Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
Murdoch Company Pays Andrew Cuomo At Least $700,000 For His Memoir
Okay, this is absurd:ALBANY—Gov. Andrew Cuomo's book deal with HarperCollins is worth at least $700,000, according to a disclosure form Cuomo filed last week.The publishing house is planning to release Cuomo's autobiography, “All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life,” in August. Cuomo's 2013 tax returns showed $188,333 in income from the book, but the governor's aides said $3
YESTERDAY
Cuomo Caught In Lie Over Independence Party Nomination
Governor Cuomo is famous for avoiding on the record interviews and Q&A's with reporters because this is the kind of thing that can happen with a shifty politician like Sheriff Andy - they can catch him in a lie:Gov. Cuomo appears to have misled reporters Thursday when he said a decision on whether to seek the Independence Party nomination would be made “down the road.”Documents submitted by th
How To Make Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Very Unhappy This Election Day
Shelly Silver at the State Democratic Conention, making nice with and for Governor Cuomo, responded this way to a statement about how many New York teachers are not happy with the governor:“Teachers should be very happy with him,” Silver said of a group that has been protesting Cuomo.Silver's either high or full of shit - there can be no third choice here.Governor Cuomo has pushed an education ref
Cuomo's Common Core Panel May Skip Writing A Final Report
When Governor Cuomo first announced his Common Core panel, many of us thought it was a jive move to make it look like he was doing something about all the parent and educator complaints about Common Core and the state's education reform agenda while really doing nothing at all about themThis news seems to confirm just that:ALBANY—I.B.M. executive Stanley Litow, who chaired Governor Andrew Cuomo's
MAY 22
Moreland Commission Hires Criminal Defense Attorney
I've been trying to limit myself to one post a day, but this news warrants a second:The commission that had been examining public corruption in New York state government before it was shut down by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has hired a criminal defense attorney as it faces a probe by federal prosecutors, according to people familiar with the matter.Michael Koenig, a former federal prosecutor, is expected t
Cuomo Puts A Criminal In Charge Of The State Democratic Party
From State of Politics:Former Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday was formally installed by the state Democratic Committee as its next chairman, assuming the post from Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright. Paterson, addressing the delegates on the first day of the Democratic convention here in Melville, naturally opened with a joke. “So you thought you were rid of me,” Paterson said. A woman in the crowd
MAY 21
Third Party Candidate Makes Cuomo/Astorino Race As Close As 13 Points
No wonder Cuomo and his henchmen are trying to talk WFP leaders into endorsing him and not, say, Howie Hawkins (or putting some other third party candidate on their ballot line):ALBANY— Gov. Cuomo’s huge lead over Republican challenger Rob Astorino would drop to 13 percentage points if the Working Families Party puts up its own candidate in the governor’s race, a polls shows. A Quinnipiac Universi
MAY 20
Wipe Out
I have shared before that this has felt like the most challenging of work years.I have been feeling run down physically, emotionally and spiritually the past few weeks and today I seem to be fighting the third cold I've had in the past two months (the wife and I seem to keep giving it back and forth to each other...)Another sign of just how rundown I have gotten.I'm in the middle of MOSL grading,
De Blasio Looks To Create Job Training Programs That Work
De Blasio says many of the jobs programs from the past (i.e., Bloomberg's) didn't work:The city is spending half a billion a year to place out-of-work New Yorkers in low-wage jobs - and it's time to stop, Mayor de Blasio said on Tuesday. De Blasio, speaking at a thriving manufacturing hub in Brooklyn, announced plans to revamp all of the city's employment training programs, which he said do little
MAY 19
Defending The De Blasio Family
I'm not sure Chirlane McCray, the wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, made the wisest choice when she opened up about the following to New York Magazine:In a lengthy cover story in this week’s New York magazine, Mr. de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray ,opened up about some of the difficulties she faced adjusting to motherhood after her daughter Chiara was born. “I was 40 years old. I had a life. Especiall
John Liu To Run Against Tony Avella In Primary
From Ken Lovett at the Daily News: Former City Controller John Liu has decided to run for state Senate, a source close to him told the Daily News. Liu, 47, will primary Queens Democrat incumbent Tony Avella, who angered party leaders earlier this year by joining a faction of breakaway Dems who jointly control the Senate with the GOP. “This is John’s reemergence,” the source said. “He sees it as an
MAY 18
Working Families Party Leadership Wants To Endorse Governor Cuomo
No surprise:The Working Families Party is affiliated with some of the state's largest and most influential labor unions, which specialize in turning out the vote for their candidates.Bob Master, co-chair of the party and political director for Communications Workers of America's Northeast chapter, acknowledged the union "has not always seen eye-to-eye on every issue with the governor."Bu
Daily News Picks Up Deadspin Report On Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Kevin Johnson
From the NY Daily News: In the days leading up to Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA, one of the strongest advocates for disciplining the Clippers’ owner was former All-Star guard and current Sacramento, Calif., mayor Kevin Johnson. “The players are waiting for the commissioner to act decisively,” Johnson said in late April, speaking on behalf of the players’ union. “They want the maximum
What NYSED Commissioner John King Finds Disturbing
From Chalkbeat:King spoke at length in defense of the Common Core learning standards during a panel discussion at the conference, which was hosted by Schools that Can, a national nonprofit that helps district, charter, and independent schools collaborate. At one point, when assessing different arguments that he has heard educators make against the Common Core, he noted that some say the standards
Grand Jury Investigating Bridgegate Continues Its Work
This is bad news if you're Chris Christie - and maybe if you're Andrew Cuomo too: The top Port Authority executive who ended the George Washington Bridge lane closings testified before a Jersey grand jury probing the punitive shutdowns. Pat Foye appeared earlier in May before the federal panel in Newark as its Bridgegate investigation continued, the Bergen Record reported. The PA executive directo
MAY 17
Michael Wolff: NY Post Soon To Be Gone
In Britain's edition of GQ:The New York Post could well be Rupert Murdoch's most beloved newspaper. It's the title that by losing so much money - as much as $100m (£60m) a year - has arguably helped make his fortune. It has been his bully pulpit and cudgel in the United States. It's the vehicle by which he has punished enemies and rewarded friends, an instrument of rough justice that has been incr
How Do We Counter The Sophisticated P.R. Operations Of The Corporate Deformers?
The battle over the UFT contract agreement has gotten me thinking about public relations and messaging.Earlier I wrote a post asking people to start thinking through the p.r. war that is sure to come if the UFT contract agreement is voted down.My argument basically was this:Contracts are not negotiated in isolation of the political environment - what gets reported in the press, the propaganda that
What Comes After?
There's a lot of talk in schools and around the Internet about voting the UFT contract agreement down and forcing de Blasio to give teachers a better deal in a second agreement.People say this will show the public that teachers are starting to stand up for themselves, they're not going to take getting humiliated or beaten up by the politicians or press anymore.I have also heard how teachers voted