Azi Paybarah

Michael Bloomberg has joined Bill Gates in Times Square this afternoon to announce a $500 million initiative to curb tobacco use in developing countries.

“I’m delighted Bill and Melinda Gates are supporting one of the most important public health efforts of our time,” Bloomberg said in a public statement released prior to the event. The two just walked on stage here at the New York Times center on West 41st Street to discuss the initiative.

This announcement comes on the heels of a World Health Organization report about the widespread use of tobacco, which Bloomberg helped fund. He attended the release of the study back in February.  read more »

Here’s Representative Anthony Weiner responding to a question about his management skills--and his reputation for high staff turnover--yesterday at the Crain’s business breakfast, which was before the New York Times story reported that he has run through more staff than any other member of the New York House delegation.

“I think I’m tough but I’m fair,” he said, adding, “And I'm cheap.”

In the story, Weiner chalks up his attitude to growing up in Brooklyn as a middle-class kid (always on message!).

City Councilman Lew Fidler, who also grew up middle-class in Brooklyn (and supported Freddy Ferrer over Weiner in the 2005 mayor’s race) told me, “I push my employees too and I haven’t had any turnover in six years.  read more »

Last night at an event in Jamaica I spoke with City Councilman James Sanders, a former Marine and early Barack Obama supporter, who is in favor of Obama's plan to send more troops to Afghanistan. (John McCain has also said he will increase troop numbers in Afghaistan).

"The battle in Afghanistan, we have to win," Sanders said. "There, I justify putting in more troops."

A keen-eyed reader pointed out the similarities between City Council member Melinda Katz's comptroller campaign logo, and the logo of Representative Anthony Weiner's campaign-like web site, Keys to the City. (Weiner is expected to run for mayor).

Neither has held citywide office before.

A former campaign aide to Hillary Clinton, Sam Arora (once named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill"), Twitters the message above.

Barack Obama told Israelis and Palestinians they both share responsibility for progres, saying, "[T]here's a tendency for each side to focus on the faults of the other instead of looking in the mirror."

The Washington Post writes that Obama "has remade the campaign's foreign policy playing field," and "declared the war in Iraq all but over."

Obama visited the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and received "an unusually warm welcome" from Israeli President Shimon Peres.

More anti-terrorism money is coming to New York City.

Working for Anthony Weiner is tougher than boot camp.

Eliot Spitzer has been notified that he’s still being investigated by the State Commission on Public Integrity.

There’s a federal probe of former congressman John Sweeney’s connection to a lobbying firm.

A top operative working for Rudy Giuliani’s was demoted from his position as the state Republican Party because others felt he was most interested in pushing Giuliani for governor.

David Seifman also notes Anthony Weiner’s warm remarks about Michael Bloomberg are dramatically different than how he spoke about the mayor in 2005.

Grace Rauh writes that Weiner’s remarks seem to depart from when he said in June--that Bloomberg gets a pass from his “lapdog press.”

Andrew Cuomo spoke to local residents in Albany.

A fiscal watchdog wants the city to roll back its property tax cut.

Tom Friedman says the troop surge that John McCain supported has made Iraq safe for Obama’s foreign policy.

The New York Times is skeptical that Obama can reach the goal of his health care plan in the time he says he can.

Elected officials are unhappy with the M.T.A.’s proposed fare hike for next year.

Joe Bruno, who retired as a state senator on Friday, is today the C.E.O. of a company that does business with the state.

After signing an executive order this morning, Michael Bloomberg fielded a question from a reporter about the new M.T.A. fare hike, and whether the state might force the city to put more money in the M.T.A. budget.

“There is certainly not going to be more money coming from the city," Bloomberg said. "We don’t have it. If the state mandated that we had to put more money in, we’d have to raise city taxes."

Bloomberg said revenue has to be found elsewhere and suggested the state collect taxes from cigarettes sold on Indian reservations.

Funding mass transit, of course, it something of a sensitive issue with the mayor because of his failed congestion pricing plan.

