Sunday, February 17, 2013

Limited True News Today Hacking Problems

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No Risk Campaign 2013

The No Risk Duck and Cover Mayoral Gang

The stuff of a great mayor(NYDN Ed) Not long after Mayor Bloomberg’s final State of the City speech, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio reacted with this verbal eye-roll: “I think he still doesn’t understand that the city was here before him and will be here after.” Which was to state the obvious and to dodge the most important issue confronting de Blasio and other would-be mayors. It’s not whether the city will go on, it’s what kind of city we’ll have.  “Given all the politics and special interests, if we don’t do it this year, it will never get done,” Bloomberg said of a plan crucial to fostering business growth at the heart of the city’s business district.

Mayoral Candidates Ask for Our Trust in Their Plans For Paying for Their Promies in More Services
One Line Solutions to Complex Problems
What about NYC's increasing budget gap, rising pension and employee costs and coming cuts from Washington and Albany?
Build affordable housing by getting more money from Washington and Albany, Quinn; 2000 more police, I know where to find the money Thompson; Pre kindergarten for ever child, by taxing millionares, de Blasio; Stopping Stop and Frisk will have no effect on crime, Liu

Almost Every Change or Fix in the City Requires Battling Special Interests and Their Lobbyists
Problems Mayoral Candidates are Ignoring
1. Rising Crime
2. New business are willing to risk capital, or one in which companies stagnate or, worse, flee.
3. Unemplyment rate highing than the nation average




Back to the Future
Far too casually, de Blasio and Democratic rivals Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson and John Liu dismiss the possibility that New York could go into decline. They campaign with collective amnesia about how hard it was for the city to climb up from ashes and lawlessness, and they take for granted that all will live happily ever after.

Selling Their Soul to Win
They want to make nice and win the support of municipal labor in hopes of squeaking through a Democratic primary. Will the new mayor make teachers and principals accountable for student achievement, or join with the United Federation of Teachers in paying lip service to the needs of the kids? Will the new mayor hold the line on zero raises in pending labor contracts, or pour money that the city does not have into wage hikes?

Lower Crime Creates Green Shoots In Other Areas

They should know better. Should public safety, the foundation of the thriving metropolis, begin to slip, they’ll find how easily the city’s future will spiral, along with theirs. Yet they rail about curbing the NYPD’s program of stopping, questioning and sometimes frisking people who appear to be engaged in criminality.



City Still Partying Like It is 1999
Queens Councilman Dan Halloran had it exactly right when he told The Post he didn’t see how legislators can justify spending 12,000 on the  Black and Puerto Rican Legislators 42nd Annual Legislative Conference and Concert” “when each year in our budget battles we’re fighting about firehouse and library closures.”
Albany Plays, Public Pays(NYP) If you are a New York politician, you spell it C-O-N-F-E-R-E-N-C-E. As in “the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators 42nd Annual Legislative Conference and Concert” — which began Friday and runs through tonight. But The Post last Sunday reported one key item conveniently absent from the official program: The festivities will be underwritten in part with $12,000 from New York City’s taxpayers. Even so, a spokesman for Council Speaker Chris Quinn defended this use of taxpayer dollars on the curious grounds that “this is an event that’s been going on for years.”


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Cuomo 1600


Cuomo Bucks Tide With Bill to Ease Limits on Abortion(NYT)
Cuomo is preparing legislation that would guarantee women in New York the right to late-term abortions, and remove the issue from the state’s penal law.

Miner Vs Cuomo
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner — NY Dem co-chair — urges rejection of Cuomo budget(http://auburnpub.com) NY Dem co-chair urges rejection of Cuomo budget


Maybe Cuomo isn't running for president in 2016

It's because the private sector has been crushed: Universities leading transition in upstate
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Taxi

Surprise After 50 Taxi Drivers Arrested in 2010 for Overcharging Got Off With A Fine They are Doing It Again

Blame the Powerful Taxi Industry For the Overcharges This Time
‘Rate rat’ cabbies still jacking up fare(NYP)  Yellow-cab drivers overcharged nearly 2,000 passengers last year by setting their meters to the higher suburban rate for in-city trips — the very same scam that rocked the industry two years ago. So many cabbies were caught taking passengers on inflated-fare rides two years ago that overwhelmed TLC officials prosecuted only 2,304 with 10 or more violations.  Scam artist cabbie gets no-jail deal from Supreme Court justice after guilty plea in skimming plot(WCBS)

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High Cost of Doing Business in NY


Even 42 Can No Long Afford NYC
The impact he had on baseball and on the Civil Rights movement cannot be overstated
TriBeCa Jackie Robinson museum is long overdue - and may never open due to rent costs(NYP)

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The Upper Old West Side

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Political Media

The Boy Wonder of Buzzfeed(NYT) Ben Smith shocked many when he left Politico to take the top editorial job at the Web site Buzzfeed, where he has shown that politics and cat GIFs can happily coexist.






