November 15, 2005

HOW HYBRID CARS LED ME TO SPARE BILL FORD

THIS could have been one of the greatest gags anyone ever pulled on a corporate executive. But I like Bill Ford too much, hybrid-engine technology is too important to the...

BOFA HAS BIG PLANS IN N.Y.

BANK of America is one of the city's largest commercial users with roughly 2 million square feet in Midtown. As the bank pursues its strategy to grow and relocate big-time...

TOSS-IMO INC. - CLOTHING FIRM FAVORS ICONIX BID OVER FOUNDER'S

Casual clothing company Mossimo Inc. rejected a takeover bid yesterday from its founder and majority shareholder, clearing the way for a potential buyout from Iconix Brand Group Inc. The firm's...

ALL HECK FOR TECH: EVERCORE

Mergers and acquisitions boutique Evercore Partners has hired the head of Microsoft Corp.'s business development efforts to juice up its technology side in anticipation of new deals. Brian Roberts, who...

TRADERS ARE BETTING BIG ON GM TO FAIL

Wall Street traders yesterday were wagering big money that General Motors, long the icon of American manufacturing might, is headed for a big crash. A GM bankruptcy had been seen...

MARKETING GAP - RETAILER DROPS TV FOR PRINT, INTERNET

Gap hopes to lure shoppers this holiday season without the festive, star-studded television ads that have formed the cornerstone of its past campaigns. The latest marketing push is built on...

KNIGHT RIDDER IN PLAY AFTER PRESSURE

Knight Ridder, owner of the Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and San Jose Mercury News, is officially in play after CEO Tony Ridder buckled to pressure from his three largest shareholders....

KEY EXCHANGE - STARWOOD SELLS 38 HOTELS TO HOST FOR $4.1B

In one of the biggest hotel deals in years, the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and the "W" in Times Square are being sold, along with some three dozen...

VISA DROPS AD SHOP BBDO AFTER 20 YEARS

Visa dumped its longtime ad agency, Omnicom Group's BBDO, yesterday after a 20-year partnership that produced one of the most famous slogans in advertising. The brain behind "It's Everywhere You...

KEN TUCKER HIRED BY EW

Entertainment Weekly has lured award winning media critic Ken Tucker back from New York magazine, where he was one of the high profile writers hired by New York magazine in...

JUDGE HITS NYSE ON ARCA PRICE RISE

Trouble could be surfacing in court for the New York Stock Exchange in its Archipelago Holdings merger fight, with a judge asking whether "somebody missed the boat" on pricing the...

RICHIE RICH - 'TRUTH ABOUT DIAMONDS' PARALLELS LIFE

ONE of the two covers of Nicole Richie's book "The Truth About Diamonds" features a garish picture of Miss Richie, her hair teased and lightened. There's an almost angelic halo...

OVATION FOR POST DANCE CRITIC BARNES

POST dance critic Clive Barnes joined the ranks of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Rudolph Nureyev last night when he was honored by Dance magazine. "Of all the dance critics...

UNCLE JUNIOR TALKS

'SOPRANOS" star Dominic Chianese is shopping a variety/talk show. Chianese, who plays "Uncle Junior" on the HBO mob drama, taped a pilot last week at the West Bank Café and...

COOKS FEAR 'HELL'

DEVIL chef Gordon Ramsay's TV tirades have scared up-and-coming Scottish cooks right out of the kitchen. Ramsay, who stars on Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and has been known to reduce his...

ONLY ONE OPRAH - IT ALL BEGAN 20 YEARS AGO WITH A DATE

NOW it can be told: Oprah Winfrey's romantic date with Roger Ebert launched her into TV immortality. Winfrey celebrated 20 years of all-things "Oprah" yesterday - taking viewers on a...

PUFFY-SHIRT SHOW - REGIS DEVOTES ENTIRE HOUR TO 'SEINFELD'

'SEINFELD" is back. Again. The four stars of the classic comedy - Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards - will reunite on TV for the third time...

