New York's budget process is often secretive. Here's how Capitol Confidential's Dan Clark finds answers.

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e State health workers in Albany say repeated gas scares at 875 Central Ave. have fueled calls for remote work.

More trouble including serial evacuation orders at a Central Avenue building that houses workers for the state Department of — hmm, one moment, let me consult my notes, ah yes — Health. @timothythereporter.bsky.social reports. www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...

I pet a dog today.

Hochul makes ‘naughty list’ for third Christmas in a row, watchdog group says Gov. Kathy Hochul again made the New York Coalition for Open Government 'naughty list' after vetoing a bill to tighten FOIL response deadlines.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is getting coal for Christmas, again.

www.timesunion.com/capitol/arti...

Sheehan announces occupancy permit review after fatal fire How long a review will take and what, if any, additional penalties property owners can expect is unclear as the city releases the inspection timeline at 241 Western Ave., which lacked a permit.

With 3 weeks to go before leaving office, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan has initiated an audit to explore how a residence flagged almost five years ago as lacking an occupancy permit still had no permit and lots of tenants when it caught fire last week, resulting in two deaths. Patrick Tine reports.

New York funeral industry audit finds red flags: 'This is a horror scene' A state audit says New York health agencies must tighten funeral oversight after risks of misidentified bodies and invalid burial permits.

New from me:

A risk of misidentified corpses, shoddy efforts to check for signs of life, and poorly monitored embalming rooms are among the major gaps in New York’s oversight of the funeral industry, according to the state comptroller’s office.

Can a nation be truly free if an LLM isn't allowed to set the cost of housing? @timothythereporter.bsky.social reports.

Upstate New York renters can sue landlords, often at high personal cost Albany tops 70 of 320 Article 7-D cases as upstate tenants use the Tenant Dignity and Safe Housing Act to seek repairs, rent cuts and refunds.

New York quietly passed a law in 2022 that allowed upstate renters to sue their landlords to compel repairs and other such relief.

I learned that 320 or so tenants have filed lawsuits, sometimes at great personal cost.

Read my @timesunion story here:

They let us play around with it before the launch. It's really cool!

New York pension giant demands answers on Trump tariff impact New York’s comptroller asks Lowe’s, Caterpillar, Deere and Broadcom to detail how they assess and mitigate tariff risks for investors.

New York's comptroller oversees one of the country's largest pension funds.

He's just asked Lowe's and three other companies how they are adjusting to and addressing tariffs imposed by Trump, documents show.

My latest:

Former Hochul, Cuomo aide alleged as Chinese agent goes to trial this week The charges against Linda Sun have evolved since federal prosecutors first brought the case in 2024.

The trial of Linda Sun, a top New York state official accused of being an agent of the Chinese government, begins today in Brooklyn www.timesunion.com/state/articl...

Lack of Medicaid oversight results in $10M in overpayments The New York comptroller said it flagged the over payments the state Health Department made due a lack of oversight.

The New York Department of Health permitted millions of dollars in improper Medicaid payments to flow to providers due to a lack of oversight related to a systemic billing code error and other issues, the state comptroller said in a recent audit.

The dad jokes are all ... @danclarkreports.bsky.social

Speed cameras are coming to Schenectady under new state law Schenectady can bring cameras to as many as 20 school zones.

NEW: School zone cameras are a source of conversation and controversy. Schenectady's getting some soon, as are communities across New York.

All Central Warehouse wanted was to outlive the East Wing of the White House.

New York says police must take guns in domestic violence calls The new law requiring New York law enforcement to briefly seize firearms when responding to domestic violence calls draws criticism from gun rights supporters.

NEW: A new law requiring New York law enforcement to briefly seize firearms when responding to domestic violence calls draws criticism from gun rights supporters.

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It's also National Bologna Day.