December 13, 2006
AIR SUPPLY: Merger mania
It's all merger, merger, merger today. United-Continental, and AirTran-Midwest.Both are mismatches. Continental and Midwest are decent airlines. The other two haven't been for a long time. (Was AirTran ever, actually?)Also,...
LISTS: What the (SL)H?
UPDATED VERSIONFrom the Department of Things You Are Dying To Know: My appreciation for the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection has grown in recent months. Getting to know...
IT'S A BARGAIN: JFK-Aruba $129 OW
Fly right in to the sun on Delta's big sale that's going through the 19th - fares like $129 to Aruba, $79 to Nassau (The Bahamas) and $139 to Acapulco...
TOOLS: E-Z does it
Hertz recently tested out E-Z Pass rentals with the launch of the PlatePass program at the company's New York locations earlier this year.Now the program is going region wide, launching...
THE PICTURE BUSINESS: Down where it's summer
The travel desk's long-suffering photo editor Evelyn Cordon just got back from a much-needed vacation to Argentina and Uruguay. Check out these pix she just sent over today. Makes us...
CENTURY CLUB EYES SALE OF AIR RIGHTS
THE venerable Century Club at 7 W. 43rd St. is negotiating to sell most of its air rights to Aby Rosen, who intends to build a new tower on Fifth...
BURNED TACO BELL OFFERS E. POLOGIES
After persuading people to "Make a run for the border," Taco Bell is now trying to keep them from heading for the doors. The fast-food chain is scrambling to do...
MAILMAN BAGGED - GRAND JURY LEAKER GETS 33 MONTHS IN STOCK SCAM
A former New Jersey mailman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for leaking secret law enforcement information to a pair of crooked Wall Streeters while he served as a...
FULLER'S IN PEREL AT AMI - WEST COAST POWER PLAY
IN the latest bizarre twist inside American Media, Bonnie Fuller, the purported editorial director of the entire company, and the de facto boss of Star, will now have all of...
GRYPHON FUND IN SHORT-SELL PROBE
The Securities and Exchange Commission roasted a Dallas hedge fund yesterday for what the agency alleges was a long running and illegal short-selling scam related to the fund's investments in...
LAST EXIT TO ALBANY: SPITZER SLAMS UBS
In a last hurrah before he becomes Governor, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, charged Swiss brokerage giant UBS of widespread fraud that cost clients tens of millions of dollars -...
YAHOO! EXEC SCORES $4M GOODBYE KISS
At Yahoo! it pays to resign. When Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig officially steps down from the tech giant in March, he will do so with a severance package worth...
IMMELT IS PROUD AS A PEACOCK OF NBC
NBC Universal received a vote of confidence from General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, who said the company was having a "killer year" that would lead to earnings growth...
GOOD A$ GOLDMAN - SMART BETS PAID OFF IN RECORD $9.54B PROFIT
Goldman Sachs' golden road to a record-shattering $9.54 billion annual profit was paved with an array of good bets, smart trading and old-fashioned luck. In a year in which Merrill...
ROBOT WORLD
AUTOMATONS [***] (Three stars) ED Wood, the notorious director of "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "Glen or Glenda," has risen from the dead and returned to filmmaking as James...
SON OF A PREACHER MAN
WHAT would the son of an infamous, blow-dried televangelist and his mascara-challenged preacher wife end up doing for a living once he grew up? What would he look like? How...
'I WAS JUST JOKING,' SAYS DEVITO
DANNY DeVito now says he was "joking" about being drunk on "The View." "I know I was funny. But the idea was I was a little groggy," DeVito told former...
JERRY RIGGED - REALITY SERIES SHOCKER
SECRETLY, cameras have been recording for months the behind-the-scenes truth of how Jerry Springer's outrageous TV show is put together. A new "docu-soap," tentatively called "The Springer Hustle," will detail...
STEWART TAKES ON STERN
IS Martha Stewart joining Howard Stern's Wack Pack? Not exactly, but the Domestic Diva will appear on Stern's Sirius satellite radio show tomorrow, marking the first time she's dropped in...
NOW, IT'S DIE FIDELITY
'HIGH Fidelity," low turnout - which is why the producers of the $10 million Broadway musical announced yesterday that they're pulling the plug Sunday, scarcely a week after the show's...
KNIGHT OF THE LIVING CRED - OSCAR STYLE DOESN'T FIT VIDEO GAME AWARDS
THE stars turn out for the Video Game Awards - but they can't hold a candle to the night's real stars. Names like "The Elder Scrolls IV" and "Gears of...
