New York Headlines
'Planet Albany' Waits, Grouchily
David Paterson will be governor for at least a few more days.
That Times guillotine didn't come down this weekend. And then, despite the best guess of one Business Insider source, didn't drop this morning either. (Instead we got a story about the governor giving St. Vincent's another loan.)
Now Ben Smith reports the governor is meeting with The Times tomorrow, so it looks like Albany Armaggedon will have to wait until at least Wednesday.
In the...
Bloomberg wants Obama vow to pay for 9/11 trial
The mayor said Monday that he wants assurance from the Obama administration that it will help pay for the added security and other infrastructure the city would have to provide.
City officials have estimated the cost at $200 million a year, but have not detailed the specific costs that make up that figure.
Mr. Bloomberg recently declared he did not want the trial in New York City, after supporting the idea initially last year.
President Barack Obama said Sunday he has not ruled out holding the trial in New York City, despite the opposition from Mr. Bloomberg and others.
Aqueduct winners drop controversial partner
Darryl Greene and his firm, the Darman Group, relinquished their 0.6% stake in the project, according to a statement released by AEG. Mr. Greene's share will be swallowed by AEG, which said it will not take on any new investors as a result of Mr. Greene's resignation.
Neither the Darman Group nor its principals will receive any compensation now or in the future, said Jeff Levine, chief executive of Levine Builders and a partner in the bid.
In a separate statement, AEG looked to squelch speculation that Senate President Malcolm Smith—a former business partner of Mr. Greene’s and a protégé of bid member the Rev. Floyd Flake—might one day wind up working for the team.
“We can unequivocally state that Senator Smith nor any government official involved in this process will ever be employed by Aqueduct Entertainment Group or any of its partners, investors or affiliates,” Mr. Levine said in a statement. “Aqueduct Entertainment Group was selected by Governor Paterson, Senator Smith and Speaker Silver because our bid represents the best value for the taxpayers of New York and the best plan for the residents of Queens.”
Rumors that Aqueduct could provide a soft private-sector landing for Mr. Smith have abounded because of his close ties to Messrs. Flake and Greene. But speculation over whether Mr. Greene would be able to remain a part of the bid picked up steam after Mr. Silver insisted anyone who had been convicted of a “felony or other crime or offense involving fraud, larceny of any sort, theft, misappropriation or conversion of funds, or tax evasion,” not be allowed to participate.
Mr. Greene pleaded guilty in 1999 to misdemeanor charges that he fraudulently billed the city $500,000.
Mr. Silver’s criminal background condition was thought to be directed at Mr. Greene—a former business partner of Senate President Malcolm Smith—and was among four stipulations the speaker insisted upon in exchange for backing the AEG bid. AEG has said it will meet Mr. Silver’s conditions, which include raising its upfront payment to $300 million, from $200 million.
With Mr. Greene out, the team’s principals now include the Canadian investment firm Clairvest, the Las Vegas-based Navegante Group and several New York City-based firms, including Levine Builders, Turner Construction, GreenStar Services Corp. and the Rev. Floyd Flake’s Empowerment Development Corp.
Super Bowl was most viewed TV program ever
The Nielsen Co. estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts. That beats the "M-A-S-H" finale, which had 105.97 million viewers in an era when there were fewer television sets.
Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the quest for a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning propelled the viewership.
The game also obliterated the previous record viewership for a Super Bowl — last year's game between Arizona and Pittsburgh in which 98.7 million people watched.
Meanwhile, commercials took up nearly 48 minutes of the game — the most for any Super Bowl.
Research firm Kantar Media says the amount of ads that aired on CBS was nearly 3 minutes longer than last year's total, the previous record holder.
The game brought an unusual number of shorter, 15-second ads as marketers looked to keep their costs low but still be in the advertising world's biggest event.
Commercials typically come in 30-second blocks — which sold this year for between $2.5 million and more than $3 million. But Kantar says seven of this year's 66 ads were just 15 seconds long. That's the most since 2002.
Ackerman: Goldstone Standard Could be Trouble for U.S.
Here's Rep. Gary Ackerman yesterday in Manhattan saying there could be serious problems if the finding in the U.N.'s Goldstone Report, which is critical of Israel's response to violent activities in Gaza, is used as a standard to compare other countries.
Like ours.
He was speaking at a congressional breakfast hosted by two pro-Israel organizations, the JCRC & UJA.
At the 3:47 mark, Ackerman, who said the report was seriously flawed, said:
"I would contend that on...Pay Czar Thinks $9 Mil is a Little High
Late Friday afternoon, Goldman Sachs announced that C.E.O. Lloyd Blankfein would receive a $9 million dollar bonus. But if the maligned company was trying to bury the lead, they couldn't sneak it past the Pay Czar, Kenneth Feinberg.
While some have called it modest, Mr. Feinberg said the total number was excessive in an appearance on Bloomberg TV this morning. "If you look at the 700 people who are under my mandatory jurisdiction, I don't...
Linda Stein Murder Trial: 'We're Going to Have to Put an End to This'
Natavia Lowery had a close and troubled relationship with her boss Linda Stein. That's according to the testimony of Stein's coworkers at Prudential Douglas Elliman's top brokers.
