Over four years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration began a high-profile investigation into whether thousands of children in some ultra-Orthodox Jewish yeshivas were receiving basic secular education, including lessons on how to read and write in English. But then, the release of a report on the investigation mysteriously stalled. On Wednesday, city investigators revealed a major reason for the delay: “political horse-trading” by City Hall. The long-anticipated report by the Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District found that while Mr. de Blasio’s administration did not violate the law, it did interfere with its own education department’s probe into the yeshivas. On Thursday, the Department of Education finally released its own report. The findings were sobering: Only two of 28 yeshivas that city officials visited are offering secular education that is considered “substantially equivalent” to … [Read more...]

When voters select their party’s nominee for mayor of New York City, they will find themselves filling out a different type of ballot. The city is using ranked-choice voting for primary elections this year, and the first major test comes on June 22. What is ranked-choice voting? Instead of casting a single vote for a single candidate, voters in a ranked-choice system select a set number of candidates in order of preference. In New York’s mayoral primary, voters will be allowed to choose up to five. Learn more about how ranked-choice voting works and try it out. … [Read more...]

The pews fill up quickly each Sunday at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, a Roman Catholic parish in Midtown Manhattan, with worshipers who travel from all corners of the city to attend what it markets as its gay-friendly 5 p.m. Mass. A similar dynamic plays out each Sunday at a handful of other churches across New York City, including the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Midtown, the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on the Upper East Side and the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Chelsea, whose parishioners march in the Pride Parade each June. “I had to set aside my sexuality when I was in Catholic communities, and it means a lot to not have to do that here,” said Kevin McCabe, 37, a theologian and teacher who travels each Sunday to St. Paul’s from the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Gay-friendly parishes are something that many Catholics, and many L.G.B.T.Q. people, do not know exist. They are scattered in cities and large towns across the country, with roughly a … [Read more...]

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A kidnapping suspect was shot and killed in New Jersey during a confrontation with authorities Wednesday morning. Authorities tell Eyewitness News, FBI agents out of Newark and Philadelphia were investigating a kidnapping in the area of Leonia, Bergen County. That’s just outside New York City. CBS New York reports the incident started around 6 a.m. READ MORE: WATCH LIVE: Philadelphia Officials To Outline Planned Activities For Juneteenth 2021 A confrontation ensued, shots rang out, and one suspect was shot and killed. READ MORE: Ford Maverick: Hybrid Truck 'Challenges Status Quo, Stereotypes' Of Pickups, Expert Says Authorities said the victim was not injured and there are no threats to the community. No further details have been released. MORE NEWS: Philadelphia Police: Woman Shot Multiple Times In Logan Stay with CBSPhilly.com for updates on this developing story. … [Read more...]

New York City’s local elections are in full bloom, and all through town, Democrats are having a rollicking time. Saturday night, Maya Wiley supporters were treated to a concert by the Strokes. Outside the first in-person mayoral debate last week, rival campaigns gathered on West 57th Street. Instead of a brawl, though, a dance party broke out. Paperboy Prince, a rapper running for mayor, performed, belting out a tune about affordable housing. “House, everybody needs a house!” he shouted as voters bopped to the beat and nodded in approval. In the crowd, Moises Perez of Washington Heights said Ms. Wiley was No. 1 on his ranked-choice ballot in the June 22 primary because she was “unapologetic about her progressivism.” Also, he said, “New York City needs a woman, a Black woman, for a change.” Nearby, supporters of Eric Adams and Maya Wiley put aside their differences over whether to defund the police and danced together in a circle, rocking out to the Pharrell Williams song … [Read more...]

On the first day of early voting in New York City, Michael and Eunice Collins voted together in Harlem. Both are worried about the city, but they are divided over who is the best person to fix it. Mr. Collins, a transit worker, voted for Eric Adams for mayor . “I think he has a greater sensitivity to some of these hot issues — racial injustice and that kind of thing,” he said. His wife, Ms. Collins, a nurse, wanted a change: “Andrew Yang will bring a fresh perspective to the city.” The couple, both 66, ranked Raymond J. McGuire, a former Wall Street executive, second on their ballots. This is the first time that New Yorkers can vote early in a mayoral election. Voters were sparse on Saturday and Sunday, and lines at polling stations were much shorter than during the presidential election last year. Early voting will last from June 12 to June 20 . The primary election is on June 22. But it is also the first time the city will be using ranked-choice voting — a factor … [Read more...]

0 Real Estate The award is given each year to a New Canaan Realtor who exemplifies professionalism and dedication to the community. Press Release Desk Posted Reply Press release from Noble House Media Group: Jan. 24, 2021 At its January General Membership meeting, New Canaan Board of Realtors President Melissa Rwambuya announced the award of the Board's 2020 Realtor Citizen of the Year to Nancy Greenspon. The award is given each year to a New Canaan Realtor who exemplifies professionalism and dedication to the community. "Realtors and the community of New Canaan as a whole have benefitted from Nancy's hundreds of dedicated hours managing the Board's #livenewcanaan marketing campaign, and we owe her a big thank you," Rwambuya said. Having had a successful 30-year career in marketing and communications, Greenspon serves as a volunteer to direct the Board's #livenewcanaan campaign, which began in 2018 to … [Read more...]

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minneapolis-St. Paul is making gains when it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual rankings on the nation’s Energy Star-certified buildings, ranking 15th in the nation for 2021 . Of the metro areas ranked at the top, the EPA reports that “these regions continue to make impressive strides in cutting American energy bills and pollution through energy efficiency. Their efforts contribute to stronger economies, healthier communities, and cleaner air for all of us.” The metro area has risen from its 17th place ranking in 2019 and 19th in 2018. Minneapolis-St. Paul has 133 buildings that have been certified, accounting for a total floor area of over 41 million square feet. The EPA says the certified buildings in the Twin Cities have prevented emissions equivalent to 226,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Click here to see which buildings were listed as Energy Star certified. Los Angeles and Washington D.C. were the top two cities, with over … [Read more...]

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein — who earlier this year was charged with sexually assaulting three women in the Los Angeles area — is now accused of raping two more women, L.A. prosecutors announced Friday. The 68-year-old Weinstein has been charged with three counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office reports. READ MORE: Long Beach To Enforce Ban On Flavored Tobacco In August; Los Angeles Considers Similar Ordinance One woman was raped by Weinstein between September 2004 and September 2005 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, the DA alleges, while the second was sexually assaulted on two different occasions between November 2009 and November 2010. In total, Weinstein is now charged with sexually assaulting five women in the L.A. area. In February, a New York City jury found Weinstein guilty of raping Jessica Mann in 2013 and forcing a sex act on Miriam “Mimi” Haley in 2006. He was sentenced … [Read more...]

Eric Adams , who is considered the leading candidate for mayor of New York City, came under intense fire on Wednesday from Democratic rivals who questioned whether he lived in New Jersey or the city and cast doubt on his honesty. Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, says that an apartment in a multiunit townhouse he owns on Lafayette Avenue, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, is his primary residence. But he also co-owns a co-op in Fort Lee, N.J., with his partner, who lives there, and has said publicly that he moved into Brooklyn Borough Hall for a time after the pandemic hit because he was working such long hours. On Tuesday, Politico New York reported that Mr. Adams used conflicting addresses in public records and that he was still spending nights at Borough Hall, based on surveillance by the publication and rival campaigns. Before that article was published, Mr. Adams said that he would skip a debate among the top candidates scheduled for Thursday and … [Read more...]