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Penn Station

Ambitious Plan for Penn Station Calls for New Skylights, Improved Signage(DNAINFO)


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Campaign 2013

Quinn Way In Front Panic Attack

Thompson Hits Quinn on Term Limits and Member Items Scandal
Gloves come off in Dem mayoral war(NYP)“There has been a pattern of questions surrounding Christine Quinn’s entire tenure as speaker,” Thompson told The Post. “From the phantom member-items scandal, to breaking her word to voters and throwing out term limits.
Thompson’s attack hits Quinn on a particularly vulnerable issue: the so-called slush-fund scandal, which involved a federal probe into the longstanding practice of stashing away taxpayer money in phantom accounts to later fund pet projects. Quinn was cleared in the initial probe, but the feds are still investigating abuse of the funds by individual council members under her watch. Thompson was comptroller during the member -item scandal. Democratic candidates for NYC mayor have no choice but to attack . She's very close to 40%, which would mean no run-off.

Until Thompson Attack On Quinn the Media Has Not Asked Quinn One Question About Term Limits and the Slush Fund Scandal
Thompson’s ramped up criticism of Quinn comes as a new New York 1/Marist College survey showed the council speaker as the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary contest for mayor. The poll showed Quinn with 37 percent to 13 percent for Thompson, 12 percent for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and 9 percent for current city Comptroller John Liu. Thompson insiders claim the early polls ignore the support that Thompson, who is African-American, will receive in the black and Latino communities on primary day.



ICYMI: Sal's response to Mayor Bloomberg's address delivered earlier this week:(Daily Eagle)
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Guns

. calls "two-faced" 4 pushing gun control but not divesting from gun manufacturers

Mayor Bloomberg Is Going After Pro-Gun Democrats(NY Mag)

The DN's James Warren warns Bloomberg's PAC attack vs a pro-gun congressional candidate in Illinois could backfire.

Janay Mcfarlane Dead: New Mom Shot Just Hours After Sister Attended Obama's Gun Speech



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School Bus Strike Over

A striking cave-in(NYDN Ed)

Never mind that Mayor Bloomberg projects that city schools could realize hundreds of millions of dollars for classrooms by bidding out school bus contracts, the four major Democratic candidates for mayor sided with the striking union that had idled transportation these past five weeks.Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Controller John Liu and former Controller Bill Thompson ended the walkout by promising, if elected, to “take effective action to insure that the important job security, wages and benefits of your members are protected within the bidding process.”
 
School Bus Drivers End Strike, in Win for New York Mayor(NYT)
Parents, Students Glad To See School Bus Strike End(WCBS)
Bus Strike's End Welcome News For Struggling Students,(NY1)
Cooper Union’s Free Tuition Tradition May Be Near Its End(NYT)
New York Bus Strike Put Damper on Field Trip Attractions(NYT)


Ed Koch's secret diary bares battle with Army Jew-haters: ‘I’m glad I fought’(NYP) *Video: The Ed Koch Tribute Not Seen During the State of the City (WSJ)

 

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Rats 

Update Magnolia Bakery On Bleecker Street Back In Business After(WCBS)

Magnolia Bakery in West Village shut down over mice infestation(NYP) * Magnolia Bakery On Bleecker Street Shut Down Due To Mic(WCBS)
CBS reports that Magnolia Bakery has been shuttered by the Health dept. due to mice!  


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Bloomberg

Health Care Mayor Flops On Exercise

Public Recreation Centers Looking to Stem Exodus(NYT) New York City’s parks department lost 45 percent of its members after it doubled its prices a year and a half ago, losing about $200,000 instead of making $4 million in new revenue. 




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Hynes

Lawsuit Against Prosecutor to Proceed NYT)A judge’s ruling means the suit by a man wrongfully convicted of murder could require Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney, to defend his policies in the middle of a re-election campaign.* NY1 Online: Abe George Makes Case For Brooklyn D.A.

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Cameras in the Courtroom

N.Y. Court Of Appeals Chief Judge Calls For Return Of Cameras (WCBS)
* Let the sun shine in (NYDN Ed)
It's past time for New York to invite cameras into the courtroom


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Health Care




State hires army of humans to drive online health insurance exchange(NY World) This week the state Department of Health put out a call for help — in the hope that a human touch will ensure the state’s soon-to-launch online Health Benefit Exchange signs up at least a million of the 2.6 million New Yorkers who currently do not have health insurance coverage. Until she got a helping hand, Yunilda Llugcha of Brooklyn was one of them.   

