Another Day And Another Albany Scandal, Nothing Changes

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Political Corruption

Comptroller Says Boyland Put In Fake Travel Reimbursements
Pol ‘pad’ to the bone(NYP) Embattled state Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., already the target of a federal corruption prosecution, allegedly falsified documents to reel in more than $67,000 in phony travel reimbursements, according to a bombshell report. The state Comptroller’s Office concluded that Boyland, who will go on trial to face federal bribery charges this year, lied about being in Albany on more than 600 claims to collect lodging, food and mileage reimbursements.* In 2012, Boyland low on per diem list(TU)

In 2009 True News Wrote: The Albany Political Wall of Silence: Not One Pol Expresses Outrage, McLaughlin Goes to Jail

Albany's Political Wall of Silence Continues
Espada, Seminerio, Kruger, Monserrate, Huntley, Boyland, Norman, Lopez

Judge Sullivan Outrage At McLaughlin Accomplished Nothing
Judge Sullivan said. “This is a day of failure for everyone.” "Brian M. McLaughlin" the federal judge continued “You had every opportunity, and you used those opportunities and squandered them for your own benefit on a monumental scale.” The Judge slammed the former Democratic assemblyman for what the judge called a "brazen and perversely creative" theft scheme that funded a lavish lifestyle including three mistresses. Sullivan said the onetime labor leader -- who admitted stealing from taxpayers, political contributors, union members and even his local Little League -- preyed on more victims than the judge had ever before seen. A group of union leaders, family and friends submitted letters to Judge Sullivan for consideration during sentencing. The submissions come from people as wide-ranging as McLaughlin's Alcholics Anonymous sponsor to State Senator Padavan.


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Campaign 2013

Today's Pols Never Say Anything That Has Not Been Written By Campaign Consultants
Ed Koch Never Dodged Questions - ABC News

A Man is Running For Mayor Who is Being Sued Because He Underpaid His Workers
‘Cat’ in grocery Owe-T battle (NYP) Supermarket mogul and GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis is fighting to overturn a federal court ruling that holds him responsible for a $7 million judgment to settle class-action claims that his Gristedes chain underpaid workers* Catsimatidis Wants to Hire Bloomberg to Run a 2014 World's Fair(NY Mag) *  John Catsimatidis, a Republican New York City mayoral candidate, is running on a platform centered around bringing the World’s Fair back to the city after more than 50 years, with the aim of relaunching the exhibition in 2014, the News reports:


Only Liu Among the Mayoral Candidates Has Exposed the Corruption in the City's Tech Programs, 911 and CityTime
Hopes for a 911 fix (NYP)  Big changes are coming to the city’s problem-plagued 911 system. Mayor Bloomberg is putting the finishing touches on a package of fixes to his centerpiece, $2 billion project, which has become a financial and public-safety morass

No Comptroller Competition
THE MORE THE MERRIER: The New York City mayoral race is crowded with candidates, but the race for city comptroller has only one candidate so far (City and State)


New York City's five borough chambers of commerce have created a new non-profit group to influence the 2013 elections they hope will be the small business equivalent of the powerful Partnership for New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:

In the Times-Union, David Levine, CEO of the New York-based American Sustainable Business Council, argues that New York businesses want more transparency in elections and campaign finance reform: 

This race for NYC Public Advocate is going to be VERY interesting. Who's running

There are now at least 3 anti-Quinn twitter feeds. @ChrisChristineQ @defeatquinn @stopchrisquinn somebody's got beef.

Who's Going To Be The GOP's 2013 Nominee For Mayor Of NYC? Let's Go To The Videotape http://soc.li/8MZoKpO  #NYC2013

Dissecting a Crain’s Article on the 2013 Public Advocate’s Race

 Check out the Republican county chairman of NYC discuss race for mayor. They sort of sound and look like Archie Bunker.

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Campaign 2013

Where Have You Gone Mike Wallace? Reporters In NYC Will Not Ask the Mayoral Candidates the Hard Questions

The Daily News Should Ask the Candidates What They Think  
The News Should Ask the Candidates If They Think the City's Employees Health Benefits are  fiscally unsustainable
In the News, Maria Doulis, director of city studies for the Citizen’s Budget Commission, crunches the numbers and determines that New York City’s generous health benefits for its workforce are fiscally unsustainable:* "New York overcharged Medicaid an estimated $15 billion for the care of developmentally disabled people" (TU)
 

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Board of Election Crisis: 
Media and Activist Don't Want to Know

BOE in Crisis Were is the Media Again?

