Rachel Silberstein
@RachelSilby
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Former newspaper(wo)man, comms @NewYorkISO. Personal acct.
Albany, NY
Joined June 2011
The former governor never visited a mosque during his 10 years in office.
The values observed during #Ramadan resonate with all New Yorkers, especially now: generosity, gratitude and brotherhood. As Muslims across New York engage in a month of prayer and fasting, I wish all who observe a blessed Ramadan. Peace be unto you.
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In other words, 96 percent of people out on new bail laws did not commit a violent crime while their cases were pending.
NEW: Nearly 4 percent of people out on bail changes were rearrested for a violent felony. Less than 1 percent of rearrests led to a violent felony with a firearm.
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Sen @zellnor4ny gets emotional: “Today the tenants will win. They have been losing in this building for decades.”
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More than half of NY's 57 county health officials resigned or were forced out since the start of the pandemic, some citing backlash over their efforts to enforce state COVID mandates. Schoharie's Amy Gildemeister is the latest casualty: via @TimesUnion.
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Breaking: SUNY will stop withholding transcripts from 50 percent of its students with outstanding tuition debt. Hochul SOTS plank proposes legislation for all public and private institutions.
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“The street was never the same again.” 1953 vs. 2019
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Inbox: SUNY Students and Faculty Call for Immediate Resignation of Chancellor Jim Malatras.
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What percentage of Cuomo's new fanbase has heard of the Buffalo Billion scandal?.
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I'm a little concerned about the hundreds anti-vaxxers (and their unvaccinated kid) and AARP protesting at the Capitol at the same time.
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SUNY leaders knew of allegations that Malatras, their pick for chancellor, verbally abused colleagues & subordinates before he was appointed to head the university system. This audio of one incident SUNY deemed "unfounded" is hard to hear. via @TimesUnion.
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Troy PD out here w/ pizza for protesters. “Just making sure everyone has a safe day.”
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After three years of living in Albany, I can finally spell Rensselaer without the aid of Google.
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No matter who wins, there will prob be a rapist living in the white house.
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TO DO:.• Get Pfizer shot at Schenectady Walmart. • Swing by Little Italy and order a mountain of lasagna at Perreca’s.
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People don't talk about Cuomo's role in maintaining GOP control of the state Senate so he could take credit for any brokering of progressive policy. I can't think of one Cuomo victory that wouldn't have gotten done w/o him had he let Dems control the Leg.
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"It was actually MY agenda, God. The Senate didn't have the votes."
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UPDATE: I'm transitioning from education at the @timesunion to the health beat, stepping into @bethanybump's very large shoes. The talented @ByKathleenMoore takes over the ed beat. I look forward to a new challenge! COVID researchers/ clinicians/public health experts, let's talk!.
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I am thrilled to share that I have joined the communications team at @NewYorkISO. I look forward to helping New Yorkers understand how the power grid works as we move towards a more sustainable future. 💡 ⚡️ ⚡️.
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NEW: I dug into how New York schools came to be the nation's most racially segregated: via @TimesUnion.
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Officials blamed the outbreak on student parties and other irresponsible behavior, but Milton has her doubts. "Why didn't SUNY Oneonta require every student to be tested before they could go through the gate?" she said.
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Some personal news: I am thrilled to announce that next week, I will venture beyond Empire State Plaza and take on the @timesunion's expansive education beat. Cap Region parents and educators: Send tips, gossip & pizza recs to rsilberstein@timesunion or call (518)454-5449. ✏️🍎.
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Bob Cross (on right), a retired teacher, is a lifelong Republican planning to vote for @DelgadoforNY19
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I’ve never seen a school board meeting like the one in Albany tonight. Board members were literally tearing up because they knew children would suffer Bc of the cuts but there was nothing they could do.
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Gradually shifting my Twitter feed from mostly political journalists to fiction writers and musicians and it's done wonders for my mental health.
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Maybe NYS can close its $14 billion budget hole by buying some GameStop shares.
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I’d been warning ppl about Bob. He didn’t do anything that I could easily call a violation. A hug that lasted too long, a sloppy kiss on the cheek, he steered the conversation away from anything professional. Sometimes it’s feeling you get. Kudos to this reporter for outing him.
Robert Freeman, NY advocate of open government, fired over sexually inappropriate behavior via @lohud.
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New Year, new job: My last day at the Times Union is Jan. 12. After 6 rewarding years at the paper, I am embarking on a new adventure (details TK). This is a PSA is about an excellent job opportunity for mid-career health reporter. Interested? PMs are open.
