Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name
type	Daily newspaper
format	Tabloid
foundation	1940
owners	Cablevision
headquarters	235 Pinelawn RoadMelville, New York 11747
editor	Debby Krenek
publisher	Terry Jimenez
circulation	377,517 Daily433,894 Sunday
website	Newsday.com }}

''Newsday'' is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. As of 2009, its weekday circulation of 377,500 was the 11th-highest in the United States, and the highest among suburban newspapers.

The newspaper's headquarters are in Melville, New York, in Suffolk County.

History

Founded by Alicia Patterson, with backing from her husband, Harry Guggenheim, the paper was first published on September 3, 1940 from Hempstead. After Patterson's death in 1963, Guggenheim became publisher and editor.

In 1967, Guggenheim turned over the publisher position to Bill Moyers and continued as president and editor-in-chief. But Guggenheim was disappointed by the liberal drift of the newspaper under Moyers, criticizing what he called the "left-wing" coverage of Vietnam War protests. The two split over the 1968 presidential election, with Guggenheim signing an editorial supporting Richard Nixon, when Moyers supported Hubert Humphrey. Guggenheim sold his majority share to the then-conservative Times-Mirror Company over the attempt of newspaper employees to block the sale, even though Moyers offered $10 million more than the Times-Mirror purchase price; Moyers resigned a few days later. Guggenheim, who died a year later, disinherited Moyers from his will.

''Newsday'' launched a separate Queens edition in 1977, followed by a New York City edition. In June 2000, Times Mirror merged with the Tribune Company, partnering ''Newsday'' with the New York City television station WPIX (Channel 11), also owned by Tribune. Chicago, Illinois, real estate magnate Samuel Zell purchased Tribune in 2007.

News Corporation, headed by CEO Rupert Murdoch, attempted to purchase Newsday for $580 million in April 2008. This was soon followed by a matching bid from ''New York Daily News'' owner Mort Zuckerman and a $680 million bid from Cablevision. In May 2008, News Corporation withdrew its bid, and on May 12, 2008, ''Newsday'' reported that Cablevision would purchase the paper for $650 million. The sale was completed July 29, 2008.

Editorial style

Despite having a tabloid format, ''Newsday'' is not known for being sensationalistic, as are other local daily tabloids, such as the ''New York Daily News'' and the ''New York Post''.

In 2004, the alternative weekly newspaper Long Island Press wrote that ''Newsday'' has used its clout to influence local politics in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Bill Moyers briefly served as publisher. During the tenure of publisher Robert M. Johnson in the 1980s, Newsday made a major push into New York City. The paper's roster of columnists and critics included Jimmy Breslin, Barbara Garson, Murray Kempton, Gail Collins, Pete Hamill, Sydney Schanberg, Jim Dwyer, sportswriter Mike Lupica, music critic Tim Page, and television critic Marvin Kitman. ''Newsday'' featured both the advice columnists Ann Landers and Dear Abby for several years. Its features section has included television reporters Verne Gay and Diane Werts, reality TV columnist Frank Lovece, and film critics John Anderson, Rafer Guzman, Gene Seymour, and Jan Stuart. Newsday carries the syndicated columnist Froma Harrop.

Newsday's use of graphics has sometimes attracted national attention, particularly of the circa-1970 work of such longtime in-house illustrators as Gary Viskupic, Tony D'Adamo, and Ned Levine. Pulitzer Prize winner Walt Handelsman's editorial political cartoons animation are a nationally syndicated feature of Newsday. In the 1980s, a new design director, Robert Eisner, guided the transition into digital design and color printing.

''Newsday'' created and sponsored a "Long Island at the Crossroads" advisory board in 1978, to recommend regional goals, supervise local government, and liaison with state and Federal officials. It lasted approximately a decade.

On March 21, 2011, ''Newsday'' remade its front page, scrapping the masthead and font used since the 1960s.

Circulation

In 2008, ''Newsday'' was ranked 10th in terms of newspaper circulation in the United States.

A circulation scandal in 2004 revealed that the paper's daily and Sunday circulation had been inflated by 16.9% and 14.5%, respectively, in the auditing period September 30, 2002 to September 30, 2003. The Audit Bureau of Circulation adjusted average weekday circulation to 481,816 from 579,599; average Saturday circulation to 392,649 from 416,830; and average Sunday circulation to 574,081 from 671,820, and instituted twice-yearly audits.

On October 28, 2009, ''Newsday'' changed its web site to a paid-subscriber only model. Newsday.com would open its front page, classified ads, movie listings, and school closings to all site visitors, but access beyond this content would require a weekly fee — US$5 as of 2010. This fee would be waived for subscribers of the print edition of the paper, as well as for subscribers to parent-company Cablevision's Internet service. Through its first three months, 35 non-Optimum, non-Newsday subscribers signed up for the paid web site.

Awards

Pulitzer Prize

As of 2008, ''Newsday'' has won 19 Pulitzer Prizes and has been a finalist for 18 additional: If no individual is listed, award is for ''Newsday'' staff.

2008: Public Service (Finalist) — Jennifer Barrios, Sophia Chang, Michael R. Ebert, Reid J. Epstein, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Eden Laikin, Herbert Lowe, Joseph Mallia, Jennifer Maloney, Luis Perez and Karla Schuster

2007: Editorial Cartooning (Winner) — Walt Handelsman

2005: International Reporting (Winner) — Dele Olojede

2005: Explanatory Reporting (Finalist)

2004: Breaking News Reporting (Finalist)

2002: Criticism (Winner) — Justin Davidson

1999: Criticism (Finalist) — Justin Davidson

1999: Editorial Writing (Finalist) — Lawrence C. Levy

1998: Beat Reporting (Finalist) — Laurie Garrett

1997: Spot News Reporting (Winner)

1996: Explanatory Journalism (Winner) — Laurie Garrett

1996: Beat Reporting (Winner) — Bob Keeler

1996: International Reporting (Finalist) — Laurie Garrett

1995: Investigative Reporting (Winner) — Brian Donovan and Stephanie Saul

1995: Commentary (Winner) — Jim Dwyer

1994: Explanatory Journalism (Finalist)

1993: International Reporting (Winner) — Roy Gutman

1992: Spot News Reporting (Winner)

1992: International Reporting (Winner) — Patrick J. Sloyan

1991: Spot News Reporting (Finalist)

1991: Spot News Photography (Finalist)

1990: Specialized Reporting (Finalist) - Jim Dwyer

1989: Investigative Reporting (Finalist) — Penny Loeb

1986: Feature Writing (Finalist) — Irene Virag

1985: International Reporting (Winner) — Josh Friedman, Dennis Bell, and Ozier Muhammad

1985: Commentary (Winner) — Murray Kempton

1984: Local General or Spot News Reporting (Winner)

1984: International Reporting (Finalist) — Morris Thompson

1984: Criticism (Finalist) — Dan Cryer

1982: International Reporting (Finalist) — Bob Wyrick

1982: Criticism (Finalist) — Marvin Kitman

1980: Local Investigative Specialized Reporting (Finalist) — Carole E. Agus, Andrew V. Fetherston Jr. and Frederick J. Tuccillo

1974: Public Service (Winner)

1974: Criticism (Winner) — Emily Genauer, Newsday Syndicate

1970: Public Service (Winner)

1970: Editorial Cartooning (Winner) — Thomas F. Darcy

1954: Public Service (Winner)

In popular culture

In the 1985 comedy/thriller ''Compromising Positions'', the lead character, played by Susan Sarandon, is a former ''Newsday'' journalist who is trying reestablish her career by selling a freelance story to the publication.

