Help-wanted ad for nanny: `My kids are a pain'

NEW YORK (AP) -- It was an unusually honest ad
for a live-in nanny, a 1,000-word tome beginning, "My kids are a pain."
But it worked, attracting a brave soul who's never been a nanny before.

"If
you cannot multitask, or communicate without being passive aggressive,
don't even bother replying," Rebecca Land Soodak, a mother of four on
Manhattan's Upper East Side, wrote Aug. 19 in her advertisement on
Craigslist.

"I can be a tad difficult to work for. I'm loud, pushy and while I used to think we paid well, I am no longer sure."

This
being the age of instant communications, the ad took on a life of its
own, making the rounds of parenting blogs and e-mail inboxes and
inspiring an article in Thursday's New York Times.

Soodak,
a 40-year-old painter whose husband owns a wine store, eventually hired
Christina Wynn, a 25-year-old University of Virginia graduate, to take
care of Rubin, 12; Ellis, 9; and Shay and Cassie, both 6.

"I
made a commitment to stay in the job for at least a year," Wynn told
the Times. "I met the oldest child, but not the others, which my mother
said was crazy - to accept the job without meeting all the kids. So
we'll see." She noted that one of the pluses is that the children are
all in school for several hours each day.

Cops Search for Brooklyn Man Accused of Stealing Parking Meters

Police are looking for a Brooklyn man suspected of stealing 87 parking meters in Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay and Bensonhurst.

Maurice Mizrahi, 34, of Gravesend has been arrested 7 times in
the last year for stealing the coin-operated meters, police said.

No one has ever actually seen him stealing the meters, which are
quite heavy and extremely difficult to remove, according to police. And
yet several of them were actually extracted from the sidewalk
-- poles and all -- which in some cases went two feet deep
into the ground.

A woman, who police believe to be Mizrahi's mother, called 911 on
Wednesday after discovering 19 of them in her house at 2032 East 1st
street in Brooklyn's Gravesend section.

She then called again Thursday to tell police she had found many
more meters in a crawlspace in her home, and police removed the
additional 68 meters from the home Friday morning.

McCain picks Alaska gov as running mate.

McCain Surprises With VP Pick
John
McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a maverick conservative with
less than two years in office, as his vice presidential running mate
Friday in a startling choice announced before the start of the
Republican National Convention.

Tony Russo-8/15/08-Final MMD show

Sneak Peek: Inside the New Yankee Stadium

Advertise on NYTimes.com Home Sales Increased 3.1% in July

Home Sales Increased 3.1% in July

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM 24 minutes ago

The respite for the housing slump came as falling
prices appeared to lure more buyers into the market, but the number of
homes for sale increased significantly.

Web Audience for Games Soars for NBC and Yahoo

Web Audience for Games Soars for NBC and Yahoo

By BRIAN STELTER

The extent to which the Internet served as a
supplement to television was unprecedented, and there were two clear
winners: NBC’s Web site and Yahoo’s Olympics section.

Kennedy, Michelle Obama rally Dems at convention

'Barack Will Be Extraordinary'
Michelle
Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National
Convention Monday night, stressing her husband's values and belief in
the American dream, and the fact that she believes he'll be an
extraordinary president.

EARTHQUAKE DANGERS FOR NYC

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - An analysis of recent earthquake activity
around New York City has found that many small faults that were
believed to be inactive could contribute to a major, disastrous
earthquake.

The study also finds that a line of seismic activity stretching
from Stamford, Conn., to Peekskill comes within two miles of the Indian
Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan. Another fault line near the
plant was already known, so the findings suggest Indian Point is at an
intersection of faults.

The study's authors, who work at Columbia University's
Lamont-Doherty Observatory in Palisades, acknowledge that the biggest
earthquakes - in the 6 or 7 magnitude range - are rare in the New York
City region. They say a quake of magnitude 7 probably comes about every
3,400 years.

But they note that no one knows when the last one hit, and because
of the population density and the concentration of buildings and
financial assets, many lives and hundreds of billions of dollars are at
risk.