Hamill: Long Island College Hospital merged to death (NYDN) The mergers of Long Island College Hospital and SUNY Downstate Medical Center was intended to alleviate LICH's financial woes. More than three years later, the hospital is still in a dire situation.



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Actor Frisked 


Forest Whitaker reportedly frisked in Manhattan deli, accused of shoplifting * Forest Whitaker claims he was falsely accused of shoplifting, frisked at Manhattan deli(NYP)* Forest Whitaker stopped and frisked at upper East Side(NYDN)* Forest Whitaker accused of shoplifting at deli(WABC)*  Forest Whitaker Falsely Accused of Shoplifting at UWS D (NBC) * Reports: Oscar-Winning Actor Patted Down By Manhattan Deli Employee(NY1)





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Albany's Sexual Harassers?

True News Wags NYP on Silver's Hush Fund
 
Yesterday's True News Said:
Silver Gets Away Scott Free With the Hush Fund Cover Up
 True News blamed a Social Change In NYC Woman's Rights and the Power of the Speaker to Control the Ethics Board Allows Silver and others to Escape Blame for Lopez's Hush Fund
 

Today's NY Post Said:
The Post slams JCOPE for apparently clearing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of any wrongdoing in the Vito Lopez affair
Today's NY Post Said:
Come clean on Vito(NYDN). The panel could not take action without approval from members appointed by Silver — effectively empowering the speaker to veto charges against himself.

Today's NY Times Said:
Nothing The Paper of Record Has Not Written a Story About the Albany Hush Fund Scandal Since August 23, 2013   2 Women Received $32,000 From Assemblyman, Beyond Money From State(NYT)  Albany Hush Fund Cover Up, Press Containment Timeline(True News)


Albany rules — where sex crimes are bad, but not the use of taxpayer dollars to make them disappear
On Wednesday, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics presented charges against Mr. Harassment (Lopez) but cleared his enabler, Mr. Payoff (Silver). NYP cried foul last year when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver secretly shoveled $103,000 in taxpayer money to two women who had accused Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment. We did the same in 2006 when Shelly used nearly $500,000 in public moolah to settle sexual-harassment charges against his own chief counsel. No surprise there. JCOPE isn’t likely to lay charges at Shelly’s feet when the man’s own appointees on the commission have veto power over all its decisions. * Silver has said he made a political mistake, not an ethical one, in the way he handled the Lopez mess.

Albany Hush Fund Cover Up, Press Containment Timeline(True News)

A Criminal Class in Albany That’s Protected from Prosecution 
 Let’s give Shelly $5 million(NYP Ed) Silver gets a $5 million fund every year to make settlements in cases against his members.* Eyes Are On State Ethics Commission's Handling Of Lopez Allegations(NY1)
 Assemblyman Vito Lopez was perv ‘pig’ for years — ethics(NYDN)* Group pushes for NYS ethics report to be made public
North Country Public Radio


Pols Still Will Not condemn Lopez for His Actions
Lawmakers were offended by the latest allegation against Assemblyman Vito Lopez, but few wanted to talk about it yesterday at the State of the City. “I think this is probably something every legislator is going to look at, and they should,” said Assemblyman David Weprin. City Comptroller John Liu added, “It’s making its way through the legislative process, I’m sure they know how to handle it.” The Joint Commission on Public Ethics’ report on Lopez’s alleged harassment of several staffers and the Assembly’s settlement with two women has not been released publicly, but leaks in the press this week involve Lopez leering at a 14-year-old intern and asking female staffers to rub his hands. Council members were unenthusiastic about the prospect of sitting next to Lopez if he runs for a City Council seat. “Vito is crazy, but what does he gain if he stays in the Assembly?” said one councilman. “If he wins, he has a higher salary and his pension would go up.” (City and State)


At the Same Time the Hush Fund Cover Up Continues Albany Cannot Pass A Law to Protect Women Who Were Raped
Queens Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, who is pushing “rape is rape” legislation, presented a compromise bill she hopes will get it passed, The News writes: * District Attorneys Support Loosening Burden Of Proof For Rape, But Not Changing Definition
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Campaign 2013
 
Media Covers the Horse Race Not the Real Issues
Poll: Quinn Ahead of Democratic Rivals for Mayor (WSJ)* NY1 Exclusive: New Poll Shows Quinn In Front Of Other Potential Democratic 2013 Mayor Candidates * In a NY1/Marist poll, Council Speaker Christine Quinn continues to lead the New York City Democratic mayoral field by a huge margin, while ex-MTA chief Joe Lhota is at the front of the GOP pack, The New York Post reports:
*Quinn is moving up in the polls(NYDN)

NY1/Marist Poll: 37% 13% 12% 9% 2% Undecided 26% NY1/Marist poll: 20% 8% 5% 4% @AdolfoNY 3% Undecided 55%
NY1 Exclusive: New Poll Shows Quinn In Front Of Other Potential Democratic 2013 Mayor Candidates
Chris Quinn, Joe Lhota Lead Their Packs In Mayoral Matchups, New Polling Shows(NYDN)
Last night's NY1 Marist poll only polled 172 Republicans (!)


