Good morning, it’s Monday, and just like that, we’re into the home stretch of the “days until spring” countdown! We were sort of keeping track in a sort of half-hearted way before, but now that we’re officially into March, things are getting real.
The vernal equinox – AKA, the first day of astronomical spring – is just 18 days away. If that seems too far away, still, and the up-down temperatures we experienced this weekend (welcome to upstate weather, folks) are messing with your head, consider this: Meteorological spring is already here! It started yesterday, March 1.
As a reminder, meteorological spring is based on annual temperature cycles and the Gregorian calendar and runs from March through May in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, as we’ve discussed in the past, upstate weather can be fairly unpredictable, so it’s not out of the question that we could see another snow storm (or two) before things truly start looking up.
And along those lines, though I hate to be the bearer of bad news, let’s get the forecast out of the way.
Today will be chilly, with highs struggling to get out of the 20s. Skies will be mostly cloudy, with what sun decides to show up restricted mostly to the morning hours.
There’s snow predicted for tomorrow afternoon/night, though the accumulation will likely max out at three inches. The snow will likely change to rain overnight as the temperatures rise back into the 40s, so it’s highly possible that the whole thing washes away and feels like a brief bad dream by the time Wednesday rolls around.
Looking ahead to next week, there are a few 60-degree days in our not-too-distant future, so hang on!
For the moment, though, we still have some better-inside-than-outside days to get through, which present the perfect opportunity for hunkering down with a good book. I am a luddite, and so I continue to prefer the dead tree version of books, though all my newspaper and magazine subscriptions are now online.
There are a number of days dedicated to reading – International Literacy Day (Sept. 8), National Reading Day (Jan. 23), National Read a Book Day (Sept. 6), Tolkien Reading Day (March 25, dedicated entirely to books penned by the great fantasy writer and philosopher, which we will likely revisit with a post all its own later this month), and Read Across America Day, which is today.
Read Across America Day was established in 1998 by the National Education Association with three key goals: encouraging kids to read, highlighting the importance of literacy, and promoting year-round reading habits. The organization bills this as the nation’s largest “reading celebration”, engaging an estimated 45 million participants annually.
Originally, Read Across America Day was associated with the writer and illustrator Theodor Seuss Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss, known for his quirky, colorful and often rhyming children’s books that have helped untold numbers of young people in their learn-to-read reading journey.
Geisel, who was born on this day in 1904 in nearby Springfield, MA, and died at the age of 87 in San Diego, CA, was quite prolific when he was alive, penning more than 60 books, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide and resulted in numerous adaptations – from TV series and films to Broadway shows.
In recent years, however, Read Across America has distanced itself from Geisel, pivoting to focus more on diversity and inclusion, in the wake of rising criticism about his use of racist stereotypes and offensive content.
In 2021, Geisel’s estate announced that six of his books – And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer – would be removed from future publication because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”
Predictably, the honest review of Geisel’s work, which dates back to a much different time in history, became a flashpoint in the culture wars, with conservatives bemoaning his so-called “cancellation.” The debate sparked a spike in Dr. Seuss sales and drove several of his titles to the top of the best seller list.
I continue fondly recall my Dr. Seuss days, warts and all, and I think it’s worth acknowledging that while some of his work admittedly did not age well, some titles – most notably “The Lorax” – was way before its time and continues to ring true today. Other books that I think still resonate and were remarkably prescient, in my opinion, include “Horton Hears a Who” and “The Sneetches.”
Since we’ve already dispensed with the weather, so let’s get down to business.
In the headlines…
President Trump said the U.S. military intends to sustain its assault on Iran for “four to five weeks” if necessary, insisting it “won’t be difficult” to maintain the intensity of the battle even as he warned of the possibility of more American casualties.
Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia, traded strikes early this morning after the breakdown of a fragile yearlong truce, opening another front in the widening war in the Middle East following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
U.S. Central Command said yesterday that three American service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded during Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran.
They were the first reported American casualties since the United States and Israel launched major military strikes against Iran on Saturday, which President Donald Trump said was aimed at bringing about a change in the country’s leadership.
Democratic Hudson Valley Rep. Pat Ryan, an Army veteran, accused President Trump of not looking out for U.S. troops, as three American service members have so been far been killed during the operation against Iran.
