Today is Columbus Day, and the annual parade up Fifth Avenue (from 47th to 72nd) starts at 11:30 a.m. It's a federal holiday, which means public schools and government offices are closed (the Farley Post office at 8th Avenue is open, though) and there's no garbage pickup, street cleaning or recycling and alternate-side parking is suspended. The NYSE is open, banks may or may not be open, and mass transit is running on regular weekday schedules. Factoids: The first recorded Columbus Day celebration in the U.S. was on October 12, 1792, organized by the Society of St. Tammany but it was in 1892 (the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage) that was the first official U.S. celebration. more ›

Today is Columbus Day, which means that your employer is probably not giving you the day off (according to the Society for Human Resources Management) but many government offices and schools are closed. The stock market is open, some banks are closed while others are open, and alternate side of the street parking is suspended. Here's a list of closures, but this sort-of-holiday is confusing. And, of course, there is steady opposition to Columbus Day overall. more ›

In time for next week’s Columbus Day festivities, the Post’s Steve Cuozzo lets his Ital flag fly with two gushing columns on Italian cuisine. He points out that Italian restaurants outnumber all other kinds of restaurants in New York by a big margin (and that’s not because of the ever-metastasizing Olive Gardens.) He cites seven “marvelous” eateries – Del Posto, A Voce, Abbocatto, Insieme, Fiamma, L'Impero and Alto – that “establish Italian as the cuisine to beat.” Nobu can sleep with the fishes. more ›

- The Village Voice gets director Victor Buhler (he did the documentary Rikers High) to do a feature about the kids getting their GEDs at Rikers more ›

Mayor Bloomberg is pulling out all the stops to appeal to the minorities, and today's rumor that he's hired Brian Ellner to join his campaign proves that he wants to show he's a Democrat in Republican's clothing. And suddenly, the Mayor's Republican supporters reach for their Zantac. But this could be the start of a brilliant new ad: Mayor Bloomberg stepping out with his girlfriend Diana Taylor and Ellner with his partner Simon. more ›

- The ME's examination of the body found in a Pennsylvania dump is inconclusive about whether or not it's the body of Monica Lozado-Rivadineira more ›

The Washington Post had an article about Miers earlier this summer: "low-key but high-precision style." And in other Supreme Court news, Justice Antonin Scalia will lead next Monday's Columbus Day Parade here in NYC; Scalia was born in Queens. more ›