STATEWIDE

PATAKI SIGNS HOSPITAL INFECTION, SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY BILLS

New York hospitals will be required to report serious infections and public schools will face closer financial oversight under bills approved by Governor Pataki. Yesterday, Mr. Pataki’s office also announced that the governor vetoed a bill that would have given the state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, the right to invest more of the state’s pension fund in higher-risk ventures.The infection bill requires hospitals to track various kinds of serious infections and report them to the state Health Department. Hospital infections are blamed for 90,000 deaths nationwide annually, each costing hospitals $30,000 to $70,000. The school accountability law requires each district to undergo more effective audits by outside firms every year and requires audit committees to act on recommendations from audits.

— Associated Press

N.Y. REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH CON ED OVER ELECTROCUTION DEATH

The state Public Services Commission approved a $10.6 million settlement with Consolidated Edison yesterday in the 2004 death of a Manhattan woman electrocuted while walking her dogs. Under the terms of the settlement, approved at the commission’s meeting in Buffalo, $9.6 million will be used to pay for stray voltage detectors designed to prevent such electrocutions in the future. The remaining $1 million will be used for additional safety programs, the commission said in a statement. Jodie Lane, 30, was killed January 16, 2004, when she stepped on the metal cover of a utility box while walking through the East Village with her two dogs.

— Associated Press

PATAKI VETOES BILL TO INCREASE HEVESI’S CONTROL OF PENSION FUND

Governor Pataki vetoed a bill yesterday that would have increased the power of the state comptroller over New York’s public pension fund. The comptroller, Alan Hevesi, successfully pressed legislators this year to pass a bill that would increase to 25% from 15% the portion of the fund’s $115 billion in assets over which he has investment discretion. Mr. Hevesi argued that increasing investments in private equity would increase the rate of return and limit the fund’s exposure to dramatic market fluctuations.

Governor Pataki rejected the push by saying increased investments in private equity and real estate would expose the fund to greater risk, making it more vulnerable to market fluctuations.Under current Retirement and Social Security Law, public pension systems are limited in the types of investments they can make.Most of the assets may only be invested in a so-called “legal list” of options, though the comptroller has more discretion over the portion of the assets he controls.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

CITYWIDE

MTA UNION TO TRAIN MEMBERS IN TERRORISM DETERRENCE

The union representing the Metropolitan Transit Authority is holding training sessions to teach members advanced terrorism awareness and deterrence this Sunday, after noting the MTA’s slowness in training subway and bus employees in terrorism prevention, union members said yesterday. The Transit Worker’s Union, Local 100, has invited a private security firm headed by the former director of security at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Jerusalem to teach the training sessions, according to a press release. The MTA contested the union’s claims yesterday, explaining that they have provided 44,567 New York City Transit employees with a two-hour course on identifying suspicious persons and packages and what to do about them, a spokesman, Tom Kelly, said. The MTA also provided them with a 25-page brochure, he said.

— Special to the Sun

POLL: 90% HAVE ‘SHOW MUST GO ON’ ATTITUDE AFTER LONDON BOMBINGS

Almost 90% of New York City voters say they have gone about their lives as usual since the terrorist bombings in London, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday. But that doesn’t mean voters feel protected from terrorism. The poll found that 72% of voters are “very worried” or “somewhat worried” that an attack similar to the attack on London’s transportation system could happen here in New York City. “It’s not that we think New York is immune. Most of us believe another terrorist attack is likely. And not many of us believe the city is really ready for another attack,” the director of the polling institute, Maurice Carroll, said. “But New Yorkers believe the show must go on.” The poll was conducted between July 12 and July 17. It has a margin of error of +/– 2.7 percentage points.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

BLOOMBERG OPTIMISTIC ABOUT UFT NEGOTIATIONS

The United Federation of Teachers has been locked in a bitter contract dispute with the city for more than two years. But in the past two days, Mayor Bloomberg has repeatedly voiced optimism about the negotiations. “There are conversations going on all the time, and conversations continue,” he said at a news conference. “Are we making progress? Yes. Are we there? Absolutely not.” He said he’s “optimistic” and praised city workers.”The city does have in its budget some moneys for raises even though we face daunting deficits going forward,” he said. “But clearly we have a great municipal workforce and you want them as well paid as you can get them to make them focus on providing what the public wants. I have always been a believer in that.” The teachers union president, Randi Weingarten, has said she’s intent on reaching a contract agreement by the start of the school year, as has the mayor.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

WOMAN GIVES BIRTH ON FLIGHT TO NEW YORK FROM TRINIDAD

A woman gave birth on a flight from Trinidad to New York with the help of flight attendants and a midwife who was a passenger, an airline official said yesterday. The baby boy was born about 10 minutes before flight BW500 landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport early Tuesday, a spokeswoman for BWIA airlines, Dionne Ligoure, said. Paramedics took the mother and baby to a hospital,where they were in good health, Ms. Ligoure said. The mother was identified as Candy Midtlyng, a Trinidad-born American resident.The baby would be entitled to apply for American citizenship, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Shawn Saucier, said.

— Associated Press

DRAG RACE DRIVER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

One of the drivers involved in a drag race along Shore Parkway in Queens on Tuesday evening is being charged with manslaughter, officials said.

Luis Decarolis, 44, is charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and reckless endangerment for his alleged role in the death of his racing partner, Carlos Feria, 22, and the injuries of another man whose SUV was hit by Feria, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown, said. Mr. Decarolis stands to face 15 years in prison if convicted, he said.

According to police, the men were racing their Ford Mustangs on Shore Parkway when Feria lost control of his car and crossed the divider into oncoming traffic. His car hit a light pole before slamming into an oncoming sports utility vehicle, killing him, police said. The car driven by Mr. Decarolis struck a wall, police said. The driver of the SUV was taken to Peninsula General Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.

— Special to the Sun

STATEN ISLAND

PATAKI, BLOOMBERG BREAK GROUND FOR SHIP-TO-RAIL FACILITY

Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg will break ground today on Staten Island for a new ship-to-rail facility at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, as part of a $72 million effort to re-establish Staten Island freight rail service. The terminal, which is owned by the city and managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, closed in 1986, but reopened as a marine terminal in 1996 after the authority and city spent $48 million to refurbish it and dredge the terminal berths for cargo ships. Currently, the facility is used to ship goods from the terminal by truck.

— Special to the Sun

BROOKLYN

WOMAN RAPED IN EAST FLATBUSH

A 19-year-old woman waiting for a cab in East Flatbush early Sunday morning was approached by an unidentified man wielding a knife who forced her behind an adjacent building and raped her, police officials said. The rape occurred on Avenue D in the 67th Precinct, the fifth-worst precinct in the city for rape, according to police Compstat reports.

Last year, there were 47 reports of rape in the area, more than every precinct in Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, the reports show. Police released a sketch of the suspect yesterday. He is described as a black male with a pockmarked face, between 25 and 30 years old, with a weight of around 200 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black cap, police said.

— Special to the Sun