Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus joined this week with the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors in letting Congress know that they don't like the changes proposed to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Steinhaus said the possible limits on reimbursements for health care providers operated by units of government would be a "devastating multi-million dollar impact" to Dutchess government.
His letter is addressed to U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey, Kirsten Gillibrand and John Hall. (Apology: Copies of the letters should be available here on Straw Poll, however the blogger is still trying to figure out how to do that. Stay tuned.)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
On Joe's mind: town or county?
One of the biggest questions leading up to county-wide elections this year in Dutchess is, who will the Democrats chose as their nominee for county executive?
Lately, the question has become, will they pick Joe Ruggiero?
Ruggiero, the Wappinger town supervisor since 2002, is one of the most prominent Democrats in the county, partly because of his role as chairman of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. But he isn’t tipping his hand. He said he’s not sure yet if he will pursue the county executive nomination.
“It’s a huge decision, if I decide to do it,” Ruggiero said. “I’m thinking it through.”
You might say he’s taking a page from Barack Obama’s political playbook. Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, fought back speculation last year about a possible candidacy for president in 2008 before finally admitting he was giving it some thought, mostly because so many people had been asking him about it.
Obama, a Democrat, now is a full-fledged candidate for president.
Ruggiero, 37, also has been fielding questions about his political ambitions while trying to tamp down the speculation. He said he doesn’t like what’s going on in county government under the watch of County Executive William Steinhaus, a Republican, but he also enjoys his work in the Town of Wappinger. If he stays put, he would have to run for re-election in November.
Town or county? Time will tell.
Lately, the question has become, will they pick Joe Ruggiero?
Ruggiero, the Wappinger town supervisor since 2002, is one of the most prominent Democrats in the county, partly because of his role as chairman of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. But he isn’t tipping his hand. He said he’s not sure yet if he will pursue the county executive nomination.
“It’s a huge decision, if I decide to do it,” Ruggiero said. “I’m thinking it through.”
You might say he’s taking a page from Barack Obama’s political playbook. Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, fought back speculation last year about a possible candidacy for president in 2008 before finally admitting he was giving it some thought, mostly because so many people had been asking him about it.
Obama, a Democrat, now is a full-fledged candidate for president.
Ruggiero, 37, also has been fielding questions about his political ambitions while trying to tamp down the speculation. He said he doesn’t like what’s going on in county government under the watch of County Executive William Steinhaus, a Republican, but he also enjoys his work in the Town of Wappinger. If he stays put, he would have to run for re-election in November.
Town or county? Time will tell.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Molinaro caught in dodge (ball tournament)
If Marc Molinaro's political career doesn't work out, he might have a role waiting for him in a Ben Stiller sequel.
Assemblyman Molinaro, the freshman Republican from Tivoli, is capping his schedule in the district this week with the Taconic Hills High School junior class dodge ball tournament fundraiser on Friday, during which he is expected to volunteer as a referee.
For those of you unfamiliar with Stiller's brand of film comedy, dodge ball, that brutal old schoolyard game, gained in popularity after a 2004 movie starring Vince Vaughn and Stiller, his dodge ball nemesis. (It's no "All the President's Men," but it's a lot funnier.)
Only students are participating in this tournament, from 6-10 p.m. Friday at the Columbia County school, but spectators can donate $5 to see if Molinaro gets caught up in the action.
Assemblyman Molinaro, the freshman Republican from Tivoli, is capping his schedule in the district this week with the Taconic Hills High School junior class dodge ball tournament fundraiser on Friday, during which he is expected to volunteer as a referee.
For those of you unfamiliar with Stiller's brand of film comedy, dodge ball, that brutal old schoolyard game, gained in popularity after a 2004 movie starring Vince Vaughn and Stiller, his dodge ball nemesis. (It's no "All the President's Men," but it's a lot funnier.)
Only students are participating in this tournament, from 6-10 p.m. Friday at the Columbia County school, but spectators can donate $5 to see if Molinaro gets caught up in the action.
Introduction
Welcome to Straw Poll, a Poughkeepsie Journal blog on Dutchess County government and regional politics in which I’ll offer some insights in passing about what’s going on with your elected officials, the programs they manage, your money they spend and the politics that surrounds it all.
Reporters constantly face an uphill battle in parsing the often banal inner workings of government in search of interesting stories. The challenge is to convey how these public institutions affect the lives of ordinary residents. The blog format lends itself to insider tidbits for political junkies – and I’ll type those up as I get them – but I also hope to give readers relevant information on politics and government and maybe have a little fun in the process.
A little about myself: I’ve been reporting on Dutchess County government for only about six months, but I have several years of municipal government reporting experience, much of it while working for a small newspaper in Wisconsin. I spent my first year at the Poughkeepsie Journal reporting on the growing communities of southern Dutchess before moving to the county beat.
I’ll be looking for feedback from you to help refine the direction of Straw Poll. Send me your questions and concerns, and let me know whenever you hear any juicy political gossip.
Reporters constantly face an uphill battle in parsing the often banal inner workings of government in search of interesting stories. The challenge is to convey how these public institutions affect the lives of ordinary residents. The blog format lends itself to insider tidbits for political junkies – and I’ll type those up as I get them – but I also hope to give readers relevant information on politics and government and maybe have a little fun in the process.
A little about myself: I’ve been reporting on Dutchess County government for only about six months, but I have several years of municipal government reporting experience, much of it while working for a small newspaper in Wisconsin. I spent my first year at the Poughkeepsie Journal reporting on the growing communities of southern Dutchess before moving to the county beat.
I’ll be looking for feedback from you to help refine the direction of Straw Poll. Send me your questions and concerns, and let me know whenever you hear any juicy political gossip.
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