New York City - Most New Yorkers want a better, fairer, more open State Legislature instead of the embarrassment they now endure. For the primary on Sept. 9, there are two Democratic races in New York City that offer a chance to make a change in Albany or, at least make a strong statement about how badly change is needed. The most important of these races is in Lower Manhattan, where Assembly...

New York City - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has handled the economic downturn better than any other regional politician and it would be a "great idea" if he sought a third term, Gov. David Paterson said on Friday. Bloomberg, an independent, ends his second and final term in January 2010, unless the city enacts a law axing the two-term limit or voters do so in a November...

Postville, IA - Iowa labor officials are accusing meatpacking plant Agriprocessors, the site of a big immigration raid this spring, of 31 new and repeat safety violations. The Iowa Division of Labor Services on Friday proposed fining the Postville plant $101,000 for 21 serious violations, six repeat offenses and four non-serious violations. Earlier this month, state labor officials accused...

Tskhinvali, Georgia - When Georgian rockets began falling on this sleepy capital of the breakaway province of South Ossetia, Zemfira Tibilova and her neighbors ran to a century-old brick synagogue. During four days of fighting in the town, she said, four dozen gentiles hid in the building's dark basement with little food and water. "These holy walls protected us," said Tibilova, 60. "God is...

Brooklyn, NY - Fire Department on the scene at Building #1, Steiners Studio, at Flushing Avenue and Washington Avenue for a fire on the 3rd and 4th floors of a 8 story 250x75 building with standpipe problems and an existing asbestos problem. Hatzolah EMS also responding to the scene for reports of some people might be trapped inside. U/D: 1:43pm FDNY requesting a 4th Alarm, Haz-Mat also on the...

Atlanta, GA - Andre Steiner was the muscle behind one of the most daring — and overlooked — missions to save Jews during the Holocaust. In his youth, before he became a renowned architect, he helped engineer a plan to stave off the deportation of Slovakia's Jews through a network of work camps and a series of bribes that likely helped save the lives of thousands. The last living member...

New York City - Citing sharp cuts in federal aid, the New York City Housing Authority delayed elevator overhauls at 24 public housing projects in the last few years, according to data released on Thursday. The 24 projects included one in Brooklyn where a 5-year-old boy died on Tuesday while trying to escape a jammed elevator. The overhauls, totaling nearly $40 million, were included in the...

New Brunswick, NJ - If you have any faith in the prediction powers of cockroaches, John McCain will win November's presidential election. A giant Madagascar hissing cockroach representing the Arizona senator easily beat the one representing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday. The race was held during the New Jersey Pest Management Association's annual clinic and trade show in New...

Parents who bought candies for their children at the Super-Pharm drugstore chain in Tel Aviv were surprised to discover swastika-decorated tattoo stickers inside. The sweets came from Holland but received a hechsher (a kosher approval) from the Chief Rabbinate and have a Super-Pharm sticker on their wrapping. Children who bought the raspberry-flavored sour stick candies received tattoos...

Orgeon - Governor Ted Kulongoski hosted Oregon’s Chabad representatives and their children at his home for a family style kosher barbeque Tuesday morning. The visit was decidedly informal, an opportunity for the Governor to spend time with Oregon’s 10 Chabad couples and their children serving the state’s Jewish community. “It was a very unusual visit,” Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm, who...

Queens, NY - A promised cleanup of Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park didn't happen, so a lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court against the operator of the Jewish burial ground is back on. Michael Buchman, a lawyer representing a Connecticut man whose grandparents are buried there, had agreed to temporarily suspend the suit three months ago after an unidentified benefactor offered to perform a...

New York, NY - Surfing and flying now go together on American Airlines, which launched full Internet access on many long-distance flights. Travelers heading from New York to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami on Boeing 767 jets can wirelessly hook up their laptops to the Internet for $12.95 per flight, the airline said. The service also works with some BlackBerry-type handheld...

Portland, ME - A Portland rabbi is rejoicing after the city reversed its decision to bar him from holding weekly prayer services at his home. By a 5-0 vote, the zoning board of appeals late last night agreed to allow Rabbi Moshe Wilansky to continue to hold prayer meetings on Saturdays. The vote, which eased concerns of many religious leaders and civil libertarians, followed a demonstration...