CITYWIDE

WEINGARTEN WILL BE CHAIRWOMAN OF UFT’S CHARTER SCHOOL

The president of the United Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, told The New York Sun yesterday that she told the trustees of the State University of New York that she would serve as chairwoman of the board of the union’s proposed charter school.

Ms. Weingarten’s decision, which came within 24 hours of a meeting last Tuesday during which concerns were raised by some board members about her role in the new school, makes it more likely that the union operated charter school will gain approval from SUNY and could open in the fall.

“I think her decision to step up and become chairman is a positive development. It recognizes our insistence on full accountability and the importance of accountability in building a successful school,” New York’s secretary of state, Randy Daniels, who raised the concerns last week, said in a telephone interview. “I think that was my major concern … This removes a major impediment for me.”

He said the school has “significant support” but he didn’t want to predict the outcome of the vote, which could come this month.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BIOTERRORISM SYSTEM SET TO BE TESTED TODAY

The city’s first alert warning system for a bio-terrorism attack is in place, and officials are hoping that drills starting today will improve their response.

The multi-agency exercises, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, are designed to test the city’s ability to receive and dispense medication to the public in the aftermath of a chemical attack.

Anthrax or chemical attacks from a terrorist would require immediate inoculations for thousands. Officials said they have more than 200 stations set up throughout the city to dispense vaccinations. At the heart of the city’s emergency preparedness plan is an elaborate early-warning system that relies on local intelligence and computer data from local hospitals that could indicate a chemical outbreak, officials said. The system also incorporates the federal bio-shield initiative, using chemical sensors hidden throughout the city to constantly monitor air quality.

– The Washington Post

ALBANY

BUSH TAPS PATAKI TO ATTEND ANTI-SEMITISM CONFERENCE

The Bush administration has chosen Governor Pataki to lead an American delegation at an international conference on anti-Semitism next week in Spain. The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, said Mr. Pataki was chosen as the top American representative at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Conference on Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Intolerance because he heads an ethnically diverse state.

A top fund-raiser for President Bush last year, Mr. Pataki has not ruled out a run for president and has not denied reports that he has been offered a federal post by Mr. Bush. Taking a lead role at an international conference would enhance his qualifications for either option. The conference will take place in Cordoba on June 8 and 9.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WATCHDOG GROUPS GIVE LAWMAKERS A ‘TO DO’ LIST

A group of government watchdog groups issued a list of end-of-session assignments to state lawmakers, saying a number of reformist pledges made during last year’s elections have not yet been met. Representatives from the New York Public Interest Research Group, Common Cause, and other groups said the state Legislature, which is scheduled to finish its business June 23, gets an “incomplete” on the implementation of 10 reforms.

The groups gave a passing grade to lawmakers for changes they made in January to the legislative voting process, but called for immediate action on the televising of legislative sessions, and procurement of new voting equipment consistent with the Help America Vote Act, among other items. They downplayed the importance of this year’s on-time budget, the first since 1984, saying it is the least the lawmakers should be expected to accomplish.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

THE BRONX

MAN’S BODY FOUND UNDER NO. 6 TRAIN AT WHITLOCK AVENUE

A man was found dead under a Manhattan-bound no. 6 train early yesterday morning as it pulled into the Whitlock Avenue station in the Bronx, police said. The man has not been identified, and the cause of death, including whether it was a suicide, had yet to be determined by the Medical Examiner’s office.

The incident at around 3:30 a.m. yesterday shut down Manhattan-bound service for two-and-a-half hours, a spokesman for New York City Transit, Charles Seaton, said.

– Special to the Sun

MANHATTAN

SLATER ACCUSED OF GROPING WOMAN ON UPPER EAST SIDE

Actor Christian Slater, who starred in the 1980s classic film “Heathers” and is appearing on Broadway in “The Glass Menagerie,” was arrested early yesterday on a charge he groped a woman. The incident happened at 1:50 a.m. near 93rd Street and Third Avenue, police said.

A prosecutor said in Manhattan criminal court that Mr. Slater, 35, and his girlfriend had been arguing at a bodega on the Upper East Side and that another woman, a stranger, was buying a soda when Mr. Slater walked up behind her and grabbed her buttocks. The woman flagged down police to report the incident, a police spokesman, Detective John Sweeney, said. Mr. Slater was found nearby and the woman identified him as the man who groped her.

Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Puzio said Mr. Slater cursed at the arresting officer and said, “I didn’t do anything. I’m suing you and the police department.” Mr. Slater was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, police said.

– Associated Press