True News Told You On July 16th that the City Council Controls the Appointment of  BOE Commissioner. City Council Eric Ulrich checked on the rules and found the council and BOE were not following the state law on the appointments of commissioners.  Now Quinn, the Board and City Council are in a panic on what to do.  The media as always is protecting the BOE and Quinn.So far this year they allowed votes that were not complete for certified to be cast in the electoral college voting process. The media also ignored the fact that Manhattan elected officials were serving in office before their votes were certified.  Brewer Who Threw Her Council Investigation of the BOE Mishandling of Last Years General Elections is Also Silent of the BOE City Council New Commissioner Scandal. *  Last week True News reported that City Council Eric Ulrich  

 When Will the Brennan Center Comment on the NYC BOE

As the federal government works to address the long lines and administrative problems voters nationwide faced on Election Day, a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice argues that the first steps should be modernizing voter registration, providing a national period fo
* A New @BrennanCenter Report Outlines Plan To Fix Long Lines On Election Day
 


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Goodby Koch

With funeral planned for today, officials push to name subway station after Mayor Ed Koch(NYP) * Services to Reflect Koch: Proudly Jewish on His Own Terms(NYT) * His Bridge—but Still Called Another Name(WSJ)*Thousands to gather for Ed Koch's funeral Monday(WABC)* M.T.A. won't rename a NYC subway station for Ed Koch (NYT)

  A Mayor and His City (WSJ) In a question-and-answer session after an October screening of "Koch" for friends and colleagues at Lincoln Center, the former mayor confronted his declining health. *  His Bridge—but Still Called Another Name(WSJ)* When Koch Gave FBI a 'New York No'(WSJ)
Update Upper East Side Subway Station To Bear Mayor Ed Koch's Name(NY1)





Typical Koch In A Middle of A Fight With Cuomo On the Day He is Buried

"I did not have the same regard for myself as he had for himself." Mario Cuomo on Ed Koch: (NY Mag)
Ed did insist on blaming us for years"Cuomo still denying his campaign could possibly have done "Cuomo not the homo"* Chuck Schumer says Koch & him didn't talk for 10 years after Schumer told him to not run in '89

  Errol Louis ‏@errollouis Bad blood to the end. Mario Cuomo on Koch is pretty snarky. “Ed Really Was Not So Much a Politician As an Institution” …

Ed Koch was able to lie down on the couch and fall asleep in the comfort of his family's home. He didn't habe to be center of attention.* Mayor Bloomberg said Koch has got to be "loving all this attention." "Ed died with dignity, without pain or a prolonged period of illness," just as he would have wanted, his nephew says. Bloomberg on Koch: "No mayor has ever embodied the spirit of NYC as he did -- and i don't think anyone ever will."* Mayor Bloomberg called Koch the "quintessential mayor." Bloomberg: "No mayor has ever embodied spirit of the city like he did " Bloomberg says Koch restored the arc of the city's history, and it's fair to say the NYC of today would not exist without him. He built...Bloomberg says everything he, Dinkins and Rudy accomplished was built on "foundation" of Koch's tenure. "Thanks to him, we became great again..
  

Koch mourned by thousands, laid to rest with 'New York, New York'(NYP) The city we know today would not exist without him." Koch was "full of humor and chutzpah. He was our city's quintessential mayor... He convinced us we could be great again.:Diane Coffey said Koch & friends started talking abt his death in '80s. He was thrilled when she told him Bloomberg wd speak at service. Former Koch aide LoCicero recalls how Koch berated members of the public but was still beloved.John LoCicero (friend, adviser): Koch to Chinese official during a parade:"If you would like to defect, I would help you."Law partner James Gill said Koch told him, "I'm not afraid to die, God will take care of me," adding, "I'm sure He will."

A President and His Governor Catch Up(NYT)Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and former President Bill Clinton seemed to be engaged in a friendly chat outside former Mayor Edward I. Koch’s funeral, but their relationship may soon be tested.
 "i am standing here on behalf of an entire nation. #EdKoch was one of us."--Abassador Ido Aharoni. Bill Clinton says Koch thought the best way to convince young people not to smoke was to tell them it hurt virility. Bill Clinton on #EdKoch letter about cigarettes affecting virility. Ed #Koch's casket now bring moved as 'New York, New York' begins to play.

