Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:32:32 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Azi Paybarah :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Azi+Paybarah istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/with-speech-lieberman-goes-on-the-offensive/37386/ Mon, 7 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST With the Democratic primary taking place tomorrow in Connecticut, Senator Lieberman is going on the offensive and in the fight for his political life as his opponent, Ned Lamont, rides the momentum of an anti-war message. After months of fending off criticism about his support of the Iraq war and his coziness with President Bush, Mr. Lieberman delivered a speech last night that attempted to convince voters that his independent style is an asset in Washington. "That's something that separates me... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/many-foes-may-struggle-to-replace-rangel/37323/ Fri, 4 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST The struggle to replace an 18-term congressman, Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem, could be a political brawl like none other in recent memory, pitting one man who said he "loves" the congressman against another who says he thinks Mr. Rangel stole the seat 36 years ago, as well as a host of other Democrats who have quietly waited for such a chance. "I love the man, personally and politically," Assemblyman Keith Wright said when asked about Mr. Rangel, who was first elected to Congress in 1970... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/national/if-republicans-retain-house-rangel-may-step-down/37273/ Thu, 3 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST The dean of New York's congressional delegation, Rep. Charles Rangel, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, is refusing to say whether he would serve a full term if Democrats fail to retake the House in the mid-term elections this November. "I think that would be left up to my community and my political advisers in terms of who would succeed me and what's the best way to have a transition," Mr. Rangel, who represents Harlem, told The New York Sun when asked if he... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/family-of-slain-council-member-calls-on-yassky/36977/ Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST Days after standing on the steps of City Hall and endorsing City Council Member David Yassky in his bid for Congress, the mother and brother of a slain council member, James Davis, returned to those steps to withdraw that endorsement and to call on Mr. Yassky to drop out of the race. Thelma Davis and her other son, Geoffrey, said Mr. Yassky left about 200 senior citizens stranded in the rain July 21, when he failed to get enough buses to transport them to City Hall for a memorial service in... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/birthday-wish-and-policy-speech-for-clinton/36849/ Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST Hours before one of Senator Clinton's Republican challengers, Kathleen Troia McFarland, blew out the candles on her chocolate birthday cake last night, her campaign announced a birthday gift, of sorts: two upcoming fund raisers to be hosted by a former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, and by a former governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Mr. Kissinger's fund raiser will be held on September 6, and Mr. Weld's on August 14. The campaign did not release locations of those events. When... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/in-ad-cuomo-aligns-himself-with-spitzer/36825/ Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST The Democratic front-runner for state attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, began airing his first television commercial this week, claiming "Jeanine Pirro and the Republicans" are attacking him because "they know Cuomo's the strongest candidate to carry on Eliot Spitzer's fight." The 30-second ad features several images of Mr. Spitzer and of President Clinton, whom Mr. Cuomo worked for when he was the federal housing secretary. It also describes lawsuits Mr. Cuomo filed against gun manufacturers and... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/pirro-attacks-cuomo-compares-herself-to-spitzer/36455/ Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST The Republican attorney general candidate, Jeanine Pirro, attacked the Democratic front-runner in the race, Andrew Cuomo, as underqualified, telling viewers in her first television advertisement that she is "like Eliot Spitzer," the wildly popular state attorney general who is running for governor — as a Democrat. In the advertisement, released on Ms. Pirro's Web site Wednesday, a narrator describes her as a "prosecutor, judge, district attorney." Then, with ominous music in the background, the... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/after-skipping-king-rally-cuomo-donates-10000/36410/ Thu, 20 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST The leading Democratic candidate for state attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, who skipped a Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally in order to give a paid speech in Las Vegas, has donated $10,000 to the nonprofit organization run by the rally's host, the Reverend Al Sharpton. Mr. Cuomo, the former federal housing secretary under President Clinton, since January has raised more than $2 million for the race, and has about $6 million left in his campaign coffers. Polls, including one released yesterday by... