Social Security Too Hot to Touch? Not in 2008

Abstract: Ignoring the warnings that Social Security can derail political careers, Senator John McCain has infuriated his party’s right wing by saying that “everything has to be on the table” in discussions about keeping Social Security solvent. Mr. McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, does indeed seem to have put everything on the table. In the space of one week, he opened the door to an increase in Social Security taxes, denied he would raise payroll taxes and then, through an ally, called a tax increase a “dumb idea.” He has also sowed confusion about whether he favors privatizing Social Security, or continuing with the current system. Senator Barack Obama , Mr. McCain’s likely Democratic rival, has been attacked for offering his own, far more specific plan that would raise payroll taxes, though only for the rich. But that criticism has not come from his party and has not been as intense as the denunciations of Mr. McCain. Party elders and analysts who have seen many a politician fall victim to the jinx of Social Security, which was signed into law 73 years ago Thursday, say they are not surprised. “All you have to do is open your mouth and you’re dead meat,” said Bill Frenzel, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota who is now a Social Security analyst at the Brookings Institution. “If you say you might have to raise payroll taxes, the no-tax crowd jumps all over you. Say you might have to decrease benefits, and the AARP and the Democrats will kill you.” Both candidates agree that adjustments to the Social Security formula are necessary because the trust fund, though in surplus now, will begin showing a deficit around 2018, according to actuarial forecasts. Some project that the fund will be exhausted shortly after 2040; others, using less pessimistic calculations of economic and population growth, say that would occur decades later. Still other economists say such warnings are fear-mongering, and argue that economic growth and immigration , combined with some tinkering, could keep the system solvent indefinitely. The two presumptive nominees do not appear to be among them. But unlike Mr. Obama, whose proposal unambiguously calls for higher taxes on wealthy Americans but also hands his adversary fodder for the fall campaign, Mr. McCain, in refusing to be pinned down, has left many experts wondering what approach he would favor. Somewhat unexpectedly, Social Security surged into the presidential campaigns on July 27, when, on ABC’s “This Week,” Mr. McCain said “there is nothing I would take off the table” in efforts to keep Social Security viable. When asked if that included a tax increase, he twice repeated his “nothing’s off the table” phrase. That statement was apparently meant to give Mr. McCain maximum flexibility in any negotiations with Congress over the future of Social Security that are sure to be part of the next administration’s agenda, regardless of who wins the election. “John McCain believes we’re not going to be able to start a negotiation with ultimatums,” said Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for Mr. McCain. “What he’s saying is, Let’s keep this out of a polarized political debate.” But it immediately brought a sharp rejoinder from the Club for Growth, an antitax group, which forced Mr. McCain into verbal acrobatics in which he tried to maintain his personal opposition to a tax increase. He also confounded experts by endorsing the idea of individual private accounts, but without clarifying whether he sees them as a tool to augment the existing system or to replace it with some form of privatization similar to what President Bush proposed in 2005. The distinction is vital. In their mildest form, so-called “add-on” accounts would permit, but not oblige, employees to make contributions above the current payroll tax rate. But a “carve out” approach would reroute some part of current contributions to the system and, in some versions, would be mandatory. Democrats and their allies oppose the carve-out concept, which they argue could eventually open the door to diverting most of the money going into Social Security and would result in decreased benefits. But they have been less hostile to add-on plans, some forms of which they see as benign. Though both campaigns are reluctant to name other steps, beyond a payroll tax increase, that might be required to keep Social Security solvent, several proposals are already on the table, including one written jointly by current and former advisers to both candidates. Raising the retirement age further, reducing benefits across the board, pegging increases in benefits to inflation rather than wage hikes, and allowing retirement at an earlier age in return for cuts in benefits were all floated in a December 2005 study, “Nonpartisan Social Security Reform Plan.” Its authors included Jeffrey Liebman, now Mr. Obama’s chief Social Security adviser, and Maya MacGuineas, who advised Mr. McCain on the subject in 2000. Ms. MacGuineas is now an analyst at the New America Foundation, a bipartisan Washington research group. Mr. Griffin of the McCain campaign said the views in the study were “her own” and that “she is not currently an adviser to the campaign.” The Obama campaign, likewise, said the views in the study were Mr. Liebman’s, and not the candidate’s. Mr. Obama’s proposal would increase the payroll tax in a way that, to hear his critics tell it, could transform Social Security from a purely social insurance program into one that also helps redistribute income from the rich to the poor. But while his plan has taken heat from the McCain camp, it has raised fewer hackles within Democratic circles. To begin to attack the problem now, Mr. Obama would subject all wages above $250,000 a year to the payroll tax. That concept has been nicknamed the “doughnut hole” because it would exempt wages between $102,000 a year, the current ceiling for contributions, and $250,000. “What Barack Obama is doing is different from what people running for president traditionally have done,” Jason Furman, Mr. Obama’s chief economic adviser, said in an interview. “He’s putting an option on the table, not just saying he wants to work with Congress, but also saying what he wants to work on.” While more specific than Mr. McCain’s plan, the Obama proposal raises questions. The tax rate Mr. Obama would apply to wages over $250,000 has not been established, but it would be lower than the combined 12.4 percent that employees and employers now jointly pay. “We’ve studied a range of plans with combined employer and employee rates between 2 and 4 percent,” Mr. Furman said. By itself, the Obama proposal will not guarantee the solvency of Social Security. Andrew Biggs, a Social Security expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, calculates that the plan would reduce the gap by 15 percent to 43 percent, depending on the level of the surtax, which he complains “is being fuzzed up to prevent people like me from running the numbers.” It is also not clear whether those paying the additional payroll tax would receive more benefits, as the system now mandates. Mr. Furman said “it is factually inaccurate to say that a decision has been made to de-link taxes from benefits,” because “that is something you’d want to work out with Congress.” But Pat Toomey, a former Republican congressman who is president of the Club for Growth, was skeptical, saying that there is no point to having the doughnut hole “unless you’re going to redistribute wealth.” Mr. McCain and his surrogates have also sharply criticized the Obama proposal, portraying it as a new soak-the-rich tax. Lawrence B. Lindsey, who as Mr. Bush’s chief economic adviser was one of the architects of the 2001 tax cuts, has even argued that Mr. Obama’s plan would turn Social Security into “just another welfare program.” But when Mr. McCain was asked in February 2005 in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he could support the doughnut hole concept, he offered a cautious endorsement. “As part of a compromise, I could,” he said, so long as it included “other sacrifices, because we all know that it doesn’t add up until we make some very serious and fundamental changes.” And Mr. McCain’s former adviser offers guarded praise. “The doughnut hole is not a fix in itself,” Ms. MacGuineas said, “but it can be one piece, depending on what the other pieces are. I happen personally to think you have to have a balanced solution, with some revenue increases and some spending cuts.”

Presidential Election of 2008
Social Security (US)
McCain John
Obama Barack


Answer to Questions About New York

Abstract: A Question of Piping Q. Do you know the purpose, if any, of the copper pipes bracing (or embracing) the columns on the uptown side of the Wall Street subway platform? A. It’s not plumbing; it’s art. The nine hand-forged bronze seat rests at the Wall Street station on the 4 and 5 lines do indeed resemble copper pipes. But they are a sculptural installation called “ Lariat Tapers ,” a 2011 work by James Garvey. Deirdre Parker, a spokeswoman for New York City Transit, says the tapers swirl in a clockwise direction around the columns to depict the motion of trains swooping into the station. They can be compared with Mr. Garvey’s similar 1997 artwork “ Lariat Seat Loops ,” at the 33rd Street station on the No. 6 line. Purple Snow Q. We all know about yellow snow, but what about purple? I spotted a strange color in the virgin snow in my backyard. It was a bright purple-magenta color in spots under a barren tree. Up the block, I spotted additional similar stains in the snow out on the sidewalk. What’s up? A. Notice how the patches were near trees or bushes. They are most likely droppings from birds that have eaten berries, an ornithologist at the Bronx Zoo explained to Max Pulsinelli, a zoo spokesman. Since the storm was early in the season, there were a large number of still-juicy berries for the birds to eat. Whether these spots are toxic would depend on the berries, but it is not likely that they are toxic or dangerous in any way, the ornithologist said. West Side Roundup Q. Do I remember correctly that there was once a slaughterhouse near the Lincoln Tunnel, on the east side of 12th Avenue? How did they get the cows there? A. The same way most out-of-towners get to Manhattan: bridges and tunnels. After slaughterhouses were built near the Hudson River in the 19th century, railroads would bring cattle to the West Side stockyards. Well into the 20th century, cattle drovers would close off 39th, 40th and 41st Streets between 11th and 12th Avenues and herd the cattle from pens to their destinations. Cattle runs across 40th Street continued into the mid-1950s, to a division of Armour & Company a block from the pens. The animals would be led across the street and down an alley by a “Judas” steer. In 1955, an aluminum-sided bridge was built 14 feet above the street so the cattle could walk their last quarter-mile without disrupting traffic. Then there were the cattle that came not by rail, but by barge across the Hudson from Jersey City. From the piers, they would be driven through a tunnel under 12th Avenue, ending up on the south side of 39th Street. Swinging gates would close off the block of 39th between 11th and 12th, and the cattle would be herded across. An 1874 account of the Manhattan Abattoir from 34th to 35th Street mentions another tunnel under 12th Avenue to that killing plant. The 40th Street cattle bridge is gone, as are the slaughterhouses. The two tunnels were mentioned in a 2004 archaeological study as part of the rezoning for the No. 7 subway line expansion and the development of the West Side rail yards; if remnants of the tunnels still exist, they may have disappeared beneath the Javits Center.

NYC
Snow Snowstorms
Slaughterhouse
Subway


Voting Heavy in Ghana

Abstract: ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) — Ghanaians turned out in large numbers on Sunday to vote for president in an election between two foreign-trained lawyers hoping to lead the country into an era of oil-fueled prosperity. Observers said voting was generally peaceful despite delays in some areas and violence at a handful of polling places. Eight candidates are running, but many people expect a runoff election on Dec. 28 between Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party and John Atta Mills of the opposition National Democratic Congress. Provisional results are expected midweek.


