Political Corruption
Charles Lavine, the co-chairman of a commission reviewing a report on Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment case and Silver’s involvement in it, is holding a fund-raiser featuring Silver next week
Ethics Politics
Gropez-Shel prober is (fund-)raising doubts
(NYP) This is what passes for ethics in Albany: The co-chairman of a
commission reviewing a 58-page report on disgraced Assemblyman Vito
Lopez’s sexual harassment, and Speaker Sheldon Silver’s attempted
cover-up, is having a fund-raiser next week— featuring Silver as the “honored guest.” Lavine also co-chairs the Legislative Ethics Commission, which
received the Lopez report two weeks ago and will determine which
sanctions — if any — to order. Earlier in the week, Staten Island
District Attorney Dan Donovan asked the commission to put the report on
hold while his office continues a criminal investigation of the case. Good-government
groups say having Silver headline the March 5 fund-raiser in Albany
will make any conclusion that the commission reaches appear biased.Liu Playing Himself As A Victim of the FBI is Good Politics At Least At One Mayoral Debate
Liu Denounces Inquiry Into His Fund-Raising(NYT) City Comptroller John C. Liu used a New York City mayoral candidates’ forum to demand an end to a multiyear federal investigation of his fund-raising practices. Liu's voice rising in anger, Mr. Liu listed his grievances: “Three years of investigating. They wiretapped my phones for 18 months. They reviewed a million documents and messages. They interrogated thousands of my supporters. And yet, what do they have to show for it? It’s time to put up or shut up already. Because I have an election to win!” His decision to raise arguably his biggest political liability at a forum focused on issues like the minimum wage clearly caught his rivals by surprise. Mr. Liu’s remarks, which drew loud applause from a crowd that seemed to be filled with his supporters, capped a lively and at times raucous forum at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem.* John Liu Is Tired of Being Investigated(NY Mag) * John Liu to prosecutors: "Put up or shut up already because I’ve got an election to win." [David Seifman]* "This is just taking way too long."--
Is Sen. Ruben Diaz the Fourth Amigo About to Join the Other Three At the Post Graduate Albany Accademy?
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Campaign 2013
More on Last Night Mayoral Debate
Both de Blasio and Liu attacked Quinn at last nights mayoral debate for not bring the sick pay leave bill to the floor of the city council for a vote. Ms. Quinn, who has kept the legislation from reaching the floor of the Council, has argued that such a requirement would hurt small businesses at a time when the economy is fragile. All but one of the candidates said that New York should follow President Obama’s plan to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour. Mr. Liu, to ferocious applause, called for the state to raise the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour over the next few years, over the current $7.25.* Potential Mayoral Candidates Attend Forum On Issues Of Low-Income Families(NY1) * Council Speaker Christine Quinn received criticism from her opponents for her refusal to allow the City Council to vote on a bill requiring paid sick leave for workers at a mayoral forum, the Daily News reports: * Residents in Brooklyn don't want the next mayor to move the garbage facility slated to open on Manhattan's Upper East Side, which some of them recently signaled they may do. [Meredith Hoffman] * Mayoral candidates spar over paid sick leave(Crains NY)* "
Nick Confessore
@nickconfessore Quinn's slow-rolling of the bill
opens up ground for opponents to attack her and, possibly, prevent
unions coalescing behind her.* De Blasio, with encouragement, attacks Quinn on paid sick days and living wage(Capital)
Cheerleader Moderator
The NYP Never Answered Why Conservative SI's Molinaro Supports Quinn
The NYP also never questioned why Molinaro endorsed Quinn on the same day former GOP Chairman Bob Scamardella who was expected to support Lhota resigned because Councilman Oddo block Scamardella BOE commissioner chooice. Will Molinaro use his influence in the GOP to push for a SI GOP endorsement of Catsimatidis to mess up Lhota's campaign? Is Molinaro alone in the SI GOP pushing Quinn? Where the media really failed to cover is that Quinn used the BOE commissioner scandal to dump pro Lhota Scamardella. New York’s clueless GOP(NYP) Or take Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro. True, Molinaro is a registered Conservative, but he’s successfully run three times for office on the Republican line. So what’s his answer? Endorsing City Council Speaker Christine Quinn — the leading Democrat in the race.James Molinaro Republican SI BP endorses Chris Quinn for mayor in latest setback for GOP(NYP) * Molinaro Gives Final State Of The Borough Address(NY1) * Staten Island BP Molinaro trumpets rebirth in State of the (SI Advance)
Another Shoe Drops In the SI Stop Joe Lhota Movement
Assemblywoman Malliotakis endorses Republican John Catsimatidis for mayor(SI Advance)
The stop Lhota movement also will make the SI GOP RichAnother Head Rolls in the Staten Island GOP Leadership
Taking his cue from Scamardella, deputy resigns Staten Island GOP post (SI Advance)The strife in the Staten Island GOP has claimed another party leader. First vice chair Frank Aversa on Thursday resigned his position, effective upon the election of his successor. "Despite our efforts, as the party leadership, to encourage a fair and balanced process in the selection of candidates, it has been met with much resistance," Aversa wrote in a letter to outgoing GOP chairman Robert Scamardella. Party members have bickered over the Mid-Island City Council seat and a Board of Elections appointment, battles that have left Scamardella and Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) estranged.GOP first vice chair Lisa Giovinazzo, who is running in the Mid-Island primary against Oddo pick Steven Matteo, said she will remain in the party leadership. A county convention is expected within the next month to pick Scamardella's successor.
