Join Left of the Hudson on Rockland World Radio tonight at 8p as we welcome State Senate candidate David Carlucci. We’ll discuss the path to reform in Albany, government transparency, the MTA, and the economic climate in Rockland and Orange Counties.

Carlucci is serving his third term as Clerk of Clarkstown. As an early adopter of information technologies, he has brought the town into the 21st Century by digitizing hundreds of thousands of documents and using advanced medias to make municipal government more efficient. As a candidate for the New York State Senate, Carlucci faces County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef in November.

Send your questions for David to lefthudson@gmail.com, and click here to tune in.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (right) with Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee (left) at the Nyack Farmer's Market

Gillibrand spoke with local officials including NYS Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffe and Nyack Trustees Jen White and Doug Foster as well as residents and local farmers represented at the market, answering questions about local and national issues.

Regarding obtaining federal funding for a replacement Tappan Zee Bridge, Gillibrand gave her unqualified support. “We’re going to fight for it,” she said. “The Tappan Zee bridge is an important thoroughfare for the region.” She also voiced support for the commuter rapid transit (CRT) and Bus Rapid Transit parts of the plan which will increase mass transit options for NYC passengers and 287 corridor commuters.

Continue reading →

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is scheduled to come to Nyack on August 26 at1:15pm. She will be at the Farmer’s market at the Main Street parking lot by Riverspace.

The senator is stopping by on her way to Goshen for an agricultural/farm bill event.

by Dave Zorow

When Rockland’s NYS Senator passed away last week, Middletown’s Times Herald-Record said Thomas Morahan “was the last of the liberal Republicans, a species that once dominated New York the way the buffalo did the Plains.”

It’s a sign of the times some will see this as a compliment while others will take insult. But most will just regard “liberal republican” as a contradiction in terms. In the flurry of tributes to the Senator, many of his colleagues and admirers praised Morahan for a trait rarely found in NY or DC politics these days: the ability to forge consensus and work with politicians from both parties.

Continue reading →

Suffern, July 15 — NY Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo will make a campaign appearance at Rockland County on Thursday July 15 at 12:30p. Cuomo will speak about government accountability, bringing more jobs to the state and his plan for New York’s economic recovery.

Rockland Community College is located at 145 College Road in Suffern.

New York City, July 12 — Senator Thomas Morahan, who served for 11 years representing Rockland County and part of Orange County in the NYS Senate, passed away today after a six month battle with leukemia. His family was with him at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center at 4:30p, the time of his death.

During his tenure in the the New York State Senate, Morahan introduced 230 bills which were signed into law.  As chairman of the Senate’s Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee, Morahan championed Timothy’s Law, a bill which requires insurers to provide additional mental health coverage. He announced his decision not to seek re-election in May.

Continue reading →

by Cliff Weathers

A battle is brewing between the energy industry and environmentalists concerning the dangers of removing natural gas from the shale using a process called hydrofracking. There have been reports of exploding houses, tainted water supplies, and serious health problems as a result of the process, which injects toxic chemicals into rock about a mile below the surface. The toxic brine created by the process can seep into underground and ground-level water supplies. As we don’t even know what compounds the energy industry is using to extract methane gas, we can only guess as to the long term ramifications of this process.
Continue reading →

by David Carlucci

“Hydro-fracking,” the process of using water and chemicals to release trapped deposits of natural gas in shale shelves, in many respects is New York’s equivalent to the Gulf’s deep water oil drilling process…and must be treated as such. Whether to allow unchecked hydro-fracking in New York comes down to weighing the very real environmental impact concerns against potential economic benefits.

Continue reading →

by Richard Dysinger

South Nyack, June 18 — Last night over 60 South Nyack residents gathered in the Fire Hall to discuss and respond to a comprehensive survey mailed out by the Village of South Nyack.

This survey is the initial step in formulating a comprehensive plan for the Village of South Nyack. The last comprehensive plan for the village was in 1969. The Mayor and the trustees formed a Comprehensive Plan subcommittee in order to make sure that a new plan is in place if and when the construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge begins.   Continue reading →

by Dave Zornow

When C. Scott Vanderhoef was first elected Rockland County Executive, Clarkstown Clerk David Carlucci was in the 6th grade. This Fall the old Republican political hand will face off with the young Democratic newcomer to decide who will be Rockland’s next NYS Senator. Voters will choose which trait is best suited to reform New York’s dysfunctional state government: youth or experience.

Last night, Rockland Republicans selected Vanderhoef as their choice to succeed retiring NYS Senator Thomas Morahan (R). The Democratic Committees in Orangetown, Orange County and Rockland County have endorsed Carlucci and he’s most likely to be their party’s choice.

Continue reading →