WEIGHT A MINUTE - FOR $350, CAN YOU REALLY LOSE 5 POUNDS IN 2 HOURS?
TRY this on for size - skip your evening pilates class, have another glass of champagne and still lose the extra five pounds you're carrying around just in time to...
GOING MEN-TAL - STRESSED BY FEMALE CLIQUES, SOME WOMEN BECOME ONE OF THE GUYS
MOST nights, Jessica Steinberg finds herself surrounded by men. Men at her poker night, men in her football pool, men on her sports teams . . . Basically, Steinberg's the...
THE MEALS AT THE BUS - A FRENCH BISTRO HOPES TO FIND A PORT IN A SWARM
DO you realize we're debating tarte tatin at the Port Authority Bus Terminal?" my friend laughs over a dessert our talkative waiter at Metro Marche calls "a favorite with many...
PIZZA WITH A FRENCH TWIST
IN France, it's called tarte flambee. In parts of Alsace, they say flammekueche. But at New York restaurant Klee, just ask for Alsatian thin-crust pizza. "That and Wiener schnitzel are...
JUST OPENED - PIECE OF CAKE (AND BEEF)
* Crumbs Bakeshop 37 E. Eighth St., between Greene Street and University Place (212) 673-1500 Cupcakes: $1.95 to $3.75; tapas desserts for two: $20 to $30 The obscenely good-and-gooey cupcakes...
YULE BE JAMMIN' - FIVE LATIN CHRISTMAS CLASSICS NOT TO BE MISSED
IF José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" is the only Latin Christmas song you know, you are missing out. Here are five CDs that will keep your party moving. "Felicidades" Cheo Feliciano...
NYPD DAILY CRIME BLOTTER
STATEN ISLAND * A drunken driver nearly four times above the legal limit was arrested after police found 59 beer cans that had been partially consumed in his car, authorities...
TEEN SEX BEEF WITH WENDY'S
A teenager who says she was sexually abused by her adult boss inside a Wendy's hamburger joint on Long Island has filed a federal lawsuit against the fast-food chain -...
U.S. RIPS ANTI-JEW NUTS & DOLTS - CONDEMNS IRAN'S HOLOCAUST HATE FEST
The Bush administration - joined by the Vatican, Britain, Germany and other outraged countries - yesterday deplored an international rant fest hosted by Iran to cast doubt on the Holocaust....
GEST LAWYER: PAY ME 31G
David Gest has still more legal troubles - his lawyer is taking him to Manhattan Supreme Court over $31,619 in unpaid attorney fees. Gest allegedly owes the loot to the...
RUTGERS FANS TO HAVE A BOWL ON TV AFTER ALL
Rutgers fans chalked up another victory yesterday - they'll be able to see the Scarlet Knights play Kansas State in the Texas Bowl on cable TV Dec. 28. Bowing to...
WII REGRET TO DEFORM YOU - SMASH VID GAME GIVES PLAYERS A BEATING
Nintendo's latest gaming technology is causing a "Wii" problem for a growing number of excited players who have flung, swung and pitched the special controller wand into television screens, ceiling...
N.J. GOV IN FLIP ON TAX CUTS
After exhorting state lawmakers to get tough on New Jersey's astronomical property taxes, Gov. Jon Corzine has done an about-face and pulled his support from legislation to save money by...
WE'RE GROWING RIGHT TO HELL - BLOOMY'S VISION OF 2030 FORESEES NIGHTMARE OF CROWDING & CRUMBLING
The city must plan today for explosive growth or face unthinkable 12-hour rush hours and a crumbling infrastructure incapable of sustaining a million more residents by 2030, Mayor Bloomberg warned...
17 TO LIFE IN QUEENS DADDY SLAY
A man was sentenced to 17 years to life in prison yesterday for killing his roommate in front of the victim's horrified young daughter. Ricardo "Teddy" Lyons, 27, who lived...
FIDO-PHOBIA APT. LAWSUIT
A dog-fearing woman says she's sick of sharing her massive Chelsea apartment complex with 300 of the furry beasts - so she's suing her landlord to have them evicted. Jeanne...
911-SNAFU 'DOOM' FOR CAR COUPLE
Wrong information from a 911 caller caused a four-day delay in finding the bodies of a former Queens couple in their car, which had careened off a North Carolina highway...
BOOB-MAIM DOC $OCKED
A Bronx jury has awarded $3.5 million to a woman who sued after a top plastic surgeon maimed her during a botched breast reduction. "Someone's got to put a stop...
