chopper, Market 32, and Tops Markets and a director on the board of the Community Pharmacy Association...

September 22, 2025- New York policymakers looking to regulate the marketing of Kratom aren't making carveouts for "natural" products, which is a mistake, according to Dr. C Michael White, a department head at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&c...

September 22, 2025- A handful of public colleges are facing hard choices in order to address systemic financial challenges, but a campus in central New York makes the case that their situation is unique and warrants additional state support. Our guest is Matthew Smith, local union president at SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, where he director of college libraries. ESCUCHAR RAD...

September 22, 2025- The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government wants to hear from the public on possible reforms to the state's laws and regulations designed to address corruption. We discuss what's on the table with Sandy Berland, the commission's executive director. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-co...

September 22, 2025- A major question of states' rights is going to play out in the courts as the result of Texas challenging a shield law in New York. We break down the case and its implications with Dale Margolin Cecka, an assistant professor of law at Albany Law school. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continu...

September 19, 2025-New York State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton discusses staffing levels, gas pipeline permitting, and the unique stamp she brings to the Hochul administration. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&h...

September 19, 2025- Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, a Brooklyn Democrat, and state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Brooklyn Democrat, weigh in on an affordable housing development in Brooklyn that isn't producing the promised units and make the case for a different model of building affordable units. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show...

September 18, 2025- We explore legislation designed to let out-of-state athletic trainers work in New York in limited circumstances with Aimee Brunelle, athletic trainer and wellness coordinator for the South Colonie Central School District. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=tru...

September 18, 2025- Assemblymember Jen Lunsford, a Rochester-area Democrat, makes the case for her legislation putting in-state payroll processing companies on the same playing field as their out-of-state competition. ESCUCHAR RADIO  👉https://widget.spreaker.com/player?episode_id=70730354&theme=light&playlist=show&playlist-continuous=true&chapters-image=true&episode_image_posi...