Flight Records Uncover Elusive Mayor's Tracks The planes flew to Bermuda, where Mr. Bloomberg owns a home, 16 times last year and 54 times in all from 2007 through 2010, according to Federal Aviation Administration records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. On 41 trips, the aircraft left New York and spent all or part of the weekend in Bermuda. One overnight trip there coincided with the December blizzard, according to flight records. (WSJ) * Report: Bloomberg Was In Bermuda During December Blizzard (NY1) * A Bloomberg plane was the last small aircraft to land at LaGuardia as the storm intensified.* Traveling Bloomberg: “Bloomberg fleet has been the single largest user of scarce slots allocated to private aircraft at La Guardia airport.” (Wall Street Journal) * Mike Bloomberg's Flight Records Reveal Flights (Village Voice)
Bloomberg’s major state campaign contributions, by the numbers
True News PM News Update
Breaking News After the Morning Papers Police arrest quotas front and center in lawsuit against city (NYP) * Pfizer site can't support housing, going back to manufacturing (NYP) * If New York Faces Apocalypse, Courts Have a Guide (NYT) * Men Accused of Plot to Sell Drugs to Arm Taliban (NYT)
Will the City Wind Up Paying for the New Mets Stadium?
The team's obligation for its new stadium amounts to $43 million a year.
Village Voice Today
If Mets Go Under, Who Pays for Citi Field? (Village Voice)
New York's Budget Game
Our Ever-Malleable Budget Amid all of the wrestling over painful spending cuts, at times trimming millions of dollars out of the state budget is as easy as a phone call. (WSJ) * Cuomo short-changing NYC schools, coalition of ed groups says (DN) *A coalition of education advocates accused Cuomo of walking away from the court-ordered CFE settlement. * The WSJ’s Jacob Gershman reduces Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s projected budget spending with a single phone call.* The TU’s Fred LeBrun finds it “a little bit scary” that New York has a “supposedly populist governor taking the side of the wealthy, and getting away with it.” * The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle applauds Cuomo for calling out the so-called budget “sham” of spending increases built into the law. * Budget Deadline: “new governor should zealously guard against the tactics of delay.” (Buffalo News) * Budgeting Cuomo:(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) “Senate Republicans found that 44 percent of Cuomo’s cost-cutting plan, or $3.9 billion, lacks any specific programmatic reductions.”* Poll: Cuomo more popular than Cuomo budget. * Grimm, King Decry GOP Cuts(YNN) * Holey Budget! * New York Post May Not Approve of Andrew Cuomo's High Approval Rating (Village Voice)* Lobbyists woo Legislature, seeking budget favors
Albany Old Bulls End Run?
Cuomo's People Worried About Skelos Silver Alliance to Produce Their Own Budget
GOP skeptical about Skelos Key Republican state senators have their doubts about Majority Leader Dean Skelos' claimed willingness to back Gov. Cuomo's efforts to slash spending and reform legislative ethics * Unnamed Senate Republicans are questioning Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ leadership after he publicly questioned Cuomo’s budget and ethics reform that would require attorneys (like the senator) to reveal their client lists.
Candidates No Longer Personally Liable For Wasting Matching Funds, Thanks To New Court Decision www.cityhallnews.com
Citizens Union Decries Legislative ‘Crime Wave’ (YNN)
Former Gov. Paterson Was "Out of His Time" Former Gov. David Paterson was so far ahead of his time that red flags he raised over the impending budget crisis were ignored, he said during a radio guest-hosting stint Monday. Asked if he felt vindicated, Paterson said he did. (DNA inf)
13 schools fear crippling layoffs due to threatened state budget cuts More than 47% of teachers at these schools have less than six years on the job - meaning they'd be first to be replaced with more senior teachers if there are layoffs. (DN) * 40% of NY school superintendents make more than Cuomo does.