Top Trump administration officials will brief both chambers of Congress tomorrow regarding ongoing U.S. strikes on Iran, amid widespread Democratic opposition to the operation and broad Republican support.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the operation Saturday, Trump said. Scores of Iranian-Americans cheered his death in New York City yesterday, with similar celebrations erupting in other cities across the globe.
A senior White House official said that Iran’s “new potential leadership” has suggested it is open to talks with the United States the major attack against Tehran killed he country’s supreme leader and other high-ranking officials.
Trump posted a video on Truth Social announcing the strikes, and called on the Iranian people to “take over your government.”
As the U.S. engages in another war in the Middle East, this time against Iran, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that roughly one in four respondents support it.
The survey, released yesterday, found 27 percent of respondents approve of “Operation Epic Fury,” which the U.S. launched in tandem with Israel early Saturday. Meanwhile, 43 percent of respondents disapprove of the strikes and 29 percent were not sure.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the U.S. military strikes on Iran, calling them “an illegal act of war of aggression” and stress-testing his increasingly productive working relationship with Trump.
As Mamdani assailed what he called a “catastrophic escalation” in Iran, some Iranian Americans in New York City worried about what comes next, while others celebrated.
Hundreds of New Yorkers, including members of the city’s Iranian community, marched through Midtown on Saturday afternoon as part of a National Day of Action to protest the United States and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran.
Officers in the NYPDs international liaison unit, including at outposts abroad, are gathering information about potential threats to New York City.
Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams blasted his successor, Mamdani, for calling the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran “illegal” while ignoring the brutal Islamist regime’s long reign of terror calling this a “dangerous over simplification.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made no immediate remark about the attack itself, instead focusing her statement on stepped up security across the state.
Two people were killed and 14 others wounded when a gunman opened fire at a packed bar in downtown Austin early yesterday. The shooter, identified as Ndiaga Diagne, formerly of The Bronx, was killed minutes after the carnage by responding cops.
The shooting, which started at a bar in Austin, Texas, is being investigated by the F.B.I. as a potential act of terrorism, the authorities said.
Democrats in the state Legislature expect Hochul to make a strong push in the coming weeks to overhaul and potentially delay the state’s energy and emissions mandates as part of the state budget.
Stakeholders in New York’s cannabis industry warned lawmakers last week that many small processors are still struggling to implement a mandatory “seed-to-sale” program that is scheduled to go into full effect on Saturday.
A coalition of business owners and former law enforcement officers protested Hochul’s proposed 75% tax on alternative nicotine products, arguing that it would fuel organized crime and harm poor New Yorkers
The Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit authorized to monitor prison conditions, is urging Hochul to restore funding during the budget negotiations that the watchdog organization received last year to expand its work inside correctional facilities.
The head of the Albany Housing Authority delivered a blunt warning to New York lawmakers last week: Without a significant boost in state investment, the safety net keeping thousands of New Yorkers in their homes could begin to unravel.
Former state Senate candidate Caleb Slater allegedly defrauded the state of more than $200,000 in a political fundraising scheme during his 2024 campaign, a probe by the New York Public Campaign Finance Board has concluded.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office allegedly had a sleazy, toxic workplace culture that a “balloon penis” at an office party and smut cartoons shared by staffers, a newly surfaced sexual harassment suit showed.
An overdue update to New York’s benefit cards that could prevent food stamp theft could launch as early as next February.
The state’s largest health care workers union has begun the process of unionizing hundreds of thousands of home health aides after Hochul consolidated the program under a single management company last year.
A group of state legislators is pushing for an additional $706 million in the state budget to support efforts to address disparities in pay and health care access for women.
New York is creating a new state government position meant to oversee efforts to protect New Yorkers against global threats. The move comes nearly a year after Trump issued an executive order shifting certain federal security responsibilities to the states.
New York state lawmakers are moving forward on a package of immigration bills with new urgency following the death last week of a blind refugee who was left outside a closed coffee shop by federal agents in Buffalo.
Mamdani’s pals in the state Legislature are pushing a bill to give him the power to slap a 25% tax liability “surcharge” on Big Apple corporations.