The spokesman for Marty Connor's re-election campaign, Chad Marlow, supports term limits, even though his boss, a state senator, has been in office since 1978.

In 2005, when the City Council was reportedly looking to alter the city's term-limit laws, Marlow authored a blog post on the Drum Major Institute’s web site called "Confessions of a Term Limits Convert." He wrote:

“If you believe our elected officials are largely comprised of highly talented, innovative thinkers who represent the very best our society has to offer the public sector, you would naturally oppose term limits. I do not.”

Connor’s opponent, Dan Squadron, talks frequently about the need to shake things up in Albany.  read more »

Representative Anthony Weiner, a mayoral hopeful, gave his support for a string of large development projects in the city today, saying they're important in a time of economic uncertainty.

"New York needs to continue to grow–I'm a pro-development guy," he said, speaking at a Crain's breakfast. "If you look at downtown, you look at West Side, you look at Penn Station, you look at Ratner, you look at these things–I think that you're going to see that I'm going to be advocating. I want them to be successful, particularly in this time of slow economic growth."  read more »

Then, hitting on his

A couple of stories yesterday described David Paterson's apparently strained relationship with State Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith.

I asked Democratic State Senator Diane Savino for her thoughts, and she responded by noting that the sources in the pieces were anonymous.

“People have nothing better to do than to talk shit all day,” said Savino. "If you’re not willing to say something on the record, then don’t say anything at all.”

Here’s Michael Bloomberg reacting happily to a question about Anthony Weiner’s friendly remarks about him this morning.

“That’s one of the nicer things he’s said,” Bloomberg said of Weiner, whose 2005 campaign for mayor was notably anti-Bloomberg.

Later, Bloomberg swatted down a question about overturning term limits, saying, “I don’t think that’s in the plans.”

I saw Charles Barron in City Hall earlier this morning and asked him what he thought of Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East.

Barron said he's unhappy to hear that Obama wants to send more troops into Afghanistan, but at least, in Barron's opinion, Obama is using his time better than John McCain.

On the surface, the story is a familiar one.

A young insurgent, Dan Squadron, decides to challenge an entrenched incumbent, Marty Connor, in a State Senate race, in a year when public antipathy towards the ossified ways of Albany is greater than it has been in recent memory. The line between underdog liberal reformer and entrenched proponent of the status quo should be clear.

But a couple of unusual things have happened. Squadron, 28, has acquired the trappings, at least, of the establishment guy. He has raced out to a lead in high-increment fund-raising -- he has spent heavily but still has nearly $300,000 on hand, whereas Connor has barely spent $2500 and has only $83,000 -- and has gained support from some powerful labor entities like UNITE HERE, the Communication Workers of America and the union-backed Working Families Party.  read more »

Michael Bloomberg just signed an executive order requiring all city agencies to provide services in the city's six most commonly spoken languages: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian and French Creole.

Each agency will also designate a language access coordinator to develop a plan to implement the policy.

While some agencies, like the department of education, already offer translation of documents, this is being presented as the most comprehensive citywide effort to date to expand language services.

UPDATE: Shortly after this announcement, State Senate candidate Simcha Felder unveiled a Spanish-language part of his campaign web site. The site (www.VotaFelder.com) directs readers to the Spanish-language section of his campaign web site (which also features a photo of Felder with Bloomberg.)

At the Crain's business breakfast breakfast this morning Representative Anthony Weiner spoke about "saving" New York's middle class, a theme that is likely to be at the center of his mayoral campaign.

The crux of Weiner’s speech, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, focused on job development. He did not rule out raising taxes, but did say that high taxes stymie job development. He defended the policy that prevents Wal-Mart (but not other big box stores), from coming into the city because it does not pay adequate wages. And he said that the city has to do a better job of offering incentives to keep business in New York City, since New Jersey has lower business taxes and can still access the city's workforce.  read more »

Jerry Goldfeder, a prominent election lawyer in Manhattan who has been working for Andrew Cuomo will be joining the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, according to a source.

