First, Rick Atkinson’s final volume of The Liberation Trilogy, “The Guns at Last Light,” is the epic story of D-Day and the 700 mile thrust to the heart of the Third Reich that led to the triumphant liberation of Europe. With the stirring final volume of this monumental trilogy, Atkinson’s accomplishment is manifest. He has produced the definitive chronicle of the war that unshackled a continent and preserved freedom in the West.

Then, 75 million baby boomers are coping with the challenges of aging relatives. They are facing some of the hardest decisions they will ever have to make. Some are reaching out to elder care advocates who provide relief and individual solutions that so many overwhelmed families and baby boomers desperately need.

Rick Atkinson, Mary Beth Swan, and Barbara Newman Mannix, this week on Prime Time Radio.

To fix “robo-signing” abuses, courts in New York now require lenders to file a certificate of merit during a foreclosure action, but not at the time of filing.  But the rule is being circumvented, leading to clogged court dockets and a perversion of justice for homeowners.  Cases that have been delayed in this way are in a limbo referred to as “the shadow docket”.  The Empire Justice Center’s Senior Attorney Kirsten Keefe joins us with an explanation and a possible legislative solution. 

So far so good for that giant Canada-to-NYC transmission line.  Last month, the Champlain Hudson Power Express received the necessary approvals to continue their fight from state energy regulators.   But the deal is far from done.  What’s next?  And what are the challenges?  Don Jessome of Transmission Developers joins us to explain. 

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has news to share about the pension fund; plus he will discuss his views on shareholder activism.

Where is everybody?   No Senate today, but the Assembly is convening.  Governor Andrew Cuomo is on route to Albany. The Governor joins us to discuss public campaign financing, the end-of-session and casino gambling.

Albany-area Democrat State Senator Cecelia Tkaczyk has sponsored a bill called the “Broadband Internet Access Act”.  She explains why it’s necessary. 

According to a new Rockefeller Institute report on state revenues, things may look positive at first glance when it comes to taxes, but a closer look reveals uncertainty.   "While the Great Recession ended more than three years ago, the damage caused by the Great Recession on state tax revenues is significant and it will take years before the states fully recover." Tom Gais of the Rockefeller Institute joins us to discuss the Institute’s findings.

The State Office of Technology's David Salway and the NYS Economic Development Council's Brian McMahon weigh in on several pieces of legislation in addition to Senator Cathy Young’s that could bolster broadband in the state’s most remote regions.

Hear an archive of today's program here.

Ken Adams, The man tasked with spurring economic development in New York State, sits down with Curtis Schick to discuss summit politics, tourism and broadband access.

Amid new revelations that lawmakers have worn wire taps to implicate other lawmakers, the New York Times reports the following in relation to the Vita Lopez sex scandal:  "The Legislature sent a letter to the state’s ethics commission and demanded that it extensively edit an investigative report into the sexual harassment allegations, removing details about how Mr. Silver’s staff handled the scandal, according to several people who have seen the letter."  We talk with Dick Dadey about what may be yet another attempt to hide Albany's ugliest side from public scrutiny.

The Forgotten Victims of Attica are working with AG Eric Schneiderman to seek the release of records four decades after the bloodiest prison uprising in US history. Attorneys Joe Heath as well as Elizabeth Fink, the attorney for the Attica Brothers Legal Defense, who began work on the Attica case in 1974.

*Curtis Schick hosts today’s radio show

Barbara Bartoletti of the NY League of Women Voters drops by.

School districts across the state hold budget hearings this week.  For some, the Governor’s tax cap has become more problematic than productive.  But mandate relief would change that calculation.  Mark Eagan, President and CEO of the Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce shares thoughts on the subject.

Last week we heard from Albany County Executive Dan McCoy on privatizing the nursing home in Albany.  Today, CSEA’s Stephen Madarasz weighs in with a different perspective.  

Demos & NYU Wagner School fellow Richard Brodsky on why cynicism is more dangerous than corruption.

Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewrt-Cousins discusses the Reproductive Health Act.

Yesterday the Business Council hosted a forum on the current state of municipal finances which threaten local economies and jobs. Today two of the forum's speakers join us to discuss the same topic. The Empire Center's E.J. McMahon and Demos's Richard Brodsky discuss suffering cities, pensions and tax caps.

Next up, fracking. Gas industry attorney Tom West and Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli discuss the delayed decision on whether to allow hydrofracking in New York. Natural Resources Defense Council Deputy Director Kate Sinding and Melissa Bishop will fill us in on the repeal of a gag order on fracking in the town of Stanford.

We discuss ethics reform and the end of session with Senator Dean Skelos.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy is in the middle of a battle over the county nursing home.

Are brownfield remediation tax credits working? 

In June 2012, Standard and Poor's Ratings Services lowered Rockland county’s long-term general obligation bond rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and rated the management practices as ‘vulnerable’ based on overly optimistic budgeting.  Moody’s did something similar.  Rockland was the focus of a report by the State Comptroller’s office recently and is on DiNapoli’s fiscal monitoring radar.  Today we speak with County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef about how he is righting Rockland’s financial boat.

Ryan has a dream for America which is to create a society that has healthcare for all, a sustainable eco-system, fosters creativity at the highest levels, and time to connect with family and friends. He sees us slowing down and becoming more kind and more aware. To help us do this, he advocates training ourselves in mindfulness awareness. He, and others, are successfully introducing this practice in many of our institutions like schools, the military, healthcare, and even in Congress. It‘s his experience that the simple practice of mindfulness can help us flourish as individuals and as a nation. He took time from his highly stressful work in Congress for a meditation retreat and he describes what he learned, “You realize that you are not your thoughts. You can choose to entertain [your thoughts] and give them a lot of power, energy, and strength. You can blindly follow them or you can see them just as thoughts and then come back to yourself and choose which thoughts you want to entertain.”   Mindfulness gives us the benefit of being more effective and resilient in our lives. We need this more than ever if we are to create a better world for all. (Hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Congressman Tim Ryan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and is currently serving in his fifth term, representing Ohio’s 17th Congressional District.  He’s a member of the House Armed Services Committee and serves as a member of the House Budget Committee and co-chairman of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus.  Congressman Ryan has a daily mindfulness meditation practice and has been an outspoken advocate for promoting mindfulness as an aid to dealing with a variety of complex problems facing the nation. He’s the author of:
◦A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit  (Hay House 2012)

More about Tim Ryan’s work 

Larry Levy, the Executive Dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hostra weighs in on the challenges Governor Andrew Cuomo faces during the rest of the session.
It’s Adirondack Day at the State Capitol – It’s a chance for lawmakers to discuss the issues facing the north country while at the same noshing on regional cuisine.  Today on the show, a round-up of guests will rotate in and out of the studio to talk policy and politics -- including Senator Betty Little & Assemblyman Marc Butler.

Governor Andrew Cuomo lays out the 2nd of his series of proposals to fight public corruption.  We will also touch on how New York is assisting the Baystate in its investigation into the bombings at the marathon.   

And now there are 3.   Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins discusses the pros and cons of the three different campaign finance reform proposals that have been recently presented.  Plus, we’ll ask her to weigh in on the latest Quinnipiac poll which asks voters how they feel about the new leadership coalition in the state senate.

We discuss 2 issues today with Bruce Gyory, political consultant with Corning Place Communications and SUNY Albany adjunct professor of political science, the national debate around gun control and what we can expect for the rest of this legislative session.