Coming Soon.

Six of the 15 members are judges.

Three have connections to Pinellas County.

Two members have direct ties to the Sixth Judicial Court and Judge George W. Greer.

One member is a judge on the 2nd District Court of Appeals, the court which upheld every Greer decision in the Terri Schindler Schiavo case.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA---Robert Schindler Sr., father of the late Terri Schindler-Schiavo, has been transferred to a rehabilitation center is now undergoing therapy after suffering several mild strokes.

SCHENECTADY----A Schenectady County corrections officer has filed a federal claim against Schenectady County sheriff Harry Buffardi and other police officers, claiming that they falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted her because they believed that her brother, wanted by police, was in her house.

BOVILL, IDAHO---The mayor of Bovill, a small city of 305 people located in northern Idaho, has been charged with using the city's computer to view pornography.

ALBANY---In the wake of the disclosure that Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) is under investigation by the FBI regarding his business dealings and his relationship with businessman Jared Abbruzzese, Bruno's long time legal advisor has suddenly retired.

NEW YORK---A Brooklyn man faces up to 15 years in prison for allegedly trying to steal one of the city's finest hotels.

Another day, another lie.

Too many times Michael Schiavo has tried to explain away his conflicting stories regarding important issues concerning the incapacitating brain injury incurred by his wife by saving he has a bad memory.

In some circles, it's called self-decit; in others, it's a symptom of being a pathological liar.

The noun self-deceit has but one meaning: a misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it.

Figures won't lie but liars will figure and in the Schiavo case, there's little doubt that figures, monetary figures and greed, is what the case was really all about. Michael Schiavo just didn't figure it would take so long to kill his wife.

ALBANY---The New York State Insurance Department's 2006 Annual Ranking of Automobile Insurance Complaints, a document which helps consumers compare automobile insurers based on their level of customer service, has been released.

ALBANY---Nearly $2.4 million in grants to 21 municipalities and solid waste authorities to promote the collection and proper disposal of household hazardous wastes have been awarded by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. The grant funding is provided from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).

TALLAHASSEE-The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), together with the Office of the Attorney General, has released the state's annual report on Medicaid fraud and abuse.

BROOKLYN-Three Brooklyn men have been indicted on charges of stealing the home of an elderly Brooklyn woman while she was dying of cancer.

ALBANY---Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the largest group life insurer in the nation, has finalized an agreement with the state Attorney General's office to settle allegations of deceptive practices in the sale of group insurance products.

ROCHESTER----The state Attorney General's office has initiated a lawsuit against several consultants that allegedly defrauded the Rochester City School District and the former school district official who aided them.

NEW YORK--Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York has been fined $1.25 million for failing to comply with state Insurance Department regulations intended to protect consumers buying replacement life insurance policies and annuity contracts. The company has begun to implement a remediation plan and expects to pay out approximately $17 million in restitution to about 6,500 current and former customers under the plan.

Warren County Court Judge John S. Hall is an icon.

No, not one which personifies reverence and respect, more like the buffoon-type.

He's quickly become known as a judge who is rendering decisions with total disregard for the Constitution and ignorance of even basic concepts of law.

John S. Hall personifies every favorable argument against judicial immunity.

It's not just a technicality as many had claimed.

When the North Country Gazette and the NYS Oaths Project conducted a survey of judges statewide during 2003 and 2004, it was learned that over 90% of individuals claiming judicial office had never taken and filed their oaths of office and bonds as required by law.

ALBANY---Tax credits and reductions that will save New York families and businesses almost $1 billion, an increase in the minimum wage, and procedures to cut down on Medicaid fraud highlight the list of new state laws that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2007.

ALBANY---The New York State Senate has announced a three part plan to significantly expand the Senate-initiated property tax relief rebate program to provide $2.6 billion in property tax relief this year and $3.4 billion in 2008.

NEW YORK---New York City has become an active partner with the State of New York in the State's pilot Medicaid Fraud, Waste and Abuse Demonstration Project, designed to empower localities, primarily counties, to join with the State to increase vigilance over the Medicaid program.

BINGHAMTON-- The 2008 Governor Hugh L. Carey Empire State Games will be held in Binghamton from July 23 - July 27, 2008, Gov. George Pataki has announced. The event will mark the 31st celebration of the Summer Games, one of the largest amateur state-sponsored athletic programs in the nation. The Games have been held in Binghamton twice previously, in 2000 and 2004.

