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Cuomo Accepts Medicaid Task Force Reforms Package

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:36:01 -0500

Governor Andrew Cuomo officially accepted a plan submitted by his Medicaid Redesign Team today that proposed a total of $2.3 billion in Medicaid savings for FY2011-12, half of which are tied to reform measures.

The task force is a 27-member team comprised of state legislators, agency officials, and representatives from organizations representing hospitals, patients, and healthcare practitioners. Cuomo charged them with finding the $2.85 billion in cuts to Medicaid that would be necessary for...

Elsewhere: Neck and Neck

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:31:22 -0500

The anti-abortion billboard in Soho is coming down.

A look at Adriano Espaillat's rise.

The city's public school students are struggling.

Charlie Rangel wants a say in how his district looks after new lines are drawn.

Donald Trump is not surprised he is running neck and neck with Obama.

Jane Corwin is reaching out to Conservatives.

AFL-CIO is running ads off of the Koch prank phone call.

The TLC is looking at cabbies who refuse to take...

Nadler to Reintroduce DOMA Repeal

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:01:40 -0500

Yesterday civil rights hearts were cheered when President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court and would press Congress to repeal the act altogether.

Today west side Congressman Jerry Nadler sent out word to his email list announcing that he is introducing legislation that would do just that, and that California Senator Dianne Feinstein would take the cause in the Senate.

The bill already...

Movie review: Of Gods and Men Is a Moving Meditation on Faith

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:36:53 -0500

Xavier Beauvois' beautiful, spare, powerful film Of Gods and Men, which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix, is based on the true story of a group of French Trappist monks living in Algeria who were killed by Islamic terrorists in 1996. But knowing the grisly ending (the monks were, in fact, beheaded, although the film doesn't mention--or, thankfully, show--that awful detail) doesn't take away from the story's...

You Must Remember This: Who Gets Gore's Vote?

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:23:23 -0500

Plenty happens daily in this town. But the devil's in the details. Let's see what you remember!

How did "nerds" figure out how to handle Valentine's Day?

What will be the least dreadful airport hotel ever?

Who does Gore Vidal want as President in 2012?

What artist has four hit albums out right now, but has never had a number-one song?

How would The Observer get a facelift if we moved to Orange County?

What's the Black Swan diet--and does...

At Rent Rally, Williams Says Cuomo, Bloomberg 'Disdain' Middle, Working Classes [Video]

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:47:09 -0500

City Councilman Jumaane Williams slammed both the Bloomberg and Cuomo administrations at a rally for rent regulations today at City Hall, saying that those in power do not care about the middle-class or the poor.

"What they're saying is that they don't want to tax the rich people, but they'll tax the middle class and the poor people. And they love to do that to balance their books," Williams said about the executive branch in...

James Franco to Visit a College Campus--For Once, Not as a Student

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:02:28 -0500

James Franco, perpetual student, loves college campuses. Do college campuses love James Franco? In an effort to forcibly make the film a cult hit, Universal Pictures has announced that a college will host the world premiere of Your Highness, the punnily historical/stoner comedy starring Franco and Natalie Portman. Portman likely has better things to do, but Franco--who's always game to promote a project, witnessed by his failed-camp advertisements for the Oscars with co-host Anne...

James Earl Jones Signs On For Gore Vidal Drama [Update]

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:28:21 -0500

From the front seat to the White House: James Earl Jones, currently starring in Driving Miss Daisy, has signed on to star in The Best Man, Gore Vidal's 1960 political drama, reports Playbill. The lead role--that of an embattled former president choosing which candidate to endorse--was, incidentally, portrayed by a white actor, Charles Durning, in the show's last production in 2000. This production is set for another election year--it will debut in spring 2012....

A Square Deal on the Columbia Quad

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:14:13 -0500

Twitter was abuzz this week with the news that Square, the start-up service that allows anyone with an iPhone and a small white device to process credit cards, was dropping its steep transaction fees. One business that had an especially caffeinated reaction was Joe: The Art of Coffee, who tweeted that their new Columbia University location was using Square to process credit card transactions.

The store, which is accessible to the general, non-Columbia...

Hyperpublic Woos Tech Talent With Challenge... and Prizes

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:57:50 -0500

Brand new start-up Hyperpublic is taking a novel strategy to wooing tech talent by gamifying the process with a two-part programming challenge.

"We just felt like there is so much noise out there," founder Jordan Cooper told The Observer. "Tons of companies with no real engineering culture begging for engineers to come work with them."

The challenge consists of two questions: one easy, one hard, and can be completed using any language.

The first problem is to...