The Real Election is Hidden From the Public By the Media
A Fifth Column Appears on Staten Island the city's most conservative borough and the media does not ask why. Also missed by the media is the commissioners Coup D'etat at the Board of Elections which is causing the GOP Coup D'etat on who runs the Staten Island GOP. The young bloggers say the BOE is inside baseball. Well changing the SI GOP can change the mayoral race and who is elected as the mayor. Now that is not inside baseball!
NYP Says GOP Interested In Carrion Becuase of His $$$ and Becasuse He is Latino
The Post lambasts New York City’s Republican Party leaders for considering Carrion, the party-switching former Democratic Bronx Borough President, as a candidate for mayor
EXCLUSIVE: Mayoral candidate Adolfo Carrion Jr. plans to keep developer's political contributions even after ethics investigation(NYDN) Campaign
finance records show that developer Peter Fine, members of his family
and his business partner made the contributions in the months before and
after Carrion approved the developers $300 million project. Carrion said
he would not refund nearly $20,000 in campaign donations tied to a real
estate developer who he assisted while he was Bronx Borough President.* John Catsimatidis predicts Carrion drops out of the race. [nymayor.blogspot.com]
Rudy Giuliani was ranked No. 1 when voters were asked by the Q poll which New York City mayor over the last half-century “did the best job.”
GOP NYC mayoral candidate George McDonald has a new campaign website.
Bloomberg Really Trying to Hurt Lhota
Nixon used to say I am not going to call my opponent a crook
@MikeBloomberg says the MTA fare hikes are not Lhota's fault
Brooklyn Boss Seddio Will Play the Field Behind Closed Door Politics
This alows him to be all things to opposing groups and candidates. He is already helping more than one candidate in the mayor's race. No doubt he show up at whoever wins telling that candidate how much he helped him or her win. Bloombergian Brooklyn Boss Seddio Says He Will Stay Out of all Races But One (brooklyntheborough.com) * True News: Seddio: Leave the Gun Take the Cannolis
It is A Failure of Media and Reform that A Candidate With Gangemi Record is Running
And former Councilman John Gangemi declared a long-shot bid for Brooklyn Borough President:
It is A Failure of Media and Reform that A Candidate With Gangemi Record is Running
And former Councilman John Gangemi declared a long-shot bid for Brooklyn Borough President:
Gangemi For Brooklyn BP Will Be Over Before It Starts
Meade Esposito Suprise Candidate for Judge Who Was Beaten By Margaret Cammer for Civil Court Judge in 1982 is Announced As A Candidate for Brooklyn BP By City and State
John Gangemi was a Republican Councilman
at large. He nearly
beat Carey for Congress in '72, was elected Councilman at Large in '73,
got
tossed off ballot for State Committee in '74, lost a State Committee
race in
'76. Then he became a Dem. His son Frank Gangemi was jailed for stealing
from his father John's law firm. A 88 man who sued the Ganmemi's
charged on the witness stand that the father nurtured his son's Gambling
addiction.
Former community board chair Julie Menin scored the
endorsement of the the Arturo Schomburg Democratic Club Wednesday night
in what Ms. Menin’s campaign said was the first club endorsement of the
Manhattan borough president’s race. The backing is made more notable by
group’s location in East Harlem–far outside Ms. Menin’s Downtown base.
Is this crazy enough to work? A candidate named Joel Rivera is running to replace veteran Councilman Joel Rivera. Given the fact that a lot of attention will be on the high-profile mayoral race, it would be reasonable to assume a number of voters will head to the polls with no idea Mr. Rivera is term-limited and it’s a different Mr. Rivera on the ballot. “I would launch a full-scale campaign telling people, ‘Don’t vote for the fake Joel Rivera,’” said one Bronx insider.
