Saturday, August 4, 2012

Bloomberg and Quinn's 11 Year Itch

"I think it’s fair to say there’s been a bit of a cooling off,” said one NYP source

Team Bloomberg Spins to Hold Off That Lame Duck Status

Mayor’s Christinenod now in doubt(NYP) Bloomberg and Quinn had once been viewed as so tight that critics derisively described her as a “deputy mayor.” Bloomberg certainly wasn’t happy that the City Council passed two bills his administration is now trying to undo in court — one mandating a “living wage” and another a “prevailing wage” on certain city projects. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, two mayoral rivals, had no problem lining up with the mayor on big soda servings.* The fight for NY jobs (NYP Ed) Mayor Bloomberg has gone to court to block the City Council’s recent war on jobs.* City Council Speaker Chris Quinn has bravely resisted a foolish sick-pay law (NYDN Ed)  She must stick to her guns against potential job-killer.   Somebody needs to stand up to NYT which today editorialises strongly for absurd city council actions which will truly hurt small businesses* Working While Sick(NYT Ed) * The New York Times endorses the concept of paid sick leave – an issue on the table in NYC – and would like to see it implemented at the state and federal levels.The DN urges NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn to “stick to her guns” and continue to resist bringing the paid sick leave bill – or any of its many proposed modifications – to the floor for a vote.* New York's Underemployment Rate is 14.6%
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Albany's Stealth Member Items Pork
  NY state Senate funding $31M pork-barrel 'member-item' spending despite pledgeNY state Senate funding $31M pork-barrel 'member-item' spending despite pledge(NYP) Pols are quietly pigging out on $31 million worth of new pet projects — despite a 2010 pledge that pork-barrel spending was done for good, the Post has learned. The new spending is hidden in the budget as state Dormitory Authority grants — and they fund everything from buying cars and washing machines for nonprofits to designing pedestrian plazas and sprucing up community centers. Since the authority issues bonds, future taxpayers will pay for the pork — plus interest. The Jamaica Business Resource Center is getting $100,000 to spruce up its building, courtesy of Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens). The Spanish Language Repertory Company in Chelsea, which already received $250,000 this year for a translation system that rivals the one at the Metropolitan Opera, is getting another $250,000 for unspecified purposes. Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) is the sponsor.

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What is the FBI Really Looking For?
The perils Asian politicians face (NYDN) John Liu and Grace Meng have had their ascents slowed







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A Borough President Katz Come Back
With Curtis Sliwa Hook Up And A Weak Queens Machine This Will Be Fun to Watch . . .  Good for Stringer Also . . . Could I be First Man in Queens?
Katz in political cradle(NYP) Melinda Katz — the ex-Democratic assemblywoman and City Council member who used frozen sperm to have two kids and then fell in love with the donor, Curtis Sliwa — is returning to politics. “I’m putting together a team and working to move forward on the Queens borough president’s race,” Katz told The Post. “I know the job well.” Melinda Kata also lost to in '98 Congressional primary by less than 300 votes. She is currently an attorney. Katz, Peter Vallone Jr. and Leroy Comrie are 3 known pols w/ interest in BP office. One insider tells me Queens Dems aren't huge fans of Vallone Jr., Comrie much more likely to be backed. also a candidate too

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The return of Robert Moses(Queens Crap)

From City Limits:

Restaurants, stores, and a 200-room hotel would go up on the Willets Point side of 126th Street, just east of Citi Field, though the city does not entirely own the property. The proposed shopping mall west of the stadium may face a larger hurdle: The parking lot is part of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. State law requires the alienation of parkland before it can be used for non-park purposes.





Alan Chartock suggests Cuomo’s love of secrecy will be his undoing in the end.* Interesting connection: Cuomo’s new state Democratic Party Executive Director Rodney Capel once worked for Mercury Public Affairs, which is home to Committee to Save NY spokesman (and Pataki admin vet) Mike McKeon.







