The Capitol Pressroom

Sept. 29, 2025 - After imposing restrictions on Styrofoam food containers and packing peanuts, the state is going to prohibit the sale of disposable polystyrene containers next year. We consider this environmental initiative with Jeremy Cherson, associate director of government affairs for Riverkeeper.

Sept. 29, 2025 - An additional $340 million in this year's state budget is supposed to make breakfast and lunch available in schools to students all over New York without any out-of-pocket costs. We learn about the implementation of universal school meals with Katy Headwell, the Director of School Nutrition Services at Shenendehowa Central School District

September 30, 2025- The Hochul administration is being taken to court for relaxing state laws designed to ensure private school students are receiving a basic education. We discuss the lawsuit with Michael Rebell, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, and Adina Mermelstein Konikoff, executive director for Young Advocates for Fair Education.

Sept. 29, 2025 - A wide range of products derived from Kratom are showing up on shelves all over New York, so Assemblymember John McDonald, a capital region Democrat, makes the case for imposing age restrictions on sales.

Sept. 29, 2025 - State Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Pete Harckham, a Westchester County Democrat, discusses the approval process for a controversial new gas pipeline and outlines his advocacy agenda for 2026.

September 26, 2025- Environmentalists are hoping a gas pipeline proposal for New York City gets rejected by state regulators for a fourth time, but interested business and labor groups think it deserves new consideration. We talk about the controversial proposal with Daniel Ortega, executive director of New Yorkers for Affordable Energy.

September 26, 2025- We get to know Jennifer Saunders, the new head of the state museum in Albany. We discuss why she was interested in the leadership role, the future of long-stalled renovations, and navigating turf wars at the Capitol.

September 25, 2025- The Hochul administration has green lit an overhaul of the Capitol complex, including a $25 million commitment to integrate the Empire State Plaza into the surrounding community. We explore this mandate - in a Dispatches from Planet Albany excerpt - with OGS Commissioner Jeanette Moy.

September 25, 2025- State regulations for cannabis beverages can be limiting for producers and confusing for consumers, so the manufacturers of hemp-derived drinks want more latitude in New York. We talk about the regulatory landscape with Jake Bullock, CEO of Cann, a THC-infused beverage producer.

September 25, 2025- It's been about three years since Micron Technology announced a major development for central New York and work on the project could begin this fall. We get an update on the implementation of this potentially $100 billion investment with Glenn Coin, a reporter with Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com.

September 24, 2025- If federal environmental regulators are going to back off some water protection measures, how should state policymakers work to preserve clean drinking water? We examine this changing landscape with Robert Hayes, senior director clean water at Environmental Advocates NY.

September 23, 2025- New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner and CEO RuthAnne Visnauskas discusses an investment in manufactured homes and how it could promote homeownership in communities with low-property values.

Sept. 23, 2025 - Assemblymember Robert Smullen makes the case for creating a state process to setup roadside memorials to recognize traffic deaths. The Mohawk Valley Republican's son died in 2024 after being hit by a motor vehicles.

Sept. 23, 2025 - The Trump administration's hostility to immunizations, including the COVID-19 vaccine, has prompted state action to preserve access to these public health services. We explore what the landscape looks like in New York with Dr. Scott Guisinger, vice president of pharmacy for Price Chopper, Market 32, and Tops Markets and a director on the board of the Community Pharmacy Association of New York.

September 22, 2025- New York policymakers looking to regulate the marketing of Kratom aren't making carveouts for "natural" products, which is a mistake, according to Dr. C Michael White, a department head at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

September 22, 2025- A handful of public colleges are facing hard choices in order to address systemic financial challenges, but a campus in central New York makes the case that their situation is unique and warrants additional state support. Our guest is Matthew Smith, local union president at SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, where he director of college libraries.

September 22, 2025- The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government wants to hear from the public on possible reforms to the state's laws and regulations designed to address corruption. We discuss what's on the table with Sandy Berland, the commission's executive director.

September 22, 2025- A major question of states' rights is going to play out in the courts as the result of Texas challenging a shield law in New York. We break down the case and its implications with Dale Margolin Cecka, an assistant professor of law at Albany Law school.

September 19, 2025-New York State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton discusses staffing levels, gas pipeline permitting, and the unique stamp she brings to the Hochul administration.

September 19, 2025- Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, a Brooklyn Democrat, and state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Brooklyn Democrat, weigh in on an affordable housing development in Brooklyn that isn't producing the promised units and make the case for a different model of building affordable units.

September 18, 2025- We explore legislation designed to let out-of-state athletic trainers work in New York in limited circumstances with Aimee Brunelle, athletic trainer and wellness coordinator for the South Colonie Central School District.

September 18, 2025- Assemblymember Jen Lunsford, a Rochester-area Democrat, makes the case for her legislation putting in-state payroll processing companies on the same playing field as their out-of-state competition.

September 18, 2025- State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray discusses the risk of political violence in New York and considers how the political discourse can contribute to violence.

September 17, 2025- New York State Coalition for Children's Behavioral Health President & CEO Kayleigh Zaloga discusses a settlement with the Hochul administration that requires increased state investment in Medicaid rates for child mental health services.

September 17, 2025-A new survey by the Siena Research Institute takes the temperature of New Yorkers on public safety and the performance of President Donald Trump. Our guest is Siena pollster Steve Greenberg.

September 17, 2025- The Trump administration and their Republican allies in Congress are ending federal subsidies for green initiatives, like tax credits for electric vehicles, so we examine the fallout of these shifting priorities with Doreen Harris, president and CEO of New York State Energy Research & Development Authority.

