First hour: Senator Jeremy Cooney on the state budget
Second hour: Is anything open late anymore?
New York lawmakers delivered the state budget a week after the deadline. As reported by WXXI's Capitol Bureau Chief Karen DeWitt, one of the reasons for the delay was prolonged talks over changes to the state's criminal justice law reforms. Lawmakers also discussed child care funding, funding for home health care workers, taxes, public safety, and more. We sit down with Senator Jeremy Cooney to discuss his take on the budget. Our guest:
- Senator Jeremy Cooney, District 56
Note: We reached out to all the local state senators with an invitation to join this conversation. Senators Samra Brouk, Patrick Gallivan, and Edward Rath were unable. Senator Robert Ortt declined to participate. The office of Senator Pamela Helming did not respond.
Then in our second hour, is anything open late anymore? The pandemic has pushed some changes that are starting to look permanent. Restaurant kitchens close earlier. So do many bars, and coffee shops are much tighter in their hours, too. Some of it comes from ongoing staff shortages. Some comes from the cultural change brought about by the COVID era, the desire to be wearing sweatpants and on the couch for the evening. Is there any going back? Our guests:
- John Cannon, consultant for multiple entities, who handles wholesale business for Java's
- Demetrio Cavatassi, co-owner of Tapas 177 Lounge
- Chuck Cerankosky, co-owner of Good Luck, Cure, Jackrabbit Club, and Lucky's
- Leah Stacy, food and beverage content strategist
