Governor Paterson may be taking an increasingly tough tone with Albany's still-deadlocked Senate (in fact, he'll be traveling the state this week as he tries to keep the pressure up), but he still didn't have the heart to ruin their Fourth of July weekend. While Paterson did force the senators to convene in the Senate as promised, he tweaked their schedule so that senators were free, from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening, to enjoy their lives unfettered. Some attended a barbecue hosted by former senator Carl Andrews, others watched the fireworks and spent time with their families. What they didn't do was reach a power-sharing deal, though negotiations continued last night. Word is that Democratic resistance to recognizing Espada as Senate president is "weakening," and the always-reliable Espada himself predicted that a deal would be reached by Tuesday, though we won't hold our breath. An end to the impasse can't come soon enough, though, as even the Los Angeles Times is calling Albany the only state government that can out-dysfunction their own.

Gov. Paterson suggests Dems soften stand, give plum role to turncoat Sen. Pedro Espada [NYDN]
Albany pols unwind for the holiday from all the lack of work [NYDN]
Related: Pedro Espada’s Self-Coronation