Thursday, May 30, 2013

The NYT Calls A Criminal Investigation of the WFP by Staten Island DA Donovan A Feud

Was Malcolm Smith Arrest for Scamming the City's Public Finance System By the US Attorney A Feud?

NYT Tries to Protect A Favorite

From the NYT:
"It was another odd development in a long-running case, about which little is known but which has fueled a feud between Mr. Donovan, a Republican, and the Working Families Party."


In Feud, Working Families Party Turns Tables on Prosecutor(NYT)
The leaders of the party filed a legal complaint to unseal the request for an investigation of them and penalize the district attorney, Daniel M. Donovan Jr., who requested it. Leaders of the Working Families Party are asking a state judge to unseal the case investigating the party and penalize Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan for leaking portions of documents blocked from public release

The legal battle has its origins in the 2009 city elections, when many candidates who were backed by the Working Families Party were swept into office. The victories prompted allegations that the party skirted campaign finance rules by providing services to endorsed candidates at discounted rates. 


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Campaign Consultant Corruption


Melvin Lowe Under Investigation Hired by Menin
Albany Scandal Touches Manhattan BP Race (YNN)
One of the high-profile public corruption scandals to rock Albany this spring has bled into the race for Manhattan borough president.
A report filed with the NYC Campaign Finance Board reveals the Democratic front-runner, Julie Menin, paid $2,500 on May 4 to Berachot, LLC, which just so happens to share an address (350 West 110th St., #1E, Manhattan), with controversial campaign consultant Melvin Lowe. Lowe, as you’ll recall, was one of nine names on a list of Democratic elected officials and operatives caught on ex-Sen. Shirley Huntley’s wiretap.


How about Consultant George Arzt  who Also Works for Menin. He is a lobbyist and a campaign consultant is that not on face corrupt?

Some of the top firms advising candidates for state and local office also lobby those offices for clients like corporations and unions. Some believe the potential conflict demands reform.(City Limits)

New York's Hidden Lobbyists Campaign Consultant Monopoly

All these corrupt campaign consultants make private deals with each other out of public view
New York City Council Member Peter F. Vallone, Jr. (D-Astoria) today announced he has hired two of the city’s premier political consulting firms. Mercury Public Affairs and Sheinkopf Communications will oversee Vallone’s bid to fill the seat being vacated by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
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Mayoral Race


"Thompson spoke of an 'overreaction to '”
Thompson’s restrained approach to ending stop-and-frisk policing has paid dividends with the endorsement from a coalition of city law-enforcement unions

Thompson Sees No Need to Bar a Police Tactic(NYT)
The restrained stand on stop-and-frisk taken by William C. Thompson Jr., the only black candidate for mayor, has inflamed some high-profile African-American Democrats. * Thompson Talks Poverty Plan, Quinn Talks Tech Plan(NY1)
Mr. Sharpton...has let Mr. Thompson know that he is displeased with his views on policing/stop and frisk * In a move that has surprised some black leaders and worried his allies, Democratic NYC mayoral contender Bill Thompson has not joined the push to end the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy.  Councilman Jumaane Williams said former Comptroller Bill Thompson is taking the allegiance of black voters for granted when he approaches policing issues, stating, “I think he believes that the color of his skin is what’s needed to get to communities of color, rather than standing on the correct substance of issues.” Mr. Thompson shot back that the charge was “ridiculous.” .: "I didn't want to see kids arrested for things I had done as a NYC public school student.. pushing, minor fist fights." * Thompson Sees No Need to Bar a Police Tactic(NYT)

Quinn Desperation Alert
Christine Quinn Says Bill Thompson Backs ‘Environmental Racism’(NYO)
 Mr. Thompson said he was staking out the position in order to protect children and public housing residents living near the East 91st Street site, but Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the race’s front-runner, who supports the station, tore into Mr. Thompson and accused him of supporting dumping Manhattan’s trash in poor neighborhoods of color.* Mayoral Candidates Weighing In On Plan For Upper East Side Waste Station (NY1)
* . called Upper East Side transfer station a "bumper sticker idea."




