March 12, 2005

S&P SLAMS CABLEVISION

Cablevision suffered a new blow in its battle to block the proposed Jets stadium when Standard & Poor's cautioned investors about the cable operator's prospects - citing its bid for...

PROBE TARGETS MAG DISTRIBUTOR

Another newspaper and magazine distributor is feeling the heat for actions that could have fraudulently inflated circulation numbers of Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, and others, according to...

BRONFMAN DRAWS $6.2M FROM MUSIC IPO

Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s first paycheck to himself in his comeback as a music mogul is $6.2 million - and he expects even more next year. Bronfman's pay and bonus were...

WORST OF TIMES; STAFF TO CHOOSE BETWEEN PAY, BENEFIT CUTS

The New York Times faces a looming $4 million shortfall in the health and benefits plan that is administered by the Newspaper Guild and about 1,500 unionized members may have...

GIMME SHELTER

Britney - cheaper BRITNEY SPEARS has become a motivated seller. The wacky-tacky pop princess, who listed her 4,400-square-foot quadruplex penthouse at the famed Silk Building last July, has a new...

MY NEW HOME

SINGLE MOM SEEKS NO-MONEY-DOWN TOWNHOUSE SEARCH TIME: 14 months WHAT SHE BOUGHT: East Harlem townhouse, $575,000 SHE'S a single mom, and she works at an educational nonprofit. In other words,...

CRITIC FLEMING IS DEAD AT 75

LONGTIME Post classical music critic Shirley Fleming died Thursday in Augusta, Ga., of complications from a stroke she suffered last month. She was 75. She maintained a home in Augusta,...

BOOK SHUT ON JANE AIR; NBC CANCELS 'PAULEY SHOW' AFTER ONE SEASON

'THE Jane Pauley BD+>Show" was cancelled yesterday after one low-rated season. "Pauley," hosted by the former "Today" show and "Dateline" anchor, never got off the ground and failed to find...

HANGING IN THERE

WITH CBGB on the verge of closing, it's refreshing to find some downtown hangouts that are staying the course, particularly a cozy neighborhood bar like the Parkside Lounge. This comfy...

WHAT'S UP? YOUR BEST BETS THIS WEEKEND

CAJUN JACK: A one-man musical, written and performed by Michael Orth, retells the children's classic "Jack and the Beanstalk" with a Cajun twist. This version focuses on young Jacques, a...

HI, ROBOT! HOW AMANDA BYNES BECAME A BOT

If that cute yellow bot with the showerhead pigtails looks familiar, here's why: The makers of "Robots" drew on the teen who voices it. "The filmmakers had some rough ideas...

KELSEY'S CUTUPS

"Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show" Sunday night at 9:30 on Fox/Ch. 5 (Three stars) TWO cannibals are eating a clown. And one cannibal says to the other, "Does this...

LENO 'GAG' ORDER LIFTED

The gag is off. Let the gags begin. Late-night comedian Jay Leno - no longer under court order to keep his lantern-jaw firmly shut when it comes to Michael Jackson...

RUNOVER MIRACLE; TOT ON MEND AFTER HEAD WAS CRUSHED

In an amazing recovery, a Long Island toddler shows no permanent brain damage from having his head crushed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family SUV, doctors...

RENTALLY IN$ANE; HAMPTONS PAD FOR 750G A YR.

Not only are home sales prices reaching all-time highs in the Hamptons, but rentals are costing more than the price of some of the houses. The latest case of East...

BRONX BLAZE HEROES, KIN 'ROPE' CITY WITH LAWSUITS

The family of one of two firefighters killed in January when they were forced to leap from a burning building in the Bronx yesterday filed a notice of claim to...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Officials in the east African nation of Sudan went nuclear this week when they learned a transcript of a U.S. House Armed Services subcommittee hearing mentioned a 100- kiloton bomb...

CHRISTO CHANGEO! 'GATES' GONE

"The Gates" slammed shut in Central Park yesterday as the last of the fiery orange-colored frames, near 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, came down at 11:10 a.m., 33 days after...

MAKE KLUM FOR BABY

Heidi Klum is pregnant again. The Teutonic temptress and host of the Bravo TV smash hit "Project Runway" was photographed with her tummy bulging over her low-cut jeans as she...

COPS FOCUS ON 6 WATER-PLANT PROS IN CHEMIST-SLAY PROBE

A respected chemist murdered last month at a New Jersey water-treatment plant was likely killed by a close colleague in a confrontation sparked by "professional jealousy," The Post has learned....

STADIUM COMBATANTS PLAY POLITICAL-$$ GAME

ALBANY - Cablevision and the Jets have made nearly a quarter of a million dollars in campaign donations over the last year as they battle over Mayor Bloomberg's West Side...

RAGE IN DWI DEATH ; KILLER DUCKS FELONY

John Wirta may have been drunk when he plowed into two young boys last year in Queens - killing one - but that alone was not enough to raise the...

