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Midday Manhattan news update

By DNAinfo Staff on September 18, 2009 4:39pm  | Updated on September 18, 2009 4:35pm

This is your midday update from DNAinfo. Current temperatures are in the high 50s but expect more sun later today with highs in the mid 60s.

The general-election campaign for mayor is underway and Democratic nominee William Thompson is going after Michael Bloomberg. Thompson wants voters to remember that the mayor changed the law to allow himself to run for a third term. Meanwhile Bloomberg says he's ready for a fight and that the term-limit backlash wasn't the only reason some incumbents lost in the primaries.

One union has given Thompson their support. The Uniformed Firefighters’ Association representing 8,900 firefighters endorsed him yesterday. The union's president says he holds Bloomberg's Fire Commissioner accountable for a fire at the Deutsche Bank Building two years ago in which two firefighters died.

Despite Amtrak official's concerns, the Senate voted yesterday to allow Amtrak passengers to carry locked, unloaded handguns in checked baggage. The House's version doesn't contain the gun provision so we'll have to wait to see if it makes it into the final bill.

Despite disapproval from Mayor Bloomberg, the MTA board approved a salary package for its Chairman Jay Walder.  Walder will get $350,000 a year during his six year contract but if he's fired early on he'll get a half–million dollar severance.

Filmmakers Robert De Niro and Spike Lee are creating a dramatic series for Showtime about Alphabet City.  The show "Alphaville," is set in the 1980's and will re-create the neighborhood's rise from gritty to gentrified.

Police have arrested Yale lab tech Raymond Clark for the murder of Annie Le. Clark is being held on $3 million bond.


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