MIAMI---A Miami Beach medical doctor, once associated with Mutual Benefits Corp., has admitted to securities fraud in connect with his role in a viatical and life settlement scheme in which 28,000 investors lost approximately $956 million.

BROOKLYN---The state Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of the CEO of the Marcus Garvey Nursing Home, Inc. and the administrator of Ruby Weston Manor, two not-for-profit nursing homes in Brooklyn. The Attorney General's lawsuit also seeks rescission and restitution of excessive compensation paid to Ruby Weston from her positions as a board member and her son, Earl Weston, who was a computer consultant to both facilities and repayment by Weston of interest on unauthorized loans.

Contributions are still being received for a national memorial to the life and legacy of Terri Schindler Schiavo.

Editor's note: Gene Policinski is substituting for Paul McMasters for this week's column.

How will Americans' five basic freedoms - religion, speech, press, assembly and petition - fare in 2007? No answers here; just some of the questions we all should consider.

BROOKLYN---The former operators of Seaport Manor Home for Adults, an adult care facility have settled a lawsuit with the state Attorney General's office for failing to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the residents, while forcing them to live in deplorable conditions.

As we near the end of the calendar year, the "staff" at The North Country Gazette expresses our sincere gratitude for your readership and for the phenomenal growth NCG has experienced.

As we embark upon a New Year, we find ourselves proud of what has been, what we have accomplished with your help and look forward to what will be in year ahead.

ALBANY---New York State school districts have made considerable improvements to their financial practices in the last two years, according to a report issued by the New York State Comptroller's office. The 2006 Annual Report on the School Accountability Initiative summarizes the findings of 83 school audits completed in 2006, as well as identifies areas where auditors found systemic problems in schools, such as high-level administrators being paid for benefits to which they were not entitled to, weak controls over information technology, and poor auditing of expenses claims, among other issues.

QUEENS---Two Brooklyn men have been arrested and charged with breaking into Saint Mel's Church in Flushing on Christmas Day and stealing $20,000 in charitable donations which were intended to be distributed to the poor and needy.

SUFFOLK COUNTY---Fourteen defendants have been arrested for promoting gambling, and four men for conspiracy to possess marijuana following a 14-month investigation by the Suffolk County district attorney's office.

CLINTON----Facing charges that he attempted to have the case of a family member steered to a particular judge, Clinton Town Justice Daniel L. LaClair has resigned and agreed to never seek or accept judicial office in the future.

CHICAGO---Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that former Illinois governor George Ryan can stay out of prison while he appeals his convictions of racketeering and fraud.

NEW YORK---Over 50 individuals, 38 organizations and 15 elected officials have moved for permission to file "friend of the court" briefs with the Court of Appeals in support of the pending appeal by the friends, family members, and attorneys of New York State Prisoners. CCR also filed the reply brief in the case, Walton v. New York State Department of Correctional Services, completing the parties' briefing schedule before the high court.

Just when you think you've heard it all, along comes Constance d'Angelis.

Or McCaughey.

Or Felos.

Or whatever name she's using at the moment.

The one thing that remains constant is her attempted exploitation of Terri Schindler Schiavo.

WHITE PLAINS---A Connecticut woman who is a practicing attorney in White Plains faces charges of second degree grand larceny for allegedly stealing money from her cousin.

ALBANY---The state Attorney General's office has announced a settlement with Entercom Communications and six of its subsidiaries to resolve allegations of "pay-for-play" in the music industry.

ALBANY---A report issued by the state Attorney General's office reveals that, on average, only a little over a third of the money raised by telemarketing campaigns goes to charity while the balance is used to pay fees and expenses associated with the fundraising.

ALBANY---In the final days of his tenure, Gov. George E. Pataki has made sure vacancies in the Appellate Divisions of state Supreme Court are filled by Republicans instead of allowing Governor-elect and Democrat Eliot Spitzer fill the judicial seats.

COLUMBUS, OHIO---Outgoing Republican Gov. Robert A. Taft II was publicly reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Ohio Wednesday for violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility arising from the conduct that resulted in his misdemeanor criminal convictions for failure to report gifts he received on his annual financial disclosure statements.

