ALBANY

PATAKI NAMES NEW HEAD OF GENERAL SERVICES OFFICE

Daniel Hogan, the head of Governor Pataki’s regulatory reform office, was tapped yesterday by the Republican governor to become commissioner of the state Office of General Services.

Mr. Hogan’s nomination to become OGS commissioner is subject to confirmation by the GOP-led state Senate. Until that expected confirmation for the $136,000-a-year job, Mr. Hogan will serve as acting OGS commissioner, Mr. Pataki said. OGS buys supplies and other merchandise for the state and operates some of its facilities, including large state office buildings.

Mr. Hogan, 47, has been head of the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform since late 2002 and before that was a top social services official for Mr. Pataki and a key player in overhauling the state’s welfare system.

Prior to joining the Pataki administration in 1995, Mr. Hogan was deputy county executive in Albany County and before that had worked for the late state Senator John Daly of Niagara Falls.

“Dan Hogan has been an effective and trusted member of my administration with a proven ability to get things done,” Mr. Pataki, who is vacationing in central Europe, said in a statement announcing Mr. Hogan’s nomination.

As OGS commissioner, Mr. Hogan would replace Kenneth Ringler, who was selected by Mr. Pataki in September to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

– Associated Press

MANHATTAN

UKRAINIANS CAST BALLOTS IN PRESIDENTIAL RE-ELECTION

As Ukrainians in America voted on Sunday, the fear that their homeland might again fall under Russian influence had not died.

“I have a lot of hopes – and a lot of worries. I’d love to see Ukraine free, but I’m worried that it gets closer to Russia,” said Oksana Lada, a native Ukrainian and star of “The Sopranos,” who joined about 200 people for a rally in Manhattan’s East Village.

Several dozen voters who stopped by Kiev restaurant had come from Rochester, riding all night in a school bus that brought them to the polling station that opened at 8 a.m. at the Ukrainian consulate in Midtown Manhattan. Others drove long hours from Binghamton, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, and various communities in New Jersey.

The New York-based consulate was the major polling station for Ukrainians in America, with a smaller consulate in Chicago also accepting ballots.

Opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko declared himself the winner of Ukraine’s bitter presidential contest. Election officials reported Mr. Yushchenko with 52% to his opponent’s 44.2% with nearly all precincts counted. The election – a repeat because the opposition charged the November 21 runoff had been rigged – follows a bitter campaign during which Mr. Yushchenko’s face remained badly scarred from dioxin poisoning he blamed on Ukrainian authorities.

– Associated Press

MINELLI HOSPITALIZED AFTER FALLING OUT OF BED

Actress Liza Minnelli was hospitalized early yesterday after falling out of bed at her residence, police said. Ms. Minnelli was taken to a Manhattan hospital, according to a police department spokesman, Sergeant Gerry Falcon. A message left for Ms. Minnelli’s publicist was not immediately returned. Her lawyer could not be reached for comment. The Oscar-winning actress has had a recent rash of legal difficulties.

In November, she was sued by her former bodyguard and driver, who has accused her of assault and battery and claimed she made him have sex with her to keep his job.

Her estranged husband, David Gest, has filed a $10 million lawsuit alleging that she beat him so badly that he suffered extensive head injuries. Ms. Minnelli has countersued both Mr. Gest and her former bodyguard.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

ACCUSED TEENAGE ARSONISTS ARE A ‘CONTINUING THREAT’

In Queens family court yesterday, two 13-year-old cousins accused of setting a Christmas Day fire that killed security guard Raymond James were ruled to be a “continuing threat to the community,” a city lawyer, Lori Iskowitz, said.

The boys, identified by the city as Derrick H. and Curtis H., allegedly set fire to residents’ Christmas door ornaments and lit a fifth-floor garbage cart ablaze in their Arverne, Queens, building.

The 32-year-old James tried to take the burning cart out of the building, but when he entered the elevator with the burning refuse, flames flared up and engulfed his body while he was still inside the elevator, police officials said.

The two youths were arrested Sunday and charged with arson and second-degree murder, according to police. They will be held in juvenile detention until their trial on December 30.

– Special to the Sun

TWO SHOT ACROSS FROM MIDTOWN NIGHTCLUB

One man has died and another is hospitalized after a weekend shooting at 47th Street and Lexington Avenue, across the street from the LQ Club at Midtown.

Police sources said the two men were shot in a late night dispute with a third man who is suspected of the shooting.

After suffering one shot in the stomach, a friend rushed the first victim, a 37-year-old male, to a nearby police precinct. He was taken to New York Hospital, where he is reported to be in stable condition, according to police officials.

A second victim, a 39-year-old male, was shot in the torso and buttock and later died at Bellevue Hospital. Police said they do not know the nature of the dispute, but described the suspect as a black male in his 20s who was wearing a yellow coat.

– Special to the Sun

UPSTATE

WOMAN AND BABY FOUND DEAD

WATERTOWN – A 22-year-old woman and her newborn baby were found dead in their apartment here Christmas morning, police said. Tameka Nicole McFarquhar, an Army private based at Fort Drum, likely died first. Her child, Danasia Elizabeth, who was born December 14, apparently died from hunger, Detective Richard Gregory said. Detective Gregory would not speculate on the cause of death for McFarquhar but said there were no signs of foul play.

“We can only assume at this point that the mother died first. The infant was left there, became dehydrated, and died basically from starvation,” he said. “It’s a sad thing all the way around.” The causes of death are pending toxicology examinations by the Jefferson County Medical Examiner.

McFarquhar enlisted in the Army in March 2003 and was assigned as a human resource specialist. She arrived at Fort Drum in September, according to Army officials.

“There are no words that can express our sadness at the loss of this young soldier and her child,” said Colonel Burke Garrett, the 10th Mountain Division’s chief of staff.

– Associated Press