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GPS on School Buses Still MIA

Thursday, April 23, 2009

School BusLast fall, city parents were outraged when a school bus carrying a bunch of kindergarten and first graders got lost for almost five hours in Brooklyn. The incident led to renewed calls for a Global Positioning System for school buses.

But Department of Education officials told a City Council committee hearing today that such a system is still nowhere near ready to be rolled out - despite more than four years of planning, and expectations that a pilot program would take place in 2006. Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm says it 'is certainly bigger than we originally expected, given the complexity of building a system that links buses, satellites, and a command center, as well as the challenge of scaling the system to fit the size and nature of our bus fleet - and it will take longer than we originally predicted.' She noted that the MTA had also run into problems with GPS technology as well as other school districts.

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Today in History: JFK on the Bay of Pigs

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

On April 21, 1961, President John F. Kennedy accepts 'sole responsibility' for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.

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The Pulitzers Now Include Online News Organizations

Monday, April 20, 2009

Pulitzer

When Columbia University announces the winners of the 2009 Pulitzer Prizes later today, online news organizations may be among the recipients of what many consider the highest honor in American print journalism. For the first time, the prizes will include Web sites that produce original news ...

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Spacebuster: Inflatable Building Rises in Lower Manhattan

Friday, April 17, 2009

A giant, inflatable plastic dome has touched down on the far West Side -- it's called Spacebuster. The portable pavilion is a project of Raumlabor, a Berlin-based group of architects and urban designers who specialize in reclaiming unused urban space. Benjamin Foster-Baldenius is a member of Raumlabor. He says the ...

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Newark Mayor Endorses Bloomberg

Friday, April 17, 2009

Newark Mayor Cory Booker comes to Harlem to endorse Bloomberg.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker comes to Harlem to endorse Bloomberg.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker traveled to Harlem today to endorse Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Booker said Bloomberg had become a national advocate for ...

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"Hey, These Cars Are Mine!"

Friday, April 17, 2009

by Jennifer Hsu of The Takeaway

The Takeaway's John Hockenberry heads over to the New York Auto Show to check out the cars his taxpayer bailout dollars have bought him.

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What Would You Say to the IRS?

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

by Jennifer Hsu and Chaleampon Oates Ritthichai

We asked some taxpayers: If there was a comment box at the bottom of your tax form this year, what would you say?

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DiNapoli: Pension Fund is More Transparent

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is defending current practices at the state's $154 billion pension fund. He spoke this morning at a Crain's New York breakfast event -- just hours after the New York Times published an article about the ongoing investigations into whether former state employees received kickbacks in exchange ...

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Cyclists Rally in Support of Greening New York

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

by Stanzi Vaubel

Cyclists gathered outside of The Museum of the City of New York Tuesday, along with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Museum of the City of New York Director Susan Henshaw Jones to promote a greener New York. The event was in ...

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Thais in NYC React to Violence in Bangkok

Monday, April 13, 2009


A red shirt supporter holding a national flag walks past a burning bus on April 13, 2009

Reported by Oates Ritthichai

The clashes between protesters and the Thai military on the street of Bangkok has left two dead and hundreds injured. Anti-government protesters, known ...

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Geek Tinkerers Gather in "Hacker Spaces"

Friday, April 10, 2009

by Jennifer Hsu, The Takeaway


The promise of open source can be found in a dull commercial building in downtown Brooklyn. The fruits of this approach -- where people share ideas for others to build on -- are coming out of the laser cutter buzzing away in the corner. Or in the disassembled parts of the robot that automatically served drinks. Or the 3D printer that can build other 3D printers.

The 5th floor office of NYC Resistor is a hacker space, one of scores popping up around the country and hundreds emerging around the world. In Germany, the government subsidizes them. In the U.S., a few people who like to tinker with electronics pool money for a place that lets them keep the circuit boards and soldering irons out of their small apartments. They're creating devices that let you turn off any TV in range of a remote control. They're building giant antennae for ham radio enthusiasts. And then there's the 3D printer.

A 3D printer is exactly what it sounds like. A plain old 2D printer prints letters. This spits out objects you can hold in your hand. Toys, door knobs, jewelry. A couple of these guys have quit their day jobs so they can sell 3D printer kits to people interested in building their own. These people are building objects that build other objects.

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Today in History: Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial

Thursday, April 09, 2009

On April 9, 1939, Easter Sunday, contralto Marian Anderson gave a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

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Gunmen Kills 13 and Self

Friday, April 03, 2009

(AP Photo/Mike Groll)

(AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Police chief of Binghampton Joe Zikuski says 14 people are dead after a shooting at the American Civic Association. Zikuski says they believe the man who entered an immigration services center and opened fire is among ...

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100 Hours of Astronomy

Friday, April 03, 2009

astronomy

The weather may be cloudy, but amateur astronomers have plans to look skyward tonight, and throughout the weekend. It's the International Year of Astronomy, and New Yorkers are among those celebrating by breaking out the telescopes. Patrick DiJusto, ...

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Quote of the Day: Paterson on Rush's Departure

Thursday, April 02, 2009

(Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

(Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Governor Paterson isn't losing any sleep over radio host Rush Limbaugh's plans to leave New York City. The conservative firebrand has called the tax hikes on high earners contained in Paterson's budget 'stupid,' and says he's ...

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Grocers for Bloomberg

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Pictured here on the right is Howard Wolfson, former adviser to Hillary Clinton (the candidate). Wolfson serves as the communications director for the mayor's re-election effort. He's also a commentator for Fox News, and a music blogger.

Pictured here on the ...

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NYC Housing Prices Take Another Hit

Thursday, April 02, 2009

housingThe New York real estate market took another dive during the first quarter of 2009 and sales are slogging, but what else is new?

Apartment prices fell by more than 20 percent and co-op prices were down 27 percent ...

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Today in History: Lindbergh Ransom

Thursday, April 02, 2009

On April 2, 1932, aviator Charles Lindbergh paid a $50,000 ransom for his infant son Charles Lindbergh Junior

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Today in History: Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

On April 1, 1970, President Nixon signed the bill, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, banning cigarette advertisements on radio and television to be effective on January 1, 1971.

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No Joke. Tobacco Tax Just Went Up Again

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Starting today, a pack of cigarettes will cost at least $9 in NYC. (Getty Images)

Starting today, a pack of cigarettes will cost at least $9 in NYC. (Getty Images)

Smokers might think it's an April Fools joke, but it's true. A ...

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