QUEEN OF COUNTRY - MARTINA MCBRIDE LOOKS FOR 5TH TITLE

FOR those of you who don't know, Martina McBride is the reigning queen of country music. After her breakout hit "Independence Day" in 1994, the Kansas-born beauty was named Female...

STARR REPORT

Kmetko connection Former E! host Steve Kmetko, who left the network in 2002, has resurfaced on Q Television's "QTN World News," where he'll guest-anchor all this week (7 p.m.). QTN,...

MAN WHO INVENTED GRAVITY

READY to write the next "Da Vinci Code"? Good, then have I got a plot for you. It all begins with cribbing the research of the hordes of scientists who...

POTTERHEADS: WIZARDS OF ODD - ADULT FANS GO HOGWART'S WILD AS NEW TREKKIES

THIS past Saturday night was one of the most momentous in 25-year-old Melissa Anelli's life. She's so nervous that she worries which pair of gold earrings go best with her...

WELCOME BACK, POTTER - HE FIGHTS. HE FALLS IN LOVE. HE'S RATED PG-13. IN 'GOBLET,' HARRY GROWS UP; 'GOBLET' RUNNETH OVER FOR FANS

EVERYTHING'S going to change now, isn't it?" Hermione breathlessly asks Harry near the end of their fourth adventure, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Really? Because not much has...

ALMOST FAMOUS - THIS WINTER, HIT THE BEACH LIKE A STAR - FOR THOUSANDS LESS; SUN, SAND AND STARS! - WANT A CELEBRITY-WORTHY BEACH BREAK THIS WINTER? CHRIS BUNTING SHOWS YOU HOW TO DO THE HOTTEST ISLANDS FOR LESS

WANT to do Anguilla just like Diddy? Kick it in St. Barts with Tara Reid? Just because they opted for the $15,000-a-night villa and flew by private jet doesn't mean...

EXPRESS CHECK-IN - GOSSIP, HOT TOPICS AND OTHER NEWS YOU'LL USE

FIGHTING BACK WRATHFUL Hurricane Wilma, the third Category 5 of 2005, killed 47 and caused billions of dollars in damage when she and her 175 mph winds ripped through parts...

THE P.R. BLITZ - PUERTO RICO IS MORE THAN JUST SAN JUAN - MARK ELLWOOD FINDS THREE GREAT SHORT BREAKS

THE Caribbean - it's not just for vacations anymore. A short hop from New York, and cheaper than ever to get to (increased competition has driven airfares to shocking lows),...

CAR HITS L.I. BICYCLE GAWKER

A Long Island teen cyclist who was "rubbernecking" at an accident site was hit by a car as he pulled onto a main road, police said. Kelvin Abreu, 16, was...

CHANGING LANES - SAFE & NARROW PATH FOR ATLANTIC AVE.

One of the city's most heavily traveled thoroughfares - a 2.2-mile stretch of Atlantic Avenue - is going to be made narrower but safer, officials announced yesterday. Standing near the...

ELIOT, HILL WHIPPING RIVALS

ALBANY - Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer (left) and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continue to hold massive leads over all of their potential Republican challengers, according to...

THE ALITO FIGHT GETS INTERESTING

NOW this is a fight worth having. Thank you to President Bush, Harriet Miers, Samuel Alito and the archives at the Reagan Library for making it happen. The nomination of...

NONCITIZEN VOTE URGED

Immigration activists packed a City Council hearing yesterday to demand noncitizens be allowed to vote in municipal elections - an idea Mayor Bloomberg vehemently opposes. The council is considering whether...

RAGIN' ASIANS SLAP ALI G - INSULT IS MORE THAN THEY CAN KAZAKH-STAND

Ay geeza, I woz jus' kiddin'!!! Maybe so, but Kazakhstan - which take-no-prisoners comic Ali G has made a career of portraying as a nation of drunks who enjoy punching...