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Only the NYP Connects Drop In Stop and Frisk to Rise in Crime
In 15 Months NYC Will Elect A New Mayor and Yet We Have No Idea What Their Plan Is To Stop the Summer of Random Shooting That Killed 4 Year Old Lloyd Morgan. With the tea party gaining strength in congress, new gun national gun control laws are not happening. And the thousands of guns flowing into the city from Virgina and other places is proof that our strong local gun laws are not enough.



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Illegal activity soared while frisks down(NYP) * Street Stops in New York Fall as Unease Over Tactic Grows(NYT) * Stop, Frisks in Big Decline Over Quarter(WSJ) Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Friday attributed a marked decrease in people being stopped and frisked by police officers in the second quarter of this year to improvements in training and reporting of the controversial tactic. * Number Of NYPD Stop-And-Frisks Plummets, Stats Show(NY1) * Stop-and-frisks drop 34% in latest quarter, reports NYP(NYDN) * Two Men Charged In Brooklyn Drive-By Shooting (NY1)* Two Men Charged In Brooklyn Drive-By Shooting(NY1) * Marchers in Brooklyn rally against gun violence(WABC) * Police shoot suspect during chase in Brooklyn(WABC)
* Crimestoppers stopped (NYDN Ed) All of a sudden, the NYPD is stopping, questioning and sometimes frisking markedly fewer people. Be very concerned and expect no letup in the misguided campaign to halt the crimefighting program entirely.* Slain City Councilman's Brother Holds Annual March Against Gun Violence(NY1)

  Street Soldiers-"City wide bonding effort to end the trafficking of guns in Urban Communities"* Why Michael Bloomberg doesn't talk about 'gun control' anymore(Capital)
*** Sunday PM Update  More summer bloodshed: 1 dead, another hurt in B'klyn drive-by (NYP) * Grenadian American legislator unconvinced about reported decrease in stop-and-frisk (www.antiguaobserver.com)



Velazquez: Brooklyn Boss Vito Lopez Must Go
Nydia’s power play in bid to boot Vito(NYP) Lopez as party boss, The Post has learned. Velazquez is backing a candidate for state Senate to help defeat a key Lopez ally in northern Brooklyn, incumbent Martin Dilan. If challenger Jason Otano defeats Dilan, sources say, Lopez’s influence in his political back yard will be called into question — fueling a movement to depose him as party chairman.





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Campaign 2012 Said Hakeem: "You know I must think highly of if I am endorsing him on my bday." * In Extremely Animated Speech, Sanders Makes His Pitch to South Asian Voters(NYO)*Malcolm Smith denied a Republican run for mayor. Who do you want to see run?  * The Queens Tribune laid out which races to watch on September 13th. * Lawmakers, especially those not facing competitive reelections, still spend campaign cash rather freely.




Maybe Parkside Can Teach How They Lost the Weprin Race or the State Senate in 2010

Learn Corruption 101 with Evan Stavisky 

Maybe Evan can interview Brian Mclaughlin his former founding  partner of Parkside if he can get a day pass from jail 

Politics by Queens-Politics
Professor of corruption to teach advocacy class.  Yes that’s the Evan Stavisky – a lobbyist and political consultant – and he’s gearing up to deliver a lively pep talk to prospective lobbyists on how to influence elected officials. Meanwhile he’s managing his mother’s campaign for Senate. Does anyone find anything wrong with this? Go to the class, drink the Kool-Aid, and you too can have your very own North Flushing Senior Center.  Folding chairs not included. * Larry Seabrook convicted of corruption (Amsterdam News)


City Hall’s supersize stox(NYP) Pepsi, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, facing City Hall-led bans on the size of their sweetened sodas, have turned up in the stock portfolios of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Finance Commissioner David Frankel and ex-Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith.


 Bloomberg Does Not Want the Next Mayor To Get Paid
Next mayor told: Shell out(NYP)Mayor Bloomberg, who accepts only $1 a year in salary, yesterday suggested that his successor should follow his lead and contribute a “decent percentage of their own money” to the city.  Of course, Bloomberg’s net worth is an estimated $22 billion, so he doesn’t exactly need the $224,999 in pay that he has forgone every year since 2002.



