Good morning, it’s Friday, and I don’t know about you, but TGIF for sure on my end.
The end of the week is a good time to kick back and dish some dirt – some really rich, nutrient-dense dirt.
By that I mean, compost.
Compost, by definition, is decayed organic matter (leaves, grass, food waste, for example) that over time breaks down into a dark and crumbly conditioner that can be used to boost the nutrient value of soil, making it an excellent fertilizer for plants. It also helps keep the soil moist, reduces waste, and enables the production of food to feed both people and animals.
The concept of compost has been around for centuries, dating back to at least the Stone Age, which makes it one of humanity’s oldest agricultural practices. Basically, ancient people mixed manure and household waste (whatever they weren’t feeding to their livestock) into their fields as a matter of course.
Even some of the Founding Fathers – Thomas Jefferson and George Washington in particular – were big fans of composting.
A British agronomist named Sir Albert Howard was the father of modern day composting, spending his professional lifetime studying the science of decomposition and publishing a how-to called the “Indore Method” in 1931 that outlined a precise and detailed process of layering plant debris, manure, and soil to create the best possible compost.
Back then, our garbage was a lot cleaner – absent the plastics and pesticides and other modern-day additives and pollutants that befoul our current waste stream. So, composting has gotten considerably more complicated over the years.
Compost has been through peaks of popularity – the 1970s environmental movement, for example, sparked a renewed interest in fresh, “natural” food and sustainable agriculture practices. It’s experiencing another boom today, driven by a range of concerns and phenomenon – from climate change and contaminated food alerts to a the covid-era home gardening surge.
Another factor is that compost is more accessible than ever before, thanks to the rise in both municipal and commercial programs. Let’s be honest: Do-it-yourself composting is time consuming.
If you have an itch to try your hand at composting but haven’t been sure about how to get started, today is you’re lucky day, because it’s National Learn About Composting Day, which reportedly was launched right here in New York – the brainchild of a Rochester resident named Bob Matthews.
This is not to be confused with International Compost Awareness Week, which began in Canada in 1995 and is, according to the Compost Research & Education Foundation website, “the compost industry’s largest, most far-reaching education and awareness campaign, celebrated worldwide each year during the first full week of May.”
The weekend is looking like a mixed-bag in terms of the weather.
Today will be mostly cloudy with highs in the low 70s. Saturday will bring unseasonably cool weather, with highs only reaching into the low 60s. Will start out with clouds, though the sun may make an appearance as the day progresses. Sunday is going to be a reprisal of today – clouds and highs in the low 70s. Nothing to write home about.
In the headlines…
Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. was “very close” to finalizing an agreement with Iran, but a few sticking points remained.
The two sides have reached a tentative deal that would extend the already-fragile ceasefire for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch further talks on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program.
An emerging “memorandum of understanding,” which could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, still needs approval from President Trump, and Iran has not confirmed any commitments.
A social media influencer who serves up advice on sports betting and romance pleaded guilty to his role in two sweeping basketball game-fixing schemes involving NBA stars, the NCAA and the Chinese Basketball Association.
Terry Rozier, a professional basketball player accused of manipulating his performance in NBA games, faces fresh allegations that he accepted an offer of a $100,000 bribe to leave a game early, which federal prosecutors say made gamblers tens of thousands.
A rocket built by the Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin blew up on the launchpad in Florida last night. The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. during a test being conducted in advance of an upcoming launch.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin reported on social media. “All personnel have been accounted for.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman won a second court decision yesterday in his quest to participate in New York’s public campaign funds program.
The swift ruling, which upheld a state Supreme Court justice’s decision, came a day after attorneys for Blakeman, the CFB, and two minority Republican board members squared off in front of the appellate panel and laid out their arguments.
Blakeman, a Republican challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul on the ballot this year, said he’s considering a lawsuit against the state over new immigration policies approved by the state Legislature.
Hochul signed the $268.5 billion state budget, funding pension boosts and an expansion of New York City’s free childcare program, while watering down the state’s climate goals — all eight weeks after the plan was first due on April 1.
For Hochul, a late budget isn’t a problem – it’s a successful tactic to get her agenda accomplished, even if it leaves state lawmakers who go unpaid during the process frustrated and angry.
Hochul used the state budget as a vehicle for policy initiatives, including a new second-home tax and a push to make the state less hospitable to immigration agents.
