Bloomberg x 3

Don’t go. Please stay. It’s believed that’s the desire of many New Yorkers with money and power regarding Mayor Bloomberg. They’d love to change New York City’s term limits policy and encourage the mayor to run one more time after his second term ends in December 2009. The term limits law must be changed by next July to make that mayoral run possible. Despite the opinions of many others too for “more of the same,” it’s important to remember that term limits are a vital protection against the occasional poor choices we voters make. New Yorkers have twice voted against extending term limits. Recent polls confirm they would do so again. After 9/11, many in New York looked to extend Mayor Giuliani for fear of who might follow in his wake. That fear turned out to be unfounded. Mayor Bloomberg has truly done an exceptional job for New York during his tenure. Let’s hope though that there are no "backroom deals" that deny the will of the voters.

San Fran Arrests Our Times Square Man

SFO police officers busted NYC’s Naked Cowboy for sidewalk singing in a “restricted” area of their version of Union Square. Liberal as they are on the “left coast,” a New Yorker in his underwear is somehow offensive to their society. Radicals can disrupt church services, illegal aliens are embraced by the local government, but our Robert Burck can’t belt out a ballad in the “city by the bay.” Perhaps a singing cowboy from New York is only welcome out there when part of a larger singing group like the Village People.

Black Grad Rates Don’t Make The Grade

New York City ranks near the bottom nationally in its ability to graduate black students with a high school diploma. In 2006, only 32% received their sheepskin compared to 57% of white students. Both figures are an outrage. Sadly, New York ranks 54th out of 63 big city school districts in the country. When will Board of Education and city government officials actually work to improve statistics? Annually posting stats in reports that fewer and fewer young New Yorkers are capable of understanding is appalling.

Songbirds Make Jailbirds

They say, “Music soothes the savage beast.” Apparently, it can bring out the beast in some people too. More and more immigrants are attempting to smuggle expensive songbirds into New York through our local airports. Often, they bring them in less than favorable conditions to the birds’ health. The birds may inadvertently pose a health risk to humans, too. It’s hoped that authorities will make these criminals “sing” about who their local managers and buyers are.

Cable Wars Coming To A TV Near You

It may still be hard to find something good on TV, even with hundreds of stations, but at least there’ll soon be something good about cable TV. Verizon has received approval to build their high-speed, fiber-optic network in New York City. It's scheduled to take six years to complete. Cablevision and Time Warner’s cable TV monopoly is about to receive its biggest challenge yet. It’s going to be bloody. There are too many dollars in the market for it not to be. But, we the customers will benefit from extra channels, competitive prices and improved service as Verizon’s system approaches our neighborhoods. Stay tuned.