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spitzer-to-endorse-candidate-close-to-clarence/34914/ Thu, 22 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST The state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, will take the rare step of weighing into a Democratic primary today by endorsing a Brooklyn congressional candidate considered a close confidant of the former county Democratic leader who was convicted of felony corruption charges last year. Mr. Spitzer's endorsement of Carl Andrews, a state senator, is expected today on the steps of City Hall about 11 a.m. Mr. Spitzer generally avoids endorsing fellow Democrats who have challengers from within the... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/black-candidates-say-they-wont-exit-primary/34571/ Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST Days before the Reverend Al Sharpton is expected to call on Brooklyn leaders to unite behind a single black congressional candidate in a crowded Democratic primary, the three black candidates said they would not drop out. Political leaders say a fourth candidate, who is Jewish, could end up representing the 11th Congressional District, which is about 60% African American and Caribbean, if the majority of voters are split among the three black candidates. Running to replace Rep. Major Owens, who... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/sharpton-to-call-for-united-front-behind-1/34529/ Thu, 15 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST The Reverend Al Sharpton will call on black political leaders in Brooklyn to unite behind a single black candidate in the 11th congressional district but not specify which candidates should drop out of the crowded race, a source close to Mr. Sharpton said. The call from Mr. Sharpton will be made this Saturday at the Black Brooklyn Empowerment Convention, where he is the keynote speaker. Running to replace Major Owens, who is retiring from congress after 24 years are Council Member Yvette... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/black-officials-press-democrats-to-oppose-yassky/34335/ Tue, 13 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST A group of black elected officials is pressing the state and national Democratic Party to oppose a white City Council member running for Congress in a Brooklyn district. "This flies in the face of our legacy and our struggle," a City Council member, Albert Vann of Brooklyn, said of Council Member David Yassky's candidacy. "If you are a majority, a white man who wishes to hold public office, if you respect us as a people and our struggle, you wouldn't even try to move into that district and try... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/council-member-calls-colleagues-to-prevent-white/34175/ Fri, 9 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST Stopping the only white candidate from winning the Brooklyn congressional seat once held by the first black woman elected to Congress is the subject of a meeting originally scheduled to convene in the City Council's conference room, The New York Sun has learned. The meeting, organized by a City Council member, Albert Vann, of Brooklyn, was first disclosed on The Sun's political blog, 51st State. Listed as the contact person in the e-mail was Yvonne Girela, an aide to Mr. Vann, who gave Mr... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/cuomo-wins-out-as-democrats-candidate/33600/ Wed, 31 May 2006 00:00:00 EST Andrew Cuomo, who boycotted the state Democratic convention during his 2002 gubernatorial race, yesterday became the party's designee for state attorney general, winning 66% of the weighted vote at this year's convention in Buffalo. Mr. Cuomo's victory was marred by accusations from a rival in the race, Mark Green, who said party leaders coerced his supporters into voting for Mr. Cuomo. "Going through the democratic process has made me a better candidate," Mr. Cuomo said in his speech to more... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/is-cuomo-looking-past-state-office/33289/ Wed, 24 May 2006 00:00:00 EST Front-running Democrat Andrew Cuomo may already be looking past the New York State attorney general's office. "Enforce the law, and I will as attorney general of the United St- New York State," Mr. Cuomo said during a breakfast speech to a women's group at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday morning. Despite the slip, Mr. Cuomo vowed that he would do more to bring the state attorney general's office into federal terrain to "protect New Yorkers from the federal government." The remarks came after Mr... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spitzer-seeks-compromise-on-rape-cases/33054/ Fri, 19 May 2006 00:00:00 EST A Democratic candidate for governor, Eliot Spitzer, found himself caught between a long-time supporter and his principle foe in the gubernatorial race as he tried to find a middle ground on a key issue in Albany: ending the statute of limitations in rape cases. Mr. Spitzer's opponent in the Democratic primary, Tom Suozzi, is pushing to end immediately the time limit for rape prosecutions. But the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a close ally of Mr. Spitzer, has tied ending the five-year time... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/manton-leaves-law-for-unpaid-job-as-queens-leader/32710/ Mon, 15 May 2006 00:00:00 EST The Democrats' most powerful county leader in New York City, Thomas Manton, is giving up his lucrative and lengthy law career in order to keep his unpaid job as head of the Queens County Democratic Organization. County leaders throughout the state have exerted tight control over judgeships and the process of endorsing candidates for top offices. Mr. Manton, a former congressman, has played a key role in picking each of the last two speakers of the City Council. Mr. Manton did not return several... