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“I think it would be a wonderful thing to pay. The mass transit system needs it.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan may be dead, but Assembly Democrats do have a plan to raise money for mass transit: tax the rich.

It's what Albany calls a "millionaire's tax."

Yes, billionaires like Bloomberg will ante up, too.

Under the plan, people who earn over $1 million in New York state will pay an income tax surcharge of about 3/4 of 1 percent for five years. In all, it would raise over $5 billion for mass transit.

Supporters say that of the 75,000 affected taxpayers, about 35,000 don't live in New York. Read more

International Paper Co.'s chief executive received compensation valued at nearly $10.7 million in 2007, when the Memphis-based company saw a decline in demand for its paper and wood products in North America, a ... via The Tennessean

“I think we are far enough along that I'm going to have a conference with the members tomorrow morning”

Byline: By VALERIE BAUMAN Bytitle: Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. _ The Senate and Assembly were scheduled to come in to work Wednesday to pass a $124 billion budget that's more than a week late. via The Associated Press

“Oddly enough, sometimes you didn't smell it when you were in there”

MeadWestvaco has played a big part in the weave of the Lowcountry. Generations of local residents have worked for the paper company, either at its North Charleston paper mill or its Summerville lumber mill, ... via Post and Courier

“Oddly enough, sometimes you didn't smell it when you were in there”

MeadWestvaco has played a big part in the weave of this place. It's been an employer so pervasive that most families in rural Dorchester County as well as the old North Charleston village have worked for the ... via The Post and Courier

FRANKLIN, Ohio -- The Franklin Boxboard Corp. may be closing its door June 2 if the plant's union does not accept a contract offer by April 15, a corporate official said. via WHIO-AM Dayton

“The mayor is entitled to his vision”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's legacy proposal to charge a fee to drive into parts of Manhattan to curb traffic and pollution died in Albany Monday.

'I think the headline for tomorrow is, `Albany to New York: Drop Dead,'' Bloomberg's deputy mayor, Kevin Sheekey, said in a NY1 television interview. Sheekey's comment mirrors a Daily News headline from 30 years ago when then President Ford said he would veto a federal bailout of New York City.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Monday that his chamber wouldn't take up the proposal because of strong opposition within the conference dominated by New York City Democrats. Read more

Republican senators then accused the Democrats of devoting the past weekend to a political gathering where they bashed Republicans for upstate voters instead of doing their jobs in Albany. via The Gazette

“MWV's growth strategy is focused on providing total packaging solutions for customers in growing global consumer products markets”

Originally published 10:53 a.m., April 7, 2008 Updated 11:02 a.m., April 7, 2008 MeadWestvaco Corp., one of the region's largest and oldest private-sector employers, said Monday it is selling it 71-year-old ... via Post and Courier

CHESAPEAKE Nearly 20 people were driven from their apartments this morning when a when a car hit a gas meter on the side of a building sparking a two-alarm fire that sent flames shooting skyward. via The Virginian-Pilot

“We were getting this, and we were getting submissions to develop an office building”

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson is scaling back a plan to build upscale shops, offices and homes on 500 acres along the border of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. via Construction Equipment Guide

“Then that made me feel really, really exhausted.”

The young workers came from Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, spending their own money to work in summer resort towns desperate for labour. via MyTELUS

“The use of Port Authority funds is a sleight of hand to disguise flaws in the plans”

By JACOB GERSHMAN Staff Reporter of the Sun April 4, 2008 ALBANY - Critics of Mayor Bloomberg 's congestion pricing plan are charging that the revised legislation under consideration in Albany rests on an ... via New York Sun

“Unfortunately, people have not been getting sick at a rate that we would all like yet”

The surprising course of the latest flu season - one of the most unpredictable in years - has been a headache for companies from tissue makers to hospital owners. via Daily Record

New York needs to change course on spending, taxes April 5, 2008 The Corning Area Chamber of Commerce writes to urge our Albany leaders to pass a budget that will keep our state economically competitive by ... via Star-Gazette.COM

“At the rate we are going, we are losing two congressmen in the year 2012 because people are moving out of the state. They say they can't afford the taxes”

ALBANY Almost a week since the deadline passed for a new state budget, lawmakers and the governor have yet to resolve all issues and the legislature still has not adopted final budget bills. via Mid-Hudson News

“The Cognitive Crow Exhibit will have four to eight crows in a large enclosure, and there will be an area where the handlers and researchers will be stationed”

One very special new feature at the zoo is a joint research project partnered with the biology department of Binghamton University. via Star-Gazette.COM

“In addition, the companies face the additional risks of potential labour disruptions, higher than expected cost increases associated with energy and energy related cost inputs and refinancing challenges in 2009.”

- Debt rating agency DBRS downgraded its ratings for the companies that make up AbitibiBowater Inc. (TSX:ABH) on Friday due to the relative strength of the loonie and deterioration of North American newsprint markets.

The agency, which had placed its company "under review with negative implications" last July, lowered its ratings on Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada, Bowater Inc. and Bowater Canadian Forest Products Inc. from BB (low) to B with a "negative" trend. Read more

“I've seen in the last couple of years, much more transparency, maybe not as much as we'd like here as legislators, but a lot more than we've had this year”

The budget process is slow. Those are the words of Senator William T. Stachowski from Buffalo and Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli for Syracuse. via News 10 Now

“But the legislative leaders have been doing this for a long time. They get this budget process, and it's really disheartening that we could not do a more open and transparent process.”

Albany misses deadline on budget State leaders say they likely won't finish work until later in week. via Star-Gazette.COM