The Daily Hub-Bub | Must-Reads from the WNYC News Hub

POLITICS
A New Push for Gay Marriage Bill, With Help From Governor (NY Times)
Gay rights groups publicly mount a new campaign for marriage equality this week. This time, they’ll have help from Governor Andrew Cuomo, who made a vow to push to win passage of same-sex marriage this year.

POLITICS
Cuomo Announces Spending and Government Efficiency Commission (Times Union)
The SAGE panel will include business leaders and union officials, as well as former elected officials, and will be co-chaired by Antonio Perez of Eastman Kodak Company and Paul Francis, Cuomo’s Director of Agency Redesign and Efficiency. Their mission?  To “modernize and right-size state government, improve performance, increase accountability and save taxpayers’ money,” according to press release from the Governor.

EDUCATION
New Schools Chancellor Advocates for Single-Sex Schools (NY Post)
"I'm a big believer in single-sex schools. I'm a big believer in options," says new Chancellor Dennis Walcott, explaining his support for the controversial measure. The New York Civil Liberties Union opposes the educational segregation.

EDUCATION
City Cuts 15,000 Spots for After-School Programs (NYDN)
Next year’s proposed budget cuts funding for 15,000 spots for after-school programs, City Council documents show. The programs include tutoring, art, and music lessons. City officials estimate that 12,000 more students will be applying for the seats that remain, as a result of budget cuts to day-care programs.  

REAL ESTATE
East Williamsburg? ProCro? Assemblyman Fights New Neighborhood Names (NYT)
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, is introducing a bill to prevent real-estate brokers from inventing new neighborhood names without a series of approvals. Jeffries objects to the idea of new neighborhood names like “ProCro” for the area along the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. The bill would punish brokers who used unofficial names with fines and possible suspension or revocation of brokers’ licenses.

INFRASTRUCTURE
City to Study Filling A 22 Block Gap in East Side Promenade (Crain’s)
The city is asking firms to draft plans for an extension of the East Side promenade between 38th and 60th streets. A plan already in existence is extraordinarily complicated and involves razing a playground and a new tower at the United Nations. It is not clear whether the project would be feasible or affordable. Plans would likely cost $150 to $200 million.

REAL ESTATE
NYU Expansion Hits Landmarks Pothole (Crain’s)
The New York State Historic Preservation Office says that sites in Greenwich Village where NYU is planning two new buildings is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. It’s one more headache for the expansion project. Critics continue to call on the university to expand elsewhere where there is more space.

CRIME
Police Union: Ticket Fixing is a “Courtesy” Not Corruption (NYT)
The president of the sergeants’ union recorded a message telling current and retired police officers to come forward with testimonials about the “beneficiaries of ticket-fixing.” The move could embarrass public officials who’ve had their tickets fixed (and potentially make the probe go away).

REAL ESTATE
Building Owners Struggle to Find Tenants to Fill Old OTB Spaces (WSJ, sub. req.)
Landlords are having a hard time finding tenants for the more than 50 retail spaces abandoned when the Off-Track Betting Corp. shut down four months ago. While many businesses are leaving New York (Borders and Pathmark, for example), it’s rare for this much space all over the five boroughs to come onto the market at the same time. Landlords also had to deal with petty annoyances like not getting keys back to the space and the space being filled with betting equipment.

BUSINESS
NJ Solar Energy Boom May End Soon (NJ.com)
New Jersey is a national leader in solar power, but industry insiders say the state is considering scaling back it focus on the renewable energy source. Two more projects are in the works. The swift expansion in solar was spurred by state rules that force power companies to either produce solar power or buy it on a market where companies sell energy credits. As solar expands, the credits could lose value. If that happens, the industry could contract.

CRIME
When Police Work and International Diplomacy Meet (WSJ, sub. req.)
By the time police figured out they wanted to question Russian immigrant Nikolai Rakossi in the stabbing deaths of his girlfriend and her daughter, the “person of interest” had already landed in his home country. With this development, it seems the investigation has run its course. Russia doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S. and its constitution prohibits handing its citizens over to foreign countries. New York police are negotiating with Russian authorities, but international law experts say, he’s not coming back.

OPINION
Internet Gambling Prosecutions Are a Waste of Time (NY Post)
Post columnist Jacob Sullum says U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara needs to “fold his case” against illegal online poker sites. It’s only the second time that the Justice Department has invoked the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in a criminal indictment. Sullum says there’s good reason for that: it’s a waste of time and resources.

OPINION
Editorial: Albany Drops Rules On Summer Camp Play (Daily News, NY Post)
After being held up to national ridicule yesterday for rules regulating popular children’s games like duck-duck-goose and freeze tag, the New York State Dept. of Health says it will no longer oversee the activities of day camps. The Legislature enacted a 2009 law expanding government oversight of summer day camps.  The editorial board calls the rules “over-the-top” zealotry and urges the Legislature to repeal the law. The NY Post ed board jumps on the bandwagon and chides Governor Cuomo for hiring a state health commissioner with his own “nanny-state instincts.”

OPINION
Editorial: Political Candidates Should Pay Dept. of Sanitation Fines (Daily News)
The editorial board writers say mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, Comptroller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill De Blasio should pay the sanitation fines since they took taxpayer money for their various political campaigns. They were charged the fines for putting up campaign posters throughout the city. The three are appealing the multi-million dollar fines.