MIKE SPENDS QUICK $5M IN RE-ELECT BID

The number is in on how much Mayor Bloomberg has already spent on his re-election campaign, and it's a whopper: $5 million. The self-financed mayor's remarkable spending spree is already...

DENTIST-OFFICE SLAY 'STALKER'

A convicted killer suspected of shooting his hardworking immigrant girlfriend in a dentist's waiting room had been stalking her ever since their break-up - and neighbors said yesterday they weren't...

PREGNANT MOM HURT IN CRASH

A pregnant woman was hospitalized in serious condition last night after a driver who ran a red light in Brooklyn smashed into her husband's car. Six-months-pregnant Fetie Tahiri's husband Arben,...

'NAZI' DEFENSE ENRAGES KIN OF EX-COP KILLED BY 'SAMURAI SON'

The accused Samurai- sword killer teen's defense - that the Jewish victim, a retired cop, was a "monster" who idolized Adolf Hitler - outrages the victim's dad, a World War...

FREED 'PERV' IN L.I. KID-RAPE RAP

A 13-year-old Long Island girl was raped on her way home from school by a man on probation for another sex crime, police said yesterday. Kevin Cooks, 21, of Calverton,...

COPS' HIT PARADE - EX-NYPD RATS TIED TO MORE MURDERS

The two rogue cops tied to eight mob-related hits have been implicated in several other killings and armed robberies that are not linked to organized crime,including a slaying in Colorado,sources...

FLUSTERED FINCH STIRS SCHOOL FLAP

It took two teachers, the custodian and the assistant principal to send Junior to detention yesterday - the defiant songbird sneaked into PS 144 in Forest Hills and refused to...

BRAVEST PARALYZED IN DEADLY BX. FIRE ROPES CITY WITH SUIT

A firefighter paralyzed when he jumped for his life from a burning Bronx building in a blaze that claimed the life of two of his fellow Bravest slapped the city...

KIM TOOK LIL' SKIM OFF TAXES; ADMITS OWING $1M

Racy rapper Lil' Kim is a big tax deadbeat who lied about her finances as well as a 2001 shootout outside Hot 97, prosecutors charged yesterday after disclosing bombshell documents...

2 TEENS STABBED IN BX. HS GANG FIGHT

Two teens were stabbed yesterday during a bloody free-for-all between two rival student gangs at a rowdy Bronx high school - and officials said the melee was probably a revenge...

'SEASON'AL STORM

Manhattan's landmark Four Seasons restaurant is teed off at a suburban New Jersey eatery it says hit a bad shot by using a similar-sounding name - Fore Seasons. A lawyer...

MOB COP SON IN FAMILY BIZ

A retired detective accused of leading a shocking double life - taking money from the mob for carrying out hits while working for the NYPD - came from a long...

JACKO OWES $700M; 'SHOPAHOLIC' NEAR BANKRUPTCY: DA

Michael Jackson is moonwalking on thin financial ice, prosecutors at the "spendaholic" superstar's kiddie sex abuse trial claimed yesterday. "We have reason to believe that Mr. Jackson is on the...

2 BRAVEST INJURED IN DEADLY FIRE 'ROPE' CITY WITH LAWSUIT

Two firefighters injured when they jumped from a burning Bronx building in a blaze that claimed the lives of two fellow Bravest slapped the city with lawsuits yesterday, claiming they...

CHRISTO CHANGO! 'GATES' ALL GONE

"The Gates" slammed shut in Central Park yesterday as the last of the fiery orange-colored frames, near 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, came down at 11:10 a.m., 33 days after...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN *** A battle over spoils in the Flatbush narcotics trade has left one man dead and another behind bars, authorities said yesterday. Paris Robertson, 18, allegedly shot Joubert Corrielant,...

SICKO SHOWOFF IN PERV BUST

A state Department of Environmental Conservation worker was busted for exposing himself to two girls on a Queens street corner, police said yesterday. Mahesh Jaipersaud, 33, was in his department...

EXTRA 50ó TOLL SQUEEZE READY TO ROLL

Drivers will pay more at the tollbooth starting tomorrow. Tolls on nine MTA-operated bridges and tunnels will rise in the second hike in less than two years. Cash tolls will...

MOB COP AND SON IN FAMILY 'DRUG' BIZ

A retired NYPD detective accused of leading a shocking double life as a Mafia hit man allegedly brought his son into the family business. On the same day the feds...

GAL'S HEAD IN BOWLING BALL BAG

A woman's head was found yesterday inside a bowling ball bag in her Jersey City home and some of her body parts were hidden behind walls, authorities said. Her husband...

HITS KEEP ON COMING: MAFIA DETECTIVES TIED TO MORE MURDERS

The two rogue cops tied to eight mob-related hits have been implicated in several other killings and armed robberies that are not linked to organized crime, including a slaying in...

