links for 2011-04-08

Though the governor declined to give his preference, the Farm Bureau has stepped in to make the decision easier for New York officials caught between the onion and the sweet corn.

The accusations are flying thick and fast between former NYC Mayor Ed Koch and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who are locked in a battle of wills over redistricting reform.

The Obama administration is releasing $311 million to states to help poor families struggling to pay high home energy bills.

Pulaski, NY – Antony Papageorgiou, a Cornell Hotel School alumnus and veteran of the hospitality industry, has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer at PURE Global Solutions, LLC in Pulaski, NY. Mr. Papageorgiou has held several key leadership positions in hotel operations, branding and corporate training/development in the luxury and ultra premium cruise industry before starting a new career in indoor air and surface purification in 2008.

Judges in state-funded courts across New York are being told to close courtrooms a half-hour earlier to cut down on overtime paid to clerks and officers.

State Education Commissioner David Steiner just released the following statement confirming his plans to leave the post he has held since July 2009:

From labor concessions by teachers and administrators to changing bus routes, many school districts in New York are finding ways to handle Gov. Andrew Cuomo's historic cut in state aid without massive layoffs or drastic increases in property taxes.