City's Largest Public Employee Union Endorses Liu For Mayor(NY1)

NY1 Online: Top Union Leader On Liu Endorsement
headline from Labor Press email: "Liu Promises Retroactive Pay" cc: * Meanwhile, Comptroller John Liu‘s DC 37 endorsement yesterday was made all the more curious by the union’s endorsement history, including legislators under indictment for corruption: “In 2012, for instance, the union was virtually alone in backing three state legislators who had already run afoul of the law: William F. Boyland Jr., Shirley L. Huntley and Naomi Rivera.” 

Lupica: Sadly, Ray Kelly won't run(NYDN) *
Poll: Commissioner Kelly Would Be A Game-Changer In Mayoral (WCBS)
NY1 ItCH: Why "Ray Kelly for Mayor" Won't Go Away – At Least Until July
 

Despite New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s efforts to block former assemblyman Vito Lopez from running for a Council seat, a copy of Quinn’s schedule reveals that she attended a fundraiser for Lopez in April 2012, the Daily News reports: Quinn: "If I had known, [the ] wud hav been the last place on Earth I wud ever have been" via
Christine Quinn Picked Love Over the Mets, Will Probably Lose Queens(NY Mag)

NY1 Online: Salgado Speaks About Mayoral Hopes

 

 How Will You Pay the $7.8 Billions For the Workers and the Increasing Pension and Health Care Costs?

The Artful Dodger Mayoral Candidates

 With looming demands from New York City’s municipal unions for as much as $7.8 billion in back pay, several candidates for mayor artfully dodged answering questions about what their negotiating strategy might be, the Daily News writes

  Pension costs for DOE employees increased by 241% from 2003 to 2013. Pension costs now $2.7 bil, more than 3 times what they were in 2003.

 

 

51m
"I don't like a woman in charge. We're bitches." My latest dispatch from Tottenville, Staten Island: *  New York City is Not For Sale 2013 unleashed three new negative ads that hit NYC Council Speaker/mayoral candidate Chris Quinn. * Upper East Side Garbage Protest Now Has 5 Mayoral Candidates on Board (Village Voice)

NYT Kisses Quinn's Ass Again
In Memoir, Quinn Tells of Courtship, Pain and Political Roots(NYT) 
Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, offers a look at her transformation from middle-class Long Island daughter to front-runner for mayor of New York. Quinn’s memoir is more personal than political.

Gennaro-Quinn lovefest(Queens Crap)

From The Politicker:  Although Council Speaker Christine Quinn has largely avoided tearing into her electoral opponents as she campaigns for mayor this year, the same can’t be said for everyone in her legislative chamber. Councilman James Gennaro, notably, has repeatedly and aggressively attacked her rivals on a wide range of issues, earning a reputation as a reliable “attack dog” for her campaign.The list of examples is long. Mr. Gennaro accused Public Advocate Bill de Blasio of being on a “quest for relevance” during the paid sick day debate. He hit Mr. de Blasio again for his call to end horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. On the environmental front, Mr. Gennaro, the chair of the Council’s environmental protection committee, called Mr. de Blasio and another Gracie Mansion hopeful, Comptroller John Liu, “panderers” for opposing the construction of a waste transfer station on the Upper East Side. “I applaud Speaker Quinn for facing the critics,” he added. * The Ad Campaign: Group Frames the Choice as Anyone but Quinn (NYT)

.@ChrisCQuinn gets endorsement of UAW #2013 http://t.co/a06uQ0xVtP


 Education
13m
Before you read this know this: crime is down in NYC schools 48% w/record grad rates + incarceration rates down 37%.

21m
My fave Mayoral Matrix item is on charter school co-location. Candidates' positions form an almost perfect circle.