Stuyvesant Principal Out on Cheating Scandal
Amid Inquiry Into Cheating, Stuyvesant Principal Will Retire(NYT) * Stuyvesant Principal Resigns(WSJ) The principal of Stuyvesant High School, which has been embroiled in a cheating scandal that ensnared dozens of students, announced Friday that he is stepping down. * Stuyvesant High School principal Stanley Teitel resigns(NYDN) * Stuyvesant High School principal retires amid scandal(WABC) * Stuyvesant High School Principal Resigns Amid Cheating Scandal(NY Mag) * Sunday Update Hunt’s on for next Stuy High leader(NYDN) * Apple’s best HS a CRIB ‘Stuy’(NYP)




Olympic Bid, Though Unsuccessful, Helped the City, Its Champion Says(NYT)

The 10% Unemployment Rate and Increased Homelessness Does Not Concern

Need For Homeless Prevention Help Skyrockets In The City(NY1)

1 London Olympics great lift to UK. Low defeatist morale gone for now. Can it last? Entire organization shows what can be done.

 

Aqueduct racino’s job figures falling short of company’s promises (NYDN) Resorts World local hiring fails to reach 70% benchmark pledged by President Michael Speller, Daily News investigation shows

 

 

NY1 Exclusive: CT Center Tests Out New Dispatch System For Taxis For Disabled Riders(NY1)

 

 

 

 

Caddyshack McCarren
McCarren Pool Closed Over ‘Loose Stool’(WCBS) * Two Bronx Beaches Closed Because of Bacteria(NBC) * New Brooklyn floaties? Try stool in the pool(NYDN) * McCarren Pool To Reopen Following Chlorination(NY1)

 

 

 

Daily News Still Whacking the Housing Authority Leadership
One month later, NYCHA tenant sweats out a new fridge(NYDN) Picture this, NYCHA tenants - now you are getting cameras! Chariman John Rhea flip-flops again * Bloomberg continues to defend NYCHA chief John  Rhea  (NYDN)
DN Tell Council Stop Bullying Small Construction Companies
City Council engages in unaffordable meddling with small construction firms (NYDN) Seeks to force companies that build affordable housing to post every wage paid to every worker



Bee Cop
Sting operationsSting operations (NYP) The NYPD’s bee-control czar was rewarded for nearly two decades of sting-stopping service yesterday as Commissioner Ray Kelly promoted him from officer to detective. Anthony Planakis — who answered his first swarm-related call in 1995* City Devotes Additional Resources to the War on Bees(NY Mag)



The Making of A President 
For the President, a Birthday Party With a Price Tag(NYT) * Congress Goes Postal(NYT) * Decision 2012: White House Candidates Argue Over Meaning Of New Unemployment Report(NY1) * CNN Panelists Clash Over Reid’s Claim That Romney Hasn’t Paid Taxes In Ten Years * Clint Eastwood Endorses Romney(Daily Beast) * The Jobs Report Bad News - Larry Kudlow, Investor's Business Daily * Romney's Cruel Joke on the Middle Class - Jamelle Bouie, Am. Prospect * To Win, Obama Will Have to Defy History - Chris Cillizza, Washington Post * The Coming Obama Landslide? - Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast * A Two-Dimensional President - Reed Galen, RealClearPolitics * GOP's Odious Philosophy of Voter Suppression - William Galston, TNR * Romney's Tax Promises Don't Add Up - Ezra Klein, Bloomberg * From Boston Tea Party to Chick-fil-A, It's About Freedom - Globe & Mail * Obama Revises Economic History In New Ad - Investor's Business Daily * Obama Long Gone, Newport Still Waiting - Orange County Register* Why Washington Accepts Mass Unemployment(NY Mag) *Rafalca Did, Indeed, Delay Mitt Romney’s VP Pick(NY Mag) * Throwback: Bill Clinton becomes a touchstone in the 2012 race (Daily Beast) * Romney Campaign Takes to the Ground in Colorado(NYT) *Major Garrett: Romney Advisor Told Me Problem Is Voters Think ‘He’s Been Too Rich For Too Long’ * Sheldon Adelson’s Vegas Casinos Targeted in Money-Laundering Probe(NY Mag)

