Goodbye Pay to Play Senator
EFRAIN GONZALEZ JR.
Judge Says You Plea, You Go to Jail
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Thursday that former State Senator could not withdraw a guilty plea to fraud and conspiracy charges, saying his claim that he had been coerced or pressured into entering the plea was “preposterous.” Faces a possible sentence of seven to nine years for using hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money to pay for personal expenses, including rent for an apartment in the Dominican Republic, jewelry, college tuition for his daughter and Yankees tickets. Judge Won’t Let Former Senator Withdraw Plea * Ex-Bronx State Sen. Efrain Gonzalez pleads guilty to 200G caper
St Vincent Closing Perfect Storm of Death
As the city, state and the feds cuts services and money to the city's hospitals how can they possibly absorber the patients from the closing of St. Vincent's hospital? Beth Israel Medical Center, New York Downtown Hospital, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center and Bellevue Hospital Center have been told to be ready at 10 a.m. on Friday to receive patients diverted from St. Vincent’s, according to industry officials, who asked not to be named. The poor lady who laid dead in the Kings County Emergency Room will unfortunately not be the last*Emergency Room Death Sparks Outrage - CBS News * Woman Dies on Kings County Hospital Floor * Ambulances to divert from closing St. Vincent's * FDNY To Begin Diverting Ambulances From St. Vincent's * New York City's Health and Hospitals Corp. Plans To Cut 2600 Jobs * City's Health and Hospital Corporation Facing $1B Deficit
Pols and Media See No Evil, Speak No Evil and Hear No EvilThe media has not written one story about who is at fault for St. Vincent's closing. They continue to allow the pols whose poor leadership will cause New Yorkers to die to spin crap to protect their jobs.
"Elected officials are still making last-ditch efforts to save St. Vincent’s, or barring that, to replace its emergency room functions with an urgent-care center that would provide some emergency services. In a letter to Gov. David A. Paterson Thursday afternoon, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and other elected officials said the proposed urgent-care center as they envisioned it would provide care up to 24 hours including imaging, EKG and X-rays, intravenous medication and fluids, and minor procedures like sutures, cyst removal, incision and drainage and splinting." Ambulances to bypass broke St. Vincent's Hospital as of today * City hospitals facing big headache in wake of St. Vincent's
Budget Crisis Short Takes "Some things you cannot cut." The Times Square riot Sunday and the increase in crime has resulted in the Bloomberg rules out NYPD layoffs in the next year At the same time Budget-bloated MTA hoping to get rail-thin And the public get hit with another $$$ increase Summer water hike in double-digits * The city OTB will close Sunday unless a deal is worked out to save it.
During the 70's Financial Crisis the City Had Strong Leaders who Wanted to Work Together1975 Teachers Union Helps Bail Out the City The Teachers Union committed 150 million to bail out NYC "Shanker said he change his mind after agonizing about the city's grave situation." Mike Mulgrew's mandate: Moment of truth for empowered teacher union boss “When school children start paying union dues, that 's when I'll start representing the interests of school children.” Albert Shanker
What is different in 2010
In 1975 Labor saved New York DC 37 fights for survival in the fiscal crisis of the ‘70s. In the 70's we had experienced union leaders like Shanker and Victor Gotbaum we had a strong governor Hugh Carey who helped put the deal together. Today we have a governor who the legislature is ignoring as they put together this years budget * The Post urges Paterson to "hang tough." * CSEA president says halting pay hikes is proof of "incompetence" in David Paterson's administration.