Possible Deputies Floated In Queens Borough President Race(City and State)
Is this crazy enough to work? A candidate named Joel Rivera is running to replace veteran Councilman Joel Rivera. Given the fact that a lot of attention will be on the high-profile mayoral race, it would be reasonable to assume a number of voters will head to the polls with no idea Mr. Rivera is term-limited and it’s a different Mr. Rivera on the ballot. “I would launch a full-scale campaign telling people, ‘Don’t vote for the fake Joel Rivera,’” said one Bronx insider.
Possible Deputies Floated In Queens Borough President Race(City and State)
A Political Local Newspaper
Pay to Read Journalism
Newspaper gives vote of approval to paying politicalcandidates (New York World)
A New York World review of campaign finance records and
endorsements found that of the 15 candidates who purchased services from
Multi-Media Advertising in competitive races for amounts exceeding $1,000, 11
also received a public endorsement from the Tribune in that race.
In
queens the local newspaper, the political machine and government all
work together. The paper do not preform the role of checks and balances
that Founding Father envisioned to protect the people from the
government and ensure a working democracy. Instead Queens local
newspapers have gamed journalism to operate as a co-machine in Queens.
More on Nussbaum and the Queens Tribune
They work in campaigns and are lobbyist to the same elected officials they help elect or reelect. The papers operate as the house organ for the Democratic party to controling who becomes gets elected or becomes a judge in Queens county. The judges in turn send the legal ads worth tens of thousands dollars to the local papers.* FOR MENG CONSULTANT NUSSBAUM, A HISTORY OF VOTE-SPLITTING(True News) NUSSBAUM...should have gone to jail back in the Manes days when he was caught red handed in ...wasn't it a Time Warner bribery scandal? And this is the man who is "representing" the RKO Keith's owner de jour...Patrick Thompson. . .* True News: A Takeover Of Journalism by Lobbyist and Politicians * True News: True News: Nussbaum Unplugged A New Organized ... * True News: The Queens Chronicle Asks Why is A Sex Sex Trafficker ...
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Education
Born as a Tribute but Faltering, a Bronx School Nears Its End (NYT) A high school named after Jonathan Levin, a dedicated teacher who was killed by a former student, has had changes in its student body and its prospects. It is expected to be closed.
Academic Standards
New State Academic Standards Are Said to Require $56 Million Outlay for City’s Schools(NYT) * New Curriculum on Tap (WSJ) New York City next year will transform the way students in kindergarten through eighth grade learn math and English, introducing a new curriculum and recommending new books for the first time in a decade, officials said. City education officials estimated it will cost $56 million to buy new textbooks and materials helping New York City public schools meet new academic standards adopted by most other states* DOE Prepares For Change To Common Core Curriculum(NY1) * New state tests required under Common Core for elementary and middle school students are two months away, but teachers, administrators and state education officials already agree on one point: Scores are going to drop.
Kindergarten Registration
Teacher Jobs
Board Warns Teacher for Having Two Jobs in the Same School(NYT)
Fmr. Schools Chancellor Knows "How To Succeed"(NY1)
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NYS Government
Judge Retirement Age
NY Assembly backs later judge retirement(WSJ)* The Assembly has passed for the second time a proposed state constitutional amendment to let judges keep working until they turn 80. (The current mandatory retirement age ranges from 70 to 76).
Gambling
NYS Conservative Party chairman calls casino gambling "taxation by exploitation."
Medical Lawsuits
Silver said he was open to fixing the statute of limitations in a state law that would allow patients who were misdiagnosed to sue for the medical help they need, the News reports:
Property Tax
New York State’s property-tax exemption program is potentially fraught with abuse, according to an audit released by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Fracking
Private sector unions speak out!
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Red Fire Hydrant
More Red Fire Hydrants Are Popping Up on the Sidewalks (NYT) While some hydrants have always been red, signaling that they are fed by larger water mains, dozens more are to be installed by the end of the year.
