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JUST LIKE THAT – SUMMER CALLS IT QUITS

“The day summer called it quits”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, September17, 2011 Summer doesn’t end on Labor Day. Not most years, it doesn’t. It doesn’t pack up its pup tent with the first day of school, whatever the kiddies think. And summer almost never stops the day the calendar insists it does, Sept. 22 this year.…

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AN ANNIVERSARY TO MARK A DAY WE WON’T FORGET

“A day that will stay etched in our memory”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, September11, 2011 What is it about an anniversary? Some arbitrary date on a calendar. A point in distinct time commanding all of us: “Pay attention now.” Who needs mathematics to tell us when to mourn? Surely, there is no wrong day to remember…

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WORST BRINGS OUT NY’S BEST – REPRINTED FROM 9/11/01

FROM NEWSDAY 9/11/2001 8:00 pm – by Ellis Henican “A man ran up to us,” Stephen Craver said. “His whole face was peeling off. That’s how badly burned he was.” Craver, a gray-haired paramedic from St. Vincents Hospital and Medical Center, was already at the corner of Vesey and West streets when the first wave of…

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IRENE’S GONE, SOMEONE TURN ON THE LIGHTS

  “Power gridlock gave LI a jolt”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, September 4, 2011 Living off the grid isn’t so juicy, after all. A few hours or even a day without electricity? That falls into the tolerable zone. The kids like playing with candles. The iPhone can still be powered in the car. But somewhere around…

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IRENE 2011: SOME HARD-EARNED LESSONS OF KATRINA

  Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, August 27, 2011 Ten hard-earned lessons from Katrina, recalled just in time for Irene: 1. The hurricane categories go all the way to 5, but don’t let the scale fool you. 3’s can be awfully vicious too. When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, it was clocked as a 3. Enough…

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LUXE VACATION GOTTA-GETAWAY FOR OBAMA

“Ritzy vacations are inherintly bipartisan”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, August 21, 2011   Under the circumstances, Martha’s Vineyard might not be the perfect vacation choice. Sure, presidents need chill-time just like the rest of us. Probably more so. Their work duties are more relentless. And along with being president, Barack Obama has at least two…

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WHAT GOES UP, SOON GOES DOWN IN SPINNING MARKET

“What’s next for the U.S. of AA+”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, August 14, 2011 The free market’s in free fall! Wait, it’s zooming up again! Hold on a second, the stocks are tumbling now! But not for long they aren’t! Here comes another U-turn! You enjoying AA+? Since Standard & Poor’s took America’s AAA away,…

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TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT—FOREVER

“No. 1 job complaint? I don’t have one!”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, August 7, 2011  The economic news last week had practical effects on real people’s lives. Personally, I was hoping to retire at 111. Now, according to my closing-bell calculations at the end of the week, that’s been pushed back at least to 129.…

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CHEWING GUM HELPS STUDENTS WITH MATH

FOX NEWS OPINION:  Ellis Henican August 4, 2011   www.foxnews.com Just in time for back-to-school, here comes the Bazooka Boost. According to a new study in the brainy Journal of Adolescence, eighth-graders who chew gum during math class and homework time score higher on standardized tests than their empty-mouthed classmates. Take that, Assistant Principal Lockjaw! How…

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DEBT TALKS PARALYZED BY POLITICS—WHAT NEXT?

“Just dithering on the debt ceiling”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, July 30, 2011 If it’s this hard to raise the debt ceiling, how can Washington even think of solving real problems? That’s the next question we’ll get to face, once this debt-limit fiasco is finally behind us — and not a minute too soon. What…

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