Yesterday, NYT came out with harsh poll on Bloomberg ... while he visited DN & Post editorial boards. Interesting
Poll Finds Bloomberg’s Approval Rating the Lowest in 6 Years(NYT)
Team Bloomberg spin he’s still held in higher esteem than many elected officials around the country * Polls: Bloomberg's low approval rating is down 9 points from last year.
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Bloomberg Says Liu is Clueless on Pension Costs Does He Also Feel the Comptroller Was Not Right About the Corrupt CityTime Contract?
Mayor Bloomberg belittles John Liu as someone who 'doesn't know what he's talking about' when he reported pension costs' proportion of the city budget would shrink instead of grow (NYDN)
Cuomo Has Master the Unions
Anti-Scott Walker
In Albany, a Labor Pact Without Attacks on Unions(NYT) The Times Union and Newsday both praise the Civil Service Employees Association for ratifying their new contract that includes a three-year wage freeze. * Following the CSEA’s contract vote, Cuomo cast himself as the anti-Scott Walker. * The focus now turns to PEF, whose members must ratify its 5-year contract deal with Cuomo, and smaller unions that are still in negotiations. * Difficult times lie ahead for Cuomo and CSEA.
No pre-election resolution of old theft case for Queens Councilman Ruben Wills(NYP)
NY’s already sky-high campaign contribution limits have jumped again.
Gaming the Toll Hike Hearing . . . PA and Pols Win
Pol and PA Plan Was to Get Half of Announced Raise All Along
PA 'up' to no good Drivers in rage at toll-hike hearings (NYP) * No EZPass for Port Authority as outrage dominates public hearings(NYDN) * The Port Authority must not be allowed to sock motorists, PATH riders with huge toll and fare hikes(NYDN Ed) * Commuters Criticize Port Authority's Proposed Toll Hikes(NY1) * Staten Islanders unhappy about the Port Authority's proposed toll increases are planning to send a message today with their own change. Specifically, lots of pennies, nickels and dimes, which they'll use to pay the tolls - and seriously slow down traffic - when crossing the Goethals and three other bridges. "We're tired of paying these high extortion fees," said organizer Paul DiDonato. "I don't want my kids to grow up in a city where they have to pay $20 to get in and out of the island." * Port Authority public toll hike hearing not so public - but quite a hike(The Star-Ledge) * No voting member of the Port Authority attended hard-to-find meeting about toll hikes on Staten Island last night. * Toll Hikes: Possible compromise is $2 increase for “everyday commuters.” [Margolin, Fenton and Fermino / NY Post]
State audit cites excess overtime at Port Authority(NYP)
Port Authority paid $85.7 million of overtime to 5,360 of 6,977 employees, according to State Comptroller.* Comptroller DiNapoli Says Overtime ‘Flows Like Water’ At Port Authority(WCBS)
Worker Against Worker, While PA Leaders Get Away With High Salaries and Waste
This is a step up from the Bloomberg campaign which used the Doe Fund workers to take up seats at the city council hearings to extend term limits. Reports were that union workers at the hearing heckled commuters testifying against the proposed fare hikes. Union leaders have to be careful that they do not turn public opinion against them. The PA leaders and pols are having a laugh over this one. Fort Lee Toll Hike Hearing Draws Commuter Opposition, Union Support Patch.com* Jobs vs. toll, fare hikes: Commuters, union members disagree at ...(Asbury Press) * Cement Workers Agree to Contract(WSJ)
The Bad Economy Will Cause Major Changes in Public Opinion
NY1 Exclusive: Poll Finds Split On Indian Point Power Plant, Hydrofracking(NY1) * Anti-Walmart activists, politicians need to recognize ordinary New Yorkers want retailer here(NYDN Ed) * Two Democratic Wisconsin state senators survived recall contests – the last in a series of recalls the Dems initially hoped would give them control of the chamber.
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Cuomo And Seneca Indian Officials Smoke Piece Pipe
Top Cuomo administration officials met with Seneca Indian officials at their reservation two weeks ago amid rising tensions over casino revenues, untaxed cigarette sales and a portion of the Thruway through their reservation, the Times says: * Cuomo has twice sent high-level officials, including LG Bob Duffy, to negotiate with the Senecas, but a standoff over a host of issues – including rights to a short stretch of the Thruway – remain.
