Good Thursday morning. We’re 91 days away from the first day of summer, give or take.
What? Too soon? Yeah, you’re right. It’s too soon. But I’m just so tired of cold and gray – and SNOW, WTF?! I could really use some heat and sunshine that I don’t have to travel several hundred miles to get. The last few weeks were a terrible tease.
Being inside does allow me to spend more time with my various collections, of which I have quite a few. For example, for a while there, I was really into vintage salt and pepper shakers.
This might sound crazy to those of you who have not been bitten by the collecting bug, but trust me, it’s a thing.
I’ve got one shaped like an umbrella stand, of which I’m particularly fond, and another that is reminiscent of a miniature Model-T Ford. I display these in my kitchen, where they are conversation pieces. I never use them, which, of course, is not the point of a collection (at least not in my mind).
While I was a reporter, I amassed a collection of political ephemera – mostly press passes and campaign signs and placards, but a few other items like bags, hats, bumper stickers, and the like.
Back in the day, it was traditional for candidates to hand out a whole range of things emblazoned with their name – from buttons to emery boards. I have to say that I hate the modern-day lawn signs that are made out of plastic and designed to be reusable. Yes, they’re more sustainable, but they just look terrible framed on the wall.
Some of you reading this have probably been on Zoom calls with me and witnessed my framed collected of political signs. I have quite a few – not all of them are framed, mind you, just the ones to which I have a personal attachment (ie: I covered the individual as a reporter, or the item belonged to my dad, which is the case for most of the Rockefeller and Mario Cuomo-era items).
One of my favorite pieces is from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Boston. It depicts California Rep. Nancy Pelosi as Rosie the Riveter.
This was back in the day BEFORE she made history as the first woman speaker of the House – a position to which she was elected in 2007. My version is creased and worn, having been waved enthusiastically about by some eager delegate and then abandoned on the floor, where I rescued it after the festivities were over.
Think what you will about Nancy Pelosi – and I know she’s a divisive character, even now that she has stepped down from her leadership role – but Rosie the Riveter is about as iconic as they come. She dates back to WW II when women were pressed into service on the home front, filling jobs they never previously would have dreamed of doing (particularly in the aviation industry), had it not been for the fact that so many able-bodied men were at war.
Of course, that halcyon period didn’t last. The men came home (those who survived, anyway) and women were again relegated to second class citizen status – even today, as they continue to fight for equal pay and status in the workplace.
As for who inspired Rosie, well, apparently a number of women have made that claim. We do know, though, that one of the “Rosies” – Mae Krier, who worked at Boeing aircraft in Seattle, producing B-17s and B-29s for the war effort from 1943 to 1945, advocated for many years for women like her to have their achievements and service recognized.
Today is Rosie the Riveter Day. It’s also Mae Krier’s birthday. I believe she’s 98 years young. She was also instrumental in getting all the Rosies recognized by Congress.
I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired.
It will be partly cloudy today, with temperatures barely climbing into the mid-30s. High winds are back in the forecasts, with the possibility of gusts up to 40 mph.
In the headlines…
Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged and continued to forecast that borrowing costs will come down somewhat by the end of the year as inflation eases. The Fed Funds rate remains between 5.25% and 5.5%, matching its highest level since 2001.
Fed policymakers have been battling rapid inflation for two full years as of this month, and while they have been encouraged by recent progress, they are not yet ready to declare victory over price increases.
In its latest statement, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee noted that job gains remain strong and unemployment remains low, while price growth remains elevated, even as it has cooled since peaking in 2022.
President Joe Biden announced one of the biggest federal investments in US chip manufacturing – a $8.5 billion grant to tech giant Intel – as he visited the battleground state of Arizona and struggles to get voters to recognize his key legislative accomplishments.
While the visit to the company’s campus outside Phoenix reflected the central political bet Biden is making — that domestic spending and jobs promises will capture more voters — it also underscored how difficult it’s been to pull it off.
