Strapped State Pays Nonprofits

(WSJ) — While Gov. David Paterson has declared that New York is facing an “unprecedented fiscal crisis,” the state has paid out millions of dollars to local nonprofit groups—including $28,500 for a tennis league, $11,000 for a lighthouse museum and $2,700 for a curling club—in grants that critics deride as pork-barrel spending.

In the month of April, after the deadline for passing a state budget lapsed, Albany sent out checks totaling about $6.5 million to reimburse the expenses of hundreds of groups that supporters say provide vital community services, including programs that help the elderly and the disabled, according to state data.

Read More…