'GREEN' LIGHT TO BUILD PLAY SPACE FOR EVERY 'HOOD
Some politicians may promise a chicken in every pot, but the mayor went one better yesterday - a park or playground in every neighborhood. In his wide-ranging speech on the...
SCHOOL 'CELL' SWITCH - PLAN TO STORE PHONES
Facing a lawsuit and struggling to enforce its ban on cellphones in public schools, the city is planning to test a system that would allow students to pay a quarter...
QUEASY TALLY ON 'RUN'AWAY E. COLI CASES
The number of suspected E. coli cases shot up 19 percent throughout New York yesterday as the mysterious Taco Bell Scare continues. The state Health Department reported 369 potential cases...
CONCERT DUE TO HONOR DI
Princes William and Harry announced yesterday that they are planning a concert next year to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of their mother, Princess Diana. The concert will...
JANGLED BELLES, JANGLED BELLES - HOLIDAYS STRESS OUT WOMEN
Forget stuffing stockings. Women are more likely to stuff their faces out of frustration that they can't just say stuff it to the holiday grind, a new survey shows. Nearly...
'BABY FOOD' DRUG-GANG RING BUSTED
Undercover cops working a crack cocaine operation in Harlem were shocked to find drug dealers offering liquid PCP for sale - in plastic Gerber baby-juice bottles - in the shadow...
B'KLYN DUO 'SCAMMED $500,000'
Two Brooklyn investment brokers swiped $500,000 from unsuspecting clients - who included their friends - routing the funds through a dummy corporation and into their own pockets, prosecutors charged yesterday....
B'KLYN TEEN SHOT IN GUN 'PLAY'
A Brooklyn teen was shot yesterday while he and a pal were horsing around with a .22-caliber pistol, police said. Quashon Smith, 14, was at his friend's apartment in the...
NEWBORN IN 'WINDOW TOSS' DEATH
A newborn baby was found dead in a patch of grass yesterday outside a Bronx housing project, and police are investigating whether it was thrown out a window by the...
GRAND PLAN GIVES N.Y.'S REGULAR JOES BUM'S RUSH
RICO GRANDE rummaged through a shopping cart jammed with old playing cards and random clothing outside Blimpie's in Downtown Brooklyn - and raved genially about how he once worked for...
TRANSPORTATION
Motorists gritting their teeth during New York's frenzied rush hours will need a dentist on permanent call if official projections are correct and rush hours extend for half the entire...
$16 BIL SACHS OF LOOT - RECORD BONUSES TO WALL STREETERS
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs is set to throw gigantic bags of money at its bankers, traders and stockbrokers this year - lavishing them with more than $16.5 billion in...
PUSHER KILLED FOR 500G: FED
A Bronx drug dealer facing a possible death sentence for a triple murder tortured his victims and carved them up with steak knives - all to get his hands on...
ROAD HOG ALAN IN DOUBLE TROUBLE - REPORT BARES 4 HIRES FOR WIFE & 206G BILL
ALBANY - Scandal-shocked state Comptroller Alan Hevesi used four state employees as chauffeurs, lunch mates and even as a physical therapist for his wife - and owes the state more...
POLS 'RAISE' STAKES AS CLOCK TICKS DOWN
ALBANY - Negotiations were under way last night over measures to give raises to state lawmakers and to confine sexual predators ahead of today's special legislative session, sources told The...
INFRASTRUCTURE
Not many New Yorkers get a chance to see the mayor in his blue-checked bathrobe, brushing his teeth and preparing toast for breakfast. But the mayor bared this morning routine...
NO TRIAL FOR 'KILLER' SITTER
A Brooklyn baby sitter facing charges she suffocated a 19-month-old boy by duct-taping his mouth shut has been found mentally unfit for trial, her lawyer said yesterday. Tammy Williams will...
HOPE FOR B'KLYN CLIMBER
Rescuers got two breaks yesterday in the three-day race to find a Brooklyn climber and two pals stranded on Oregon's Mount Hood - clearer skies and a more precise location...
TIME RUNS OUT IN JAN. FOR B'KLYN ARENA FOES
Brooklyn residents and business owners in danger of having their properties demolished to make way for Bruce Ratner's nearly $4 billion Atlantic Yards project were served with papers yesterday saying...
