The Capitol Pressroom

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.