Delhi

The state's top judge wants courtrooms open to camera coverage so New Yorkers can see for themselves how justice works. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippmann, who presides at the Court of Appeals where arguments are routinely broadcast online, is calling for a change in state law so people can know how laws are being interpreted, rights determined, criminals punished and tax dollars spent for the courts a

School districts and taxpayers statewide will have to dig deeper next year to fund a 37 percent increase in the pension contribution rate for teachers and other workers.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell by 27,000 last week, an indication that hiring could improve. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dropped to a seasonally adjusted 341,000, the lowest level in three weeks.

The vast majority of New York State’s local governments are having to raise property taxes, cut jobs, slash services and are running out of rainy day reserves thanks to out-of-control pension costs.

Assemblyman Cliff Crouch is inviting second amendment advocates, sportsman, businesses and constituents to join him at NY2A Day in Albany on Feb. 28.

This Saturday is the Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump to help raise funds for six sick area children. Organizers for the event are Jaymee and Brenda Waters.

Dueling rallies for and against the new gun law were held at the state capital on Tuesday. At noon, a group of roughly 75 adults and young people from the group One Million Moms for Gun Control held a press conference on the capitol’s western staircase. The group praised the passage of the SAFE act gun law.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer called on FEMA to immediately speed up the processing of flood insurance claims through the National Flood Insurance Program for homeowners impacted by Superstorm Sandy. More than 100 days since the storm struck, only 52 percent of New Yorkers’ flood claims have been fully processed, greatly slowing down, or in some cases preventing, the rebuilding process.

Over $3.5 million in state funding awarded through the consolidated funding application process will be used to create food distribution hubs across the state. Four new facilities will be funded in central New York, the Finger Lakes, Hudson valley, and the north country, in addition to an earlier food hub project on Long Island, creating more than 150 jobs in these regions and increasing access to

The State Senate passed two bills that would enhance the safety of bus passengers by preventing registered sex offenders from becoming bus drivers and increasing penalties for passing a stopped school bus.