Co-author Leonardo Seeber said in an interview that although the
metropolitan area does not have a single great fault like the San
Andreas fault in California, "Not having a major fault is not a reason
not to worry about earthquakes."

"Instead of having a single major fault or a few major faults, we
tend to have a lot of very minor and sort of subtle faults," he said.
"It's a family of faults, and that can contribute to the severity of an
earthquake."

John Ebel, director of seismology at Boston College's Weston
Observatory, said he agreed with the study's finding that small faults
can contribute to large earthquakes. "A quake can jump from one fault
to another," he said.

The study, published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society
of America, analyzed 383 known earthquakes over the past 330 years in
or near New York City. The biggest were three that reached magnitude 5
in 1737, 1783 and 1884.

Data on earthquakes since the early 1970s, when Lamont deployed
dozens of new detectors, enabled the authors to see patterns from
smaller quakes, including the magnitude 4.1 quake that was centered on
Ardsley, in Westchester County, in 1985.

Patsy's Celebrates Anniversary with 1933 Prices

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hurry to Patsy's Restaurant in East Harlem as it celebrates its 75th anniversary with 1933 prices.

The offer is good all day Tuesday.

A 12-ounce New York cut steak and grilled salmon are going for 90
cents, a slice of pizza for 60 cents, and most beverages are 10 cents.



The dining room was packed, of course and people were lined up around the block to take advantage of the huge discounts.

Two-Headed Turtle Stolen from Brooklyn

Two-Headed Turtle Snatched from Pet Store
A reward is being offered for the safe return of a two-headed turtle that was stolen from a Brooklyn pet store on Sunday.

Methadone Rises as a Painkiller With Big Risks

Methadone Rises as a Painkiller With Risks

By ERIK ECKHOLM and OLGA PIERCE

Methadone, once used mainly in addiction treatment
centers, is now more widely prescribed, and it is the fastest growing
cause of narcotic deaths.

In Beijing, Phelps Does What He Came to Do

Doug Mills/The New York Times

The United States' team, from left, Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps, Aaron
Peirsol and Brendan Hansen celebrate winning the gold medal after the
men's 4x100-meter medley relay final.

The 4x100-meter medley relay team broke the world record to help Michael Phelps make history.

• Sports of The Times: Phelps Does What He Came to Do
• TV Sports: Restraint by NBC as Phelps Wins 8th Gold
• Interactive Graphic: A History of World Records

'Golden Boy' Michael Phelps Ties Spitz Record

Michael Phelps Swims to Seventh Heaven
The
Golden Boy, right, tied Mark Spitz's 1972 record with his seventh gold
medal Saturday after coming from behind for a fingertip victory.
He goes for number 8 and the record tonight in the 4x100 medley

MT CHARLESTON

Tony takes you to MT CHARLESTON, NV ..30 MINUTES FROM LAS VEGAS

Too Much Security?

Too Much Security?
The
New York City Police Department's security plan for the rebuilt World
Trade Center site has many downtown businesses asking, "How much
security is too much?" 'Operation Sentinel' is the department's plan to
have the 16-acre site sealed off and secured by 2010 with measures
including check points on street corners for screening pedestrians and
underground bomb screening centers for delivery trucks.

Disney Store on Manhattan's 5th Avenue Is Closing

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. plans to close its World of Disney store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue when the lease expires in 2010 and replace it with a smaller store elsewhere in the borough. Spokesman Gary Foster says the company behind such lovable characters as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh and the ``Toy Story'' and ``High School Musical'' movies is scouting locations for the new store. World of Disney stores like the one on Fifth Avenue near St. Patrick's Cathedral are operated by Disney's parks and resorts division and are bigger than the chain stores operated by the consumer products division. The new store will be part of the chain. The Disney stores sell products including toys, clothes and games. Disney used to operate a store in Times Square.

Report: NYC Has Failed to Reduce Homelessness

Mayor's Homeless Plan Flops
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg is failing at his goal to reduce the homeless
population by two-thirds before he leaves office next year, according
to a report released Thursday which said the number of homeless
families in city shelters has actually increased.