In a move being hailed as one of the most significant climate rules in US history, the Biden administration announced new regulations on tailpipe emissions.
The rule is designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032.
But in a concession to automakers and labor unions, the rules will be phased in more slowly than originally proposed and will give automakers more choices for how to comply.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assailed Sen. Chuck Schumer in a closed-door speech to Senate Republicans, after the Democratic majority leader branded him an impediment to peace in the Middle East and called for a new election to replace him.
Schumer denied a request from Netanyahu to address the Senate Democratic caucus in a virtual meeting, arguing against approaching discussions on Israel through a partisan lens.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that he is considering inviting Netanyahu to address Congress amid rising tensions between Democrats and the Israeli government leader — a sign of the partisanship edging into the Gaza war.
House Republicans kicked off voting on a slate of legislation for what they are dubbing “energy week,” passing two measures in support of oil and gas development.
The House impeachment inquiry into Biden is at a crossroad, lacking the political appetite from within the Republican ranks to go forward with an actual impeachment, but facing political pressure to deliver after months of work.
House Republicans James Comer and Jim Jordan, who are leading an impeachment inquiry into Biden, refused to second a motion made by Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat, to impeach the president.
Donors who supported Nikki Haley in her Republican primary campaign are set to switch their allegiance to Biden, as he prepares to face Donald Trump in the presidential election later this year.
Trump raised slightly more than $20 million in February through his campaign and joint fundraising committee, according to filings made public yesterday.
Trump’s 2024 campaign brought in $10.9 million last month, while his joint fundraising committee raised nearly $11 million. His operation overall had about $42 million in cash on hand entering March.
Biden’s re-election campaign had $71 million on hand at the end of February, more than double the $33.5 million in Trump’s campaign account, as Democrats continued to expand their fund-raising advantage over Republicans in the presidential race.
Trump says he’s leaning toward supporting a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a move that could raise the profile of the controversial issue in his coming battle with Biden.
The United Steelworkers Union has endorsed Biden, giving him support from another large labor union.
The announcement by the Pittsburgh-based union came less than a week after Biden voiced opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying it’s vital that the company remain American owned and operated.
Biden’s reelection campaign expanded its fundraising advantage in February, with plans to unload a barrage of ads against Trump.
Biden opened a new line of attack against Trump yesterday, asking and answering the classic “are you better off today than you were four years ago” question to remind voters of what it was like when Trump was in office.
Ex-Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas slammed Trump and his associates for pushing what he said were false allegations against the Biden family during the House Oversight Committee’s hearing in the GOP impeachment inquiry into Biden.
The New York Attorney General’s Office doubts that Trump is “truly unable” to come up with $454 million bond in his civil fraud case, arguing that the ex-president could have pledged his real estate properties to the courts.
“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary has blasted the $454 million bond Trump has been ordered to cough up in his New York civil fraud case, arguing the “extraordinary” penalty is “an attack on America.”
A Manhattan judge declined to impose sanctions on onetime Trump fixer Michael D. Cohen after he mistakenly gave his lawyer fake legal citations concocted by Google Bard, an AI program, for a motion the lawyer was preparing on Cohen’s behalf.
Asked by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to cite a specific law Biden violated, Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner Tony Bobulinski accused him of breaking racketeering and corruption laws through his participation in his son’s foreign business dealings.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office has recently unveiled a new Training Stipend Program with the aim of bolstering staffing levels at state fire departments, citing a pressing need to address declining volunteer numbers.
Hochul announced a $32 million investment to expand the Direct Support Professional microcredential program offered by the State University of New York (SUNY) in partnership with the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
State Attorney General Letitia James visited the Capitol to urge lawmakers to regulate the data social media companies collect from children and how those firms use it to funnel content to young users.
Publishers of local newspapers gathered in the Capitol to call for including a tax credit for small news outlets in the state’s final budget, which is being negotiated ahead of the deadline at the end of the month.
Champagne glasses filled with orange juice were in order during a ceremonial handover of legislation meant to rework the oft-criticized teacher evaluation system in use for over a decade — a proposed change backed by the state’s top education official.