In 2010 some unions are fighting Paterson's attempts to hold back a 4% raise Paterson's plan to delay raises for public employees would be considered prudent -- and not some sort of crime against nature.A good start, Dave (NYP Ed) *Public employees unions are promising contract grievances and litigation in response to Gov. David Paterson's refusal to include their 4 percent raises in the latest budget extender. * Paterson Says He’ll Suspend Pay Raises for Workers * Paterson Excludes Worker Pay Raises From Emergency Legislation
Another Problem in 2010 Hizzoner is WFP'd off on $$ Bloomberg is worried about the immense clout of the Working Families Party over local inexperienced legislators is a "very big problem" when it comes to negotiating a new city budget. The WFP has been putting pursuer on the council to raise the Wall Street bonus taxes and a living wage bill they have yet to focus on the city's fiscal crisis. Bloomberg push his WFP problem yesterday with the editorial boards of both the NYP and Daily News. * The City Council opposes the Bloomberg administration's plan for across-the-board cuts * Council Contests 'Across the Board' Cuts (Gotham Gazette) * Liu says new tax on Wall St. bonuses fair game
Mayor Bloomberg offers Post editorial board cupcakes No word if the cupcakes were made with trans fat
NYT Murdoch's Toast?
NEWSPAPER WAR! Murdoch Slashes Ad Rates In Attack On NYT * NewsTrust Findings On New York Media Coverage
Bloomberg Power is Out of the BoxNow we know how he became a billionaire. This guy does not sit around to even eat a cup cake. We all know how he used his money to buy support from pols to non profits to extend term limits and get reelected. He uses gun control to organize the city's across America. He tried to make Green environment a nationwide cause and today he is reaching out to political movers and shakers. The mayor's plan to mail NYC Cards to 50,000 donors is a "novel way to influence the influencers," said the spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics.
Election 2010 Irish Central hits Steve Levy for his "anchor baby" comment, but thinks he'll do better against Andrew Cuomo than Rick Lazio * Six Upstate Dems Endorse 'Colleague' Brodsky
Pay to Play Housing Rose Plaza Not Dead (Yet)The project's new life came as Mr. Rosenberg started to scramble with defeat looming. In recent weeks, he brought on a slew of new consultants, a step unusual this late in the lengthy land-use approval process. These new consultants included two for public relations: Connelly & McLaughlin and Knickerbocker SKD, a political consulting firm used by Council Speaker Christine Quinn. He also brought on lobbyist Carl Andrews, a former state senator from Brooklyn.
Former Assemblyman Grannis finally makes It in to the papersDEC Commissioner Pete Grannis defended the state's purchase of Adirondack land that is now being investigated by Cuomo's office.
Law and Order District Attorney Tries His Hand at Cutting Into Case Backlog * Crown Heights Unnerved as Police Hunt a Rooftop Gunman * Father of a Baby Left With a Cabdriver in 2008 Is Charged *** Junior Gotti recalls how he learned truth about dad * Psycho cycler's revenge * Slain kid 'medically abused': DA * Search for teens in possible bias crimes on LES * Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. did some time in the courtroom as part of an effort to handle a backlog of cases.* Financial mismanagement appears to be at the root of the Harlem School of the Arts' demise * Vance isn't moving fast enough, says the Daily News * NY AG probing 'pension padding'
Rats DOH Closed Nearly 1,800 Restaurants In 2009 *Video of Rats
Karl Rove and Howard Dean agree (on at least one thing): Democrats will lose seats in the midterm elections
Pay to Play Congress Senate Staffer Cashes Out, Heads Back To K Street
Rubin Paid $14,000,000 A YearWhat was he paid for? Rubin: I learned of Citi's problems late *No Citi pity here * Contrite ex-Citi execs face withering criticism * Big Banks Mask Risk Levels * How the U.S. Cracked Open Secret Vaults at UBS - Reuters all St. Journal ($) * Fannie Mae CEO Regrets That He Could Not Live Up to Everyone’s ‘Impossible’ Expectations * Ex-Fannie Mae CEO: We're not the money-grubbing biz some say
Media and New Tech
Dial-Up Law in a Broadband World The federal law governing online privacy does not cover many of the intrusions made possible by the technological advances of the past two decades * Pelosi psycho driven by Fox News, says mom * Threats against members of Congress remain high. (WP) * NBC's Dan Abrams is going into the restaurant business * MSNBC President Rips Shuster In Leaked E-Mail * Jake Tapper Bringing Fact-Checking To ABC's 'This Week' *Oprah: Hardest Part About Setting Up Network Is ‘Getting the Right People on the Right Seats on the Bus’* Scott Brown’s American Idol Star Daughter Joins CBS Early Show