Hundreds remember Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer in stirring tribute

OKLAHOMA CITY — His rocking chair sat empty and motionless
with his old New York Yankees jersey draped over it, but the spirit of
beloved broadcaster Bobby Murcer lived on Wednesday with his family,
friends and colleagues.

Hundreds filled an Oklahoma City-area
church for a stirring and often humorous tribute to Murcer, a five-time
all-star outfielder who died from brain cancer on July 12.

He was
remembered in words by his son, an astronaut and a 13-year-old cancer
survivor, and in video messages from Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Rich
(Goose) Gossage and comedians Billy Crystal and Ray Romano.

Gotti Arrested in Murder Conspiracy

In recent years, John A. Gotti, once the acting boss of the Gambino crime family,
has become something of an elusive bull’s-eye for federal
prosecutors. In just over a year, Mr. Gotti was prosecuted three times
on charges relating to organized crime, but each time the case ended in
a mistrial. Prosecutors decided in October 2006 to drop the case.

JetBlue Readies New Post-9/11 Terminal at JFK

As a symbol of the last century of flight sits in its shadow, a new
JetBlue terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport is undergoing
a series of tests ahead of its scheduled opening on Oct. 1.

JetBlue Airways Corp. is in the final stretch of a four-year, $743
million construction project to create a modern terminal and a new home
base for the Forest Hills, N.Y.-based carrier. The space is also the
first terminal designed and built since 9/11, and aims to address a
number of security and planning concerns.

It's Now 'I Love Upstate New York'

New York State is reviving the ``I Love New York'' campaign to help boost tourism to upstate New York.

Tourism officials will announce 15 finalists in the state's first
``I Love New York'' film contest on Thursday. Filmmakers produced
60-second films on why they love the state.

Comedian and actress Tina Fey and Academy Award-winning actor Philip
Seymour Hoffman are part of a panel that will pick a winner. The grand
prize is a weekend getaway package in New York state.

The winner will be announced at Independent Film Week in New York
City in September. The winner's film will appear in a commercial during
the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast.

The ``I Love New York'' campaign originally helped increase tourism to New York City in the late 1970s.

Yankee Greats, and Not-So-Greats, Celebrate the End of Many Eras

The Yankees invited 72 former players, from Jim Abbott to Dave
Winfield, to the final Old-Timers’ Day at the Stadium. The team
plans to move across the street next season.

The First Sign of Immortality: A-Rod Has a “Yankeeography”

Alex Rodriguez is finally a true Yankee. How do you measure that? By
huge statistics? By postseason success? No. By one measure:
A-Rod’s finally gotten his own “Yankeeography,” which
makes its debut on the YES Network after Wednesday night’s game
against the Rangers.

Last year, when asked why A-Rod lacked the video imprimatur of true
Yankeehood, YES’s response was that a “Yankeeography”
candidate needed three years of pinstriped service. Never mind that
Rodriguez was then in his fourth season as a Yankee; a YES executive
said that, in essence, Rodriguez had blown his chance of a tribute last
year because of his un-A-Rodish 2006.

Apple's Remote app is even better than we thought

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed Apple’s Remote app,
which lets you use your iPhone or iPod touch as a remote for your Apple
TV or for iTunes on a Mac or Windows PC—you get a touchscreen
interface for controlling playback that looks nearly identical to the
iPhone’s iPod mode. By letting you quickly and easily browse
through long lists of media—and even search for particular
items—Remote provides a near-perfect solution for my biggest beef
with the Apple TV: excruciatingly-slow list scrolling.

Study: Retail Chains Populate NYC

A new study says the number of national retail chain stores in New York City is growing.

The Center for an Urban Future counted nearly 7,000 national chain stores in the five boroughs.

The non-partisan think tank says that's more than the city had five to 10 years ago.

It says some parts of the city, particularly Manhattan, are ``oversaturated'' by chains.

Dunkin' Donuts topped the study's list with 341 stores. Subway
sandwich shops ranked second with 335 restaurants, followed by
McDonald's, Starbucks, and Duane Reade.

Manhattan has the most chains: 2,352. Manhattan's most popular? Starbucks, with 186 stores.

Critics have complained big retailers are forcing mom-and-pop stores out and stripping neighborhoods of their unique character.