Wake Up Call

Here And Now
State IG Joseph Fisch is retiring. Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo is expected to name Ellen Biben, his special deputy AG for public integrity, to replace Fisch. Gov. David Paterson “doesn’t have a pot to piss in,” a source tells Fred Dicker, and is running out of campaign cash to pay his high-priced attorney and recent $62,000 Yankees tickets fine. Paterson has just three bills remaining on his desk to either sign into law or Veto, all of which were sponsored by outgoing Sen./A...

Governor vetoes two, signs one of the last three bills on his desk
As promised, Gov. David Paterson has vetoed two bills that would require utility companies to pay cleaners and Security Guards prevailing wage. He signed Legislation that will increase the amount allowed as exemptions in Bankruptcy proceedings and money judgments. Based on the new law, people filing for Bankruptcy will have a choice between state and federal exemptions. The exemptions govern how much personal property and equity in their homes people filing for Bankruptcy can keep. Many of the...

The day's most popular stories
New York police video may yield clues: New York police said Friday they have new video showing what they called a "Person of Interest" in the case of a woman whose body was found in a suitcase earlier this week. New York Governor makes admission: New York Gov. David A. Paterson said "in retrospect" he regretted not informing the Victim's family before he commuted the sentence of a man convicted of killing an unarmed teenager during a confrontation. Police Probe death of ...

Rick Scott Education Team Gives New Twist to Old Ideas
Performance pay exploded onto the political and educational scenes during the 2010 legislative session, but it was eventually vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist. Now advisers on Gov.-elect Rick Scott's education team have made some tweaks that might help a similar bill to SB 6 pass in 2011. The report, released Tuesday evening, suggests a performance pay system where at least 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation is based on the Student's performance. But rather than have it based on the year-to-year p...

Plan would give Ackerman more sway over hiring Philadelphia School District contractors
The administration of School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has drafted a procurement policy that would diminish the role of professional staff and concentrate contracting power in her hands. Ackerman's deputy, Leroy D. Nunery II, circulated the initial draft to top administrators in an e-mail Nov. 21 with the subject line "RFP Process Enhancements." Nunery has said the changes are needed to address disputes over other contracts, including scoring bias and other issues that triggered b...

CityTime Exec Quits After Being Suspended
Color us not surprised. A week after he was forced to take an unpaid suspension, Office of Payroll Administration Executive Director Joel Bondy—who was in charge of the whole CityTime mess—quit yesterday. ...

Paterson signs law to raise NY debtor exemptions
Gov. David Paterson has signed a law raising the value of home equity, household goods and vehicles debtors can shield against court judgments and in Bankruptcy proceedings. The law raises from $2,400 to $4,000 the exemption protecting one vehicle owned by an individual from claims in Bankruptcy court. It establishes that protection for the first time against creditor claims in other court judgments. It raises the $50,000 limit on protected home equity to between $75,000 and $150,000 depending o...

Paterson Signs Law To Raise NY Debtor Exemptions
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. David Paterson has signed a law raising the value of home equity, household goods and vehicles debtors can shield against court judgments and in Bankruptcy proceedings. The law raises from $2,400 to $4,000 the exemption protecting one vehicle owned by an individual from claims in Bankruptcy court. It establishes that protection for the first time against creditor claims in other court judgments. It raises the $50,000 limit on protected home equity to between $75,00...

Adam Hanft: Cue the Anal Cancer Footage
Cross-posted from SpinSeason.com The New York City Health Department isn't full of wussy, Controversy-averse, fear-of-offending Bureaucrats, that's for sure. They're responsible for a AIDS-prevention TV spot that is gutsy, tabloidy, and has riled up some segments of the gay community. The spot, which as been likened to a "horror Movie Trailer" Here's the text: "When you get HIV, it's never just HIV. You're at a higher risk to get dozens of other diseases--even if you take medications--like ost...

Controversial imam to tour nation
NEW YORK — The Muslim cleric who hopes to build an Islamic center in New York City near the World Trade Center site is planning to tour the nation to promote the project. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf will first speak in Detroit on Jan. 15. The city has North America's largest Muslim population. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 Zaheer Uddin, head of New York's Islamic Leadership Council, told The Associated Press on Friday that he thinks it's a good idea for Rauf to address m...

Racy Poetry Book To Be Cleaned Up For Student Use
Tylibah Washington distributed her poetry book, entitled “Streets in Poem Form,” to Students at PS 279. (Credit: CBS 2) NEW YORK (CBS 2) — A Controversial urban poetry book will be sanitized before it is taught again in New York City public schools. Parents were aghast when copies of the racy reading material - it makes sexually explicit comments about everyone from drug dealers to presidents - were given to fifth graders. Tylibah Washington took to the streets of C...

National Association for the Advancement of Colored Lights
That's a tongue-in-cheek organization I started on Facebook a few years ago to express my general distaste for all-white Christmas light displays. Even the New York Times has picked up on the dispute between the white lightists and the folks like me who prefer lights of color: Back in 2005, after the first of their Children was born, Liz McCarthy saw a strange obsession take hold of her husband, Andrew. He began festooning more and more of their home in The Bronx with brightly colored Christmas...

Black Father Jailed in Slaying of White Teen Released Early
A man convicted of fatally shooting a teenager outside his Long Island home in what became a racially charged case was released from Prison Thursday after Gov. David A. Paterson commuted his sentence. John White, a black father from Miller Place, Long Island, was jailed last July. His sentenced was commuted to "time served" by Gov. David Paterson on Thursday. "The commutation is conditioned upon Mr. White not engaging in subsequent violation of law," Paterson said. White was ...