Giambi’s Pinch-Hit Homer Lifts Yankees Over Blue Jays

Abstract: After Jason Giambi ’s titanic home run landed in the third deck to give the Yankees a 9-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, he hopped, skipped and jumped around the bases, ignoring the pain in his sore left foot that had kept him out of the starting lineup for two games. “I didn’t feel anything,” Giambi said. “It hurts now.” He was standing in the clubhouse, his feet bare, his left foot bandaged after having been hit by a pitch two days before. His two-run shot — as a pinch-hitter on an 0-2 count, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against closer B. J. Ryan — gave the Yankees two consecutive victories and a .500 record again (30-30) in one of their most dramatic finishes of the season. Although the ending was memorable, it was witnessed by less than half of the 53,571 fans who were there earlier. Many of them might have left because of the game’s length: 3 hours 53 minutes. But they should know that the fourth hour of a Yankees game is sometimes the most interesting. Until then, they could have been discouraged by the Yankees’ mistakes, which included a dropped fly ball by Melky Cabrera that negated a possible inning-ending double play and fueled Toronto’s five-run rally in the fifth. Some might have been annoyed by Robinson Canó’s failure to bunt in the eighth inning. They could have been troubled by another substandard start from Chien-Ming Wang, who remained 6-2 but has not won a game since May 2. And some of those who remained booed Kyle Farnsworth (1-2), who gave up a run in the ninth when the Blue Jays stretched their lead to 8-6. But those who remained saw a two-out rally of the type that used to be known as “5 o’clock lightning,” when baseball was always a daytime sport and the Yankees were known as Murderers’ Row. After Hideki Matsui drove in a run with a single to cut the lead to 8-7, Giambi fell behind on two good sliders, then swung at another that he said was not so good. He made contact at 5:01 p.m., and the ball arched high and deep into an overcast sky, near the foul pole in right field. The stadium echoed first with gasps, then shrieks and, finally, a thunder of cheers as the ball landed among the blue seats, about 10 rows back. “I was just talking it fair: ‘Don’t hook! Don’t hook!’ ” Giambi said. “It straightened out.” It was rush hour, and his teammates sprinted out of the dugout to mob him at home plate. “This is what you dream about as a kid,” Giambi said, “especially in Yankee Stadium.” Giambi said Manager Joe Girardi had come to him and asked him, “Are you able to hit?” and Giambi replied: “As long as I don’t really have to run, I’ll be all right. I can give you an at-bat. Give me a shot. I’ll go.” Before that, the game offered a series of highlights embedded among long minutes of tedium. One of the best moments came in the eighth when Johnny Damon, who went 2 for 3 to raise his average to .315, belted a ball to deep right-center with two on and the Blue Jays ahead by one run. Right fielder Brad Wilkerson, who had entered as a defensive replacement, tracked the ball, leapt and speared it before bumping into the wall. Wilkerson and Damon are friends. “Great play,” said Damon, who smiled after the catch and later acknowledged making an off-color remark to Wilkerson. Earlier, Damon had scored by tagging from third base on a foul pop fly to second baseman Joe Inglett. The throw beat Damon, but catcher Rod Barajas could not handle the throw. That run cut Toronto’s lead to 7-4. “If I had to do it over again, I probably would second-guess myself,” Damon said. Like Giambi, Damon is growing a mustache. “His ’stache is looking good,” Damon said. “Whatever it takes.” Giambi’s hit took the onus off Cabrera, who let a line drive by Alex Rios bounce off his glove in the fifth with two on and the score 2-2. Cabrera said after the game that the drive “knuckled” on him, but had he caught it, he could have doubled Inglett off second. Instead, the Blue Jays took the lead and Wang failed to finish the inning after giving up six earned runs, five hits and four walks. Wang discussed his recent problems and some advice he received from Jorge Posada, who played his first game since he went on the disabled list April 28 with a shoulder injury that will require surgery in the off-season. “Posada told me that my arm slot dropped low,” said Wang, who acknowledged that he was “confused” by his struggles. Posada had one hit and one walk in four plate appearances. He threw once to second base in an unsuccessful try to stop a steal but said he felt no pain. Another key hit for the Yankees was a two-run homer in the sixth by Wilson Betemit against Jesse Carlson to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 7-6. It was Betemit’s second home run in two nights and third of the season. The finish overcame a five-R.B.I. explosion by Toronto’s Matt Stairs, whose two-run homer in the fourth inning hit the top of the fence in right field and bounced over. It came about two hours before Giambi’s blast and landed two decks below it. Although both counted the same, Giambi’s proved decisive in a game that left the Yankees smiling, a little sheepishly. “We didn’t play well,” Giambi said. “We got away with one.”

New York Yankees
Giambi Jason
Toronto Blue Jays
Baseball
Yankee Stadium (NYC)
Toronto (Ontario)


Mets Have Young Arms, One Healthy, One Hurting

Abstract: PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., March 1 - In late January, Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey shared a flight to Dallas from West Palm Beach, Fla.. They were traveling from the Mets' minicamp, where Pelfrey, the Mets' 2005 first-round draft pick, had been introduced after signing his first multimillion-dollar, major league contract, and was still coming off the high of putting on a Mets cap and jersey for the first time. Humber had been in Pelfrey's position only a year earlier, and their similarities were uncanny. Like Pelfrey, Humber was a big, polished, right-handed pitcher who dominated in college and then was selected by the Mets early in the first round of the draft. Humber, 23, played for Rice University; Pelfrey, 22, went to Wichita State. Pelfrey was ranked by Baseball America as the top pitcher in last year's draft when the Mets selected him in June with the No. 9 pick. By then, Humber, taken with the No. 3 pick in 2004, was already on his way in the Mets' minor league system, pitching at Class A St. Lucie. As Pelfrey and his agent, Scott Boras, began negotiating a contract with the Mets, Humber was already climbing the Mets' ladder. He was promoted to Class AA Binghamton, where in his first start last July he felt discomfort in his elbow, tried to pitch through it, could not and received a diagnosis of a ligament tear that required so-called Tommy John surgery. He will not pitch competitively again until the summer. During the two-and-a-half-hour flight, Pelfrey said Humber did not talk much about the past or about his reconstructed elbow. Instead, they talked about the future. Their futures. "We had a good chat," Pelfrey said. "Phil's a great guy, a great pitcher, and even though he was only drafted a year before me, I know that he's got some things to teach me, and I hope to pitch with him for a very long time." For the moment, the 6-foot-4-inch, 210-pound Humber is the almost-forgotten phenom, his locker against a wall in a corner of the clubhouse. The only time video camera operators head toward him is to interview the man across from him, David Wright. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-7-inch, 230-pound Pelfrey is on the fast track, drawing slack-jawed stares and rave reviews for his poise, fluid mechanics and, oh yes, that 96 mile-an-hour fastball. A recent session in which he pitched live batting practice elicited smiles from the crowd of Mets officials gathered behind the cage. "His stuff makes you go, 'Wow!' " Manager Willie Randolph said. Humber is on a much slower track. Despite innovations in Tommy John surgery, it still takes about a year for the body to adapt to a tendon for use as a ligament, and there is often a temptation to return too quickly. Humber said he is following his doctors' orders and adhering to the rehabilitation plan. He can participate in all pitchers' drills, and next Monday will throw his first bullpen session. It will be only 15 pitches, and he will throw only at half-effort, he said, but it will mark the first tangible evidence that he is on his way back. "I want to have as much normalcy in my life as possible," Humber said. "I don't want to feel like someone's babying me." But Humber knows he still has much to prove. He is no longer viewed as the sure thing he was, and as Pelfrey now is. But the Mets still believe he and Pelfrey have the potential to be front-line starters, together, for years to come. "They have all the ingredients for a delicious recipe," the pitching coach Rick Peterson said. "But that doesn't mean they'll be gourmet chefs immediately." Case in point: Pelfrey entered the sixth inning of Wednesday's intrasquad game, facing a batter for the first time since last June, he said, and promptly plunked Victor Diaz on the first pitch. He later allowed a broken-bat single and, in a match-up of top prospects, a two-run single to Lastings Milledge. "I was pretty amped up about everything," Pelfrey said. "Next time I won't be as nervous." Humber, like most of the regulars and even some of the long shots and reserves, did not stick around to watch Pelfrey, the latest anointed one, pitch. For Humber, there was really no reason to. He had already seen it before. He can only hope to be part of it again. INSIDE PITCH Lastings Milledge went 3 for 3 in Wednesday's intrasquad game with a single, a double and a triple and two runs batted in. Milledge, the Mets' No. 1 pick in 2003, is expected to begin the season at Class AAA Norfolk.

NEW YORK METS
HUMBER PHILIP
PELFREY MIKE
BASEBALL
DRAFT AND RECRUITMENT (SPORTS)


A G.O.P. Response to Obama’s Speech, Then a Tea Party One

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The crosscurrents inside the Republican Party were on fresh display Tuesday evening with the unusual sight of two lawmakers delivering responses to the State of the Union address . In the party’s official reply, which immediately followed President Obama ’s speech, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the country faced “a crushing burden of debt.” He vowed that Republicans, after assuming control of the House this year, would honor their pledge to provide Americans “a better choice and a different vision.” “Americans are skeptical of both political parties, and that skepticism is justified — especially when it comes to spending,” Mr. Ryan said, striking a conciliatory tone as he vowed to work with the president to find cuts. “So hold all of us accountable.” But Mr. Ryan, who was designated by Speaker John A. Boehner to respond to the president, did not have the last word. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who founded the Tea Party Caucus last year, gave a response of her own in a message to the Tea Party Express, one of the movement’s largest groups of activists. “For two years,” Ms. Bachmann said, “President Obama made promises, just like the ones we heard him make this evening, yet still we have high unemployment, devalued housing prices and the cost of gasoline is skyrocketing.” She stood in front of a chart, which she used to illustrate how federal spending has increased in the Obama administration. The broadcast was delayed for several minutes, and after Ms. Bachmann finally arrived in front of the cameras, she glanced offstage throughout her six-minute speech. While the speech from Ms. Bachmann was initially to be carried only on the Web site of the Tea Party Express, her speech was elevated when CNN provided live coverage after Mr. Ryan’s remarks. The dueling responses, which privately angered several leading Republicans, highlighted the potential fissures inside the party as Republicans face the challenges of governing in a time of severe budget constraints. Mr. Ryan, a rising figure inside the party who has become a leading Republican voice on budget cuts, characterized the nation’s fiscal outlook as urgent and dire. He did not dwell upon his often-discussed plan to overhaul Social Security and other entitlement programs — ideas that are controversial even inside his own party — but instead focused on differences with the White House, particularly the health care law. “Health care spending is driving the explosive growth of our debt. And the president’s law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy,” Mr. Ryan said. “Our debt is out of control. What was a fiscal challenge is now a fiscal crisis.” He delivered his remarks from the Budget Committee hearing room on Capitol Hill, where many of the difficult debates will take place as lawmakers decide how to try to control spending. He offered few specific ideas in his 10-minute address, saying that the role of the government “is both vital and limited.” While Mr. Ryan’s remarks had the blessing of his party’s leadership, and were intended to serve as a blueprint for a way forward, aides said Ms. Bachmann had not shared her comments in advance with Republican leaders or sought their approval, but rather was speaking on behalf of leaders of the Tea Party Express. “I’m here at their request,” she said, “and not to compete with the official Republican remarks.”