CATSKILL---Greene County Sheriff Richard Hussey won't be driving to and from work during the next six months and he's learned firsthand about the consequences of refusing a sobriety test.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA---Although Orange County Superior Court Judge Susanne Shaw retired from the bench on Sept. 30, the California Commission on Judicial Performance has censured the former judge, the maximum sanction possible for a former judge and barred her from receiving an assignment, appointment or reference of work from any California state court.

BALTIMORE---A Baltimore attorney, on maternity leave from her law firm where she specializes in injury cases, was shocked earlier this month when she received a letter advising her she had been banned from a state prison for having sex with an inmate.

With the popularity of the computer, blogs have exploded on the scene with people creating online journals and diaries. While most blogs usually provide commentary or news on a particular subject, some blogs serve as personal diaries and allow unmonitored comments on those blogs.

QUEENSBURY---Civil Service Law provides that no provisional appointment may continue for more than nine months.

Warren County Sheriff Larry J. Cleveland is at it again.

ALBANY---Cardinal Health Inc. has reached an agreement with the state Attorney General's office to improve the safety and security of practices in the trading of prescription pharmaceuticals among wholesalers.

SUFFOLK COUNTY---Three of Long Island's largest asphalt producers and road paving contractors pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal mail fraud charges in connection with a bid rigging scheme against Suffolk County and the Town of Brookhaven.

SCHENECTADY---Prosecutors have reduced the charges against a Schenectady doctor, known for making house calls, who was arrested in June for operating what authorities then labeled a mobile pharmacy.

SCHENECTADY---Six years ago this week, a young black mother of two sons, entered Casey's Bar in Schenectady with some friends for a Christmas Party.

She hasn't been home since.

A short time later, she was under arrest, charged with the stabbing of a bar patron, a known alcoholic and drug user, who had been drinking at the bar for more than 12 hours that day and had engaged in racially motivated harassment of the young mother, repeatedly calling her the "N" word and attempting to block her passage when she tried to leave the bar.

Was it self defense, extreme emotional disturbance, were there mitigating circumstances? Was there a rush to judgment in the Tanika Dickson case by the Schenectady Police Department and district attorney's office whose only thought may have been to seek to avenge the death of a white police officer's brother by overzealously prosecuting a black defendant?

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone".

Florida has crossed over into the Twilight Zone.

In regard to Charles Haynes column published Friday, Dec. 22, "The Real 'War on Christians', I wish that you could sit in on my phone calls every day at the Christian Law Association if you think there is no war on Christmas or Christians in America today.

In regard to Mrs. Weller's comments, I am astonished at the statement "Christians are not regularly put in jail in this country." Give me one example of a Christian who has been jailed in the United States for being a Christian! As for public schools, I agree that some school administrators and teachers violate the religious-liberty rights of students, mostly out of a misunderstanding of the First Amendment. But Christian students are treated fairly in the vast majority of public schools. I know, because I spend a great deal of time working in public schools. In fact, there is more student religious expression in public schools today than at any time since the early 20th century. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian clubs (thanks to the Equal Access Act of 1984). Students are praying around the flagpole and in many other places, giving out religious literature, sharing their faith with classmates etc. etc. Where has Barbara Weller been? The other examples of discrimination are wildly exaggerated. Again, give me examples.

ALBANY----Apologizing to the voters and his family, state comptroller Alan Hevesi resigned from office Friday and pleaded guilty to defrauding the government for his use of state employees to act as drivers and companions for his wife in a scandal which became known as "Chauffeurgate".

WASHINGTON, DC---Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, has released its 2006 list of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." The list, in alphabetical order, includes:

BOSTON, MA---A Boston police officer had pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of an unnamed female victim.

NORWALK, OHIO---Following a three week trial, a couple were found guilty of four felony counts of child endangering, two misdemeanor counts of child endangering and five misdemeanor counts of child abuse for forcing some of their 11-disabled children to sleep in cages.

MIAMI---The University of Miami has entered into a civil settlement with the federal government relating to medical services rendered at Jackson Memorial Hospital by physicians working at the University of Miami's teaching hospital, providing for a payment to the government of over $2.27 million.

