POLICE BLOTTER

OFFICER ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO STEAL BABY FORMULA

An off-duty police officer was arrested Monday night after attempting to steal baby formula, police said. Officer Alvin Malcolm was apprehended around 10:30 p.m. at a Rite Aid pharmacy on Halsey Street in Brooklyn, police reported. A 911 call was placed when a security guard at the pharmacy stopped the officer, who reportedly was attempting to steal two cans of Enfamil formula. Officer Malcolm, who has been a police officer since July 1996 and was assigned to the 81st precinct in Brooklyn, was given a desk appearance ticket to return to court for his arraignment rather than be sent to jail. He is charged with attempted petit larceny.

– Special to the Sun

CITYWIDE

COUNCIL TO INTRODUCE FIRST MEASURES OF YEAR TODAY

City Council members are set to introduce their first measures of the year today, including a resolution calling on Albany to give the city control over its rent and eviction laws. The state has assumed jurisdiction over those laws under the 1971 Urstadt Law, enacted under Governor Rockefeller and named for his housing commissioner, Charles Urstadt. The council will also introduce a resolution calling on Governor Pataki to “immediately abide” by the court order in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, which requires that the state spend billions more on funding for city schools. In the wake of two recent child deaths, Council Member Bill de Blasio is proposing a bill aimed at shoring up the Administration for Children’s Services by capping the caseload of department workers and mandating improved responses to reports of child abuse and neglect.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MANHATTAN

CLINTON SEEKS HELP FOR GROUND ZERO WORKERS IN ASBESTOS BILL

Senator Clinton yesterday said she will bring the debate over ground zero worker’s health to the floor of the Senate in coming days, seeking help for first responders through a troubled asbestos litigation bill. Mrs. Clinton said she will try to add an amendment to a much debated asbestos measure that would the first responders from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, workers, and nearby residents eligible to apply for aid under a newly created Federal Asbestos Compensation Fund. As much as 2,000 tons of asbestos may have been tossed into the air in Lower Manhattan when the 110-story World Trade Center towers collapsed, according to some estimates. Ground zero health advocates have long argued that the full scope of illnesses from toxic debris and dust will take years to fully develop, even though doctors caution it will be difficult to prove the hazards caused specific deaths.

– Associated Press

STATEWIDE

UNION: FUNDING GAP BETWEEN RICH, POOR STUDENTS ‘IMMORAL’

BUFFALO – The head of the Buffalo teachers union yesterday called the state’s educational funding system the most discriminatory in the nation, citing a report that showed New York with a larger gap in spending between rich and poor students than any other state. The Buffalo Teachers Federation president, Phil Rumore, called Governor Pataki’s appeal of a court ruling that could impact needy districts statewide “immoral and reprehensible” and said the state has fallen short in its obligation for equality among students. The ruling won by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity and upheld by the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ordered the state to spend billions more on New York City schools and could lead to funding increases for other urban districts. The Pataki administration appealed, arguing that the courts were violating the separation of powers by ordering the executive and legislative branches to spend more on school aid.

– Associated Press

TRISTATE

WAITRESSES SUE CASINO FOR $70M OVER WEIGHT POLICY

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Two former Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa cocktail servers have filed a $70 million sex discrimination lawsuit against the casino, saying it humiliated costumed “Borgata Babes” by imposing weight limits, encouraging breast augmentation surgery, and emphasizing looks over job performance. The suit, filed Monday, calls the casino a workplace “polluted by rampant sexual stereotypes” and seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, back pay, and damages for humiliation suffered by Renee Gaud, 36, of Mays Landing, and Trisha Hart, 28, of Wenonah. Ms. Gaud, who suffers from a thyroid condition she said makes her weight fluctuate, gained weight but was refused a larger costume and took a leave of absence because of stress over an impending, casino-mandated weigh in. Ms. Hart was fired after complaining about the weight policy and being forced to undergo a drug test as part of a leave of absence. She was later diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, the lawsuit states. A Borgata spokesman, Michael Facenda, said the casino would have no comment because the litigation was pending.

– Associated Press