State of the Union Message (US)
Republican Party
Ryan Paul D Jr
Bachmann Michele M
Tea Party Movement
Obama Barack
United States Politics and Government
Speeches and Statements


Elections Are Easy for Queens Prosecutor; Critics Call This a Problem

Abstract: The challenger, a former state legislator threatening the party favorite, was kicked off the primary ballot in a district attorney race in Queens after a judge ruled that the signatures he had gathered were not valid. The man, seeking to beat Richard A. Brown , lost an appeal, paving the way for Mr. Brown to easily defeat a Republican in the heavily Democratic borough. That was in 1991, and it was the last time Mr. Brown faced an opponent for the office. Now 83, Mr. Brown has been re-elected six times, most recently in November, a victory so routine there was no public celebration. Concerns about his health — Mr. Brown has been open about his struggles with Parkinson’s disease — and rumors that his office is increasingly managed by his top associates have done little to churn up opposition. However, in an era when criminal justice reform is an increasing part of the conversation in New York City, and district attorney seats in Brooklyn and Manhattan have turned over in recent years — or, in the case of Staten Island and the Bronx, will on Jan. 1 — some people have begun asking where Mr. Brown’s challengers are. Already the longest-serving district attorney in Queens, Mr. Brown will become the city’s longest-serving top county prosecutor when his new term begins in January. To his supporters, the string of uncontested elections indicates the respect Mr. Brown — known as the Judge for his time on the bench — has earned. “He’s run a good office,” said Arnold N. Kriss, a defense lawyer and political adviser to Mr. Brown. “It’s very hard to be a candidate against a sitting district attorney when there’s nothing to run against.” Others said his long tenure was a reminder that the city’s antiquated political machines were still a force in Queens. “It undermines democracy when there is no real challenger to step up to run against incumbents,” said Dick Dadey, the executive director of Citizens Union, a government watchdog. Some legal professionals and government watchdogs compared Mr. Brown’s absence of challengers in Queens with the situation in the Bronx, where Robert T. Johnson , the district attorney since 1989, announced, after winning an uncontested primary in September, that he would seek a judgeship. The move allowed Democratic leaders to select a replacement candidate, and, by default, the next top prosecutor. “District attorneys in New York are virtually like Supreme Court justices: They’re there forever,” Doug Muzzio, a professor of public affairs at Baruch College, said. “The judiciary is one of the last bastions of machine control.” Around the courthouse complex in Kew Gardens, Queens, Gregory L. Lasak and Kenneth C. Holder, both state judges and former prosecutors in Mr. Brown’s office, are frequently mentioned as potential candidates for his job. Peter F. Vallone Jr., a former city councilman from a well-connected political family in Queens, had been vocal about his interest. But Mr. Valone was elected to a Civil Court judge post instead, having been nominated by the Queens Democratic Party . He ran unopposed. “There’s a guy who’s going to run,” Professor Muzzio said of Mr. Vallone. “Make him a civil judge and get him out of the way.” Mr. Vallone said he had never considered running against Mr. Brown. “I’m not blind to the politics involved in any judgeship,” he said. “But I’m extremely qualified for the position and I’ve earned it.” Before being elected to his first term, Mr. Brown was appointed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo after the previous district attorney, John J. Santucci, stepped down, and there were whispers around the courthouse that Mr. Brown might do the same: retire and let the Democratic Party choose his successor. “The Judge has every intention of serving as district attorney for the full four-year term,” Kevin Ryan, a spokesman, said. But unlike Mr. Johnson in the Bronx, who presided in a courthouse with extensive delays and was criticized for a seeming reluctance to aggressively pursue corruption cases, Mr. Brown has a solid reputation. Statistics highlight his office’s successes. In 2014, Mr. Brown’s staff had the highest percentage of convictions in the five boroughs after arrests for violent felonies and domestic violence, a point of pride for the office. The borough’s average arrest-to-arraignment time that year — just over 18 hours — was the lowest in the city. Even Mr. Brown’s critics have pointed to reforms that have flourished under his leadership. People with mental illnesses or drug addictions who commit low-level crimes, for example, can avoid jail time by enrolling in treatment programs. And Mr. Brown has earned points recently, supporters said, for creating a department to help immigrants who have experienced crimes. Similar programs exist in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Many of Mr. Brown’s detractors focus on practices unique to Queens. Some lawyers said the office’s pretrial plea policy — where people charged with felonies are encouraged to waive their rights to speedy trials or risk not being offered plea deals later — was coercive and manipulative. They said that the script used to interrogate suspects before their arraignments, wording that was declared unconstitutional in 2014, was still troublesome despite revisions. And some said the office’s zealousness in prosecuting people who miss court dates on bail-jumping charges added to the legal burden of people charged with minor crimes. “How many people have missed a doctor’s appointment?” said one defense lawyer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he works with the district attorney’s office. “It kind of has a disparate impact on the poor people who’ve had difficult lives.” And there have been missteps, such as the incarceration of two men for six years each before their murder cases were resolved this year. Terrel Banks went through three mistrials before the charges were dropped and he was released in March. Himen Ross was acquitted in May . Even those who support Mr. Brown said the absence of choices in the voting booth had consequences. “We’re like stuck in time here; Queens hasn’t changed,” said Sally Butler, a defense lawyer who represented Mr. Ross and worked in Mr. Brown’s office in the 1990s. “I have not thought that there will ever be a real election. Both parties running a candidate? Never. I don’t even think of it.” But change did happen in Brooklyn after the longtime incumbent, Charles J. Hynes, a Democrat, was ousted by voters in 2013. He had been in office since 1990. His successor, Ken Thompson, a fellow Democrat, announced in 2014 that the office would stop prosecuting most low-level marijuana cases . Mr. Thompson also set up a Conviction Review Unit, and 17 convictions have so far been overturned. “I think there’s probably more of a reluctance in overturning something when you’ve been anointed to a position rather than when there’s a free election,” said Abe George, a former prosecutor in Brooklyn and Manhattan, who challenged Mr. Hynes in 2013. “Brooklyn speaks to how important it is to have the district attorney’s position be unfettered from politics.” The voters in Manhattan and on Staten Island have had more choices in recent elections. Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat, was elected district attorney in Manhattan in 2009 after defeating two others in the primary. He succeeded Robert M. Morgenthau , who served for 35 years before retiring at 90. On Staten Island, Michael E. McMahon, a Democrat, defeated a Republican for the post last month. In Queens, Mr. Brown credits the work of his office with his opponent-free races. “I like to think that the reason is the fact that we’re doing a good job and we’re doing it to the satisfaction of the people” of Queens, he said during a recent interview, adding, “We took over an office that was very much in the dark ages, and we have an office today that I think is as fine an office as you’re going to find anyplace.” The district attorney said he was looking forward to his next term, when he planned to create an animal rights unit. He said he had never considered retiring. “My health obviously is a little troublesome, but it’s stabilized itself,” he said. “It certainly has not affected my thought process or my ability to think issues through, and that is certainly something I’m very, very careful about.” As voters filed out of the polls on Election Day last month with little in the way of attention-grabbing races, a few had noticed that Mr. Brown was the lone candidate. “How can that be good democracy when there’s only one candidate?” said Glen Covington, 51, a law enforcement officer who had just cast his ballot in Ridgewood. “You have no choices,” Mr. Covington added. “It really says the system is broken.”