Mayor Bloomberg Eulogizes ‘Our Moses,’ Ed Koch(NYO) * Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others will sit shiva for Koch at Gracie Mansion tomorrow. Koch practiced his own brand of Judaism that was, “mixed with a deep, abiding respect for Catholicism.” “He attended Mass. He believes that God hears prayers if they are in Greek, Latin or Hebrew,” Mr. Arzt said.* An Array of Admirers Pays Tribute to Koch(NYT) * Services to Reflect Koch: Proudly Jewish on His Own Terms(NYT) * Mayor Bloomberg eulogized former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, calling him “our Moses – just with a little less hair.”* Koch’s Bond With City Is Praised, and Celebrated by the Pipe Organ(NYT) * Uncle Eddie, the Koch most of us never knew(NYDN)* Ed Koch Remembered As New York City’s ‘Quintessential M (NYDN) * Welcome to my bridge': On the span he could call his own, Hizzoner Ed Koch ...

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Education

Teacher Evaluation Deadline Again

Cuomo is reportedly threatening an amendment to his new budget plan that would give the state Education Department the authority to impose its own evaluation plan on New York City teachers,
Feb. 22 D-Day for Mike & UFT(Dicker, NYP) Gov. Cuomo, following through on an ultimatum to Mayor Bloomberg and the teachers union, will take action Feb. 22 that could lead to the imposition of a new teacher-evaluation system on the city*  In the Post, former Assemblyman Michael Benjamin details the conflict in the ongoing teacher evaluation battle of organizations backed by the teachers union that are speaking on behalf of parents:* The News believes a settlement in the teacher evaluation fight in New York City could be on the horizon as the state seeks a law to force the teachers union and Bloomberg into binding arbitration* Explaining, or Maybe Not, Failure in Talks With Teachers(NYT)

Bus Strike

Strike Splits Bus Drivers(WSJ) *
Bus strike weighs on disabled students and their parent (WABC)

Forest Hills HS needs $$ for shot at national social studies title(NYDN)

New Idea for Penn Station Entails Relocating a College(NYT)

Tech-Savvy Baruch College Students Seek an Edge in Registration(NYT)

State to Review Minority Hiring at Columbia Expansion Project(DNAINFO)

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NYS Government

Gambling 
Bloomberg is preparing a package of fixes to New York City’s 911 system, including a new command structure and the elimination of the technological wall that has stymied emergency response times,
Support for Gov. Cuomo, plan to legalize casinos slipped(NYP) *  Cuomo is preparing to increase the non-Indian casino expansion upstate to four facilities, including one slated for Niagara Falls that would bring competition to the Seneca Nation’s gambling monopoly in Western New York, The Buffalo News reports: 

Budget 
State legislators are grousing about the more than $3 billion Cuomo has set aside in his budget plan for new programs and discretionary spending, to be controlled solely by the governor, the News’  *
Can @NYGovCuomo assert the #nybudget does not raise taxes? Some say no:  * Gov. Cuomo's New Budget Plan Gives Him Sole Control of $3 Billion in Spending(NYDN) * State wrestling with the feds over excessive Medicaid aid  * Federal officials are cutting $1.1 billion in annual Medicaid funding to New York after finding the state overcharged an estimated $15 billion in expenses for care of the developmentally disabled over the past two decades in what investigators have called “a system of massive waste and illegal billing.”* Some critics say Governor Cuomo has, in effect, broken a promise to keep new taxes out of this year’s state budget.* Firefighters Hose Cuomo’s Binding Arbitration Proposal(YNN) * Tough new Congressional report on New York's medicaid program:

Pension
State lawmakers are debating Cuomo’s plan to let local governments and schools realize expected pension savings in the coming years rather than wait decades for cost breaks, with some questioning the plan’s fiscal prudence, LoHud reports: *  @GannettAlbany: Astorino: Cuomo pension plan is 'like crack' * Local leaders are weighing in on the governor’s pension smoothing plan.


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NYCHA

One On 1 Profile: NYCHA Chairman John Rhea Faced Tough Challenges(NY1)

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Hate At Brooklyn College 
Campus hate fest(NYP) Jew-bashing grows in Brooklyn. Brooklyn College, a once-esteemed... 

Amid Criticism, College Says Event on Israel Can Proceed(NYT)

NYC Pols Threaten Brooklyn College Funding Over BDS Panel
@TishJames Thank you 4 removing ur name from Lew Fidler's letter. Your integrity is far greater than this letter attacking academic freedom. 
"We do, however, strongly defend the decision by the college’s president, Karen Gould, to proceed with the event, despite withering criticism by opponents and threats by at least 10 City Council members to cut financing for the college. Such intimidation chills debate and makes a mockery of the ideals of academic freedom. " NY Times

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Sandy Update
Cuomo is proposing a program that would purchase homes wrecked by Hurricane Sandy, have them demolished, and preserve the land permanently as undeveloped coastline, although the program requires federal approval