Among Stroock’s many clients is the former state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, who is being investigated because of an alleged pay-to-play scheme that allegedly may have included his political consultant Hank Morris, and millions of dollars from the state pension fund.

When asked about the move, Goldfeder e-mailed to say that a statement will be made later in the morning.  read more »

Goldfeder closed his private practice and joined Cuomo’s office in March of last year. By December, he had

The New York Times report from Barack Obama's Middle East trip says, "Mr. Obama seemed to have navigated one of the riskiest parts of a weeklong international trip without a noticeable hitch and to have gained a new opportunity to blunt attacks on his national security credentials."

Obama goes to Jordan, Israel and the West Bank toda--according to the Daily News, it's the most "politically perilous" leg.

Near where Obama is staying in Jerusalem, a man with a backhoe just drove over a number of cars before being shot by police.

In an Wall Street Journal op-ed, Shelby Steele writes that Obama’s campaign “is more cultural than political. He sells himself more as a cultural breakthrough than as a candidate for office.”

A report that John McCain would announce his running mate this week surfaced briefly, but Jonathan Martin says that even though McCain is close to a decision, he'll probably wait, and let the speculation run wild.

The McCain campaign continues to go back and forth with the New York Times over the op-ed the paper rejected.

Liz quotes a source close to the Albany D.A. saying, “The district attorney has substantial evidence here that [Herbert] Teitelbaum acted unethically."

“I know that I would be an excellent mayor,” Marty Markowitz said.

David Paterson discussed his plan for low-interest loans for students yesterday.

“Mr. Paterson’s office did not provide any details of the shape or scope of the program,” writes the New York Times.

Paterson issues a warning about the impact of smaller Wall Street bonuses on state revenue next year.

The New York Post editorial board wants to get rid of the office of borough president.

The New York Times editorial board likes Michael Bloomberg’s new formula for calculating poverty.

Bloomberg trashed the city Board of Elections.

Errol Louis reports that the feds have dropped their probe of Al Sharpton.

Andrew Cuomo tells Comcast to block access to child porn.

Christine Quinn unveiled a plan to protect kids online.

Here’s more on Charles Barron's recent praise of the police.

Frank Lautenberg is dropping his effort to give Bruce Springsteen tickets to contributors.

Bill Hammond says the city should blame the feds for high electric bills.

Transit and toll fares are going up because the the M.T.A. has to plug a $900 million budget gap.

A right-to-life candidate will challenge a Democratic assemblywoman in Syracuse.

And sorry. No Liberian election on Staten Island.  read more »

Anthony Weiner’s 2009 campaign sent a press release with a new contact person: Basil Smikle.

“Basically, right now, I’m sort of one of the few people involved in helping him with his overall strategy and with the folks on the ground,” Smikle told me.

Smikle is a motorcycle-riding, African-American political consultant who nearly joined Weiner in 2005. “In the last campaign, I was neutral for a while, and he and I talked around the primary time and I said I would certainly like to work with him if he got that 40 percent. And he came just short of that.”

He said he has spoken to Weiner “quite a bit since then.  read more »

Michael Bloomberg wants to hear where Barack Obama stands on the issue of free trade, he said earlier today, adding that he thinks John McCain has “a better record on this issue.”

Bloomberg was speaking across the street from City Hall, where the Consumer Electronics Association launched a nationwide bus tour advocating free trade with Colombia, among other countries.

“I think that John McCain has a better record on this issue than Barack Obama,” Bloomberg said. McCain, Bloomberg said, advocates “trading with the only ally we have left in Latin America, namely Colombia.”

“I’d like to hear a lot more from him about how he thinks we could reopen NAFTA without becoming a big loser in that,” the mayor added.  read more »

Democratic State Senate candidate Dan Squadron decisively out-raised incumbent Marty Connor, who he's challenging.

