Monday, March 18, 2013

The BOE Gang That Can't Count Straight Still Not Finished Counting 2012

BOE  Still Can't Count the Votes the 2012 Vote . . . Look Out 2013

133 Days after the most disastrous election day operation in the Board of Election history, the board still is counting votesTomorrow morning when the commissioners meet they will add 400 more votes and recertify the Novemember 6th General Election. This comes one week after after the BOE executive director Dawn Sandow accused her own workers of being crooks at a city council hearing. Board of Elections fears poll workers would steal iPads(NYDN)

BOE No Plans for 2013, No Pressure to Reform

The BOE has not had an executive director in two years.  It is being controled by the party bosses.  In other words New Yorkers who want fair well run elections are screwed.  We are only 176 days away
 from possible citywide runoffs in which the BOE has no plan.  For some reason the media does not think that is a problem.  The City Council is involved with a cover up with the media of the BOE.

If We Move the BOE to Arizona Will the NYT Then Write About New Yorkers Right to Vote?
Arizona’s Barrier to the Right to Vote(NYT Ed) Arizona’s Proposition 200 conflicts with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and should be struck down by the Supreme Court.

GOP Council Leaders Uniting Behind Lhota
All four Republican members of the City Council are going to back Joe Lhota in the GOP primary for mayor, The Post has learned. The unified endorsement is expected to be announced tomorrow at City Hall. Queens GOP chairman Phil Ragusa shot back that Catsimatides, who is a contributor to the local GOP, is as qualified as Mayor Bloomberg to run the city."Lhota is the only principled Republican in the race, the only one who isn't a Republican out of convenience," declared Councilman Erich Ulrich (R-Queens). He charged that Republican county leaders who've lined up with Catsimatides "really sold out the Republican Party....This is not about going to the highest bidder. This is about the future of the city."


Liu's Staff's Trial And SI DA Donovan investigation of WFP Loom Big in 2013 Mayor's Race


Liu's Bewitched

Defiant John Liu Vows to Win in Spite of ‘Witch Hunt’ Against Him: Comptroller John Liu officially kick... (NYP)* Criticizing Bloomberg, Liu Enters Race to Succeed Him(NYT) Notably, the mayoral hopeful used the supporter-packed, whirlwind day to reiterate his tale of having helped his mom out at her sweatshop job when he was a kid. Serious holes in that storyline when Liu ran for comptroller in 2009 -- back in our Brawl For The Hall days. * Liu on Attack as He Starts Mayoral Run(WSJ) 
* Nearly every question Liu got from reporters at City Hall was about that investigation. In addition to the crowds, there were also some local political figures: City Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn and his wife, Assemblywoman Inez Barron, Councilman Peter Koo of Flushing and William and Valerie Bell, the parents of Sean Bell, who was shot and killed on his wedding day by NYPD officers six years ago.

Liu Announces Candidacy For Mayor(NY1) * Comptroller John Liu launched his campaign for NYC mayor on Sunday with promises of a populist administration and attacks on Mayor Bloomberg’s legacy. *Mayoral Candidate John Liu Downplays One Scandal, Reignites Another(NY Mag)* "Liu seemed to suggest that the probe came about in part due to his populist message." [Andrew Grossman] * Liu's entrance into the mayor's race got three sentences in the Post. [Sally Goldenberg]

"NYT and FedsTargeting Me" - Liu

Baldwin NYT Kissing Quinn
Baldwin: " seems to be bending over backwards in their adulation of ..." cc:

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Political Corruption


The Daily News Keeps Up It Pressure On Vito Lopez Started With 3 Hits Against the Assemblyman Last Week
Lovett story is all about blowing up Lopez.  Only the picture capition goes into Donovan investigation of the WFP which could put de Blasio floudering campaign out of it misery.

The labor-backed Working Families Party, in another matter of secrecy, has requested that the court unseal Daniel Donovan's unusual decision to seek a special prosecutor to look into allegations that WFP improperly aided candidates. Donovan has never said publicly why he sought a special prosecutor, which political and legal experts say is rare.

