Good Tuesday morning.
We are halfway through September already. I’m not entirely sure how that happened. It’s also kind of hard to wrap one’s head around when the weather is so damn beautiful and the temperature is hovering around 80-plus degrees.
Not to worry, though, looking ahead to next week there’s a stretch of rainy days with temperatures in the 70s coming our way. I know, I know, it’s only Tuesday and how can the forecast be trusted? It will probably change ten times between now and then. Probably, and if so, I’ll be here to keep you updated.
Anyway, weather aside, even though we’re halfway through September, we’re only just getting underway with Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. This is kind of unusual. I can’t off the top of my head think of any other month-long observance that spans two months equally this way.
There’s actually a significant reason behind this scheduling situation. Many Central American countries celebrate their independence days within this four-week span, beginning on Sept.15 with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and then moving on to Mexico (Sept. 16), Chile (Sept. 18) and Belize (Sept. 21).
Also, Columbus Day, which is increasingly known in various communities and states as Indigenous Peoples Day, or Día de la Raza, is observed on the second Monday in October. (It was originally celebrated on Oct. 12 to mark the explorer’s 1492 landing in the New World, but was moved in the early 1970s when it became an officially recognized federal holiday to give workers a three-day weekend).
By encompassing all of these dates, Hispanic Heritage Month literally and figuratively honors and recognizes the vast and diverse array of cultures and countries that make up this significant community.
An important side note: The words “Hispanic” and “Latino” are often used interchangeably, but do not, in fact, mean the same thing. They are not, in fact, racial categories, but rather ethnic descriptors.
“Hispanic” Refers to someone who is from or has ancestry from a Spanish-speaking country or who speaks Spanish, while “Latino” is used to describe who is from or has ancestry from Latin America – including but not limited to Mexico, Central America, and South America.
And to complicate things still further, there’s the term “Latinx“, which is a gender-neutral term used in the U.S. to describe people of Latin American descent.
These days, it’s best to err on the side of caution and use whatever term it is that the individual or group to whom/which you’re referring has expressed a preference – if they’ve done so. Or, better yet, just ask. Given the incredibly charged political moment in which we find ourselves at the moment, when immigration – particularly as it relates to the Southern border – is such a hot button issue – an extra dose of sensitivity is more than warranted, IMHO.
But where was I? Oh yes, Hispanic Heritage Month. It started in 1968 as a week-long celebration under President Lyndon B. Johnson, who wrote in his initial proclamation:
“The people of Hispanic descent are the heirs of missionaries, captains, soldiers, and farmers who were motivated by a young spirit of adventure, and a desire to settle freely in a free land. This heritage is ours.“
It took 20 years for one week to extend to four, which occurred on the watch of President Ronald Reagan in 1988, providing more time to properly recognize the significant contributions to this country of Hispanic/Latino Americans. It wasn’t until 1989, however, that President George H.W. Bush became the first president to officially declare the current 31-day period as National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.”
President Joe Biden issued a National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation on Sept. 13, stating in part:
“From those who have been here for generations to those who have recently arrived, Latinos have pushed our great American experiment forward. They are the community, faith, and union leaders who advocate and stand up for all of us.”
Amen.
Some of you have probably gotten to the bottom of this post and are mentally – or perhaps audibly – yelling at the computer screen: “It’s National Voter Registration Day! This is the election of a lifetime. I can’t believe you didn’t focus on THAT! Where is your civic pride?”
So. yes, it’s true. Today is National Voter Registration Day, a nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating small-d democracy. Since the creation of this day in 2012, some 5 million people have been registered by a wide variety of participating organizations.
But, of course, much work remains, because a lot of people are disinterested, disaffected, disincentivized, and distracted in and by our political and electoral process. If you are one of the millions of Americans who are not yet registered, which is required in order to be eligible to cast a ballot for your candidate(s) of choice, then I implore you to do so – either today or very soon.
Because, for the record, the deadline to register in order to BE eligible to vote in New York by the time the general election rolls around isn’t until the end of October – Oct. 26, to be exact, by which time you must have either registered by mail or in. person. So, if you’re a New Yorker, you’ve still got time to do what needs to be done.
Since we’ve already dispensed with the weather at the top of this post, let’s get right down to business.
In the headlines…
The Secret Service did not search the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday before former President Donald Trump began his round, an acknowledgment that has put the besieged agency under renewed scrutiny.
The acting director of the U.S. Secret Service said the agency needs to undergo a complete overhaul of how it protects presidents — a remarkable admission following a second apparent attempt on Trump’s life within two months.
The gunman who allegedly staked out Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course with an SKS rifle was able to exploit a security hole that the Secret Service has known about for years.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, suspected of planning an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, was hit with weapons possession charges in a Florida court as authorities try to unravel more details about the plot and a possible motive.
Trump claimed “inflammatory language” from Democrats provoked what authorities are investigating as an assassination attempt against him, urging his rivals to tone down their speech even as he called them the “enemy from within” and “the real threat.”
The authorities have not yet publicly commented on a motive for the suspect, who was arrested after fleeing Trump’s Florida golf course. But Trump told Fox News Digital that the gunman “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.”
The moment that deputies arrested a suspect in an attempted assassination of Trump in Florida was captured on officer-worn bodycam video that was released yesterday afternoon.
The Trump campaign reportedly asked the Secret Service for increased security in the wake of the second assassination attempt on the former president.
