Legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith is leaving the NY tabloid pages: CityRoom spoke to the 86-year-old who explained that NY Post editor-in-chief Col Allan sent her a letter that he was not renewing her contract for her three-times-a-week column, stating, “Like so many other newspapers around the nation, we are buffeted by unprecedented economic gales." Smith joked, “I figure that without having to pay my salary"—$125,000/year—"The Post will immediately go into the black" and did admit to meeting with Rupert Murdoch to protest, "He said he wouldn’t interfere with Col Allan. Well, isn’t he right? Shouldn’t publishers believe in their editors?” (And Murdoch does believe in Allan.) But this gives Smith more time to work on Wowowow.com, the website she co-founded with other female boldface names (and where she just asked New Yorker editor David Remnick his thoughts on the newspaper business conundrum)—plus she plans to syndicate a five-day-a-week column. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A fatal car accident in Manhattan at 55th and 12th Avenue, a water rescue on West 50th and a three-alarm fire at a Bronx post office
• Cute animal maternal instincts alerts: A Central Park turtle tried to lay her eggs at Wollman Rink and there's a cute shot of a hawk and her baby hawk at City Birder
• The Post lists NYC's most 50 powerful women: Mayor Bloomberg's squeeze Diana Taylor is #7, Ivanka Trump is #23, and the Post's Cindy Adams and Liz Smith are also on the list
• The Times looks at the struggles of the former child soldier from the Ivory Coast; for instance, after detaining him for months, immigration authorities released him on the random and unknown streets of Lower Manhattan at 10PM
• A Rap-A-Thon was held this past weekend in Harlem, and profanity was not allowed
• Queens want to attract more tourist dollars (our number one idea: Talk to the MTA about more consistent subway service)
• Chuck Hagel says he'd like Mayor Bloomberg to be his running mate on a presidential ticket
• The child stabbed with a stick by another child is still in a coma; his father says, "God is going to give him life again. That is what I need - I believe it."
• After screwing up evidence, the NYPD is finally looking for ways to better organize its evidence-tracking system by issuing RFPs to various vendors

Jessica Coen, Editor, Gawker.com more ›