Donovan has ordered that a state ethics commission report on Lopez be kept from the public

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr.’s is being criticized for keeping a state ethics commission report on Assemblyman Vito Lopez from the public and refusing to unseal information in a case involving the Working Families Party


A superseding indictment was filed this morning in the US District Court for the Eastern District against Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr., adding new charges of mail fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud New York taxpayers by submitting fraudulent vouchers for travel expense and per diem payments.* Feds hit Assemblyman Boyland with more corruption counts(NYP) * More Charges Against Brooklyn Legislator(NYT)


No Federal Charges for Cook or Scarborough
Politicians caught collecting Albany per diems when they're not there(NYP, 2012)


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Campaign 2013


“Yes, I’m Black—Duh”(NY mag)


Bill Thompson and the strange place of race in this year’s mayor’s race.Chris Smith on the ethnic politics at play in the NYC mayor’s race: “t’s better for (Chris) Quinn if Liu stays in the race, because he’ll siphon some minority votes from (Bill) Thompson…but Liu staying in the race makes it tougher for Quinn to hit the magic 40 percent mark that would allow her to avoid a Democratic runoff.*
Former GOP US Senator-turned-lobbyist Al D’Amato bundled $47,550 in contributions to Thompson, the latest disclosure filings show. 

Republican mayoral hopefuls George McDonald and Tom Allon are both running on empty. McDonald had just $1,884 in the bank as of last week — the dregs of nearly $154,000 in donations and $135,000 in loans that have fueled his bid to date. Allon's report shows him $4,217 in the hole — and carrying more than $7,600 in outstanding liabilities for everything from phone bills to restaurant tabs. Any change-up in Allon's plans might have a ripple effect: Long before he joined the GOP, Allon had the support of the state Liberal Party, which formalized its endorsement earlier this year. Former Bronx BP Adolfo Carrion Jr. is already the choice of the city Independence Party, a line that helped Bloomberg defeat Democrat Bill Thompson four years ago*  Rep. Carolyn Maloney endorsed Quinn for mayor, while NYC Councilman Charles Barron backed NYC Comptroller John Liu.Bloomberg says he made up his mind “a while ago” who he’ll be voting for in the race to succeed him, but won’t reveal his choice.* How campaigns spin their fund-raising(Capital)

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio sat down with Jewish leaders himself yesterday. “This community will be crucial,” Mr. de blasio told them in a video recorded by Shimon Gifter. “The community is growing and growing in political impact because it will be a close election, as we’ve seen time and time again. This age that we’re living in is the age of close elections. … If this community stands up and says, ‘We want a different kind of leadership. We want the kind of leadership that’s actually connected to us. Where it’s a given [if] we want a hearing at City Hall on an issue, it’s a given you’re going to get it.’”

Quinn: Stop and Frisk Politics
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is strongly considering backing legislation that would rein in the NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk, hoping to announce a deal to coincide with a federal civil rights trial on the practice that will begin today, the Post learns:
Stop and Frisk Trial
The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, widely credited as an important factor in the citywide drop in crime during the Bloomberg administration, will face its biggest constitutional test in a federal trial beginning today.  
Trial to Start in Class Suit on Stop-and-Frisk Tactic(NYT)
Trial Begins Over NYPD's Frisk Policy(WSJ)
Scheindlin’s show trial (NYDN Ed) The verdict seems pre-cooked in the bogus stop, question and frisk class action lawsuit
Testimony In Stop-And-Frisk Lawsuit Starts With Teen's Claims Of Mistreatment(NY1)
A Focus on 3 Encounters in a Stop-and-Frisk Trial(NYT)


The Race for Council Speaker
Like Councilman Mark Weprin, Councilman Dan Garodnick also seems to be giving campaign contributions like he’s aiming for the speakership. In his latest filing, Mr. Garodnick has given to Council Members Andy King, Ydanis Rodriguez and Rosie Mendez, as well as candidates Mark Levine, Vanessa Gibson, Costa Constantinides, Chris Banks, and Andy Cohen. If there’s a theme here, the donations tilt towards Manhattan incumbents and establishment-friendly contenders citywide.

Twitter co-founder eyes NYC mayor's job(Fox 5)

Broke Campaign: Allon Out of Mayor's Race
Tom Allon (Photo: Facebook)
Tom Allon Is Dropping Out of the Mayor’s Race(nyo) A little over five months after he announced a “fusion candidacy” for mayor on the Liberal and Republican party lines, Tom Allon, CEO of the local newspaper chain Manhattan Media, is ending his bid for City Hall. Mr. Allon announced his decision in a statement that attributed the decision to his direct acquisition of Manhattan Media’s political news organization, City and State Media. Allon’s company publishes the political newspaper City and State, which covers statewide and New York City politics. It wasn’t immediately clear why Allon chose to end his campaign because of the new acquisition, though his release said the move would “expand” his business for political reporting and forums across the state.