Two appointees to a new state committee considering paying reparations should resign for making “disturbing” antisemitic and anti-police remarks, New York Republicans said.
A state judge denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against several social media companies alleging the platforms contributed to the radicalization of a gunman who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in 2022, court documents show.
New York City park advocates are pressing Mayor Eric Adams to deliver on his unmet campaign promise to put 1% of the city’s budget into the Parks Department.
Adams and the Rev. Al Sharpton joined forces to demand action from Biden’s administration to help crack down on gang violence engulfing Haiti — but they stopped short of calling for U.S. troops to be deployed to the embattled Caribbean nation.
Adams’ ties to Hui Qin, the Chinese billionaire who pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegally donations to candidates – including the mayor – and Qin’s now-former wife, Emma Liu, are deeper than a single meeting on the campaign trail, records indicate.
A Texas bus company responsible for chartering migrants to New York City is halting this practice as Adams’s lawsuit against these charters proceeds.
The agreement comes more than two months after New York City filed a lawsuit against the company, Roadrunner Charters, in response to a surge in migrant arrivals around New Year’s Day. The Republican-led state of Texas took credit for the operation.
The lawsuit targets 17 bus companies and seeks approximately $708 million, alleging they have transported at least 33,600 migrants to New York City since the spring of 2022 without paying for their continued care.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has drawn outrage for claiming that giving each of the tens of thousands of migrants pouring into the Big Apple free legal representation could net billions in economic benefits for New York state.
Adams announced the city will shut off water at buildings that have repeatedly refused to pay their water bills.
In total, the group of about 2,400 New Yorkers owes a total of $102 million and will soon receive water shut-off notices from the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the city agency that oversees the local water system.
Manhattan’s largest neighborhood school board district is trying to pass a resolution that could lead to a ban on transgender athletes participating in women’s sports.
A coalition of parent groups urged Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer to speed up the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act to better protect minors from the dangers of harassment, bullying, anxiety, sex abuse, and extortion on social media platforms.
Top NYPD officials told local lawmakers yesterday that New York City’s subway system remains generally safe despite a string of recent high-profile crimes that have raised concerns about public safety on trains and platforms.
The independent monitor overseeing NYCHA issued a blistering final report card, taking aim at the long-troubled agency’s continuing mismanagement, board committees that do nothing, and aversion to change that he believes is baked into the culture.
An eligibility scandal in the New York City high school basketball league that prompted the cancellation of a championship game was more widespread than the education department initially disclosed, records show.
The huge demand for free preschool seats is outpacing supply in nearly 50% of the Big Apple’s zip codes — despite hundreds of the 3K spots remaining vacant in other stretches of the city, newly released data show.
Supporters of congestion pricing nearly doubled the number of people opposed to the forthcoming tolls during the MTA’s final round of public input, according to an internal MTA document that collated comments submitted both online and in person.
Amid the uncertainty caused by legal and political clashes — over the cost to drivers, the possibility of increased traffic in some neighborhoods and more — M.T.A. officials suspended some capital construction projects that were to be paid for by the program.
A Queens-based real estate firm and its broker-president will have to pay $845,000 as part of a settlement reached with the city and state over accusations they illegally listed and rented out multiple Upper East apartments through Airbnb.
The United States will ring in its upcoming 250th birthday — or semiquincentennial — with a massive international parade of tall sailing ships in New York Harbor on July 4, 2026, officials announced.
State officials and Hoosick Falls community leaders marked a milestone in securing a permanent water source for the village at the village’s water treatment facility.
Locally based Scene One Entertainment submitted a permit application for the Spectrum 8 Theatres building in Albany on Friday, according to city records.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall plans to invest $14 million in an expansion project that will allow it to hold performances during the summer months, provide additional space for programming, add parking and transform parts of the exterior.
The street behind Quackenbush Square leading to the new Common Roots Brewing Co. Albany Outpost carries a secret. It’s not actually a public street.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