On the 1996-2005 CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', the fictional character Ray Barone (played by Ray Romano) is employed by ''Newsday'' as a sportswriter.

The lead female character in the ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' movies worked at ''Newsday''.

The episode "The Homer They Fall" in season eight of ''The Simpsons'' quotes ''Newsday'' in referencing boxing as "The cruelest sport".

References

External links

Newsday.com

amNY.com

Category:Newspapers published in New York City *N Category:Pulitzer Prize winning newspapers Category:Huntington, New York Category:Worth Bingham Prize recipients Category:Publications established in 1940

es:Newsday fr:Newsday id:Newsday ro:Newsday

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Gary Carter
Position	Catcher
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	April 08, 1954
Birth place	Culver City, California
Debutdate	September 16
Debutyear	1974
Debutteam	Montreal Expos
Finaldate	September 27
Finalyear	1992
Finalteam	Montreal Expos
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.262
Stat2label	Home runs
Stat2value	324
Stat3label	Runs batted in
Stat3value	1,225
Teams	Montreal Expos (–) New York Mets (–) San Francisco Giants () Los Angeles Dodgers () Montreal Expos ()
Highlights	World Series champion () 11× All-Star (1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988) 3× Gold Glove Award winner (1980, 1981, 1982) 5× Silver Slugger Award winner (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986) 2× MLB All-Star Game MVP (1981, 1984) 1989 Roberto Clemente Award Montreal Expos #8 retired
Hofdate	2003
Hofvote	78.02% }}

Gary Edmund Carter (born April 8, 1954), nicknamed "Kid" and "Kid Carter", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 19-year baseball career, mostly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, Carter established himself as one of the premier catchers in the National League, winning three Gold Glove awards and five Silver Slugger awards. He was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2003 wearing the Expos cap.

Montreal Expos

Carter was drafted by the Montreal Expos as a shortstop in the third round of the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft. Prior to signing with the Expos, he had signed a letter of intent to play football at UCLA. Carter recalled how he got his nickname, saying,

''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year

The Expos converted Carter to a catcher in the minor leagues. In 1974, he clubbed 23 home runs and drove in 83 runs for the Expos' triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Blues. Following a September call-up, Carter made his major league debut in Parc Jarry in Montreal in the second game of a double header against the New York Mets on September 16. Despite going 0-4 in that game, Carter's hitting improved dramatically after that. For the season, Carter batted .407 (11-27), hitting his first major league home run on September 28 against Steve Carlton in a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Carter split time between right field and catching his rookie season (), and was selected for the National League All-Star team as a right fielder. Though he did not get an at bat during the game, he came into the game as a defensive replacement for Pete Rose in the ninth inning, and caught Rod Carew's fly ball for the final out of the NL's 6-3 victory.

Carter hit .270 with 17 home runs and 68 runs batted in, and finished second to San Francisco Giants pitcher John Montefusco for the National League Rookie of the Year award and receiving The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award.

Expos catcher

Carter again split time in the outfield and behind the plate in , however, a broken finger limited him to just 91 games, in which he batted .219 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. For , new Expos manager Dick Williams gave promising young stars Warren Cromartie, Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson outfield jobs. On June 15, the Expos traded starting catcher Barry Foote to the Phillies, and Carter was given a permanent home behind the plate. He responded with 31 home runs and 84 RBIs.

In , Carter clubbed 29 home runs, drove in 101 runs, and earned the first of his three consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He finished second to third baseman Mike Schmidt in NL MVP balloting, whose Phillies took the National League East by one game over the Expos.

First post season

Carter caught Charlie Lea's no-hitter on May 10, 1981, during the first half of the strike shortened season. Following the two month strike, the season resumed on Sunday, August 9, 1981 with the All-Star Game. Carter was elected to start his first All Star Game over perennial NL starting catcher Johnny Bench, and responded with two home runs and being named the game's MVP. Carter was the fifth (and latest to date) player to hit two home runs in an All-Star Game, joining Arky Vaughan (), Ted Williams (), Al Rosen (1954) & Willie McCovey ().

MLB team owners decided to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series. It was the first time that Major League Baseball used a split-season format since . The Expos won the NL East's second half with a 30-23 record.

In his first post season, Carter batted .421, clubbed two home runs and drove in six in the Expos' three games to two victory over the Phillies in the division series. Carter's average improved to .438 in the 1981 National League Championship Series, however, he had no home runs or RBIs, and his Expos lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.

season

Carter hit a second inning home run in the 1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game to give the NL a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish, and earn Carter his second All-Star game MVP award. Carter's 159 games played, .294 batting average, 175 hits and 290 total bases were all personal highs, as was his league leading 106 RBIs.

Despite these numbers from Carter, the 1984 Expos finished fifth in the NL East with a 78-83 record. Needing to rebuild, the Expos traded Carter at the end of the season to the New York Mets for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans.

New York Mets

In his first game as a Met on April 9, 1985, he hit a tenth inning walk-off home run off Neil Allen to give the Mets a 6-5 Opening Day victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets and Cardinals became embroiled in a heated rivalry atop the National League East, with Carter and first baseman Keith Hernandez leading the charge for the Mets. The season came down to the wire as the Mets won 98 games that season, however, they narrowly lost the division to a Cardinals team that won 101 games. Carter clubbed a career high 32 home runs and drove in 100 runs his first season in New York. The Mets had three players finish in the top ten in NL MVP balloting that season (Dwight Gooden 4th, Carter 6th and Hernandez 8th). Meanwhile, the "Redbirds" placed four players in the top ten (Tommy Herr 5th, John Tudor tied Hernandez at 8th, Jack Clark 10th and winner Willie McGee), as well as having the eleventh place finisher (Vince Coleman).

Something of a rivalry developed between the Mets and Expos as well as a result of Carter's departure from Montreal. On July 30, while facing the Expos at Shea, Montreal pitcher Bill Gullickson sailed a pitch over Carter's head in the fifth inning, which drew boos from the Shea Stadium crowd. Though he denied it was retaliation, Gooden did the same to Gullickson in the bottom of the inning. Interestingly, Carter caught the ball as if he knew exactly where the pitch was going to end up.

1986 World Series Champions

Carter and the Mets would not be denied in , winning 108 games and taking the National League East convincingly by 21.5 games over the Phillies. The Mets won the 1986 World Series in seven games over the Boston Red Sox. Carter batted .276 with nine RBIs in his first World Series, and crushed two home runs over Fenway Park's Green Monster in Game Four, giving him the distinction of being the only player to date to have hit two home runs in All-Star Game (1981) and two home runs in a World Series game.

Carter started a two-out rally in the tenth inning of Game Six, coming around to score the first of three Mets runs that inning on a single by Ray Knight. He also hit an eighth-inning sacrifice fly that tied the game.

Carter finished third on the NL MVP ballot in 1986.

300 career home runs

Carter batted only .235 in , and ended the season with 291 career home runs. He seemed determined to hit 300 career home run immediately, clubbing eight home runs by May 16 . However, it would take him until August 11 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field to reach the milestone. During his home run drought, Carter was named co-captain of the team with Hernandez, who had been named captain the previous season.

