Just before Mayor Bloomberg called Observer reporter Azi Paybarah a "disgrace," he penned a loving tribute to the salmon paper in a tribute issue passed around at outgoing editor Peter Kaplan's going-away party last night. "No publication sends up life in New York quite like The Observer," he wrote. "Your work to nurture young reporters and help them find and develop their voices has made an enormous impact not only on The Observer, but also on the national media." And, you know, mayoral press conferences. [Awl]