http://www.nypress.com/articles.sec-14-1-columns-politics.html The oft-repeated line about Joseph Lhota’s new job as CEO and chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is that it’s one of the toughest jobs in New York government. But Lhota says that he thrives taking on challenges, and that the older he gets, “the more complex I want my problems to be.”]]> The Legislature’s redistricting maps made losers out of a handful of Senate Democrats, who now find themselves living in districts represented by their colleagues. And NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly’s week – already pretty cloudy due to a storm over his involvement in an anti-Muslim video – got a lot more grim when news about an allegation of rape against his son surfaced. Here’s how the week shook out for the rest of the political world:]]> A classroom of Bronx high school students was discussing John Steinbeck’s literary classic Of Mice and Men last week when a gray-haired, dark-suited visitor chimed in with the perspective of an extra 50 years.]]> It was one of the last of the group’s dozens of public hearings before drafting new lines for election districts. Dilan, representing the Senate Democratic Conference on the task force, was upset about a memo from a Senate Republican lawyer that advocated for a 63rd Senate seat. The memo had been placed on the LATFOR website late on a Friday, with no Democratic input.]]> Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to cap nonprofit executive compensation at $200,000 may hit some New York hospital CEOs directly in the pocketbook – unless they can show good reasons for taking home their six- and seven-figure salaries.]]> Welcome to The Notebook, the campaign and politics blog of City & State. We’ll be updating throughout each day with analysis, breaking news and the same type of insider-oriented coverage you’ve seen on our website and in print.]]> Some of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s second-year agenda does not sit well with a crucial minority constituency. Members of the Hispanic Federation pushed back gently but firmly against it when Darryl Towns, the former Brooklyn assemblyman who now heads the Homes and Community Renewal agency, delivered a version of the governor’s State of the State address to them in lower Manhattan last week.]]> Still chuckling over former Mayor Ed Koch’s cameo in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s State of the City video today? Keep it in your pocket! ]]> Year Two of the Cuomo era started out, surprisingly, with a bang. Not content to rest on his laurels, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a list of big-ticket items in his State of the State speech last week. Among them: a plan to build the largest convention center in the United States, the legalization of casino gambling, a call to create a public campaign finance system and billions of dollars leveraged toward improving the state’s crumbling infrastructure.]]> City & State brings us late and breaking news from Albany to the Financial District. Sign up for City & State's First Read for all you need to know about politics in New York. ]]> City & State brings us late and breaking news from Albany to the Financial District. Sign up for City & State's First Read for all you need to know about politics in New York.]]> Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State speech tried to build on the momentum of the previous year’s successes, but like all political speeches, it boosted some and left others in the lurch. Here’s our weekly look at who’s up and who’s down in New York politics, State of the State edition:]]> One of the few heated spots in the state Capitol complex yesterday was the conference room where Mayor Michael Bloomberg talked to reporters after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address. The governor likes his rooms ice-cold; Bloomberg’s girlfriend, Diana Taylor, was hugging herself for warmth.]]> Gov. Andrew Cuomo resolved in his first State of the State address to overhaul New York’s mammoth Medicaid program, a $52 billion system threatening to cripple the state’s budget. And for the time being at least, he appears to have made good on his promise, healthcare analysts said.]]> From blizzards to Occupy Wall Street, Cathie Black to Carl Kruger, 2011 has had its ups and downs, lefts and rights, and even some unexpected U-turns (tweeting Anthony Weiner). It was a year of overhyped political races and secret backroom deals, spectacular ethical lapses and game-changing protests. As we look forward to 2012, we look back on the bold, savvy and dumb-lucky who won most mornings of the year. And as for the Losers, well, you know what you did.]]> First came the endorsement from Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. Then the New York Times. Now, living wage proponents have another reason to feel thankful this holiday season: one or more City Council members are expected to announce their support for the measure in the coming days, sources say. Twenty-nine Council members are currently signed on as sponsors to the bill, five short of the votes needed to override an expected veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.]]> New York City’s construction costs are among the country’s highest—but does it matter? In the new Mission: Impossible film, Tom Cruise’s secret-agent character leaps out of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet, and scrambles along its glassy exterior—a stunt that is apparently critical to saving the world.]]> Occupy Albany got evicted, the taxi bill got a reprieve, Anthony Weiner got a wonderful Hanukkah gift and Carl Kruger got his pension before getting teary-eyed in court. Here’s our weekly look at who’s up and who’s down in New York politics. ]]> Under the terms of the plea agreement he signed yesterday, newly-former Sen. Carl Kruger could receive 9 to 11 years in jail and a fine of up to $850,000. But, as Sen. Liz Krueger pointed out this morning, the former senator will still receive his pension, and because of lax rules governing state campaign finance, can still spend the more than $1 million he has in his remaining campaign account, Friends of Carl. An account named “Carl Kruger” was closed June 15 of this year. In an interview, Krueger said the timing of the disgraced senator’s resignation was also significant.-]]>