Tom Allon ends mayoral bid after buyout of political paper City & State(NYP)
Allon Drops Out of Race for New York Mayor(NYT) Tom Allon and Joe Lhota Do Lunch(NYO) *Tom Allon Drops Mayoral Bid: "I've already burdened the journalists at City & State" enough

Lincoln Restler Declines to Challenge Steve Levin(nyo)

 

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New Yorkers Are Sick


New Yokers Sick More



NY is one sick city (NYP) New Yorkers may be living longer since Mayor Bloomberg took office — but they’re not feeling any better. More than one in five Big Apple residents — 22 percent — report being in fair or poor health, according to a city Health Department analysis.

Bloomberg Still Fighting Cigarettes
Bloomberg in new push to snuff out cigarette displays(NYP)



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NYS Government

NYP's Dicker Says Cuomo Breakes Double-Dip Vow
Gov secretly breaks his ‘double-dip’ vow(NYP)The top symbol of Gov. Cuomo’s public pledge to curtail “double dipping” by state officials who collect both state salaries and public pensions has begun double dipping himself, The Post has found. State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico, with Cuomo’s secret approval but without any public notice, quietly obtained permission from the state Civil Service Commission in December to collect his full State Police salary and his pension as a former deputy chief of the NYPD.

Minimum Wage Budget Agreement
Tentative State Budget Includes Multi-Year Minimum Wage Increase(NY1)
State Leaders Reach Deal to Raise Minimum Wage(NYT)

After staffers worked through a weekend that was capped off by a marathon leaders meeting last night, the governor and legislative leaders still have no budget deal.
There they go again (NYP) E.J. McMahon, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, argues that Cuomo’s plan to extend a personal income-tax hike on high earners will hurt New York’s economy.  NY leaders’ next blow to economy. Cuomo and the Legislature reportedly are cooking up something like areprise of their December 2011 “tax reform” charade — which combined a $2.5 billion tax hike for million-dollar earners with small income-tax cuts for middle-class households. This time around, as part of the 2013-14 budget, the governor and legislative leaders may tie a further extension of the state’s top personal-income-tax rate to some added tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, along with a minimum-wage hike.* In negotiations over the state budget, Democrats are resisting efforts by Senate Republicans to permit employers to offer a “training wage” to new workers instead of raising the state minimum wage, The Buffalo News writes:*  Last night’s discussions included talk of a “training wage” as part of the minimum wage piece of the budget, which is still in play. (Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos called it a “youth wage.”* Sources tell Tom Precious issues involving the minimum wage, tax breaks for middle-class families and small businesses, and Cuomo’s proposal to relax marijuana-possession laws are among the final major issues the sides are wrestling with. Leaders of the Assembly and Senate want jockeys who regularly ride on New York’s thoroughbred tracks to get a cut of the extra purse money generated by VLT gambling. Some $2 million a year would go to a jockeys’ guild in Kentucky.* On The Table: A $9 Minimum Wage By 2015 (Updated)(YNN)

Statute of Limitations for Sex Offenders
The Times-Union makes the case for the State Legislature extending the statute of limitations on civil suits against sex offenders and their employers:

Las Vegas MMA company joins legalization fight(NYDN) * TU editorial page editor Jay Jochnowitz, a long-time practicer of martial arts, can’t get behind MMA, calling it “an indoor street fight” marked by “wanton brutality.”

Pre-K Provider Stole Millions, State Audit Says(NYT)



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NYC Government

 NYC's Glass Ceiling

Women, minorities still locked out of NYC biz(WSJ)
Minority- and female-owned businesses getting little support NYDN)







Pension
Bloomberg and Liu’s losing investment(New York World)

The mayor and comptroller portrayed a historic deal to reshape the city's pension system as a slam-dunk — a way to save the city billions without having to extract any painful concessions from city workers. Then labor unions fought back.

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Education

NYP Blasts UFT  “Get ready for Mayoral Mulgrew.”
 Mulgrew at the Helm(NYP) Mulgrew must find mayoral control burdensome. He wants to go back to the old days, because he knows that getting rid of mayoral control really means ushering in uncontested union control.


