Some Ticket Scalping Rules Are Changing

NEW YORK -- For decades, ticket scalping was a thing done in the shadows, but those days of ducking into alleyways and dodging police are fading fast.

New York is poised this week to become the latest in a string of states to ease or eliminate decades-old restrictions on the resale of tickets to sporting events, concerts and shows.

Under the proposed rules, the state would discard its long practice of capping prices for tickets sold on the secondary market.

Some old regulations would stay in place. Scalpers would still be banned from selling tickets within 1,500 feet of large arenas like Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium. Smaller venues would get a similar 500-foot buffer zone. Brokers who sell large numbers of tickets would still need to get a license.

But the change would, for the first time, make it entirely legal for average fans to scalp their seats on the Internet.

For better or worse, it would also allow anyone holding a hot ticket to a Mets playoff game or Broadway musical to sell them off for whatever buyers were willing to pay.

"If you have something to sell, you should be able to sell it for what it is truly worth,'' said Sean Pate, spokesman for the online ticket broker StubHub Inc., which lobbied hard for the change.

The state assembly voted for the bill Tuesday. The Senate is expected to follow suit, and Gov. Eliot Spitzer could sign the measure by Friday, when the state's old anti-scalping law expires.

New York is far from alone in its redrafting of scalping rules.

Minnesota tossed out its old anti-scalping laws this spring. The state previously allowed tickets to be resold only at face value.

A bill that would ease Missouri's ban on selling tickets to sporting events at more than face value passed the legislature and is now being considered by the governor.

Caught in New York by the Parksidegent

Tyra Banks and Jaslene Gonzalez

A-ROD'S A YANKEE DOODLE RANDY

HITS A STRIP JOINT WITH TORONTO BABE

- Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez stepped up to the plate with a mysterious, busty blonde in Toronto, as these intimate, exclusive photos reveal.
The cozy duo dined with two pals at a pricey steakhouse late Sunday night, then headed to a glitzy strip club before making their way to his hotel, where the pair ducked into an elevator and headed upstairs just after midnight.
Cynthia Rodriguez - A-Rod's wife and mother of their 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Natasha - was nowhere to be seen during the slugger's big night out on the town, which occurred the evening before the last-place Bronx Bombers' pathetic 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
And it came as Rodriguez took a room at Toronto's Four Seasons hotel - down the street from the Park Hyatt, where most, if not all of his Yankee teammates and coaches are staying during a three-game stint that ends tonight.

Tonylimo comments:
this is all BULL SHIT...the guy is a good looking dude, so let him have some fun !!!!!

.....least it wasn't a guy with him...lol

Manhattan Cab Robber Strikes Again?

NEW YORK -- The robber targeting taxis in Manhattan has struck again -- only hours after drivers' group and the Guardian Angels handed out fliers urging drivers to be on the lookout.

The latest holdup happened around 10:40 last night on West 39th Street near Seventh Avenue, in midtown. Police say the robber brandished a gun, took an undetermined amount of cash from the driver and ran off.

Investigators suspect he was the same man responsible for seven taxi robberies in the Chelsea, SoHo and Lower East Side neighborhoods since May 17.

The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers and the Guardian Angels crime-fighting group gave drivers copies of a police sketch of the suspect.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

Apple's retail notebook sales up 94 percent in April

Mac maker Apple Inc. saw retail sales of Mac units grow a solid 62 percent year-over-year for the month of April, which included a 94 percent spike in notebook sales thanks to solid MacBook and MacBook Pro momentum, as well as increased distribution

According to NPD data cited by UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes on Wednesday, U.S. PC unit growth for the month of April grew 14 percent overall, include a 19 percent rise in retail sales and a 30 percent surge in notebook sales.

"Checks for Macs have been solid, backing our 25 percent unit growth estimate for [the company's fiscal third quarter] which should also see support from recently updated MacBooks," the analyst wrote in a one-page memo to clients.

Reitzes added that iPod sales were down 3 percent for the month of April, but noted the "difficult compare" to the year-ago period in which iPod unit sales were up 33 percent.

"While below the 19 percent (9.6 million units) we are modelling for [the] fiscal third quarter, [the NPD] data doesn’t include international sales which could help support growth," he wrote. "We also believe new products later in the year should drive future improvement."

Long Island's Oldest Resident to Celebrate 112th Birthday

Long Island's oldest resident will soon celebrate her 112th birthday.

The party for super-centenarian, Fannie Greenberg, will take place on Wednesday, May 24, at The Regency at Glen Cove where she has resided for the past 9 years.

A super-centenarian is defined as someone age 110 or more. According to the Gerontology Research Group, there are 83 validated living super-centenarians in the world today.

Not only is Fannie Long Island's oldest resident, she is second oldest in New York state, the 13th oldest American and the 28th oldest person in the world.

Here's how folks at The Regency at Glen Cove describe her: She is an energetic senior that makes the most of every day. An extremely stylish woman, Fannie pays careful attention to every detail of her dress. After all, it doesn't hurt to look good!

With a jaunty hat perched on her head and a stylish scarf color coordinated to her suit, Fanny epitomizes the good life of Long Island's Gold Coast

Roger Clemens to NY

THE ROCKET HAS LANDED
Roger Clemens returned to the New York Yankees, making a dramatic announcement to fans from the owner's box during Sunday's game against the Seattle Mariners. At the end of the seventh-inning stretch, Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard told fans to turn their attention to the box, where Clemens was standing with a microphone. As the video scoreboard in right-center showed Clemens, who made the announcement himself.

Reverend McGreevey?

