Rep. Mikie Sherrill announces candidacy for New Jersey governor

Power & Politics: The congestion pricing comeback

Power & Politics: NY voting rights, the race for Westchester County executive and Mondaire Jones speaks out

Power & Politics: Washington shifts right – but CT remains Democratic stronghold

Power & Politics: Congestion pricing revived; new Trump administration takes shape

Climate groups disappointed after Gov. Lamont drops electric vehicle mandates for good

newyork

News 12 Staff

LIPP1117B_2024-11-17-12-09-07

Welcome back. A new initiative from the State Department of Education has been a major topic of conversation for our local school districts. The regionalization initiative is described as a regional planning approach for districts to communicate their needs to ensure equal opportunities for all students, especially those who would be most impacted by reductions in state aid to do so. Local superintendents will provide information and engage in conversations with leaders of Boss. Now, a spokesperson for the education department released a statement saying the department's regionalization initiative is not a state mandate to merge programs or districts rather it's a call for collaborative conversations about innovative ideas to enhance educational opportunities for all students. Assemblyman Chuck Levine addressed the issue in a letter to Nassau County superintendents in response to the pre election rally and press conference that you're looking at on your screen right now. It called the initiative a takeover of our schools. Well, the assemblyman that is nothing more than political theater designed to frighten the public. He added that the state education Department website makes it perfectly explicit that any district desiring to engage in shared services with any other district can do so completely voluntarily. All right, there's a lot going on here, but joining us now to break it down is State Assemblyman Chuck Levine. Good to see you. Thanks for the invitation. Rich pleasure is mine and great to see you as well. Well, thank you for coming in. Um You're hearing about this a lot now, all of a sudden almost that we kind of merge here with election day, busy time, we move past the election. Now we can focus on this. Um There are people who are concerned that this could lead to some sort of state mandate about sharing resources, district to district and you know how people are proud of their communities and their districts and they're not always willing to blur those lines. So what's your take on this state plan? Many years ago, I was the chairperson of the uh judiciary committee subcomittee on the Administrative procedures law in the State of New York. This is gonna sound a little arcane and maybe a little bit boring. But any time a rule or a regulation is being considered, there is public comment and we are in the public comment period with respect to this quote unquote regionalization concept. So the state has made it perfectly clear as explicit as is humanly possible that this does not involve this concept. This plan does not involve any takeover of any school districts whatsoever. Now, that doesn't stop some of my political colleagues and look, I'm a politician as well. Given the opportunity to take advantage of a certain situation, I may just do that. But let's not forget that we are elected because we are supposed to employ the best political science in order to adopt policies and arguments. Now, science means truth. So what happened at that October 31st it was called the press conference, but it really was a political rally. Uh And the Republicans uh were at the Locust Valley uh school district uh along with some of the other uh school district representatives. Uh and they were complaining that this will end public education on Long Island. That was the bottom line. Bottom line is we will no longer have our independent school districts. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. So politicians have to be cautious. We should not, especially in this era in this day and age, be going out of our way for self aggrandizement designed to frighten people. And that's what this was all about. State. Senator Jack Martins was on this program last week. He spoke a little bit about this regionalization plan and laid out how he views it. Take a listen here to what Senator Martins had to say. It's gonna impact every one of our schools, forcing our schools to share resources with adjoining school districts as decided by people who are not elected completely under signing all our local school boards. You know, again, the state education Department says that's not true. But part of Martin's and Blumen Kranz Assemblyman. Blumen Kranz Point was, it could be a slippery slope. We're talking about sharing. Now, maybe the next thing down the line is, yes, you're going to share. As opposed to, would you like to share? It's the old camel's nose under the tent uh routine. A long time ago when I was a public defender in New York City, I worked with a prosecutor who was known to be untruthful, pure and simple, untruthful. And in court one day he said something that was not true. And I banged my fist on the desk and I yelled, that's a lie. And the judge who was a very good guy called me up to the bench and said, no, no, no. You can't say that's a lie even though it is a lie and we all knew it was a lie. You have to say that's disingenuous. So, my, my, uh, commentary on my friend Jack Martin's, uh, uh, Soliloquy. There is, uh, a disingenuous, utterly disingenuous, not true. All right point taken there. Uh, let's talk congestion pricing governor looking to bring it back here. Um, before the election, she put a pause on it after the election. Here it comes. She may disagree with the way I've just placed that, but that is the reality, timeline wise. What do you make of it? I know the governor quite well and I think she would completely agree with what you just said, that was a good, uh uh account of the history here. I think it was wise not to pursue it uh, at the rates uh that had been recommended uh uh before the election. Let's face it. Manhattan is still undergoing a tremendous amount of um uh fiscal stress. Major buildings are selling today at 20 25% of what they sold for five and six years ago. It was wise to put that on hold for the time being. But at the same time, we know that we have to do something to be able to improve traffic in our central Manhattan uh locations and we have to do something to control greenhouse gas emissions which are true threat. And it's November and uh some people have had to put their air conditioning on uh uh this month because it's been so warm. What's going on is obvious and we either try to uh uh protect people uh from this environmental crisis or we do not. So, um some of us believe we should take the steps necessary to protect the earth and others believe this is all a hoax. So, you know, we know it's not, we know it's not a hoax. I guess those who are claiming it's a hoax are uh I guess in, in my vocabulary being somewhat disingenuous. All right, Assemblyman, Ch Levine, we'll have to leave it there. Thanks so much. We appreciate you and thank you. Rich. Always a pleasure and an honor. Still to come here on power and politics. An act giving a second chance to convicted criminals in New York is now in effect, we're gonna break down how the Clean Slate act will remove barriers for those who complete their sentences. We'll also hear from people who are directly impacted by this on both sides. Stay with us.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/565699f7-904f-4327-b15e-5b74fd61d520/565699f7-904f-4327-b15e-5b74fd61d520.transcribe

