Twenty-Five Percent, Retroactive . . . Ballsy!

Where in the world does a legislative body vote to increase its own pay? New York City:

Contending they work hard 24/7 and deserve more money, City Council members gave themselves a $22,500 pay raise yesterday — bringing their base salary to $112,500 a year.

“I have never seen a legislative body which works harder than the New York City Council,” said Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) as the bill passed 41 to 5.

The raises, recommended by a mayoral commission, have Mayor Bloomberg’s approval. The bill also provides fat raises for the mayor, controller, public advocate, borough presidents and district attorneys.

The raises will be retroactive to Nov. 1. The annual cumulative cost will be $1.5 million.

Good-government groups had urged tying the raises to reforms, such as eliminating committee stipends, known as lulus, that add $4,000 to $28,500 to Council members’ base pay.

The posts are also technically part-time, with 13 of the 51 members now earning outside income.

. . .

With the raise, New York’s 51 Council members will be the second-highest paid in the country – surpassed only by the $150,695 salary of Los Angeles’ 15 council members.

No One Gets Away Until They Whippet

Oh my god, run Vivi, run:

Vivi may still be wandering the city.

The scent of the missing California show dog was picked up by a pet detective in Queens yesterday — renewing hope that the pampered pooch who bolted from her crate at Kennedy Airport nine months ago could be found.

. . .

The team of volunteers searching for the dog has been frustrated by a string of false leads. But they were encouraged yesterday after a team of tracking dogs from the Oklahoma-based Pet Detectives Inc. discovered Vivi’s scent at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Kew Gardens Hills.

“We had been getting discouraged that there’s been no sign of Vivi in a long time,” said Karin Goin, the pet detective. “The scent we found is no more than three months old, which is good.”

Goin’s two tracking dogs — Dodger and Cade — detected the whippet’s scent nearly 8 miles from Kennedy Airport and followed it south along the Van Wyck Expressway. Goin will resume the search today.

“Vivi is a nomadic breed who can survive a long time on the move without much food,” said Goin, who has a license to track lost cats and dogs. “As long as she’s not hit by a car, she could be okay.”

Goin has been using the scent from one of Vivi’s coats to track the dog, which had been rumored to be moving through Forest Park and around Cypress Hills Cemetery.

See also: Vivi The Whippet.

Happy Birthday, Bridge!

In a simpler time, thousands stampeded to get over to Bayonne:

When the Bayonne Bridge opened 75 years ago today, people on both sides of the graceful new span over the Kill van Kull were so eager to be the first across that they nearly created a stampede.

One daring couple actually tried to cross via the catwalk above one of the arches and was escorted away by a waiting police officer, who then let them go.

To officially open the bridge, Bayonne Mayor Lucius Donohoe drove across in his 1928 Rolls Royce.

He was followed that day by 17,018 other vehicles and 6,933 pedestrians.

. . .

Fast forward three quarters of a century and the span “still has the novelty that it had the day it opened up,” said Bayonne Bridge Manager Jerry DelTufo.

Sightseers seek out the vistas from its walkways.

“It’s still a destination,” he said yesterday at an anniversary celebration in Bayonne’s Collins Park.

. . .

During yesterday’s festivities, Bayonne Mayor Joseph V. Doria Jr. pointed to the immigrant roots on both sides of the bridge. To demonstrate the city’s Dutch heritage, 75 red, white, and blue tulip bulbs will be planted in Collins Park.

“Walls keep us apart,” he said, “but bridges bring us together.”

Location Scout: Bayonne Bridge.

It’s Not Like You Would Expect Them To Take It With Them To The Bathroom

The Post answers what was in (or near) Scranton — a toilet:

A simple pit stop by the side of the highway led to the theft of an priceless painting by Spanish master Francisco de Goya while it was being transported to New York from Ohio for an exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum.

The 1778 masterpiece, “Children With a Cart,” was snatched when the professional art movers took a break on the side of the highway en route to the Big Apple and left their vehicle — and the nearly 5-foot-by-3-foot painting — unattended, said FBI spokeswoman Jerri Williams.

When they returned to their vehicle, the movers discovered it had been broken into and the painting had been swiped, she said.

It was the only artwork they were transporting — and that makes investigators believe the thieves didn’t just chance upon the masterpiece.

By the way, the Post’s headline — “When You Gotta Goya You Gotta Goya” — is not half bad!

Councilmember Shocked To Discover That There Is Such Thing As The American Meat Institute*

The City Council again tackles the important issues:

One City Council member wants to outlaw a process called modified atmosphere packaging that allows meat to stay red even when it’s not so fresh.

“It’s clearly deceptive,” said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens). “People think they are buying meat that looks healthy, and it’s made that way artificially.”

But Janet Riley of the American Meat Institute said the process, which uses small amounts of carbon monoxide to extend the shelf life of meat, is safe and doesn’t mask spoiled food.

“You would absolutely know if the meat was spoiled,” Riley said. “It would be slimy, the package would be bulging and it would smell — that smell is unmistakable.”

*Another great band name!