Weiner 2.0 Not Much Change
52s
Weiner "claims he doesn’t read the New York Post...yet complains about specific things he finds offensive." Anthony Weiner Circumspect on Circumcision Controversy via
Maggie Haberman writes: “It took only a few stops on the trail to make this much clear: The new Anthony Weiner bears an uncanny resemblance to the pugnacious, hard-charging Anthony Weiner of old.” *  Anthony Weiner calls Peter King 'shameful' but mum on Michele Bachmann via * Could we start seeing hits against Mr. Weiner soon? A poll is reportedly testing negative messages against Mr. Weiner and other rivals, including an ask for “reaction to the fact that Anthony Weiner exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women include ‘one that is 17 years old.’ The poll also asked for reaction to the fact that Weiner ran ‘a smear campaign” against a rival in a prior campaign.’”Mr. Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, is helping her husband fund-raise. Ms. Abedin has a full-time job working as a top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and isn’t used to stepping out into the spotlight, but Ms. Clinton’s status as a presidential front-runner is bound to help. Or, as Mr. Weiner’s spokeswoman explained, “It’s not a secret that Huma is 100 percent committed to helping Anthony reach City Hall. As is Jordan.” * Anthony Weiner Pans Pete King but Passes on Michele Bachmann(NYO)
* How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Weiner (New Republic). calls 's radicalization hearings 'shameful' cc:
Silver Holds Breakfast Meeting With Democratic Women(YNN)
"Anthony Weiner repeatedly voted to hike his salary during his time in Congress" via
King’s response: “I never knew Anthony Weiner to have any expertise or qualifications on terrorism whatsoever unless he’s been studying that in his apartment in the last two years.” 
Watch Anthony Weiner discuss a time he couldn’t get on NYC tabloid covers. (Buzz Feed")
"I'm not looking to round up endorsements," says on
2m
Weiner's run for mayor: "failing to have acknowledged a character flaw is proving a handicap to the other candidates"
De Blasio Presents Agenda for Those Without ‘Caviar Pizza’ and Edible Gold (NYO)
 
Lhota on City Contracts
The DN praises GOP mayoral candidate Joe Lhota for saying NYC cannot afford retroactive raises for unionized workers.  "Lhota .. issued this simple, declarative statement of truth: 'The city cannot afford retroactive raises.' " 
Controversy Erupts over Joe Lhota's No-Show to GOP Dinner Honoring Ted Cruz

Mayoral Candidates Take Positions on the ‘Sucking Blood From a Baby’s Circumcised Penis’ Question(NY Mag)
 
“The mayoral matrix.”(Interesting Site)









 de Blasio
"blood-spattered letter addressed to Public Advocate arrived @ the Municipal Building on Centre St"

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Campaign 2013

In political twist, former Democratic BP Lamberti backs Republican Oddo for Staten Island borough president (SI Advance)






Quinn vows to block Lopez's council bid(NYDN)

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What is the NYP Saying About Silver?

‘Shelly Silver witness-protection program’”
‘Silver’-spoon gal climbing the ladder (NYP) ALBANY — A former state assemblywoman and close ally of Speaker Sheldon Silver has quietly left her cushy job at the state Education Department for an even higher-paying one in state Family Court. Janele Hyer-Spencer, a motorcycle-riding former beauty queen, was hired in September 2011 — after voters had booted her from her Assembly seat.  As The Post reported last year, Silver — who has sway with the Board of Regents, which oversees the education agency — recommended Hyer-Spencer for he $84,000-a-year position. The 48-year-old lawyer never worked in the education field before taking the state post. Although most of Hyer-Spencer’s responsibilities involved lobbying Congress, the tall, leggy blonde was based in Albany.  Some politicos speculate that Hyer-Spencer left her job at the Education Department to deflect attention from her connections to Silver — at about the same time a state ethics committee completed its scathing report on ex-Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment of female staffers and Silver’s use of a secret settlement to keep the allegations quiet. Hyer-Spencer was elected to the seat representing the East Shore and Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn in 2006. After losing to GOP Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis in 2010, Hyer-Spencer never showed up to thank her supporters on election night. Zenaida Mendez, president of the state chapter of the National Organization For Women, slammed Cuomo for claiming to push a women’s equality agenda while considering a plan to legalize violent MMA in New York. * Apparently Hyer-Spencer got a new job when she lost her old one, & the Speaker knows people in government? ?
A Second Democrat Calls for Silver to Resign(NYT)Assemblywoman Inez D. Barron of Brooklyn is the first Democratic woman to call for Speaker Sheldon Silver’s resignation over his handling of Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment case.* Silver Faces More Assembly Dissent(WSJ) Democratic Assemblywoman Inez Barron broke with her colleagues by calling on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to resign from his leadership post for his handling of the sexual harassment allegations against Vito Lopez*  Meanwhile, in Albany... MT Female assembly member says women members are trying to have a "cathartic process" with the speaker * O'Reilly: Needed: a staff revolt in Albany (Newsday)
‘I Will Support The Speaker Until Otherwise’(YNN)
Pressure Stays On Silver For Handling Of Vito Lopez Harassment Scandal(NY1)



13m
NY Post today breaks news about secret job that SI Advance reported on May 6

    1. 2h
      Silver Holds Breakfast Meeting With Democratic Women: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver had breakfast this morni...
    26m
    Silver will be eating crow, while the others grovel for pork.
 

