In hopes of gaining a little understanding about what’s happening on the final days of the state legislature’s 2013 session, we took a field trip yesterday from the Bronx to Albany with our colleagues at the Riverdale Press. It was an enlightening experience, which we will flesh out in a piece for next week’s print edition. But for now, here are few news items and observations.

— The Capitol building itself is gorgeous and almost worth the trip just to see the architecture. Lots of vaulted ceilings, enormous winding staircases, massive columns, stained-glass windows and arched walkways.

— Senator Gustavo Rivera told us the lobby outside of the senate chambers (see below) — where advocates, lobbyists, staffers and politicians mingle and discuss legislation and other matters — is the place where the term “lobbyist” comes from.

— Everyone we spoke with was resigned to spending all day and night trying to cram in hundreds pieces of legislation into the final day of the session, which could easily last into tomorrow.

— The two biggest hot-button legislative packages being tossed around in the Senate that have passed in the Assembly — campaign finance reform and women’s equality — may not see a vote. Campaign finance, which would create a system of public financing, appears to be completely dead. The women’s equality bill, which was a package of 10 bills, was broken down into 10 individual bills and is more likely to get a vote in the Senate. The one bill Republicans (and socially conservative Democrat Ruben Diaz Sr.) have balked at is a new law that would strengthen abortion rights. Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson and other Democrats said they wouldn’t vote for the package of legislation unless it included all 10 items, including the abortion piece.

— We talked with a whole host of Bronx politicians during our time in the Capitol, including several senators and a couple of assembly members. Toward the end of the day, we finally tracked down the most powerful Bronxite in Albany, Senate co-leader Jeff Klein, at his office in the Legislative Office building.

When we walked into the office, we saw Klein in a separate conference room talking to his press guy, Eric Soufer. But as we walked into the conference room, Klein bolted from the room. Soufer, who was obviously somewhat taken aback by our arrival (although he played it pretty cool), said Klein had to go into a meeting and wasn’t available to talk to us. He said he didn’t know who Klein was meeting with.

Soufer sat down and talked with us, rather candidly, about the end of the session and said some very interesting things about a number of different topics. Perhaps the most interesting thing he said was about communicating with senate Democrats. As co-leader of the senate with Republican Dean Skelos, the pair decides which bills see the light of day and get put up for a vote. He said there were probably many bills sponsored by Democrats that they won’t bring to the floor for a vote because Democratic members haven’t come to Klein’s office and expressed how important they are. If they simply came in and advocated for the bills, Soufer said they were much more likely to see action. Democrats, of course, have accused Klein and Republicans of stonewalling progressive legislation.

For example, Rivera, a Bronx Democrat, told us he’s feverishly trying to pass a bill that would help connect military veterans with services. He calls it the “Vet Connect” bill and he wasn’t sure if it would make it to a vote. When I told Soufer about it, he said, “See, I’ve never heard of that bill.”

— It was Senator Jose M. Serrano’s 41st birthday yesterday. He looked dapper in what I believe is his signature box tie look.

— The Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr. was his usual jovial self, but was very somber when I asked him about his buddy, fellow “amigo” Pedro Espada, who was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this week after being convicted on embezzlement charges. “All we can do now if pray for him,” he said.

— Most Bronx Democrats stay at the Holiday Inn during the week. Assemblyman Jose Rivera told us jokingly that he had a special escape ladder in his room so he could leave whenever he wanted without being noticed.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.