June 18, 2003
VIVENDI MULLS IPO FOR VUE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amVivendi resurrected a long-forgotten option for its entertainment division yesterday: taking it public. Vivendi, which is in the midst of an auction for its vast U.S. entertainment assets - including...
TRAVEL DIP SLAMS SCHRAGER HOTELS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIAN Schrager's hotel empire is getting clipped from the combined weight of terrorists, wars and "fear of spending." A California bank has filed papers to begin foreclosure proceedings against Schrager's...
RESEARCH IN PLAY - GOLDMAN SEEKING RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIE FIRM
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA group of high-profile Goldman Sachs equity players are making the rounds to independent research shops exploring different strategic relationships, The Post has learned. Some who have met with the...
BRITISH INVASION - EMI STEPPING IN AS WARNER-BMG TALKS COOL
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amEMI is once again courting Warner Music, now that music merger talks between AOL and Bertelsmann have stalled, The Post has learned. Official talks between the two music companies have...
RITE AID'S GRASS CUTS DEAL, GETS 8
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThe former head of Rite Aid agreed to go to prison for eight years and avoid trial on his corrupt reign at the drug giant. Martin Grass, 49, and his...
ROBB REPORT PUBLISHER SNAPS UP BANKRUPT WORTH
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amWORTH may not have been dead, but with no staff producing issues since March, it most certainly was cryogenically frozen. Now magazine entrepreneur William "Wild Bill" Curtis from sunny Malibu,...
VIACOM: SPIKE SUIT COSTING US A FORTUNE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amWhat's in a name? At least $16 million. That's the amount of cash The National Network says it has lost by not being allowed to change its name to Spike...
ED'S BIG KA-CHING: LAMPERT RAKES IN $$ ON KMART, FOOTSTAR, SEARS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIt's been a good six weeks for Edward Lampert. Lampert is the hedge fund manager and Kmart chairman who has bet heavily on retailing turnarounds at Kmart, Footstar and Sears....
MARTS PUSH LAWMAKERS ON RULE SHIFT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amNasdaq and Instinet are aggressively lobbying Congress to change market-structure rules to make it easier for them to compete with the New York Stock Exchange. The companies have dashed off...
CONGRESS ATTACKS FREDDIE EXIT DEAL
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amCongress is going to war against scandal-ousted Freddie Mac chief Leland Brendsel to keep him from claiming his $24 million golden parachute. Freddie Mac is already under attack for an...
VIACOM: SPIKE'S SUIT COSTING US A FORTUNE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amWhat's in a name? At least sixteen million dollars. That's the amount of cash The National Network says it's losing by not being allowed to change its name to Spike...
CRÈME DE LA CREAMERY
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amPICKY New Yorkers - who prefer having it their way, whether it's on the side or off the menu - can find cold comfort at Cold Stone Creamery. The New...
OM IS WHERE THE CART IS AT GOVINDA
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amGOVINDA PARK AVENUE AND 52ND STREET, NORTHEAST CORNER HOOKING up with Govinda's food cart is a little like searching for spiritual enlightenment - not always an easy task. The budget...
SONS & LOVERS & IN-LAWS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amTHE DAUGHTER-IN- LAW At the Mint Theater, 311 W. 43rd St.; (212) 315-0231. Through July 13. THE Mint Theater has resurrected one of its genuine gems, D.H. Lawrence's "The Daughter-in-Law."...
ON THE SIDE: LEONA IN A CURRY
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amTHE Cinnamon Club, an upscale and prohibitively expensive Indian restaurant in London, is in talks to take the massive former Maxim's space at the Carlton House hotel on Madison Avenue....
TRUE CONFECTION; A WRITER'S TRIP DOWN SWEET MEMORY LANE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amPROUST had his madeleines - Hilary Liftin has Junior Mints. And candy corn, Starbursts and Skittles, all of which unleash a flood of memories about things past in "Candy and...
UNFIT FOR A KING
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amRE SETTE 7 W. 45TH ST., AT FIFTH AVENUE (212) 221-7530 Adiner at Re Sette said of an unidentified genius the other night, "He was the first guy to invent...
SAVAGE 'MOUSE' TRAPPED
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amWABC (770 AM) has yanked Michael Savage off the air while he renegotiates his contract with station owner Disney. Savage's show originates at Disney-owned KSFO in San Francisco, which syndicates...
JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE NEW 'FRIENDS'... YOU CAN'T SAY THAT ON TV - CAN YOU?
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIF you believe the hype, NBC brass stands a chance of getting their mouths washed out with soap next fall when the racy new sitcom "Coupling" hits the air. "Coupling"...
B'WAY STATE OF MIND ; BILLY JOEL MOVIN' IN ON SHOW OF HIS OWN
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amBILLY Joel, whose hit parade has been put to splendid use in "Movin' Out," is ready to try his hand at writing a Broadway musical from scratch. For his subject,...
SODA GUY'S OK
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amFOR a guy who says he doesn't want to be known as the 7Up guy, Orlando Jones sure has a way of bringing it up every five minutes. Good thing...
TO BE OR NOT TOBY: YOUNG WROTE THE BOOK ON HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS - AND DID
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIT'S even tougher at the bottom. Just ask Toby Young, professional loser and author of the tell-all media memoir "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," a chronicle of his...
THE STARR REPORT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00am'IT' equation: EW + MTV= 'List' Entertainment Weekly's "IT List" is about to become a TV special on MTV. The annual list, which encompasses the "100 Most Creative People" in...
DEPRESSING NEWS FROM PSYCH STUDY
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA new report on the mental health of Americans says nearly 16 percent of adults - 35 million people - will develop depression in their lifetimes, but only one-fifth of...
NICOTINE MIGHT HALT ALZHEIMER'S
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amScientists have discovered that a chemical found in nicotine may help ward off Alzheimer's disease. But because the substance - nornicotine - is toxic, researchers will first have to invent...
WTC SHELL GAME - ALL POLITICS, NO BUILDING
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amPOOR Daniel Libeskind. As awful as his Ground Zero pit-and-pendulum scheme is, he had a right to think that it was really, truly, what "the people" wanted. Only now is...
HIV FIEND GETS 25 YEARS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAn HIV-positive Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars for assaulting and sodomizing a 16-year-old boy lured to his apartment with promises of "wine, women and fun,"...
COMPACT-SUV SAFETY IN THE (AIR)BAG: STUDY
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amCrash tests on compact SUVs reveal that seven out of 12 models rated poorly when rammed in the side by another vehicle. The tests - designed to measure injuries -...
TERRORISTS CAST WIDE 'NET FOR CONVERTS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAl Qaeda and other terror groups are intensifying efforts to try to recruit new members and poison the minds of young people on the Internet, a new report has found....
TEACHERS IN OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE-$$ FIGHT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amPublic school teachers spend an average of $426 of their own money for basic classroom supplies like paper, pencils and books, according to a City Council survey released yesterday. Joined...
QUICK DRAW LOTTERY $MOKED
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - Quick Draw sales throughout the state plummeted Monday by 14.5 percent as nearly 250 bars owners began a second round of protests over the looming statewide smoking ban....
GI KILLED BY SNIPER IN IRAQ
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - A U.S. soldier was killed yesterday when he was shot in the back by an Iraqi sniper, in the latest in a series of deadly ambushes that have...
2 MORE TELL ON GYM RAT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amTwo more Long Island schoolgirls pointed the finger at their former gym teacher yesterday by testifying how he forced them to touch his genitals during class. The 9-year-old students at...
PANEL OKS SHIELD FOR AWNING LAW
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThe bill to suspend ticketing on wordy awnings for the next six months passed a City Council committee yesterday and the Bloomberg administration threw its weight behind it. Robert Iulo,...
DERAILING CRIME - SUBWAY FARE-BEAT BUSTS LEAD TO BIG OVERALL DROP
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amMajor crime in the subways continues to tumble to record lows this year - the result of a giant crackdown on fare beaters, transit officials said yesterday. The spate of...
TOMORROW IS D-DAY FOR RENT REGS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - The battle over rent regulations is heading toward a showdown tomorrow after lawmakers yesterday failed once again to strike a deal. For the third time, Gov. Pataki and...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amBROOKLYN * A city correction officer arrested Monday for harassing his sister, an NYPD cop, was also charged with menacing her with a gun last year at her home, authorities...
FATHER, SON GUNNED DOWN
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA father and son's chat over a basketball game outside a Harlem chicken joint turned fatal when the pair were gunned down at close range by a mystery shooter. The...
GROUPS QUIT DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThe leading civic group advocating public participation in the rebuilding of lower Manhattan is being pulled apart by bitter fighting among its members - with at least two key downtown...