NY's State Regents Tiger Mom Free Zone
Editorial: State Regents exams that were dumbed down to match lax standards must be beefed up again (DN ED) * Flunking union-backed ed. group cashes in
Without a campaign finance program to fund NY'S judicial elections the only people who can win judicial elections are those chosen by the political machine or those who have enough money to self finance their own campaign several hundred thousand dollars. New York Takes Step on Money in Judicial Elections The state’s elected judges will be barred from hearing cases involving those who contribute to their campaigns.(NYT) * State's top judge is a junket justice (NYP)
Luxury Hotel for Judges Judges to get high end apartments at taxpayers' expense* Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has traveled outside New York on taxpayer-funded junkets no fewer than eight times since his appointment two years ago, spending nearly $8,500.
All-Time High: 3 Million New Yorkers On Food Stamps
True News Jerk of the Day Tie
1. Jerk: Assemblyman Marcos Crespo
Crespo want subway trains to come to a complete halt just shy of the platform to make sure their is nobody on the tracks. Marcos plan would increase delay especially during rush hour for every rider. Pol's subway platform plan well-intentioned, but off track (DN)
2. Jerk: Brooklyn Boro President Marty Markowitz
Today's NY Post Editorial called Markowitz hysteria from demanding drivers stage a mutiny just because we have entered the annual pot hole season. Pothole poltroons (NYP Ed)
More Daily Marty Bashing Brooklyn Borough Pres Marty Markowitz finally fesses up to ethics lapse that made him a Knucklehead (DN Ed) * Brooklyn Borough Chief Is Fined The Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, agrees to pay a fine for using his chief of staff as his lawyer for the closing of his home. (NYT)
Washington Square News hopes former Gov. David Paterson will remember to mention ethics and responsibility when he starts teaching at NYU.
Archbishop Dolan's Buried Treasure?
New York Archbishop May Face Deposition on Milwaukee Funds A lawyer suing the Milwaukee Archdiocese over clients’ sex abuse by priests said the archbishop moved millions in church funds off its books. (NYT) * Dolan Calls Allegations Over Missing Milwaukee Funds "Reckless" (NY1) * Dolan denies 'hidden' $$ * NY Archbishop Calls 'Ludicrous' Claims His Ex-Diocese Hid Money (WNBC)
Law and Order Paraplegic Man Killed in Queens Shooting (WSJ) * Dip in 'Grande' larceny on UWS (NYP) * Workers dressed as Con Ed workers scam residents in Bronx (WABC) * Holiday bank bandit strikes again (WABC TV)
Winning the War, Losing the Peace
Call it NYSE Boerse Sen. Chuck Schumer said he'll support the purchase of the Big Board by Germany's Deutsche Boerse * Wall Street’s Dead End Why the decline of public markets threatens American capitalism (NYT Op Ed) * NYSE Deal Moves Ahead (WSJ)
Running on Empty Congress is threatening to deny the S.E.C. the necessary financing to carry out financial reform (NYT Ed)
Pres Obama proposing a 5-year freeze in domestic non-defense spending to reduce deficits by $400-billion over 10-years. Officials say total spending cuts & tax hikes in budget are forecast to produce over $1-trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. Budget also proposes cuts in airport grants and other infrastructure programs including state water treatment plants. * GOP budget cuts will hurt New York City, Rep. Anthony Weiner says (DN) * The president's 10 year plan would reduce the debt by $1.1 trillion - but still add $7.2 trillion in new debt * Obama to offer $3.7 trillion budget blueprint (Washington Post) * WH's budget projection expects the deficit to hit a whooping $1.6 trillion in 2012.
GOP Budget Cutters Target Big Bird (The Daily Beast)
GOP Budget Cutters Target Big Bird (The Daily Beast)
Egypt's Facebook Revolution
Dual Uprisings Show Potent New Threats to Arab States A two-year collaboration of dissidents gave birth to a new force — a pan-Arab youth movement dedicated to spreading democracy in a region without it. (NYT)