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Remember when SUNY came up with its own unique way of counting COVID-19 cases, enabling large schools like UAlbany to stay open past the DOH's 100-case threshold? It was Malatras' first month as chancellor.
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This is wild: In an unprecedented move, Twitter gave a state university access to a student's parody account after it complained that he was mocking the school via @businessinsider.
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I have no idea how I'd survive Albany winters without the kind strangers who offer to help me dig my car out multiple times a day.
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BREAKING: Peanut butter pandemonium *does* in fact alleviate the after-effects of the second Pfizer dose. cc: @StewartsShops.
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Someone had too much fun with these COVID-19 safety signs at the TU office.
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I was at two restaurants in Albany last night where the owner was running around like a madman, cooking food, bartending and waiting tables, eyes wild and blood shot. When I asked if they were ok they practically burst into tears and said they can’t get anyone 2 come back to work.
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Question for the Jews and the Jews only: is it sacrilege to air fry a latka?.
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The pro-life hasid at the Capitol with the abortion=holocaust sign was very annoyed that I knew the talmud says that life doesn’t start til 40 days and even then it’s not fully human til the baby crowns.
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It’s true! As of March 12, I’ll be covering the Capitol for the @timesunion. I’m excited to join the TU team!
Yay! @RachelSilby, who has written consistently about gender and policy, is now at the @timesunion!.
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Protest organizer: 11,000 people attended peaceful Troy event.
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Excellent retelling of El-Yateem's exciting run for 43rd Council seat & how it mobilized a whole new crop of voters
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One of these days, I am going to succumb to the urge and nap on these plush green couches.
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Why are they standing so far away from each other if coronavirus is a hoax?.
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Albany is the largest city in the state without fluoridated water. all I did was write about efforts by local officials to change that & I got flooded by emails from anti-fluoride folks all over the world — a taste of why adjusting fluoride levels is so difficult.
After seven decades, will Albany get fluoride in its water? via @TimesUnion.
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FB reminds me that 4 years ago, today, I got a new job and a kind note from then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. Congrats on your career moves as well, @GovKathyHochul!
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"We have a man who participated in a disinformation campaign now installed at the helm of a state university system that is supposed to be about truth, honesty and education," @chris_churchill writes. via @TimesUnion.
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.@pmdemola and I hit every popular bar in Albany and Troy. Almost none of them were serving one of the country's best selling top-shelf liquors.
French cognac Hennessy's popularity in Black communities in the U.S. reaches back to WW II. When local bars choose not to stock it, some believe it sends a message that people of color aren't valued.
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Richardson’s colleagues @yuhline and @CatalinaCruzNY comfort the assemblywoman after delivery of fiery and emotional speech about the plight of displaced tenants in her district.
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These four women reported sexual harassment in the state Legislature and say their complaints were mishandled and dismissed. They say the policies passed in state budget would not have helped them. Now they join @ZephyrTeachout in calling for public hearings
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Capitol @dunkindonuts facing an unexpected $2.3 billion shortfall now that this reporter figured out how to pack a lunch.
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Not a good look for SUNY Chancellor Malatras who has insisted cryptic tweet about s/o "twitter-bombing" abt working for gov wasn't directed at Cuomo accuser Lindsey Boylan. Dani Lever transcript: "Malatras said, 'Let's release some of her cray e-mails.'.
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This is what it’s like to pedal through the Catskills via railroad.
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Bob Freeman’s FOIL workshop at the TU is quickly turning into group therapy for journalists who have been spurned by public records officers.
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Pete is every know-it-all white boy in every freshman poli sci class ever.
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NY touts strong abortion laws, but access to some reproductive services is shrinking in parts due to the expansion of Catholic-run hospitals. Looking to chat w/ women who were denied birth/miscarriage/ contraception-related care at NY facilities. DM or rsilberstein@timesunion.com.
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Source: senate nixed ending “Walking while trans” ban, human trafficking victim bill, HALT. Senate has “criminal justice fatigue”.
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Anyone else have a kid who has no interest in losing the mask today?.
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My Nana, currently barricaded in her Brooklyn home with her knitting and her Fox news: Coronavirus is a bioweapon engineered in a Chinese lab. Also my Nana: The far-left media is spreading panic. Anyway, check on an elderly person today.