Mayoral Candidates On Bloomberg SOTC
Potential 2013 Mayor Candidates Talk Up Platforms At State Of The City(NY1)

de Blasio Returns Special Interest Cash
After an inquiry by the NY Post, NYC Public Advocate/mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio decided to return thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from one of the city’s largest operators of homeless shelters.Bloomberg used the speech to double-down on the city’s multi-billion-dollar gamble on science, technology, engineering, and math education.

Scared Candidates
Candidates scared of bike lanes, scared of congestion pricing Quinn won't touch congestion (anymore) Dems running for mayor call on union to end , "we pledge, if elected, to revisit school bus transportation system & contracts" 

Quinn's Controversial Housing Programs
Real estate comes to defense on housing plan(CrainsNY)

Mayor-hopeful ‘string pulling’(NYP)
Did NYC mayor candidate Adolfo Carrion ditch the Democrats because they wouldn't give a judgeship to his wife?

The Bloomberg Era Is Over — Here's Everything You Need To Know To Follow The Race For NYC Mayor(Business Insider)



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Bloomberg Speaks

Where Have You Got Truth Seeker Journalist Like Tim Russet? A city turns it's lonely eyes to you (Wow wow wow)
State of the Fantasy
A Concert and Pep Rally Instead of Questions By A Journalist is How Today's City Pols Exaggerate Their Accomplishments and Bury Their Problems. Since nothing is clear about real world everyone interprets different facts. The NYT Says said From Bloomberg, a Warning of Life After Bloomberg. NYP says Mike’s early victory lap The WSJ says says Mayor Celebrates His Achievements.


Warming Up the Mayor's Crowd With a Little Notorious B.I.G.(NYT) Whitney Day, A Brooklyn DJ, holding court at SOTC. "We're going for a Brooklyn vibe," she says.
From Bloomberg, a Warning of Life After Bloomberg(NYT) Bloomberg discussed new proposals related to police stops and the environment, as well as his accomplishments during 11 years in office.* Video Feature: Bloomberg’s First and Last State of the City Addresses(NYT) * What's the State of Your Block in 2013? (NYT) In his State of the City address, Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to require 20 percent of parking spaces to be set up for electric vehicle charging

Mike’s early victory lap(NYP Ed)  The truth is that the mayor can count some solid achievements over his tenure. For example, he took a successful crime-fighting strategy and improved it — making Gotham the envy of other big cities.*Mayor Celebrates His Achievements(WSJ)

The Post's Gelinas says that Mayor Bloomberg’s proposals like banning Styrofoam gloss over the city’s serious financial problems
Styrofoam City  (NYP) Mike mum on fragile finances. To hear the mayor speak at the (heavily taxpayer-subsidized) Barclays Center in Brooklyn, you’d think the city’s biggest problem was Styrofoam dishes. New York faces serious problems, yet Bloomberg’s speech offered no sense of urgency — or any idea that anything at all is amiss with much of anything else. The biggest threat to the city’s future is fiscal suffocation. Skyrocketing costs for public workers and retirees threaten New York’s ability to provide current services. Spending in the Bloomberg era — 55 percent above inflation.* BLOOMBERG STATE OF THE CITY A VICTORY LAP: Mayor Michael Bloomberg provided ample evidence for critics who said his third term didn’t live up to his first two, and he hung them from the ceiling at the Barclays Center(City and State)* Gonzalez: Bloomberg's iron grip on city will be felt years(NYDN) The News’ Juan Gonzalez writes that Mayor Bloomberg will use his final months in office to ram through a string of long-term deals for charter school operators and real estate developers, and that these projects will be his enduring legacy* Mayor Bloomberg says he's doing right by Staten Island(SI Advance)

Realworld: Rising Costs of City Services
When Bloomberg took office 11 years ago, health-care and other “fringe” benefit costs for public workers cost $5.2 billion a year in today’s dollars. During his last year in office, it’ll be $8.8 billion — a 69.2 percent rise. Back then, pension costs were $1.9 billion in today’s dollars. Today, they’re $8.2 billion —a 331.5 percent jump. Debt costs, under $2 billion then, are now $6.4 billion a year.