RICE PASSES MCCAIN AS GOP SUPPORT SOARS

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on the rise in 2008 Republican presidential polls, edging past Sen. John McCain and trailing only Rudy Giuliani as supporters feted her...

CONDI'S PEACE PUSH - STAYS TO IRON OUT GAZA BORDER DEAL

JERUSALEM - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice extended her Mideast trip yesterday to hammer out a deal between Israel and the Palestinians on Gaza border crossings. An agreement would be...

PATAKI TELLS VEEP ADI"S

Gov. Pataki yesterday stiffed Vice President Dick Cheney and a national Republican fund-raiser in New York so he could fly to Puerto Rico to huddle with a group of mostly...

CITY'S $WEET NOV. - SET FOR TOURIST RECORD

So many visitors are flocking to the city around Thanksgiving to gobble up the sights that this month is set to become the Big Apple's most popular November ever. "Not...

SIKH TELLS OF RACIAL BEATING

A Sikh man who was beaten and kicked in a racially charged attack outside a Queens catering hall testified yesterday that he was so battered that doctors had to drain...

VENDORS HOOKED - GIVE NEW BX. FISH MART FIN'S UP

The spiffy new Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point in the South Bronx finally opened for business yesterday, with Mayor Bloomberg and vendors marveling that the $85 million facility is...

FLATTENED FREDDY 700G IN THE HOLE

Democrat Fernando Ferrer's failed bid for mayor has been hit with another blow - the cash-strapped campaign is running $700,000 in the red, a top adviser said yesterday. The debt...

'LOSER:' I WAS 'KNIGHT' WHEN I DREW GUN TO KILL LENNON

The sicko who blew away John Lennon nearly 25 years ago says he considered himself a "white knight" on an unstoppable mission the night be pumped five bullets into the...

DRIVER HITS S.I. SCHOOL-BUS KID - ANGRY PA PLEADS FOR FOR JUSTICE

The father of a 13-year-old Staten Island girl mowed down on her way to school yesterday morning issued a plea to authorities to punish the driver of the minivan that...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A man getting out of a car after an accident survived a 30-foot plunge off of an elevated section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway yesterday, authorities said. The injured...

ALITO ABORT STANCE WORRIES SENS.

WASHINGTON - Newly uncovered statements by Judge Samuel Alito against abortion rights are prompting concern among centrist Republican lawmakers important to his confirmation. Alito wrote in a 1985 job application...

COMMUTERS: BOMB TEST IS 'SWAB' AND SOPHISTICATED

The first subway commuters to gets their bags swabbed for bomb residue with new high-tech equipment said yesterday it was less invasive than the traditional hand searches. "I didn't feel...

SHAM-WED PLOT SINKS SIX SAILORS

Six sailors with the U.S. Navy are in hot water after the feds nabbed them for allegedly trying to make a quick buck by entering into sham marriages with illegal...

SCHUMER: FEDS SHOULD SAY NO DICE TO TRIBAL BID

Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday urged the Bureau of Indian Affairs to override a judicial ruling issued last week granting the Hamptons-based Shinnecock Indians federal recognition. "Tribal recognition will have very...

DOG-BITTEN PERV ADMITS 'RAPE' GUILT

The "animal" who attacked a woman in Central Park only to be fought off by her heroic dog pleaded guilty yesterday to trying to rape another woman. Tito Rodriguez, 33,...

PREZ RENEWS ASSAULT ON ANTI-WAR DEMS

WASHINGTON - As he flew off to an Asian summit, President Bush last night accused anti-war Democrats of "sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy" and forgetting that...

MOTHER'S MERCY - FORGIVES GIRL IN CRASH THAT KILLED DAUGHTER

In an emotional embrace outside her daughter's funeral yesterday, a Queens mother forgave the dead girl's best pal for allegedly causing the booze-fueled crash that killed her. Clutching a long-stemmed...