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Teachers and school staff can start getting vaccinated on Monday. If the rollout is successful, it could reduce the # of disruptions to in-person learning the Capital Region, where most districts have temporarily shut down due to staff shortages.
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In 2017, Cuomo created an "Office of Campus Safety" to ensure compliance with Enough is Enough Law, intended to combat campus sexual assault. The office never completed its review. It's also not clear that the office still exists.
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Thinking about how gracious and relateable Julia Louis-Dreyfus was when I interviewed her on the red carpet as a nervous @NY1 intern.
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Malatras' behavior towards Lindsey Boylan in 2019, when he was president of SUNY Empire, is fairly consistent with the way his former colleagues at the Rockefeller Institute described him.
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Dr. Howard Zucker, who resigned amid criticism of the state's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the federal agency's deputy director for global health since January. via @TimesUnion.
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SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras can be heard calling the employee "lady" at least two more times in the 55-min recording from 2017. Eventually, she objects. Here's a snippet I jotted down.
BREAKING: In a 2017 audio recording obtained by the Times Union, now-SUNY chancellor Jim Malatras can be heard cursing at and berating an administrative employee. “You have a f__ing bad attitude on everything, lady,” Malatras says.
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Power is still out in Colonie. Traffic lights are broken, intersections are lawless, Walmart is closed. Is Colonie still Colonie without strip malls?.
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What a nice gesture from the Times Union. Reporting & wfh during a pandemic takes a toll, but @Hearst, our editors and the @timesunion exec team have gone out of their way to make us feel appreciated and supported.
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If hedge funds would just stop eating avocado toast and drinking $4 coffee, maybe they’d be less broke.
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In a letter to the editor, the Rockefeller Institute’s past director of fiscal studies praises the character of employee who spoke out as “professional, hardworking and willing to speak the truth.”
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A glimpse of the NYS Capitol and the LOB in last night’s @SHO_Billions episode. (Watching tv for journalism, ok?) What building is this shot from? Any other Albany locations to look out for?
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Criminal justice advocates’ chant: “DA lies ruin people’s lives.” DAASNY is the primary opposition to criminal justice reform package including bail and discovery measures, which have been enacted in other states.
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INBOX: Fahy, McDonald to Urge More Permanent Extension of Alcohol To-Go and Cocktail Takeout for Restaurants.
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This photo is amazing.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo walks on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion following allegations that he had sexually harassed young women, in Albany. Photo by Angus Mordant
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Journo friends: My paper is hiring an arts writer and a statehouse bureau chief. DM for details.
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I needed this.
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Update: teachers are everywhere! I found them bar tending, waiting tables, working in guest services, retail and more. Story coming soon!.
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My inbox every time I write about vaccine exemptions in schools.
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The most exhausting thing about covering politics while female is having your authority questioned by men who never bothered to read the bill.
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Students at Malatras' alma mater want SUNY to cut the golden parachute cord. via @TimesUnion.
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I love passing by this poster of the trailblaxing female statehouse reporters who came before us, donated to the LCA by @melissadderosa. Not that long ago, the Albany press corps was comprised of only men. It’s nice to feel like a tiny part of their incredible legacy.
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Eight days into 2018 legislative session and we have one assemblymember indicted on fraud charges and a leading senator accused of sexual misconduct -- not to mention six corruption trials coming up.
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“I don’t even remember the issue, to tell you the truth. I have to go back and check," Cuomo said of his 2016 pledge to ban donations from companies with business before the state during today's @timesunion editorial board meeting.
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The millionaire's tax is gaining traction in the Legislature as a way to fund schools. Steck has long sponsored a bill that would restore the stock transfer tax which would generate $16 billion annually for NY. The tax would be unnoticeable to the average trader.
to pass, and the Governor to sign, the Stock Transfer Tax (A7791) so that we can fund our schools, support our teachers, and give our students access to the high quality education they deserve.
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I took a break from my usual beat to write a fun fashion story for Sunday's paper: Professionals in the Cap Region are not quite ready to put on "real" pants. via @TimesUnion.
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Spending my day off with these Cafe Madison pancakes because I feel like it.
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How dare you, @nydems?! Smearing @CynthiaNixon (whose kids are being raised Jewish, BTW) as soft on anti-Semitism & lying about her position on Israel in order to fearmonger and shill for votes is a shameful dead-end for our party. #BeyondThePale #Jews4Cynthia
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By not calling a special election, Cuomo has virtually ensured that 1.8 million NYers (according to @NYPIRG) will be without representation during this year's budget negotiations
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