READY OR NOT – LONG ISLAND WELCOMES SUMMER

 “LI’s Bright Spots Shine Despite Bleak Times,” Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 30, 2010 The jobs are slow in returning. The Long Island economy’s still bleak. The weather people are predicting a treacherous riptide season off the beaches here. Is there anything to be cheery about as summer unofficially begins? I mean besides the fact that…

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IT’S UP TO YOU NY, NY, LeBRON

  “LeBron, Make it Here”  Ellis Henican Column, amNewYork, May 27, 2010 Hey, LeBron: Are you really thinking of playing someplace besides New York? Go look up the name “Dom DiMaggio.” That’ll turn you immediately into a proud New York Knick. The baby brother of Yankees great Joe DiMaggio spent his baseball career in Boston. One…

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THERE’S BLAME ENOUGH TO GO AROUND

 “Political Blame Game Sees the Boomerang Effect,” Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 23, 2010 Nobody’s happy. And all the options stink. That, right there, pretty much sums up the public mood around here when it comes to politics and government. Taxes are too high. Opportunities are too few. Everything’s too expensive. And nothing is likely to…

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WHERE HAVE ALL THE HEROES GONE?

 “Heroes Lose Halos One By One”  Ellis Henican Column, amNewYork, May 21, 2010 Say it ain’t so, Lance!  And you, Miss USA, pas-dedeuxing with a pole. And you, libidinous Lawrence Taylor and bad-news Ben Roethlisberger! Suddenly, all our heroes are exheroes. Heroes these days aren’t just hard to find, they’re becoming as rare as honest…

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DOLLARS TO DONUTS – TO DUBAI?

“Thanks For Nothing, Faisal,” Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 16, 2010 Gee, thanks, Faisal! Have you really dragged Long Island into the failed Times Square bombing plot? Federal investigators seem to think so, at least to the extent of helping to fuel the alleged plot with operational cash—and maybe something even sweeter. Car bombs and crullers,…

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STOP, SHOP, CHECK FOR DISEASE

“Your Medical Fate Found on the Shelves of the Drugstore? Not So Fast”  Ellis Henican Column, amNewYork, May 14, 2010 A trip to the drugstore was about to change forever. “Let’s see, aspirin … Q-tips … throat lozenges… wonder if I’ll be getting prostate cancer any time soon … ?” But hold on a second, the…

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JITTERY STAGE OF TERROR FOLLOWS NEAR MISS

 “A Near Miss Indeed, But it Has Left a Mark,” Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 9, 2010 We’re still in the jitter phase. It happens every time terrorism comes close again, the way it did last weekend with that explosive SUV in Times Square. Thankfully, the alleged bomber was incompetent. Thankfully, nobody was harmed. But the…

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EXPERT SAYS: “HIGH CONSEQUENCE AND HIGH CASUALTY”

 “Terrorism expert eyes Times Square car bomb,” Ellis Henican , Newsday, May 3, 2010 Show people aren’t the only ones who dream of playing Broadway. So do aspiring terrorists. “High consequence and high casualty,” Jerome Hauer was saying Sunday. “That’s what you get in New York.” Yes, the bright lights shine for everyone. “Think about it,”…

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FINALLY, JUSTICE FOR JO’ANNA

 “After Domestic Violence Death, Needed Changes,” Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, May 1, 2010 Evil is a word to use sparingly. But the crimes that Leonardo Valdez-Cruz has now been convicted of — torturing and murdering 24-year-old Jo’Anna Bird after her repeated pleas to police were poorly answered—is as evil as anything our justice system is ever forced…

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NEW YORK WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS?

“No Immigrants, No New York,” Ellis Henican Column, amNewYork, April 29, 2010 Dios mio, it would be awful! Living in New York without illegal immigrants! Who’d deliver the Chinese food? Who’d raise the children on the Upper East Side? With teamsters busing the restaurant tables, we’ll all be paying $49.50 for our next plate of…

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