Cyberbullies could soon face tougher penalties under a new bill proposed by State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), who introduced the legislation in the wake of the suicide of Amanda Cummings, a Staten Island teen who threw herself in front of a bus after bearing the brunt of a spate of online hate. "Tragically, we're seeing modern technology used as a weapon and our laws have not kept pace with that technology,” says Klein. "This legislation will give prosecutors the tools they need to treat cyberbullying as the crime it is and also send a message that this type of reckless and potentially deadly behavior will not be tolerated." more ›

It just isn't enough that all the pep has been sapped from our fallen friend Four Loko. So what if a few bodegas here and there in the East Village need to make ends meet by selling a few dusty cans of the old brew? Can't we just let Loko make its long, inebriated ride off into the sunset? A new paper released by the Annals of Emergency Medicine continues to stoke the fires of outrage nearly 9 months after the original recipe of the drink was taken off the shelves. more ›

Just like that old Harry James song goes, it's been a long, long time since last we locked lips with Four Loko, the frothy, sugar-caffeinated alco-backwash drink of our youths eight months ago. After the the drink was neutered, and the creators began getting nostalgic about their glory days, we thought it was the end for Loko. But it seems there's one politician who is doing everything in his power to keep the flailing drink afloat: “This company makes a product for sale in New York that's cheap, tastes sweet and packs a six-pack punch in a 22-ounce can,” State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) waxed rhapsodic. more ›

When Four Loko was pushed to remove caffeine from their formula, we wondered: is it even worth drinking anymore? Apparently the answer is no. Senator Klein and Commissioner Farley can stop worrying about removing the drinks from bodega shelves, because everyone realized that without the caffeine high they were just drinking jolly ranchers dissolved in malt liquor, and that's disgusting. more ›

Apparently, things got downright nasty during yesterday's heated Senate debate over whether to expel glass-slashing Senator Hiram Monserrate. Brooklyn's own Kevin Parker, one of the eight senators who voted against expelling a fellow lawmaker because he assaulted his girlfriend, almost started throwing punches to prove his point. The episode began with Parker "yelling and cursing" at Senator Diane Savino during last night's closed-door Democratic conference, a source tells Elizabeth Benjamin at the Daily News. When the salty talk didn't get his message across, he reportedly charged at her! more ›

How much do our elected officials in Albany get by on their salaries as legislators and how much of their regular expenditures come from campaign money raised for nonexistent election battles? The Daily News has an extensive piece today investigating just what state senators and assemblymen are using their campaign funds for—all within the scope of the law. more ›

Under current state law, you can be paying your rent on time every month, and one day come home to find that you've got less than 10 days to vacate your apartment because the landlord defaulted on the mortgage. State Senator Jeff Klein says nearly 600 New York City tenants are being evicted every month because of foreclosures, and they're usually the last ones to know about it because banks are not required to inform them. more ›

The Department of Health will soon require NYC restaurants to prominently display their cleanliness ratings in windows or entryways, Mayor Bloomberg and State Senator Jeff "Dirty Dozen" Klein announced at a press conference Saturday. The changes which will alter the numbered DOH ratings to a letter-grade system, which has been used for years in LA. The new rules will be implemented over the next two years, and health commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden says he plans to hire 45 additional restaurant inspectors, adding to the current total of 140. Also, less sanitary restaurants will now be inspected more frequently. Of course, the restaurant industry is cool to the changes; a New York State Restaurant Association rep tells the Times, "a major objection we have is that an inspection is a snapshot, it reflects a condition on a particular day, but not necessarily a long-term condition." more ›

SCIENCE: Since we spent the weekend thinking about the Earth, spend tonight learning about Mars with NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ken Kremer. He'll take you on a tour of the planet through 3-D orbital views. more ›

amNewYork features State Senator Jeff Klein's letter grading idea for restaurants on its cover. In the wake of the media capturing rats running around a KFC-Taco Bell that had just passed a health inspection, the Health Department has been under fire. more ›

"Rodent activity was particularly rampant near retail displays of candy, snack and pet foods. 16.9 lbs. of rodent defiled foods were seized from stock room shelves on 10/26/05 and 12 lbs. of rodent defiled Iams cat food were seized from retail shelves on 8/24/05. more ›

It's all the rage for state lawmakers to ask for things to be graded. First, it was Assemblyman Felix Ortiz asking that kids get graded on their weight. Now, State Senator Jeff Klein wants NYC restaurants to be graded on their cleanliness - and that the grades should be posted at the establishments. Klein's main complaint is that the Department of Health's website that allows diners to check on restaurants' health inspection is too cumbersome and not very easy to navigate; he wants something quick and easy for consumers to understand. Klein compiled a list of the state's ten "dirtiest restaurants," and the NYC joints on the list were Kitchenette on West Broadway, Trattoria Alba in Midtown and Salaam Bombay on Greenwich. The owner of Trattoria Alba claims that her restaurant shouldn't be on the list, as her problems with restaurant inspectors have been more about paperwork. And it's true: When Gothamist looked at the listing for Trattoria Alba, all it said was "Current valid permit, registration or other authorization to operate establishment not available," which is a problem, but nothing like having mice, as Salaam Bombay's latest inspection claims it does. (Kitchenette's inspection had the same "no current permit/registration" notation, as well as the presence of expired milk.) Gothamist is all for restaurants being cleaner, but perhaps instead of the letter grading system Klein wants there should just be a prominent sign that lists that this restaurant has been inspected and passed without MAJOR violations. Also, we'd like to suggest that the Department of Health also inspect restaurant bathrooms, as some are truly gnarly. more ›