USA / All Themes
U.S. to Unveil $1 Billion Aid Package to Repair Georgia
03.09.2008 10:13
nytimes.com
The announcement was coming as Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the region to signal support for Georgia and other nations neighboring Russia.
Washington
All Themes
Hanna looms off U.S. as Atlantic storms rev up
03.09.2008 10:00
reuters.com
NASSAU (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to regain hurricane strength when it takes aim at the U.S. East Coast later this week as more potentially deadly storms rev up in the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. forecasters said on Wednesday.
USA
All Themes
Three long-time executives to leave US Airways
03.09.2008 08:37
usatoday.com
The departures, which are not part of the recent management layoffs at the airline, come on the eve of the third anniversary ...
USA
Tourism
Mayor: New Orleans still in 'vulnerable state'
03.09.2008 08:37
usatoday.com
Residents who left the state before Hurricane Gustav hit began streaming back into some of the parishes around New Orleans Wednesday ...
USA
Social Life
Utility lines blamed for deadly '07 Calif. fires
03.09.2008 08:37
usatoday.com
Improperly maintained utility lines were to blame for three wildfires that swept through California's San Diego County last fall, ...
USA
Social Life
Ouster hearing for Detroit mayor begins
03.09.2008 08:37
usatoday.com
Michigan's governor has opened an extraordinary public hearing in Detroit to determine whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick committed ...
USA
Social Life
L.A. police: Fewest summer homicides since '67
03.09.2008 08:37
usatoday.com
Los Angeles Police say there were 84 homicides in the city from June through August the fewest summer slayings since the summer ...
USA
Social Life
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
03.09.2008 08:31
brownstoner.com
Photo by Bushwick Culture Brooklyn's Finest Backyard Bar "Bushwick residents Jan VanDamme and Paul Nicholson painstakingly built [the private bar pictured above] in their backyard. The Bushwick Beer Garden... only seats about 37 people, but it boasts an 'International Room,' a wooden bar called 'the Giraffe’s Knuckle,' hops growing in latticework, lounge chairs, a hammock alcove, a stage, and a grilling area. No mention of what sorts of beers are on tap, but that’s sort of irrelevant since, as an official Website states, 'you have to go through four locked doors to get to this bar.' Either that, or get yourself invited to a party there." [Grub Street] New Restaurant Report The Times has the skinny on a bunch of new bars and restaurants set to open in Brooklyn this fall. Highlights include Char No. 4, the barbecue and whiskey joint set to open September 15 at 196 Smith Street (near Baltic Street); No. 7, a seasonal American restaurant with "touches of Eastern Europe and Korea," set to open mid-September at 7 Greene Avenue (near Cumberland Street) in Fort Greene; and Buttermilk Channel, an "American bistro" opening in October at 524 Court Street (near Huntington Street) in Carroll Gardens. After the jump: Brooklyn Based speculates that Thomas Keller may open a restaurant in Brooklyn and Time Out New York predicts a(nother) "Red Hook Renaissance"...
New York
Construction & Real Estate
Freeman's Butcher Shop Never Really a Butcher Shop!
03.09.2008 08:31
brownstoner.com
Here's a funny one: When we reported the impending arrival of a Freemans spin-off restaurant in Vinegar Hill yesterday, we noted that the space at 72 Hudson Avenue is a former butcher shop. Well, it turns out that's not really true. There are old-looking letters in the window that say "Butcher Shop," but the director of a 2006 movie called "Love is Rare" just wrote in with these photos to tell us that the space actually was a ground-floor apartment that was set-designed to be a butcher shop. When the shoot was done, the guy who lived there liked the lettering so much, he just kept it. Click through to see what the inside of the butcher shop looked like. Streetlevel: New Restaurant Coming to Vinegar Hill [Brownstoner] GMAP
New York
Construction & Real Estate
Announcing "Ask the Brooklyn Borough Historian"
03.09.2008 08:31
brownstoner.com
We're pleased to announce that Ron Schweiger, the official Brooklyn Borough Historian, will be taking questions from readers on all matters of Brooklyn's past, and a few on its future, too. He's particularly knowledgeable about Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and Victorian Flatbush — from their famous inhabitants to the developers who first plotted out the areas — and about the history of our street names and neighborhoods. Ron was appointed by Borough President Marty Markowitz in 2002. Raised in Gravesend, Schweiger moved to Victorian Flatbush after graduating from Brooklyn College and getting married. He taught science for 31 years at P.S. 219 in East Flatbush and, after retiring from the Board of Education, began teaching science to grades three, four and five at Yeshivah of Flatbush. He's been instrumental in helping landmark several Brooklyn locations, from Fiske Terrace to the Avenue H subway station on the Q line. Please leave questions for him in the comments below or email them to us.