Sunday Update: Big Spending by Obama’s Camp Erodes a Cash Edge(NYT) * Obama Campaign Tests New Media Tactic(Huff Post) * Obama Campaign Rips Romney Over Planned Parenthood Comment(Huff Post) * GOP frosh reelection strategy? Don’t acknowledge you’re an incumbent. (Politico) * Hmmm. has a new video ad hitting Obama on the Israel issue. *When candidates’ e-mails get too friendly, do donors flee?(Wash Post) * Happy Birthday, Mr. President(Atlantic Wire) * Romney's Big Hollywood Endorser(Atlantic Wire) * Why did Mitt Romney really go to Israel?(Columbia Journalism Review) * For Obama in Ohio, a mix of substance and pageantry(Columbia Journalism Review) * Charts: Just How Small Is the Super-PAC Gazillionaire Club?(Mother Jones) * McCain for Veep(Mother Jones) * What Mitt Romney's Body Language Is Trying to Tell Us(Nation) * Ten Takeaways From Pennsylvania’s Voter ID Trial(Nation) * Searching for the Undecided Voterby Elizabeth Kolbert(New Yorker) * Where Did All the Jobs Go?by John Cassidy(New Yorker) * Obama Book-Bashing(Vanity Fair) A pre-November onslaught of right-wing invective is now hitting shelves: books with buffoonish titles and Obama in their sights. James Wolcott on the choice volumes.* Do Mitt Romney’s Oft-Trumpeted Business Credentials Actually Undercut His Chances?(Vanity Fair) * Mitt Romney's Biggest Flip Flops (Rolling Stone) *  Biden Calls Ohio Election Law Efforts "Shameful"(Time) * Mitt Romney’s “culture” war(Salon) His comment about Palestinians wasn't a gaffe: It was part of his concerted efforts to demonize his opponents* Obama Uses Birthday To Raise Cash(Slate) * Is the Dems' Gay Marriage Platform Good Politics?(US News) * Opinion: Romney on Jobs and the Economy(US News) * New Romney ad pieces together the best parts of his trip abroad (Politico)* Bill Clinton Becomes 2012 Touchstone - Eleanor Clift, The Daily Beast * Can Obama Keep Centrist Dems in 2012? - Salena Zito, Pittsburgh TR * David Plouffe: Democrats Have Momentum - Mike Allen, Politico * Headed for Defeat: Obama's Policies Have Failed - Douglas MacKinnon, IBD * GOP's Odious Philosophy of Voter Suppression - Bill Galston, New Republic * There's Only One Way to Stop the Health Law - Dick Morris, FOX News * Get It Right on Natural Gas - Thomas Friedman, New York Times * A Mixed Jobs Report, Again - San Francisco Chronicle * As Economy Struggles, Obama Seeks to Change Subject - NY Daily News * Mitt Romney's Taxing Math - Washington Post *  Romney Should Win in a Landslide - San Diego Union-Tribune* How Obama grew to dislike Mitt Romney... (PR Wire) * Record Spending by Obama’s Camp Shrinks Coffers.(NYT) * With 5 weeks of summer vacation, Congress packs up & packs it in -(Daily Beast) * Sen. Lindsey Graham calls Obama's tax plan "stupid"(Politico)* New Romney TV ad hits Obama on Israel policies, says Jerusalem is capital(The Hill) * Sen. Lindsey Graham on "State of the Union:" Keep the soldiers, fire the politicians. (Poitico) * Team Romney lambasts Obama in two new ads (CNN) * Romney 'hiding' behind military in Ohio early voting dispute(Wash Times) * "You didn't get here solely on your own power"--Utah paper digs up Romney speech 2 Olympic athletes. *Lindsey Graham: Harry Reid Is 'Lying'(Huff Post) * Koch Brothers, GOP Mega Donors, Help Bankroll Religious Conservative's 2012 Efforts(Huff Post) * Expert on Vice Presidents Much in Demand(NYT) * Eric Schneiderman's mission to expose America's most influential donors(Capital) * Presidential TV ad spending focused on 9 states *RNC’s Reince Priebus: Harry Reid Is A ‘Dirty Liar’ * Bob Schieffer Invokes Joe McCarthy During Discussion On Harry Reid * Obama Advisor Denies Campaign Is Connected To Harry Reid’s Comments On Romney’s Taxes * TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads(Huff Post) * Tax plans and tax spin (WP Spin) * Both campaigns are focused on nine states. * Obama sends too many fundraising emails.* Obama team mystified by Romney camp(CBS) * Pollsters Struggle to Get the Right (Cell) Number(NYT) * Roseanne Barr Finally Won a Presidential Nomination(NY Mag) She'll be representing the Peace and Freedom Party * Mitt Romney should win the election. So why is the president polling ahead?(Wash Post) * The Jobs Mirage and the Election - John Cassidy, The New Yorker *  Can We All Agree Obamanomics Is a Flop? - Daniel Mitchell, Cato @ Liberty *  No, Obama Doesn't Have to "Defy History" - Jonathan Bernstein, Wash Post * Government Spending Can Create New Jobs - Mark Weisbrot, Denver Post * Ted Cruz: "Tidal Wave" Is Stronger Than 2010 - Cameron Joseph, The Hill * Dem Convention Will Balance Past and Present - Meredith Shiner, Roll Cal * Sunday Talk Shows: FOX News Sunday | This Week | State of the Union