According to the latest campaign finance filing (January 2008 to July 2008), Squadron raised $226,166.27, spent $122,031.26, and was left with $293,192.01 on hand.

Connor raised $120,555, spent $40,093.08 and has $82,962.92 on hand.

That's a significant disparity, but in addition, Connor has a second campaign committee, called The Connor Committee, which, according to the filing from the same period, is in debt for $45,513.43.

Since this January, that second Connor campaign committee spent $7,857.74, payments that include numerous political contributions. For example: The Connor Committee gave $500 to the Harry Truman Democratic Club, $300 to the Independent Neighborhoods Democrats, $500 to Downtown Independent Democrats and $500 to the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.  read more »

An adviser to Tom Golisano--who said Golisano is willing to spend at least $5 million on State Senate races this year--is taking the news that Rudy Giuliani is launching a P.A.C. in stride. (The former mayor's fund-raising committee will contribute mainly to State Senate Republicans, who would like to maintain their very narrow majority.)

“Clearly it’s his right to do what he believes and I think this will be quite a critical election,” Golisano adviser Steve Pigeon told me. “I think there will be some candidates we support in common and others we don’t.  But he [Giuliani] clearly has a right to do it.  read more »

Here's Obama supporter Isac Weinberger in City Hall's Room 4A talking about the prospect of Barack Obama meeting with Palestinian leaders -- it's a necessity, he says, like when Israeli leaders first went to Germany -- and giving advice about what other groups should be on the agenda. (All of them, he says.)

John McCain quietly met with Joel Klein over the weekend.

Joe Lieberman has an op-ed about education in the Washington Post.

While he was in New York, McCain also went to a Yankees game with Rudy Giuliani.

Barack Obama will arrive in Israel tomorrow and dine with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

He is spending today on the ground in Baghdad.

Obama played basketball (well) with troops in Iraq, and there's video!

The A.P. reports that the Iraqi government intends to "exploit Obama's position on the war to force the Bush administration into accepting concessions considered unthinkable a few months ago."

Some in the foreign press want more attention from Obama.

James Dobson may endorse McCain.

David Paterson will announce a program to offer low-interest student loans.

Paterson says next year’s budget will be tough.

At his first news conference as senate majority leader, Dean Skelos says he’ll work to pass a property tax cap.

Sheldon Silver is not on board with the idea.

“The divide between Mr. Skelos and the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, over the governor's plan appeared to be as wide as ever,” writes the New York Sun.

The relationship between Paterson and Malcolm Smith is strained, and Liz quotes a source saying, “You're much more careful about biting the hand that feeds you if it feeds you. Right now, we don't have that problem."

Grace Rauh previews Michael Bloomberg’s free trade event.

On 68th Street, the Rudin family offers a good deal on rent to the well-connected.

“Bloomberg's big-government mind-set seems to be a victim of his own success (and Rudy's) with welfare reform,” writes The New York Post editorial board

Chuck Bennett looks at other people with “subsidized digs” in Charlie Rangel’s building complex.

Charles Barron worked with the police to coax a woman out of her apartment.

Kevin Parker says he’s a victim of term limits.

Staten Island has a lot of new voters.

The city’s finance department ignored e-mails about parking tickets.

During an interview with New York 1 News, Representative Ed Towns seized on his Democratic opponent Kevin Powell's admitted past problem with violence towards women. When asked about it, Towns, a 13-term incumbent, said it disqualifies Powell - who refers to himself as a "recovering misogynist" -- from serving in office, and said, "Congress is not a place to be rehabilitated."

Towns said he was eager to campaign, but balked at accepting an invitation to debate Powell on the show.

SATURDAY
10 a.m. C-SPAN airs a senate committee meeting hosted by Chuck Schumer and Chris Dodd on the monetary policy report.

11:30 a.m. Nydia Velazquez attends a health fair at the corner of Wyckoff Avenue and Stockholm Street, in Brooklyn.