The Mayoral Candidates Are Hiding From Budget Questions
The next mayor will need money to keep crime low and the city running smoothly.  The city’s contracts with its workforce are expired — and the unions are waiting for the next mayor. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a frontrunner, gave her own State of the City speech on Monday. The centerpiece of her own plan is a “strategy . . . to borrow additional money,” taking advantage of the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” of low interest rates. Her competitors, like Public Advocate Bill Di Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, say we need even more taxpayer dollars going to housing, they’re out-Bloomberging Quinn.




Bloomberg Endorses Preparing Parking Spaces for E.V. Charging(NYT)* Mayor Bloomberg’s Latest A new proposal to ban plastic foam containers makes sense for the environment and the city budget. The NYT cheered Bloomberg’s proposal to ban styrofoam containers in NYC, but also noted he hasn’t always been so enthusiastic about recycling.* Mayor Goes "Green" In Final State Of The City Address(NY1) *You can view it here.

Marijuana Arrests
Mayor Announces Change In City's Marijuana Arrest Policy(NY1) * Bloomberg announced that starting next month, individuals who are arrested on charges of possessing a small amount of marijuana will be released with appearance tickets if they have identification and no open warrants, the Associated Press writes

Hotel for BAM and Barclays(NYP)


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NYS Government


Cuomo Spokeswoman Quits After Four Months (NYT) Cuomo’s new communications director is leaving her post after just four months to reunite with her former boss, Jeffrey Zucker, the new president of CNN Worldwide

Minimum Wage
NYers eye $9 min. wage(NYP) The Democratic-led Assembly has amended its proposal for a minimum wage hike to increase it by .25 cents from the original $8.75, matching President Barack Obama’s desire for a federal minimum wage of $9, the Times-Union writes * Waging Wage War(YNN) * CP Reminds Us They’re Still Opposed To Minimum Wage Increase(YNN)



Pension
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner called a Cuomo aide to alert him to her scathing NYT editorial on the governor’s pension smoothing plan. “No surprise, they weren’t exactly pleased,” she said.

Medicaid Waste
According to a report by the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, fifteen executives at various New York nonprofits financed by Medicaid money were paid more than $500,000 per year, while another 100 executives earned more than $200,000, LoHud reports: * The same committee made a bipartisan request for federal auditors to examine New York’s $54 billion Medicaid spending and fraud oversight programs. 

NYS Fair Corruption
The Cuomo administration is refusing to explain why former NYS Fair Director Dan O’Hara still has a job when the IG has been so critical of his performance in his last post. 

GOP Wall Street Problems
New York City Republicans leaders are now squirming over their fawning support of Wall Street actor-financier Thomas Belesis — whose brokerage firm faces multiple regulatory probes over alleged misdeeds. 

Sen. Malcolm Smith is now chairman of the IDC. 

of course they name names. "more than 27,000 state employees earned $100,000 or more in 2012" 

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NYC Government

Cab-Hail Apps Are the Target of a Lawsuit(WSJ)
A group of New York City livery cab owners have filed a lawsuit accusing city officials of improperly drawing up rules last year that allow customers to use apps to hail cabs, with those rules set to take effect today,




City Eligibility Policy for Homeless People Seeking Shelter Was Enacted Illegally, Court Says(NYT) A state appeals court ruled that the way New York City enacted a policy requiring homeless adults to prove they had no alternative housing before being allowed into shelters was illegal * State Court Sides With City Council Over Bloomberg Homeless Policy(NY1)


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Education

Plea to save Levin High School from closure(NYDN) * City: Students can transfer(NYDN)

Cooper Union may charge tuition(Fox 5)
State Education Officials Set Up Website For Reporting Testing Problems(NY1)
Breaking: Union has decided to end the school bus strike tonight, buses will be running on Tuesday
Month-long school bus strike could be over as soon as tonight: sources(NYP) 5 Dems running for mayor call on union to end , "we pledge, if elected, to revisit school bus transportation system & contracts"* School-Bus Drivers to End Strike, Give Up on Bloomberg(NY Mag)

City's Teachers' Retirement System Ends Gun Portfolio Ties(NY1)* Bus drivers to head back to school on Wednesday(NYDN)* SI Matron With Disabled Son Says Strike Was Worth It(NY1)

New York City Schools Struggle to Separate the Gifted from the Just Well-Prepared (NYT)
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Sandy


Seaside Heights starts rebuilding boardwalk destroyed by Sandy(NYP)
Utility Critics Seek Advocate for Customers in New York(NYT) Some consumer advocates are pushing Governor Andrew Cuomo to create a public advocate’s office to represent utilities customers