TEEN 'KIDNAP KILLER' NABBED - SHOT PARENTS, TOOK GIRL: COPS

On her Web site, Kara Beth Borden says she likes Jesus, her doggie and going to parties - "Oh yeah, baby." On his site, boyfriend David Ludwig says he likes...

CARD TRICK - COPS TRACK 'FIRE PERV' ON SUBWAY [EXCLUSIVE]; FARE GAME: POLICE HUNT 'FIRE FAKE' BY METROCARD

Cops have been covertly tracking phony-fireman sex suspect Peter Braunstein (right) as he slithers around the city - thanks to his MetroCard. Authorities know exactly when and where the creepy...

NYPD BIAS SQUAD - WHITE COPS: BLACK BOSS DISCRIMINATED

Three white female detectives were subjected to discrimination by a black commanding officer who stripped them of plum assignments and overtime pay in favor of their minority counterparts, a lawyer...

$6M S.I. HEROIN STASH SEIZED

The feds seized more than $6 million worth of heroin packed inside crates filled with ceramics, and arrested two men trying to unload the shipment on Staten Island, authorities said...

'MOB' SERIES FINITO - HBO DOCU ON HIT LIST

A reputed gangster's dreams of a career in show business could be dead in the water now that feds have made waves over his over-the-top reality show, "House Arrest." Chris...

ICE-T STOLE MY SONG: LAWSUIT

Hip-hop superstar Ice-T was rapped with a federal lawsuit yesterday for allegedly stiffing a musician who helped him pen the foul-mouthed hit song "99 Problems." Brother Marquis, formerly of 2...

CHUCK: SAY 'NO DICE' TO TRIBE BID

Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday urged the Bureau of Indian Affairs to override a judicial ruling issued last week granting the Hamptons-based Shinnecock Indians federal recognition. "Tribal recognition will have very...

FAMILY FEUD OVER SCALD TOT

The brother of a baby boy who drowned while unsupervised in a filthy Brooklyn bathtub last week was placed with a foster family yesterday as his own relatives continued to...

GRAMERCY HORROR FIRE

A man was fighting for his life last night after a fire in his Gramercy Park apartment left him with burns over 70 percent of his body, authorities said. Two...

TEACHERS GRIPE ABOUT CLASS HYGIENE

Teachers claiming they've been exposed to disease by disabled students who bite and scratch them are biting back - calling on the city to beef up safety measures for public-school...

BLAZE HITS PENN STATION

A construction mishap sparked a small fire at Penn Station last night, authorities said. Contractors working near New Jersey Transit's East End Concourse were using a blow torch as part...

SHEFF CREEP GUILTY - SEX-TAPE EXTORTION

CHICAGO - Score one for Yankee slugger Gary Sheffield. A federal jury yesterday swiftly convicted shady, self-styled minister Derrick Mosley of trying to shake down the baseball star and his...

HELP POLICE CATCH FOOD-DELIVERY KILLER

Police yesterday released a sketch of a suspect who fatally shot a Chinese food deliveryman in The Bronx during a botched robbery, as they continued to hunt for the killer....

FURY OVER BUS KID HIT BY VAN - ANGRY PA PLEADS FOR FOR JUSTICE

The father of a 13-year-old Staten Island girl mowed down on her way to school yesterday morning issued a plea to authorities to punish the driver of the minivan that...

MAN NEAR DEATH IN GRAMERCY FIRE

A man was clinging to life last night after a fire in his Gramercy Park apartment left him with burns over 70 percent of his body, authorities said. Two police...

SENATE GOP EYES IRAQ PULLOUT PLAN

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans will consider a proposal today that calls for Iraqi troops to take the lead in securing the country sometime next year and for President Bush to...

DEAL FOR SENIORS

The MTA will give older riders a gift this holiday season. Subway and bus fares for senior citizens and the disabled will be cut in half to just 50 cents,...

'MOB' SERIES FINITO - HBO WHACKS DOCU

A reputed gangster's dreams of a career in show business could be dead in the water now that feds have made waves over his over-the-top reality show, "House Arrest." Chris...