Scary lesson for children(NYP) Ed. bigs OK bombing books for 3rd grade



 

DOE raps ‘gangsta’ principal(NYP) Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott yesterday blasted a Bronx principal for playing a gun-wielding gangbanger in a bloody B-movie. 

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Homeless

State and City Save Millions Because of Fed Homeless Cutbacks As Homeless Shelters Overflow
City’s Sheltering of Out-of-Town Homeless, and Mayor’s Remark, Stir Debate(NYT)
New York City officials have blamed the elimination of a rent subsidy for homeless people for the increase in homeless population, despite the federal government picking up 60 percent of the cost of family shelters in 2013, The Wall Street Journal reports: * Homeless Costs Shifted (WSJ) The number of homeless New York City families has reached a record, which has obscured a surprising fact: The state and city have saved millions of dollars on housing the burgeoning ranks of parents and children seeking refuge in local shelters.

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Sandy 

 Fuel giant Hess Corp. is fighting Cuomo’s plan to keep pumps flowing at gas stations after natural disasters strike, because Hess stations were among a minority that had generators and stayed open during the gas crisis after Hurricane Sandy, the Daily News writes: 

FEMA to Staten Island Sandy victim: We want our money back(SI Advance)

The Drying of Coney Island: The Coney Island History Project, flooded...: The Coney Island History Project,...

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More Payoff to Developers/Landlords

NYT Finds Another Way to Help Developers

Saving Schools and Libraries by Giving Up the Land They Sit On(NYT) New York City’s government-financed agencies are offering the land under some of their institutions to the highest bidder to build new, modern libraries or schools at no additional cost to the agency or taxpayer, the Times reports:

Bronx tenant organizers say scales tipped to landlords(NYDN)

Hospital

SUNY Downstate To Vote Again On Closing Brooklyn's Long Island College Hospital (NY1)

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Bronx DA

 More $$$ For Less Convictions

Do-little Bronx DA wants more $$ (NYP) His office has the worst conviction record of any borough, but Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson wants more money to help inmates.  Despite his dismal conviction record — only 43 percent of those arrested for violent felonies are convicted,

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MTA Broke

 Donohue: MetroCard malfunctioning? Tough luck10 hrs ago
Plan to Launch Private Boston-to-New York Bus Line Raises Ire in Harlem (DNAINFO)

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NYFD Son Hate Tweets

Update
EMT son of FDNY commish resigns after vile, racist online rant revealed(NYP)
'Fast-tracking' son of FDNY Commish rants against blacks and Jews on Twitter(NYP) * FDNY Heir Really Outdid Himself With the Racist Tweets(NY mag) * Fire Commissioner’s Son Resigns After Offensive Twitter Posts Surface(NYT)
*

Fire Commissioner’s Son Resigns as Offensive Twitter Posts Surface(NYT)




 


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Shame of the Met

Met threatens, shames visitors who don't pay voluntary admission fees: former supervisor(NYP)





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Media

Dumb Down Content Light TV News Also Losing Viewers
Local TV news is now facing the same declines as local newspapers, according to Pew.
Local TV News Is Following Print’s Path, Study Says(NYT)The diagnosis comes in the center’s 10th annual State of the News Media report, which will be published on Monday. The report, covering 2012, describes cutbacks in the reporting ranks of newspapers and television networks and a surge in efforts by politicians, corporations and others to tell their own stories. 31 percent of respondents said they “have stopped turning to a news outlet because it no longer provided them with the news they were accustomed to getting.”* Pew State Of The Media Study: Journalism Cutbacks Are Driving Consumers Away(Huff Post)* Stories about government and politics in the markets that were sampled fell by more than half, to 3 percent of the broadcasts from 7 percent in 2005.

