Monday, June 9, 2025
Mostly sunny. High 74 degrees.
After a cloudy, cooler start to the week, sunshine and summer-like temperatures return, with highs climbing into the 80s by Wednesday and staying there through the end of the week.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
Today is National Donald Duck Day, in honor of the beloved sailor-suit-wearing Disney character, who made his public debut on June 9, 1934 in the animated short “The Wise Little Hen.” The cranky fowl with the heart of gold (full name: Donald Fauntleroy Duck) is the third most popular cartoon character of all time, after Bugs Bunny (No. 2) and Mickey Mouse (No. 1), but he has appeared in more films than either of them, and his star joined theirs on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.
Upper West Side News
By Laura Muha
Roughly 25 million birds pass through New York City during spring and fall migration seasons every year, and thanks to an Upper West Side organization, they now have more hospitable places to rest along the way, CBS News reported.
The Broadway Mall Association has been replanting the median strips in what started as a simple refresh but wound up morphing into a full-blown habitat restoration, with migratory birds and insects in mind. “It’s building habitat,” said Ian Olson, the organization’s director of horticulture. “What we planted here were those plants we find that function well in [an] environment where you have a lot of pollution.” That in turn makes the median strips more attractive to birds passing through — and the insects that many of them feed on.
“These birds are flying thousands of miles across oceans and continents, and so when they’re getting to New York City, they’re exhausted,” said Myles Davis, a senior manager with the NYC Bird Alliance. “But we’re seeing that they’re stopping, they’re able to feed, and they’re able to continue.”
Watch the full story — HERE.
The West Side Hawks are on a roll. In last Monday’s Bulletin, we wrote about one of the Little League club’s 10-and-under teams, which beat Inwood in a dramatic extra inning to become the first UWS team to win the city’s Memorial Day Tournament.
This week, members of another Hawks team – this one in the 17-and-under division – were the ones who played a dramatic extra inning to become the first UWS team to win the Diamond Nation Home Run Classic, a tournament that took place in Flemington, N.J., from May 30-June 1, said Debbie Kling, president of West Side Little League.
The Hawks went 4-0 in the tournament, beating teams from Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland to advance to the championship game against the Frozen Ropes Rockies from Chester, N.Y.
Though Little League games in that age group are a regulation seven innings, the championship game had already gone nine and was tied 3-3 at the bottom of that inning when Hawks player Julian Glasgow came to bat. The team had two outs and there runners on second and third, meaning that the pressure was on Glasgow: If he struck out, the game would be forced into a 10th inning, but if he got a hit, it would clinch the title for Hawks.
“Early on I was looking for a fastball,” Glasgow told a reporter for the sporting complex Diamond Nation after the game. “He [Rockies pitcher] broke a few curveballs and then with two strikes and a 3-2 count, I knew he was going to throw a fastball because he couldn’t walk me.”
That’s what the Rockies pitcher did, and Glasgow hit a single to center field, bringing in a run from teammate Alexander Trapani to win the game 4-3.
Glasgow was named one of the tournament’s co-MVPs, along with teammate Justin Diez, who pitched the first six scoreless innings.
Other players included Brian Stone, Tyler McCarthy, Bennett Harrison, Ian Feliciano, Jonathan Stern, Zach Harner, Xav Lehmann, Eric Martinez, Emil Torres, Andrew Hurtado, and Jaryel Meregildo. The team is coached by Jim Glasgow, Joel Feliciano, and Ralph Stone.
Read the full story — HERE.
The Trump Administration further escalated its feud with Columbia University last week when it told the school’s accrediting agency that the university was in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.
Because of this, “Columbia University no longer appears to meet … accreditation standards,” the Department of Education said in a press release announcing the action.
If Columbia’s accrediting agency concurs, it ultimately could revoke the school’s accreditation, making it ineligible for federal funding; however, that process is involved, and could take years.
Accreditation of colleges and universities is meant to ensure that the education students are receiving and the credits and degrees they are issued meet a school’s established quality standards. The process is overseen by independent regional not-for-profit agencies – in Columbia’s case, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The Department of Education did not release the letter it sent to Middle States, but in a press release announcing the action, it said the university acted with “deliberate indifference” toward harassment of Jewish students in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel, in violation of civil rights law. “This is not only immoral, but also unlawful,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the release, adding that accrediting agencies have “an enormous public responsibility” because they determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and other federal funding. “Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal anti-discrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,” McMahon said.
