STATEWIDE

PATAKI VETOES ‘MORNING-AFTER PILL’ BILL

Governor Pataki vetoed legislation that would have allowed pharmacists to dispense the so-called morning-after pill to women of any age without a prescription. The veto, which was expected, came the same day the state Assembly sent the bill to Mr. Pataki’s desk. The governor said in his veto that he supports wide distribution of the pill, which either prevents conception or blocks a fertilized egg from implanting, but rejected the bill because it did not include an age restriction for women under 16. The Food and Drug Administration has recommended the drug not be dispensed without a prescription. In addition to the age restriction, Mr. Pataki’s veto called for a limit on the amount of the drug that may be dispensed at one time, a mechanism that prevents men from purchasing it, and assurance that women who buy it are counseled. Lawmakers will take up the proposed changes during a special session expected later this year or next year. Mr. Pataki had been a consistent proponent of abortion-related laws until yesterday’s veto. Critics have charged that he rejected the emergency contraception bill as a way of appealing to conservative Republicans as he eyes that party’s presidential nomination in 2008.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

MANHATTAN

UPPER EAST SIDE DELIVERYMAN ROBBED

Two men wielding pipe-like objects robbed a food deliveryman on the Upper East Side, according to police officials. At about 12:20 a.m. yesterday, the Jackson Hole worker made a delivery to a residence at 354 E. 91st St. He exited the building and as he removed the security chain from his bicycle, one male allegedly struck him over the head with a blunt object that police said looked like half of a stem from a floor lamp. The deliveryman fell to the ground when another male hit him with what appeared to be the other half of the floor-lamp stem, and stole the $150 from the victim’s pocket, police said. When the deliveryman did not return to the restaurant, at 1270 Madison Ave. at 91st Street, manager Mario Becerril became concerned and sent other employees to locate him. Mr. Becerril received a telephone call from the victim. “He called saying he was robbed,” Mr. Becerril said. The victim was taken to New York Hospital for treatment, Mr. Becerril said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

POLICE INVESTIGATE DOZENS OF SWASTIKAS PAINTED ON BUILDING

Residents in a Washington Heights apartment building found more than a dozen swastikas painted on their building, police said. Police are investigating the incident at 501 West 189th St. as a possible hate crime.The vandals also scrawled the number “666” and the word “Satan” on apartment doors, the lobby’s doorway, and vestibule of the building, which is home to students at nearby Yeshiva University. In late May, two men were arrested in Queens for allegedly writing anti-Semitic slurs and drawing swastikas on at least 18 parked vehicles, three bus shelters, a U.S. mailbox, and a newspaper box. Those crimes occurred May 18 near a synagogue in Fresh Meadows.

— Special to the Sun

QUEENS

FIELDS SAYS PROBE OF CAB COMPANY IS RETALIATORY MOVE

Democratic mayoral candidate C. Virginia Fields fired off a letter to the Taxi & Limousine Commission yesterday, alleging that an investigation the TLC conducted into a Manhattan livery cab company was retaliation for the company’s recent endorsement of her bid to replace Mayor Bloomberg. The TLC says its unannounced visit to Premium Radio Dispatch earlier this week had nothing to do with Ms. Fields and was simply a follow-up to an existing investigation. In her letter to the TLC, Ms. Fields, whose campaign has been struggling for weeks to gain a toehold with voters before next month’s primary, wrote: “The drivers from Premium believe, and it certainly appears to me, that this conduct is connected to the fact that it is one of the Livery Cab Companies that is supporting my candidacy for Mayor,” she said. The TLC said the investigation stemmed from a complaint it received in early July — weeks before a group of livery drivers announced its endorsement of Ms. Fields on Sunday.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

QUEENS TEACHER CHARGED WITH RAPE FACES FOUR YEARS IN PRISON

The Queens teacher who was arrested for having sex with a 16-year-old student was arraigned Wednesday night on rape and sex abuse charges. Francisco Aguilar, 28, is charged with two counts of rape in the third degree, two counts of sexual misconduct, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, and two counts of sexual abuse in the third degree. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown, said. He would also have to register as a sex offender.

— Special to the Sun

CITYWIDE

IMMIGRANT STUDENTS PROTEST SCHOOL LANGUAGE BARRIERS

About 40 students from immigrant families gathered on the steps of City Hall yesterday afternoon to protest school language barriers they say prevent their non-English-reading parents from being involved in their educations.The protesters called for the adoption of Intro. 464, which would require the city’s Department of Education to make documents intended for parents available in the nine most common languages spoken in New York City and develop an interpretation system for meetings and events. According to the New York Immigration Coalition, 50% of public school parents require translation and interpretation assistance.

— Special to the Sun

N.Y. AUTHORITIES ACCUSE MAN OF CONSPIRING TO SUPPORT TERROR GROUP

A Washington, D.C., cab driver was charged yesterday with conspiracy to help a terrorist organization after boasting he went to terrorist training camps in Pakistan and agreed to help however he could, prosecutors said yesterday.

Mahmud Faruq Brent, of Gwynn Oak, Md., was charged after a New York musician arrested on similar charges in May agreed to meet with him and let the FBI record the encounter, federal prosecutors, the FBI, and New York police said in a joint release.

Mr. Brent was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba organization, which America designated as a terrorist organization in December 2001.

— Associated Press