 Deadline Extended For Those Left Jobless By Sandy To Apply For Aid(NY1) * New York will receive $250 million in federal funding to fix Superstorm Sandy-damaged roads, including the Bronx River Parkway in Westchester and River Road in Rockland, according to the offices of Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Some advocates are calling on Cuomo to create a public advocate’s office to represent customers of utilities like Con Edison that are owned by shareholders. New York is one of only 10 states that doesn’t have this position.* Flooded homeowners face foreclosure deluge(NYP)* Update: Sandy-affected, mold-infested home free of spores thanks to Staten Island Rebuilds Foundation(NYDN) * Sandy Victim ‘Overwhelmed’ By Operation Blessing’s Act Of Kindness(WCBS) * Show Goes On For Company Whose Theater Was Destroyed By Sandy(NBC) * Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club Offers Classes On Post-Sandy Mold Removal(NY1) * Volunteer Home Builders Are A Real "Blessing" For Breezy Point Residents (NY1)
* When Irish Hands Are Helping an Enclave in County Queens(NYT) Breezy Point has become something of a popular cause in Ireland, its plight an urgent topic in newspaper headlines and radio dispatches more than three months after the storm.
Feds’ Sandy fiasco (NYP) The feds weren’t ready to handle even the most basic needs of their own workers as Hurricane Sandy walloped the region last fall, records obtained by The Post reveal.  Government officials requested emergency-communication equipment as the storm.


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Environment

Tough keeping street litter out of river(NYDN)

New York Parks in Less Affluent Areas Lack Big Gifts (NYT)

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Guns

NRA boss defames So. Brooklyn in Sandy screed(NYDN)


Message to gun-loving Wayne LaPierre: Visit Brooklyn and Marty Markowitz will be your 'bodyguard'(NYDN) 'Before he shoots his mouth off - and I pray that's all he'd shoot - he'd better come see the place,' says Marty.



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Washington


Sunday Update
NJ pol hooker snooker The (NYP) FBI is investigating claims that New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez romped with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, but so far hasn’t found any evidence, reports say.  Federal agents recently traveled there to examine a tipster’s claim.."Sen.Menendez has acknowledged intervening with at least 4 federal agencies — to benefit his campaign contributor" -
Marco Rubio Takes Obligatory Presidential Wannabe Trip to Israel(NY Mag)
Stephen Colbert Says He Won’t Mention His Sister’s Campaign for Congress on Air Unless She Does Something Funny(NY Mag)
The Real Cost of Shrinking Government(NYT Ed)The budget sequester will soon affect American life in hundreds of painful ways.
On FNS, Bob Woodward says some Democratic senators have called the White House to find out if Hagel will withdraw.
Obama's Wedge Agenda Won't Create Jobs - Nolan Finley, Detroit News
How to Unparalyze Us - Thomas Friedman, New York Times
The Age of Bernanke - Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register
The NY Fed Bails Out Another Big Bank - Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times
Puerile Faith in Presidential Magic - George Will, Washington Post
Obama Sees the Limits of Government - Zachary Karabell, Reuters
ObamaCare in Critical Condition - James Taranto, Wall Street Journal
Health Benefits Are Cutting Your Pay - David Goldhill, New York Times
The Dems' War to Win Women Voters - Beth Reinhard, National Journal
Many Obstacles for House Dems - Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads
Building the Rubio Brand - Alex Leary & Adam Smith, Tampa Bay Times
We're in for a Coolidge Revival - Jacob Heilbrunn, New York Times
Sequester: What Would Romney Do? - Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast
Rebutting Obama's Global Warming Claims - Mark Morano, Climate Depot
Can Obama & Bloomberg Unarm the NRA? - Robert Shrum, The Daily Beast
The Art & Politics of "Zero Dark Thirty" - Matthew Kaminski, Wall St Jrnl
Why I Stopped Celebrating Black History Month - Bill Maxwell, TB Times
Hagel reassures Graham on Israel remark:(Politico)
The Real Cost of Shrinking Government - New York Times
To Fix Budget, We Still Need Entitlement Reform - Washington Post
Hardball on Hagel Could Haunt the GOP - Cleveland Plain Dealer
Is Wrestling Too Honest for the IOC? - Wall Street Journal
Sen. Graham: Hagel disavowed "disturbing" Israel comment 
Cory Booker: U.S. Senate "clearly a job I'm interested in" -(CBS)
Spotlight put on port deal pushed by Sen. Menendez that benefited donor(Wash Post)
President Obama golfs with Tiger Woods in Florida(Wash Post)
John McCain Gets Heated With David Gregory Over Benghazi: ‘Do You Care Whether Four Americans Died?’
In Pipeline Choice, Obama Faces Problems Either Way(NYT)
McCain Predicts Broad Support For Universal Background Checks(Huff Post)



