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This Week's Stories GG's quick takes on recent NYC news |
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Week of 23 April 2001:
No Punishment
Let the Battling Begin
But this year1s unique political situation could do more than policy differences to fuel the dispute. With Giuliani and most of the City Council on their way out because of term limits and Council Speaker Peter Vallone running for mayor, "Everyone's looking for one last lick," an insider told The Post. In one clash between the legislative and executive branches, the Council came out on top yesterday. Despite unusually heavy lobbying by the mayor1s office, the council voted by a 40 to 6 margin with 2 abstentions to override Giuliani1s veto of a bill that would have maintained the city's four to one match of campaign funds.
Showdown At City Hall
And last week, City Council postponed a vote to override the Mayorıs veto of the cityıs $4-to-$1 campaign finance program because so many Councilmembers were absent. Today, the Council will try again. Mayor Giuliani has reportedly been lobbying members and offering assistance with specific projects in their interest. The Mayor says the program costs too much, but Council Speaker Vallone has called the program a "model for the rest of the country." According to a Gotham Gazette survey, 30 Councilmembers said they would vote to override, 4 said they would not, and 17 could not be reached or would not disclose how they plan to vote. A total of 38 votes are needed to override the veto.
Raising the Bar
Although he said he hoped performance would improve, Schools Chancellor Harold Levy said the low scores indicated that the city puts only those students with the most severe problems in special ed. But a state official disagreed, charging that scores are low at least partly because special ed students in the city have less qualified teachers and little access to a normal program. Efforts are underway to boost requirements for special ed teachers, and the city has been trying to return as many youngsters as possible to regular classrooms. While few children actually made that move last year, the city has a smaller percentage of youngsters in special ed than the state as a whole. The testing of special ed students is part of a state effort to set higher expectations for students with disabilities.
Ticket Prices
Scalping tickets is actually illegal in New York, but the law expires in June, and last week New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called for an end to the law. His argument is not that ticket prices would go down or that their availability would increase. It is that the anti-scalper law "is becoming increasingly pointless," thanks to legal ticket brokers in New Jersey and sales over the Internet. Besides, he said, "I believe in the market." |
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