Bob Hennelly

Wednesday night, President Obama travels to Bergen County in New Jersey for a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee. Meanwhile, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie i...

Dear Mr. President,

I heard that Wednesday evening you are coming to a fundraiser in Cresskill, New Jersey. I know you have been working overtime to get our economy unstuck, but I just wanted to outline some local conditions for you about how jammed up we are in these parts.

In 2008, Democrats were ecstatic when they elected Mike McMahon, their first Congressman from Staten Island in 28 years. But Republicans in 2010 think that former FBI agent Michael Grimm can win back the seat in New York's 13th Congressional district, which includes all of Staten Island and Brooklyn's Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Gravesend neighborhoods. 

So far this campaign season, it has been the battle for governor that has dominated the news. But come November, voters will also be picking the  State Comptroller, the chief financial officer who also oversees the state's $129 billion public employee pension fund. It's shaping up to be a slug fest between a Wall Street turnaround specialist and a veteran politician.

New York's Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch accused the Obama Administration of ignoring a growing fiscal crisis that is being felt in state capitals across the country.

For the first nine months of this year, murders are up in New York City over the same period last year. A broad coalition of Brooklyn-based pastors has sought out the NYPD in hopes a...

After nearly ten years of dramatic decline, New York City's murder rate is on the rise. As of last Sunday, the Police Department says 386 people have been murdered this year. That's a 13.2 percent jump from the 341 murders at the same period last year. The number of people shot has increased too, by 4.5 percent.

 

Dan Donovan is asking voters for a major promotion. The Staten Island native and social conservative wants to be the state's top law enforcement officer. He's the GOP nominee for Atto...

On Monday, the same day Attorney General Cuomo made an outreach effort up in Harlem, City Council member Charles Barron launched a voter registration drive to help with his bid for Governor on the newly created Freedom Party ballot line.

It was intended to be an event in Harlem to demonstrate just how much African American support Cuomo can count on come November. But according to several reporters at the scene, w...

In the race for New York Governor, we've heard Republican Carl Paladino calling his Democratic rival Andrew Cuomo part of Albany's dysfunction, and Cuomo framing Paladino as a one-dimensional candidate running on anger alone. But behind the bickering looms an issue that has the potential to define this year's race -- immigration.

Last week New Jersey could be proud when its pugnacious Republican Governor Chris Christie sat down with the Democratic Mayor Cory Booker on Oprah to thank Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg for his $100 million dollar gift to Newark's schools. The challenge grant could ultimately leverge as much as $250 million dollars to help Newark's students, or roughly 25 percent of the Newark's districts current annual budget.

But money is not at the root of the Newark problem. Targeting is. Already the state is spending $24,000 per student, quite a bit more than the $16,000 state per student average and more than double the national average.

In  2008, New Jersey Democrats scored a big win when they captured the 3rd Congressional District House seat after decades of Republican control Now, they are having to fight to hold on to the seat held by freshman Congressman John Adler.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, lawyer and campaign finance expert with the NYU Law School's Brennan Center for Justice and WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly discuss loopholes within campaign finance regulations, particularly when it comes to setting up LLCs here in New York State. Plus, to show how easy the LLC process is, WNYC producer Jody Avirgan sets up our very own LLC live on-air!

→ Add Your Comments at It's A Free Country

A week after losing the Republican primary, former Congressman Rick Lazio continues to consider running for governor -- on the Conservative party ballot line.

After addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday night, President Obama shifted gears from world concilator to fundraiser-in-chief, headlining an event that raised ...

The National Bureau of Economic Research may have declared the great recession over, but the road ahead is still quite rocky for the New York City budget.

The Federal Reserve announced today it will not change interest rates and offered no specific new policies to revive the economy.  But that doesn't mean the nation's central bank isn't worried about economic growth. In a statement, the Fed indicated the sluggish economy can keep inflation too low and that in turn could spur it into action.