Gillibrand Supports Increased Funding for COPS

(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced on Wednesday that she is co-sponsoring legislation to increase funding to local enforcement agencies.

The Community Oriented Policing Services Act (COPS) was established in 1994 as part of the U.S. Department of Justice, in an effort to solve public safety issues through the use of community partners.

The new legislation would establish an office that will authorize $900 million a year for six years for programs to combat crime in schools,  including drug and gang-related activities throughout the nation.

New York State received $10.5 million in 2010 from COPS.
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Task Force Created to Review Nonprofit Compensation Levels

(ALBANY, N.Y.) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a task force to investigate salaries for executives and administrators at not-for-profit organizations across the state that receive taxpayer support.

"Not-for-profits that provide services to the poor and the needy have a special obligation to the taxpayers that support them," Cuomo said in a statement. "Executives at these not-for-profits should be using the taxpayer dollars they receive to help New Yorkers, not to line their own pockets."

Governor Cuomo said the task force would conduct audits of compensation levels for such groups while also making recommendations for future rules, to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being properly used.

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New York Ranks No. 1 in the Nation for Entrepreneurship

(LINCOLN, Neb.) -- New York is ranked No. 1 in rankings of the nation's entrepreneurship, according to a list that was released Tuesday.

Economists at University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Bureau of Business Research and Department of Economics developed the State Entrepreneurship Index (SEI) to measure states’ business formation and innovation by combining five components: a state’s percentage growth and per capita growth in business establishments, its business formation rate, the number of patents per thousand residents, and gross receipts of sole proprietorships and partnerships per capita.

In 2010 --  the latest year for figures -- New York topped the list with a score of 2.34.

Washington came in second place, scoring 2.17, while Massachusetts was close behind with a score of 2.04.

South Carolina was ranked last on the top 10 list.

The SEI uses detailed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IRS Statistics of Income Bulletin, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Statistical Abstract to compile its results.

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New York Loses Residents to Other States

(NEW YORK) -- New Yorkers are voting with their feet by leaving the state to escape high costs and few jobs.

A study released by the Empire Center New York State Policy on Tuesday, found that at least 1.6 million people left the state for other states in the past decade. The study used statistics from the U.S. Census.

A combination of factors reportedly prompted the state's exodus: from New York City, high housing costs and general standard of living has forced residents to flee, while lack of job opportunities in other counties in the Empire State contributed to the highest number of people leaving the New York at anytime in its history.

The study says that since 1960, New York lost 7.3 million people to migration, though it added 4.8 million foreign immigrants resulting in a net loss of 2.5 million people. New York had the highest rate of domestic migration from the state than any other state in the last two decades.

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NY State Library and Museum Gearing Up for Weekend Hours

(ALBANY, N.Y.) -- New Yorkers and visitors to the state capital of Albany will soon be able to visit the state library and museum on weekends, thanks to the signing of a new law that allows weekend hours for the complex.

Prior to the new law, the state library -- which houses the museum -- was open for at least eight hours every weekday, according to a release from the governor's office.

While the new law still requires that the library be open at least five days a week, the Board of Regents now has the option of including Saturday or Sunday among the scheduled opening days.

The new law was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.

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