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Sandy
City Council Wants Albany To Give Tax Relief For Sandy Homeowners(NY1)
Weekend PATH service resumes to and from WTC(NYDN)
Breezy Point residents still planning Wounded Warriors Event(WABC)
After Sandy, Lower Manhattan Businesses Still Waiting On Verizon(HP)
Red Hook Fairway Reopens Today After Being Hit By Sandy
An upbeat view of post-Sandy lower Manhattan, from business and real estate executives. [Dana Rubinstein] * Nearly 5,000 homeowners with Hurricane Sandy damage want their
properties reassessed before they get their next property tax bill. [Sally Goldenberg] * Red Hookers share their Sandy stories in oral history project(Brooklyn Paper)
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Health Care
Hospitals to merge
(NYP) Mount Sinai Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners announced a
tentative merger agreement in a bid to control costs and provide more
extensive medical care to patients.The News urges the city to fully compensate a woman whose lung cancer was misdiagnosed by doctors at Kings County Hospital and has only a short time to live:
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Soccer
"New York is the center of the highest-stakes soccer battle in this country, perhaps ever." [Howard Megdal]
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Journalism
All the president meant
(NYP) WASHINGTON — Legendary journalist Bob Woodward ran into stiff
push-back on his claim that the White House had threatened him over an
explosive article he penned about the looming budget sequester.* What about Bob?(NYP Ed) * Woodward Is New Hero for the Right (Yes, Really)(NYT) * Bob Woodward, David Axelrod clash on TV - Politico * Bob Woodward Throws an Interception (New Yorker) * POLITICO Playback: Woodward at war with words 
Jon Stewart Decries ‘Ginned-Up’ Woodward Spat, Media’s Freakout Over Boehner Saying ‘Ass’
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Media
Magazine cover about the U.S. housing rebound draws claims of racism(NYT)
NAACP Official Blasts Controversial BusinessweekCover (NY Mag)
Bloomberg Apologizes for Its Name-That-Racial-Stereotype Cover
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Washington
Breaking Down the Budget Mess - Steven Rattner, New York Times
Hoping for Armageddon Is Not Leading - Charles Krauthammer, Wash Post
It's Time to Get Smart on Entitlements - Jonathan Alter, Bloomberg
Sequester Is a Pittance, Just the First Step - Sen. Rand Paul, IBD
The Nuanced Politics of Sequestration - Sean Trende, RealClearPolitics
Obama Is the Closest Thing to Nixon in 40 Years - Pat Caddell, FOX News
Conservatives' Ownership-Society Problem - Mike Konczal, Bloomberg
How the Corrupt Rich Get Richer With Cronyism - Daniel Mitchell, Cato
The Jobs Picture Is Far Worse Than It Looks - Mort Zuckerman, U.S. News
Keeping the NRA on Defense - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
The Democratic Majority Is Doomed - Pete Du Pont, Wall Street Journal
Christie's Next Act: Trailblazer or Regional Flop? - Scott Conroy, RCP
Ben Bernanke Goes Hippie - Paul Krugman, New York Times
California Chokes Off Its Middle Class - Conn Carroll, Washington Examiner
Europe's Reality Check - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post
Andrew: One Year Later - Larry Solov, Breitbart
McCain criticizes Obama for allowing cuts to military while “the centrifuges are spinning in Tehran:" (Politico)
Scalia's Contempt of Congress - Washington Post
More Sequester Lies - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Snub by CPAC a Badge of Honor for Christie - New Jersey Star-Ledger
Obama urges Supreme Court to strike down California law banning gay marriage(NYP) * U.S. Asks Justices to Reject California’s Ban on Gay Marriage(NYT) * The White House Joins the Fight(NYT Ed) The Obama administration made a powerful argument against California’s gay marriage ban, but it disappointingly stopped a step short * Obama Urges End To Gay-Marriage Ban(WSJ)
Mitt and Ann Romney break silence since election: (Politico)
Rep. Pete King blasted U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for fund-raising for his presidential campaign in New York after voting against federal funding for Hurricane Sandy victims, the News writes:
Scant Progress in 11th-Hour White House Talks on Cuts(NYT)
Some Still Give Congress Good Marks
Obama Signals He’d Let Cuts Stand to Avoid U.S. Shutdown(NYT)
Underlying Budget Impasse Is a Deep Philosophical Divide(NYT)
According to Mayor Bloomberg, the sequester isn’t a problem for NYC in the long term and talk of painful cuts is just “posturing.”
President Obama appeared to confuse Star Wars and Star Trek today, losing points with nerds everywhere. (As it turns out, however, he wasn’t entirely wrong).
The president also signaled that he wants to avoid a clash with Congress that could shut down the government at the end of March – even if it means allowing across-the-board cuts to remain in place for months.
