InfidelsFor another week, almost all politics was both local and sleazy.
in other news
The ‘Journal’ Blows the Lauder Clan’s Mild Awkwardness Wide OpenToday, The Wall Street Journal digs into the dirt surrounding the Lauder family, one of New York’s most influential business and social clans. Okay, so they don’t get into that much dirt, but, for the Journal, it feels positively juicy. According to the blaring headline, tensions are “Roiling” the Lauder dynasty! See, the Estée Lauder Companies are going to have a permanent non-Lauder CEO for the first time ever this year. And even though we’ve known that for months, Rupert Murdoch the Journal editors felt that readers deserved a look into the personal lives of Estée’s heirs. What do we learn? Well
• Former CEO and current chairman Leonard Lauder hasn’t done the best job of ceding power to his son, William, who is the current CEO (he has a bigger office! And he writes notes!).
• Leonard’s brother, Ronald, has borrowed a lot against his company’s shares and recently unloaded $100 million of them (but he’s still confident in the company!).
• Ronald loves art!
the morning line
Puerto Rico, You Lovely Island
• The fallout from Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day parade included 208 arrests, a huge increase from last year’s 50 or so. The police insist all but ten of the arrested were “gang members.” [NYT]
• First Connecticut was on the brink of legalizing medical marijuana; now New York is, too. The legislation may be heading for the governor’s desk within ten days, and Spitzer, who earlier opposed the idea, now says he’s open to it. [NYDN]