Mamdani on Friday defended his secret meeting with President Trump a day earlier, as well as his proposal to the president to build 12,000 apartments in Queens.
Former three-term Republican Gov. George Pataki ripped Mamdani and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for downplaying an icy snowball attack on NYPD officers.
Mamdani and Bragg were blasted Friday as the city’s “Axis of Anarchy” over their handling of the men who winged icy snowballs at NYPD Finest.
Diya Vij, Mamdani’s pick to serve as commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, said she wanted to make “open, accessible and sometimes radical cultural activities possible.”
Mamdani made a bold pledge last month: Within weeks, he would send state lawmakers a plan to fix the city’s broken property tax system. A failed attempt by his predecessor, Eric Adams, shows why that won’t be easy.
Mamdani’s pitch to Trump for a massive Queens real estate project is setting up a scenario where a legacy-defining accomplishment would be yoked to perhaps the most loathed figure in New York City.
Mamdani’s effort to revive a giant Queens housing plan that died in 2020 may have appealed to President Trump, but responses from local elected leaders are much more mixed.
“Any proposal that reshapes Sunnyside Yards must begin with the neighbors who live here,” said Councilmember Julie Won. “Our community deserves a seat at the table long before anyone, including the mayor, makes headlines in the Oval Office.”
Mamdani reportedly has used the encrypted messaging app Signal to communicate with fellow elected officials and political advisers since he became mayor. In at least one instance, he’s discussed government business over the app.
This could be a pivotal year in shaping what role artificial intelligence plays in American schools. Some families want Mamdani to hit the brakes.
The FIFA World Cup is less than four months away, but soccer-mad Mamdani’s administration couldn’t say much Friday about how the city’s preparing.
The NYC Council is planning to fast-track legislation that would give spouses of fallen police officers a property tax break of up to 50% — although some members fear longtime-cop-adversary Mayor Mamdani might try to block it.
A super PAC supporting ex-Mayor Eric Adams’ failed re-election bid paid more than $1 million to shady corporations — including one connected to a criminal crypto drug dealer, records show.
After pocketing $146.6 million to run the Roosevelt Hotel as a migrant shelter for two years, Pakistan’s state-owned property is now reportedly stiffing the city for $13.6 million in overdue property taxes and nearly $1 million in unpaid water bills.
Bally’s, which emerged victorious from last year’s cutthroat competition for a downstate casino license, has taken a major step toward developing its winning proposal.
Federal immigration officers may have violated the law when they allegedly used a ruse to gain entry into the apartment of Columbia student Ellie Aghayeva and arrest her last week, according to civil liberties advocates and legal experts.
The city is using massive potted plants in Queens to prevent illegal parking in front of fire hydrants — only to thwart FDNY trucks and Bravest during emergencies, according to fuming pols and locals.
New Yorkers caught a whiff of spring on Saturday. Now, another blast of winter is settling in, triggering Code Blue alerts in New York City and Newark as overnight lows drop into the teens and wind chills dip into the single digits.
The town of Newburgh will become the second municipality in the state to adopt a ranked-choice voting system, where the winner of an election is not always the initial top vote-getter.
Over the past two years, a new building has been on the rise at Albany NanoTech. Later this year, the shining behemoth will become a beacon in the computer chip industry.
The State University of New York system opened a new networking platform on Friday called SUNY Research Connect that will help researchers schedule time on valuable SUNY equipment, including the Ion Beam Lab at University at Albany.
The City of Albany has reported a significant decrease in the number of expired residential occupancy permits for rental properties over the last two months.
A recent Adirondack search and rescue in Essex County came to a happy ending when forest rangers found a hiker missing since last Wednesday morning in the Dix Range in the town of North Hudson.
After taking a brief leave, Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi announced that he “feels a lot better,” and it “is time to get back to work.”
A Clifton Park man who allegedly used a forged license plate to dodge E-ZPass fees was arrested after the owner of a vehicle assigned the plate number in real life alerted authorities about unexpected toll charges, State Police said.
The Schenectady Republican party is taking steps to become more relevant in the Democratic-heavy Electric City.
Workers at two Capital Region Eddie Bauer outlets will be laid off in the coming weeks after the venerable outdoor retailer filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