The U.S. Secret Service said it was aware of a post by billionaire Elon Musk on the X social media platform musing about an absence of assassination attempts on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Musk, who owns the platform, formerly known as Twitter, put up the post – which he has since deleted – after a man suspected of planning to assassinate Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach was arrested on Sunday.
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced that he was deploying state troopers to the beleaguered city of Springfield to reassure the community that schools are safe despite a wave of bomb threats.
The threats – of which there have been at least 33, the governor said – began last week after Trump mentioned Springfield during the presidential debate, repeating a baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in the city were abducting and eating household pets.
“None of these had any validity at all,” DeWine said during a news conference in Springfield. “”We’ve moved resources into Springfield. People have the right to feel safe.”
Harris held a sometimes tense meeting with Teamsters leaders, defending the Biden administration’s labor policies against pointed questions and concluding with a promise that she would win the presidency and treat the union fairly with or without its backing.
Black Voters Matter, the nonpartisan national organization focused on mobilizing Black Americans to the polls, will spend at least $15 million on voter engagement efforts through Election Day, its co-founder and executive director, Cliff Albright, said.
The company operating the Titan submersible, which imploded in the ocean last year, was plagued with equipment problems long before the disaster, and had fired an engineering director who would not approve a deepwater expedition, testimony revealed.
One of the last messages sent from the doomed Titan submersible during its June 2023 voyage to the Titanic wreckage was “all good here,” according to a presentation from a U.S. Coast Guard hearing on the deadly implosion.
Authorities have released the first photo of what remained of the Titan on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean after the submersible imploded last summer while on its way to see the Titanic wreck.
A coalition of business, energy and labor organizations aligned with the Business Council of New York State is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto the proposed Climate Change Superfund Act.
With re-election looming in 2026 and potential challengers circling, Hochul’s own political future may depend on her ability to mend frayed relationships with her fellow Democrats and overturn the perception, fair or not, that she is a political featherweight.
The advisory group tasked with overseeing how New York should spend billions of dollars in opioid settlement cash will soon proffer another set of recommendations to state officials — but whether the group’s message will be respected is another matter.
Two of the Legislature’s chief sponsors of the Child Victims Act have asked the state Department of Financial Services to investigate allegations that insurance companies are not complying with the provisions of the 2019 legislation.
Calls for Mayor Eric Adams to resign continued, as Tiffany Cabán, a progressive councilwoman and former public defender from Queens, became the first City Council member to urge him to step down amid multiple federal investigations swirling around him.
“It’s not just that more than 15 of his associates are being investigated,” Caban said. “It’s also a culmination of his other failures of leadership.” This past weekend, state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher also called on Adams to resign.
Asked about the calls to resign, Adams said that more than 700,000 people had voted for him in the 2021 election. “I was elected by the people of the city, and I’m going to fulfill my obligation to the people of this city,” he said.
Two retired fire department chiefs were slapped with a federal indictment today for allegedly accepting $190,000 in bribes – the latest high-profile corruption case to hit Adams’ increasingly beleaguered administration.
The officials, who oversaw safety inspections, are accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in connection with building projects.
The sudden resignation of Adams top lawyer came after she recommended that three embattled City Hall aides under intense scrutiny by the feds needed to go, sources said.
Adams gathered the city’s otherwise-occupied press corps in the rotunda of City Hall to reveal the findings of a rote municipal report that typically gets scant publicity from the mayor’s office.
Murder and shootings plummeted in the Big Apple during the past fiscal year, according to the city’s annual management report.
Schools Chancellor David Banks has not yet received his phones back after the feds confiscated them in a raid on his home last week, he said.
A new survey showed a majority support among New York City teachers for a cellphone ban, but also revealed implementation challenges, hinting at the complications that delayed the rollout of a system-wide policy.
The city’s crackdown on fare evasion turned bloody on Sunday afternoon when four people were shot by police officers responding to a man who allegedly skipped the turnstile in a neighborhood where many people can’t afford basic needs.
Civil rights advocates said the confrontation was a reckless, dangerous and outsize response to the crime in question.
A pair of NYPD cops involved in a “friendly fire” shooting that left one officer and two bystanders wounded remain on active duty while the incident is investigated, the department said.
New Yorkers are waiting the longest they have in decades for cops to respond to crimes as the NYPD grapples with dwindling ranks.
The Albany County Airport Authority Board agreed to basic terms with its new acting chief executive officer and chief operating officer in deals that could cost the authority nearly double what it paid its former CEO.
A 52-year-old Guilderland woman has been charged with murder in connection with the 1997 death of a baby boy whose body was found wrapped in a pillowcase in Washington Park, setting off a homicide investigation that never revealed any suspects until now.
Law enforcement determined the calls threatening violence at Bethlehem High School between last Tuesday and Thursday have no evidence of a local connection and are not credible.
Almost seven months after its closure, the Madison Theatre and its connected businesses have new operators.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, the music mogul whose career has been upended by sexual assault lawsuits and a federal investigation, was arrested at a Manhattan hotel last night after a grand jury indicted him.
The indictment is sealed and the charges were not announced but Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, said he believed Combs was being charged with racketeering and sex trafficking.
A statement from Combs’s legal team said they were disappointed with the decision to prosecute him and noted that he had been cooperative with the investigation and had “voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.”
Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles said she would make every effort to get her bronze medal back, and that fight continued yesterday.
Chiles’ attorneys filed a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s Supreme Court, to overturn the ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped Chiles of her bronze in the women’s individual floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the headlines…
Photo credit: George Fazio.
