Jamestown, NY, Jan 14, 2011 — Governor Andrew Cuomo brings his extended State of the State speech tour to Watertown this morning. He'll speak at 11 at Jefferson Community College. The event's open to the public, but space is limited.

Cuomo gave the speech in Jamestown yesterday, south of Buffalo. It's tailored to an upstate New York audience. As the Innovation Trail's Daniel Robison reports, Cuomo mostly focused on economics.  Go to full article

Aug 05, 2010 — The New York Farm Bureau says its members are relieved at a last minute state Senate "no" vote on a bill that would have granted certain labor rights to farm workers.

Farm Bureau President Dean Norton says the bill would have had a devastating effect on farms and the rural economy. The bill was defeated 31-28 in the Senate. The Assembly has passed many versions of the bill over the years, but it has yet to pass the Senate.

The bill was a sticking point as budget negotiations stalled this spring. And it came into play again in the political gamesmanship Tuesday.

Sen. Pedro Espada, a Bronx Democrat, had refused to come to Albany unless the farm workers rights legislation was brought to the floor. Sen. Darrell Aubertine, Democrat from Cape Vincent and chairmen of the Senate Agriculture Committee said, "that was the majority leader flexing his political muscle," and it didn't work. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Apr 23, 2010 — Former Republican Congressman Rick Lazio was on a quick tour of northern New York this week. Lazio, from Suffolk County on Long Island, is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of New York in this fall's election. He was in Ogdensburg, along with his primary opponent Steve Levy, Wednesday (see related story), and swung through Franklin, Essex, Warren and Otsego counties yesterday. First stop was Saranac Lake. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Jan 07, 2010 — Missing from the governor's speech yesterday was the traditional laundry list of projects and regions that observers use to gauge a governor's attention to specific projects or regions. But Paterson did pay special attention to the upstate economy. He said new York needs to address "decades of recession" and said the state's economic development efforts need to cover "all corners of our boundaries." Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Aug 06, 2009 — State Senators meet in Albany to vote on mayoral control of NYC schools, but the bigger story is the political climate in the capitol. It is the Senate's first day together since a failed Republican "coup" and a stalemate over majority power that brought all other business to a dead stop for five weeks. Two New York City Democrats switched sides June 8 to join Republicans in a coalition that gave the GOP the majority. The two eventually switched back, restoring a slim Democratic majority, and gaining leadership posts for themselves in the bargain.

Albany Times-Union state editor Casey Seiler talked with All Before Five host Jonathan Brown about the coup, the upstate-downstate effects of the new Democratic majority and today's special session.  Go to full article

Jan 17, 2008 — Upstate New York's problems are so many and so varied that Gov. Eliot Spitzer gave the region its own "state of upstate" speech yesterday. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Jan 03, 2007 — Governor Eliot Spitzer promised reforms in his Inaugural address, and Spitzer says he'll detail those plans when he gives his State of the State message this afternoon. The new Governor also released plans for fixing the upstate economy. Karen DeWitt reports.  Go to full article

Aug 08, 2002 — Many people are grateful for air conditioning in their offices and homes when temperatures rise, but air conditioning has had a negative effect on much of the Northeast. A new book devoted to the history of air conditioning says artifial cooling is a contributing factor to upstate New York's economic decline during the 20th century. Karen DeWitt reports.  Go to full article

Jul 12, 2002 — As Governor Pataki tours Upstate New York in his campaign for a third term, he's been announcing economic development initiatives as he goes. One creates a $100 million dollar seed fund for new projects Upstate. But as David Sommerstein reports, half of that money is to come from native-owned casinos that have yet to be built.  Go to full article

Jan 10, 2002 — Pataki also addressed the Upstate economy. State Senator Jim Wright called the speech “an appropriate balance” between the fiscal realities of the state and a message of optimism for the economy.  Go to full article