CLEMENS PITCHING 300-WIN $OUVENIRS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amFour days after Roger Clemens notched his 300th victory and 4,000th strikeout, the Rocket is looking for a different kind of K - Ka-ching! The right-handed hurler is hawking 900...
ISRAELI GIRL SLAIN IN AMBUSH
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Palestinian gunmen killed a 7-year-old girl and wounded two other Israelis last night in an ambush that broke five days of relative peace and snarled chances for progress...
EMINEM RAPS UP DEAL ON $6M ESTATE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amEminem's new crib is a lot farther than "8 Mile" away from the mean streets of Detroit - and it's in the same ritzy area he mocked in his hit...
STABBED BUS DRIVER SUES MTA
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA pregnant woman who was knifed by two teenage thugs while driving a bus in The Bronx says her former bosses at the MTA have stabbed her in the back....
BD+]]DIVINE INTERVENTION - PRAYER GUARD BLEW WHISTLE ON DALI HEIST
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA prayer was the undoing of the Salvador Dali caper. A guard who regularly prayed in front of a painting Dali gave to Rikers Island in 1965 noticed a fake...
TATTLETALE HOT LINE BURNS SCAMMERS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIt's time to get nervous if you've filed a phony claim against the city. Officials said yesterday that city Comptroller William Thompson has received more than three dozen tips from...
CITY AND STATE OFFICIALS AGREED YESTERDAY TO NAME A FORMER AIDE TO GOV. PATAKI
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amCity and state officials agreed yesterday to name a former aide to Gov. Pataki as head of a key downtown rebuilding agency. Kevin Rampe was made president of the Lower...
'POTTER' PILFERED - SCOTLAND YARD WIZARDS AFTER BOOK THIEVES
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA brazen band of Muggle crooks swiped thousands of copies of the new Harry Potter book from a warehouse in England - sparking fears the boy wizard's latest adventure may...
SILVER IN MAC ATTACK ON PATAKI
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - The state's most powerful Democrat last night accused Gov. Pataki of trying to punch a $175 million hole in Mayor Bloomberg's budget. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) contended...
RECAPTURED RAPE SUSPECT ARRAIGNED
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAn accused serial sex fiend and escape artist who is already facing charges for at least 11 sex attacks in The Bronx and Manhattan was arraigned in Queens yesterday for...
FEW KIDS FLEE FAILING PROGRAMS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amOnly 8,000 out of 300,000 students in low-performing city public schools have opted to transfer to better schools under a new federal law - a meager 3 percent, figures released...
UNHOLY DEFENSE - PRIEST-SLAY SUSPECT MAY BE OWN LAWYER
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amPeter Troy, the loner charged with gunning down a priest and elderly parishioner last year during morning Mass in a Long Island church, may seek to act as his own...
WAR-LIKE SECURITY AGAINST MUGGLE MUGGING
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThe new Harry Potter book was being guarded with Pentagon-like security last night. At warehouses all over the East Coast, armed guards stood protecting millions of copies of "Harry Potter...
RETIRING TEACHERS SPUR CITY 'EDUCATION CRISIS'
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amSchools Chancellor Joel Klein said yesterday the number of teachers retiring after this school year could jump 20 percent from last year. Admitting he had previously low-balled estimates of anticipated...
COURT TOSSES SLAY CONVICTION
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA murder conviction against a New York man imprisoned 12 years ago was overturned yesterday after a key witness at his trial was found to have perjured himself. A federal...
PEPPER SPRAY AT PS 92 GRADUATION RIOT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA Brooklyn elementary school graduation turned into a mini-riot yesterday when proud relatives and friends of some the fifth-grade grads were unceremoniously locked out - and then pepper-sprayed when they...
9/11 NO EXCUSE TO MOB'S LOAN THUGS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA Colombo-family loan-sharking operation that preyed on young workers in the securities business wasn't slowed by Sept. 11 - although many of its customers suffered in the industry's ensuing tumble,...
BUSH GRABS RE-ELECTION $$ RAKE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush last night launched a two-week, $20 million fund-raising blitz aimed at building a steamroller of a re-election campaign. Last night's $2,000-per- plate dinner at a downtown...
VENDING HAGGLE - POLS CLASH ON DEAL TO BAN WTC SALES
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amState lawmakers yesterday agreed to ban peddling around Ground Zero - but the deal could be threatened by three last-minute provisions quietly slipped into the bill by its key Assembly...