Carter ended the season with eleven home runs and 46 RBIs—both the lowest totals he'd put up in either category going back to his sophomore season in 1976. He also ended the season with 10,360 career putouts as a catcher, breaking Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan's career mark (9941).

The Mets won 100 games that season, taking the NL East by fifteen games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, both Hernandez and Carter were in the twilights of their careers, and the heavily favored Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 National League Championship Series. Carter batted only .183 in fifty games for the Mets in . On November 13, the Mets released Carter — a day after Keith Hernandez was granted free agency. Carter would play five seasons with the Mets hitting 89 home runs and driving in 349 runs. His first hit as a Met was a double into the left field corner at Shea Stadium on Opening Day, 1985. His last hit as a Met was a double into the left field corner at Shea Stadium on September 27, 1989.

Return to Montreal

After leaving the Mets, Carter enjoyed something of a resurgence in a platoon role with Terry Kennedy on the San Francisco Giants in , batting .254 with nine home runs. Carter found himself again in a pennant race in , signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His club finished 93-69, one game behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League West.

At the end of the season, Carter returned to Montreal for his Swan song when the Expos selected Carter off waivers from the Dodgers. Carter was still nicknamed "Kid" by teammates despite his age of 38. The Expos 23-year-old second baseman Delino DeShields told Carter, "I grew up on you, man. You were like Wheaties to me. Eat my Wheaties and watch Gary Carter play baseball." 37 games into the season, the Expos fired manager Tom Runnells and replaced him with Felipe Alou. With Alou at the helm, the Expos went 70-55 and finished second behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League East.

Carter had a .991 fielding percentage as a catcher and 11,785 career putouts. He ranks sixth all-time in career home runs by a catcher with 298.

Post-playing career

After his retirement, Carter served as an analyst for Florida Marlins television broadcasts from 1993-1996. He appeared in the movie ''The Last Home Run'' which was filmed in and released in .

Hall of Fame

Carter was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in . In , Carter was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame along with Kirk McCaskill, and his number eight was retired by the Expos (and is tacitly recognized on the facade of Nationals Park).

In his sixth year on the ballot, Gary Carter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Eddie Murray on January 7, 2003. Carter had originally requested if he could have the plaque as half an Expo and half a Met, and though the media took it as one of his jokes, it was a legitimate debate as to with which team he would be associated. Carter himself had expressed a preference to be inducted as an Expo during his final season; however, given the uncertainty of the Expo franchise, and Carter's having worked for the Mets organization since retiring as a player, winning his only World Series title with the Mets, and becoming a media celebrity during his stint in New York, Carter had changed his mind by the time the moment arrived, and expressed a preference toward the Mets. The final decision rested with the Hall of Fame, and Hall president Dale Petroskey declared that Carter's achievements with the Expos over twelve season had earned his induction, whereas his play during his five seasons with the Mets by itself would not have. Mets fans pointed to the induction of Reggie Jackson with a New York Yankees cap, despite playing the majority of his career with the Oakland A's as precedent, but Carter ultimately was inducted with the Expos cap. At the induction ceremony, Carter spoke a few words of French, thanking fans in Montreal for the great honor and pleasure of playing in that city.

After the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. following the season, a banner displaying Carter's number along with those of Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Rusty Staub was hung from the rafters at the Bell Centre, home of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. While the Mets have not retired number eight, it has remained unused since Carter's election to the Hall of Fame.

Coaching

Carter was named Gulf Coast League Manager of the Year his first season managing the Gulf Coast Mets in . A year later, he was promoted to the A-level St. Lucie Mets, and guided his team to the Florida State League championship, again earning Manager of the Year honors. In recent years, Carter has been criticized, most notably by former co-captain Keith Hernandez, for twice openly campaigning for the Mets' managerial position while it was still occupied by incumbents Art Howe in 2004, and in Willie Randolph.

In 2008, he managed the Orange County Flyers of the Golden Baseball League, and again guided his team to the GBL Championship and was named Manager of the Year.

For the following season Carter was named manager of the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Ducks won the 2009 second half Liberty Division title, however, they were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Liberty Division playoffs.

The next season Carter was named head baseball coach for the NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish.

Personal life

Carter is an alumnus of Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, CA.

Carter has been married to his wife, Sandy, since 1975. They have three children—Christy, Kimmy and D.J., and three grandchildren. They reside in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

His daughter Kimmy is the head softball coach at Palm Beach Atlantic and was a softball catcher for Florida State from -.

Carter also has been a very active philanthropist. Through The Gary Carter Foundation, of which Gary Carter is the President, Carter and his staff support 8 Title I schools in Palm Beach County whose students live immersed in poverty. Typically these schools will have 90% or more students eligible for free or reduced lunches. The Foundation seeks to "better the physical, mental and spiritual well being of children." To accomplish this, they advocate "school literacy by encouraging use of the Reading Counts Program, a program that exists in the Palm Beach County School District."

Since its inception, The Gary Carter Foundation has placed over $622,000 toward charitable purposes, including $366,000 to local elementary schools for their reading programs.

In May 2011, Carter was diagnosed with four malignant tumors in his brain after complaining of headaches and forgetfulness. Doctors confirmed that he has Stage 4 glioblastoma, an extremely aggressive cancer. Doctors say that it is inoperable and Carter will undergo other treatment methods to shrink his tumor.

A special web site has been set up where fans can leave messages of support for Carter and his family.

See also

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

List of Major League Baseball retired numbers

List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

List of major league players with 2,000 hits

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI

List of Major League Baseball RBI champions

DHL Hometown Heroes

References

External links

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Official Website of the Gary Carter Foundation

Ultimate Mets Database: Gary Carter

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:American Christians Category:American expatriate baseball people in Canada Category:Baseball players from California Category:Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Cocoa Expos players Category:Florida Marlins broadcasters Category:Gold Glove Award winners Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players Category:Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:Memphis Blues players Category:Montreal Expos broadcasters Category:Montreal Expos players Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:National League All-Stars Category:National League RBI champions Category:New York Mets players Category:Peninsula Whips players Category:Québec Carnavals players Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:Tidewater Tides players Category:West Palm Beach Expos players

fr:Gary Carter ja:ゲーリー・カーター

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Michael Bloomberg
Order	108th Mayor of New York City
Term start	January 1, 2002
Predecessor	Rudy Giuliani
Successor	Incumbent
Birth name	Michael Rubens Bloomberg
Birth date	February 14, 1942
Birth place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Party	Democratic Party (until 2001)Republican Party (2001–2007)Independent (2007–present)
Partner	Diana Taylor
Residence	Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Johns Hopkins University (B.S.)Harvard University (M.B.A.)
Religion	Reform Judaism
Blank1	Net worth
Data1	US$18.1 billion (2011)
Signature	Michael Bloomberg Signature.svg
Website	}}

Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. Since 2002, he has been the Mayor of New York City and, with a net worth of $18.1 billion in 2011, he is also the 13th-richest person in the United States. He is the founder and eighty-eight percent owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial news and information services media company.