Saturday Update Jesse Jackson Jr. plunders $750,000 in campaign fund scam, feds charge(NYP)
A Defense Secretary, Blocked by Politics(NYT Ed)* GOP Stalls Vote on Hagel for Pentagon(WSJ)
Bill Maher Takes On GOP Opposition To Hagel Over Israel: ‘The Israelis Are Controlling Our Government’
 President Obama's LBJ Moment - David Rohde, The Atlantic
A No-Growth State of the Union - Larry Kudlow, National Review
Obama Lets GOP March to Its Own Oblivion - Robert Schlesinger, U.S. News
Magical Fairyland Budgeting - Mark Steyn, Orange County Register
Obama Agenda Aims at Millennials - Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
Will Young Adults Face Health Care "Rate Shock"? - N.C. Aizenman, WP
States Fall for Medicaid Trap - Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald
We Owe Our Kids Universal Preschool - Jonah Edelman, USA Today
Obama's Preschool Proposal Is a Fantasy - Carrie Lukas, Forbes
Congress Must Act on Climate Change - Sen. Bernie Sanders, The Guardian
Obama Caught Between Friends in Keystone Fight - Byron York, Examiner
Cory Booker Gets His Way - Steve Kornacki, Salon
Obama's Syrian Policies Must Finally Match His Words - Mark Salter, RCP
Don't Mythologize Christopher Dorner - Charles Blow, New York Times
A Faith Unshaken But Unsettled - Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
The Best Choice for Pope? A Nun - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
Why the Left Is Torching Downton Abbey - Jerry Bowyer, Forbes
Inquiry of Senator Started With a Partisan Push(NYT)
The Minority Youth Unemployment Act - Wall Street Journal
Getting Preschool Education Right - New York Times
Delay Of ObamaCare's Launch More Likely - Investor's Business Daily
Jesse Jackson Jr. Threw It All Away - Chicago Sun-Times
FBI Can't Prove That Senator Bob Menendez Patronized Prostitues(NY Mag)
. - I can see being a crook in politics and spending other people's money - but for Michael Jackson's old hat??

Retiring Lautenberg paving way for Cory Booker(NYP) * Lautenberg, Oldest Member of Senate, Won’t Run Again(NYT) * Lautenberg to Booker: Finish Your Work in Newark (WSJ) 
Rahm Emanuel Might Run for President in 2016, Hasn’t Told His Friends Yet(NY Mag)
Entitlements Are Not Sustainable - Canada, Druckenmiller & Warsh, WSJ
Obama Winning Argument Over Govt - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Dems In Denial About Runaway Spending - Sen. John Thune, Politico
Rubio's Zombie Small-Government Ideas - Paul Krugman, New York Times
This Defense Hawk Is For Sequester - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Obama's Visit a Headache for Emanuel - John Kass, Chicago Tribune

Rahm Toying With 2016 Run, Sources Say - Lloyd Grove, Daily Beast
The Death of the Swing District - Charlie Cook, National Journal
Gerrymandering Not to Blame for GOP House - Nate Cohn, TNR
In California, 'Moderate Dem' an Oxymoron - Steven Greenhut, Bloomberg
Cruz Goes Too Far With Smear of Hagel - Ruth Marcus, Washington Post
Jewish Democrats Must End The Hagel Farce - Jon Tobin, Commentary
Senate Republicans Beclown Themselves - Dan Larison, Amer. Conservative
Obama's Secrecy Orwellian, Tyrannical - Glenn Greenwald, Guardian
A Defense of Obama's Drone War - Charles Krauthammer, National Review
Understanding Christopher Dorner - Matthew Cunningham-Cook, Salon
Dorner Was a Horror Show, Not a Hero - Joe O'Connor, National Post

A Defense Secretary Blocked by Politics - New York Times
No Debt Crisis In Obama's State of the Union - Washington Examiner
Nation's Crumbling Infrastructure Needs Help Now - Philly Inquirer
Washington Earns Dubious Title: Cheaters' Capital - Washington Time
More on Jesse Jackson Jr.'s expected guilty plea to federal charges: (Politico)
Source: Jesse Jackson Jr. could face 57 months in prison; plea deal could be made public today.(Sun Times)
Wall Street Bankers Surprised That Senator Elected to Hate Them Hates Them(NY Mag)
How unprecedented is the Hagel filibuster?(Wash Post)
Jesse Jackson Jr. always raised a ton of money, never seemed to need it, but always spent it... 
The Washington Post calls on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his potential 2016 rival, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, to follow the president’s lead and stop stalling on fracking.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn insists she still supports congestion pricing, though she doesn’t see it making a comeback any time soon.
Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. charged with misusing campaign cash(NYP)
Obama personalizes gun violence in Chicago: (Politico)
Jesse Jackson Jr. charged with spending $750K in campaign funds on personal expenses:(AP)
Patrick Gaspard, a former New Yorker, ex-SEIU/1199 political director and Obama advisor, is poised to be tapped as ambassador to South Africa. 
 