September 17, 2025- LifeSciencesNY Executive Director Winthrop Thurlow warns that New York's plans to be on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence development could be undermined by the wrong regulatory approach. We discuss efforts to regulate this evolving industry and how AI could boost health care services.

September 17, 2025- Mental Health Association in New York State CEO Glenn Liebman makes the case for establishing a commission to oversee the reduction in the number of psychiatric hospitals  in the Empire State.

September 17, 2025- Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, a Queens Democrat, discusses her legislation requiring state health officials to proactively disseminate and promote information about reproductive health care in New York, including abortion services and financial support.

September 17, 2025- Legislation awaiting the governor's signature would potentially make formerly incarcerated New Yorkers eligible to be hired for preferred source employment opportunities. We consider the ramifications of this idea with Maureen O'Brien, president and CEO New York State Industries for the Disabled.

September 17, 2025- Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden talks about legislation tweaking the tax cap for municipalities to incentivize investments in emergency medical services.

September 12, 2025- In light of an investigation by the state attorney general's office revealing dangerous neglect by a nursing home operator in Syracuse, we explore the oversight of nursing facilities with Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition.

September 12, 2025- New York State of Health Executive Director Danielle Holahan explains how the Hochul administration is responding to federal changes that impact how the state provides health insurance coverage for 1.7 million low-income New Yorkers.

September 12, 2025- Child care providers have been sounding the alarm about a staffing crisis for years, so we check in on the status of the workforce and their need for investment with Alicia Marks, owner and operator for Marks of Excellence Childcare and Dede Hill, vice president of policy at the Schuyler Center for Analysis & Advocacy.

September 11, 2025- The Medical Society of the State of New York is shining a spotlight on its longstanding complaint about delayed and limited payments approved by health insurers. We talk about their effort to get paid with the group's executive vice president, Dr. Thomas Lee.

September 11, 2025- State financial regulators continued the tradition this summer of approving premium increases for the individual and small group health insurance plans offered in the state marketplace, so we examine how we got to this point of escalating costs and consider what the future offerings will look like. Our guest is Paul Francis, chair of The Two Step Policy Project.

Sept. 10, 2025 - Assemblymember Pamela Hunter, a Syracuse Democrat, makes the case for updating the risk assessment tool used to classify sex offenders in New York.

September 9, 2025- The state Public Service Commission and New York's regulated energy providers are getting a lot of negative attention this summer for proposed rate hikes and negotiated cost increases. We consider what is driving prices up for energy consumers and evaluate some of the proposals to control out-of-pocket costs with Laurie Wheelock, executive director and general counsel of the Public Utility Law Project of New York.

September 8, 2025-In light of two defunct gas pipeline proposals getting new life under the Hochul administration, we explore their initial permitting process under then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and consider what is being proposed now. Our guest is Susan Kraham, managing attorney with Earthjustice.

September 5, 2025- SUNY Chancellor John King gives an update on the state's effort to place adults in high-demand degrees at community colleges. He also talks about the structural deficits at some SUNY campuses and addresses the possibility of SUNY drawing the ire of the Trump administration.

September 5, 2025- We consider how many doctors getting trained in New York actually stay in New York (and why), with the help of David Armstrong, project director at the Center for Health Workforce Studies for the University at Albany.

Sept. 5, 2025 - The longtime leader of CSEA, Danny Donohue, passed away this summer, so we wanted to explore how he wielded power, his brash style, and whether anyone was picking up his mantle in Planet Albany. For all that insight we tapped into the institutional knowledge and insights of Liz Benjamin, a former journalist and now a big deal for Marathon Strategies. (This is an excerpt of Dispatches from Planet Albany)

September 3, 2025- New York prison officials are looking to update their procedures for reviewing mail sent from lawyers to their clients behind bars, so we consider the ramifications with Antony Gemmell, supervising attorney with the Prisoners' Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society.

September 3, 2025- We get an update on the state's use of road salt and alternative methods for keeping drivers safe in the winter with Rob Fitch, director of the Office of Transportation Maintenance for the state Department of Transportation.

September 3, 2025- New York State School Boards Association Executive Director Robert Schneider discusses how districts can address a teacher shortage and explains how school boards prepared to implement smartphone restrictions in schools this fall.

September 3, 2025- Food Industry Alliance of New York State President & CEO Mike Durant weighs in on legislation intended to let New Yorkers know if they're paying more for groceries they order online compare to shopping in a store.

September 2, 2025- We check in on the implementation of the state's "bell-to-bell" smartphone restrictions in schools with Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy, research, and communications at the New York Council of School Superintendents, and Dr. Donna DeSiato, superintendent of the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District.

September 2, 2025- Assemblymember Bobby Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, makes the case for prohibiting financial institutions from writing minimum rent charges into mortgage agreements.

September 2, 2025- We discuss the first four years of Kathy Hochul's time in the executive mansion with New York Playbook co-author Nick Reisman. Catch the entire conversation on the Dispatches from Planet Albany podcast.

Aug. 29, 2025- New Yorkers are poised to lose their government health coverage in the coming years as the result of changes in Washington D.C., but a new report argues that community organizations could help prevent a gap in insurance. We explore this report and next steps for state policymakers with Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York.

Aug. 29, 2025- Attorney Diane Houk explains why fair housing organizations are wading into a legal fight over the constitutionality of housing vouchers in New York and a law intended to prevent landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their payment method.