New York Local and Regional News

Gov. David Paterson, who repeatedly and defiantly said he would let voters decide if he should run the state, abruptly quit his nascent election bid Friday amid a stalled agenda, faltering popularity and criticism of his handling of a domestic abuse case involving one of his most trusted aides.In declaring that he will not seek election, Mr. Paterson is hoping to head off calls for him to resign. But within moments of his announcement, City Comptroller John Liu called for the governor to step aside and let Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch take over.“We have a $4.1 billion budget deficit to grapple with in New York City and cannot make real progress until the state budget is resolved on time one month from now,” Mr. Liu said, in a statement. “In order for this to happen, we need Gov. Paterson to step down now.”Rep. Michael McMahon, D-Staten Island, issued a statement calling Mr. Paterson “truly not fit to lead the Empire State.” But he did not call for his resignation.Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, one of the first elected Democrats to publicly call for the governor to end his campaign, said he should be allowed to finish his term. “The calls for his resignation at this point are premature, and I would urge everyone to cease and desist,” the Brooklyn legislator said. “The governor, like every other individual, is entitled to a presumption of innocence and should not be hounded out of office unless a comprehensive investigation establishes clear evidence of wrongdoing.”Mr. Paterson is under fire in part because of a phone conversation he had with the woman who accused his top aide of assaulting her. A day after the conversation, the accuser did not show up for a court date and her complaint against the governor’s aide was dismissed.Mr. Paterson has not been accused of pressuring the woman, but has been roundly criticized for even contacting her. She has said the state police pushed her to drop the case against the aide, David Johnson.Democratic officials in Washington were informed of Mr. Paterson’s plans early Friday, and Mr. Paterson publicly announced his intention to remain in office for the remainder of his term but bow out of this year’s election. While at the podium, Mr. Paterson gave his personal oath that he had not abused the power of his office, “not now, not ever.”Mr. Paterson formally announced his campaign just days ago but faced mounting calls to drop out of the race in the midst of controversy. A top aide is ensnared in a domestic-violence scandal and the governor was finding dwindling support in his own party.In his announcement, Mr. Paterson alluded to the eruption of that scandal in the last few days, but said his decision not to run stems from an accumulation of problems. He did not elaborate, but he has had difficulty raising money and persuading Democratic leaders to publicly support him.He faced the very real possibility of not being awarded a spot on the Democratic primary ballot at the party’s state convention this month, which would have forced him to undertake an expensive signature-gathering effort.His other problems included a spate of bad press about his performance and his selection of a team to redevelopment Aqueduct Racetrack. He suffered a decline last month in his public approval rating, which had briefly risen after reaching historic lows in 2009.Mr. Paterson became governor in 2008, when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. Mr. Paterson’s decision paves the way for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to make an unimpeded run for the Democratic nomination.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

What Charlie Sheen’s rehab means to CBS
Brian Steinberg, AdAge.com – What’s Two and a Half Men minus Charlie Sheen? If you think a sitcom is worth little to audiences and advertisers without its top-billed star, the answer could be zero.But, in reality, if Mr. Sheen, who has gone into rehab, is back within a couple weeks, the damage to CBS and its advertisers will be minimal to nil.CBS, Warner Brothers and show creator Chuck Lorre raised eyebrows late Tuesday by announcing that production on the top-rated program would be “temporarily suspended” due to Mr. Sheen’s “decision today to begin voluntary in-patient care at a treatment center.” Mr. Sheen has been in the headlines recently after police were called to mediate a dispute between the star and his wife during Christmas. Earlier this month, Mr. Sheen was charged with a felony relating to that incident.Popular and pricey showThe network and the show’s producers certainly have some cause for concern. Two and a Half Men is one of the most popular — and most pricey — programs on TV for advertisers. The average cost of a 30-second ad in the show is $226,335, according to Ad Age’s annual survey of ad prices for prime-time broadcast programming. That price is only behind NBC’s Sunday Night Football and ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.And its last original episode, which aired the week ending Feb. 14, notched nearly 17.7 million live-plus-same-day viewers, according to Nielsen. Only Fox’s American Idol, NBC’s Olympics coverage and CBS’s own NCIS dramas got more viewers that whole week.At a time of general audience erosion for broadcast television, Mr. Sheen’s troubles are more concerning for CBS than for any individual advertiser. “What happens if it doesn’t go back on and they can’t do the show?” said Ira Berger, director-network broadcasting at independent agency Richards Group.”That’s one of the highest-indexing shows on CBS,” said Larry Novenstern, exec VP-director of national and local broadcast at Publicis Groupe’s Optimedia. “If we end up losing it, there would definitely have to be a conversation.”Unpleasant scenariosThat conversation could include the prospect that advertisers that had counted on big ratings for Two and a Half Men might seek to reallocate their advertising on the network or, down the road, look for make-goods — additional commercial time to keep them level with previous ratings guarantees. Advertisers would be made whole in that case, but CBS would likely be loath to give up inventory for make-goods when it is having such success getting high prices selling spots in the current “scatter” market.But for most advertisers that have some small percentage of their television budget committed to Men, a brief ratings hit to the show would have a fairly limited impact, according to Mr. Berger.CBS also has some breathing room. Eighteen episodes of Two and a Half Men have already been taped, a CBS spokesman said, and 15 have aired. The network had ordered 24 episodes of the program; a typical season-length order for a network show is 22 episodes.And if Mr. Sheen were to come back within a few weeks, the network could simply truncate the order and still meet advertisers’ expectations. Even if Mr. Sheen’s troubles grow more protracted, CBS could take one of its other Monday comedies — The Big Bang Theory has shown solid growth over two seasons — and make that the anchor at 9 p.m. rather than Men, and place Men repeats elsewhere on that evening’s schedule. A repeat of Men that aired the week ending Feb. 21 brought in approximately 10.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen, though the week included Winter Olympics on NBC.No matter what the result, Mr. Sheen’s image appears to be suffering. “Marketers should stay away from Charlie Sheen in the near future,” said David Schwab, VP-managing director of Octagon First Call, a celebrity-marketing consultancy owned by Interpublic Group of Cos. “It was always fun to play on his bad-boy image, but it crosses the line when it becomes a domestic issue.”"As for Warner Bros./CBS, it is smart for them to stay quiet and ultimately tape and air the episodes once he is back from rehab,” he added.

