Governor Spitzer?

Ending intense but ultimately unfounded speculation about a potentially brutal Democratic primary fight, New York Senator Chuck Schumer announced today that he does not plan to run for Governor here in 2006.

The announcement by Schumer, just re-elected with a whopping 71% majority, opens up a clear path for maverick Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to seek the Democratic line.

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Hinchey joins Rangel in support of 9/11 detainee

Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) is the second New York congressman to contact the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) on behalf of Ansar Mahmood, a long-time September 11 detainee, reports the group which is working to secure Mahmood's release.

The Mahmood case has received national attention, from Michael Moore to the Washington Post. Yet this 26-year-old immigrant and pizza delivery man from Hudson remains detained, two years after being cleared of all terrorism-related suspicions...

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AP shines national light on Mahmood, Sweeney stories

HUDSON & ALBANY (NY) -- Sex clubs and a false terrorism arrest are the subjects of two very different Associated Press pieces today, each focusing national attention on a Hudson Valley story.

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Mahmood case stirs more media interest

HUDSON -- The plight of Columbia County resident Ansar Mahmood, the young Domino's delivery man held in detention for more than 2 years by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), is again garnering significant attention from both the local and the national media.

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Mid-Hudson Valley news roundup: Sunday

♦ The Kingston Daily Freeman’s Patricia Doxsey reports that State Senator Steve Saland is helping Dutchess County Legislator Marc Molinaro to raise money to challenge popular Assemblyman Pat Manning in a Republican primary later this year. Manning is known in Columbia County for his concern about the proposed coal-fired St. Lawrence Cement plant, and also his annual walk for breast cancer awareness.

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Space case: bringing Bush back down to Earth

SARATOGA (NY) & BOULDER (CO) — With Martin Luther King Day approaching, and President Bush turning his attention to outer space, some critics are calling for a focus on more earthly problems.

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Poll: Dean leads in New York

POUGHKEEPSIE — As noted on Taegan Goddard's Political Wire, a Marist College poll released on January 13th places Howard Dean solidly in the lead for the Democratic nomination in New York State. The Marist survey found Dean ahead with 26% of those surveyed, with Joe Lieberman the next closest candidate at just 12%. The poll did, however, also find that another 26% of voters were undecided.

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