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Hynes' Hitchcock Moment

Hynes Private Hotel Jails

Hell in ‘Hotel Hynes’ (NYP)  Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes’ prosecutors used hotel rooms as private jail cells to hide away reluctant witnesses and coerce them into giving false testimony, a bombshell court filing claims  * Brooklyn Prosecutor’s Office Is Accused of Detaining Trial Witnesses(NYT)

 Federal Judge Hynes Office Clueless
And another slap at Brooklyn DA (NYP) A federal judge yesterday threw out a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by a former Brooklyn prosecutor against District Attorney Charles Hynes — but he slapped veteran crime fighter Hynes for not recognizing that he had placed the son of a political candidate in the very unit that was prosecuting his dad’s opponent. Wynton Sharpe was working as an assistant DA in Hynes’ office while his father, Wellington Sharpe, was a candidate in 2010 for the state Senate. At the same time, Hynes’ office was prosecuting state Sen. Kevin Parker — the man Sharpe’s dad was seeking to unseat — for assaulting a Post photographer. * Suit Claims Bklyn D.A.'s Office Coerced Witnesses for False Testimony

Hynes and two foes to spar at DA forum(NYDN)
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Pedro Canned

Judge nix on Pedro4 hrs agoA federal judge yesterday shot down Pedro Espada Jr.’s last-minute request for a sentencing delay so that he could hire another defense attorney.The former state Senate majority leader’s sentencing will * Convicted NY pol Pedro Espada tries yet again to postpone judgment day





Lopez pal's planning commission days numbered (CrainsNY)

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Old Voting Machines

Is Anyone Embarrassed? Why Did the BOE Buy Scanners That Don't Work?

Where is the NYT Call for An Investigation of the BOE?
1) The NYT Says the BOE is incompetent elections board, which has been riddled with patronage for years.

2) The NYT says the scanner that the BOE bought for $60 million do not work

Keep the Clunkers Away From the Polls(NYT Ed)
The Board of Elections needs to come up with some other solution to handle the tight primary schedule and not bring back the old lever-based machines. The Times advocates for the continued use of electronic voting machines and blames the “incompetent” state Board of Elections and the Legislature for not moving the primary to June to have enough time to count votes. Albany’s only option is to give the board an extra week to do the counting. As for the old machines, they might get good money as scrap.* Gov. Cuomo Undecided About Using Lever Machines in City's 2013 Elections - UPDATED

NYC wants to bring back old lever voting machines bc of pressures of mayoral election schedule. 
In a last-ditch effort to avoid an electoral embarrassment, NYC is poised to go back in time: it is seeking to redeploy lever machines.
New York City Wants to Revive Old Voting Machines(NYT)
Doubts over the capabilities of the electronic scanners used in recent elections have prompted a call to pull the mechanical lever machines out of storage for the mayoral primary and runoff.
Albany Leaders Reluctantly Open to Lever Voting - WNYC 

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Mayoral Debate

Last Night's  Jewish Debate
says she opposes tax credits & vouchers for private schools. But talks of other ways to help.    * Earlier today, Weiner met with coalition of uniformed unions seeking support. "He was real cocky," a source said. * Liu "can't support vouchers or tax credits" * "Im not someone who believes in vouchers."--  * Weiner gets loud applause for talking about his defense of Jewish/Israeli issues, only lukewarm clapping for Obamacare.* . making his Jewishness very clear very fast. In opening uses H * Weiner says I was the one who stood for Pollard Rebashkin * 3rd Q: Will electing Dem mayor return city to bad old days (high taxes, crime, etc. * Quinn won't address retroactive raises, or Weiner's 'hypothetical' budget issue * First attack on speaker Quinn by weiner re: special needs education * "they may be going o Yeshivas, but they are all our children."-- * RT : Quinn on MBP: it does balance religious freedom and health issues. Will keep consent form it in place. *Salgado likes the word "insensitives"   * Motivated by Weiner, Thompson goes on attack against the city government's polices.   * Thompson: Priority 7 vouchers should be reinstated. * Wiener drops middle class word. Says we should cut taxes by 10% for middle class. * Weiner mocks editorial board writer for writing about needing more services then asking in a debate about over spending by govt. : Republicans are responsible for most of the fiscal problems we are facing. * . said it was "convenient" for Bloomberg's legacy not to strike labor deals. cc: *Diverse Mix of Candidates Weigh In on an Obscure Jewish Ritual((NYT)
First Head-to-Head for Weiner and Quinn Goes Off Without a Hitch (DNAINFO)
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City's High Tech Scandal Continues