Reverend McGreevey?
James E. McGreevey, the nation's first openly gay governor, has become an Episcopalian and wants to become a priest in that faith, according to a published report. McGreevey, who was raised as a Roman Catholic, was officially received into the Episcopal religion on Sunday at St. Bartholomew's Church in Manhattan, said the Rev. Kevin Bean.

Wife of Former New Jersey Governor Says She Never Knew He Was Gay

Posted: Tuesday, 01 May 2007 12:27PM

CHICAGO (AP) -- The estranged wife of the nation's first openly gay governor fired back at her husband during an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show,'' saying she never knew he was gay.

"He kind of gave me the news in cowardly installments,'' said Dina Matos McGreevey, who is in the process of divorcing former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey.

The former governor told the world in August 2004 he was "a gay American'' and had an extramarital affair with a male aide. He resigned months later.

"I felt like my world had crumbled and my life was over,'' Matos McGreevey said. "In the course of the three days of his explanation and confession to me, it was clear to me that he never loved me.''

Oprah Winfrey interviewed Matos McGreevey in a show that aired Tuesday, the same day "Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage,'' was published by Hyperion Books.

"No one ever said to me that he was gay,'' she said. "It's a cliche that the wife is always the last to know, and it's true.''

'Spider-Man 3' premieres at Tribeca

Event held in Astoria, New York

Sometimes, the venue is so unorthodox, the concept so ambitious, the movie itself such a draw that the night becomes one of those you-had-to-be-there spectacles.

Monday night's U.S. preem of "Spider-Man 3" for a crowd 3,000 strong joined that short list, though not in quite the same way as other mega-events in New York -- "X-Men" on Ellis Island, "Godzilla" at Madison Square Park or "King Kong" in Times Square. Those were established settings compared with the unlikely one for this bash: a 14-screen Regal multiplex in Astoria, Queens, roughly the East Coast equivalent of Van Nuys.

Why Astoria, land of car dealerships and Archie Bunker? Two main reasons: It's the hometown of Spidey alter-ego Peter Parker, and the Tribeca Film Festival's endless quest to bring movies to the masses.

After a parade of stars, marching bands and balloons wound its way to the theater, a line of several hundred people started wrapping around the complex as the 7:30 start time came and went. They were separated by metal police barricades from the neighborhood's modest homes, used furniture stores and auto body shops. Staff from Sony was around the corner and mostly inside the front doors. Out on the street, it wasn't at all clear whether the line would be moving.

Would some of the 14 screens start the movie? Would they reach capacity? No one outside had any information. "I dunno, do we have room for a couple theaters more in there?" one of the lone headsetted staffers asked someone inside. Suddenly, it was Blackberries at 10 paces. "Hi, is she in?" impatient attendees asked, phoning offices of people who might know people who could allow a VIP to cut this DMV-like line. Guests huddled to see if a wiser move would be to cut bait and go have dinner. The limo was warming up around the corner. Which way to Manhattan again? The time was 7:55.

The line miraculously moved. "If you have actual tickets, enter this way!" one staffer announced periodically. All but a few people kept shuffling along, gritting whitened teeth. The doors were finally in sight, across from a modest set of bleachers occupied by a few dozen hardy stargazers.

Inside, it was barely controlled chaos. Concession stands quickly ran out of supplies. "Everybody take your seats, please, the movie is about to start!" one employee called out, sounding like that rube in "Animal House" crying out "All is well!" The time was 8:15.

Finally, the lights went down. It was 8:30, an hour late. When the expensive, shimmering summer popcorn action had let up, it was time for the crowd to head down the block, to another line, past chain stores and a school bearing the proud sign "this is a drug-free school zone!" for the vibrant, red-bedecked after-party at the fabled Kaufman-Astoria Studios.

Once curiosity and appetite were sated, the final quest: finding the way back across the East River past midnight. The security personnel were not completely sure of directions to the subway. "Maybe follow those people?" one suggested. "I think it's 34th," another offered. "No, 31st. No, 33rd." Right on cue, a taxi appeared.

Related review: 'Spider-Man 3'

Miss America Won't Testify in L.I. Sting Casesutor:

Posted: Tuesday, 01 May 2007 12:01PM



HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) -- An undercover sex sting on Long Island starring Miss America may have bombed after the beauty queen told prosecutors that she would not return to testify.

Lauren Nelson, of Lawton, Okla., worked with police in Suffolk County to target would-be Internet sexual predators, taped for an episode of the television show "America's Most Wanted.'' She posed as a teenager and lured men into chatting online and meeting her at a Bay Shore home, where police and crews were waiting. Eleven men were arrested in the sting.

But one or all of the cases against the men could be in jeopardy after Nelson told prosecutors she did not plan on returning to Long Island to testify, said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota in Newsday's Tuesday edition.

NYC Air Quality Report to Be Released

Posted: Tuesday, 01 May 2007 11:25AM

NYC Air Quality Report to Be Released
It's not getting any easier to breathe in New York City.

The American Lung Association has a new report showing that air quality has deteriorated across all five boroughs in the past year. The eighth annual air pollution report said that ozone pollution or smog is highest on Staten Island, and particle pollution, otherwise known as soot, has substantially worsened on Staten Island, as well as in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Corzine Leaves Hospital 18 Days After Crash

Posted: Monday, 30 April 2007 4:14PM

Corzine Leaves Hospital 18 Days After Crash

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) -- An emotional Gov. Jon S. Corzine was discharged from a hospital Monday, 18 days after an automobile crash in which he sustained critical injuries.