Been meaning to post, but kinda too busy: it seems I was right in my predictions as to who would win the city-wide elections in New York City (not the men I wanted, but those I predicted). The big surprise was that Mayor Bloomberg got only 51% of the vote (compared to Bill Thompson's 46%). Pundits are saying Bloomberg spent about $175-$200 per vote ( Read more... )

Tomorrow is Election Day here in New York City (and many other places, as well, but I've been kind of focused on the local stuff). For my NYC readers, here's my attempt to influence your vote ( Read more... )

For the news behind the post, see this New York Times story. I first heard about it on WINS radio, but couldn't find it on the web site ( Read more... )

Word came down today (Reuters has it here) that the US Department of Justice has ruled Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to circumvent the term limits law̵s;by changing the number of terms allowed from two to three-is permissible because it is "not intended to and would not discriminate against racial and language minority groups ( Read more... )

I think I'm caught up. Been reading my friends page everyday this week, posting news on SFScope regularly, keeping my e-mail in-boxes properly pruned (they're still THIS high, but they haven't really grown this week), I've only spent scant minutes looking around my new Facebook account (another damn time-sink), and all the freelance editing ( Read more... )

Because I started the conversation on my other blog, I just posted this entry over there. The topic is the term limits law in New York City, which Mayor Bloomberg decided was fine, except that he wanted to change the "2" to a "3" so he could run for a third term this year. Rather than referring it to a public referendum (and remember, the law was ( Read more... )

Just so you don't think yesterday was all grumpiness, after getting off the subway in Manhattan, Kit and I walked around, looking at Christmas decorations (which are still loudly in evidence), and had a good time together in the City. We also stopped in the Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue at 46th Street, and I was very excited to see that my book is ( Read more... )

There are times when I go home, or am at home, when I feel that I'm missing out on all the wonderful things New York City has to offer; when I feel I'm not doing enough, just puttering my way through life. This week is not one of them ( Read more... )

The New York Times has this piece in today's edition: "Fewer Children Entering Gifted Programs" by Elissa Gootman and Robert Gebeloff. It makes me wonder if New York City's gifted programs are supposed to be an engine for social engineering, a way to make school enrollment "fair" or "equal", or if they exist to give additional educational ( Read more... )

Yesterday's trip home provided a couple of out-of-the-ordinary sights that made me smile.

First, in Manhattan, there was a girl walking toward me wearing red canvas Converse high top… boots. They looked just like the sneakers, except they stretched up to just below her knees (something like this). They were bright red, with bright white laces done ( Read more... )