WESTCHESTER---A Westchester pharmacist has pleaded guilty to counts of first degree grand larceny in connection with multiple insurance fraud scams.

MANHATTAN---Two personal injury lawyers have pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme in which they illegally paid a runner for referring cases to their firm and then lied on forms filed with the New York State Office of Court Administration to conceal their criminal activities.

ALBANY--- New York and 39 other states have reached a settlement with Sony BMG over the distribution of hidden anti-copying software programs through audio CDs.

ALBANY---Timothy's Law, which will require insurance companies to provide coverage for individuals with mental illnesses, was signed into law Friday by Gov. George E. Pataki.

QUEENS---A local commercial fisherman arrested earlier this month for illegally fishing in local waters has been charged yet again with violating various New York State laws and regulations pertaining to fishing, including illegally taking fish from banned waters, fishing without a license and possessing undersized fish.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA---Robert Schindler Sr., father of the late Terri Schindler Schiavo, has been hospitalized after suffering a mild stroke this past weekend, The North Country Gazette has learned. He is resting comfortably and is expected to make a complete recovery.

Culture warriors loudly proclaim that Christianity is under siege in the United States: Christmas wars, Bible wars, school wars - all part of a great "war on Christians."

ALBANY--- Fifteen counties across New York still do not have enhanced wireless 911 (E911) systems that allow emergency call centers to pinpoint the location of cell phone callers, despite the fact that State funding to support the enhanced service has been available for nearly four years, according to an audit issued by the state comptroller's office.

WASHINGTON---The Humane Society of the United States filed notice this week of its intent to file suit against Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a foie gras factory farm near Ferndale, NY, for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. The facility, which constitutes a Concentrated Animal Feed Operation under federal regulations, confines approximately 250,000 ducks annually. Over the past year, Hudson Valley has violated several provisions of its Clean Water Act permit by operating a manure lagoon without the state's approval, discharging wastes to a nearby pond and failing to have an emergency action plan, HSUS says.

BROOKLYN---A married couple has been indicted for stealing total ownership of a home they co-owned with an elderly Holocaust survivor and his wife who narrowly escaped Hitler's Germany in 1938.

ALBANY----Friday is likely to be Alan Hevesi's last day at New York's state comptroller even though he won a new four year term at the polls in November.

Sources have indicated that the Queens Democrat will resign his position Friday in order to avoid being indicted by an Albany County Grand Jury for using state employees to chauffeur his ailing wife for three years.

ALBANY----The man poised to become the most powerful Republican in the state in January is being investigated by the FBI.

After learning that someone had leaked information concerning the federal inquiry to the media, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) called a late afternoon news conference Wednesday to confirm that the FBI is probing him and his private consulting company, Capital Business Consultants LLC which he operates out of his Troy home in Rensselaer County.

ALBANY---The large amounts of debt issued over the last 12 years will play a significant role in budget development during the new administration, with State-funded debt projected to grow by one-third to nearly $65 billion over the next five years, according to a report issued Wednesday by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Debt service alone in 2011 will grow to more than $7 billion from $4.3 billion this year.

ELMIRA---Ralph "Bucky" Phillips was sentenced to prison for 40 years to life Wednesday for shooting state trooper Sean Brown in June during a traffic stop, a shooting which triggered the largest ever statewide manhunt for Phillips and ultimately resulted in the shooting of two more troopers in August before Phillips was apprehended in September in a cornfield near the Pennsylvania-New York border.

GLENS FALLS---The former Warren County probation officer who has been charged with sexually abusing two teenage boys at his Glens Falls home has now been charged with felony first degree sexual abuse involving another alleged victim.

QUEENSBURY---A receptionist at an Aviation Mall nail salon has been charged with having sex with two underaged female customers.

QUEENSBURY----The grand jury empaneled to hear testimony surrounding the capsizing of the Ethan Allen tour boat on Lake George last October has extended its term.

TULSA, OK---Convicted penis pump judge Donald Thompson thinks he should collect his $7,789 a month pension even though he's sitting in prison, serving his sentence for masturbating while presiding over jury trials including a murder case.

CLEVELAND---Government critic and judicial whistleblower Elsebeth Baumgartner has been sentenced to eight years in prison for writing e-mails to a 76-year-old retired visiting judge who is still sitting on the bench adjudicating matters although the Ohio Constitution mandated his removal from the bench when he reached age 70.