A lifelong Democrat before seeking elective office, Bloomberg switched his registration in 2001 and ran for mayor as a Republican, winning the election that year and a second term in 2005. Bloomberg left the Republican Party over policy and philosophical disagreements with national party leadership in 2007 and ran for his third term in 2009 as an independent candidate on the Republican ballot line. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the 2008 presidential election, which fueled further speculation when he left the Republican Party. There was also speculation that he would run as a vice-presidential candidate. Bloomberg did not, however, seek the presidency nor was he selected as a running mate by any of the presidential candidates.

In the fall of 2008, Bloomberg successfully campaigned for an amendment to New York City's term-limits law, in order to allow him to run for a third term in 2009. Bloomberg won the election on November 3, 2009.

Early life

He was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on February 14, 1942. His father, William Henry Bloomberg (1906–1963), was a real estate agent, and the son of Alexander "Elick" Bloomberg, a Jewish immigrant. His mother, Charlotte Rubens Bloomberg, was born on January 2, 1909, in New Jersey, the daughter of a Jewish Russian immigrant and a New Jersey–born mother. She died, aged 102, on June 19, 2011.

The family lived in Allston, Massachusetts, until Michael Bloomberg was two years old; they then moved Brookline, Massachusetts, for the next two years, finally settling in Medford, a Boston suburb, where he lived until after he graduated from college. His younger sister, Marjorie Tiven, has been Commissioner of the New York City Commission for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol, since February 2002.

Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University, where he joined Phi Kappa Psi, worked as a parking lot attendant to pay his tuition, and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in electrical engineering.Later he received his MBA degree from Harvard Business School. In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate of public service from Tufts University, and in 2009 received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Fordham University. In 2011, Bloomberg also received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from George Washington University.

Bloomberg married Yorkshire-born Susan Brown in 1975. Their marriage produced two daughters: Emma (b. ca. 1979) and Georgina (b. 1983), who were featured on ''Born Rich'', a documentary film about the children of the extremely wealthy. Bloomberg divorced Brown and is currently living with former New York state banking superintendent Diana Taylor.

Business career

In 1973, Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers where he headed equity trading, and later, systems development. In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and was given a $10 million severance package. Using this money, Bloomberg went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems. In 1982, Merrill Lynch became the new company's first customer, installing 22 of the company's Market Master terminals and investing $30 million in the company. The company was renamed Bloomberg L.P. in 1986. By 1987, it had installed 5,000 terminals. Within a few years, ancillary products including Bloomberg Tradebook (a trading platform), the Bloomberg Messaging Service, and the Bloomberg newswire were launched. As of 2009, the company had more than 250,000 terminals worldwide. His company also has a radio network which currently has its flagship station as 1130 WBBR-AM in New York City. He left the position of CEO to pursue a political career as the mayor of New York. Bloomberg was replaced as CEO by Lex Fenwick. The company is now led by president Daniel Doctoroff, a former deputy mayor under Bloomberg.

As the mayor of New York, Bloomberg declines to receive a city salary, accepting remuneration of $1.00 annually for his services. He maintains a public listing in the New York City phone directory, residing not in Gracie Mansion – the official mayor's mansion – but instead at his own home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, at 17 East 79th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues. He owns additional homes in London, Bermuda and Vail.

Bloomberg, by his own accounts at least, frequently rides the New York City Subway, particularly in the commute from his 79th Street home to his office at City Hall. An August 2007 story in ''The New York Times'' contradicted this notion, suggesting instead that he often was chauffeured by two New York Police Department-owned SUVs to an express train station to avoid having to change from the local to the express trains on the Lexington Avenue line.

Bloomberg wrote an autobiography, with help from a ghost writer, called ''Bloomberg by Bloomberg'' (1997, ISBN 0-471-15545-4).

Wealth

In March 2009, Forbes reported Michael Bloomberg's wealth at $16 billion, a gain of $4.5 billion over the previous year, enjoying the world's biggest increase in wealth in 2009. At that time, there were only four fortunes in the U.S. that were larger (although the Wal-Mart family fortune is split among four people). He moved from 142nd to 17th in the ''Forbes'' list of the world's billionaires in only two years (March 2007 – March 2009). In March 2011, his total wealth had increased to $18.1 billion, ranking 10th in the Forbes 400 and 30th in the world.

Philanthropy

Bloomberg's personal net worth, in addition to aiding his political career, has allowed him to engage in substantial philanthropic endeavors, including the donation of over $300 million to Johns Hopkins University, where he served as the chairman of the board from 1996 to 2002.

According to the ''Chronicle of Philanthropy'', Bloomberg, through his Bloomberg Family Foundation, donated and/or pledged $138 million in 2004, $144 million in 2005, $165 million in 2006, and $205 million in 2007, making him the seventh-largest individual contributor to philanthropy in the U.S. for 2007. 2006 recipients include the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Health; World Lung Foundation and the World Health Organization. In 2008, Bloomberg's website announced a combined donation of $500 million with Bill Gates to help governments in developing countries with tobacco control.

According to ''The New York Times'', Bloomberg has been an “anonymous donor” to the Carnegie Corporation each year for the last several years, with gifts ranging from $5 to $20 million. The Carnegie Corporation has distributed this contribution to hundreds of New York City organizations ranging from the Dance Theatre of Harlem to Gilda's Club, a non-profit organization that provides support to people and families living with cancer.

In 1996, Bloomberg endowed the William Henry Bloomberg Professorship at Harvard with a $3 million gift in honor of his father, who died in 1963, saying, "throughout his life, he recognized the importance of reaching out to the nonprofit sector to help better the welfare of the entire community." Bloomberg also endowed his hometown synagogue, Temple Shalom, which was renamed for his parents as the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Jewish Community Center of Medford.

Bloomberg reports giving $254 million in 2009 to almost 1,400 nonprofit organizations, saying, "I am a big believer in giving it all away and have always said that the best financial planning ends with bouncing the check to the undertaker."

On July 21, 2011, Bloomberg announced that he would donate $50 million to Sierra Club's “Beyond Coal” campaign, the grassroots organization’s efforts to close older coal plants and prevent new ones from being built. The gift, spread out over four years, will come from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Awards and honors

At the 2007 commencement exercises for Tufts University, Bloomberg delivered the commencement address. He was awarded an honorary degree in Public Service from the university. Likewise, Bloomberg delivered the 2007 commencement address at Bard College, where he was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. In February 2003, he received the "Award for Distinguished Leadership in Global Capital Markets" from the Yale School of Management. Bloomberg was named the 39th most influential person in the world in the 2007 Time 100. In September 2007, ''Vanity Fair'' ranked him #9 in its "Vanity Fair 100: The 2007 New Establishment."

In May 2008, Bloomberg was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Pennsylvania, where he delivered the commencement speech to the class of 2008. Bloomberg also delivered the commencement address to the class of 2008 at Barnard College, located in New York City, after receiving the Barnard Medal of Distinction, the College's highest honor.

It was announced on January 14, 2011, that Bloomberg had been selected as the speaker for Princeton University's 2011 baccalaureate service.

Bloomberg was also awarded a tribute award at the 2007 Gotham Awards, a New York-based celebrator of independent film. On November 19, 2008, Bloomberg received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." Additionally, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at Fordham University's 2009 commencement ceremonies.