New York
Construction & Real Estate
Streetlevel: Kids' Shop Closes on 5th Avenue
03.09.2008 08:31
brownstoner.com
Bumblez Sweet Surprize, a kids' clothing and toy shop, is closing its doors. No word from them on who will replace them at the prime spot at 320 5th Avenue, but plenty of new businesses, including S'nice, Picada Y Vino and Villa Rustica, have opened recently nearby. Hurry in to say goodbye (and take advantage of their closing sale). GMAP
New York
Construction & Real Estate
Grand Army Plaza's Impending Makeover
03.09.2008 08:31
brownstoner.com
“No one cares to cross it. It is devoid of all life and is a stony waste. It is suggestive of Siberia in winter and Sahara in summer.” This was how an 1888 report by Brooklyn’s Parks Commission described Grand Army Plaza, the Calvert Vaux- and Frederick Law Olmstead-designed entrance to Prospect Park. Clearly, it gets plenty of use these days, but navigating the 11-acre space, either by car or on foot, can be both nerve-wracking and dangerous. So, the New York Times reports, a group called the Grand Army Plaza Coalition is working to get GAP redesigned, this time with cars (and pedestrians) in mind. Two hundred groups submitted proposals to the Design Trust for Public Space, and 30 finalists were chosen; on September 12, a jury, including our own Mr. B, will announce the winner. In the Heart of Brooklyn, No Man's Island [NY Times] Grand Army Plaza. Photo by Tanuzzo Design Studio.
New York
Construction & Real Estate
Condo Growth Imperils Schools
03.09.2008 08:31
brownstoner.com
The Gotham Gazette reports on an unforeseen downside to the condo boom: too many students suddenly flooding a fragile system. "The influx of students threatens to undermine the quality of nearby schools — often the very thing that helped attract young families in the first place," they write. Schools are overcrowded, and the more attractive an area becomes, the more its land values increase, creating even more of a school-building quagmire. Brooklyn neighborhoods where population growth is expected to exceed school growth include DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn and Sunset Park. They write, "Some 3,000 new apartments are being planned for an area around one school in DUMBO — PS 287 — but the department has no plans for any new schools in the area, according to the comptroller." The Three C's: Condos, Classrooms and Crowding [Gotham Gazette] school bus lot. Photo by limonada.
New York
Construction & Real Estate
Nicholas J. Cotsonika's blog: Report: Bell swiped Johnson's bags at Lions headquarters
03.09.2008 08:30
freep.com
Profootballtalk.com reported last night that Tatum Bell swiped Rudi Johnson's bags outside president Matt Millen's office Monday, as Johnson was about to take his job at running back.
USA
Blogs
RON DZWONKOWSKI: Republicans:Country First?
03.09.2008 08:30
freep.com
As Democrats pitch "Change we can believe in" for Barack Obama, Republicans have rolled out "Country first" as the slogan they hope will carry John McCain into the White House. It's shorter, better for bumper stickers, and certainly underscores something I've often heard McCain say: We all must serve causes greater than our self-interest. Certainly his career in service to country, in the military and in Congress, is testament to that. He's walked the walk. He also has talked about instituting some form of "national service" for young people, not necessarily in the military, as a way of imbuing in them the sense that we all need to pitch in to build a greater America, the cause more important than any self-interest.
USA
Blogs
English