FAMILY FEUD OVER SCALD BOY

The brother of a baby boy who drowned while unsupervised in a filthy Brooklyn bathtub last week was placed with a foster family yesterday as his own relatives continued to...

ALL THEY NEED IS GLOVE - SCHOOL HYGIENE GRIPE

Teachers claiming they've been exposed to disease by disabled students who bite and scratch them are biting back - calling on the city to beef up safety measures for public-school...

UP TO THE SECOND - KNICKS COOL OFF DEPLETED JAZZ FOR RECORD VICTORY

Knicks 73 - Jazz 62 SALT LAKE CITY - It only took Larry Brown until his seventh game as Knicks coach to get into the club's record book. The Knicks...

ROOKIE FRYE TAKES A BIG STEP BACKWARD

KNICK NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - Rookie Channing Frye has gone from "DNP" in the season opener to the Knicks' leading scorer in Sunday's first victory and back to a...

A DOSE OF REALITY

GIANT REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: F Where for art thou, Eli? Total regression for Manning (23 of 48, 291 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs) in a mess of a performance. Scatter-armed and...

PLAYING HARD, BUT . . .

JETS REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: F Brooks Bollinger (11-of-21, 98 yards, 4 INTs, 25.6 rating) played well early, but imploded in the second half with 4 INTs that changed the complexion of...

INJURY ELBOWS JOSEPH OUT

GIANT NOTES The Giants, late in the fourth quarter Sunday, lost more than the lead and the game when the Vikings mounted a scoring drive. They also lost starting defensive...

MOGILNY NOT READY TO HEAD BACK

There may be less fighting and room for goons in the new NHL, but the sport remains plenty dangerous. There are still hits that leave players seeing stars. Just ask...

WON TO GROW ON - KNICKS HAPPY TO EARN LARRY HIS 1ST VICTORY

SALT LAKE CITY - As the revelry raged on in the Knicks locker room late Sunday night at Sacramento's Arco Arena, assistant coach Herb Williams shouted above the din repeatedly:...

FRYE STARTING TO CATCH FIRE

SALT LAKE CITY - Rookie Channing Frye has gone from "DNP" in the season opener to the Knicks' most productive player per minute. The 6-11 big man out of Arizona...

ORR STEADIES PIRATE SHIP INSTEAD OF WALKING PLANK

Louis Orr read all the rumors, heard all the whispers, and so did his Seton Hall Pirates. How could they not? Would he get fired in the offseason? And even...

JETS' FREE PASS - HERM DEFENDS END-GAME SHELL

Herman Edwards had no idea that, at about the precise moment Sunday night he was speaking so passionately about how hard his injury-riddled team continued to play even in the...

WAYNE'S RETIREMENT EXPECTED SOON

JET NOTES An official announcement on Wayne Chrebet's imminent retirement could come as soon as a week or so, two people close to the Jets' popular receiver told The Post...

LONG WAY TO GO - GIANT PLAYOFF PUSH REQUIRES MOVING PAST MINNY MESS

After what coach Tom Coughlin dubbed an "excruciating, punch-in-the-stomach kind of loss" and players continued to define in the most agonizing of terms, the Giants assembled yesterday and tried to...

WELCOME WAG-ON - METS' RED CARPET AWAITS RELIEF ACE

For Billy Wagner and the Mets, visiting hours will begin on Monday. The next step of the Mets' recruitment of the best closer on the market has been established. Wagner,...

DEADLINE LOOMING FOR MATSUI

Negotiations between the Yankees and Hideki Matsui's agent were "progressing nicely" yesterday, a source said. Before 11:00 last night, Yankee GM Brian Cashman was preparing to meet face-to-face with Matsui's...

JAGR-LINDROS TIME CUT SHORT

RANGERS at LEAFS - Tonight 7:30 - MSG; ESPN (1050) TORONTO - They were marquee teammates for eight periods, linemates for five, and not even quite that, because just as...