In 2009, Bloomberg received a Healthy Communities Leadership Award from Leadership for Healthy Communities – a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program – for his policies and programs that increase access to healthful foods and physical activity options in the city. For instance, to increase access to grocery stores in underserved areas, the Bloomberg administration developed a program called FRESH that offers zoning and financial incentives to developers, grocery store operators and land owners. His administration also created a Healthy Bodega initiative, which provides healthful food samples and promotional support to grocers in lower-income areas to encourage them to carry one-percent milk and fruits and vegetables. Under Bloomberg's leadership, the city also: passed a Green Carts bill, which supports mobile produce vendors in lower-income areas; expanded farmers' markets using the city's Health Bucks program which provides coupons to eligible individuals to buy produce at farmers' markets in lower-income areas; and committed $111 million in capital funding for playground improvements. New York also was one of the first cities in the nation to help patrons make more informed decisions about their food choices by requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to label their menus with calorie information.

Harassment controversies

Bloomberg has previously been accused of sexually harassing women under his employment, which he has denied. In 1997, a former Bloomberg L.P. employee who became pregnant while employed filed a lawsuit accusing Bloomberg of saying "Kill it!" and "great, No. 16", which may have been a reference to the number of pregnant women in the company. In December 2008, ''Conde Nast Portfolio'' published a story – "Mayor Bloomberg's Delicate Condition" – which reported that in September 2007, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a class-action lawsuit against Bloomberg's company on behalf of three women who worked on the business side, plus a group of women who worked at Bloomberg's company between 2002 and the present. The article said the plaintiffs "now total 72, out of about 500 women who took maternity leave during that time, a high percentage, according to the agency".

Elections

2001 election

In 2001, the incumbent mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, was ineligible for re-election, as the city limited the mayoralty to two consecutive terms. Several well-known New York City politicians aspired to succeed him. Bloomberg, a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, decided to run for mayor as a member of the Republican Party ticket.

Voting in the primary began on the morning of September 11, 2001. The primary was postponed later that day. In the rescheduled primary, Bloomberg defeated Herman Badillo, a former Congressman, to become the Republican nominee. Meanwhile, the Democratic primary did not produce a first-round winner. After a runoff, the Democratic nomination went to New York City Public Advocate Mark J. Green.

In the general election, Bloomberg received Giuliani's endorsement. He also had a huge spending advantage. Although New York City's campaign finance law restricts the amount of contributions which a candidate can accept, Bloomberg chose not to use public campaign funds and therefore his campaign was not subject to these restrictions. He spent $73 million of his own money on his campaign, outspending Green by five to one. One of the major themes of his campaign was that, with the city's economy suffering from the effects of the World Trade Center attacks, it needed a mayor with business experience.

In addition to serving as the Republican nominee, Bloomberg had the ballot line of the controversial Independence Party, in which "Social Therapy" leaders Fred Newman and Lenora Fulani exert strong influence. Some say that endorsement was important, as Bloomberg's votes on that line exceeded his margin of victory over Green. (Under New York's fusion rules, a candidate can run on more than one party's line and combine all the votes received on all lines. Green, the Democrat, also had the ballot line of the Working Families Party. He also created an independent line called Students First whose votes were combined with those on the Independence line). Another factor was the vote in Staten Island, which has traditionally been far friendlier to Republicans than the rest of the city. Bloomberg handily beat Green in that borough, taking 75 percent of the vote there. Overall, Bloomberg won 50 percent to 48 percent.

Bloomberg's election marked the first time in New York City history that two different Republicans had been elected mayor consecutively. New York City has not been won by a Republican in a presidential election since Calvin Coolidge won in 1924. Bloomberg is considered a social liberal, who is pro-choice, in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and an advocate for stricter gun control laws.

Despite the fact that 68 percent of New York City's registered voters are Democrats, Bloomberg decided the city should host the 2004 Republican National Convention. The Convention drew thousands of protesters, many of them local residents angry over the Iraq war and other issues. The Police Department arrested approximately 1,800 protesters, but according to ''The New York Times'', more than 90 percent of the cases were later dismissed or dropped for lack of evidence.

2005 election

Bloomberg was re-elected mayor in November 2005 by a margin of 20 percent, the widest margin ever for a Republican mayor of New York.

Bloomberg spent over $1 million on his campaign by late October 2005 and was projected to exceed the record of $74 million he spent on the previous election. In late 2004 or early 2005, Bloomberg gave the Independence Party of New York $250,000 to fund a phone bank seeking to recruit volunteers for his re-election campaign.

Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer won the Democratic nomination to oppose Bloomberg in the general election. Thomas Ognibene sought to run against Bloomberg in the Republican Party's primary election. Bloomberg's campaign successfully challenged enough of the signatures Ognibene had submitted to the Board of Elections to prevent Ognibene from appearing on ballots for the Republican primary. Instead, Ognibene ran only on the Conservative Party ticket. Ognibene accused Bloomberg of betraying Republican Party ideals, a feeling echoed by others.

Bloomberg opposed the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States. Though a Republican at the time, Bloomberg is a staunch supporter of abortion rights and did not believe that Roberts was committed to maintaining Roe v. Wade.

In addition to receiving Republican support, Bloomberg obtained the endorsements of several prominent Democrats: former Democratic Mayor Ed Koch; former Democratic governor Hugh Carey; former Democratic City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, and his son, Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr.; former Democratic Congressman Floyd Flake (who had previously endorsed Bloomberg in 2001), and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

2009 election

On October 2, 2008, Bloomberg announced that he would seek to extend the city's term limits law and run for a third mayoral term in 2009, arguing that a leader of his field is needed during the Wall Street financial crisis. "Handling this financial crisis while strengthening essential services ... is a challenge I want to take on," Bloomberg told at a news conference. "So should the City Council vote to amend term limits, I plan to ask New Yorkers to look at my record of independent leadership and then decide if I have earned another term". On October 23, 2008, the City Council voted 29–22 in favor of extending the term limit to three consecutive four-year terms, thus allowing Bloomberg to run for office again. After two days of public hearings, Bloomberg signed the bill into law on November 3.

Bloomberg's opponent was Democratic and Working Families Party nominee Bill Thompson, who had been New York City Comptroller for the past eight years and before that President of the New York City Board of Education. Bloomberg defeated Thompson by a vote of 50.6 percent to 46.0 percent.

After the release of Independence Party campaign filings in January 2010, it was reported that Bloomberg had made two $600,000 contributions from his personal account to the Independence Party on October 30 and November 2, 2009. The Independence Party then paid $750,000 of that money to Republican Party political operative John Haggerty Jr.

This prompted to an investigation beginning in February 2010 by the office of New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. into possible improprieties. The Independence Party later questioned how Haggerty spent the money, which was to go to poll-watchers. Former New York State Senator Martin Connor contended that because the Bloomberg donations were made to an Independence Party housekeeping account rather than to an account meant for current campaigns, this was a violation of campaign finance laws. Haggerty also spent money from a separate $200,000 donation from Bloomberg on office space.

Mayoralty

thumb|Bloomberg attending the opening night of the 2011 Tribeca Film FestivalBloomberg assumed office as the 108th Mayor of New York City on January 1, 2002. He won re-election in 2005. As mayor, Bloomberg initially struggled to gain high approval levels from the public; however, he subsequently developed and maintained high approval ratings.