NYC
Richard A Brown
Queens
District attorney
Democrats
DA Elections


A Dominant Half by Rose Falls Short by One Shot

Abstract: SAN ANTONIO — When Memphis took the floor before Monday’s national championship game, the Tigers ran out in single file behind Derrick Rose. All season, the team had been led onto the court by the senior guard Andre Allen. But when he was suspended from playing in the Final Four last week for violating team rules, Rose, a freshman point guard, inherited the duty. The change seemed fitting because Rose, named the most outstanding player in the South Region last week, had helped lead the Tigers to their spot in the championship game. After a lackluster first half, when he scored only 3 points, Rose continued his role of leading the Tigers on the court. He scored 15 points in the second half, but failed to take control at the end of a 75-68 loss against Kansas in what was most likely his last collegiate game. He was 7 of 17 from the field with eight assists, six rebounds and five turnovers in 45 minutes. But with Memphis leading by 62-60 with 10.8 seconds left, Rose made only the second of two free throws to allow Kansas to stay alive. And when the Jayhawks junior guard Mario Chalmers made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining, the game went to overtime. “It hurt a little bit,” Rose said of the missed free throw. “Mario just hit a big shot.” Then in overtime, Rose failed to score. His first shot, a 3-point attempt, did not come until 1 minute 40 seconds remained. His other shot was a 3-point attempt in the final minute. “They were playing a sag defense,” Rose said. “It’s hard to get shots like that when you’ve got two people sticking you. You go to the hole and that big man’s stepping up.” Rose, who finished with 18 points Monday, had averaged 21.4 points in the N.C.A.A. tournament, nearly 7 points more than his regular-season average. He had also been shooting 54.5 percent from the field in the tournament. Showing no obvious effects from a stomach ailment that caused him to miss Sunday’s session with the news media, Rose had as many points (3) as turnovers (3) in the first half while making 1 of 4 shots. Kansas led at halftime, 33-28. “It just took Derrick a little while to figure things out to where he could get his shots and make his plays,” the Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg said. Rose did not take his first shot after halftime until 4:35 had elapsed, and he missed it. His first points of the second half came on a driving layup with 12:11 left. Less than two minutes later, Rose made a layup over the hands of the 6-foot-11 Kansas center Sasha Kaun. With a little over 10 minutes remaining, Kansas employed a box-and-one defense that focused on the junior Chris Douglas-Roberts. While the Jayhawks were occupied with Douglas-Roberts, Rose connected on a 3-pointer at the 8:08 mark to put Memphis ahead, 49-47, and prompt a Kansas timeout. Rose then made a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line to give the Tigers a 51-47 advantage with 7:35 left. After missing a 3-point attempt that was rebounded by Robert Dozier, Rose was fouled while making a layup and converted the 3-point play with 5:10 left for a 7-point lead, 54-47. Rose then hit a crucial 19-foot fadeaway jumper off the glass to beat the shot clock with 4:06 left that gave Memphis a 56-49 lead. “I just knew that my team needed me to score a little bit,” said Rose of his increased offensive production in the second half. In the first half, Rose’s woes were eased by Douglas-Roberts, who scored 13 points. The game started with the senior Russell Robinson defending Rose. Rose’s first shot was a 3-point attempt that rattled in and out, but he made his second, a 15-foot pull-up jumper on which Robinson fouled him. Rose completed the 3-point play at the 16:39 mark of the first half. Less than two minutes later, the Jayhawks began using the pesky sophomore guard Sherron Collins to defend Rose. After Rose missed a jumper against Collins later in the first half, he patted his chest while looking at Memphis Coach John Calipari as if to signify he had made a mistake. Collins then beat him along the baseline for a layup with 13:28 left in the first half. With his team’s offense stagnant, Rose rarely drove the lane in the game’s first half. He made a steal with just over nine minutes left in the first half, only to have the ball stolen back from him by Chalmers, who converted a layup. This night was meant to be Chalmers’s, not Rose’s. “Derrick played good,” the Memphis sophomore guard Doneal Mack said. “He’s been doing it all year. He made some mistakes. He’s supposed to make mistakes. He’s not perfect. He probably didn’t live up to the games he’s been playing before, but I still think he played a hell of a game. He kept us in the game. I don’t think he should regret nothing.” After the game, Rose bent over with his hands on his knees in front of the Tigers’ bench as confetti rained down. He had led his team once again, but Memphis had come up short for the only second, and perhaps final, time in his collegiate career. Rose said he had not decided whether he would enter the N.B.A. draft. “I’ve got to talk to my family about that,” he said. “I haven’t even been thinking about it yet.”

Rose Derrick
NCAA Basketball Tournament
University of Memphis


After Regaining Minutes, Kreider Capitalizes

Abstract: As the final minutes of the game counted down, and Chris Kreider sat on the bench after his goal and assist had given the Rangers a 2-0 lead, the veteran wing Mike Rupp had some advice for the rookie. Or perhaps it was more like a command. “Stay cocky with that shot,” Rupp told Kreider. Since joining the Rangers a month ago after winning the N.C.A.A. championship with Boston College, Kreider has been praised for his speed. But with his power-play goal with eight minutes left in the Rangers’ 3-0 victory over the Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Kreider demonstrated that his shot is also a weapon. “He has the rare skill to get off a shot quickly, accurately and with power,” Rupp said. “Not too many players in this league have it.” Kreider’s ability to shift into overdrive was also instrumental as the Rangers overcame a sluggish first two periods to take over the game in the third. In the opening minute of the period, Kreider chased down a dump-in by Michael Del Zotto and fed Dan Girardi for a slap shot that knuckled by Martin Brodeur. Girardi’s goal, helped by the Devils’ failure to execute a smooth line change as Del Zotto sent the puck into the zone, came at 53 seconds of the third period. “I looked up ice,” Kreider said, “and I knew both teams were kind of changing.” Girardi “was calling for it and he was coming straight off the bench,” Kreider added. “I was able to make eye contact early on and kind of lay it out there for him.” On his power-play goal, Kreider converted a pass by Artem Anisimov and quickly unleashed a wrist shot by Brodeur to give the Rangers a rare two-goal lead in this postseason. Kreider, 21, was recently out of the Rangers’ rotation of forwards. He had scored a key goal in a first-round victory in Game 6 in Ottawa and appeared to cement folk hero status at Madison Square Garden when he had a goal and an assist in a Game 1 win over Washington in the conference semifinals. But after he played 26 minutes 17 seconds in the Rangers’ triple-overtime win in Washington in Game 3, his sudden development seemed to hit a wall. He committed turnovers in his team’s end and was not as sharp with the puck. Recognizing his young player’s struggles, Coach John Tortorella severely cut Kreider’s playing time. In Games 4, 5 and 6 against the Capitals, he played a total of 20 minutes. Facing a seventh game against Washington, Tortorella went with his strongest lineup and placed Kreider on the left wing of a line with center Derek Stepan and right wing Ryan Callahan. The Rangers won, 2-1, and the line was retained Monday against the Devils. Kreider played five minutes in each period of Game 1 and was a key example of how the Rangers did not appear to be slowing down after being in a pair of seven-game series. “He is such a key guy for us,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “We told him to keep moving his feet and keep moving his legs and get in on the forecheck. His shot’s awesome. It’s lethal. If he gets a second to get it off, scary things can happen.” Kreider also got his ice time back, and seems determined to hold on to it. “The last thing I want to do is settle in,” Kreider said. “I don’t want to get complacent, especially at this level. If I get complacent, next thing I know I’m minus 2 and giving Ovechkin a one-timer in the slot. I have to stay extremely mentally focused.” Then Kreider made eye contact with the crowd around his locker, just as he did with Girardi for the Rangers’ first goal, and asked a rhetorical question. “That’s pro hockey, right”?

Kreider Chris
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Hockey Ice
Playoff Games


Hollywood Labor Fight Looms as Money for Benefits Wanes

Abstract: LOS ANGELES — Bitter disputes over health and pension payments to union members have created plenty of drama in states and cities this year. But do not look for a movie about it — Hollywood will be too busy dealing with a labor crisis of its own. After three relatively peaceful years, the entertainment industry is bracing for a showdown next spring. At issue is an enormous projected shortfall in financing for some of the most jealously guarded perks in show business, the heavily gilded health and pension plans. No one is talking of a strike yet. In fact, no one with official standing is talking publicly. Leaders of the industry’s craft and blue-collar unions and officials of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios and other production companies, have all declined to discuss what will happen when several contracts expire July 31. But in town hall meetings over the last two months, union leaders have told members that weak industry economics, a tough investment climate and, above all, sharp increases in health care outlays are expected to create a $500 million shortfall by 2015. “We’re going to be asking for money, lots of it,” Matthew Loeb, the president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.), told a gathering at the union’s Local 80 here in late September. His union represents about 50,000 set designers, makeup artists, grips and other film workers. To put things in perspective, the contract that in 2008 settled a three-month strike by Hollywood’s writers was estimated to include total pay and benefits increases of less than a third that amount over three years. A subsequent, hard-fought three-year deal with the Screen Actors Guild, with about 120,000 members, cost the companies only about $250 million. One person involved with the pension and health plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the situation, called the looming half-billion dollar shortfall “staggering.” The workers represented under the stage employees’ contracts have been known more for making deals than picking fights. In years past, the union might have been at the bargaining table a year before the contract deadline; this time talks may not start until spring. The last full-blown craft strikes occurred more than a half-century ago, and involved a different configuration of unions; Hollywood’s Teamsters, the other major union headed for a 2012 showdown, have not staged a major strike since 1988. But the current situation is volatile, partly because the Teamsters and some allied unions who share health and pension plans with I.A.T.S.E. aligned the expiration of their contracts with those of the larger theatrical workers alliance by shortening their last contract cycle to two years. This time, those unions are expected to bargain jointly on health and pension issues. A walkout would instantly stop film and television production in the Los Angeles area, and would affect production in New York and elsewhere, because editors, camera crews and some others are represented on a national basis. Hollywood’s guilds largely resolved their health and pension problems, at least for now, in several agreements over the last year or two. But the craft workers and other film laborers got caught in a whipsaw that involved the financial markets, changes to federal health care law, and some features that are peculiar to the financing and benefit structure of their plans. In some ways, Hollywood’s blue-collar health plans are more generous than those covering actors, writers and directors, who are usually regarded as being higher in the pecking order. At the gathering in September at Local 80, John Garner, a health care consultant with Levey, Garner & Isaacs, told I.A.T.S.E. members their plans matched or exceeded those of the guilds and others in deductibles, office visit co-pays, member contributions and other measures. One chart showed that entertainment industry workers pay just $300 as a median per person deductible for services from a preferred provider group. But those in the plan covering craft workers and Teamsters pay no deductible for the same services. Such generous coverage has come at a cost. The craft workers contribute their residuals payments from the rebroadcast of films on television and elsewhere to their benefits plans, while guild members typically receive the residuals as cash. At the same time, the blue-collar workers for years have been draining an enormous cash reserve in their own plans — once enough to finance 30 months of benefits — to meet outlays that have increased as the population has aged and more sophisticated medicine has raised costs. But what advisers had said was a surplus in the reserve is almost spent. Investments never quite recovered from the market collapse of 2008. Hollywood’s residuals payments flattened as the DVD boom ended. Meanwhile, federal health care legislation required plans to cover children to the age of 26, and eliminated lifetime coverage maximums. It added up to what David Wescoe, the executive administrative director for the health and pension plans for the craft and blue-collar unions, told union members was “a very dicey picture for the next three-year cycle.” Speaking at Local 80, he put the pension financing shortage at $190 million. Increased health expenses, he said, would require an additional $180 million to stay even with current benefits. About $75 million would be needed to keep the reserves at a safe level of six to eight months. And falling contributions, if industry economics remain soft, will also hurt. To some extent, the size of the shortfall may be affected by the decisions of the Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments on a challenge to the federal health care plan in March. “It’s in their hands,” read the legend of a photo of the justices in Mr. Wescoe’s presentation in September. But even if the court were to overturn the new law, something must give when the companies and unions meet. “To leave it the way it is today, we need half a billion dollars,” Mr. Loeb said.