ALBANY---The state Attorney General's office has joined in a multi-state lawsuit against the federal government for failing to mandate lower levels of disease-causing soot in the air.

NEW YORK - One week after the American Civil Liberties Union moved to quash an unprecedented government grand jury subpoena demanding "any and all copies" of a previously "secret" memorandum, the government backed down from the fight, asking a judge to withdraw the subpoena and saying that the document in question has been declassified.

NEW YORK---The first steel columns for the Freedom Tower are now in place as construction on the tower continues. The columns were produced in Luxembourg and fabricated in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Freedom Tower was designed by David Childs and is one of the signature elements of the Libeskind Master Plan, all of which are currently under construction on the World Trade Center site.

ALBANY---Under a settlement reached with the state Attorney General's office, United Healthcare will be required to stop providing misleading information to its policyholders and to provide restitution to consumers.

ALBANY---Insurance brokerage firm Acordia, Inc. and its parent company, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.,have been sued by the state Attorney General's office for steering their customers to insurance companies that paid for the business with undisclosed kickbacks.

TALLAHASSEE---Three more Florida attorneys have been disbarred, seven suspended, four reprimanded and five attorneys placed on probation by The Florida Bar.

WHITE PLAINS--- James G. Marquez has pleaded guilty in White Plains federal court to conspiring to defraud investors in the now-collapsed Bayou hedge funds of more than $10 million.

TALLAHASSEE-Florida's former attorney general has been tapped by Republican Governor elect Charlie Crist to head Florida's social services agency, the Department of Children and Families.

You better watch out,

You better not cry,

You better not pout,

I'm telling you why,

Santa Claus is coming to Warren County.

WESTCHESTER---A Westchester dentist and his wife have been charged with stealing more than $250,000 from the Medicaid program. In addition to criminal charges, the Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit against the couple seeking treble damages, civil penalties of three times the amount of the larceny.

NEW YORK---The state Attorney General's office has reached an agreement with Pinnacle Group, LLC to provide for redress tenants who may have been overcharged excessive rents in rent-stabilized apartments owned or managed by Pinnacle. Pinnacle is one of the largest owners of rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, owning more than 20,000 such apartments. Under the agreement, Pinnacle will retain a forensic accounting firm to review rents charged on all of its properties in New York City.

PORT CHESTER---The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has filed a voting rights lawsuit in White Plains federal court against the Village of Port Chester, alleging that Port Chester's system of electing members of its Board of Trustees violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

MINEOLA----Three Nassau County gas stations have been charged with duping Nassau consumers out of as much as 20 cents per gallon in an effort to charge consumers "premium" prices for "regular" gasoline.

CINCINNATI---The owner of a 13-foot boa constrictor died this weekend after the pet snake wrapped itself around it's owner's neck.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

There have long been allegations of corruption in Pinellas County and allegations that individuals protected from prosecution by the Attorney General's office, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the Pinellas state attorney's office.

Would it be any surprise if Attorney General and Governor-elect Charlie Crist taps former Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice for an appointed position in his new administration?

Albany veterans recall when the Governor and lawmakers waited until virtually the break of dawn on Dec. 18, 1998 to declare they had reached a deal. Mr. Pataki signed off on a 38% pay raise and legislators agreed to establish 100 charter schools in the state.

Can a person be charged and tried twice for the same alleged criminal act?

Not under multiplicity.

Multiplicity is the charging of a single offense in several counts of a complaint of information. The reason multiplicity must be considered is that it creates the potential for multiple punishments for a single offense in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

CENTER LINE, MICH---Dec. 25 will be his 85th birthday but it's questionable if Joseph Perez will be home for Christmas.

ROME, ITALY----If Terri Schiavo had lived in Italy, she'd been alive today.

Pinellas County Judge George W. Greer sanctioned judicial homicide of the disabled woman after her husband, Michael Schiavo, convinced Greer that although she wasn't terminally ill, she wouldn't want to be kept alive by a feeding tube.