Noon. Local residents discuss waterfront development on the Lower East Side, at the East River Park Dance Oval, between Delancey and Houston.

1 p.m. Betsy Gotbaum and health officials offer free child health screenings, in Orchard Beach, at Bruckner Boulevard and Middletown Road, in the Bronx.

4 p.m. The Long Island Progressive Coalition protests John McCain for his support of offshore oil drilling, at Corwith Windmill on Montauk Highway [contact number: (516) 749-5074.  read more »

Here’s a clip from last night's Captiol Tonight, with Albany television reporter Josh Robin, who hosted the relatively new State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

It was Skelos first extended television interview since assuming the position of majority leader, and it didn’t start with a softball question.

Referring to an event that took place earlier in the week, Robins said to Skelos, “Probably the biggest announcement upstate since the end of the [legislative] session was that I.B.M. deal, $1.6 billion investment in upstate. You weren’t there. Tell me why. Where were you?”

“You know what? That was Joe Bruno’s day,” Skelos replies.

Here’s a quick interview with PR guy Matthew Hiltzik, a former spokesman for the state Democratic Party who did Jewish outreach for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate race, in which I ask him what advice he'd have for Barack Obama ahead of a politically perilous swing through the Middle East.

Among Hiltzik's suggestions, doubtless inspired by certain memorable aspects of his Clinton experience: Get a good translator.

Democrats in Queens this morning picked district leader Michael Den Dekker to replace Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette on the ballot in September.

“I am honored to be asked to replace such an esteemed member of the assembly,” Den Dekker told me in a brief interview. “I was amazed that this process even happened, and I was lucky enough to even be asked.”

“No one thought he would step down,” he went on, adding, “We just follow the rules on how to fill a vacancy.”

The vacancy was created when Lafayette submitted petitions to get on the ballot for reelection this fall and then declined the nomination to instead take a job with the governor.  read more »

A legislative breakfast for a Brooklyn-based educational group, Shema Kolainu, on August 5 will be something of a who’s who of New York politicians.

Amusingly, attendees will hear both “remarks” from State Senator Kevin Parker, and “greetings” from one of the Democrats looking to unseat him, Simcha Felder.

The chairman of the event is possible mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, whose company, Gristedes, is the sponsor.

(Honorary chair status is given to Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, which may help sell a few more tickets.)

The event is paying tribute to, among others, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the State Senate minority leader, Malcolm Smith, comptroller candidate and City Councilman David Weprin, and City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who is also a candidate for Brooklyn borough president.

Assemblyman Rory Lancman of Queens has plenty of advice for Barack Obama about his upcoming trip to the Middle East, where Obama has said he will meet with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Lancman, whose district includes a large Orthodox Jewish population, is in the habit of making his view on the Middle East clear. Last month, he delivered some unsolicited advice to Obama about Israel, and last fall, Lancman co-authored an op-ed with Ed Koch, endorsing Hillary Clinton's position on Iran.

At about the 3:20 mark, Lancman says what's important “for a person running for president of the United States-- because they’re not running for prime minister of Israel--is to show they have a commitment to defending the United States' interests vigorously.  read more »

The Wall Street Journal wishes Barack Obama could "at least get his facts straight" on Iraq.

Obama will meet with Angela Merkel when he goes to Germany.

The New York Times describes Obama's foreign policy team as "a huge 300-person foreign policy campaign bureaucracy."

The Sun is saying that taxes on New Yorkers would skyrocket under Obama.

Chuck Schumer is relatively pro-nuclear power.

State Senate Democrats' financial situation is “less lopsided than it has been in recent memory."

David Soares doesn’t think the head of the Public Integrity Commission should be investigating Troopergate.  read more »

Liberal billionaire George Soros and members of his family have contributed a little more than $1 million into state campaign coffers since 2000, with nearly all of it going to help Democrats in the State Senate.

