I watched Governor Cuomo's State of the State speech earlier today. Things that struck me:

• The two religious messages both mentioned toleration!
• I liked the Governor's slideshow
• Irene / Lee and first responders, nice touch
• The bit about 53 years ago, before he was a twinkle in his father's eye, when Skelos was 4 and Silver was 8, was very funny
• The convention center / transformation of the Javits center wasn't on my radar screen. Maybe I haven't been paying attention?
• Buffalo revitalization +
• Tourism +
• Gaming. (Makes my skin crawl.) I guess that was the point, sort of hello, yes, it's icky, but we are in denial, we already have it but just manage it badly. Still, for me, a -. Also, any time amending the constitution is mentioned, it scares me.
• The rest of it, on reorganization, education, public safety, expansion of SUNY2020, construction, energy was fine, in some cases expected, even unremarkable although I did appreciate management evaluation being an emphasis too, not just teacher assessment. And I did like that he said he would be the lobbyist for students, since they are the only unrepresented group in the mix. (Good slides on that too.)
• No finger printing for food stamps -- surprising, something I never thought about -- seems like a small thing, and he was passionate about it.
• Yay CSI!
• The close was outstanding. Truly awesome. I think he may be the best speaker and leader on the scene at present -- and in a long time. I love NY!
• The most surprising thing was what was omitted: fracking! Why? Could it be that either the science isn't holding up or the push back is significant?