Panel recommends property tax cap 

A state commission is recommending a 4 percent cap on yearly increases in school property taxes, to the dismay of the teachers’ union, school boards association and Working Families Party who say schools in poor areas need the revenue. Governor David Paterson strongly supports the cap, modeled after a Massachusetts statute which has reduced local taxes in the state. The Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, has warned that capping property tax growth would undermine education funding. [Newday] and [Sun]