Already this year, George, his son Robert, Robert’s wife, Melissa, and another son, Jonathan, contributed $199,500. George, Robert and Melissa each gave $25,000 to the New York State Democratic Party and gave the maximum allowable personal contributions - $9,500 - to Eric Schneiderman, David Valesky, Craig Johnson and Joe Addabbo.

(Two other members of the Soros family also contributed this year. Son Jonathan gave $9,500 to Democratic State Senate candidate Rick Dollinger and his wife, Jennifer, gave $1,000 to a pro-abortion rights lobbying PAC that donated to Johnson and Dollinger.  read more »

Anthony Weiner's campaign filing is up. Some observations:

Among Weiner's contributors is Manhattan real estate developer Albert Laboz (who is not a popular landlord in Brooklyn).

Weiner spent $213,901 this period (January 12-July 11), including $2,000 he paid his former chief of staff, Marc Dunkelman, for campaign consulting in May. Dunkelman now works at the D.L.C.

Weiner also paid $36,000 to his D.C.-based consultants at Freedman Consulting L.L.C. (The same people he worked with in 2005).

And according to this filing, he didn't pay for any polling, unlike some other folks eyeing citywide office.

Live from the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the Twentieth Century and How they Shaped Modern America
By Michael A. Cohen
Walker & Company, 562 pages, $16.99

When Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, he will deliver his speech the way John F. Kennedy did in 1960: in a stadium.

The image of a stadium full of people waiting to hear a speech—a political speech, no less—underscores a somewhat overlooked aspect of the American scene: Speeches matter. In a day when comments muttered into an open microphone, or a distasteful joke captured on YouTube (macaca!) can alter the course of a campaign, it’s still the vision and policies outlined in speeches that shape our political landscape.  read more »

More from Bharat Ayyar, who looked into the race between Republican State Senator Frank Padavan and Democratic challenger Jim Gennaro.

As of the July filing, here's how much money they have on hand:

Padavan - $116,642.20
Gennaro - $406,965.01

It's surprising that Gennaro is raising so much more money than Padavan, since people don't see Padavan as being as vulnerable to a Democratic challenger as some of his Republican colleagues in the State Senate, like Serf Maltese, Caesar Trunzo, and Joe Robach. And even thought the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee has a lot more money than their Democratic counterpart, having to pour money into Padavan's race would just be one more drain on their resources.  read more »

Intern Bharat Ayyar, who has been going through the finance reports of a few key legislative races, looked at the Democratic contest to face Republican State Senator Caesar Trunzo, and found that the liberal-activist favorite Jimmy Dahroug has raised more (with the help of Howard Dean-inspired Democracy for America) but Brian Foley has more money on hand.

Here’s how much they each have, according to July 15 filings with the State Board of Elections:

Jimmy Dahroug--$83,682.04

Brian Foley--$167,857.26

Among the transactions:

$1,692.50 went to Dahroug via the liberal activist groups Act Blue and Democracy for America. Dahroug is relying heavily on the support of those organizations.

Foley transferred $130,527.47 to this campaign account from his the account he used for his successful bid to be Brookhaven Town Supervisor.

Here’s a clip from Matt Stoler’s interview of Democratic Congressional candidate Kevin Powell (who is trying to unseat Representative Ed Towns of Brooklyn), where the two discuss the FISA bill that recently passed both houses on Congress, and which many on the left opposed. (Barack Obama faced criticism from progressives over the bill, which he voted for.)

About halfway through, Powell says, “We’ve lost our backbone.” He adds later, “A lot of us have become spineless Democrats.”

Towns voted against FISA.

In case you’re wondering, Democratic members of Congress from New York who supported FISA include Tim Bishop and Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island; Gary Ackerman, Greg Meeks and Joe Crowley of Queens; Eliot Engel of the Bronx; Nita Lowey of Westchester; Kirsten Gillibrand of Albany; and upstate's Mike Arcuri and Brian Higgins.  read more »

Sheldon Silver and a top aide do not have to repay the state the more than $500,000 it took to settle a sexual assault case.