According to broker Louise Stocker, Ms. Lowery had said, "We're going to have to put an end to this," when asked about working for Stein a couple of days before Stein's October 2007 murder. Ms. Stocker's testimony came on Thursday, during the second week of the prosecution's case.
Stein, 62, could not grip...
Off-Broadway shows debut 2-for-1 discounts
The NYC & Company "On the House'' discount runs from Monday through Feb. 28. Theater-goers can buy two-for-one tickets during the discount.
Participating shows include Avenue Q, Awesome 80s Prom, and The Fantasticks. Some other options are Venus in Fur, uerza Bruta, The Gazillion Bubble Show and STOMP.
'Nimble' Pricing
Apple will drop the iPad's price if sales don't take off, reports The Business Insider. According to Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope:
"While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated)."
The current price point (starting at $499) came as a surprise after rumors of a $1000 tablet. 'Nimble'...
Rice Hiring
Another sign (as if we needed more) that Democrats are expecting Andrew Cuomo to run for governor and vacate the attorney general's office: One possible candidate to replace Cuomo, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, is looking to staff up for her campaign. She placed two ads recently, seeking to hire a finance director and policy researcher.
From JobsThatAreLeft:
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is looking for a Finance
Assistant to join her political...
Barnes & Noble: Nook in most stores by midweek
The Nook electronic book tablet sold by Barnes & Noble will be available again in most stores by midweek after quickly selling out over the holidays, the company said Monday.
Production was ramped up to meet demand, the company said, and the reader, which retails for $259, is also available online at nook.com.
Traditional bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders Group Inc. have struggled with increased online competition and discounters. Barnes & Noble is hoping its foray into the eBook market, where it competes with Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle and now Apple's iPad, will help draw customers back through its doors.
Borders is working with Canadian digital book company Kobo Inc. to develop a Borders-branded e-reader application powered by Kobo that will work on most mobile phones and PCs and be available in the second quarter of 2010.
The company will also roll out its "More In Store" campaign this month, which gives Nook owners access to a few novelty items like recipes for red velvet cupcakes in time for Valentine's Day.
Nasdaq OMX profit grows even as revenue falls
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit rose 23% on lower special impairment charges and taxes at the global exchange operator than a year earlier.
Excluding special charges, however, its earnings fell 10% versus a year ago.
Nasdaq OMX Group's revenue fell as the exchange operator continues to face increasing market competition. Competing trading platforms launched in recent years have eaten away at market share held by long-standing exchange operators like Nasdaq OMX and NYSE Euronext. The increased competition has also pressured fees generated from handling trades.
Its shares fell 47 cents, or 2.5%, to $18.33 in afternoon trading.
Net income for the final three months of 2009 rose to $43 million, or 20 cents per share, from $35 million, or 17 cents per share, a year ago.
Its income tax provision fell sharply to $10 million from $38 million.
Excluding one-time impairment charges and gains on the sales of certain businesses, Nasdaq OMX Group earned $99 million, or 46 cents per share, versus $110 million, or 52 cents per share, during the last three months of 2008.
The company recorded a $51 million impairment charge and $16 million in charges tied to job cuts and other one-time items in the latest quarter. A year ago, it took a $47.4 million non-cash charge tied to a foreign currency contract and a $34.9 million non-cash impairment charge on an investment security in Oslo Bors VPS Holding ASA.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast earnings of 45 cents per share for the fourth quarter on revenue of $364.8 million. Analysts often exclude special charges and gains in their estimates.
Net revenue, which is total revenue less rebates, brokerage, clearance and exchange fees, fell to $369 million from $403 million during the final quarter of 2008.
During the fourth quarter, 20.6% of U.S.-listed equities trading volume was executed on Nasdaq OMX Group's trading platform, down from 29.2% during the final quarter of 2008. Total volume fell 36% to 126.1 billion shares.
Transaction revenue fell 17% to $150 million.
For the full year, Nasdaq OMX Group's profit fell to $266 million, or $1.25 per share, from $314 million, or $1.55 per share, in 2008.
Death toll should stand at 5 in Conn. blast
Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano told The Associated Press on Monday that state police believe no additional victims are trapped in the rubble of the Kleen Energy plant.
Mayor Sebastian Giuliano says everyone assigned to work at the plant that day has been accounted for.
Mr. Giuliano says there have been no recovery efforts there Monday because the site is too unsafe.
In addition to the fatalities, Sunday morning's blast at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, about 20 miles south of Hartford, injured a dozen or more. It happened as workers were clearing gas lines of air.
Investigators returned to the scene Monday to try to begin determining the cause.
Middletown Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano said he didn't know when rescue crews would be able to search the small section of the plant that is unstable.
Piles of rubble were 10 feet tall in some parts of the plant, and mounds of rubble and debris were everywhere, he said.
The explosion was so powerful it alarmed residents who heard the boom and felt tremors in their homes miles away.
The blast left huge pieces of metal that once encased the plant peeling off its sides. A large swath of the structure was blackened and surrounded by debris, but the building, its roof and its two smokestacks were still standing at the site, which is near Wesleyan University on a wooded and hilly 137-acre parcel of land overlooking the Connecticut River.