New York’s final budget includes a tuition freeze at the State University of New York and the City University of New York for the fourth year in a row.
Key Democrats in blue states, including Hochul, are landing on a common idea — if their residents receive payouts from the Trump administration’s planned “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” they’ll tax all of it.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed political newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier in her primary against incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, shaking up the race for the Upper Manhattan and Bronx House seat where the mayor grew up.
Mamdani made a joint appearance with Avila Chevalier, a fellow Democratic Socialists of America member, on MS NOW to announce his support of her campaign for New York’s 13th Congressional district.
The mayor had reportedly committed to supporting Espaillat last year after the congressman dropped his support for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid, and got behind Mamdani after he won the Democratic primary.
Not unexpectedly, Mamdani fired New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda yesterday, replacing him with NYPD whistleblower Edwin Raymond.
“Edwin Raymond represents the kind of public servant New Yorkers deserve: principled, courageous and deeply committed to justice,” Mamdani said in a statement.
The New York City Council is seeking an additional $32 million from the Mamdani administration to fund the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection – an ambitious request they argue is overdue to help the city’s top labor agency.
Mamdani’s universal child care program has become his most visible early win. But as he touts that victory, City Hall faces a vexing question: How will it staff up thousands of new child care jobs that are both low wage and highly demanding?
Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch vowed a record level of security for Sunday’s annual Israel parade in the city, despite Mamdani not attending due to his opposition to Israel.
“You know, I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” Mamdani said.
Former Mayor Eric Adams trolled Mamdani by announcing he’ll attend the Israel Day Parade on Sunday that the current mayor plans to skip.
Mamdani announced the creation of a new Charter Revision Commission, tasked with finding ways around government bureaucracy. Its official name might sound familiar: Commission on Government Efficiency, or COGE.
A statement by the city said COGE will be chaired by Patrick Gaspard, a longtime Democratic operative who formerly worked as executive director of the Democratic National Committee and president of the Soros family’s Open Society Foundation.
Two men were killed yesterday in a head-on collision between an electric scooter and a bicycle on the Queensboro Bridge, according to the NYPD, raising concerns about speeding and illegal micromobility vehicles on the bridge.
The men were brought to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, where they were pronounced dead. Photos taken in the aftermath of the collision show a white bike snapped clean in half, with an orange e-scooter lying next to it.
Columbia University’s College of Dental Medicine announced that it had punished a senior administrator for helping the last girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier, gain admission into an advanced dental residency program in 2023.
JFK Airport in Queens has been designated as one of four arrival hubs for travelers flying into the United States from countries affected by a deadly Ebola outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.
A man convicted of bludgeoning four homeless men to death was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison yesterday, in a case that a Manhattan judge said highlighted the city’s challenges addressing mental health, homelessness and violence.
“The Book of Mormon,” one of Broadway’s biggest hits, resumed performances on Wednesday night after a three-week shutdown prompted by a damaging three-alarm electrical fire at the theater where the musical comedy has been running for 15 years.
More than a dozen people conspired to steal the deed to a Harlem brownstone so they could sell it for profit, the Manhattan district attorney’s office alleged.
Albany County has agreed to pay a public relations firm more than $100,000 per year to promote the county’s economic development efforts despite receiving at least one other bid offering similar services at a fraction of the price.
James R. Stewart, a 58-year-old Caroga Lake man, was killed in Tuesday’s plane crash at Saratoga County Airport, State Police announced.
An 88-year-old man was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries after he was found late Wednesday at Moreau Lake State Park.
Complaints over Troy’s strict towing practices have been aired in public, to lawmakers and online, so Democrats on the City Council are proposing amending city policy to prioritize ticketing over towing in unauthorized parking zones.
The seventh year of Columbia-Greene Community College’s Construction Technology Program crossed the finish line May 12, as students presented the final product of their two-semester course to the public: a fully livable tiny home built largely from scratch.
A Long Island affordable housing firm and an Albany real estate developer are teaming up on a $175 million plan to redevelop Lincoln Square Homes, the now-vacant public housing complex in the city’s South End.
Residents called on the Schenectady City Council at a public hearing to reconsider a new ordinance that would increase and enforce usage fees for players who use the newly renovated tennis courts in Central Park.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
