Tuesday, April 7, 2009

On the Road to City Hall


On the Road to City Hall
BILLY BOOTS IT Thompson is running for mayor, and he likely thought he had the goods on Bloomberg and Klein when he laid responsibility for what he termed $700 million in school-contract cost overruns at their feet last week *** ‘Survey’ Calls Attack Bloomberg Rival Bloomberg’s re-election campaign commissioned a poll that spread negative information about Representative Anthony D. Weiner. . . The issues highlighted in the telephone calls closely echoed negative stories that have appeared in city newspapers about Mr. Weiner, and that the congressman’s aides have accused opposition researchers from the Bloomberg campaign of planting. . . Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause, said the episode underscored the dangers of a candidate with unlimited resources. “It just goes to show, if you have too much money in your campaign, you don’t use it productively,” she said. “He’s hired so many consultants who are looking for something to do.” *** A blogger in Bay Ridge wonders if those calls are overkill
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The City NY'S GREEN GIANT: The Empire State Building is going green *** ZOO GROUP IS SLASHING JOBS *** Reorganization at City’s Zoos Includes Buyouts and Layoffs *** EAST COAST KEY TO WIND POWER *** CHARTER MEMBERS: 100 WIN SLOTS IN COVETED SCHOOL *** MTA SLASHES STATION AIDES *** Details Emerge About MTA Service Cuts Timeline *** Film industry gets its tax break From the Daily News *** Tishman Speyer to appeal rent-dereg ruling: Landlord for Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village *** La Guardia Soon to Join Southwest’s Schedule *** Empire State Building Plans Environmental Retrofit *** Iranian Nuke Plot Involved NYC Banks *** Iranian nuke plot vaporized in the city: NY banks unwittingly aided in material transfers, says DA *** Empire State Building gets green makeover *** Number of candidates for school council races plunges *** The changing face of New York City *** Cherry Blossom Season Comes To Brooklyn Botanic Garden *** Cuts will mean 'lives lost': Thousands won't get crucial cancer tests, advocates say *** City tries to help struggling nonprofits *** Empire State Building getting $20M green makeover to cut energy costs *** The teachers union provided Council members with written questions prior to a hearing on charter schools *** Eva Moskowitz continues her fight with the U.F.T., warning Council members about the “union-political-educational complex” *** Office rents: Biggest plunge in 25 years: Sublease surplus stoked a 6% slide in Manhattan office rents in the first quarter, says Cushman & Wakefield, the biggest quarterly drop since the firm began keeping records *** TNPM Indictment Says Banned Materials Sold to Iran *** Manhattan D.A. Charges Businessman With Helping Iran Get Nuclear Weapons *** Poll: 41 Percent Of New Yorkers Support Gay Marriage *** Freedom Tower's Broadcast Deal Has Collapsed *** City condo sales head south
Number of sales down 61% in Brooklyn, not far behind Manhattan’s 63% plunge. Queens and Bronx: sales volume down 58% and 50%, respectively *** LIRR to end Belmont Park service

Albany GOV SHOULD 'QUIT' WHILE HE'S BEHIND: POLL *** PATERSON'S PLUMMETING POLLS - NYP Ed *** Paterson's Approval Rating Reaches New Low *** Paterson defends himself against the numbers and takes an unnamed shot at rival AG Andrew Cuomo *** New Yorkers Weigh in on Paterson's Performance *** New Yorkers to Governor: You're one and done! *** Upstate Senators Want to Split State in Two *** Wobbly future for NY Dems? *** Camara proposes change in the Assembly *** Philosophers Grace Subway, but Not Albany’s Corridors: Subway trains and buses now include words of Great Thinkers. As Albany dithers over rescuing New York’s transit system, it could use some Kantian advice *** Editorial: After the massacre Gov. Paterson and the Legislature must pattern state gun rules after those applied here in the city. Key among the provisions must be an end to the insane practice of issuing permits that have no expiration date - DNEd *** Stick a fork in Gov. Paterson. He's as good as done. The budget battle was his las... *** Politicians not in office, but don't tell their license plates *** Jobs in New York’s cities are moving out of downtown *** NEW SPY CAMS TO STOP TRAFFIC *** HEY, SPITZER!: ELIOT'S ODD 'EXCUSE' IN 1ST TV TALK *** Spitzer Talks Economy, 'Gremlins' on Today *** On TV, Spitzer Says Getting Caught ‘Crossed My Mind’ *** Forgiveness isn't Spitzer's only fantasy: He wasn't that good of a sheriff *** Paterson visits Jasmina, urges NYers to get tested for donor compatiblity *** TWU ads turn up heat on GOP pols *** Smith tries GOP in bid to aid MTA *** The state budget is very unpopular, a new Q poll finds, and the Legislature doesn't get high marks, either *** Poll Finds New Yorkers Mad About Budget *** TNPM Lawmakers Approve Legislation For More Red Light Cameras *** Gov. tells state leaders to prep for layoffs