Bloomberg's re-election means the Republicans have won the previous four mayoral elections (although Bloomberg's decision to leave the Republican Party and be declared an independent on June 19, 2007, resulted in the Republican Party's losing the mayor's seat prior to the expiration of his second term). Bloomberg joins Rudy Giuliani and Fiorello La Guardia as re-elected Republican mayors in this mostly Democratic city. (John Lindsay was also elected mayor of New York twice while a registered Republican; however, Lindsay did not receive the Republican Party nomination during his 1969 campaign for re-election but ran successfully on the Liberal ticket and joined the Democratic Party during his second term.)

Bloomberg has said that he wants public education reform to be the legacy of his first term and addressing poverty to be the legacy of his second. Some have alleged that he made certain decisions regarding the closure of seventeen day-care centers across the city for political reasons. According to the National Assessment of Educational Performance, fourth-grade reading scores from 2002 through 2009 rose nationally by 11 points. However, on May 10, 2010, ''The New York Times'' reported:

"According to the test [NAEP], New York City eighth graders have shown no significant improvement [in math or reading] since they began taking it in 2003, mirroring the largely flat performance of American eighth graders as a whole during that period. In the city, the lack of improvement held true across ethnic groups and also among lower-income students."

The annual New York City Department of Education Budget noted that spending for education was $12.5 billion in 2002 and $21 billion in 2009.

Bloomberg has chosen to apply a statistical, results-based approach to city management, appointing city commissioners based on their expertise and granting them wide autonomy in their decision-making. Breaking with 190 years of tradition, he implemented what ''New York Times'' political reporter Adam Nagourney called a "bullpen" open office plan, similar to a Wall Street trading floor, in which dozens of aides and managerial staff are seated together in a large chamber. The design is intended to promote accountability and accessibility.

Political stands

Some of the policies Bloomberg advocates parallel those of either the Democratic or the Republican party platform. He is socially liberal, supporting abortion rights, gay marriage, gun control, and amnesty for illegal immigrants, for example. On economics, foreign, and domestic issues, Bloomberg tends to be conservative. He opposes a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, and criticizes those who favor one. Economically, he supports government involvement in issues such as public welfare and climate change, while being strongly in favor of free trade, pro-business, and describing himself as a fiscal conservative because he balanced the city's budget.

Social issues

Bloomberg supports abortion rights, stating: "Reproductive choice is a fundamental human right and we can never take it for granted. On this issue, you're either with us or against us." He has criticized pro-choice politicians who support pro-life candidates.

Bloomberg supports governmental funding for embryonic stem cell research, calling the Republican position on the issue "insanity". He also supports same-sex marriage with the rationale that "I think anybody should be allowed to marry anybody."

Bloomberg supports the strict drug laws of New York City. He has stated that he smoked marijuana in the past, and was quoted in a 2001 interview as saying "You bet I did. I enjoyed it." This led to a reported $500,000 advertising campaign by NORML, featuring his image and the quote. Bloomberg stated in a 2002 interview that he regrets the remark and does not believe that marijuana should be decriminalized.

Domestic issues

On crime, Bloomberg opposes the death penalty, stating, "I'd rather lock somebody up and throw away the key and put them in hard labor, the ultimate penalty that the law will allow, but I'm opposed to the death penalty." As mayor he increased the mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession of a loaded handgun. In regard to the change, Bloomberg commented, "Illegal guns don't belong on our streets and we're sending that message loud and clear. We're determined to see that gun dealers who break the law are held accountable, and that criminals who carry illegal loaded guns serve serious time behind bars."

Bloomberg replaced the school board set up by the state with direct mayoral control over public education. He raised the salaries of teachers by fifteen percent while the test scores of students in the city and the graduation rate rose as well. He is opposed to social promotion, i.e. the promotion of students to the next grade level for strictly social reasons, stating that students should be promoted only when they are adequately prepared for the next grade level. He favors after-school programs to help students who are behind. As mayor, Bloomberg strengthened the cell-phone ban in schools.

In dealing with global warming and New York's role in it, he has enacted a plan called ''PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York'' to fight global warming, protect the environment and prepare New York for the projected 1 million more people expected to be living in the city by the year 2030. Bloomberg has been involved in motivating other cities to make changes, delivering the keynote address at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit and stating, "[W]e now know beyond a doubt that global warming is a reality. And the question we must all answer is, what are we going to do about it?" Bloomberg also talked about how he would go about fighting climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, using cleaner and more efficient fuels, and encouraging public transportation. His ideas have occasionally suffered setbacks, such as the New York State Assembly's rejection of his idea for applying congestion pricing below 60th Street in Manhattan.

On issues of domestic and homeland security, Bloomberg has attacked social conservatives on immigration, calling their stance unrealistic, "We're not going to deport 12 million people, so let's stop this fiction. Let's give them permanent status." He supports a federal ID database that uses DNA and fingerprint technology to keep track of all citizens and to verify their legal status. Bloomberg has held that illegal immigrants should be offered legalization and supported the congressional efforts of John McCain and the late Ted Kennedy in their attempt at immigration reform in 2007. Regarding border security, he compared it to the tide, stating, "It's as if we expect border control agents to do what a century of communism could not: defeat the natural market forces of supply and demand... and defeat the natural human desire for freedom and opportunity. You might as well as sit in your beach chair and tell the tide not to come in. As long as America remains a nation dedicated to the proposition that 'all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness', people from near and far will continue to seek entry into our country." In 2006, Bloomberg stated on his weekly WABC radio show that illegal immigration does not strain the financial resources of New York City, since many immigrants are hard working and "do not avail themselves of services until their situation is dire".

Bloomberg believes that the September 11, 2001 attacks were not intended to be solitary events. When he assumed office, he set up a Counterterrorism Bureau which works along with the NYPD intelligence division to gather information about terrorism affecting New York worldwide. He believes that funding for Homeland Security by the federal government should be distributed by risk, where cities that are considered to have the highest threat for a terrorist attack would get the most money. Bloomberg is also a supporter of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Economic issues

Michael Bloomberg characterizes himself as a fiscal conservative for turning the city's $6 billion deficit into a $3 billion surplus; however, conservative PAC Club for Growth has criticized him because he increased property taxes and spending while doing so.

Bloomberg has expressed a distaste of taxes, stating, "Taxes are not good things, but if you want services, somebody's got to pay for them, so they're a necessary evil." As mayor, he did raise property taxes to fund budget projects; however, in January 2007 he proposed cuts in property taxes by five percent and cuts in sales taxes, including the elimination of taxes on clothing and footwear. Bloomberg pointed to the Wall Street profits and the real estate market as evidence that the city's economy is booming and could handle a tax break.

Bloomberg's self-described fiscal conservatism also led him to eliminate the existing $6-billion deficit when he assumed office. Bloomberg balanced the budget of New York City by raising property taxes and making cuts to city agencies, excluding the police and fire departments.

Bloomberg is in favor of providing tax breaks to big corporations for the good of the whole community. As mayor, Bloomberg lobbied the CEO of Goldman Sachs to establish its headquarters across from Ground Zero by promising $1.65 billion in tax breaks. Regarding this deal, Bloomberg stated, "This [New York City] is where the best want to live and work. So I told him [CEO of Goldman Sachs], 'We can help with minimizing taxes. Minimizing your rent. Improving security. But in the end, this is about people.'"

