A lot is being made of Mayor Bloomberg leaving the Republican Party - Could it be a prelude for a run for the White House? Officially, Bloomberg is saying that he won't be running for President and that he is serving out his term as mayor. Our reader poll yesterday was pretty divided, one question that needs to be asked is how Bloomberg would measure up in height if he ran for, and became President.......

The wedding season is in full swing: Second week in a row where there are over 30 weddings in the NY Times Weddings & Celebrations section. Here we go: Total Number of Weddings: 32 (including Vows column) Total Number of Same-Sex Weddings: 2 Youngest Bride: 24 Oldest Bride: 47 Youngest Groom: 24 Oldest Groom: 62 Biggest Age Difference: 17 years Number of Couples Where Bride and Groom Are the Same Age: 2 (24, 38) Number......

Today, many businesses are closed in honor of President's Day. Wall Street is closed, as are banks, government offices and schools. There's no regular garbage pickup, but the Department of Sanitation will be picking up garbage that has been stranded due to last week's storm. Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended, and mass transit is on the weekend schedule - sorry, 7 train riders. President's Day is the day that celebrates......

The Democrats officially have control of the Senate - Virginia Senator George Allen conceded Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a watermain break in the Bronx, an overturned ambulance in Brooklyn, and a shooting in Harlem. James Madison H.S. in Brooklyn has produced three current U.S. Senators. Now if they could only do something about all the metal-detectors. Adrienne Shelly's killer is at Bellevue, undergoing psychiatric evaluations City officials are saying the intersection of Flatbush......

The Atlantic Yards Project's public meeting last night was packed with Brooklyn residents wanting to have their say. WNBC reported that hundreds of people were waiting outside the New York City College of Technology, since the auditorium was full, and inside, "the crowd became unruly, cheering wildly for their cause until security was called in to remove a few of the audience members." That sounds about right - and they had lots of signs......

It's that time of year again - when the semi-finalists are the Intel Science Talent Search are announced! The NY Times says that NY State "dominated" the list, with 140 students coming from the Empire State - and there are only 300 semi-finalists total. While Long Island's Ward Melville High had 12 semi-finalists (tied for the most with Montgomery Blair in Maryland), we looked at the NY State breakdown and think we found 24 semi-finalists......

The Presidents of the United States Interesting fact: there have been only thirteen presidents who have served eight or more years in office. I think the reason that no one can remember any 19th century presidents besides Lincoln is that they all served four year terms. George Washington (1789-97) Thomas Jefferson (1801-09) James Madison (1809-17) James Monroe (1817-25) Andrew Jackson (1829-37) Ulysses S. Grant (1869-77) Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45)......