Extra, Extra

untitled photo of Williamsburg laundromat, by reverie103 at flickr

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a car vs. building incident at the Nissan car dealership on Hylan Blvd. and Parkinson Ave. on Staten Island, a double shooting on East 91st St. in Brooklyn, and a homicide on 158th Ave. in Queens.
  
• Crime-fiction author Patricia Cornwell donated $1 million to the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, and then spent another $250,000 in preemptive explanation newspaper ads so remarks she made at the time wouldn't be misconstrued by law enforcement.
  
• Are out-of-state car dealers parking/storing their inventories on City streets?
  
• An NYPD officer was found dead this morning in a Queens park, from what looks like a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
  
• One of New York baker Mark Randazzo's feats of dessert: the R2D2 cake.
  
• Many New York Kosovars celebrated in the streets after hearing news that Kosovo had declared itself an independent country, separate from Serbia.
  
• Geeky approaches to graffiti from WebUrbanist.
  
• Gridskipper guides New Yorkers to spots where they can celebrate Pancake Month properly.