Must-read headlines from around the city, curated by the WNYC Newsroom.

POLICY  
Sick-Pay Momentum Impacts Business Groups (Crain’s)
Chris Bragg reports: “In a statement to Crain's New York Business, the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Nancy Ploeger, speaking on behalf of the five borough chambers of commerce, disputed that any compromise with proponents of the legislation was in the works. The statement came in the wake of recent positive comments by the heads of the Queens and Bronx chambers about proposed amendments to the bill.”   

CAMPAIGN
TAKING MANHATTAN: $24M flows in Battle of East (Mitt) & West (Bam) (NYP)
Carl Campanile reports: “They’re taking Manhattan — the borough’s money, that is. But President Obama is taking it mostly from rich donors on the more liberal Upper West Side while Romney is collecting his fat checks from the more buttoned-down Upper East Side, according to a new analysis of campaign donations... Of the top 10 ZIP codes across the country contributing to Obama and Romney, five of them are from Manhattan, data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics shows.”   

CAMPAIGN
2013 New York Primary Voting Requires Any Party Changes by Oct. 12 (NYT)
David Chen reports: “New York State has one of the most unforgiving rules in the country when it comes to eligibility for voting in party primaries. Anyone who wants to vote in the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary — and all of the anticipated major candidates are Democrats — but is not affiliated with a party (like Mr. Bloomberg), or wants to switch parties (as Mr. Bloomberg once did), must take action almost a year before the actual vote.”   

TRANSPORTATION
Witnesses Say Casino Bus Was Weaving Before Crash (NYT)
Winnie Hu reports: “Just over an hour before his tour bus crashed, Ophadell Williams was swerving, straddling lanes, and speeding up and slowing down, another driver testified on Thursday... Mr. Williams, 41, is being tried on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide as a result of a crash on March 12, 2011, on I-95 in the Bronx. The crash killed 15 passengers and sheared the top off a World Wide Travel bus returning from the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.”  

DEVELOPMENT
1717 Broadway Carries the Torch Blighting Rivals’ Views (Commercial Observer)
Daniel Geiger reports: “1717 Broadway, a new hotel development that has the distinction of being the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, has topped out at a lofty 750-feet, the tower’s developer Granite Broadway Development announced on Thursday.”   

COURTS
Poll: Most N.J. Voters Favor Ballot Question that Would Force Judges to Pay More for Benefits (The Star-Ledger)
Matt Friedman reports: “The Rutgers-Eagleton poll found 70 percent of likely voters support a state constitutional amendment on judicial pay, and only 18 percent are opposed. The issue arose after the state Supreme Court ruled that sitting judges are exempt from a new state law requiring public workers to pay more because the constitution forbids cutting their salaries.”

PUBLIC HEALTH
Rules for N.J. Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Upheld by Court (The Record)
Anthony Campisi reports: “A three-judge panel has upheld state Health Department rules limiting the number of medical marijuana dispensaries and requirements that they all be run by non-profits. Natural Medical Inc., a for-profit company formed by Nir Shalit in 2010 to open a dispensary, argued that the department had illegally restricted the number of licensed dispensaries in the state to six.”

PUBLIC HEALTH
Freelancers Union to Open Holistic Medical Center in Downtown Brooklyn (DNAInfo)
Janet Upadhye reports: “The tens-of-thousands-strong Freelancers Union is joining the ranks of labor organizations that supply their members with a brick-and-mortar medical center. The new medical building is slated to open in Downtown Brooklyn on Nov. 5, and nearly 25,000 insured Freelancers Union members will benefit from traditional doctors, as well as wellness programs like yoga, meditation, acupuncture, ergonomics assistance, nutrition counseling, cooking classes, support groups and the help of a health coach.”

CULTURE
Brooklyn Museum Ends ‘Target First Saturdays’ Dance Party (DNAinfo)
Sonja Sharp reports: “Museum staff said the decision came in response to complaints about foot traffic, after nearly a year of perpetually record-breaking crowds of as many as 20,000 people. But many regulars see it as the end of an era, and a body blow to the event's inclusive spirit.”

CULTURE
Picasso’s Black & White Masterpieces on Display at Guggenheim (DNAinfo)
Victoria Bekiempis reports: “Picasso's 118 paintings — as well as select sculptures and drawings — will be on display at the Guggenheim Museum from Oct. 5, 2012 until Jan. 23, 2013, in a show that's the first of its kind to show a continuous chronology of all of Picasso's most important black-and-white works from 1904 until 1971.”