City's new 911 system crashes for 12 minutes(NYDN)
NYC's New 911 System Crashes for 12 Minutes: Report(NBC)
NYC's revamped 911 computer system crashes twice in its first two days of operation. Read what Ray Kelly had to say:

City’s 911 Operators Use Pen and Paper as Computers Fail(NYT)

 

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Bloomberg Attacked

Update
Mayor’s Fierce Stand Against Guns Creates Lightning Rod(NYT)

Man's wife called cops after finding suspicious material, online searches related to poison(NYP)

US Secret Service confirms White House screening facility intercepted letter addressed to WH similar to letters addressed to
Police revealed that two anonymous letters loaded with the poison ricin were mailed to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with the author targeting Bloomberg because of his tough stand on gun control

Mike hit by poison pen(NYP) * Letters Threatening Mayor Tested Positive for Ricin(NYT)
Bloomberg says he does not feel threatened after letters laced with deadly ricin were mailed to him
Letters to Bloomberg Show Ricin Traces(WSJ)
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Cuomo Tax Free Plan

CSEA has launched a statewide radio ad campaign against Tax-Free NY, calling it a “giveaway” to businesses. More details emerged on the proposal. Eligible sites would not only include the 64 SUNY campuses outside NYC and some private universities north of Westchester, but also 20 state “assets” like closed prisons or hospitals.
The Civil Service Employees Association has launched an advertising campaign blasting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to create tax-free zones for businesses, calling it “another special giveaway to business”, the Times Union reports: http://bit.ly/17we2zF
A report released by ALIGN NY found that New York spends $7 billion a year in incentives to entice businesses to stay in-state, but that the state does not adequately oversee how the money is being spent, Gannet Albany reports: http://on.rocne.ws/1772YrU
Gov Andrew Cuomo continues to sell his tax free zones, which are being attacked from left & right (by )  
Newsday on Tax-Free NY: “The plan can’t hurt. It doesn’t cost anything to try. It could create jobs. But the execution must be done well.” 
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has now announced his plan to offer tax-free zones for businesses on public and private campus properties 10 times since last Wednesday.
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Statue Terror



Ignore Ray, you pay(NYP Ed)
Screening visitors after rather than before they board boats to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is nuts. But what do you expect when you disregard Ray Kelly’s advice on security issues? * Mayor Bloomberg: Statue of Liberty security policy a federal NYDN)

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Sandy
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Education

Teacher Evaluations High Noon
The Post’s Bob McManus writes that state Education Commissioner John King is in a no-win position by being tasked with settling a dispute between the United Federation of Teachers and the Bloomberg administration
John King’s dilemma(NYP) Side with the kids — or his boss? So who can envy John King? By law, he has until Saturday to promulgate regulations for “evaluating” the classroom fitness of the city’s 75,000-plus teachers — that is, to impose a template for accountability that has eluded genuine reformers for years.* In the Daily News, Success Academy Charter Schools founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz disputes the latest “smear campaign” alleging favoritism by the Bloomberg administration of Moskowitz’s charter schools:

Amid Protests Over Free Tuition, Mayor Urges Graduates to Donate(NYT)
Speaking at Cooper Union’s commencement ceremony on Wednesday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg urged the new alumni to give back to their school.

The School-to-Prison Pipeline(NYT Ed)
A task force urges New York City’s schools to adopt new approaches to discipline that would not criminalize minor misbehaviors.

The Times cites a report released by the New York City School-Justice Partnership Task Force in making recommendations to the next mayor on improving school safety: 

A massive online learning program is being embraced today by 10 large public university systems, including the State University of New York.