Cuomo Plan Seeks to Halt Building in Flood Zones(NYT) * On Decimated Shore, a Second Life for Christmas Trees(NYT) Thousands of naked Christmas trees have been arranged along the beach in Long Beach, N.Y., as part of an unusual plan to restore the protective dunes washed away by Hurricane Sandy. * Storm Still Hurts Suburban Renters(WSJ)* Certain Behaviors Can Jeopardize Insurance Coverage(NY1)* Cuomo Wants to Buy $400 Million Worth of Flood-Prone Homes(NY Mag) * Task Force Backs Broad Outlines Of Buyback Program(YNN) * Sandy Victims Still Wait for Flood Insurance Money(NBC) * tate Plan To Buy Homes At Risk Of Future Storm Damage Awaits NY1) * Village Building Set to Be First in Manhattan Razed Due to Sandy Damage(DNAINFO)



NYC Hospitals Prepare For Hurricans 
In order to be more prepared for future hurricanes, New York City hospitals are proposing costly plans to prevent damage to critical infrastructure that would be paid for with a mix of federal emergency aid and insurance payouts
 Hospitals Eye Big Changes After Sandy (WSJ) New York City hospitals are proceeding with costly plans to be more prepared for future hurricanes, three months after superstorm Sandy laid bare weaknesses in the city's health-care network.


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Fracking

Fracking" opponents to pack NY budget hearing(WSJ)

Martens Grilled On Fracking(YNN)
Actor-turned-activist Mark Ruffalo (AKA: The Hulk) pledged to “cream” Cuomo if he opens New York to fracking.

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Water Bills

H2-Woe!(NYDN)A West Harlem state park, a Brooklyn hospital and a lower East Side low-income housing top the list of worst water deadbeats, records show

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Guns

Reid hedges on guns(NYP) * Siena Poll finds Cuomo’s gun slip is small(TU) In the latest Siena Research Institute poll, Cuomo’s approval ratings slipped from 71 to 67 percent, while 45 percent of voters support allowing fracking in parts of upstate New York, compared with 42 percent against: * Senate to Move on Gun Control(WSJ) * Morning Joe Heaps Praise On Fox’s Chris Wallace For ‘Drilling Down’ On NRA’s LaPierre’s ‘Stupid Arguments’ * "Cuomo’s decision on #fracking is likely to anger far more voters" than #guns. http://bit.ly/YOvZVI  * President Obama taking gun violence plan on the road(Wash Post) * Obama Presses Case for Gun Measures(NYT) * Assault Weapons Ban Likely To Die For Broader Gun Legislation To Live(Huff Post) * …The city – once known as “Murder-opolis” – played a role in passage of the 1994 assault weapons ban.


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Washington


‘Torture’ nailed Osama (NYP)WASHINGTON — Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta yesterday became the highest-ranking Obama administration official to admit that the United States used torture to help find Osama bin Laden.*

A Million Jobs at Stake(NYT Ed) The dire effects of the sequester are clear, but no one in Washington seems able to stop it.* Former Obama Adviser On Hagel’s Confirmation: He ‘Seemed Unimpressive And Unprepared’* Why immigration reform in 1986 fell short(Wash Post)
The Stimulus Trap - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post
Good for Washington; Bad for the Rest of Us - Aaron Renn, City Journal
Who Decided Megabanks Are Too Big to Jail? - Simon Johnson, Bloomberg
The Trouble With Wall Street - Michael Lewis, New Republic
Gun Control: Founding Fathers vs. Today's Lawmakers - Carl Cannon, RCP
Fewer Dollars, Babies Threaten Public Policies - Michael Barone, Examiner
Immigration Reform Can Clear Congress This Year - Bill Keller, NY Times
Clinton in 2016: Be Afraid, Republicans - Lloyd Grove, The Daily Beast
Republicans Are Thriving at the State Level - Conn Carroll, DC Examiner
Obama the Bargainer - Jay Cost, Weekly Standard
New Dems Offer Solutions for Congress - Tauscher, Roemer & Davis, Politico
On 100th Birthday, Income Tax Going Strong - Joseph Curl, Wash Times
Friends of Fraud - Paul Krugman, New York Times
Where Are the Liberal Lions? - Juan Williams, The Hill
On Thought and Our Political Rhetoric - Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
Do We Live in a Post-Truth Era? - Ronald Bailey, Reason
Real Heroes: Four Died So Others Might Live - Bob Greene, CNN
Super Bowl XLVII: Ravens 34, 49ers 31 | Photo Gallery | More Coverage