50 Years Later That Candle Still Burns
The Love Goddess Who Keeps Right on Seducing (Dowd, NYT)
Elton John Candle in the Wind Video  
Some Like It Hot full movie
At Home with Marilyn Monroe(Life)
 Classic Marilyn Monroe Magazine Covers(Daily Beast)





washington_post.jpgThe Audit: The Washington Post’s not-so-good earnings report (Columbia Journalism Review) The paper puts a positive spin on another poor quarter
















Two-Thirds of Americans Have No Idea Who Jamie Dimon Is(Vanity Fair)
*Ludicrous Times Op-Ed Forgets Entire Year of Wall Street History By Matt Taibbi 
Political ad data comes online—but it’s not searchable(Mother Jones)


Law and Order
NYPD warns B'klyn store owners may be targeted by 99-Cent store 'killer'(NYP) * Sources: Bullets Used In Brooklyn Store Owners' Killings Match Up(NYP) * Brooklyn store owner's death linked to similar killing(NYDN) * NYPD: Bensonhurst Murder Suspect May Have Killed Bay Ridge (WABC) * BK Shopkeeper Killer Linked to July Shooting(NBC) * Sources: Bullets Used In Brooklyn Store Owners' Killings(NY1) * NYPD: Bensonhurst Murder Suspect May Have Killed Bay Ridge (WCBS) * Same Gun Used in Two Brooklyn Store Killings, Police Say(DNAINFO)

‘Address’ psycho is eyed in Brooklyn shop killings‘Address’ psycho is eyed in Brooklyn shop killings(NYP) * Bullets Used In Brooklyn Store Owners' Killings Match Up (NY1)

Innocent Bx. man who spent 17 years behind bars must still prove something – to his girlInnocent Bx. man who spent 17 years behind bars must still prove something – to his girl(NYP)

  Giffords 'gunman' Jared Loughner will plead guilty: reportGiffords 'gunman' Jared Loughner will plead guilty: report(NYP)

Arrest in tot shootArrest in tot shoot(NYP) * Man Arrested in Brooklyn Shooting That Injured 6(NYT) * Man Charged With Brooklyn Drive-By Shooting(NY1)* NYPD: Man arrested in Brooklyn drive-by shooting(Fox 5)




Sing Sing nun believed in innocence of man convicted in livery-driver slaying(NYP)


Fiend’s lair of evil(NYP) * Man Accused in Torture of Girlfriend(WSJ)
* Mom of Brooklyn 'beast' accused of imprisoning a woman in his apartment says son is innocent(NYDN_


