Marie Cusick, WMHT

In our latest Innovation Trail report for New York NOW, we looked into a new bill to expand the state's DNA databank.

Prosecutors say adding DNA from more convicted offenders to the databank helps the police solve more crimes. They call it a "sword and a shield:" convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent.

So why would a  man who was exonerated of murder with DNA evidence after spending close to 20 years in prison say the bill falls short?

See this week's full episode of New York NOW.

Steve Barnes spent nearly 20 years in prison for rape and murder, before DNA evidence finally cleared him.

So why does he think a new bill to expand New York's DNA databank doesn't do enough to help people like him?

The bill would require people convicted of all state felonies, and all penal law misdemeanors to hand over their DNA to the state databank. Advocates of the bill say more DNA will help the police prosecute the guilty, and protect the innocent. 

But Barnes says the bill falls short when it comes to measures that would truly protect the wrongfully accused.

See a preview below, and watch the full story this weekend on New York NOW (check your local listings).

Environmental advocates were in Albany on Monday to make the case that investing in the state’s natural resources is good economic sense.

Representatives from more than 50 organizations were there to support the state’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).

Yesterday Time Warner Cable announced plans to cut 155 jobs at an Albany call center.

The company will eliminate telemarketing positions in Albany, and relocate its sales operations to Raleigh, North Carolina.

This is the first in a series of reports by the Innovation Trail taking a closer look at New York State's industrial development agencies, or IDAs.

Ask just about any politician these days, and he'll likely tell you that a big part of his job is to create jobs.

So how does the government attempt to do that?

Here in New York, industrial development agencies (IDAs) are one of main job creation mechanisms for local communities.

In 2009, IDAs gave away close to half a billion dollars in tax breaks to companies in the name of economic development.

IDAs are known as "public benefit corporations" - they're supposed to help their local communities, and create jobs.

But in their four decades of existence, they've been accused of everything from failing to comply with state laws, to simply being inefficient.

Good morning! Today in your trail mix:

State Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli calls out the governor's budget as a power grab.

Could student debt be the next housing crisis?

Why did New York fine a small business owner thousands of dollars for his lack of polo t-shirts?

A new program launched by New York's Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) earlier this week aims to make it easier for homeowners to pay for energy efficiency upgrades.

The new initiative is part of the Green Jobs Green New York program, and it's called an "on-bill recovery loan." 

The program allows homeowners to get a low interest loan to finance up to $25,000 worth of energy efficiency upgrades to their homes - everything from improved insulation, to a new boiler, or energy efficient appliances.

The way they pay back that loan? Paying their power bill.

Earlier this month at his State of the State Address Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wants to make Western New York a priority in 2012, and announced plans to send a billion dollar economic development package to Buffalo.

But is that enough to reverse decades of decline?

Let us know what you think in this week's poll question for New York NOW.

Four months ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a new website called CitizenConnects. He hailed the site as an "electronic town hall" that would give New Yorkers, "unprecedented access to the workings of the executive branch."

So has CitizenConnects delivered? Not really.

The tagline for the site reads, "Care enough to connect to your state government."

Unfortunately, no one at the governor's press office cared enough to return several phone calls requesting details about why some information on the site is either missing or out-of-date.

Pending well permit applications for high-volume hydraulic fracturing (2007-present):

If New York State allows hydrofracking, where would it happen?

With the help of officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), we used the agency's searchable online oil and gas database to find out precisely where drilling companies have applied for hydrofracking permits.

So what does this map mean?