INDY THINK TANK

THINK the Pacers miss Jamaal Tinsley? Think the Pistons miss Rick Carlisle? Think a licensed NBA franchise ever malfunctioned more often in such an abbreviated amount of time than the...

STORM TO HOST HOOP TOURNEY

St. John's has been picked as one of the four regional host for next year's 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs Cancer, The Post has learned. The other...

COLLINS IFFY FOR SONIC BATTLE

NET NOTES The Nets say they're not worried about Jason Collins. Yet. The Nets' defensive-minded forward has been battling a lower right leg strain, probably brought on by over-compensating a...

RJ TAKES THE BLAME FOR NETS' WOEFUL 'D'

The Nets have been brutal defensively. Richard Jefferson says he is a big reason why. "Me, personally, my defense," said Jefferson when asked why the Nets' defense warrants executions. "I...

ROOKIE FRYE STARTING TO CATCH FIRE

KNICK NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - Rookie Channing Frye has gone from "DNP" in the season opener to the Knicks' most productive player per minute. The 6-11 big man out...

EX-YESHIVA COACH DIES

Red Sarachek, the longtime coach at Yeshiva University who mentored hundreds of other coaches, including Lou Carnesecca, died last night at his home in Deerfield Beach, Fla. He was 93....

ISLES SCORE IN SHOOTOUT

SHOOTOUT: Islanders 3 Penguins 2 PITTSBURGH - It took nine rounds of shootout last night, but the Islanders kept alive their undefeated streak when leading after two periods. Jason Blake...

ORR'S TROOPS REPEL JASPERS IN OPENER

Seton Hall 66 - Manhattan 52 Throughout a tough offseason, Louis Orr had to hear about how his job was in jeopardy and his program was in disarray. He heard...

DALLAS RALLY SHOCKS EAGLES

Cowboys 21 - Eagles 20 PHILADELPHIA - Life after T.O. looked good for the Eagles for about 57 minutes last night. Then, Roy Williams stepped in. In a loss as...

A-ROD: POKER NOT IN CARDS

If you thought it was idiotic for Alex Rodriguez to be seen inside New York's seedy (and often illegal) poker rooms, you're not alone. "It was actually a pretty dumb...

NOD GOES TO A-ROD AS MVP - RODRIGUEZ 1ST YANKEE TO WIN SINCE '85

As our alphabet suggests, MVP and DH are mutually exclusive. So for the first time in 20 years, the award belongs to a Yankee. In an expectedly close vote, Yankees...

EAGLES TRY TO BURY T.O.

PHILADELPHIA - There was a funeral here yesterday, but not many tears were shed. A local radio station staged the ceremony near Lincoln Financial Field before last night's Eagles-Cowboys game...

ISLES SPLIT SATAN, YASH

PITTSBURGH - Miroslav Satan was supposedly signed to ride shotgun next to Alexei Yashin on the Islanders' top scoring line, he was supposed to be the sniper Yashin never had...

RJ: BLAME ME FOR WOEFUL 'D'

The Nets have been brutal defensively. Richard Jefferson says he is a big reason why. "Me, personally, my defense," said Jefferson when asked why the Nets' defense has been lacking....

PERSONAL AWARDS DON'T MEAN MUCH AROUND HERE, ALEX

THERE are vast segments of the baseball-watching populace who can sleep well, now that Alex Rodriguez has won his second American League MVP award in three years, vanquishing David Ortiz...

NETS PLAY WAIT-AND-SEE WITH COLLINS

NET NOTES The Nets say they're not worried about Jason Collins. Yet. The Nets' defensive-minded forward has been battling a lower right leg strain, probably brought on by over-compensating a...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Marjorie Morris just wanted to pour coffee into a canister, but what she found in the package left her shocked. Morris, 77, of Ainsworth, Iowa, discovered a dead baby turtle...