Results tagged “fatcat”

A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating has gone down to 66%, from January's 69%. While it's still a good rating, it is still the lowest rating of his second term (he had a 31% rating in 2003!) and Quinnipiac finds 55% of voters find him "cold and businesslike, not warm and friendly," a finding "consistent among blacks, whites and Hispanics, men and women and in all five boroughs." Quinnipiac's polling director Maurice Carroll explains, "New Yorkers don't warm up to Mayor Mike, but they give him high marks for doing his job." As for an election matchup, Bloomberg still beats both City Comptroller Bill Thompson and Rep. Anthony Weiner. Interestingly enough, Weiner, who signals he may not run for Mayor, has more support than Thompson among voters, but the campaigning really hasn't begun.

AIG, the insurance company that was saved by an $85 billion federal bailout, will cooperate with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's review of its finances. Additionally, the company will not make a $10 million severance payment to its outgoing CFO and it is canceling future junkets and perks, like its "Best Operator" conference in Las Vegas (cost: $750,000) and a Risk Management Conference at a Ritz Carlton (cost $500,000).

The NY Times reports that NYC business titans--CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Blackrock, Blackstone, News Corp--met with state and local officials "to discuss how they and government officials should respond to the financial crisis." And not surprisingly, "all seemed to agree that now was not the time to raise taxes or impose new regulations on their businesses," lest it inhibit growth. The executives pointed out how New York's taxes turn companies off from hiring in NY and the U.S. legal system is unattractive for foreign investment (issues that have been raised over previous concern of NYC's status as #1 Financial Center of the World slipping). Side note: Blackrock CEO Laurence Fink took exception to the public's hate of Wall Street fat cats, “The evil empire is not as evil as people think we are."

It's time to update everyone about Chunk, the full-figured feline who was embraced by the media this summer. While the cat was supposedly adopted, the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reports his new family is in a "contract squabble" with the Camden County Animal Shelter.

With paparazzi "jumping out of the bushes" to get the latest photos of Princess Chunk, president of the Camden County Animal Center's board announced that they probably won't reveal the name of the celebrity cat's new owners. Board president Cathering Hass tells the NY Daily News that they have received over 400 applications to adopt the 44 pound cat, but a new home has not been found (as was speculated yesterday). She said they are now trying to limit Chunk's media appearances to three times a day in order to "manage his stress levels." That can only be music to the chubby ears of the cat who just the other day suffered through a bout of pee shyness while he was taken on a whirlwind media tour.

The woman who had to give up her 44-pound cat--who took the country by storm as Princess Chunk when it was thought she was a girl (but actually he's a boy named Powder!)--spoke out, hoping to set the record straight. Powder was found wandering around Voorhees, NJ before the Camden County Animal Shelter took him in, and some have wondered why the cat wasn't sent to the shelter in the first place.

Princess Chunk's visit with Regis and Kelly was very enlightening: America learned that its favorite 44-pound obese feline was actually a boy! The Camden County Animal Shelter had originally named the cat, found wandering around Voorhees, NJ, "Captain Chunk," but gave it the royal, feminine name after thinking it was actually a girl. What happened to gender-neutral names, like "Whiskers"?!

What's good is that it will draw attention to the Camden County Animal Shelter, which says, "Princess Chunk as well as over 300 dogs and cats in our care need your support. Please consider donating to help offset the costs of her veterinary care and bloodwork." Donations will also go to other special needs animals, like the Princess. The Courier-Post reports the shelter believes Princess Chunk is healthy, but the cat will have bloodwork done on Monday; a vet says Princess Chunk "may suffer from a genetic predisposition to obesity, a poor diet or other underlying medical factors." The average cat is closer to 10-12 pounds (different breeds' weights vary, though).

Let it to an obese NJ feline to give the NY Post a chance to have a "Pussy galore!" half cover. Camden County shelter officials in NJ say the cat, who they named "Princess Chunk," was found wandering around without a collar. A volunteer told the Courier-Post, "How do you lose a 44-pound cat?!" Princess Chunk, described as being "built like a quarterback," was weighed on the dog scale because she was too big for the cat scale--the shame! Still, she was visited by various news and will be put up for adoption if her owners do not show up. Any prospective owner would probably have to be prepared to help Princess Chunk lose weight--healthy cats generally weigh closer to 10-12 pounds.

Raphie Frank,
Interview Retrospective

Mitch Borden, Small's and Fat Cat Jazz Club "Owner"