Wife sinks ‘drown’ phony(NYP)* Break in ’95 Murder Case Shows Reverberations of Using a Cooperating Witness(NYT) A disclosure made by a former gang member meeting with prosecutors may lead to the release of five people serving long prison terms in the killing of a livery cabdriver in the Bronx. * Nonprofit Group to Aid Horace Mann Alumni Who Say They Were Victims of Abuse(NYT) *Duel Over Direction at Horace Mann(WSJ) * Court Sides With Police on Protests(WSJ) * Medical Examiner Rules Death Of Brooklyn Store Owner A Homicide(NY1)
Reputed mobster Junior Lollipops goes to the great big candy (NYDN) * Store Owner Isaac Kadare Found Dead Inside 99 Cents Store (WABC) * More Evidence Found At Home Of Urologist Accused Of Secretly (WABC) * Rough on ‘druggie’(NYP) * Columbia theft trial near end(NYP) * Surveillance of iPhone robbery in Chinatown(WABC) * Man accused of holding, torturing ex-girlfriend(WABC) * Search Continues For Brooklyn Store Owner's Killer(Ny1)




* 2 charged with robbing Brooklyn home- then setting it on fire(NYDN) * NYPD warns B'klyn shop owners may be targeted by 99-Cent store 'killer'(NYP)
* Police: Cops Shoot Armed-Robbery Suspect In Leg After Report Of Gunfire In Brooklyn  *Cops Rough Up and Handcuff 15-Year-Old Girl for Using Her Student MetroCard(NY Mag) * Someone Tried to Smuggle 57 Pounds of Cocaine on a Flight to New York(NY Mag) * Police: Cops Shoot Armed-Robbery Suspect In Leg After Report(WCBS) * 2 teens arrested in Brooklyn drive-by shooting(Fox 5) * Guyana investigates cocaine stash found at airport(Fox 5) * New Evidence May Exonerate 5 Men(NBC) * Police Involved in Brooklyn Shootout(NBC) * Man fatally stabbed in Harlem(Fox 5) * Funeral held for teen killed in Bronx Park(Fox 5) * Teen claims police roughed her up over student MetroCar (Fox 5) * 2 teens arrested in Brooklyn drive-by shooting(Fox5)

Sunday Update: Decomposed body found in Queens attic after suicide note hints at atrocity(NYP)
* Man Suspected of Faking His Death Has Returned to New York, Officials Say(NYT)
 College janitor booted in foot fetish(NYDN) * Police wound suspect after rushing to rob-shooting in B(NYDN)
* Cops bust second suspect in tot shoot(NYDN) * Two Men Wanted In Connection With East Harlem Sexual As(WCBS) * Cops end ‘gun’ & run(NYP) * Unfolding an ‘anti-drug’ park bench(NYP) * Police Seek Two Men Involved In East Harlem Sexual Assault (NY1)

 
* Brooklyn shopkeeper was likely shot dead for $900 in cash(NYDN)
* Teen: Cops cuffed me wrongly(NYDN)
* Funeral Held For Teen Found Dead In Bronx Park(NY1)

Photo released of Bronx mugging suspects(WABC) * 2 Men Wanted for East Harlem Sexual Assault *Sex assault suspects in Harlem caught on camera (WABC) * A decomposed body was discovered in a Queens home Saturday, two weeks after a man living there committed suicide: cops. (NBC)



Boyfriend of 'The Hills' star Stephanie Pratt runs Ferrari into cop, gets cuffed(NYP * NYPD Increases Coverage Around Sikh Temples In Wake Of Wisconsin (WABC) * Investigation Continues Into Potential Link Between Brooklyn (WABC) * Police increase security at Sikh temples in NYC(Fox 5) * Police chase ends in head-on crash in Bronx(WABC) * Shopkeepers Anxious as Cops Search for Killer(NBC) * NYPD Increases Presence at Sikh Temples(NBC) * NYPD Increases Security By Sikh Temples Following Deadly(NY1) * At Least One Dead Following Latest Shooting In Brooklyn (WCBS)