Good morning!
This will be my last morning post until next Wed.; I pulled the short straw for X-mas/X-mas Eve duties.

I will be meeting with DPW Comm. Anthony "Skip" Scirocco and Public Safety Comm. Richard Wirth today, so look for an update on those meetings sometime this afternoon.

There are a lot of plans for revitalizing the state's OTB industry, but little consensus on what should be done. [Srtgn]

John Sabini and Roy McDonald spoke about OTB and racing on the radio yesterday. [Srtgn]

Saratoga County officials are still working on a deal to takeover ownership of Luther Forest. [Srtgn]

A nationally respected economist says the state's economy will grow, albiet slowly, in 2011. [Record]

Saratoga County officials approved a $294 million budget and appointed new administrators. [PstStr, Gazette]

In an exit editorial board interview with state editors, Gov. Paterson said some laid off employees could end up getting rehired next year. Paterson has also quietly filed for retirement. [Srtgn, CapCon, LoHud]

New York's federal reps have a stake in the earmarks being contemplated by the Senate. [NYP]

Not on the Post's list, Scott Murphy's 40k for Saratoga Youth Court, which is a part of the omnibus bill. [Srtgn]