House Republicans Find Footing in Sequester Battle - Ashley Parker, NYT
The Consequences of Inaction Are Severe - Rep. Sander Levin, Detroit News
Obama's Legacy: Government Greed - Gov. Bobby Jindal, National Review
Why Defense Cuts Are Scaring Me Less & Less - James Pethokoukis, Ricochet
Bernanke Is in Denial on Too Big to Fail - Simon Johnson, New York Times
The Benefits of Optimism Are Real - Emily Esfahani Smith, The Atlantic
Why Schools Should Teach the Bible - Roma Downey & Mark Burnett, WSJ
Why Did Democrats Give Jack Lew a Pass? - Alec MacGillis, New Republic
Senate GOP Is Erratic in Its Confirmation Strategy - Diana West, Townhall
Rodgers Adds Female Voice to GOP Leadership - Caitlin Huey-Burns, RCP
Woodward vs. White House: D.C. at Its Weirdest - Paul Farhi, Wash Post
The Obama White House Is Full of Itself - Peggy Noonan, Wall St. Journal
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Korea
Dennis and the Menace
(NYP) Dennis Rodman, who dated Madonna and was married to Carmen Electra,
now has his most bizarre new pal yet — the Supreme Leader of North
Korea. “You have a friend for life,” the retired NBA star told Kim
Jong-un before thousands at a Pyongyang.___________________________________________________________________________________
Gun Fight
Yesterday’s pro-gun rally attracted between 5,000 and 10,000 demonstrators – depending on whether you believe the number supplied by the Cuomo administration, which pushed through the NY SAFE Act, or organizers of the protest. * NRA President David Keene vowed to help New York gun owners fight the measure in court and defeat legislators who supported it. Keene called Cuomo “a bad penny that keeps turning up.” The rally may have signaled the return of former Assemblyman George Amedore, who lost a tight – and contested – Senate election to Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk.* The pro-gun rights rally was "one of the largest rallies at the State Capitol in recent years." [Thomas Kaplan] * Eric Shroader, a 50-year-old dentist from Buffalo, said Cuomo was "doing the same thing" as Hitler. [Beth Defalco]* Boyle, Voted Yes, Now Would Vote No On Gun Control(YNN)
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Law and Order
"Pols gone wilding"--a
School crossing guard AWOL as Harlem boy, 6, fatally struck by truck: police(NYP) A school crossing guard responsible for a busy Harlem intersection never showed up for work yesterday morning — and a 6-year-old boy she should have been helping was fatally struck by a big rig* Truck Kills Boy, 6, as He Walks to School(NYT) * Crossing guard gave supervisor false AM report — 6-year-old boy killed minutes later(NYP)
Police Investigate Crossing Guard's Whereabouts When Boy Was Fatally Struck By Tractor Trailer (NY1)
Figoski girls stare down killer as he gets life
‘Part of us died, too’ (NYP) A Brooklyn judge threw the book at the remorseless thug convicted of
killing NYPD Detective Peter Figoski, slapping him with the maximum
sentence of 45 years to life yesterday after hearing the slain cop’s
four daughters speak about everything the career criminal took from them.
‘Victim’ broils creep
(NYP) A pretty special-ed teacher was on the verge of tears yesterday as she
faced off in court against the accused “cannibal cop,” who the feds say
planned to kidnap and sell her to a online cohort for $5,000 so she
could be raped and murdered. * Prosecutors Try to Bolster Core Idea in Cannibal Case(NYT) * Teacher's Encounter with NYPD Officer Excluded from Cannibal Plot Case (WSJ)* 'Cannibal' cop used NYPD laptop to research targets: prosecutors(NYP) * Judge To Decide Whether To Let Jury See Disturbing Images Found On Computer Of Accused "Cannibal Cop"(NY1) 
‘Ma chop’ suspect in the bag
(NYP) The Bronx man accused of killing and dismembering his mother before
taking a picture of himself with her severed head appeared in court
yesterday wearing only a garbage bag. * Police: Bronx Murder Suspect Had Photo Of Self Holding Mom’s (WCBS * Bronx Man Accused of Hacking Up Mom Killed Her While She Slept, Sources Say
Rabbi Who Served Prisoners Is Sentenced to Spend 45 Days as One(NYT)
Manager Says Chelsea Coffee Shop Is Plagued By Violent Homeless(WCBS)
Transgender prostitute sexually assaulted at Midtown hotel (WABC)
3 Wanted in Midtown Hotel Gunpoint Sex Assault: Police(NBC)
2 Arrested in Deadly Shooting, Arson in Queens(NBC)
Before a Tourist’s Body Was Found, Rebuffed Efforts to Report Her Missing(NYT)