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4Update Newspapers keep the Cuomo Plane Story Alive
“Let’s face it: The appearance is rotten,” says the Poughkeepsie Journal of Cuomo’s state plane use, while admitting it’s “modest” compared to past governors’ practices. The Auburn Citizen wants the (on its way out) CPI to investigate Cuomo’s plane use and determine if reimbursement is necessary. * Jobs: 12 staffers at Committee on Public Integrity laid off as Cuomo signs Joint Committee on Public Ethics into law. [Jimmy Vielkind / Times Union] * Says the Syracuse Post-Standard: “Next time, Governor, please pay back the taxpayers for your aircraft ride home. Think of it as yet another way to “rein in spending.”
Was the Ticket Fixing Tip of the Scandal Going On in the NYPD?
Dozens of NYPD Officers Investigated for Perjury(Weiss, DNAInfo) At least three dozen cops are under investigation for allegedly committing perjury in various criminal cases including drug busts and even a murder, DNAinfo.com has learned. As if a ticket-fixing scandal wasn't bad enough, the new citywide investigations cut across a broad spectrum of suspected lying and false statements made on official police reports, in testimony before grand juries and at trials.
Vito Lopez and His Mob Don't Need Reforms to Run A Public Financed Campaign
ESPINAL'S TAXPAYER FUNDED CAMPAIGN STAFF: Today we report that the lion's share of the people working for Brooklyn Assembly candidate Rafael Espinal are getting paid by elected officials supportive of Espinal-but rarely by the campaign itself: Espinal is running with the support of both his boss, Councilman Erik Martin Dilan, and Dilan’s father, State Sen. Martin Dilan—and both have been lending out their staff to Espinal on the cheap. Espinal’s full-time campaign manager, veteran operative Michael Olmeda, has been working for Espinal since at least mid-April—yet had been paid only $500 through mid-August, according to campaign finance records. All the while, Olmeda has continued to draw a $1,730 bi-weekly governmental salary as a “field coordinator” for Sen. Martin Dilan. * Espinal double-talked the Conservatives and WFP about his positions on gay-marriage and abortion rights.* Espinal’s stances on abortion, same-sex marriage called into question (WNYC)
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Daily News Reports Forces Feds to Seize McLaughlin Accounts to Pay Back the Little League and Others
Comptroller: NYS Tax Receipts Going Down
Plagued by a rise in everything from murders,rapes to robberies Kelly fires Inwood/Washington Heights precinct commander
Cop cmdr. NYPD-blew his chance Ousted over crime spike (NYP) After years of steady decrease, citywide crime is down just 0.1 percent as of Aug 14 compared to last year in the same time period, according to NYPD stats.
Fireman shaken by noose(NYP) A black former New York City firefighter recounted for a federal judge yesterday how he discovered a noose draped over his gear in a Brooklyn firehouse in 2005.(NYP) * Black ex-fireman testifies he was in danger, but not from a fire(NYDN)
4Is Bloomberg Trying to Get Voting Rights Protections for His Census Undercount Lawsuit?
Census Undercount Could Cost NYC Hispanics Millions(Huff Post)
As City Leases Industrial Sites for Schools, Concern About Safety Builds(Gotham Gazette)
Judge Says Bike Lanes Are Legal
Judge Rejects Groups’ Effort to Remove Bike Lane(NYT) * Brooklyn Bike Lane Cleared by Court(WSJ) * A judge rejected a suit brought by a group of Brooklyn residents with ties to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s wife that sought to remove the Prospect Park bike lane.* BREAKING NEWS: City wins Prospect Park West bike lane suit (Brooklyn Paper)
NYP Wants Trash Removed From LaGuardia
LaGuardia safety trashed(NYP) * Trash the birds(NYP) * Trash near airport reeks of crash risk? (NY Metro)
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President Bus Made in USA Canada
Bible-‘belting' thugs' vicious assault(NYP) * Police Search For Suspects After Violent Bronx Robbery(NY1)
Subdues W. Side suspect 'caught in act'(NYP)
Rich-kid thief jailed(NYP)
A wrist slap for kid-hook TV jerk Admits 'touching' 14-year-old runaway(NYP) * Marvell Scott copped plea for 'inappropriately' touching 14-year-old girl ... FOR HER SAKE(NYDN)
Cooper Gets Less Viewers Than Canceled Spitzer
A Slow Start For Anderson Cooper At 8 P.M.(NYT)
SHALL WE DANCE?