President Obama O TALKS TURKEY: 'US NOT AT WAR WITH ISLAM,' TELLS ANKARA *** Obama ends Turkish visit with student town hall *** Defense Secretary Gates proposes weapons cuts *** Obama says he's not unrealistically optimistic *** Obama: Accord on climate will be tough *** Obama Tours Istanbul as European Trip Nears End *** NYT/CBS Poll: Obama Enjoying Some Success In Rebuilding Nation's Confidence *** Gates Overhauls Defense Department *** Obama: 'U.S. is not at war with Islam' *** Obama sells himself to sell U.S. *** Reality hits Obama Express *** Pentagon Pushes Weapon Cuts *** Obama Promises More U.S. Engagement *** The Nuclear Illusionist *** Obama's Nuclear Fantasy - Anne Applebaum, Slate *** Obama's 'moral authority' won't deter Tehran or Pyongyang *** HI-TECH HELI WON'T FLY *** Turkish police arrest man who claims plot to kill Obama *** NCAA WIN A BAM DUNK! *** In Baghdad, Obama Presses Iraqi Leader to Unite Factions




Is Anti-Semitism on the Rise? One thing we know, at this stage in history, that’s not good for the Jews: economic turmoil. Whether it be 1095, 1492, or 1935, economic crisis has fueled anti-Semitism. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Ira Stoll writes of a “foreboding that the financial crisis may trigger a new outbreak of anti-Semitism.” And the Jews’ two havens—Israel and the United States—may not be as safe as they seem. The former may soon be threatened by a nuclear attack from Iran, while the high social standing of Jews in Vienna in 1900 indicates that even places that are friendly, like the United States, can turn quickly.

Wall Street Melt Down BAD-NEWS MORT SUES FOR LOST $40M Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman also filed suit yesterday against J. Ezra Merkin, charging that the money manager defrauded him out of $40 million *** J. Ezra Merkin Charged With Civil Fraud *** EZRA POUNDED BY ANDY SUIT: BLEW CLIENTS' $2.4B WITH MADOFF ***
Is Merkin as Bad as Madoff?
*** Madoff's wife visits him behind bars *** Ruth Madoff Mum on Way In To See Husband *** Madoff middleman charged with fraud *** Financier Charged In Madoff Fraud *** Treasury Chief Opens The Toxic Vault Slightly *** Poll Finds New Optimism on Economy Since Inauguration *** Muted Signs of Life in the Credit Markets *** Bloggingheads: Should Madoff Rot? A debate about Bernie Madoff’s prison sentence *** GM Speeds Up Bankruptcy Preparations... *** Stanford’s Tearful Denial *** Art Prices Drop 35 Percent *** Government announces crackdown on mortgage scams *** What financial crisis? Survey: NY bankers best paid in the world *** U.S. airlines had their best performance in four years in 2008 *** Ford Motor Company sheds $9.9 billion in debt *** Cash in on Clean Cars - San Francisco Chronicle *** Democrats Look to Make Gains in Texas - The Hill *** Bank Worries Return to Wall Street


National EAST COAST KEY TO WIND POWER *** Almost 1 of 2 new Americans in 2008 was Latino *** GM, Segway unveil 'urban' two-wheel vehicle *** U.S. Cuts Private Medicare Funds *** The Decline and Fall of Christian America - Jon Meacham, Newsweek *** The Caucus: The Minnesota Senate Saga


International HILLARY RIPS N. KOREA *** Experts argue if NKorea's launch suggests progress *** US policy on Cuba evolving under Obama *** Red Cross: Gitmo medical personnel violated ethics *** Op-EdNYT: Last Jew in Afghanistan Zablon Simantov, a Jewish resident of Kabul, explains in this video why he remains despite his increasing solitude *** Italians Comb Through Rubble After Quake *** Russian Bailout Seeks Peace, Not Efficiency *** Japan firm says nuke shelter sales up... *** Protesters Storm Moldova's Parliament *** Talking to the Taliban - Robert Kaplan, The Atlantic *** Nuclear Threats and Rewards - Times of London