Bloomberg has had a less cordial relationship with unions as mayor. In 2002, when New York City's transit workers threatened to strike, Bloomberg responded by riding a mountain bike through the city to show how the city could deal with the transit strike by finding alternate means of transportation and not pandering to the unions. Three years later, a clash between Bloomberg and the New York City Transit Authority over wages and union benefits led to a full blown strike that lasted three days. Negotiations led to the end of the strike in December 2005, but controversy exists over Bloomberg's handling of the situation.

Bloomberg is a staunch advocate of free trade and is strongly opposed to protectionism, stating, "The things that we have to worry about is this protectionist movement that has reared its head again in this country...." He worries about the growth of China and fears the lessening gap between the United States and other countries: "The rest of the world is catching up, and, there are people that say, surpassing us. I hope they are wrong. I hope those who think we are still in good shape are right. But nevertheless, the time to address these issues is right now."

Bloomberg has placed a strong emphasis on public health and welfare, adopting many liberal policies. As the mayor he made HIV, diabetes, and hypertension all top priorities. He extended the city's smoking ban to all commercial establishments and implemented a trans fat ban in restaurants. Mayor Bloomberg has been a strong supporter of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation – the largest urban healthcare agency in the United States – serving over 1.3 million New Yorkers, and has touted its use of information technology and Electronic Health Records to increase efficiency and enhance patient care. He launched a program called Opportunity NYC which is the nation's first-ever conditional cash transfer pilot program designed to help New Yorkers break the cycle of poverty in the city. He instituted a $7.5 billion municipal affordable housing plan, the largest in the nation, that is supposed to provide 500,000 New Yorkers with housing.

Bloomberg has expressed concern about poverty and growing class divisions stating, "This society cannot go forward, the way we have been going forward, where the gap between the rich and the poor keeps growing."

Foreign policy

As mayor, Bloomberg made trips to Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Israel in the first four months of 2007. In late 2007 he conducted an Asia trip that brought him to China, where he called for greater freedom of information to promote innovation. He attended the United Nations Climate Conference in Bali.

Initially, Bloomberg strongly supported the war in Iraq and the rationale for going in. He stated, "Don't forget that the war started not very many blocks from here" alluding to Ground Zero. In regard to the global War on Terrorism including Iraq he said, "It's not only to protect Americans. It's America's responsibility to protect people around the world who want to be free." During the 2004 presidential election campaign, New York City hosted the Republican National Convention at which Bloomberg endorsed President George W. Bush for President of the United States.

His enthusiasm seemed to have lessened somewhat over the course of the war. In August 2005 he said, "I think everybody has very mixed emotions about the war that was started to find weapons of mass destruction and then they were not found." Bloomberg expressed criticism of Democrats in Congress who wanted to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq calling them, "irresponsible".

Preservation and development issues

Mayor Bloomberg is a proponent of large-scale development. He has repeatedly come down in favor of projects such as the Atlantic Yards mega-development, the Hudson Yards redevelopment, and the Harlem rezoning proposal. This support has led to a negative response from the preservationist community. On smaller-scale issues, Bloomberg usually takes the side of development as well. He favors the demolition of Admiral's Row in order to build a supermarket parking lot. However, Bloomberg has occasionally come down on the side of preservation, most notably in vetoing landmark revocation for the Austin Nichols warehouse. This move was widely applauded by architectural historians. The City Council overruled the veto shortly thereafter, however.

2008 presidential campaign speculation

On February 27, 2008, Bloomberg announced that he would not run for president in 2008, and that he would endorse a candidate who takes an independent and non-partisan approach. He had also stated unequivocally, live on the ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' TV show, December 31, 2007, that he was not going to run for president in 2008. Despite prior public statements by Bloomberg denying plans for a presidential run, many pundits believed Bloomberg would announce a campaign at a later date. On January 7, 2008, he met at the University of Oklahoma with a bipartisan group, including (now former) Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel and former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, both of whom had been frequently mentioned as possible running mates – to pressure the major party candidates to promote national unity and reduce partisan gridlock. Speculation that Bloomberg would choose this forum to announce his candidacy proved to be unfounded. Other purported signs that he planned to run included:

In summer 2006, he met with Al From of the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist group, to talk about the logistics of a possible run. After a conversation with Bloomberg, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska suggested that he and Bloomberg could run on a shared independent ticket for the presidency.

On ''This Week'' on June 10, 2007, anchor George Stephanopoulos included panelist Jay Carney, who mentioned a conversation between Bloomberg and top staffers where he heard Bloomberg ask approximately how much a presidential campaign would cost. Carney said that one staffer replied, "Around $500 million." According to a ''Washington Post'' article, a $500 million budget would allow Bloomberg to circumvent many of the common obstacles faced by third party candidates seeking the White House. On June 19, 2007, Bloomberg left the Republican Party, filing as an independent after a speech criticizing the current political climate in Washington. On August 9, 2007, in an interview with former CBS News anchor Dan Rather that aired on August 21, Bloomberg categorically stated that he was not running for President, that he would not be running, and that there were no circumstances in which he would, saying, "If somebody asks me where I stand, I tell them. And that's not a way to get elected, generally. Nobody's going to elect me president of the United States. What I'd like to do is to be able to influence the dialogue. I'm a citizen."

Despite continued denials, a possible Bloomberg candidacy continues to be the subject of media attention, including a November ''Newsweek'' cover story. During a private reception in December 2007, Bloomberg conducted a version of bingo in which guests were to guess the meaning of the numbers on a printed card. When Bloomberg asked the significance of 271, one guest answered correctly: the number of electoral votes received by George W. Bush in 2000. In January 2008, CNN reported that a source close to Bloomberg said that the mayor had launched a research effort to assess his chances of winning a potential presidential bid. According to the report, the unidentified source also stated that Bloomberg had set early March as a timetable for making a decision as to whether or not to run. On January 16, 2008, it was reported that Bloomberg's business interests were placed in "a sort of blind trust" because of his possible run for the presidency. His interests were put under the management of Quadrangle Group, co-founded by reported Bloomberg friend Steven Rattner, though Bloomberg would ''"continue to have control of and access to certain investment decisions"''.

On January 18, 2008, the Associated Press reported that Bloomberg had a meeting in Austin, Texas, with Clay Mulford, a ballot-access expert and campaign manager for Ross Perot's third party presidential campaigns. Bloomberg denied that the meeting concerned a possible presidential campaign by him, stating "I'm not a candidate — it couldn't be clearer. Which of the words do you not understand?" On February 28, 2008, Bloomberg stated "I am not – and will not be – a candidate for president." He added that he is "hopeful that the current campaigns can rise to the challenge by offering truly independent leadership. The most productive role that I can serve is to push them forward, by using the means at my disposal to promote a real and honest debate.

At the same time that the presidential run was being considered, there was also some speculation that Bloomberg could be a candidate for the vice presidency in 2008. In a blog posting of June 21, 2007, The Politico's Ben Smith asked the question of whether a vice-presidential candidate can self-finance an entire presidential ticket. Many believed that Bloomberg would in fact be legally permitted to self-finance a campaign as the vice-presidential candidate.

Adding more fuel to the speculation that Bloomberg might consider a VP slot were a series of meetings he had in mid-August 2007 with former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn and later with Barack Obama on November 30, 2007. A May 17, 2008, breakfast meeting with John McCain led to speculation that Bloomberg might be on McCain's short list of possible VP candidates.

