the morning line

State Regulators Make It Official: Con Ed Sucks

• Con Ed might want to change its slogan from “On It” to “In It.” State regulators, in what even the Times calls “a devastating condemnation,” place full blame on the utility giant for last July’s Queens blackout. (Even better: Regulators determined Con Ed also lied about the number of affected customers.) [NYT]
• In a Dickensian tableau of class inequality, an Upper East Side antiques dealer is suing a homeless man — for a million dollars! — for loitering in front of his windows and obstructing the view of the wares. Be sure to catch the A-grade Post prose (“dingy socks, soiled shoes and layers of odorous old clothing”). [NYP]
• Carlton Ingleton, a well-known local sculptor who taught art at Medgar Evers College, is dead after a violent confrontation with his son. Cops say the artist was beaten to death “with a pipe and a hatchet.” The son, Carl Assawa, is undergoing psychiatric evaluation after attacking police officers while in custody. [amNY]
• Mayor Bloomberg’s expectedly upbeat State of the City speech — the state of the city is “alive with hope” — included a novel law-enforcement initiative: Crime witnesses and victims will be able to send camera-phone pictures straight to 911 operators. Also, the property tax goes down 5 percent. [NYDN]
• Also on the hopeful techy note: OMG Internet over power lines! “Broadband over power lines is coming to New York, says the City Council’s technology commission. Get ready for Web-enabled toasters, blenders, and hair dryers. [GG]

State Regulators Make It Official: Con Ed Sucks