Rescue crews combed through the debris until about 2:30 a.m. Monday.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents, was mobilizing a team of workers from Colorado and hoped to have them on the scene by midday Monday, spokesman Daniel Horowitz said.
The nearly completed 620-megawatt plant is being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas, which accounts for about a fifth of the nation's electricity. Workers for the construction company, O&G Industries, were purging a gas line, clearing it of air, when the explosion occurred around 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Mr. Santostefano said.
Mr. Santostefano said workers were at the site Sunday because they were trying to get the plant open on time — the opening was slated for sometime in the middle of 2010 — but he added "It wasn't like they were working in a frenzy."
One of those killed was Raymond Dobratz, a 58-year-old plumber from Old Saybrook, said his son Erik Dobratz, who called the elder man "a great dad."
Lynn Hawley, of Hartland, Conn., said her 36-year-old son, Brian Hawley, is a pipefitter at the plant and broke his leg. She said he called her from his cell phone to say he was being rushed to a hospital.
"He really couldn't say what happened to him," she said. "He was in a lot of pain, and they got him into surgery as quickly as possible."
Hospital officials didn't immediately release the conditions of the other injured people, whose wounds ranged from minor to very serious.
The thundering blast shook houses for miles.
"I felt the house shake," Middletown resident Steve Clark said. "I thought a tree fell on the house."
Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said he heard it as he was leaving church.
"It felt almost like a sonic boom," he said.
Kleen Energy Systems LLC began construction on the plant in February 2008. It had signed a deal with Connecticut Light and Power for the electricity produced by the plant, and would be one of the biggest built in New England in the last few years.
The company is run by former City Councilman William Corvo. A message left at Corvo's home was not returned. Calls to Gordon Holk, general manager of Power Plant Management Services, which has a contract to manage the plant, also weren't returned.
Energy Investors Funds, a private equity fund that indirectly owns a majority share in the power plant, said it was cooperating with authorities.
Safety board investigators have done extensive work on the issue of gas line purging since an explosion last year at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina killed four people. They've identified other explosions caused by workers who were unsafely venting gas lines inside buildings.
News From the Newsstand: Not So Good
Newsstand sales for magazines fell 9.1 percent in the second half of last year, reports The New York Times. This is noteworthy because:
Newsstand sales tend to be driven by the economy and are a more timely indicator of a magazine's vitality than subscriptions, which tend to lag and which can be driven by heavy discounting. While newsstand sales are a small percentage of most magazines' circulation, they are a profitable part of it--publishers typically...
James Carville More Excited About Saints Win Than Clinton Win
In the celebratory scrum after last night's Super Bowl, a distinctive bald dome and a pair of squinty eyes flashed across the screen. It was, of course, the First Cajun of Democratic politics, former Clinton adviser, star of The War Room, and outspoken Saints fan, James Carville.
On the Dan Patrick Show this morning, Mr. Carville said he "overindulged" after the win, but--like a true New Orleanian--wasn't feeling a hangover.
So how did last night compare...
Winning Aqueduct Bidder Loses a Partner
Aqueduct Entertainment Group, the winning bidder to develop a casino-type operation at the Queens Racetrack, is losing a member. The group today announced that Darryl Greene had dropped out of the team, losing his 0.6 percent stake in the bid.
This better explains how AEG, which is battling a whirlwind of negative attention given allegations that political favoritism led to its selection, can meet Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's conditions for completing the deal to...
Dicker Dismisses Resignation Rumor
On his radio show this morning, Fred Dicker said the report that Governor David Paterson will resign after the "bombshell" The New York Times comes out is just a rumor.
There is "no evidence of that whatsoever," Dicker...
Morning Read: David Paterson
David Paterson spoke with lawmakers about his future.
Rep. Charlie Rangel is "not prepared" to share his view on Paterson.
The process by which the Aqueduct bid was chosen is designed by Eliot Spitzer and Joe Bruno.
It's the wood.
The bid winner, A.E.G., has some problematic connections.
Floyd Flake earns a lot.
He doesn't say much. "Flake declined to comment as he left church and drove...
Lonely Leno Goes to Letterman, Just for a Laugh
Last week, Jay Leno flew to New York, donned a fake moustache and a hoodie, and snuck into the Ed Sullivan Theater to shoot this 15-second Super Bowl ad for his once and future rival, Dave Letterman.
"We went into a logistics meeting that would have made the CIA proud," the Late Show's executive producer, Rob Burnett, told the Post.
But, according to Mr. Burnett, the surprise ad wasn't an attempt by Mr. Leno to repair...
ANTM Gets a Little Conde Luster
Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley joins America's Next Top Model as a judge this season, and today, Women's Wear Daily reports on how he is adjusting to the world of reality television.
This world demands a new vocabulary, for example:
Clothes aside, Talley took his responsibilities — to evaluate contestants and make good TV — “very seriously,” he said. He devised a catchphrase of sorts — “dreckitude,” a melding of dreck, one of his “favorite” words,...