FIRE HERO DELIVERS FOR MOM
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA pregnant Brooklyn woman suddenly delivered her bundle of joy in a livery cab with the help of a quick-thinking city firefighter yesterday - the second time she's given birth...
DIRTY GYM RAT - 2 MORE KIDS TELL ON PERV SUSPECT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amTwo more Long Island schoolgirls pointed the finger at their former gym teacher yesterday, testifying that he forced them to touch his genitals during class. The 9-year-old students at the...
RIOT MARS 5TH-GRADE GRADUATION
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA Brooklyn elementary-school graduation turned into a mini-riot yesterday when proud relatives and friends of some the fifth-graders were unceremoniously locked out - and then pepper-sprayed when they loudly voiced...
'SOPRANOS' GANG UP FOR SIXTH SEASON
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amHBO has made viewers an offer they can't refuse - a surprise sixth season of "The Sopranos." The popular mobster-on-Prozac drama was scheduled to end after its fifth season, which...
TEEN QUIZZED IN PARENTS' DEATHS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amA couple was found dead inside a Newark home last night and police were questioning their 16-year-old son, cops said. Police went to the townhouse on Kearney Street at 5:45...
EXTORTION POL GETS 4 YEARS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amDisgraced ex-City Councilman Angel Rodriguez was in an "extremely sorry" state yesterday as an angry Brooklyn federal judge slapped him with more than four years behind bars for the million-dollar...
EXTORTION POL GETS 4 YEARS IN JAIL
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amDisgraced ex-City Councilman Angel Rodriguez was in an "extremely sorry" state yesterday as an angry Brooklyn federal judge slapped him with more than four years behind bars for the million-dollar...
HIV FIEND GETS 25 YEARS FOR SODOMIZING BOY
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAn HIV-positive Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars for assaulting and sodomizing a 16-year-old boy lured to his apartment with promises of "wine, women and fun,"...
HOT LINE BURNING CHEATERS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIt's time to get nervous if you've filed a phony claim against the city. Officials said yesterday that city Comptroller William Thompson has received more than three dozen tips from...
BIG CHILL: SEPARATE ARRIVALS, SEPARATE TABLES, AND NO HANDSHAKE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amRudy Giuliani has agreed to do something completely unpalatable in the name of charity: He'll eat lunch today in the same room as Bill Clinton. But only under these conditions:...
STARKS KNOWS PAIN ; SAYS KENYON CAN REDEEM FINALS FAILURE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIt is every NBA player's worst nightmare: To be center stage in the Finals, with the whole world watching. And to fall flat on your face. John Starks knows exactly...
SMITH WISHES HE SLUMPED LIKE WOODS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amTiger Woods, who has won three of the eight PGA Tour events in which he's played this season - and $3,351,420 - will be asked about his "struggling" golf game...
NETTLES KNOWS SOSA'S STIGMA
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThe scrutiny from Sammy Sosa-gate almost makes you think the Cubs right fielder was the first to get caught with a doctored bat. He wasn't. That (dis)honor belongs to former...
TIGER'S CREATED MAJOR MONSTER
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amTIGER is in a slump. He has three PGA tour wins already this year, so he isn't hitting into too many trees, but one fell in the forest each time...
JASON TO KINGS TALK IN THE AIR
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amNET NOTES The off-season officially has begun for the Nets. It wasted very little time getting very interesting. Assistant coach Eddie Jordan interviewed for a second time with the Sixers...
RANGERS AND LEETCH STALLED IN PACT TALKS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThere is no fixed deadline by which the Rangers must hire a head coach for next season, so a delay of a day or two - or perhaps even a...
HITCHCOCK AUDITION A FAILURE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAn hour and a half after his dejected walk from mound to seventh-inning shower, Sterling Hitchcock learned yesterday's relief outing doubled as an audition. Two, three, maybe four innings of...
BERNARD BELIEVES KIDD'S GOING SOUTH
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amBernard King understands all the factors that go into making a decision when you become a free agent. "You know you're going to get the money wherever you go," the...
KNICKS MIGHT NOT LAND 7-5 RUSSIAN
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIt looks increasingly likely that 18-year-old giant Pavel Podzokline will be snapped up before the Knicks pick at No. 9 in next Thursday's NBA Draft. But one medical red flag...