Stewart Grills Susan Rice On Obama Administration’s ‘Confusing’ Mishandling Of Benghazi

 

Election Opponents Now on Same Team: Panel to Fix Voting(NYT)

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Wall Streeet


WATCH: Sen. Elizabeth Warren Grills Regulators On Taking Banks To Trial(NPR)

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Media

Carnival's Cruise From Hell Was Great for CNNNY Mag)

Cruise Mishap Creates Public-Relations Mess(WSJ)



SNL Cold Open Mocks ‘Entertainment’ Aboard The Stranded ‘Nightmare Cruise’



Stewart To CNN: 'You're Not Heroes, Guys'







THIS IS NOT A MOVIE...
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Law and Order
Four Seasons caper sparks hotel security boost(NYP)

Pot arrests down by 22%(NYP)
Staten Island Rapper Says Police Misinterpreted Drugs Video(NYT)
Protest held against Roosevelt Island Peace Officers(WABC)
Aide charged with abusing NY Alzheimer's patient(Fox 5)
3 Arrested in Connection With Harlem Man's Death in Jan (NBC)
Bronx Teen Accused of Throwing Boy Off Roof Speaks Out(NBC)
Three Deli Workers Face Gun Charges Following Williamsburg Sting(NY1)
Boy Allegedly Thrown From Bronx Apartment Roof Wakes From Coma(NY1)
Mother of National Guardsman Killed by NYPD Decries Dropped Case(DBAINFO)
In Four Seasons Lobby, a Jewelry Heist in Plain Sight(NYT)
Family Demands Justice In Teenage Girl’s Slaying In Brooklyn(WCBS)

Thieves snatch $2M in jewelry from Four Seasons display case - and make a clean getaway(NYP)

 

 

Woman, 51, slashed to death in Brooklyn(NYP)

 

Boy thrown from five-story roof awakes from coma, talking to cops(NYP)Bronx Teen Accused of Throwing Boy Off Roof Speaks Out(NBC)
Charles Hynes accused of ignoring misconduct in case that wrongly jailed man; faces trial in April


Mom of National Guardsman shot dead by NYPD detective calls for federal probe of killing(NYP)
Mom blasts grand jury for not indicting cop who killed her (NYDN)


Former NYPD cop serves only one night in jail for filing a false report(NYP)

Data Will Show Crime-Solving Rates(WSJ) NYPD to resume sending figures on number of 'cleared' felonies to FBI* New database tracks drug crimes for NY region(Fox 5)


Woman featured as ‘drug fairy’ in YouTube video snared in Staten Island drug bust(NYP)



Police detective cleared by grand jury in fatal shooting of unarmed National Guardsman(NYP) * No Charges for Detective in a Killing of a Driver(NYT) * Officer Cleared in Fatal Shooting(WSJ) * Policeman In Fatal Queens Traffic Shooting Will Not Face Charges(NY1)

Police hunt for driver in deadly Queens hit and run(WABC)

Cost of cop-killing Ronell Wilson trial, man who impregnated jail guard, could cost taxpayers even more(NYP)
Rabbi Arrested After Trying to Lure Teenage Girl(NYT) Rabbi Nathan David Rabinowich of Brooklyn was accused of sending sexually explicit messages to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl but who was actually an undercover New York police detective.* Prosecutors Accuse Rabbi Of Attempting To Have Sexual Relations With Girl(NY1)
NYC Teachers' Pension Fund Divests From Gun Makers(Huff Post)
NY1 Exclusive: Suspect Connected To Detective's Death Says Gunman Forced Him To Participate
NYPD Solved 57% Of Murders Last YearGothamist )
Slain SI mom remembered(NYP)
32 Arrested in Staten Island Drug Bust(NBC)
Judge Bans Some Images From Trial of Officer(NYT) The judge in the trial of Gilberto Valle, accused of plotting to kidnap and cook women, said some grisly images and other evidence could prejudice jurors 
New York City DNA rape evidence gets stricter oversight: ME. (NBC)
Fashion designer gets plea deal on sex assault charges(NYDN)

2 Prostituted by Force, Officials Say(NYT)


Brooklyn gunshot victim dies(NYDN)
Former operator's hired thugs gutted historic Lenox Lounge: lawsuit(NYPFire damages building on Pratt Institute campus in Brooklyn(NYP)