In a statement, Columbia said that it has already “addressed those concerns directly with Middle States.” The university also said it has tightened rules on protests and tightened disciplinary procedures against violators.
Read the full story – HERE.
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Loss of accreditation is so much more than that, would make the degrees worthless. You’d have an exodus. It’s equivalent to a death sentence
That is not true. It only affects student financial aid.
We need to impeach Trump and take away his “accreditation “ as president.
Yawn
What are you waiting for? Please proceed.
It’s a pipedream as long as congressional Republicans lack a spine
It’s a pipedream as long as congressional Democrats lack a spine…
How does he even have the power to do that. How did he ever become eligible to even run for President. Proves how this country is not powerful anymore. and the ignorant people that supports him
As a number of articles have pointed out, he doesn’t have the ability to revoke accreditation. The Dept. of Education does and although it’s currently under his thumb, it would take a few years for that to happen. And Columbia could sue – if we still have a Dept. of Education at that time.
A perfect example is the current leadership in NYC/NYS.
This comment explains why Trump won. And confirms the fact that Dems didn’t learn anything.
I love comments like these. Keep insulting the 77 million people who voted for him while keeping your head firmly stuck in the deep blue sand. it only encourages them
Many people still revere Hitler. Should we embrace them?
“ How did he ever become eligible to even run for President”. So those in power should decide who can and cannot run for office . . . . To “save” democracy?
Trump’s obsession with Ivy League schools is truly ridiculous. And Fox News has convinced his followers that this is something they should worry about. How does any of this impact their lives at all.
Columbia has not been handling things well. But this sensationalistic, performative response is not the right answer. But the MAGA morons think it is a great way to “stick it to the libs” so they are thrilled.
And meanwhile prices continue to go up, the national debt goes up, scientific research that saves lives is disappearing, and our nation is the joke of the world. But they have stuck it to some school far from their homes. Always winning!
MAGA morons? Libs who voted for Biden and or Harris need sit down a be quite.
Our nation remains the envy of the world.
China is playing us for fools. Trump thinks he is such a tough guy and a great negotiator yet they are running circles around him. He claimed he would have all of these great trade deals in place and has done absolutely nothing. And meanwhile no one wants to do anything with us.
But I’m sure Fox News tells you otherwise since it is the MAGA propaganda network.
You should turn off MSNBC. We all witness people from all over the world desperately trying to come here. Not the other way around. Why do you think that is the case?
Surely you JEST…..
I witness people from all over the world desperately trying to come here. Not the other way around.
Lol
The politicians of the UWS, New York City, New York State need to do much more to help Columbia and protect it from trumps wrath and obsession. They are totally silent.
Way to go Hawks! This team has many of the same players that the WSR covered a few years ago that made it to the Regional Round of the Little League tournament.
It is really great to see how teams from our little neighborhood can compete with (and beat) teams that attract players from much larger areas!
Columbia is a major employer of people on the UWS.
See where caving for you, Columbia.
It continues to amaze me as Trump uses so-called antisemitism as way of not only growing antisemitism while destroying education. I have a daughter who does research at Columbia and she happens to be Jewish – how exactly does this help her? Of course, it’s nota joke. We all suffer when basic research is ended. Columbia needs to release the exact studies effected b trump nonsense so it is clear what is being lost!
A complete list of studies would be extremely valuable but wouldn’t likely suppirt your point.
I hope Columbia enjoys the teachable moment they asked for.
Given the majority of Columbia administrators, professors and students share the same vapid beliefs as the violent protesters who are destroying LA right now, I’d prefer to have none of my tax dollars support the university, as they are currently doing. Thanks.
Other Trump/Putin sputniks are more somewhat direct about it.
https://www.rawstory.com/los-angeles-2672343154/
Let LA burn, let Columbia (etc.) close, let martial law reign — and bring the popcorn!
.
If King Kranov should decide to grace LA with his divine presence, taking a whirlwind tour through the war zone his voracious sociopathy has wrought there, the event could well be dubbed “Donald, Duck! Day”.
As for the threat to Columbia’s accreditation, I will merely note that no one seemed very concerned when I raised the issue five days ago in our epic dumpster discussion.