Who would think that the billionaire bard and three-term mayor of New York City, who runs an international media company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and gives away hundreds of millions through various philanthropies is also powerful and well-connected? more ›

Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio "The Knight" Berlusconi has resigned shortly following the passage of a budget designed to pull the country from the brink of financial disaster. According to Reuters, demonstrators have gathered at President Giorgio Napolitano's residence in Rome and are loudly heckling him with shouts of "resign" and "clowns"—one reporter on the scene notes that she has "never seen anything like this." more ›

Governor Cuomo is confident that we can rid ourselves of the ticking time bomb nuclear power plant Indian Point, which supplies 30% of New York City's power. He's also sure that we can drum up some replacement power in the meantime: "There is no doubt that we need replacement power if we are close to Indian Point. There is also no doubt that we can find it." From where? Cuomo doesn't say, and as the Daily News reports, the governor "avoided direct answers to a number of questions" during an internet chat with constituents. Yes but does he know of the "draw me like one of your French girls" meme? more ›

Yesterday, service on Metro North's New Haven line was suspended, due to wire problems. The result? Thousands of people were stranded, the NY Times reports: "The problems, which began about 4:30 p.m., stranded thousands of people at stations in Connecticut and Westchester County and led to a chaotic scene at Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, where would-be passengers rushed from track to track in an effort to find seats on any New Haven-bound train." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Around 4:30 we received a prerecorded phone message from Con Edison asking us to please turn off and unplug any non-essential appliances. (The voice said we could leave the refrigerator on.) A spokesman for Con Ed tells us that six neighborhoods in Brooklyn are currently subject to a "voltage reduction" because of "a problem with some of the cables supplying power." We're told this is related to today's extreme heat (duh), and the phone calls to Con Ed customers are part of a preemptive effort to avoid a brownout in the borough. more ›

This weekend's torrential rainstorm killed at least six people in New York and New Jersey, and the NYPD says it received the second highest volume ever of 911 calls in a 24-hour period (65,000)—even more than on 9/11. (The 2003 blackout still ranks number one in 911, with 96,000 calls.) The storm dumped up to 6 inches of rain on parts of the tri-state area, stranding hundreds of travelers in trains, cars and airports, and causing "tens of millions of dollars" in damage according to Senator Chuck Schumer, who called on FEMA to send damage assessment teams to parts of New York. As of last night, more than 57,000 Con Ed customers were without power. Guess which borough had the fewest power outages! more ›

The new Republican-led coalition may have been able to finally enter State Senate chambers, but it couldn't hold a session, because one of the two dissident Democrats who helped them take over control of the Senate walked out! Hilarious! It was Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) who put things back into limbo: He remarked that he was a Democrat and wanted more Democrats aboard, then said, "This chamber must not remain divided, so I'm going to excuse myself from this chamber." more ›

Last year New York City stayed plugged in while many major cities around the globe powered down for Earth Hour. Instead, Rufus Wainwright tried to recreate the blackout with a 12-hour "Blackout Sabbath" on March 19th—if you don't remember it, then it probably didn't go as planned. more ›

As mentioned yesterday, the New Year's Eve 2009 sign is being powered with a little help from Times Square visitors. The Duracell Power Lodge has been set up to accommodate snowmobiles, that are really stationary bikes with a snowmobile shell around them. When passerby pedal the snowmobikes, it will generate electricity that will in turn be stored to help power the lights on their big night. more ›

In her successful attempt to appeal to working class primary voters, Senator Hillary Clinton has been catching heat from Wall Street. The Sun notes that yesterday, her camp dawdled for 24 hours before correcting reports that she had asked an audience in Indiana: “Why don’t we hold these Wall Street money-grubbers responsible for their role in this recession?” The quote angered some in the financial industry; after all they're not money-grubbers, they're money-hoarders. more ›

Two companies are vying to be chosen to lay an electricity transmission cable from New Jersey to Manhattan and ultimately, both may wind up doing the job to feed the city's need for juice. The deadline is 2010, when the Charles Poletti Power Project in Astoria, Queens is scheduled to shut down. According to The New York Times, the EPA has identified that plant as the third-largest source of toxic pollutants in the city. Two... more ›