Aviles Spurs Red Sox Past Tigers

Abstract: After an umpire’s mistake on what should have been the third strike, Mike Aviles lined a single to center that started a three-run surge in the second inning. That gave the Boston Red Sox the lead for good in a 7-4 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Monday. “I got another swing, got another hit, one run scored there, and we ended up scoring two more right after that,” Aviles said. “It helped us out, gave us momentum, and we kept rolling from there.” Felix Doubront pitched six innings of four-hit ball, Ryan Sweeney had three hits after being activated from the disabled list, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered for Boston. The victory was tainted by an injury to Dustin Pedroia, who left in the fifth inning with a jammed right thumb. “He’ll probably have some tests,” Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine said. “Right now I don’t think he could play tomorrow, if I was a betting man. But don’t bet on it.” Detroit played most of the game without Manager Jim Leyland and the third-base coach Gene Lamont; they were ejected after the umpires appeared to blow the call on Aviles’s foul tip in the second. With two outs and a runner on second, Aviles swung at what would have been the third strike. It was ruled a foul tip, and on appeal, the ball was determined to have hit the dirt before catcher Gerald Laird could glove it. Replays appeared to show a clean swing and miss by Aviles, and Laird clearly caught the ball before it could hit the ground. Aviles then lined a run-scoring single to center. Daniel Nava doubled him home and scored on a single by Pedroia to make it 4-1. BREWERS 3, DODGERS 2 Aramis Ramirez tied the score in the fourth inning with a homer and singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth as Milwaukee won on the road. MARLINS 5, NATIONALS 3 Giancarlo Stanton hit his 11th home run in May, one short of the Marlins’ record for a month, to help host Miami tie a franchise record for victories in any month, with 19. Major League Baseball suspended Marlins reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo for eight weeks for age and identity fraud. Oviedo, formerly known as Leo Nunez, will be eligible to play in the major leagues July 23. TWINS 5, ATHLETICS 4 Justin Morneau drove in two runs for host Minnesota as Oakland lost its sixth straight. Before the game, A’s Manager Bob Melvin said there was a “50-50” chance that Manny Ramirez would join the team when his 50-game drug suspension ends Wednesday. PIRATES 4, REDS 1 James McDonald pitched eight shutout innings as host Pittsburgh climbed back to .500. CARDINALS 8, BRAVES 2 Lance Lynn joined Philadelphia’s Hamels as an eight-game winner, and host Atlanta’s losing streak reached eight games, its longest skid in two years. CUBS 11, PADRES 7 Host Chicago stopped its 12-game losing streak, its worst skid since 1997, as Alfonso Soriano hit a go-ahead home run. WHITE SOX 2, RAYS 1 Chris Sale struck out a career-high 15, Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer, and visiting Chicago extended its winning streak to six games. Sale finished one strikeout shy of the team record. INDIANS 8, ROYALS 5 Jose Lopez drove in three runs for host Cleveland, which had lost three in a row. GIANTS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Barry Zito outpitched Trevor Cahill in a matchup of former Oakland All-Stars, allowing two runs in seven innings for host San Francisco. BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 2 Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson homered, and Drew Hutchison struck out a career-high nine in seven shutout innings as host Toronto ended a five-game losing streak. RANGERS 4, MARINERS 2 Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz homered as Texas won at home. ROCKIES SWEEP ASTROS IN DOUBLEHEADER Jordan Pacheco blooped a tiebreaking single in Colorado’s 9-7 victory in the opener of a doubleheader with visiting Houston, the Astros’ first doubleheader since 2006. In the second game, Dexter Fowler hit a game-ending triple in the 10th inning to give Colorado a 7-6 win.

Baseball
Aviles Mike
Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers


Shifting Alliances Play Out Behind Closed Doors in Yemen

Abstract: SANA, Yemen — A number of lawmakers trickled into Parliament on Sunday morning, just in time for an emergency meeting to address the resignation of Yemen’s president last week. Minutes later, they walked back out, after hearing that the session had been called off. “Members aren’t allowed in, and no one will attend,” Yehia al-Matari, a member of Parliament, told another official over the phone. Mr. Matari explained that Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of a Shiite-led rebel group now in control of most security and state institutions, appeared to be calling the shots. Another lawmaker, Mohamed Saleh Ali, offered a different explanation. According to Mr. Ali, the meeting was canceled partly because the president of Parliament was traveling to Saudi Arabia, which sees the Houthis as an extension of Iranian influence and has cut off nearly all aid to the Yemeni government. “We’re used to this, postponing a day, or two or three,” Mr. Ali said, calmly. “It’s not a big deal. This is how it is in Yemen.” Power in Yemen is largely centered in the hands of individuals rather than institutions, and national identity often competes with tribal and sectarian allegiances. The Houthi-led takeover, which forced the resignation of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Thursday, is part of a broader structure of shifting alliances and warring interests that are now being negotiated behind closed doors, political analysts and officials say. On Saturday, two Houthi representatives met with Jamal Benomar, the United Nations envoy to Yemen, who had been employing a kind of shuttle diplomacy to chart a way out of the standoff. As soon as the Houthis left, Mr. Benomar moved to a different room for his next appointment. But no one appeared to be inching any closer to a real solution. “There are many parties here in this equation, and they all have different interests, different incentives,” Mr. Benomar said. The Houthis, who fought to establish themselves as the dominant force on the ground, now want to see their street might translated into political capital and are demanding crucial leadership positions. But internal disagreements exist. Some Houthis are willing to work with the majority party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, but other, older members of the group experienced years of persecution and violence under his government and fear that he could make a comeback if his son, Ahmed Ali Saleh, became president. “It was already very hard to convince people not to go after him for revenge,” one member of the Houthi revolutionary committees said, referring to the former President Saleh. He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. Mr. Houthi, he said, “had to talk to some of his supporters, one by one, and beg them to forget the past.” The Houthis stormed Sana, the capital, in September with the help of Mr. Saleh, who still wields power through tribes and army units that have remained loyal to him even after he was forced out of power in 2012. Muhammed al-Faqih, a member of Mr. Saleh’s public relations office, said Mr. Saleh had not facilitated the Houthi takeover. Instead, Mr. Faqih said, Mr. Saleh took an impartial stance. But that effectively gave the Houthis a green light because they knew they would not encounter resistance from Mr. Saleh’s forces. Video Since Monday, videos have surfaced — both professional and amateur — showing the violence unfolding between the Yemeni Army and Houthi rebels in the capital, Sana. Credit Credit European Pressphoto Agency Mr. Saleh and the Houthis also shared a common enemy: Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top army commander who had led military campaigns against the Houthis in the north for many years under Mr. Saleh but then helped push Mr. Saleh from power. According to Nabil Abdel Rab, who manages the majority party’s website, Mr. Ahmar fled to Saudi Arabia the day the Houthis entered the capital. “Ali Abdullah Saleh is now the No. 1 force in Yemen,” Mr. Abdel Rab contended, explaining that the Houthis had cleared out Mr. Saleh’s enemies and undermined Yemen’s current leadership. “Now, between the Shiite Houthis and the Sunni opposition, Saleh or his son will look like the only middle-ground solution.” At this stage, the Houthis, powerful but wary, are reassessing their prospects for alliances. But their swift victories have reignited separatist demands in southern Yemen. Alarmed by the Houthis’ expansion, the separatist movement in the south has also started to seize territory. It is openly working with Al Qaeda, also present in the south, to assert its independent identity. “It creates a huge pool for recruitment,” Mr. Benomar said. “Al Qaeda is benefiting from this, and that is frightening.” Not far from Parliament, Abdallah Nasser, 21, was selling stickers with portraits of Yemen’s leading political figures: Mr. Houthi, the elder Mr. Saleh and his son. The stickers of Mr. Saleh’s son had been marked up because they were the most popular, Mr. Nasser said. But with respect to Mr. Hadi, it appears that Mr. Nasser’s customers have just moved on. “No one ever asks for him,” Mr. Nasser said.

Yemen
Houthis
Civil Unrest
Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi
Legislature
Sana Yemen