Wash Post Paywall
Washington Post Arriving Late to Paywall Party(NY Mag)

Pundit Elitist
MSNBC Coverage Almost Entirely Opinionated, While Fox News Includes More Factual Reporting, Study Says


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Washington

Leading POLITICO this morning -- Obama in Israel: Symbolism over substance -- 

GOP Issues Scathing Self-Analysis(WSJ)
Saturday Postal Pullback in Limbo(WSJ)
Congress is poised to tell the Postal Service it must continue all Saturday mail services, but some Republican Senators are looking to give the agency leeway to trim select Saturday services.
Europe Braces for Turmoil With Cyprus Seizure - Pat Donahue, Bloomberg

Insanity in Cyprus: A Disgraceful Precedent - Thomas Pascoe, Telegraph
Rand Paul & the Future of Limited Govt - Charles Kesler, Claremont Review
What It Was Like to Oppose Iraq War in 2013 - John Judis, New Republic
Wolfowitz Admits U.S. Bungled in Iraq - Toby Harnden, Sunday Times
Much Rides on Obama's Visit to Israel - Peter Berkowitz, RealClearPolitics
Republicans Have No Clue How to Woo Women - Ana Marie Cox, Guardian
Young Bucks Rut on Old Republican Timbers - Joe Curl, Washington Times
Wall Street & Washington: Beware of the New Elites - Scott Rasmussen
New Pope Remodels the World's Moral Map - Richard Rodriguez, LA Times
Pope Francis Is a Problem for Argentina's Kirchner - Mary O'Grady, WSJ
Repealing Maryland's Death Penalty - Gov. Martin O'Malley, Politico
My Unrecognizable Democratic Party - Ted Van Dyk, Wall Street Journal
What Went Wrong w/Bernard Lewis? - Andrew Bostom, American Thinker
Government as Old-Age Home - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post
Should U.S. Elections Be More Like the Papal Conclave? - Dick Meyer, BBC
Jack Lew's First Big Mistake - Gordon Chang, Forbes
Panels: This Week | Fox News Sunday | Meet the Press | Face the Nation
Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner is supposedly still mad at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for saying he should resign during his sexting scandal, and plans to get revenge once “Hillary is president.”
Afghanistan Lesson: Defeat Enemies, Avoid Nation-Building - OC Register
Obama's Trip to the Middle East Could Be Pivotal - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
President Falsely Claims Credit for Energy Boom - Washington Examiner
Provacative New York Ads Try to Curb Teen Pregnancy - Chicago Tribune
Meet Obama’s Latest Controversial Cabinet Nominee(NY Mag)
BREAKING: Hillary Clinton announces support for same-sex marriage. VIDEO:
Steve Brill Gets the Last Laugh Over Epic Health-Care Story(NY Mag)
Hillary Clinton Finally Makes Support for Gay Marriage Explicit(NY Mag)
G.O.P. Report Is Blunt in Its Call for New Direction(NYT)
President Obama’s former top adviser David Plouffe says Hillary Clinton  is “probably the strongest” candidate in either party among potential 2016  presidential contenders.



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Wall Street

Trading Hearings Put Focus Back on JPMorgan’s Chief(NYT)
Divided Views of SAC Capital Settlement(NYT)


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Law and Order

 

Fed Laws Limit State and City Gun Laws
In the Daily News, former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau writes that New York’s tough gun control laws, both in the state and New York City, are limited in their effectiveness because of a lack of federal regulation:The current gun laws should be better enforced

Kelly Speed Cameras 
 New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly wrote letters to Cuomo and legislative leaders last week, arguing that using cameras to catch speeders would improve public safety and reduce traffic injuries, the Daily News reports:

Guns
Gun rights supporters who unsuccessfully challenged the NY SAFE Act in court last week have filed an appeal, and the state will have to again defend the gun law this Friday.

Bull’s-eye on cops(NYP) A mock-up of a “Wanted’’ poster placed on Instagram sickeningly calls for the murders of the two NYPD cops who shot and killed Brooklyn teen Kimani Gray.

4 off-duty NYPD busted amid St. Patty's weekend hijinks(NYDN)




Murder Conviction Tossed Out in Queens(NYT)






Arrest in SI mom’s Turk slay(NYP) * Turkish Authorities Detain Man in Death of Tourist From Staten Island(NYT) * Man suspected in NYC woman's death nabbed in Syria(WSJ) * Turkish Police Find Suspect In SI Mother's Killing(NY1) * Official: Turkish Man Detained In Death Of Staten Island (WCBS) * Suspect tells cops he got high sniffing glue before slaying SI mom in Turkey(NYP)


B'klyn man sobs as he gets 4-12 years in prison for killing Yeshiva teacher in crash(NYP)
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Terrorism


‘BOMB’ bozo busted (NYP) An Israeli tourist set off a massive security panic at Newark Airport and grounded a plane to Miami yesterday after his family was bumped from a flight and he angrily threatened to create a bomb scare,