Queensbury Constitutional scholar and activist Von Lindahl has been sentenced to a year of probation following the reversal of a conviction against him obtained at trial in Warren County Court in 2005 before Judge John S. Hall. The entire issue surrounds service animals and property rights and while the Appellate Court has ruled that Judge Hall and Warren County violated Lindahl's rights by not allowing him the opportunity to testify before a Grand Jury, but Hall also violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by refusing to allow Lindhal's service animal to accompany him to court.

QUEENSBURY----Queensbury activist Von Lindahl has been sentenced to a year of probation by Warren County Court Judge John S. Hall in yet another one of Hall's controversial cases.

QUEENSBURY----Warren County Court Judge John S. Hall angered both the prosecution and the defense Wednesday with his sentencing of two teenage brothers for raping and sexually abusing six young girls.

QUEENSBURY---The North Creek woman who was sentenced to probation for accidentally killing her seven-week old son is in the Warren County Jail, charged with violating her probation.

ALBANY---A long-time cantor at Temple Israel, entrusted with teaching children, has been sentenced in Albany City Court to six years of probation for molesting a 11-year-old girl while preparing her for her bat mitzvah.

When I read the news that Jack Kevorkian was granted a parole because of his failing health, my head nearly exploded with the irony of it. Kevorkian, the pathologist who either assisted in the deaths or caused the deaths of over 130 people, is being pardoned by society and treated with compassion because of his illness. This is a guy who exploited and victimized others because of their illnesses. Someone should probably get Alanis Morrisette on the phone because this one qualifies.

ANAHEIM, CA---A woman who was spanked in front of other employees at Anaheim-based Alarm One Inc. is suing the company's insurance company again because she says she hasn't been paid after the company agreed to settle her claim for $1.4 million.

SANTA BARBARA, CA---The California Commission on Judicial Performance has voted to removed Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Diana Hall from the bench for a drunk driving conviction, her attempt to hide a significant campaign contribution from her romantic partner and her improper interrogation of a prosecutor who had asked her to remove herself from a case.

PLATTSBURGH---Replacement of emergency call boxes along Interstate 87, northbound and southbound, between Exits 26 and 35 has been completed and service restored.

December 15th is not U.N. Day, nor Peace Day or Freedom Day, or any other made up holiday. It is the day our Bill of Rights was signed in 1781.

NORTH CREEK---The Gore Mountain Ski Area in North Creek, Warren County, will receive $7 million to expand and upgrade trails which will increase the vertical drop of trails on the mountain and allow the facility to attract and accommodate more skiers.

WHITEHALL---Trey Anastasio, former lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Phish, was arrested early Friday morning on drug charges in the Washington County village of Whitehall.

TALLAHASSEE---Florida's Gov. Jeb Bush has suspended all executions in the state after a medical examiner who performed an autopsy on executed killer Angel Nieves Diaz said that state officials improperly inserted the lethal injection needles used.

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Attorney General's office has reached an agreement with Vonage requiring the nation's largest provider of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service to change its procedures so customers signing up for 911 emergency services will be informed of differences between how Vonage and standard phone companies provide those services. The 911 services will now be offered to customers automatically when they sign up with Vonage and provide an address for the service. The company will also begin providing more information that will help local emergency agencies locate and assist Vonage customers in need.

TALLAHASSEE---Governor-elect Charlie Crist is going to let the sun shine in when he takes office in January, or so he says, pledging to make the state's Sunshine Law even brighter.

The abuse of power in New York State has become so blatant it's stifling.

It seems that wherever the stench is the most pungent, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is in the middle of it.

YONKERS---A disbarred attorney has pleaded guilty to stealing over $90,000 from a client.

ROCKLAND COUNTY---A Long Island company that performed forensic toxicology services for Rockland County without the necessary state permit has entered into a settlement agreement with the state Attorney General's office.

NASSAU COUNTY---A Nassau County grand jury has returned an 89-count indictment against six individuals and three corporations from their network of "wealth enhancement" organizations for a multifaceted scheme in which they defrauded investors and financial institutions alike out of millions of dollars.

ALBANY---The state's Court of Appeals has upheld important consumer protections in the New Car Lemon Law.

ALBANY---State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi submitted testimony to the New York State Assembly Thursday urging legislators to reform town and village justice courts in response to pervasive operational problems identified by state auditors. In his testimony, Hevesi called for incentives for court consolidation and me