Trusteeship for Local 2054 in District Council 37

Abstract: In an unusual move, one of the locals in New York City’s largest municipal union was placed in trusteeship late Friday after its embattled president was faulted for losing $1 million in members’ dues in the stock market and buying a $41,000 Cadillac for her predecessor as a retirement gift. Pointing to continued corruption problems at the municipal union, District Council 37 , its Washington-based parent imposed a trusteeship on Local 2054, which represents 5,000 administrative assistants at City University, City College and city-run community colleges. As reasons for the trusteeship, the parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees , cited a substantial operating deficit, the lack of written procedures to ensure proper use of union credit cards and the $1 million loss in the value of the local union’s investments over a 14-month period. The trusteeship, under which the parent union will appoint an outsider to run the local, was announced three days after the local’s executive board voted on Tuesday to oust the local’s president, Colleen Carew-Rogers. The board brought union charges against her alleging that she misspent money and flouted democratic rules. Among the accusations are that she had misspent members’ dues money, without the executive board’s approval, to buy the Cadillac for her predecessor and mentor, Joan Reed, in 2007 and to throw a $30,000 going-away party for Ms. Reed, who died last year. On June 22, an audit ordered by the parent union criticized Ms. Carew-Rogers for violating the union’s financial policies by investing members’ dues money in risky stock funds. The audit found that the investment fund fell by 59 percent in 14 months, plunging to $743,418 on Feb. 27, 2009, from $1,801,286 on Dec. 31, 2007. Speaking about Ms. Carew-Rogers, Linda Bowman, a vice president of Local 2054, said: “For the past couple of years she has been violating the constitution on a consistent basis. She doesn’t hold membership meetings. She doesn’t consult with the executive board on any expenditures. She just basically dictates things.” The parent union said other reasons for the trusteeship were that the local’s financial reports were habitually filed late and that it had no plans to stop the depletion of its financial assets. Larry Cary, a lawyer for Ms. Carew-Rogers, said it was wrong for the executive board to remove her. He said the board’s charges were a “mishmash” of either factual inaccuracies or accusations previously rejected by a union investigative officer. He said his understanding was that the executive board had approved the purchase of the Cadillac in 2006 when Ms. Reed was still president, but Ms. Bowman said the board was still debating the purchase in 2007 after Ms. Reed had retired. The local’s new officers said these problems point to continuing corruption troubles at District Council 37, a federation of 56 locals representing 121,000 workers. The district council was disgraced by scandal in the 1990s, when more than 20 officials were convicted of vote-rigging, embezzlement and other crimes, with the presidents of two locals accused of each stealing more than $2 million. A lawyer for the executive board, Arthur Schwartz, said, “The culture that led to the problems of the 1990s has not been dissipated and continues to fester.” The parent union has periodically audited the district council’s locals to help detect and deter corruption. The June audit also found that three of the local’s officials ran up $38,804 in charges on union credit cards in 2007 and 2008. The audit criticized the local because it had no written credit card procedures and no requirement to file expense reports on credit card charges. In a surprise twist, Local 2054’s executive board this week chose as Ms. Carew-Rogers’s replacement as president Carlton Berkley, a retired police detective turned administrative assistant at John Jay College, who is running for City Council to represent Central Harlem. “I plan to root out the corruption in the local and then go after any more corruption in D.C. 37,” he said Thursday. However, he will step aside as a result of the trusteeship.

American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees


Jets Close-Up

Abstract: KEY PLAY/PERFORMANCE Trailing by 26-17 midway through the fourth quarter, New Orleans went for it on a fourth-and-inches at the Jets’ 36. The Saints, with all their offensive talent, handed the ball off to tight end Josh Hill on a misdirection play. Jets linebacker Quinton Coples thundered in and stopped Hill for an 8-yard loss. Coples said that he had not seen the play on film but that “you can’t be surprised by anything.” NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 9 That is how many completions the Jets recorded Sunday, and they needed every one of them but not a single one more. It was as if their offensive coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg, had dusted off a Jets game plan from 2009, when the team took a conservative approach with Mark Sanchez and relied on a strong running game and defense. TALKING POINT For all of the Jets’ inconsistency, there is no denying it now: They are a legitimate playoff contender. Their schedule after their bye week contains potential pitfalls, but is far less imposing than the first part of their season. The Jets have divisional matchups remaining with Buffalo and Miami (twice) but play only one game — Dec. 15 at Carolina — against a team that has a winning record. BEN SHPIGEL


Challenger Named in Georgian Election

Abstract: TBILISI, Georgia , Nov. 12 — Georgia’s opposition nominated the owner of a winemaking company on Monday to face President Mikheil Saakashvili in early presidential elections, scheduled for Jan. 5. The candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, is a member of Parliament from the opposition New Rights Party and founder of Georgian Wines and Spirits. At a news conference on Monday, he accused Mr. Saakashvili’s government of terrorizing political opponents. “The first message will be that we have to destroy the regime of Saakashvili,” he said in an interview later, adding that he and his opposition partners would do so using democratic means. It was the opposition’s first major political announcement since a state of emergency was imposed after the police and riot troops used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse antigovernment protests on Nov. 7. Hundreds were injured, and there have been unconfirmed reports of at least one death. A day later, Mr. Saakashvili announced early elections, a decision seen as both an attempt to quell political unrest and to catch the opposition off guard. The move to nominate a candidate appeared to be a show of unity for the 10-party opposition coalition, which in the past has seemed fractured. Mr. Gachechiladze, 43, said in the interview that his candidacy “was the decision of everyone in the opposition committee.” Opposition members said that if they won the presidency, they intended to work to transform the government into a true parliamentary system, after which, they said, the current powerful presidency would be abolished. Though opposition members said they would begin campaigning for the presidency immediately, it was unclear how they would do so, given restrictions on political demonstrations and the news media under the emergency decree still imposed on the capital. The decree, extended until Nov. 22 by a Parliament dominated by the president’s supporters, was accompanied by a near-blackout on news and restrictions on political freedoms. It was uncertain on Monday if the state of the emergency would be repealed early, though Shota Utiashvili, the director of the Department of Analysis at the Interior Ministry, said it would probably happen in “a couple of days.” “I think that this week it will be lifted, by all means,” he said. Meanwhile, foreign officials continued to urge Georgia to allow private television channels to begin broadcasting again and pressed for dialogue between the government and the opposition. Matthew J. Bryza, the American assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met Saturday with Zurab Noghaideli, Georgia’s prime minister, as well as with representatives of the opposition. After his meeting with the prime minister, he urged the government to repeal the state of emergency. The government has accused some opposition members of provoking the clashes with the police last week, and says it has evidence that several political figures, backed by Russia, were involved in a coup plot. Giorgi Khaindrava, an opposition politician and former conflict resolution minister in Mr. Saakashvili’s government, said that prosecutors had issued him a subpoena on Monday, accusing him of espionage and ordering him to appear for questioning on Tuesday. He said he refused to accept the document. “I am not prepared to cooperate with these authorities,” he said. Officials have also accused Badri Patarkatsishvili, believed to be Georgia’s wealthiest man, of working to overthrow the government. Mr. Patarkatsishvili indicated on Saturday that he, too, would run for president, though the opposition coalition has, so far, distanced itself from him. Georgia said Monday that Russia had sent troops and military equipment into Abkhazia, a separatist republic in Georgia’s north that has been one of several flash points between the two countries. “This is a direct step escalating the conflict in Abkhazia,” David Bakradze, the conflict resolution minister, said, according to the Interfax news agency. “Russia obviously thinks that Georgia has lost strength and that force can now be used against it.” Moscow denied the minister’s assertion.

Georgia (Georgian Republic)
Saakashvili Mikheil
Politics and Government
Elections


Astronauts’ Eyeballs Are Deformed by Long Missions in Space

Abstract: Space is not good for your eyes — unless you are nearsighted, in which case it might help a bit. Trips to weightlessness can squash the eyeballs of astronauts, swell the optic nerves and blur vision — changes that often persist long after the astronauts return to weightbound Earth. That is one more health effect that NASA will have to worry about before astronauts venture farther out into the solar system. “When you’re talking about missions that might be two years round trip, it has to be in the back of your mind that this could be a potential limiting factor,” said Dr. Larry A. Kramer, a professor of diagnostic imaging and intervention at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Kramer and his colleagues have put more than 35 astronauts into high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging machines. This month in the journal Radiology, they reported their findings on the first 27 astronauts they examined. Four of the 27 had some swelling around the optic nerve. In seven of the astronauts, the back of one or both of the eyeballs was somewhat flattened. Those abnormalities, Dr. Kramer said, resemble those in patients on terra firma who have a condition in which fluid pressure increases in the skull and presses against the eyes. Dr. Kramer said he suspected increased pressure was at the heart of the problem for the astronauts, too. Without the downward pull of gravity, fluids in the body shift higher in the body, including inside the skull. (It is, however, too early to rule out other causes, he said, like the increased radiation that astronauts experience while in orbit.) The flattening of the eyes is easily compensated for by eyeglasses, and nearsighted people become less nearsighted. But the M.R.I. scans also revealed little ripples in the back of the eyes of some of the astronauts, distorting their vision in a way that “would be more disconcerting to us,” Dr. Kramer said. The swelling, if untreated, could damage vision, possibly even leading to blindness. The astronauts who had spent longer time in space exhibited more abnormalities, although some of those who had floated in space for less than a month also had eye changes. NASA is now taking measurements of the eyeballs of all new astronauts it selects and before and after each flight. “This is a lifelong health issue for astronauts that they’re going to be following,” Dr. Kramer said. But since missions beyond low-Earth orbit are more than a decade away, NASA has time to figure out solutions. Drugs to alleviate the pressure are one possibility. A more technologically challenging solution would be to spin interplanetary spacecraft to generate artificial gravity for the crew. “NASA does not currently think that the vision problem will preclude long-duration human space missions,” said Dr. Richard Williams, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, adding that the vision changes have so far had no effect on the ability of astronauts on the International Space Station to complete their missions.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration


St. John’s Coach Wins 700th

Abstract: St. John’s Coach Ed Blankmeyer earned his 700th career victory with a 9-5 home win over Wagner. The Red Storm (12-9-1) scored all their runs in the first two innings to cruise to the milestone win. Blankmeyer has a record of 700-430-4 in his 21 seasons at St. John’s.


At Fay Da Bakery, Chinese Treats and Western Sweets

Abstract: Fay Da Bakery , an expanding chain based in New York, has had its only New Jersey outpost tucked inside the Hong Kong Supermarket in East Brunswick since 2000. The compact, no-frills space (no seating) sells a wide selection of baked and steamed buns, good for lunch or a snack. The list runs long: there are red bean buns, taro buns and fresh-steamed pork sausage buns, as well as roast pork puffs and sweet rice rolls ($1 to $2). There are fruit shakes and smoothielike drinks, along with bubble teas made with tapioca pearls in a variety of flavors: mango, chocolate, sesame and honeydew, among others ($3 to $5). Shelves and cases are also stocked with Western-style sweets, like cheesecakes, elegant fruit tarts, tiramisù and Sacher torte. Han Chou, 53, the chain’s owner, who opened his first Fay Da in Manhattan in 1991, follows recipes that he learned when he was a baker in Taiwan. The person who taught him learned how to bake from American military personnel during World War II, so there are some American twists, too, like the pullman loaf of white bread ($2.25 each). Around the Chinese New Year, which this year will be celebrated through Feb. 17, special treats are available, including fa gao (a small steamed cake) and sesame balls and nian gao, a pudding made from sweet rice and brown sugar with fillings like savory turnip ($9). But the bakery and the supermarket, whose range includes bamboo shoots and mah jong tables, are fun to visit year round. Fay Da Bakery (in the Hong Kong Supermarket), 275 Route 18 South, East Brunswick; (732) 651-2276. Open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. fayda.com .