GEORGE EYES RING RETURN
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAt age 54, George Foreman is strongly considering another comeback, he told The Post yesterday. "I'm very serious," Foreman said. In hopes of winning the heavyweight title for a third...
YANKS' TROUBLE STARTS AT TOP
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amAfter a miserable opener to yesterday's day-night doubleheader, Derek Jeter joked about his plans for game two. "I'm going to try to get a hit," the Yankee captain said. The...
STICK GETS LONG-TERM EXTENSION
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Gene "Stick" Michael, the only man in history to serve the Yankees as a player, scout, coach, manager and general manager, has agreed to a multi-year extension with...
T-SPOON CAUSING STIR
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThere's no excuses on this team. We fight. We fight to the end. TERESA WEATHERSPOON It's not much fun wearing No. 11 at the Garden these days. Mark Messier, who...
THERAPIST: MIKE COULD BE RIGHT
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amMET NOTES MIAMI - Mike Piazza's pledge that he'll be able to return this season was backed up yesterday by his rehab therapist. Lisa Kearns appeared to be trying to...
KING BELIEVES KIDD'S LEAVING
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amBernard King understands all the factors that go into making a decision when you become a free agent. "You know you're going to get the money wherever you go," the...
RUSSIAN GIANT MAY ELUDE KNICK GRASP
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amIt looks increasingly likely that 18-year-old giant Pavel Podzokline will be snapped up before the Knicks pick at No. 9 in next Thursday's NBA Draft. One medical issue could surface...
EDDIE TALKIN' WITH SIXERS & WIZARDS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amNET NOTES The offseason officially has begun for the Nets. And it wasted very little time in getting very interesting. Assistant coach Eddie Jordan interviewed for a second time with...
BENITEZ'S NOT AFRAID OF BRONX
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amMIAMI - If Armando Benitez is dealt to the Yankees, both he and Mike Stanton believe he'll be able to survive The Bronx. "You're dealing with the same things [as...
SIERRA'S BAT IS STARTING TO SMOKE
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThe baseball world called it a trade. Ruben Sierra would rather refer to it as a liberation. Sick of inconsistent playing time for a last-place outfit, Sierra saw his June...
ONE MORE FOR ROAD ; SEO DAZZLES FISH AS METS APPEAR IN 3RD STRAIGHT 1-HITTER
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amMets 5 Marlins MIAMI - It is the crowning moment so far in what is rapidly shaping up to be a dazzling career. Jae Seo helped make Mets' - and...
'SPOON GETTIN' STIRRED
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amLiberty 70Monarchs 61 The Liberty won the game, but as she walked the Garden concourse following last night's 70-61 victory over the Monarchs, Teresa Weatherspoon wore the scowl ordinarily saved...
WELLS' NIGHTCAP TOPS JEFF'S BOOS: DAVID'S BAY BREEZE IS TONIC FOR YANKEES
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amGAME 2 Yankees 10 Devil Rays 2 Jeff Weaver and David Wells are good friends and confidants, but the images they produced in yesterday's day-night doubleheader split against lowly Tampa...
MATSUI, SIERRA CARRYING OFFENSIVE LOAD
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES While superstars Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano seem to fall father and farther into their respective slumps every day, Hideki Matsui and Ruben Sierra have been the Yankees'...
TOP OF YANK ORDER DELIVERS 1-2 PUNCH
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amThere's Alfonso Soriano, leading off the evening with a single, stealing a base, trotting home with the game's first run. There's Derek Jeter, sitting on a fastball with two men...
WOEFUL WEAVER GOING, GOING ... NEXT START IN DOUBT AFTER D-RAY DISASTER
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amGAME 1 Devil Rays 11 Yankees 2 Jeff Weaver's spot in the rotation has been a bone of contention between Joe Torre and George Steinbrenner, with The Boss wanting him...
SHOW ME THE BRONX ZOO: BENITEZ BELIEVES HE CAN PITCH FOR YANKS
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amMIAMI - If Armando Benitez gets dealt to the Yankees, both he and Mike Stanton believe he'll be able to survive The Bronx. "You're dealing with the same things [as...
GAVIOLA'S REAL SHARP WITH SHARK
June 18, 2003 | 4:00amFOR Joe Gaviola and his fishing crew, this past Sunday was deja vu all over again. Gaviola won Montauk's Star Island Shark Tournament on Saturday, the same tournament he won...