There are reasons that the city has had so many problems with the Staten
Island ferry. One of them is that administrative law judges, among other
jurists, bend over backwards to frustrate managers who try to enforce standards
of conduct and performance. In this case, the Department of Transportation,
which manages the ferry, gave an alcohol test to an assistant captain in
March. He failed and was suspended. He appealed on the grounds that he was
not at sea when he took the test, but performing dock duties. The judge reversed
the suspension and gave the ferry captain a free ride.
To get the full story, read
Mike McIntire's
comprehensive account, which starts on B1 of the Times and has a long jump
on B2. Although cases like this can rationally be decided either way, ALJ
Kara J. Miller has totally misplaced priorities. She should return to private
practice.
Closer to the Falls
The city budget, which we try to follow closely, is examined today in Newsday by
Doug Turetsky,
communications director for the NYC Independent Budget Office. In a reasoned
article, titled "The Coming Storm: City can't afford to put off looming budget
crisis," he warns about next year's budget, which the city cannot come close
to balancing at present spending rates. His conclusion is the same as ours
has been for two years: "The longer [the mayor] and the City Council take
to address the coming fiscal storm, the deeper and steeper these actions
will need to be."
What a predicament. People speak truth to power, but power doesn't listen. Power will not listen until it gets a shock.
Towards Bethlehem
The State Legislature is slouching toward adopting a budget for its fiscal year, which began April 1.
William F. Hammond, Jr
brings you today's installment as the lead story in the Sun, "Albany Set
to Start Passing Late Budget, as Governor Demurs." Newsday also carries an
article, "Let the voting begin — finally," by
Andrew Metz and Dionne Searcey
on page A20. The legislature is likely to adopt a higher budget than the
governor wishes, and the question then becomes what he will veto, and which
vetoes will be overruled. The waltz continues.
NY Taxes are the Highest, but not its Tax Increases
With regard to the state fisc, the Post's
Kenneth Lovett
cites an analysis by the Newark Star-Ledger of data from the National Association
of State Budget Officers. The article is headlined, "N.Y. is Taxachusetts:
State leads U.S. in hikes," but the story does not justify the headline.
New York's taxes are the highest, but not its tax hikes. Actually, New Jersey
has raised taxes more than twice as much per capita as New York State, and
Connecticut's increase in state taxes since 2003 is more than 50% higher
than New York's.
The Business Council, a taxpayer group, recently released a study showing
that New York ranked first in the country in combined state and local taxes
in 2002. In response, New York legislators say they were forced to raise
taxes by the national recession and the 9/11 tragedy, which led to billions
of dollars in lost taxable business activity and personal income.
Joel Shaves
Outrage over the release of child-killer Joel Steinberg is reflected in a Daily News
editorial, "The revulsion grows" (scroll to the second editorial), and a news item by
Ira Mahoney and Ralph R. Ortega,
"Joel finds new rathole in the city." The News arouses public scorn against
a man who, in theory, has paid his debt to society. But his
New York Magazine
interview, in which he denies responsibility for the death of 6-year-old
Lisa, who he illegally adopted, raises the issue of whether the score has
truly been settled. And whether Joel deserves the ink.
Look in the Bushes
Those of you who want an update on the missing monkey can find it on page 8 of the News.
Austin Fenner and Alison Gendar keep us up to date on the malicious macaque.
Annals of Justice — The Wages of Sin
We close today with a story that tells a great deal about what is wrong in New York City today.
Carl Campanile,
who usually covers education, has written a short item in the Post about
a pending lawsuit. This is the first paragraph: "The family of a teen who
was shot and killed by an undercover cop last year — after the youth put
a BB gun to the head of the officer's partner — filed a $5 million wrongful-death
suit against the city yesterday." The remaining six paragraphs are in the
link.
This is a story about which I particularly invite comment from readers, which
I will publish if your e-mail is lucid, whatever your opinion of the case.