Bakeries and Baked Products
Cooking and Cookbooks
New Jersey
Restaurants


Lessons for the President After Health Care Triumph

Abstract: WASHINGTON — Among the many lessons Democrats have learned from President Obama ’s 14-month slog through the nation’s vitriolic health care debate is that there are two ways for a president to do business in hyperpartisan Washington. One is to go small, and partner across the aisle. The other is to go big, and go it alone. Mr. Obama chose the second path on health care — and came out on top. The question now is, can he pull it off again? Mr. Obama has laid out an ambitious domestic agenda. He wants to overhaul the financial regulatory system , and Democrats began to push a bill through the Senate on Monday. He also wants to rewrite his predecessor’s signature education bill, pass climate change legislation and revamp immigration laws. Sunday’s victory has clearly emboldened Democrats and raised expectations for Mr. Obama. But the paradox of the health care vote is that, even as Mr. Obama has gained a much-needed infusion of political capital, it may not help him advance his agenda on Capitol Hill. “I think the lesson, especially in the aftermath of the Massachusetts Senate race — it sounds corny — was, ‘Don’t get intimidated and don’t get discouraged,’ ” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, a part of the House leadership. “There were a lot of people who wanted to beat a retreat, or take small baby steps to address what is a very big problem.” Still, Mr. Van Hollen conceded that Mr. Obama would have to take his legislative agenda on a “case-by-case basis.” Republicans are unlikely to cooperate, and Mr. Obama has lost the 60-vote supermajority in the Senate that made it possible to get the health care bill through. Senator John McCain, the president’s Republican rival for the White House in 2008, said Monday that the anger was so intense over the parliamentary tactics on health care that Mr. Obama should not expect any help from Republicans. “There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year,” Mr. McCain told an Arizona radio station. “They have poisoned the well in what they’ve done and how they’ve done it.” And Democrats themselves may be skittish, said Chris Jennings, a health care industry consultant who advised President Bill Clinton and was in the House chamber for Sunday night’s vote. “Every victory replenishes capital,” Mr. Jennings said, though he added that there seemed to be little appetite among Democrats on Capitol Hill for another brutal fight. “I doubt that there’s much else that the market will bear in Congress now for those big, big issues. It doesn’t seem like the members are jumping up and down and asking for something hard to do for the remainder of this year.” Mr. Obama learned some lessons of his own. Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, said the health care debate reaffirmed one lesson of Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign: that it is critical not to get distracted by the constant fluctuations in the news cycle and the instant analysis of pundits. “As hard as it is to achieve that in the campaign,” Mr. Pfeiffer said, “it is harder in the hothouse of the Beltway.” Mr. Obama likes to say that he came to Washington to tackle tough problems, and in some respects, overhauling health care — an unfulfilled dream of American presidents for generations — may be the toughest. His staff gathered on Sunday in the White House Roosevelt Room as the House voted, erupting in cheers as the tally clicked past 216, the number necessary for passage. Mr. Obama gave his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, a high-five. Later, after the president spoke in the East Room, he invited his aides to the Truman Balcony for a Champagne toast. David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, said the lesson for Democrats was “to keep our noses to the grindstone, be persistent, make an earnest effort to solve some of the big problems in this country.” Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, said the victory had already emboldened Democrats; he predicted that it would strengthen the president’s hand, if not with Republicans on Capitol Hill, then at least with the public. “He won, and the American public likes success,” Mr. Brown said. The selling of the bill begins Tuesday. Mr. Obama will sign it into law at a White House ceremony and then speak to an audience of 600, including doctors and patients, at the Interior Department. On Thursday, he will travel to Iowa City, where he first laid out his vision for a health care overhaul as a candidate in 2007. Looking ahead, White House officials say Mr. Obama’s next big push will be for the financial regulatory bill. Republicans oppose critical elements of the plan, especially Mr. Obama’s call for a new consumer protection agency. To get it passed, Mr. Obama will not be able to rely on the procedural tactic of budget reconciliation , which Senate Democrats are employing to pass a package of fixes to the health care bill. (There can be only one reconciliation bill each year.) That means he will have to gain the support of at least one Senate Republican. To spur that cooperation, the White House and Democrats will make the case, as Mr. Axelrod said, that “it is not good politics” for Republicans “to stand with the big financial interests against common-sense rules to protect the country.” Mr. Van Hollen, for one, said gaining Republican cooperation would not be easy. But, he said, referring to the health bill, “it would have been a whole lot tougher if we had not been able to get this done.”

Obama Barack
Health Insurance and Managed Care
United States Politics and Government
Reform and Reorganization
House of Representatives
Senate


Suspect Says He Tried to Stop Murder Plan He Set in Motion

Abstract: The man charged with arranging for himself and his girlfriend to be shot in a staged robbery now says that he wanted to foil the attack seconds before it happened, but it was too late. The man, Carlos Cruz, 36, was wounded in the Bronx on Sunday, and his former companion, Chelsea M. Frazier, 18, was killed. Their 14-month-old son, Alijah, strapped in the back seat of their vehicle at the time of the shooting, was unhurt. Mr. Cruz reported the attack as a robbery. The police said later that he had hired his cousin Devon Miller, 25, to stage it. Both men were charged with murder. In an interview in jail on Thursday, Mr. Cruz described his torment over Ms. Frazier’s death and insisted that “I just wanted to scare her,” not kill her. Despite their troubled relationship, Mr. Cruz said that they were having a pleasant day on Sunday, spending $126 on clothes for their son. Things went so well, Mr. Cruz said, that he was changing his mind about the attack. “Just five more seconds and we would have pulled out of there,” he said, referring to the place designated for the attack. But then Mr. Miller showed up. “It all happened so fast,” Mr. Cruz said. Mr. Cruz described himself as a hard-working truck driver who did not drink, smoke or abuse drugs. He said he was a supportive father, paying $950 a month rent for their Southbridge, Mass., apartment. But after Ms. Frazier broke off their relationship about three weeks ago, Mr. Cruz said that resentment “grabbed hold of my heart and ate at my brain.” Ms. Frazier was neglecting the baby and had denied Mr. Cruz access to him, he said. He also said he believed that she had cheated on him, that he was not sure that the baby was his — though he accepted the boy as his own — and that he believed Ms. Frazier had a new boyfriend. Despite everything, Mr. Cruz said that when Ms. Frazier was shot he reached to help her. “I wasn’t thinking about any of that stuff,” he said. “I was just thinking about her. When the ambulance came to get us, they had to pry my hands off her.” Mr. Cruz said he was distraught when he learned that Ms. Frazier had died. “The weight of the world was on my shoulders,” he said. And now, he added, “I’m worried that my son doesn’t have a mother or a father.”

Cruz Carlos
Frazier Chelsea M
Bronx (NYC)
Massachusetts


The Sounds of Drummers, Handled Gingerly — The Appraisal

Abstract: New Yorkers make every effort to block out the sounds made by neighbors: their wails that they don’t want to go to preschool, their contractors’ ear-splitting hammer drills, and their heavy-footed gaits, which to those living below can sound as graceful as an elephant breaking in new pairs of stilettos. Even the most patient New Yorker can break down and plead with neighbors to stop that racket. But on one block in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, where ambulances screech past, buses tread their noisy route and an occasional bird is lucky to get a chirp in, residents of a pair of town houses have reached a sort of noise détente. JoAnn Ebanks, a real estate broker and mother of two sons, ages 9 and 11, has lived for the past decade on Vanderbilt Avenue next to a particularly noisy brownstone. She scored her first victory when the percussionist who lived on the ground floor and had a fondness for the batá drum agreed to work his rehearsal schedule around her sons’ bedtimes. Even so, Ms. Ebanks and her husband decided to move their own bedroom up to the third floor. There they discovered yet another drummer, one who likes Toto and the Doobie Brothers. “When he first started playing the drums, I thought, ‘What fresh hell,’ ” Ms. Ebanks said. “I get in the bed and I’m just relaxing, and it’s like ‘Bum du da dum.’ ” That drummer, Nate Fredette, a red-bearded 33-year-old computer programmer by day, moved in with his girlfriend, the musically named Sophie Dorsey, and their broad-bellied orange tabby, Guapo, in September 2006. While Mr. Fredette was growing up in North Andover, Mass., his parents tolerated his brother’s guitar playing and his own drum playing because “they gave birth to me,” he said. But neighbors were less forgiving and sometimes called the police. To limit noise, he put pads on his drums, positioned his set on a navy and lavender floral rug to muffle his foot tapping, and gave his girlfriend headphones to wear. But that didn’t help Ms. Ebanks, who was trying to sleep on the other side of the wall. One afternoon when Ms. Ebanks recognized Mr. Fredette on the street, she encouraged him to keep drumming, as long as it was before 9 p.m. Mr. Fredette agreed. Soon Mr. Fredette was playing drums with Cleve Pozar, the ground floor drummer, who called Ms. Ebanks “a princess” for her diplomacy. Mr. Pozar, who is 70, said he tried to play music his neighbors might like. “People get annoyed because people play bad music,” Mr. Pozar said. Eventually, needing more room for his drumming, he moved out. There is yet another musician, however, on the second floor, a guitarist who likes Beatles songs, but the Ebanks said they did not mind his playing. “You’re never going to get complete quiet,” Ms. Ebanks said. Broker Honor A back-and-forth on Streeteasy.com about the value of brokers contained this rare bit of praise for a broker in New Jersey: “I have also been a nuisance for a lovely broker for years in our perpetual never ending house hunt. I want to say, for the record, in 2006-7 he told us not to buy and save our money for the inevitable crash. “The man is an absolute saint and the definition of ethic and integrity. I send him birthday cards, Xmas cards, he was a guest at the meet the baby brunches when both my kids were born, I push his name to any and everyone who expresses any interest in buying a house. He has not collected any commission from me, but I’d like to think he’s gained from our association because I have a big mouth.” Alas, the post did not name the broker. In Contract A town house for sale in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, profiled this month in The Appraisal because one of the owners was recently killed there by her son, is in contract after two price cuts to $1.3 million, from $1.49 million. A spokeswoman for the Corcoran Group, which is handling the sale, declined to discuss the final price. Motivated Seller For decades, buyers and brokers looking to turn death into opportunity subscribed to the Bernhardt Report, which listed the names of recently departed New Yorkers and the homes they had left behind. Now an apartment belonging to the Bernhardt Report’s owner is up for sale, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom co-op in Brooklyn Heights listed for $899,000, down from an original asking price of $1.2 million. But the owner, Scott Walsh, has not yet left this realm; he wants to retire to a beach in Sicily.

