Morning Wrap for Tuesday, July 28, 2009 (final post 9:25 a.m.)

From the Blogs:

PoltickerNY:

-Steve Kornacki looks at why Carolyn Maloney keeps delaying her entry into the U.S. Senate race against Kirsten Gillibrand.

-Jimmy Vielkind reports Director of State Operations Dennis Whalen, who will leave his post in September, will be joining the Healthcare Association of NY as  executive vice president.

Capitol Confidential:

-RicK Karlin shares data from the Empire Center of NYS Policy on how much the state spends on education.

NY Fiscal Watch:

-Nicole Gelinas details how NYC hasn’t “cut spending in line with diminished expectations” projected in Comptroller Bill Thompson’s annual city budget report.

-E.J. McMahon shares data from the U.S. Census Bureau on NYS’s spending on education.

The Daily Politics:

-Elizabeth Benjamin reports Assembly hopeful Al Baldeo makes the “Councilman Bill de Blasio’s ballot access” argument “against the governor’s apparent plans to call a special election in the 38th AD.”

-According to today’s Q poll, Comptroller Bill Thompson has “closed the gap between himself and Mayor Bloomberg by 10 percentage points since June by making gains among fellow Democrats and black voters.”

The Borrero Report:

-Gerson Borrero accuses Mayor Bloomberg of using the press briefing about the shooting of Police Officer Rodney Lewis to talk up his administration.

Opinion:

-Albany Times Union calls Gov. Paterson out for shortchanging the state on the cost of his travel.

-New York Post writes the state Senate “needs to renew mayoral control immediately… amendments can wait.”

-The Post reports NYC “coughed up some $69 million for just the top 10” lawsuits filed against the city last year.

-New York Daily News cautions the FDNY to not hire black candidates over whites who scored better on disputed exams, saying that is a “step sure to create divisiveness.”

-Newsday wants Gov. Paterson to sign legislation “to enact one of the most sweeping reforms of state government in a decade” — the public authorities reform bill.

-The Journal News will discuss the future of the NYS Senate with Deputy Majority Leader Jeffrey Klein, D-Bronx; Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers; and Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City.

-Verlyn Klinkenborg, of the New York Times, calls the trade-off for drilling into the Marcellus Shale for the “staggering” amount of natural gas there “deeply troubling.”

-Frank Elias, president of the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce, calls for constitutional convention to “address true budget reform, term limits for the Speaker and major leadership, member items and resources that could be more fairly distributed to legislative districts, state mandates and permissive referendums.”

-Bill Hammond, of the New York Daily News, writes the state legislature continues to put expiration dates in laws to remind “New Yorkers of their awesome power to make our lives miserable.”

-Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, writes, “The Race to the Top competition may be just the impetus New York needs to develop a coherent strategy for improving its public schools.”

Meetings/Press Conferences:

-Governor David A. Paterson will be in NYC today.

11 a.m.  The governor will announce the Economic Development Project at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Hangar 12, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens.

3 p.m.  The governor will present the Annual Governor’s Police Officer of the Year Award in the Executive Chamber Press Room, 38th Floor, 633 3rd Avenue, NYC.

-State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli will speak at the 103rd annual convention of the NYS Pipe Trades Association at 9 a.m. today at the Fort William Henry Resort and Conference Center, 48 Canada St., Lake George.

-Council members David Yassky and Gale Brewer, Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, and Department of Health Acting Deputy Commissioner Andy Goodman will celebrate the expected passage of the Bicycle Access Bill at 10:30 a.m. today at City Hall, NYC.

Press Releases:

-NYC Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr.: The comptroller testifies before the Financial Control Board assessing the City’s FY 2010 budget and providing an analysis of future financial plans.

-The Council of the City of New York: Speaker Quinn, the City University of New York and St. Vincent’s Hospital welcome new CUNY nursing faculty.

-Governor David A. Paterson: Gov. Paterson makes a statement on the selection of Dr. David M. Steiner to serve as Commissioner of Education.

-The Working Families Party: The WFP supports the Public Authorities Accountability bill.