SKELETON CREW - BUILDING AT TRUMP TOWER HALTED AFTER BONES FOUND
Work was stopped on Donald Trump's new SoHo condo-hotel yesterday after remains recovered at the site were determined to be human - and from a 19th-century church graveyard, city sources...
HOUSING
The city has to add 172,000 housing units - over and above what's already on the drawing boards - to keep pace with demand over the next 24 years, according...
ENERGY
New Yorkers generally don't pay much attention to power plants - until there's a blackout. The report discussed yesterday called for some major upgrades to the city's energy system to...
'HILL & OBAMA' TICKET - DELAY: SHE'LL WIN
WASHINGTON - Ousted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay predicted yesterday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will win the presidency in 2008 - and that Barack Obama would likely be the...
6-DAY DEADLOCK FOR SAMURAI JURY
A weary jury entered its sixth day of deliberations yesterday in the case of a Long Island man accused of nearly decapitating his stepfather with a samurai sword, and remains...
ENVIRONMENT
Global warming may be Al Gore's gig, but it played a major role yesterday in the mayor's speech on the future of the city. While Hizzoner said he wasn't about...
UNLUCKY 13 'MOBSTERS' SWEPT UP
Federal agents rounded up a baker's dozen of alleged mobsters from the Gambino and Colombo crime families yesterday on charges ranging from planning a murder to stock fraud. They were...
CORZINE IN TAX-CUT FLIP
After exhorting state lawmakers to get tough on New Jersey's astronomical property taxes, Gov. Jon Corzine has done an about-face and pulled his support from legislation to save money by...
HOPE FOR N.Y. CLIMBER
Rescuers got two breaks yesterday in the three-day race to find a Brooklyn climber and two pals stranded on Oregon's Mount Hood - clearer skies and a more precise location...
EVEL'$ EYE ON KANYE
Evel Knievel says Kanye West can go take a flying leap. The geriatric daredevil is suing the Grammy-winning rapper over West's new music video featuring busty Pam Anderson as his...
DI ANNIVERSARY CONCERT DUE
Princes William and Harry announced yesterday they are planning a concert next year to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of their mother, Princess Diana. The concert, to be...
'BABY FOOD' DRUG BUST
Undercover cops working a crack cocaine operation in Harlem were shocked to find drug dealers offering liquid PCP for sale - in plastic Gerber baby juice bottles - in the...
CROOKLYNITES 'SCAM' 500G
Two Brooklyn investment brokers swiped $500,000 from unsuspecting clients - including friends - routing the funds through a dummy corporation, prosecutors charged yesterday. Ian Bynoe and Damascus Lee, both 24,...
DOWNTOWN STATION OFF TRACK
The re-opening of the Cortlandt Street subway station on the R and W lines will be delayed during the construction of three buildings at the World Trade Center site, officials...
GIRL FLEES DRIVE-BY MOLESTER
A Good Samaritan yesterday saved a 13-year-old girl from a pervert (right) who tried to fondle her after claiming he was a cop who needed to search her pants for...
BABY-CARRIAGE 'CRACK DEALER'
A Queens man was busted for dealing drugs yesterday while pushing his 18-month-old daughter in her carriage, cops said. Michael Lewis, 57, was walking along Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in...
SAMARITAN SAVES QNS. GIRL FROM MOLESTER
A Queens good Samaritan yesterday saved a 13-year-old girl from a pervert (right) who tried to intimidate her into letting him fondle her after claiming he was a cop who...
LITIGIOUS TEEN'S SEX BEEF WITH WENDY'S
A teenager who says she was sexually abused by her adult boss inside a Long Island Wendy's has filed a federal lawsuit against the fast-food chain - claiming another boss...
E. COLI TALLY RUNS HIGHER
The number of suspected E. coli cases shot up 19 percent throughout New York yesterday as the mysterious Taco Bell scare continues. The state Health Department reported 369 potential cases...
TEEN-RAPE RAP ON SEX-ED TEACH
A sex-education substitute teacher at Roslyn HS on Long Island has been arrested for having sex with a 15-year-old female student, cops said. Timoteo Rodriguez, 29, of Great Neck, was...
CLASSROOM EXTRA - VERMONT - THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE
Famous for its fall foliage and maple syrup, Vermont became our nation's 14th state on March 4, 1791. VERMONT covers just 9,250 square miles, making it the eighth-smallest state. It...
NEWBORN DEAD AFTER WINDOW TOSS: COPS
A sad and shocking discovery was made at a Bronx housing project yesterday morning when a newborn baby was found dead in a patch of grass. Cops were investigating whether...