Housing and Real Estate
Noise
Fort Greene (NYC)
Windsor Terrace (NYC)
Brooklyn Heights (NYC)


Desk Dreaming and Video Streaming

Abstract: If golf is the sport of business, then corporate bosses around the country should not mind if their employees divert themselves from crucial computer tasks to peer at the video streaming of the 6th and 10th holes at the United States Open from Winged Foot from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday. Productivity may tumble as fans watch the "US Open Live" two-hole extravaganza. This will be the sixth year that the United States Golf Association will post streaming video from the Open. It did one hole the first year, and has done two holes ever since. This year, the group decided that Winged Foot's par-4 sixth hole, "the Pulpit," one of the course architect A. W. Tillinghast's masterpieces, was must-see viewing, as was the par-3 10th hole. The course setup for "US Open Live" is separate from ESPN's and NBC's. The two-hole production — handled by an ESPN affiliate — has its own cameras, its own tower and its own announcers, Roger Twibell and Charlie Rymer, but no course reporters to whisper of sweet putts. "When we started doing this at Southern Hills, it was just me for six hours on one hole," Twibell said. In the second year, Rymer was hired. The U.S.G.A.'s intention is to have an online adjunct, at www.usopen.com , for those who cannot get to a television or would rather not demonstrate their workplace truancy by leaving their desks and gazing at the broadcast coverage. It offers one advantage over ESPN: It starts one hour earlier. "It's an Internet-based TV show," said Bill Lacey, the U.S.G.A.'s manager for Internet services. In addition to showing one group after another play the 6th and 10th holes, the production posts quizzes and trivia, invites questions and comments, and asks fans to e-mail photos of themselves watching. "We'll put a shot on screen and say, 'There's Red from Arizona watching,' " Lacey said. "We try to engage the audience in what they're doing." Last year, the two-hole Open moved onto traditional TV when it was simulcast on ESPN Classic, but that will not happen this year. The streaming of holes at the Open is part of a change in viewing habits. Enhanced broadband capabilities have enabled sports organizations to stream the action and for users to watch it. During the streaming of the first 56 games of the N.C.A.A. men's basketball tournament in March, CBS SportsLine registered 1.3 million users on its March Madness on Demand site; five million visits were recorded, and 19 million streams of live and archived video were summoned. The next month, CBS SportsLine also oversaw the streaming Masters coverage of "Amen Corner," the 11th, 12th and 13th holes at Augusta National. During the tournament's four-day run, 3.4 million video streams were sent out, with as many as 85,000 individual streams viewed at once. For several years, the PGA Tour's Web site has streamed coverage of the island hole (No. 17) at Sawgrass during the Players Championship. It's golf on a smaller screen and in lesser-quality resolution. There's no Johnny Miller assessing swings and the height of the grass, no Roger Maltbie patrolling the course, no Dottie Pepper reporting on Tiger Woods's discomfort with his tight shirt, as she did last year. Twibell, a veteran golf commentator, said the major difference between being part of 18-hole coverage and calling a pair of holes was the need to advance beyond describing the action by bringing in a steady flow of guests and answering the e-mail messages that flow in. "It's more conversational and more interactive," he said. "Sometimes, we get someone from the U.S.G.A. to respond to questions, sometimes Charlie gives answers. As we've done this, we've gotten e-mails from all over the world. The real charm of the whole thing is to interact with the audience." Twibell said his wife once tried to go online to see what her husband was doing, but the cybertraffic was too congested to accommodate her. According to the U.S.G.A., plenty of others have succeeded, like Sten in Denmark last year ("wonderful with this Webcam") and James C., who said he was in the Navy and watched the holes from his laptop in Afghanistan. "We get e-mails from people who say they're having so much fun, they can't wait to get back to work," Lacey said. So much for productivity. Traffic to the United States Open site has grown 20 percent annually. But Lacey offered a different measure of success than the ones he used for the Masters or March Madness productions; last year, "US Open Live" sent out 250,000 hours of live video. Lacey said the U.S.G.A. had contemplated extending its two-hole coverage but it had not pushed "because we don't want to run afoul of the TV broadcast on ESPN." Twibell added: "Two holes is a bonus. You can't be greedy."

United States Golf Assn
Computers and the Internet
Television
United States Open (Golf)


Showing Grass-Roots Support for Immigration Overhaul

Abstract: Tens of thousands of immigrants, Latinos and other supporters of an overhaul of the immigration system turned out on Wednesday for marches, rallies and prayer vigils, hoping to show Congress that momentum is building for a path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. Instead of concentrating on large May Day demonstrations, organizers said they had chosen to hold smaller actions in more than 100 cities nationwide to draw more local supporters. There were marches in Birmingham, Ala., and Milwaukee, and a rally on the steps of the state Capitol in Denver. In Bozeman, Mont., organizers gave salsa lessons to protesters before marching to the public library. Hours after a peaceful march ended in Seattle, a burst of violence led to the arrests of 17 people, The Associated Press reported. Several dozen protesters, some covering their faces with bandannas, began pelting police officers with rocks and bottles. Officers responded with pepper spray and “flash-bang” grenades — releasing smoke, a flashing light and a loud noise — to disperse the crowd, The A.P. said. In Chicago, hundreds of protesters marched through downtown streets, some dressed in stars and stripes and others waving Mexican flags, holding signs that read “Stop Deportations” and “Legalization for All.” Some, like Luis Moreno, who is 29 and from Mexico, said it was their first time protesting, since they had been hesitant to come out in previous years because of a lack of legal status, but now believed that the political winds were in their favor. “I think it is time that we come out of the shadows and support what we believe in,” Mr. Moreno said. Others in Chicago attributed renewed hope there to the strong turnout by Latino voters in the November election, saying it sent a message to Washington and made them feel more powerful. “I think many people got afraid to be noticed,” said Jaime Salgado, 37, an immigrant who works as a bus boy at a city restaurant. “We didn’t have papers, and we didn’t want them to know.” Now, Mr. Salgado said: “We noticed that they need Latin voters. They know they need us, as we need them.” In mid-April a bipartisan group of eight senators introduced a sweeping immigration bill, which includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants as well as measures to tighten border security, clear backlogs in the legal immigration system, create new guest worker programs and expand visas for highly skilled immigrants. The measure faces an uphill battle in the Senate, its sponsors acknowledge, and even more uncertain prospects in the House, where many Republicans are reluctant to offer eventual citizenship to immigrants who broke the law. Addressing the crowd in Chicago, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, who is an author of the immigration bill, appealed for unity. “We have the best chance we’ve had in 25 years to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year in Washington, D.C.,” he said. The May Day events did not begin to approach the size of the demonstrations when immigration legislation was before Congress in 2006 and hundreds of thousands of people turned out in Los Angeles and other cities. Since then, the failure of several immigration bills in Congress and the high rate of deportations by the Obama administration have made many people wary of public protests. “The big strategy is to point the people power of the movement towards getting Congress to finish the job in 2013,” said Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, one of the main organizers of Wednesday’s events. Mr. Bhargava said immigration groups would focus their efforts on specific lawmakers who could influence the outcome of the vote. People who attended the events Wednesday were asked to send e-mails and make calls to lawmakers on the spot. In Richmond, Va., about 150 people held a small rally and marched to the headquarters of the Republican Party. In a speech, Jaime Contreras, vice president of a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, or S.E.I.U., said to Republicans, “There’s no honor in being on the wrong side of history as the last stronghold fighting against civil rights.” A party official met with a delegation of marchers inside the Republican offices and received a package for Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, the majority leader. A union official said the package contained sheaves of data about the contributions of immigrants to Virginia’s economy and profiles of immigrant workers in the state. On the steps of the Capitol in Salem, Ore., Gov.John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, received cheers from demonstrators when he signed a bill allowing immigrants in the country illegally to obtain special driver’s licenses in the state. Eliseo Medina, the international secretary-treasurer of the S.E.I.U., monitored the day’s activities in what he called “our war room” at the union’s headquarters in Washington. He said organizers had tried to have activities in many of the nation’s 435 Congressional districts. “We were not particularly looking to have huge events,” Mr. Medina said. “We are going for expanding.” The union and its allies will issue a report card at the end of the year on lawmakers’ support for immigration legislation, Mr. Medina said. “People will know who deserves their support in 2014,” he said. “I would dearly love to include some positive marks on Republicans.” The PICO National Network, an organization of religious activist groups, said they were holding prayer vigils at the district offices of various lawmakers. On Wednesday, they said, vigils were held at offices of three House Republicans: Mike Coffman in Aurora, Colo; Jeff Denham in Modesto, Calif; and Daniel Webster in Winter Garden, Fla. In downtown Los Angeles, where several thousand people marched, vendors sold the flags of many nations, but most marchers preferred American flags. Omar Casalas, 26, an immigrant from Mexico who lives in Santa Ana, carried a sign that said, “Immigrants Create Jobs and Businesses.” He said he was optimistic about prospects for an immigration overhaul in Congress. “They have to act, to make things change,” Mr. Casalas said. In Tucson, 250 people turned out for a morning march in desert heat. Marchers said the prospect of action in Washington had created an upbeat mood. Tomás Rodríguez, 41, said he had lived in Tucson for two decades without immigration papers, working in construction. Mr. Rodríguez, who came with his daughter Stephanie, 17, a United States citizen, said he was not afraid to join the march. “I want to be a citizen,” he said. “This is now my country. I’ve spent 20 years building for Americans. I want people to understand what I’m doing.”

Illegal immigration
May Day
Immigration
Citizenship