MANHATTAN

COMPTROLLER HOLDS UP LICENSE FOR NEW YORK MILKSHAKE CO.

The New York Milkshake Co. won’t be setting up shop at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza just yet. The comptroller’s office is holding up a license agreement between the city and the vendor over concerns that the Department of Parks and Recreation did not pick the best candidate in an open bidding process. In a letter to the parks department, a deputy comptroller, John Graham, cited the Milkshake Co.’s lack of experience as a vendor and questions over its revenue projections and financing. The license had been slated to go into effect July 1.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

HUSBANDS, WIVES, PARTNERS TO READ NAMES AT 9/11 FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

Those who lost husbands, wives, and significant others in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will recite their loved ones’ names at the five-year anniversary ceremony.

— Associated Press

REGGAE CONCERT CANCELED AFTER PROTESTS OF ANTI-GAY LYRICS

A reggae concert meant to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS but featuring performers who protesters complained were anti-gay was canceled yesterday, and a board member of the organizing group said the depth of feeling around the issue had been “misjudged.” The organizer, LIFEbeat, had come under fire for including Jamaican dancehall artist Beenie Man and the group T.O.K in the lineup for the concert, which had been scheduled for July 18 at Webster Hall.

— Associated Press

ALBANY

ASSEMBLY MEMBER ASKS SWEENEY TO TESTIFY ABOUT SKI WEEKEND A state Assembly member investigating a $27,000 Lake Placid ski weekend staged for members of Congress is asking Rep. John Sweeney to answer questions about the annual event. An Assembly member, Richard Brodsky, a Westchester County Democrat who exposed sweetheart financial dealings at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Thruway Authority, sent a letter to Mr. Sweeney yesterday asking him to appear before an Assembly committee looking into the “Congressional Winter Challenge.” — Associated Press

IN THE COURTS

LAWYERS TO FILE SUIT CHALLENGING SCHOOL CELL PHONE BAN

Lawyers for a group of parents of children enrolled in public school plan to file a lawsuit today challenging the city’s ban on cell phones in the schools. Eight parents, along with the chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council, are behind the suit, which will be filed in state court and will claim the ban is illegal under state law and violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, a lawyer for the parents, Norman Siegel, said. Mayor Bloomberg and the city’s Department of Education have held firm in their opposition to students carrying cell phones to school, despite an outcry from many parents and elected officials.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

NEW TRIAL DATE SET FOR RAPPER FOXY BROWN

Rapper Foxy Brown, charged with assaulting two nail salon workers in a fracas over the cost of a manicure, has had her trial delayed until next month. Ms. Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, showed up yesterday before a Manhattan Criminal Court judge, Melissa Jackson, with her third lawyer since the August 29, 2004, incident. Judge Jackson delayed the trial, which was supposed to begin next week, until August 28.

— Associated Press

LAWYER CHARGED WITH STEALING FROM CLIENTS

A Manhattan attorney was indicted yesterday after prosecutors said he stole more than $1.6 million from his clients. Campbell Holder, 58, allegedly transferred money from client trust accounts into his own bank account,spending their money on expensive cars,clothing,and trips to Barbados. Prosecutors said many clients from the Bajan community hired him because he is from Barbados, and in one case Mr. Holder allegedly stole $450,000 from a terminally ill cancer patient who hired him to put his affairs in order before he died. Yesterday’s charges include grand larceny and fraud, and he was ordered to surrender his American and Bajan passports.

— Special to the Sun

STATEWIDE

PIRRO’S HUSBAND TICKETED FOR DRIVING 98 MPH

NEW ROCHELLE — Albert Pirro, husband of a state attorney general candidate, Jeanine Pirro, has been ticketed for driving his Mercedes-Benz 98 miles an hour in a 55 mph zone. The speeding ticket is just the latest of several embarrassments Mr. Pirro, 59, has caused his ambitious wife, the former Westchester County district attorney and now the Republican candidate for attorney general. He was in federal prison for tax fraud during her last re-election campaign and he fathered an illegitimate daughter after they were married.

— Associated Press

TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY

MOUNT PLEASANT — A truck was thrown onto gasoline pumps, a commercial building partially collapsed, and the roof was ripped off a hotel when a tornado struck yesterday afternoon,a Westchester County official said.The chief adviser to county ExecutiveAndrew Spano, Susan Tolchin, said the tornado touched down in Mount Pleasant around 4:10 p.m.

— Associated Press