SO. SHORE NOT DEAD YET
H.S. NOTES Tommy Salvato returned to South Shore from a football luncheon Monday to find out the school would soon be phased out and replaced by several smaller schools. He...
ANDY CAN RECLAIM NO. 46 AS GUIEL IS 86'D BY YANKS
Andy Pettitte won't have to bribe Aaron Guiel with money, jewelry or anything else to get back his No. 46 from the left-handed-hitting outfielder. Yesterday the Yankees non-tendered Guiel, making...
EDWARDS SIGNS ON TO BOLSTER 'O' LINE
GIANT NOTES Clearly concerned about the availability of two starters on the offensive line, the Giants yesterday signed Steve Edwards, a veteran guard/tackle who started 24 games for the Bears...
MCGIRT FIGHTS IN DAD'S SHADOW
James McGirt Jr. has an interesting theory when it comes to preparing for his opponents. He doesn't want to know. "That is just a distraction. You start thinking about your...
AMAZIN'S PASS ON ZAMBRANO
Monday, Willie Randolph stated Victor Zambrano was "probably still in the picture" for 2007. That premature proclamation led to an explanatory phone call yesterday from Mets brass to Zambrano's agent,...
SWATTING FLYS - RANGERS, IN NEED OF AN ENFORCER, STILL POUND PHILLY
Rangers 3 - Flyers 1 PHILADELPHIA - Well, there's one thing for sure about last night's game here against the Flyers, and that is, if Colton Orr had been in...
FINALLY, A SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
THERE will be no derisive nicknames this time, in this column. James Dolan earned that much after his media tour yesterday. At least for now. At least for one day...
LAME-DUCK ISIAH NOT COOKED YET - DOLAN STANDS BY KNICKS COACH AND 'ONE YEAR' PLEDGE
A downcast, dissatisfied Knicks owner James Dolan stuck to his guns yesterday in guaranteeing lame-duck coach/president Isiah Thomas will last the entire season. Amidst a chaotic 8-15 season in which...
JETS' SEASON HAS BEEN A GIFT
THIS is not a white flag being raised on the season for Jets fans in the midst of Sunday's disappointing loss to the Bills. Certainly, with three games remaining, the...
KIDD MAKING RUN AT AN OSCAR
NET NOTES Oscar Robertson will almost certainly remain the only player ever to finish a season averaging a triple-double, but Jason Kidd is actually making a run at it. After...
SLOW-START DEVILS PUT TO THE SABRE
Sabres 3 - Devils 2 The Devils acted as if their too-little, too-late, last-minute comeback salvaged some pride, that they hadn't been exposed in the first 59 minutes while their...
GOMEZ POINTING TO HIGHER GOALS
His point streak fails to impress Scott Gomez. "Not good enough," the Devils center said of having seven assists over six straight games, entering last night's showdown with the East-leading...
TOM HAS TURNED - COACH HAS GIANTS BACK IN BUSINESS
THOSE who saw fit the past few weeks to kick Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning when they were down - and actually seemed to delight in it - are coming...
FLY SWATTER - WEEKES' ABILITY TO STOP PHILLY PUTS LUNDQVIST ON BENCH
PHILADELPHIA - This was after the Rangers' 5-4 shootout victory here over the Flyers on Oct. 7 in which Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 13 shots he faced in the post-OT...
OWNER: 'I'M SORRY WE MADE A MISTAKE' HIRING LARRY
Knicks owner James Dolan, in breaking a sixmonth silence yesterday, took several vicious swipes at Larry Brown and apologized to the fans for hiring the Hall-of-Famer. Dolan said Brown was...
NOT ALL BRICK'S FAULT
JET NOTES No disrespect intended, but Sunday was a game Jets offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson probably had coming to him. Not that he'd been perfect this season, but Ferguson, the...
VIN-SANITY PLEA - UNDERACHIEVING NETS NEED VINTAGE CARTER EVERY NIGHT
Vince Carter leads the Nets in scoring, but he admits he hasn't had enough "Vince Carter games." Initially Carter said, "I don't know what that is," when he was asked...
ANDY GETS NO. 46 AS GUIEL IS 86'D
Andy Pettitte won't have to bribe Aaron Guiel with money, jewelry or anything else to get back his No. 46 from the lefthanded hitting outfielder. Yesterday the Yankees non-tendered Guiel,...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
At least now he has an excuse for being tardy. A 16-year-old pulled over by cops for going 142 mph in a 55 mph zone over the weekend told them...