Rumored gubernatorial campaign

On November 6, 2007, the ''New York Post'' detailed efforts by New York Republicans to recruit Bloomberg to oppose then-incumbent Governor Eliot Spitzer in the 2010 election. Early polls indicated Bloomberg would defeat Spitzer in a landslide. (The potential 2010 match-up became moot when Spitzer resigned on March 17, 2008.) A March 20, 2008, poll of New York State voters had the Mayor topping newly ascended Governor David Paterson and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the 2010 gubernatorial election. Bloomberg denied plans to run for the governorship in 2010, and did not seek the nomination.

2012 presidential campaign speculation

In March 2010, Bloomberg's top political strategist Kevin Sheekey resigned from his mayoral advisory position and returned to Bloomberg LP, Bloomberg's company. It is speculated that the move will allow Sheekey to begin preliminary efforts for a Bloomberg presidential campaign in the 2012 election. An individual close to Bloomberg said, "the idea of continuing onward is not far from his [Bloomberg's] mind".

In October 2010, The Committee to Draft Michael Bloomberg – which had attempted to recruit Bloomberg to run for the presidency in 2008 – announced it was relaunching its effort to persuade Bloomberg to wage a presidential campaign in 2012. The committee members insisted that they would persist in the effort in spite of Bloomberg's repeated denials of interest in seeking the presidency.

While on the December 12, 2010, episode of ''Meet the Press'', Bloomberg ruled out a run for the Presidency in 2012, stating: "I'm not going to run for president," further adding "I'm not looking at the possibility of running, (...) no way, no how."

On July 24, 2011, in the midst of Democrats' and Republicans' inability to agree on a budget plan and thus an increase in the federal debt limit, the Washington Post published a blog posting about groups organizing third party approaches. It focused on Michael Bloomberg as the best hope for a serious third party Presidential Candidate in 2012.

See also

List of people from Boston

List of Harvard University people

List of Johns Hopkins University people

List of mayors of New York City

List of philanthropists

References

Further reading

Brash, Julian. ''Bloomberg's New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City'' (University of Georgia Press; 2010) 344 pages. Uses anthropology and geography to examine the mayor's corporate-style governance, with particular attention to the Hudson Yards plan, which aims to transform the far West Side into a high-end district.

External links

mikebloomberg.com, Bloomberg's official website

nyc.gov/mayor, official mayoral website

Profile at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''

#23 Michael Bloomberg at ''Forbes'' list of 2010 world's billionaires

Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues

Michael Bloomberg collected news and commentary] at the ''New York Daily News''

Michael Bloomberg collected news and commentary] at ''Newsday''

Biography at the Encyclopaedia Britannica

Category:1942 births Category:20th-century American people Category:21st-century American people Category:American aviators Category:American billionaires Category:American financial businesspeople Category:American mass media owners Category:American memoirists Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American Reform Jews Category:Eagle Scouts Category:Gun control advocates Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:Independent politicians in the United States Category:Jewish American mayors Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni Category:Living people Category:Massachusetts Democrats Category:Mayors of New York City Category:New York Democrats Category:New York Republicans Category:News agency founders Category:Writers from Boston, Massachusetts Category:Writers from New York City

ar:مايكل بلومبيرغ zh-min-nan:Michael Bloomberg bg:Майкъл Блумбърг cs:Michael Bloomberg da:Michael Bloomberg de:Michael Bloomberg et:Michael Bloomberg es:Michael Bloomberg eu:Michael Bloomberg fa:مایکل بلومبرگ fr:Michael Bloomberg ga:Michael Bloomberg ko:마이클 블룸버그 hr:Michael Bloomberg id:Michael Bloomberg it:Michael Bloomberg he:מייקל בלומברג ka:მაიკლ ბლუმბერგი la:Michael Bloomberg lij:Michael Bloomberg hu:Michael Bloomberg mr:मायकेल ब्लूमबर्ग nl:Michael Bloomberg ja:マイケル・ブルームバーグ no:Michael Bloomberg pl:Michael Bloomberg pt:Michael Bloomberg ru:Блумберг, Майкл Рубенс simple:Michael Bloomberg sk:Michael Bloomberg sh:Michael Bloomberg fi:Michael Bloomberg sv:Michael Bloomberg tl:Michael Bloomberg tr:Michael Bloomberg yi:מייקל בלומבערג zh:迈克尔·布隆伯格

William "Bill" Yoast (born 1924) is an American high school football coach best known for being featured in the 2000 film ''Remember the Titans''. He was portrayed by veteran actor Will Patton.

Yoast grew up in Florence, Alabama. After a three-year tour in the United States Air Force, he attended Georgia Military College and later Mercer University, where he joined Sigma Nu fraternity and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education. He later earned a Masters degree from Peabody College.

A high school and college athlete, Yoast turned to coaching as a career. He worked in Sparta, Georgia and Roswell, Georgia before moving to Alexandria, Virginia, where he spent several decades and earned his greatest fame.

Yoast's 1971 season at T. C. Williams High School served as the inspiration for ''Remember the Titans''. Yoast, who is white, worked as an assistant to head coach Herman Boone, who is black, at the newly integrated school. The team enjoyed a dominant season, winning the state title and taking a second-place national ranking.

Having retired in 1990, Yoast has published a book discussing his experiences in coaching, ''Remember This Titan''.

Yoast had four daughters and seven grandchildren. His daughter Sheryl - a football fanatic who assisted her father during his coaching career - died suddenly in 1996, at age 34, from a heart malfunction. In ''Remember the Titans'', released four years later, Sheryl is played by Hayden Panettiere, and is portrayed as Bill Yoast's only child.

See also

Will Patton, the actor who portrayed Yoast.

External links

Biography at 71originaltitans.com

Category:1924 births Category:Living people Category:People from Florence, Alabama Category:Mercer University alumni Category:High school football coaches in the United States

de:Bill Yoast

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Babita Sharma
birthname	Babita Sharma
education	University of Wales
occupation	Journalist, Television Presenter
credits	BBC Radio WalesThames Valley TelevisionChannel 4 FMAjman TVBBC Radio BerkshireSpotlight Channel IslandsBBC NewsBBC World NewsNewsday
url	}}

Babita Sharma is a British television newsreader, currently fronting the overnight bulletins on the BBC News and BBC World News, presenting the Newsday strand each Monday-Wednesday from London with Rico Hizon in Singapore.

Babita graduated from the University of Wales, where she attained a degree in Journalism, Film and Broadcasting. She began her first media placements with BBC Radio Wales and Thames Valley Television.

Babita then moved to Dubai, working on radio for Channel 4 FM and for Ajman TV where she presented a weekly music programme. She returned to the UK in 2003 and began her BBC career at BBC Radio Berkshire as a travel presenter and producer. She then moved to the newsroom in Southampton, reporting and producing for BBC South Today. In 2007 she moved onto BBC Spotlight Channel Islands working as a video journalist and regular presenter of the evening bulletin.

Babita moved to the BBC News channel in 2008, initially as presenter of the ''Your Money'' programme, as well as reading the business news on Fridays. She took on the main business role in early 2009, before moving to her current full-time presenting role for the BBC News Channel and BBC World News.

References

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Wales Category:British journalists Category:British television presenters Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists Category:BBC World News