links for 2011-02-14

• 231 ways toward tax relief
  According to the report from the New York State Association of Counties, nine state mandates represent 90 percent of the $4.4 billion raised in property taxes levied outside New York City. NYSAC says something must be done about some of them
• Climate change keenly felt in Alaska's national parks – Yahoo! News
  Since the mid-1970s, Alaska has warmed at three times the rate of the Lower 48 states, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And with nearly two-thirds of U.S. national parkland located in Alaska, the issue of climate change is especially pressing there, officials say.
• N.Y. Legislators Scarce at Committee Budget Hearings – NYTimes.com
  A week and a half after Mr. Cuomo unveiled his budget, the annual parade of jointly sponsored budget hearings is well under way, and the absence of many lawmakers has provoked some raised eyebrows at the Capitol — and a few acid-tongued news releases highlighting the no-shows.
• Number of New Yorkers on food stamps has increased to record-high of $3 million as food prices soar
  The number of New Yorkers on food stamps has soared to a record 3 million – an 11% jump from 2009 and a 65% increase in the past five years, the Daily News has learned.
• Rep. Christopher Lee, ex-gov Eliot Spitzer sex scandals have turned New York into the Sleaze Empire
  If New Orleans is the Big Easy, New York is quickly becoming the Big Sleazy. From our hooker-happy ex-governor to the cheating craigslist congressman, Empire State politicians are increasingly caught in compromising positions totally unrelated to policy.
• Police say NYC man went on stabbing spree, killing 4, after mom wouldn't let him drive her Lexus
  It apparently began, police said, when a 23-year-old graffiti artist asked his mother if he could drive her Lexus. She said no. The ensuing fight between them escalated into a bloody 28-hour rampage
• N.Y. Senate Democrats say election districts should be redrawn
  Democrats in New York’s Senate say the 240,000 more votes their party received in the 2010 elections show the Republican majority must embrace nonpartisan redrawing of election districts — again.
• NY-26 GOP Leaders Set Candidate Screening Schedule
  The GOP leaders of the seven-county NY-26 met in Batavia this morning and established a schedule for selecting a candidate to run in the yet-to-be-called special election to fill the seat former Rep. Chris Lee vacated last week in the wake of his Craigslist scandal.

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