Monday Headlines: Slow March Edition

State lawmakers are passing yet another budget extender today as negotiations for the state’s upcoming fiscal plan continue, with some officials reporting progress over the weekend.

The budget, dominated by negotiations on auto insurance and climate policy, is nearly three weeks late, but Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told NY1’s Bernadette Hogan on Friday that “things are progressing,” even if some issues aren’t settled between Gov. Hochul and the state Legislature.

He added that Hochul’s assertions that state lawmakers were more focused on the whims of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (whom his close friend Patrick Jenkins lobbies for) than constituents were false as insurance negotiations drag on.

“Everybody wants their auto insurance rates to go down, but some of the proposals put forward, we have legitimate concerns about that,” Heastie said.

More news:

• New York could be headed back to an afterthought in national politics as President Trump’s policies make the Republican brand a tougher sell in New York City’s suburbs. (Newsday)
• At the same time, some Democrats see congressional seats in the North Country and Staten Island as potential pickups. (Politico New York)
• The specifics of Hochul’s proposed tax on second homes in New York City are taking shape. (The New York Times)
• Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has a plan for his first 100 days should his long-shot bid for governor prove successful. (The New York Post)
• The MTA’s new bus simulators update the technology drivers use to acclimate to New York City’s uniquely challenging roadways. (Gothamist)
• Columbia University will partially pay for accessibility upgrades to the 1 Train’s 125th Street station. (The City)
• Assembly Member Karines Reyes said that Hochul’s immigration proposal appeals to Republican talking points. (City & State)
• Changing work habits are hurting weekday Metro-North ridership, but there has been a surge in riders on the weekend. (The Journal News)
• Phase one of the multimillion-dollar Schunnemunk Rail Trail Project in the Hudson Valley is expected to be finished later this year. (The Times Herald-Record)
• Naturally, the cost driver debate on auto insurance is as complex as it is full of lies. (The Times Union)
• Lowville passed new e-bike regulations. (WWNY)
• Erie County is commiting $50 million for road repairs. (BTPM)
• Western New York officials want to relax environmental review standards in New York. (The Buffalo News)
• Left-wing allies of the mayor want him to veto the City Council’s bill to create protest “buffer zones” around houses of worship. (The City)
• Albany tried free buses in the 1970s. (Gothamist)
• NYPD’s federal monitor has tasked two academics to research racial bias in the department’s approach to traffic stops. (Daily News)