The push and pull between local leaders and state lawmakers rages on as Albany budget season ramps up.

One of the latest battles is over two bills that would override local zoning on the Island. Lawmakers say it would create a public for-benefit corporation to buy and build affordable housing. But local leaders say it would supersede their zoning authority.

The Hempstead and North Hempstead town supervisors are also calling out cannabis retailers they say are skirting local laws. All three towns in Nassau voted against legal marijuana sales when they became legal four years ago. But New York City gave dispensaries the green light and now some shops are opening up very close to the Town of North Hempstead. The towns are looking to create buffer zones to keep licensed dispensaries further away from town borders.

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jen Desena discusses the issue with Rich Barrabi.

And in a Women’s History Month special, a discussion with Hempstead Town Deputy Supervisor and senior council member Dorothy Goosby.