Leading Economic Indicators: Rupert Murdoch Apologies

Read: Who am I kidding? I just wrote down $3 billion in debt* on my newspaper operations . . . we need all the advertisers we can get:

As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me.

Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted.

Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you — without a doubt — that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such.

*

The New Civil Service Title Is “Button Pusher”

Things you enjoy reading on a morning when it is revealed that the MTA budget is in even worse shape than once thought include the debut of the Robo L Train and the transit authority’s novel new system for making sure train conductors are actually at work:

Robo train finally shed its training wheels and took to the rails.

. . .

Communications Based Train Control will enable NYC Transit to run trains closer together, more frequently, and safer than the current antiquated signal system allows, said Associate Project Manager Anthony Candarini.

“It is more efficient. It makes the trains faster and safer because the computer sensors can see things that the motormen can’t,” said Candarini.

. . .

The train began its historic run at the Eight Avenue and 14th Street station at 12:22. The train picked up speed and navigated the turns without losing speed.

“The future has arrived and it feels weird,” said Natasha Fletcher, 22, a student from Canarsie as she enjoyed the smooth ride.

. . .

The MTA had wanted to remove conductors from trains in automatic mode but had to back off because the move violated the transit workers’ contract.

The motormen working the Brooklyn-Manhattan line remained on board, pushing down on a button every fifteen seconds to ensure that they are alert in the event that any problems arise.

Recession-Era Pelt Bagging

But it’s not so much that the executive of the nonprofit gets such a generous car allowance as it is the culture in which being driven around in a fancy car somehow encourages people to donate more money:

Three weeks after the Staten Island Zoo reported it had cut overtime for staffers, a move that could affect the quality of care for animals, and planned to hike admission prices by $1 to mitigate budget cuts, executive director John Caltabiano leased a brand new 2009 Lincoln MXZ sedan, paid for by the Staten Island Zoological Society.

A 39-month lease on such a car goes for about $359 a month with $3,000 down.

“This is not a frivolous expenditure,” Caltabiano said during an interview in his West Brighton office, explaining that his choice of the Lincoln actually reflects a cost savings to the society; his first choice, a Cadillac CTS, would have cost $175 more a month.

The cost of the car lease is covered as part of Caltabiano’s fixed annual expense account, which he is contractually entitled to along with his salary, which was $100,397 in 2007. The society also pays to insure the car, and covers gas and tolls.

Zoo board president William Frew said the expense money is Caltabiano’s to spend as he sees fit.

“That’s in his discretion,” Frew said. “If he chooses to lease a car, it’s up to him. That means he has less money to spend on other things.”

Frew pointed out that Caltabiano’s job, like most executives, entails being on call around the clock, and requires entertaining wealthy potential donors and driving them to and from meetings and events, which is why a luxury car would be an asset in that line of work.

“More than one third of my time is used for fund-raising,” Caltabiano said. “The vehicle is one means by which I do that.”

Maybe a recession wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to us . . .

Toll Revenues Down; Albuterol Makers Hardest Hit

I’m hoping this means we can stop worrying about traffic congestion and asthma rates until at least the third quarter of 2009:

A traffic recession is triggering a precipitous drop at the MTA’s crossings, costing the cash-strapped agency a staggering $55 million a year in tolls, statistics show.

“In the last three months, we’ve seen a large drop. That period is when the economy got especially bad,” Dave Moretti, an executive with MTA Bridges and Tunnels, recently told an agency board committee.

Even slumping gas prices aren’t helping, he added, calling the cheaper fuel “questionable as to how much of a stimulus it provides” in boosting traffic and tolls.

If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

End of the world scenarios, now with added earthquakes:

The trio of earthquakes that surprised New Jersey over the past month has seismologists wondering what’s next — and they say it doesn’t look good.

They call the geological fault lines crisscrossing Manhattan a perfect storm for a temblor that could topple older buildings, cause billions of dollars in damages and kill people citywide.

New York has survived at least three quakes measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, but two of them hit back in the 1700s and the other centered on Coney Island in 1884, toppling chimneys.

The city should expect a jolt like that last one every 100 years, the experts warn — which means we’re overdue. Jersey’s recent baby quakes, which caused no damage and failed to rise above 3.0 in magnitude, may have been warning shots, they say.

A 6.0-magnitude quake could cause as much as $200 billion in damages, according to a 2003 study by the New York City Area Consortium for Earthquake Loss Mitigation.