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/brodsky-withdraws-from-ag-race-to-donate-kidney/32676/ Fri, 12 May 2006 00:00:00 EST Assemblyman Richard Brodsky's decision to donate a kidney to his daughter, Julianne Willie, has narrowed the Democratic primary field in the state attorney general's race. The surgery will take place within 90 days, and the recovery period could last for five weeks, Mr. Brodsky said. While citing the surgery as the reason for his withdrawal, Mr. Brodsky told The New York Sun he is now "inclined" to seek re-election to the Assembly seat representing Westchester he's held since 1982. A... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/green-to-voters-dont-focus-on-ethics-violation/31311/ Thu, 20 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST The Brooklyn assemblyman who briefly lost his seat over an ethics violation said voters should not hold that against him as he runs for Congress. Roger Green, who is challenging a fellow Democrat, the 12-term incumbent Edolphus Towns, in Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District, said his 2004 guilty plea for accepting $3,000 in fraudulent travel reimbursements should not count as a liability in his race for Congress. Mr. Green said that, like Clarence Norman, the former Brooklyn Democratic county... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spitzer-pledges-to-re-energize-democrats/30612/ Fri, 7 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST Attorney General Eliot Spitzer promised a room full of Democratic operatives in Manhattan last night that he would re-energize the party, refocus priorities in Albany, experiment with costsaving measures for Medicaid,and even attend the elementary school graduation of one young girl in the audience. "We lost a young generation of activists who should have led the party because we didn't have the passion, the vision, the principle, the energy, or the will power to say what had to be said," Mr... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/censure-of-bush-gets-yassky-nod-in-city-council/30300/ Tue, 4 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST A resolution supporting the censuring of President Bush for his telephone surveillance program will be introduced in the City Council tomorrow. Council Member David Yassky, a Democrat of Brooklyn, will ask the council, which three years ago approved a resolution opposing the Iraq war, to support a Wisconsin senator's resolution to censure the president for using wiretapping as a tool in the war on terror, which the U.S. Senate began debating Friday. "I wanted to try to put the City Council on... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-union-head-moves-to-quash-office/30177/ Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST The head of the city's police union says he wants to abolish the city's quasi-independent Office of Collective Bargaining and add to the state's Taylor Law a fine to the city for each day union contracts are expired. "We are certain that such a levy will result in contracts being settled on time," the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, said yesterday during a hearing of the City Council Civil Service Committee. "Right now there is zero penalty for the city for... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/in-politics-brooklyn-becomes-the-upper-west-side/30063/ Thu, 30 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST The Brooklyn district represented by retiring Rep. Major Owens includes the Italian-American neighborhood of Carroll Gardens, the Orthodox Jewish enclave of Boro Park, and the thoroughly gentrified neighborhoods of Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights, where brownstones sell for millions of dollars to bankers and lawyers who commute to jobs on Wall Street. Prime turf for a centrist Democrat or a Republican seeking to break into Congress? Not if the Democratic primary in the race to replace Mr... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/latest-columbia-teacher-gadhafi-seeks-to-justify/29742/ Fri, 24 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST A Columbia University discussion on democracy in the 21st century that included an hour-long speech by the dictator of Libya was co-sponsored by an institute named after his manifesto, which states, "All existing forms of government are undemocratic." In the manifesto, called "The Green Book," Muammar Gadhafi goes on to write that "the masses struggle to eliminate the various forms of existing dictatorships," which include "one-party, two-party or multi-party systems of government, which all... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/weld-backs-use-of-eminent-domain-for-atlantic/29752/ Fri, 24 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST Republican gubernatorial candidate William Weld, who has called the use of eminent domain to seize private property a policy better suited for Communist China than for America, yesterday cited two examples of when he would support such a move. At a Crain's Business Breakfast in Midtown, Mr. Weld said he would support the use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, as well as in cases of building affordable housing in certain neighborhoods, depending on "the character of... AZI PAYBARAH http://www.nysun.com/new-york/dollar-van-industry-faces-crackdown-after-hit/29246/ Thu, 16 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST City Council members yesterday vowed to crack down on the dollar van industry after the driver and several passengers in one such vehicle allegedly agreed among themselves not to "snitch" about a hit-and-run incident that left a Brooklyn grandmother of 10 with two broken legs and other injuries. "They're like wild animals running around this city," Council Member Domenic Recchia, a Democrat of Brooklyn, said of the vans that operate in neighborhoods with little or no train and bus service. He...