1. The feds won't institute guidelines for September 11-related autopsies
2. The children saved by their mom from a Brooklyn house fire are doing well; the mom, though, has undergone surgery for second and third degree burns
3. The upstate mom who went clubbing with her daughter and daughter's friend and then drove drunk, killing the friend and seriously injuring another driver, was indicted for murder
4. Mayor Bloomberg kinds hates Manhattan Beep Scott Stringer
5. $20 City Councilman Vallone is distributing this to his constituents
6. The Goya en route from Ohio to the Guggenheim was stolen outside a Howard Johnson Inn! Was the "professional art transporter" distracted by the fried clams? And the thief (or thieves) had insider knowledge!

- Even though Mayor Bloomberg says he'll sign the City Council's 25% pay raise (an extra $22,500 to bring the total salary to $112,500), he criticizes the fact that many City Council members are able to have other jobs, since the City Charter says City Council positions are "part-time." He also blasted the "lulus" - aka stipends of thousands of dollars - the City Council members get for chairing committees and the like. Easy for Mayor Moneybags to say! more ›

Yesterday, Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer spent the day at a rally in Harlem with Attorney General candidate Andrew Cuomo, Manhattan Beep Scott Stringer, Fernando Ferrer and other politicians. But the presumptive future Governor had to answer questions about his campaign manager's DWI incident from a few weeks ago in upstate. Apparently Spitzer's 31 year old campaign manager (and Manhattan resident) Ryan Toohey was speeding and rear-ended another car. His car "rolled over several times" and he was charged with DWI and other violations. more ›

It's the last days of the Mayoral race campaigning, and the poor tree pulp is thankful, as there has never been so much paper devoted to telling voters how awesome Mayor Michael Bloomberg is. However, the local media outlets are not so happy, as the Mayor is close to spending $100 million for his reelection campaign. The translates into an approximate $100+ cost per vote, if he were to win 60% of the vote (based on the NY Post's projections for a low-to-moderate turnout). Hilarious! If only the bananaphone could be incorporated into the Al Sharpton salsaing commercial! The Mayor cashed in the perks of being the city's top guy, as he was afforded a lot of free media coverage with yesterday's marathon, besides campaign stops in Queens, whose middle class population is skeptical of him. Fernando Ferrer spent his time campaigning in Harlem with Senator Hillary Clinton, Congressman Charles Rangel, and Manhattan BEEP and one-time mayoral contender C. Virginia Fields. But, to break it down into the nuts and bolts, the Mayor shook the hand of a lion dancer (inside the costume!) and Ferrer pretended to make a call with a banana. more ›

Unlike the uncertain Democratic mayoral primary, the other races were more decisive. In three big races, the incumbents prevailed, with Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau (top left), Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum (top middle), and Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes (top right) winning their respective Democratic primaries. Morgenthau had his first real challenger in years with Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, but managed to hold her off. Gotbaum won very decisively against challengers like the Norman Siegel and Andrew Raisiej. Hynes' race was much closer, with State Senator earning 37% of the vote to Hynes' 41%. All three are expected to win the general election this fall. And since C. Virginia Fields has to leave the Manhattan Borough Presidency because of term limits, the Manhattan Borough President's race was a hotbed of candidates, with Upper West Side state Assemblyman Scott Stringer (right) winning with 26% of the vote in a race that does not have a 40% rule for runoff; most people also expect Stringer to win the general election. The NY Times has a good article about the Manhattan BEEP's role "largely ceremonial" but can wield power with real estate developers in land deals. more ›

the kind of thing that the Channel 5 News at Ten would cover. more ›

On what was surely one of the most beautiful "last day of the summer" in recent memory, millions of people celebrated in Brooklyn at the 38th West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade. While people with roots in the Caribbean were the main participants, they weren't the only ones: The NY Times reported that "four rabbinical students donned do-rags with the colors of the Jamaican flag." And Gothamist's favorite quote comes from Newsday, where Jason Ridges said, "I'm not from any island but Coney Island. This is the one day of the year I can feel Caribbean." more ›

- City Council Gifford Miller's commercials are out, and Gothamist sees one advantage that Miller has over the candidates: He's got adorable moppets (even though they are dressed sort of the same - Gothamist is very anti-dressing your kids in the same or similar outfits because kids are individuals; let them dress the same when they are teenagers and learning to be sheep) that he can hoist onto his shoulders while campaigning - people think twice before taking shots at guys with little kids on their shoulders, at least outside of ballparks. Anyway, the NY Times has more thorough analysis of the commercial (slick but misleading in some areas), but Gothamist will say that it's kind of goofy, because Miller is striding forward in most of the setting (down the steps of a building, on a city street, in a cafeteria) as he's talking to the camera. It almost seems like a Saturday Night Live goof commercial. more ›

Abe Hirschfeld, the millionaire developer turned jack-of-whatever-he-wanted died yesterday from complications of cancer. While Hirschfeld made his money in real estate (cinderblock, "semi-enclosed" parking garages), he became a public fixture after running for lieutenant governor, buying the NY Post for two weeks and causing the Post's staff to revolt, having a public feud with Jackie Mason, offering Paula Jones $1 million to settle her suit against then President Clinton, running for a variety of public offices - including Manhattan Beep, state comptroller, and Senate - and plotting to kill a business partner. All in all, he was a true New York character. more ›

Much to the delight of gay and straight New Yorkers, yesterday's steamy weather meant that there was more reason for marchers in the Gay Pride Parade to go shirtless. If you were downtown, everywhere people would turn there was bound to be a fairly naked, glistening body. New Yorkers enjoyed themselves, and some noted how the parade has become "mainstreamed." The parade was started as to mark the Stonewall uprising in 1969, and some who marched in the first pride parade 36 years ago marched again yesterday. more ›

The story also notes that Miller doesn't have any ammo against City Councilman Charles Barron and Manhattan BEEP (Borough President) C. Virginia Fields; Gothamist imagines it's because they haven't raised much for their campaigns, relative to Miller, Ferrer and Weiner. And in other mayoral news, the Mayor unveiled his new tax plan that would benefit working class New Yorkers - always a good thing to do in an election year - but it turns out the NYC GOP is annoyed at Bloomberg for veering away from the Republican Party. Oh, give Gothamist a break - the man brought the convention here and he's trying to win a re-election - he's a politician, yo! more ›

And, unsurprisingly, the City Council is overriding that Mayor's veto to allow more public funds to be spent by candidates running against wealthy opponents. But, in the good news column for Mayor B, the Marist poll showed his approval rating was up to 46% from 42% and the Independent Budget Office said the city's deficit was about $800 million less than expected, thanks to the strength of the real estate market and Wall Street. more ›