A Million Jobs at Stake - New York Times
All Parents, Students Want Is a Choice - Chicago Tribune
U.S. Tips Global Power Scales with Fracking - Der Spiegel
Egypt's Failing Revolution - Ottawa Citizen
Paul Ryan Says No To Vote-Rigging Scheme(Huff Post)
Hillary Clinton Just Quietly Disbanded Her Presidential Committee(Atlantic )
On Guns, Unfinished Business - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Fifty Years of Failing America's Mentally Ill - E. Fuller Torrey, Wall St Jrnl
Prophets and Losses - Thomas Sowell, Investor's Business Daily
John Kerry, Finally Where He Belongs - Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Government's Legitimacy Crisis - Glenn Harlan Reynolds, USA Today
Democrats Eye Unlikely Georgia as Senate Pickup - Scott Conroy, RCP
Phil Mickelson's Frank Talk on Taxation - Fran Tarkenton, USA Today
Republicans Facing a Grim Reality - Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
Implementing ObamaCare Will Be Economically Painful - Tom Miller, NR
The Health Care Industry Bubble - Margot Sanger-Katz, National Journal
Hillary Clinton's Exit Strategy - George Packer, The New Yorker
Our Men in Uniform Deserve Better Than Hagel - Bill Kristol, Weekly Std
McCain & the Neocons Are Completely Unserious - Doug Bandow, Cato Inst.
Can Robert Menendez Survive? - Ginger Gibson & John Bresnahan, Politico
Put Republican Cliches in Their Holsters - Stanley Crouch, NY Daily News
I'm Canceling My Sports Illustrated Subscription - Andrew Klavan, PJM
Paul Harvey: "So God Made a Farmer" - Garance Franke-Ruta, The Atlantic
Video Highlights:  Jindal | Panetta | Reid | Trump | Krugman | More
Senate GOP leader raises possibility of filibuster of Obama pick of Hagel for defense
Hillary Clinton Debuts New Website 
Port Deal Pushed by Menendez Could Benefit Former Aide, Not Just a Major Donor(NYT)



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Media 

In Defense Of NFL Cheerleaders

Most Watch Event Ever (Huff Post)

Jill Abramson Will Help Women at the New York Times Whether You Like It or Not(NY Mag)

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Law and Order
9 year old push off the Roof
Horror stories (NYP) The Bronx teen accused of flinging his 9-year-old neighbor off the roof of their five-story apartment building told cops it was an accident — but offered at least three versions of what happened.* Suspect Is Arraigned in 9-Year-Old’s Fall From a Bronx Roof(NYT) * Teen Charged In Boy's Fall From Roof(WSJ) * Teen Accused Of Throwing Boy Off Roof: I Just Slipped(WCBS)* Lawyer: NYC boy tossed from roof was accident(Fox 5)

Cuomo's Pick For Court Of Appeals Gets Grilled By Senate Republicans, Nomination in Doubt(NYDN)

Rape Near Brookly College
Rape nightmare caught on video (NYP) Cops yesterday released chilling video footage that shows a fiend dragging a woman in broad daylight into an alley near Brooklyn College before raping her — and throwing her phone over a wall so she couldn’t call for help.* Suspect Sought In Brooklyn Broad Daylight Rape(WCBS) * Woman Forced into Brooklyn Alley and Raped(NBC)
Lawyers Seek Block For NYPD Muslim Surveillance Efforts(NY1)
 
 Barclays cop surge is a crime slasher (NYP) Now that’s a silver lining. Police sources say an influx of cops assigned to the local precinct surrounding the Barclays Center has not only kept the peace at the arena, but helped drive crime down throughout the command
Developing: Three People Stabbed On Subway Platform In Jamaica, Queens.

The Rivera Hearings: The Committee & The Nominee Prove Themselves

Flash Mob Mayhem: Violent Groups Of Teens Leave NYC Neighborhoods In ...

Newsstands all over New York City are being attacked by flash mobs of teenagers hell bent to rob owners of everything they have. (Photo: CBS 2).

 

Jason Commisso, Accused Of Mugging Asians In NYC, Charged With Robbery ...

 No frisk profiling: NYPD report(NYDN)A new report on 2011 stop-and-frisks shows blacks and Hispanics are not being subjected to racial profiling,



'Cannibal cop' pal indicted on kidnapping-conspiracy charge(NYP)

Police: mom was drunk with kids in van at 2 a.m.(Fox 5)

Man, in Third Trial, Is Convicted of 2002 Rampage at a Bar(NYT)

Former barber for Jay-Z convicted of bar rampage(NYDN)
DNA evidence lacking in high-speed shootout with cops: NYP)