• This year’s edition of the Puerto Rican Day blowback begins: activists say the police have overreached in their pre-parade gang sweep and wrongly jailed innocent bystanders. [NYDN]
• Peter Braunstein dusted off his dormant journalism skills to write a long leniency-seeking letter to the judge: “I implore you, your honor, to [ignore] the venomous tabloid media and its premodern understanding of mental illness.” Hey Pete, “media” is plural. [NYP]
• The NYPD premieres a new siren, the Rattler (a low-frequency aural assault) to go with its storied repertoire: the Yelp, the Wail, the Hi-Lo etc. The Times article actually links to the sound samples for each. [NYT]
• Wednesday’s weird confluence of NYC critter sightings — a hawk and a kestrel in Manhattan, a lamb tearing through the Broonx — made for the busiest day in Animal Control’s history. [FoxNews]
• And, one more squeeze of the Sopranos-ending “controversy”: James Gandolfini admits he has no idea if his character lives or dies. His career is a far more clear-cut case. [AP via amNY]
