The 2018 Midterms Have Already BegunElection Day has already begun in large areas of the nation, and voting by mail could stretch out Election Night as well.
Dan Rather Rails Against ‘Corporate Overlords’ Colluding With ‘Powers in Washington’Part of what Dan Rather was hoping for, in his $70 million lawsuit against former employer CBS, was the ability to open to public scrutiny the company’s actions that led up to his ouster in 2005. So it’s no surprise that when the network asked Manhattan Supreme Court to keep documents concerning Memogate private, the former anchor got a bit upset. CBS originally said it would keep things public, but they have backed off that. Rather, who wanted the public to see all the information involving the media giant’s investigation into the origins of disputed memos about President Bush’s National Guard Service, railed against network execs. “It is a fact that corporate overlords working in secret collusion with the powers in Washington are intruding far too often in far too many newsrooms,” he said. “Corporate overlords? “Secret collusion”? “Powers”? What is this, a Wachowski movie? Whether or not he is right, Rather isn’t doing himself any favors in the battle to rescue his reputation. He, of all people, should know how much phrasing matters.
Rather: CBS Bosses Hiding Truth [NYDN via Jossip]
it just happened
Feds to City: Decongest!
And so it has finally happened: The U.S. Department of Transportation just announced it will give New York City a $354 million grant to implement a congestion-pricing system in the city. It’s not quite the $500 million Mayor Bloomberg and Dan Doctoroff told everyone the city stood to receive, but it’s a whole lot more than nothing, too. It’s a big win for the mayor, except for one thing. The Feds will only pay out on that grant if the state legislature signs off by March of next year — which means that seventeen-member commission formed just after the (alleged) application deadline pass a plan before then, and the city council, too, must agree to it. Shelly Silver, we think, is going to have a whole lot more fun.
U.S. Offers New York Millions for Congestion Pricing [City Room/NYT]
Earlier: Daily Intel’s coverage of congestion pricing
the morning line
Senators Like Mike
• When Bloomberg speaks, Washington listens? The mayor is praising senators for killing an amendment — it would have forbidden the feds to share gun data with local police — he recently ripped to shreds. [NYDN]
• It looks like we have a mob war on our hands, with a second Mafia-related hit in three days. First a Gambino capo’s son was attacked; now an alleged Genovese mobster is found executed. Or is it all just an HBO promo? [NYP]
• Remember Wall Street West, a Pennsylvania developer’s plan to sell NYC financial firms a kind of giant, high-tech office park as a backup facility? There’s one snag: Nobody’s biting. [NYT]
• The city’s slowly getting used to those spindly, War Of the Worlds–like “Sky Watch” surveillance towers. The next question is whether they actually reduce crime. [amNY]
• And a Long Island gym teacher was arrested for endangering the welfare of a minor after he duct taped the legs of a student, presumably to teach him some sort of lesson. If we’d known this kind of stuff was actionable, our gym teacher would probably still be in jail. [Newsday]