Day Care
An IDC report found 7,000 violations at day care centers outside New York City over the past two years with limited enforcement from the state.
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Willets Point

City backpedals on Willets Point violations(Queens Crap)

From the Times Ledger: After one branch of city government issued several Willets Point business owners violations and shut down their body shops earlier this month, another branch will now pay to fix them. On May 17, inspectors from the city Department of Buildings closed two lots housing several auto businesses in the Iron Triangle. At one property, on the corner of 38th Avenue and 126th Street, inspectors determined a building had been illegally subdivided into five shops. They shuttered the whole group. Across the street, inspectors enforced an order to vacate issued in 2009 regarding support joists holding up the sheet metal roof.



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Mermaid Parade A Go

The Mermaid Parade will march on! Annual Coney Island spectacle raises the $100K needed to bring hordes of scantily-clad sea creatures back to Sandy-wrecked area(NYDN)

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Mark Sleeps Through

 Sleeping Though History and His Job
Portly in a storm (NYP) He was sleeping on the job — even during Hurricane Sandy.  Fuming NYPD tow-truck operators confronted Local 983 union President Mark Rosenthal at a May 11 rally, demanding to know why he was missing in action after their private cars were flooded on...


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Dead Freeze


She's a beaut. (Photo: eBay)Morgue Refrigerator Being Sold on eBay by New York State Is a Great Way to Chill Out(NYO)

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In Brooklyn Condoms OK

Police in Brooklyn Are Told Not to Seize Condoms of Prostitutes(NYT)
Advocates for sex workers said that confiscating condoms as evidence discouraged prostitutes from carrying them, endangering public health.


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Bike City


Barclays Pedals Out Valets(WSJ)
In a move to jump-start use of bicycles to reach the city's newest arena, the Barclays Center is turning to a perk drivers can relate to: the valet.

As Bike Share Begins, Other Cities Scoff Over Fanfare (and Complaints)(NYT)
Major cities with bike share systems are coming to terms with a well-worn truth: Nothing matters until it happens in New York. (At least in the eyes of New Yorkers.)
Accused Citi Bike bicycle thief nabbed(NYDN)

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Media

 

Overanalyzing Rupert Murdoch’s New Handwritten News Corp. Logo(NY Mag)

On day Chicago Sun-Times axes photo staff, it publishes obit of ex-chief photographer.
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Washington


   O’s FBI pick a ‘W’ man (NYP) President Obama is expected to nominate former George W. Bush administration official James Comey as the head of the FBI, people familiar with the decision said yesterday. Comey, who served in the Justice Department under Bush, would replace..* Sources: Former NY Prosecutor To Be New FBI Director(NY1)
Why Show Up?' Fox Hosts Dig Into Eric Holder's 'Charm Offensive' As News Outlets Bow Out Of Meeting (VIDEO)
Michele, Here’s the Bell(NYT)
Michele Bachmann says that this will be her last term in Congress. This is truly the end of an era!Michelle Obama Attends NYC Fundraisers(NY1)
Decision: Fox News’ Executive Vice President Michael Clemente has said that Fox News will NOT attend the DOJ meeting if it is OFF the record

25 Tea Party Groups File Suit Against IRS - Shushannah Walshe, ABC News
Eric Holder: Giving Justice a Bad Name - Michael Gerson, Washington Post
James Rosen Is Not Blameless - Fred Kaplan, Slate
Obama's Tactics Straight Out of the Chicago Playbook - John Fund, NRO
One Way ObamaCare May Already Be Working - Ezra Klein, Bloomberg
$12B ObamaCare Slush Fund Fuels Controversy - Stuart Taylor Jr., Forbes
Sequester Not Biting Washington DC - Jim Tankersley, Washington Post
Degree of Dislike May Decide Va. Gov Race - Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics

'GODFATHER' ON THE MOVE
Ted Cruz Opens Up on Immigration - Byron York, Washington Examiner
Red Flags for GOP in 2 Bellwethers - Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
New Anthony Weiner Same As the Old - Maggie Haberman, Politico
Bachmannism's Legacy - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
Bob Dole's Silly Lament - Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
China Wants a War With America - Chang & Lyons, Los Angeles Times
Helping Syrian Rebels a Dangerous Risk - Sen. Rand Paul, CNN
Woolwich: Extremists on Both Sides - Russell Brand, Huffington Post
Western Cultural Suicide - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review Online
Why the Media Shouldn't Keep Holder's Secrets - Ron Fournier, Natl Jrnl
The Results of Fearing Free Speech - David Harsanyi, Human Events
What's at Stake for Obama in 2014 - Edward Wyckoff Williams, The Root
Dems Worry as Obama Drags Down Party - Carl Cameron, FOX News
GOP Freshmen Shaking Up the Senate - Patricia Murphy, The Daily Beast
Obama's IRS Committed Political Sabotage - John Eastman, USA Today
Political Groups Shouldn't Be Tax-Exempt - Michael Grunwald, Time
The Next Scandal: Platinum Welfare Cards - Howie Carr, Boston Herald
Bachmann Wasn't Funny, She Was Awful - Jim Newell, The New Republic
Blame the President for Benghazi - Colonel David Hunt, Breitbart
Wehrmacht "Miracle Pill" Was Crystal Meth - Fabienne Hurst, Der Spiegel
Defeating Terrorism by Calling It Something Else - George Jonas, Natl Post

Editorials

War on Leaks Threatens Your Right to Know - USA Today
IRS Commisioner's Trips to White House: Bush 1, Obama 118 - IBD
What Bachmann's Exit Means for Minnesota - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Scenes of Unrest in Sweden's Socialist Paradise - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
16m
Weekly US jobless aid applications rise to 354,000 last week, a sign layoffs have increased: -RAS
Break: "NBC News declines to participate in an off the record meeting on this issue."



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Wall Street


Former hedge fund titan bares all in titillating Wall Street memoir(NYP)







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Law and Order
‘Thief’ takes own mug shot (NYP) This alleged mugger’s vanity did him in.  A man who swiped a Samsung Galaxy smartphone from a 16-year-old boy decided to snap a self-portrait (pictured) using the stolen gizmo, police said.  Albert Wilson, 19, and five accomplices surrounded the...  * Cops nab bandit who took mugshot selfie(NYDN)

Hookers defend their pimp Vincent George Jr. in Manhattan Court(NYP)





 French-Canadian drug kingpin pleads guilty to trafficking marijuana(NYP)
A French-Canadian drug kingpin who created a rare alliance with some of North America's most notorious criminal organizations pleaded guilty today to charges that he was one of New York City's biggest marijuana suppliers. Jimmy "Cosmo" Cournoyer, 33...   

Man Killed in the Village Is Remembered as Outgoing and Private(NYT)
Mark Carson, fatally shot in what the police say was a hate crime, was described as both private and outgoing by friends and relatives who attended his memorial service.
Police make arrest in Bronx beauty store robbery(WABC)

Another Man Convicted in 2011 Killing of an Officer(NYT)
A Queens man who participated in a botched drug robbery that led to the death of Officer Peter Figoski became the fourth defendant to be found or to plead guilty.

Missing Flushing mom may have been killed and put in trunk(NYDN)

 Video pins NYPD officer on felony frame job(NYDN)

Teen pleads guilty to 2011 killing in Queens(NYDN)

FBI Agent Reports Second Case of Car Theft(WSJ)
For the second time in less than a year, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent was the target of a car theft in Queens - but this time, it was his government-issued vehicle that was stolen, along with a high-powered rifle stored in its trun * Missing FBI Agent's Car Found, Police Say(NY1)
Stolen FBI Vehicle Recovered in Queens: Source(NBC)
Felony girlfriend-assault charges dropped against one of 'Central Park Five'(NYP)
Witnesses call father's assault rifle attack on rowdy teens(NYP)
NYPD sergeant returns to neighborhood where he was shot(SI Advance)

Mom's Boyfriend Arrested in Death of 5-Month-Old Bronx Boy, Officials Say(DNAINFO)

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Terrorism

Al Qaeda terror mag celebrates Boston Marathon blasts - warns more attacks to come(NYP)
Al Qaeda performance review letter reveals business-like …9 hrs ago
After the September 11 th attacks the widely accepted assessment of Al-Qaida’s level of sophistication was a bunch of amateur terrorists training in the desert on monkey bars. But a letter detailing an … More »

Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Plot to Kill Saudi Ambassador(NYT)


Man Sentenced in Plot to Kill Saudi Ambassador

An Iranian-American used-car salesman from Texas, had pleaded guilty in a scheme to hire Mexican assassins to murder an ambassador to the United States.