Week of 15 October 2001:
Calming Efforts
Both federal and local officials took steps to calm public fears about the
deliberate spread of anthrax bacteria, as a third confirmed case of anthrax
infection was reported
in New York City -- an assistant to Dan Rather at CBS -- adding to the two
other cases, at ABC and NBC. New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik
has appointed a bioterrorism czar, Phil Pulaski, a deputy chief who also has
a degree in chemical engineering and is the former head of the department's
laboratory. Meanwhile, federal officials, led by Tom Ridge, the new head of
the newly-created Office of Homeland Security, held a Giuliani-like press
conference yesterday. The officials emphasized that a total of only six
actual cases of infection have been detected nationwide so far, though many
thousands of people have been tested for exposure to the bacteria, and many
thousands of environmental samples taken. Investigators continue to have no
concrete evidence or intelligence as to who has been sending the
anthrax-laced letters, but various clues, according to
the Times, have led some to
suspect a link to the terrorists who attacked on September 11th. The federal
government has offered a one million dollar reward for information that
leads to a conviction.
Campaign 2001
With little more than two weeks to go before the general election,
Democratic mayoral candidates Fernando Ferrer and Mark Green met privately
yesterday to hash out their differences. At the same time, the
Republican-dominated New York State Senate announced that its Elections
Committee would hold hearings next Wednesday into the charges of vote fraud,
miscounting and racism in the Democratic runoff.
The Democrats' choice for mayoral candidate is still officially in doubt
(though most people expect that when the official vote is finally tallied
this weekend Green will be announced the nominee). But the many other local
races are largely in effect already decided. This was going to be the most
historic campaign in New York City in a century, with term limits kicking
out most incumbents and campaign finance reform encouraging a whole new
batch of citizen-candidates. Indeed, an amazing 420 New Yorkers, many
enticed by the promise of a "level playing field," became candidates for
public office this year, by far the largest number ever. But has the promise
of a transformation in local government been fulfilled? Mark Berkey-Gerard
looks at the most interesting, disappointing and surprising results in "How
The Promise Of Campaign 2001 Played Out" on Gotham Gazette's
Searchlight on
Campaign 2001
Fear and Funding
As six congressional office buildings in Washington were closed after 31
Capitol Hill employees tested positive for anthrax, worry about the disease
continues to affect New York. The focus of concern here yesterday was the
Third Avenue office of Governor George Pataki where small traces of the
bacteria were found.
Pataki began taking the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and evacuated the offices.
None of the workers there has tested positive for anthrax. It was not known
how the bacteria might have gotten into the building, although Police
Commissioner Bernard Kerik says state police could have accidentally carried
anthrax spores back to the office after escorting the governor to ABC and
NBC news offices, where the bacteria has been found or is suspected to be
present.
This incident, following anthrax incidents at NBC and ABC, prompted city
officials to test mailrooms in several city agencies, while anthrax scares
and hoaxes continue around the city.
Meanwhile, the Times
reports that the Bush administration has said that it will not ask Congress
for any additional aid for New York this year. Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., the
White House budget director, said the issue could be re-examined next year
but noted that New York was getting large portions of the $20 billion
approved in emergency aid for New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania after the
September 11 attacks. This represents a major blow to the effort by Pataki
to get $54 billion in federal aid for the state. Some members of Congress
have criticized the Pataki plan for containing items not directly related to
the terrorist attacks, such as transportation projects for upstate New
York. In response, members of the New York congressional delegation are
trying to shape a smaller aid request, limited to projects directly related
to the terrorist attacks.
Difficult and Confusing Times
Work, transportation, and school were temporarily interrupted yesterday, as
nervous New Yorkers called in 122 reports of suspicious packages, letters,
and powder, none of which turned out to be dangerous. Several subway lines
and the Long Island Rail Road shut down for investigations. Murry Bergtraum
High School on the lower East Side closed for an hour after a white powder,
which turned out to be candy, was found on a keyboard in a computer lab. And
400 state workers were evacuated from an office building in the Bronx
because of a suspicious letter. Mayor Giuliani called for calm and announced
alongside postal officials that postcards explaining how to handle
suspicious mail will be sent to all U.S. households.
And a week after Mayor Giuliani announced that he would reduce the city
budget by $1 billion and ask some city agencies to cut back 15 percent,
Newsday reports that the mayor plans to give merit
raises to the city's 3,800 mid-level managers, commissioners and deputy
mayors. According to an estimate by the city comptroller's office, the
raises will cost the city as much as $33 million for the next two years. "I
think we are all in deep trouble," Comptroller Alan Hevesi said. "Yes, the
managers are deserving of a raise, but sacrifice is going to have to be
imposed across the board."
More Anthrax
The nation's anthrax scare widened as a new infection was reported in the
infant son of an ABC News producer based in New York City, the second
confirmed case in the city. An anthrax-laced letter was also opened on
Capitol Hill in the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. The baby,
who had visited the ABC studios in New York on September 28, is responding
to treatment. There were dozens of calls to authorities in New York
yesterday about suspicious packages and powders in schools, offices and
train stations. Newly formed hazardous response squads, each made up of two
city police officers and a firefighter, all equipped with gloves and
respirators, were dispatched across the city. As of now, the only two
confirmed cases were those that occurred at ABC and NBC.
Anthrax
Starting this past Friday, a series of reports, mostly delivered by Mayor
Rudy Giuliani, have brought the anthrax scare to New York City. Friday, the
mayor announced that an assistant to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw tested positive
for infection from anthrax, a disease with flu-like symptoms which is caused
by bacteria, is not contagious, and comes in three forms (affecting the
lungs, skin or gastrointestinal tract). Saturday, it was discovered that the
source of the anthrax that sickened that NBC employee at Rockefeller Center
was a sand-like substance found in an envelope mailed to the television
network from Trenton, New Jersey on September 18. It was also evident that a
second person who handled that envelope has symptoms that indicate possible
exposure to anthrax. Sunday, anthrax spores were found on the police officer
and two lab technicians involved in detecting the case of anthrax at NBC,
though they were not necessarily infected. All five New Yorkers are being
treated with antibiotics and all are expected to recover.
Authorities say they have no evidence that would connect this exposure to
anthrax, or similar cases in Florida and Reno, Nevada, to the terrorism of
September 11. But fearful New Yorkers have been rushing to pharmacies to
hoard anti-anthrax drugs such as Ciproflaxocinthe, or Cipro. The Bush
administration said it was moving to buy antibiotics that could be made
available quickly to treat up to 12 million people, six times the number
that could be treated by drugs now kept in reserve. Health and Human
Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said the White House would ask Congress
for an additional $1.5 billion for the purchase of the antibiotics and for
other programs to combat bioterrorism.
Last week's stories...
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