Stuck

As long as Governor Paterson is apparently going to be trapped in the state for the foreseeable future, perhaps he should contact his buddy Joe Bruno to score some prime boxes at Saratoga. Bruno will likely be too busy preparing for his upcoming trial anyway. Paterson could go and make hunch bets on the 3-1-3-1 pick four. With the Senate coup having thrown the matter of succession into doubt, Danny Hakim reports in the Times that Paterson has not left the state since the Senate dispute began on June 8, to avoid any confusion about who is running the government.

He has turned down an invitation to attend the National Governors Association’s annual meeting in Mississippi later this month and even scuttled plans in late June to attend a wedding just across the Connecticut line.

Lacking a lieutenant governor, the constitution designates the president of the Senate as next in line. And according to the GOP-led "coalition" of 30 Republicans and one Democrat who's been investigated more than Sarah Palin (well, maybe not that much), that person is the turncoat himself, Senator Pedro Espada, whose reputation is such that some have seriously suggested that he would take the opportunity to pre-pardon himself from any future prosecution.

Less than four weeks until August 1, the date on which we're told they'll be a decision on the Aqueduct racino. Of course, it will be hard for any agreement to be approved, as required, by the three men in a room if we don't know who one of those men are (women might as well not exist as far as leadership positions in Albany go, or so it seems). No sign of progress whatsoever in settling the leadership issue which is central to any power-sharing deal; the sides did not even meet on Monday. It was suggested that Paterson has the power to appoint a lieutenant governor to break the tie; how convenient! But the notion was quite vehemently disputed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who called it "a political ploy that would wind through the courts for many months." Which is where this whole mess might eventually end up anyway

- Here's the scene at the construction site of Louis Cappelli's hotel/racetrack/racino project at the Concord. Not a helluva lot going on, is there? Last week, a Concord official told a Sullivan County legislative committee that they're in the "process of finalizing our financing" [Mid-Hudson News], and I'm sure we've heard that before.

- The sour economy may not be do much for business at Saratoga this year, but the track is proving to be popular in one depressing aspect.

New York Racing Association recruiter Julie Levine said, “We are seeing more — almost twice as many” people looking for jobs at the Saratoga Race Track this summer. Levine noticed an “increase across the board. More college students, retirees, high school students looking for their first job.”

NYRA always has large numbers of returners, resulting in fewer new positions becoming available. Therefore, an ideal college student applicant would work six days a week and most, if not all, of the meet — work on Travers Day, Aug. 29, is required. The most sought-after job for college students is betting clerk, Levine said. “They like the hours and the bonus at the end of the season. It’s fast-paced. And (there are) the tips at the window.” [The Saratogian]