The Obama campaign raised $52 million in June.

Barack Obama is very popular among Iraqis, but many are concerned about his proposal to withdraw American troops.

For the first time, there’s an official value given to the company that Michael Bloomberg founded: $22.5 billion. The figure is based on a sale of part of the company’s interest, which is expected to be announced today.

The company selling its interest in Bloomberg, L.P., Merrill Lynch, is also announcing they’re not moving to Ground Zero.

The sale marks the end of Bloomberg’s relationship with one of his oldest clients.

“The absence of a publicly traded minority partner could make it easier for Mr. Bloomberg to use his company as a vehicle for continued engagement in public policy, national issues, and the life of the city,” writes the New York Sun.

Expect Bloomberg’s ranking on Forbe’s list of richest people to go up.

Bloomberg’s former director of communications says there’s still “a question mark” on whether term-limits will be revised. Joe Mercurio thinks otherwise.

Turns out there was more of that tape of Jesse Jackson talking about Obama--later on, he used a racial epithet.

David Paterson, who has two residences upstate, says the landlord for his rent-stabilized apartment in Harlem could never question his primary residency. “I’m there every week,” he told The New York Times, adding, "[T]here was no way they would do anything like that.”

Charlie Rangel said his income would not be a factor in qualifying for rent stabilization. “My income would be none of your business, and I don’t know to what extent it’s the landlord’s business.”

The New York Post editorial board notes that Paterson received a hefty contribution from the dental lobby one day after signing a bill they favored.

Newsday’s editorial page said Paterson has a “mixed record” on labor.

The New York Sun’s editorial page thinks Paterson’s aides are paid too much.

Chuck Schumer, Anthony Weiner and Greg Meeks oppose Paterson’s effort to tax New Yorkers' online purchases.

M.T.A. board members don’t want to limit their ability to make political contributions.

Joe Bruno’s pension might have been slightly reduced if he remained in office.

Bruno may go work for C.M.A. Consulting.

Chancellor Lloyd Constantine?

Randy Kuhl leads his Democratic challenger in fund-raising.

Rick Dollinger wants to debate Joe Robach.

Jon Corzine’s ex-girlfriend is under federal investigation.

A New Jersey mayor trashes Staten Island.

A conservative makes the case for Obama.

More hybrid taxis in New York.

The Queens Ledger reports that someone from the E.D.C. said "things were getting convoluted" with the Willets Point plan.

The L.A. Times looks into Obama's relationship with his mostly absent father--who had the same "charisma and eloquence."

The Interior Department opened up 2.6 million acres of Alaskan land for energy exploration.

Federal highway funds have been dangerously depleted by high gas prices, which mean less tax revenue for the highway fund.

And Hillary Clinton finds a way to mesmerize the media.

A Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidate, Milton Tingling, is calling on the attorney general to investigate the $225,000 loan received by one of his opponents, Nora Anderson.

The loan was disclosed in Anderson’s campaign finance filing (for the period of January 12-July 11, 2008) and the money came from Seth Rubenstein, an attorney in Brooklyn.

Ravi Batra, Tingling's finance chair, said in a letter to Andrew Cuomo's office, dated today, that the loan could "serve to undermine public confidence" in the court. In a brief interview Batra told me he wants an investigation to "insure that there is no pay-to-play violation, and that all contributions are legal and not criminal.  read more »

Here's a look at some of where two top aides to David Paterson donated money in the last filing (January 12-July 11):

Risa Heller, Paterson’s well-paid director of communications, donated $250 to Scott Stringer in January.

Sean Patrick Maloney, a top aide to Paterson who previously ran for attorney general, is spreading his money around. In addition to giving money to Sheldon Silver, Maloney contributed to City Council candidates Bob Zuckerman in Brooklyn, Ari Hoffnung in the Bronx, and Yetta Kurland in Manhattan.

UPDATE: A reader notes Heller's contribution was made before she joined Paterson's staff on April 3.