MOB COP SON IN FAMILY BIZ - DETECTIVE AND BOY DEALT DRUGS: POLICE

A retired detective accused of leading a shocking double life - taking money from the mob for carrying out hits while working for the NYPD - came from a long...

JARA HIT WITH FIVE-DAY BAN

Jockey Fernando Jara was suspended five days, March 13-17, for failure to ride out his mount, Lively Up Yourself, who finished third in Wednesday's ninth race.1ST RACE - Sunset Glitter....

TRADE LOOKS ROSE-Y ; KNICKS SURGING SINCE DEADLINE DEAL FOR MALIK

Thanks to four days off between games, Malik Rose has taken a break from hitting the glass and has been hitting the books instead. Rose, acquired at the trade deadline,...

JINTS INK DE CLANCY

The Giants yesterday landed a free agent from the Steelers, but it wasn't the big fish - receiver Plaxico Burress - whom they nearly hooked but then threw back into...

'MOON' OUT OF DERBY

The May 7 Kentucky Derby suffered its first major defection yesterday when Declan's Moon, the undefeated 2-year-old champion who won last Saturday's Santa Catalina Stakes in his 3-year-old debut, dropped...

BACKUP PLAN ; JETS TURN TO FIEDLER

He did not spend his idle summer days peering in through the fence, watching his boyhood heroes in action, but that doesn't mean Jay Fiedler wasn't a big Jets fan....

LASTINGS' IMPRESSION - PROSPECTWILLINGTO WAIT

PORT ST. LUCIE - Lastings Milledge's dream position is center field, a goal he says he's still pursuing in the Mets' minor-league complex a few hundred yards away from Tradition...

FRANK FINDS Z-WAY ; PLANINIC TO GET MORE TIME WITH NETS

MIAMI - Consistency, thy name is . . . Well, around the Nets it's not the back-up two guard position. So as the Nets desperately scramble through the season's last...

CURSED TO FIRST ; JASON JUMPS INTO JOE'S PLANS AT 1B

Tigers 10Yankees 7 LAKELAND - The biggest Pinstriped question mark is slowly turning into a positive. In December, it was hard to believe Jason Giambi would be a Yankee again....

HUSKIES HOPE IT'S AS EASY AS 1-2-3

The numbers were staggering: Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun had 702 wins. Jim Boeheim, his counterpart, had 701. The two will tell you those numbers meant absolutely nothing in last night's...

BROWN'S FINE 'TIL FOURTH

YANKEE NOTES LAKELAND - Considering it's March, three out of four ain't bad. For three innings yesterday against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium, Kevin Brown's stuff was filthy. His...

NHL COULD LET SCABS CARRY CUP

It's unknown whether yesterday's 90-minute collective bargaining session in Toronto between NHL and NHLPA executives produced even the slightest progress toward an agreement for 2005-06, or whether the meeting was...

CURT RESPONSE ; SOX ACE SAYS HE'LL GO TO STEROID HEARINGS

The standoff between Congress and baseball quieted a bit yesterday for the first time in days as both sides ended a tumultuous week and braced themselves for one that could...

HOT RICE COOLS OFF IN STRETCH

H.S. HOOPS Maurice Hicks has tried to figure out his team throughout the second half of the season with varying degrees of success. Last night, he knew he was running...

CAMERON IS SHOWING RANDOLPH A LOT

MET NOTES VERO BEACH - In his first look at live pitching this spring, Mike Cameron drove the ball to the fence in right-center at Tradition Field on one of...

METS ZAMBOMBO'ED ; DODGERS SHELL ERRATIC RIGHTY

Dodgers 16 Mets 5 VERO BEACH - The other day, Lou Piniella told Scott Kazmir he made Tampa Bay's rotation. Last night, Victor Zambrano pitched like he doesn't deserve a...

CAMERON LOOKS LIKE A LIVE MIKE IN DEBUT

MET NOTES VERO BEACH - Mike Cameron saw his first live pitching yesterday in the form of minor-league righty Kevin Deaton. He homered over the left-field fence on the sixth...

ST. MARY'S, GREEN FRY RICE

CHSAA AASt. Mary's 60Rice 48 Fans surrounded Danny Green, asking for pictures and autographs. He happily obliged, wrapping his arms around complete strangers with a wide smile on his face....

MOUNTAINEERS CLIMB TO FINAL - GANSEY'S FTSBURY VILLANOVA

W. Virginia 78Villanova 76 West Virginia guard Mike Gansey had the eyes of a sellout crowd and much of the college basketball world upon him. But he must have felt...

SYRACUSE TOPS UCONN, FINALLY ; ORANGE ROLL OVER HUSKIES

Syracuse 67UConn 63 Jim Boeheim won't like the analogy but he'll take the result. You can teach an old dog new tricks. Just a few weeks ago, after a routine...

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS ; W. VIRGINIA MAKES FIRST TITLE GAME

West Virginia guard Mike Gansey had the eyes of a sellout crowd and much of the college basketball world upon him. But he must have felt like the loneliest man...