Waldorf waiters sue for lost tips
Nine Waldorf Astoria employees have filed a lawsuit against the hotel for violating New York labor laws by failing to pay them the full tips they were entitled to.The employees allege that the famed Park Avenue hotel retained a portion of the service charges and special gratuities charged at the banquet hall, said Molly Brooks, an Outten & Golden lawyer who is helping to represent the nine waiters, seven of whom have worked at the hotel for more than 20 years.Most hotel services include 21.5% service charges. According to the lawsuit, the hotel would often pay employees only 15% and keep the remaining 6.5%. The Waldorf held onto special gratuities paid on top of those fees as well, the lawsuit claims. Representatives for the Waldorf and its parent company, Hilton Worldwide Inc., declined to comment because they had not yet received the complaint. The complaint was sent Thursday, Ms. Brooks said, and it should be received in the next two to three days. The lawsuit covers more than 100 current and former employees who have worked at the Waldorf since Feb. 22, 2004. No other Hilton hotels were named in the suit.Outten & Golden is currently representing six employees at several of Eric Goode’s restaurants, who are accusing management of violating New York Labor Laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Clinton headed for Chile after quake
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flies to Latin America on Sunday for a trip which includes a stop in quake-ravaged Chile and talks in Brazil over Iran’s nuclear program.

Nielsen says charges hurt profit in 2009
The Nielsen Co. said Friday that its operating income dropped by more than 72% in 2009 because of a one-time accounting charge and restructuring expenses.Nielsen, which provides market information such as TV ratings and owns a handful of trade journals, said revenue for the year was roughly flat at $4.8 billion.The company has been refocusing on what it is most known for — tracking how people consume media. In December it announced it was selling most of its journals, including The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.Nielsen, a privately held company, did not give its 2009 net income, which publicly traded companies are required to release.But it said operating income fell to $116 million for the year, compared with $421 million in 2008.Nielsen said it took $527 million in charges to account for the falling value of assets on its books and $62 million in restructuring expenses. The prior year’s figure included one-time charges of $214 million. Adjusted to exclude unusual items, it said operating income was up 15% year-over-year.

Nearly 15% of NYC job-seekers willing to leave city
Emily Laermer – New York’s a tough town. It’s gotten even tougher with its 10.6% unemployment rate. But a surprisingly small number of mid- to senior-level job seekers in New York City—just 14%—are relocating elsewhere, according to a study released Wednesday by career consulting firm Right Management. This relocation number is up from the 11% reported in 2007, when the local unemployment rate was less than half of today’s and the city had over 128,600 more jobs, according to the New York state Department of Labor.“There’s this uniqueness of New York,” explained Ed Witherell, the New York market vice president of Right Management. “There is a great deal of opportunities, beyond your industry and beyond the function you may be performing.”Mr. Witherell said the ranks of relocators is lower here than many people might expect because the city is home to scores of significant technology, publishing, financial, media and fashion companies, and individuals want to pursue the opportunities in their backyards. People are moving to New York for the same reasons. The survey did not include information about job seekers coming to New York, or break down the areas of relocation by industry or demographics. The relocation rate from New Jersey increased to 13% from 9% in the same period; meanwhile, 4% of job seekers are leaving Long Island, from 7% in the last survey. The nation’s average of 15% remained constant.Of the surveyed 27,000 individuals nationwide, 3,000 were from the Northeast.

Republicans want hearing on Fannie/Freddie bailout
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two key Republicans are urging the House of Representatives to speed up a public hearing to investigate the administration’s bailout of home funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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