Election 2012

(05/14/12) Congressman Bill Owens says he will repay more than $20,000 dollars for a junket that he took last December to Taiwan. The trip was paid for by a university in Taiwan. And it was planned and organized by a New York lobbying firm, which is no longer allowed under House ethics rules.

As Brian Mann reports, Owens says his office never reported that the firm Park Strategies organized the trip because "there was no place on the form to disclose it." more

(05/10/12) Governor Cuomo, who won national praise and attention for championing the passage of same sex marriage in New York, calls President Obama's support of gay marriage a "major advancement for equal rights in this country." more

(05/08/12) President Barack Obama was warmly welcomed Tuesday at the University of Albany's nanotechnology center...and he used the occasion to praise the private-public partnership that funds the school.
Mr. Obama said the private sector is the quote-"true engine" of job creation in the US, not government--but that government can help, by making it easier for companies to hire new workers. And he said Congress isn't doing all it can. more

(05/04/12) Discussion of women in the workplace was reinvigorated several weeks ago when Democrat Hilary Rosen chastised presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, for--quote--"not working a day in her life." That set off another round of "mommy wars": sharp discussion of whether women are better off working to provide for their families or staying home with their children. And it raises an important question - why, 40 years after the women's movement, it's still so difficult for women to balance their families and their jobs.

Madeleine Kunin was Vermont's first female governor in 1985. She's now 78 years old and has published a new book - "The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the next revolution for women, work, and family." The book issues a clarion call for women, men, businesses, and government to make sure that workplace and family rights for women top their agendas.

Sarah Harris spoke with Kunin about her book.

Correction: Madeleine's age was initially reported as 79. She is in fact 78 years old. more

(05/02/12) Democrats and Republicans in the State Senate are engaged in some good old-fashioned partisan squabbling over reform of the state's campaign finance system. In Albany, Karen DeWitt has more: more

(04/27/12) Governor Cuomo cast further doubt on issues like campaign finance reform and increasing the states minimum wage to become law this year, and says he's "shifting" to a new phase of governing instead. Karen DeWitt reports. more

(04/25/12) Mitt Romney captured New York and four other states in yesterday's Republican primary, but poll watches say voting was extremely light in many areas. That's due in part to the fact that the race has already largely been decided, with Romney holding a commanding lead.

But New York officials and the courts also scheduled three different primaries, with separate dates later in the year for Congressional races and contests for state legislature. Local officials say that made it tougher for voters, and local budgets. more

(04/25/12) The State Assembly has introduced a bill to permit voluntary public financing of some election campaigns. As Karen DeWitt reports, the bill is the first ever of its kind in the state. more

(04/24/12) New York's Presidential primary is Tuesday, but the initial excitement over the vote vanished when Rick Santorum dropped out earlier this month. State GOP leaders say they are looking ahead to the general election instead. Karen DeWitt reports. more

(04/20/12) Ron Paul's presidential campaign came to Cornell University on Thursday ahead of next week's all-but-decided Republican primary.

As the Innovation Trail's Matt Richmond reports, Congressman Paul's speech was half-lecture and half-rally cry. more