LIPP1117C_2024-11-17-12-09-32

Over 2 million convicted criminals here in New York are getting a second chance. The Clean Slate Act will seal convictions for people who complete their sentence and stay out of trouble for a certain period of time. Now supporters say it will help remove barriers to housing education and jobs. But on the other hand, Teresa Bliss. So she can hardly believe that two of the three men charged in connection with the murder of her son. David might get to benefit from this new law. I do believe in second chances for certain crimes, but when you're taking the life of an innocent person, um you have to live with the action, your actions and the new law does not apply to people currently serving a sentence those under supervision or people convicted of murder or sex offenses. Another step forward for a potential casino coming to Nassau Coliseum. The county legislative rules committee unanimously voted to release the environmental impact study. So the full legislature now will vote on that this Wednesday if approved, there will be public hearings. This report was at the center of a State Supreme Court ruling on the future of the property a judge struck down the lease deal initially saying an environmental impact study had to come. First, President elect Trump has nominated former Shirley Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the environmental protection agency as a Congressman Zeldin was a member of the bipartisan climate Solutions caucus. He spoke out against offshore drilling on the east coast and called on the EPA to pass a drinking water standard for dangerous P FA S or forever chemicals. Zeldin also secured funding to protect the Long Island Sound. Some environmental groups though, say his voting record on the environment is mixed. He's voted uh you know, against a number of climate protections that we think are really important. He always voted for the water regulations related to PFAS. And we heard from others like Congressman Lalo who say he's the right man for the job. The Senate will need to officially vote him into the position. They'll have to confirm him in January famed late night host, Jon Stewart poking fun at Democrats and their critics and congresswoman elect Laura Gillen, I'm Laura Gillen and I'm here at the border of Nassau County. We're 2000 miles from Mexico, but we're feeling the migrant crisis almost every day in Nassau County. By the way, Suffolk County make My Day Stewart included the Gillen campaign ad in his daily show commentary about the election results. He argues that Democrats allowed Republicans to define them on issues like the border and police reform. You want a piece of our strip balls. You're gonna have to go through Laura Gillen. Those are the democrats. Gillan gets the last laugh though. She defeated Republican incumbent Anthony Di esposito in the fourth congressional district. That's all the time we have this week. We'll see you again right here next week for another edition of News. Twelve's Power and Politics. I'm Rich Barab. Have a great rest of your day.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/521aa924-313e-4208-9b6e-c8ac7a5897a1/521aa924-313e-4208-9b6e-c8ac7a5897a1.transcribe

Some familiar names and some controversial choices. Republican Rep. Nick LaLota shares his take.

Choose Your Region

Be the first to know

Change

Be the first to know

Power & Politics: Trump administration takes shape; 1:1 with Rep. LaLota

Some familiar names and some controversial choices. Republican Rep. Nick LaLota shares his take.

More Stories

Rep. Mikie Sherrill announces candidacy for New Jersey governor

Power & Politics: The congestion pricing comeback

Power & Politics: NY voting rights, the race for Westchester County executive and Mondaire Jones speaks out

Power & Politics: Washington shifts right – but CT remains Democratic stronghold

Power & Politics: Congestion pricing revived; new Trump administration takes shape

Climate groups disappointed after Gov. Lamont drops electric vehicle mandates for good

Rep. Mikie Sherrill announces candidacy for New Jersey governor

Power & Politics: The congestion pricing comeback

Power & Politics: NY voting rights, the race for Westchester County executive and Mondaire Jones speaks out

Power & Politics: Washington shifts right – but CT remains Democratic stronghold

Power & Politics: Congestion pricing revived; new Trump administration takes shape

Climate groups disappointed after Gov. Lamont drops electric vehicle mandates for good

More from News 12

Rep. Mikie Sherrill announces candidacy for New Jersey governor

Power & Politics: The congestion pricing comeback

Power & Politics: NY voting rights, the race for Westchester County executive and Mondaire Jones speaks out

Power & Politics: Washington shifts right – but CT remains Democratic stronghold

Power & Politics: Congestion pricing revived; new Trump administration takes shape

‘Use it or lose it.’ Connecticut wins millions for faster trains, but will Trump pull the funding?