The New York State Tax-Cap Illusion
At a time when Americans are feeling overburdened, capping property taxes can sound like a great idea. It certainly does to Andrew Cuomo, the Governor-elect of New York. But a tax cap sounds a lot more helpful than it is. It is a blunt instrument that ends up punishing many of the Taxpayers and communities in need of relief. History shows, painfully, that caps can do more harm than good. California’s Proposition 13 led to the deterioration of universities, schools and other public facilit...

#488 Alexander Lebedev
Former intelligence officer, Banker and, from 2003 to 2007, member of Russia's lower house. Former intelligence officer, Banker and, from 2003 to 2007, member of Russia's lower house. This year sold his stake in the Russian national carrier Aeroflot; his airline Blue Wing, based in Germany, filed for Bankruptcy. The vociferous critic of the Russian authorities ran for mayor of Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics; lost to Putin's United Russia party Candidate. Owns Novaya Gazeta, Russ...

Annette John-Hall: Verdene Randolph to retire from dispensing legal - and personal - advice
It's the season of giving. The perfect time to celebrate Verdene Randolph. That's because for more than half of her life, Randolph has given of herself. Yet, she's one of those people you'd probably never know of otherwise. Unless, of course, you've lost your job and have been threatened with Foreclosure because you can't pay your Mortgage. Or you've fallen into credit-card Debt and are wondering whether you should file for Bankruptcy. Or you're entangled in some kind of custody issue and can't ...

PG&E; pushed controversial pipeline inspection plan
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. led the successful lobbying campaign to persuade federal Regulators writing natural-gas safety rules seven years ago to endorse a pipe inspection method many experts see as deficient - the technique used on the Pipeline that later failed catastrophically in San Bruno. A PG&E; executive was one of the main industry proponents of the then-new testing regimen, interviews with people who were involved in the rule-writing process and a Chronicle review of documents show...

Waste company donates money for 'preconception' program in area hit by birth defects
FRESNO, Calif -- FRESNO, Calif. - Kings County will develop a program to improve birth outcomes using grant money from the company that runs a hazardous waste dump near Kettleman City, a community that has been rocked by a Controversial string of Birth Defects. The county has received $158,000 from Waste Management Inc. to create a two-year "preconception" care program for women in the county, said Keith Winkler, the county's health director. Concern about the birth defects in Kettleman City pr...

Michigan's Real Financial State
Governor-Elect Rick Snyder is getting a state Budget with a surplus, according to outgoing Gov. Jennifer Granholm. But James Hohman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy says that although Granholm’s claim of a Budget surplus may be technically accurate, it is in no way indicative of the financial picture of the state under her watch. Granholm told the Michigan Information and Research Service (MIRS) recently: “For the first time in three administrations that not only are we hand...

Paterson to Veto Prevailing Wage Bill
David Paterson appeared on John Gambling's Radio Show this morning and announced that he would Veto a prevailing wage bill that was a major priority of labor Unions in the waning days of his administration. The bill would have required utilities that provide gas and electric to pay prevailing wages to contractors that the companies hire to perform janitorial and security services. "I'm vetoing that bill," Paterson said. "We think that it sets a very bad precendent. First it will be Con Ed, the...

Board overrides most of Astorinos vetoes
In a rebuke of hundreds of County Executive Rob Astorino’s line item vetoes, the Board of Legislators today signed off on a final $1.78 billion Budget. During a marathon of yeas and nays, legislators voted mostly along party line and overrode 247 out of 249 vetoes taken up. Among items that didn’t survive were $500,000 for child care Scholarships, $2 increase in golf round fees, nine positions in the information technology department and a $500,000 budget transfer from the Law Depa...

GOP rips Dems on County Board for veto overrides
Republicans on the Westchester County Board slammed their colleagues this afternoon after they overrode nearly all of County Executive Rob Astorino’s vetoes. Here’s what they had to say: Republican County Legislators criticized a “flawed process that led to a flawed product,” and blasted their Democratic counterparts for their strict adherence to party line votes to override virtually all of County Executive Rob Astorino’s vetoes. “Too much of the Budget pr...

Local-hire ordinance is law - no veto
San Francisco's local-hire ordinance - billed as the toughest in the country - will become law after Mayor Gavin Newsom on Thursday declined to Veto the measure. Newsom returned the Legislation to the Board of Supervisors unsigned, saying he has reservations about parts of it and wants the city to pursue reciprocity agreements with neighboring counties. Because his move was short of a veto, the measure will go into effect in 2011. "Local-hire policy is a complex arena that operates on a delica...

Paterson to Veto Prevailing Wage Bill
David Paterson appeared on John Gambling's Radio Show this morning and announced that he would Veto a prevailing wage bill that was a major priority of labor Unions in the (Read more...) ...

Paterson vetoes prevailing wage bill
Gov. David Paterson said he has vetoed a bill mandating service workers at Public Utility companies be paid a prevailing wage. Paterson said that by targeting “really, private companies that are assumed to have a significant public interest” would lead down a slippery slope. “I’m vetoing that bill because we think that it sets a very bad precedent,” Paterson told John Gambling on WOR. “First it will be Con Ed, then it will be some other private institution, and we certa