Business Beat

Ken Langone has got to be one of the most colorful and most prominent businessmen from Long Island (born in Roslyn Heights, more recently living in Sands Point) of recent past decades. He was a co-founder of Home Depot and a few years ago he tried, unsuccessfully, to buy the New York Stock Exchange.

In recent years, he's been on the outs, to say the least, with now-former Gov. Elliot Spitzer. He's also been a witness to plenty at Home Depot and elsewhere in the business world.

On Thursday (May 30), Neil Cavuto interviewed him on his Fox Business Network show. Langone talked about his amazement at how Spitzer flamed out: "Having seen the man close up and his behavior, I wasn’t shocked that he didn't make it through his first term... I was shocked by the reason he didn’t make it and how quickly he didn't make it." He denied reports that he was involved in taking Spitzer down.

Langone has been closely associated with John Grasso, former head of the stock exchange and a big target by Spitzer. Langone said and Grasso: "I admire Dick. I admire the way he's conducted himself. I admire him for his principles. I admire him for the superb job he did at the New York Stock Exchange. Nobody will deny, he was the best chairman the exchange ever had."

As for the money Grasso got from the exchange and whether there was a better approach possible, Langone said, "On reflection, I'd have to say, sure, Dick could have taken the money out so that you wouldn't have seen it all at once. But the thing that disturbed me more than anything else was the fear that one man [Spitzer] drove through the hearts of so many people. So many big people. That's what stunned me."

Langone was a Giuliani supporter and now backs McCain for president: "I think John McCain is a very honest man. I think John McCain, like every other human being, will make mistakes. But they won't be mistakes that you should be punished for. They'll be mistakes because he used his best judgment."

--Noel Rubinton

Indiana Jones, movie-theater archaeologist and hero of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," may regularly come across lost cities and mystical artifacts. But what is it that real-life career archeologists find?

"One of the most important discoveries made this year was fossilized human feces found in Oregon, with the oldest preserved DNA in North America," said Kevin Vaughn, an assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University, in an article on the school’s news page.

"Obviously our lives are not as exciting as Hollywood makes them," said Vaughn, who studies the Nasca civilization of Peru.

He also said that more than half the jobs are in "cultural resource management," working to make sure that projects comply with various cultural heritage preservation laws, with a smaller number of jobs at museums or universities.

Careerwise, that would greatly reduce the adventure quotient – but also the potential for running into snakes on the job.

--Patricia Kitchen

Are you bitter? A lot of American workers are, according to an new national survey.

In the Marlin Co.’s 14th annual “Attitudes in the American Workplace” poll, nearly 75 percent of workers said the American Dream was less attainable today than eight years ago. And 52 percent said it was unreachable for the average American.

The survey defines the American Dream as the opportunity to have a nice home, financial security and hope for the future.

Nearly half of the respondents said they are “bitter because the political system has caused a deterioration of [their] economic circumstances.”

“The Marlin workplace poll uncovered an attitude shift among U.S. workers who are more disillusioned and fed up than ever,” said Frank Kenna III, president of Marlin, which is a North Haven, Conn.-workplace-communications firm.

www.themarlincompany.com

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Did Dowling College intend to snub Hofstra University in a news release Thursday about a new appointment?

No one’s saying that Dowling did. But what the announcement didn’t say raises questions.

Dowling said that Irwin Kellner, one of Long Island’s most widely quoted economists, has been named “distinguished scholar of economics” at the Oakdale-based school. The extensive announcement listed Kellner’s many accomplishments, but didn’t mention the economist’s more than 10-year association with Hofstra.

Just last year, he retired as the Weller Distinguished Chair of Economics at the Hempstead school. He has taught in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Honors College and the Zarb School of Business. He has written Hofstra’s widely read Economic Report. And he’s still an adjunct professor in the executive MBA program.

The Dowling release mentioned that Kellner received a doctorate from Hofstra but included nothing else about the university.

Kellner, 69, is also the chief economist for Capital One Bank and MarketWatch.com., which Dowling noted. He said he won’t teach at Dowling but will help to “strengthen offerings.”

When asked why the school overlooked his longtime Hofstra connection, Kellner referred the question to Dowling.

Dowling’s director of communications said the college wanted to focus on Kellner’s economic experience. “We had really just wanted to focus more on his experience with Capital One Bank and MarketWatch.com.,” Kelly Kazemier said. “It wasn’t a deliberate attempt to leave out information about Hofstra.”

Hofstra declined to comment.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

It’ll be a long Saturday.

From noon to 7 p.m. June 7 in Westbury, Long Island homeowners will be able to have their mortgages examined one-on-one by representatives of their lenders or their mortgage servicing companies. Nonprofit mortgage counselors, attorneys, Nassau County officials and state banking employees will also be at hand to help.

The free forum is latest event under Operation Protect Your Home, the brainchild of state Senate Democrats and a partnership with the state banking department and mortgage companies. The goal is to connect borrowers with lenders and mortgage servicers in face-to-face meetings to prevent foreclosures.

More than 4,000 letters have been sent to at-risk homeowners in the area, but any homeowner can walk in to try to get loan changes or learn about credit and foreclosures, sponsors said. Priority will be given to invited borrowers who are late on payments or whose mortgage interest rates are scheduled to reset soon.

The day-long event helps counter one of the most common complaints of the mortgage crisis – homeowners who need help and their advocates often say no one from the bank or mortgage lender returns their calls, or if they do, it may be weeks late or they may say documents already submitted have not been submitted.

“Nassau has been bearing the brunt of this foreclosure crisis,” said Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington), who’s sponsoring the Westbury forum with Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. “It is our hope that by bringing the banks and the homeowners together here, we can replicate and build upon the success that Operation Protect Your Home has had in other parts of the state.”

Participating companies are Countrywide, Option One, Ocwen, Wells Fargo, Chase, Citi, Home Loan Services, Wilshire, and WAMU.

Homeowners will be directed to their lenders or mortgage servicers, and some may be able to have their loans refinanced, which carry closing costs, or problems addressed on the spot, if they have all their documents, Johnson's office said. Loan modications, which include changing interest rate or length of loan, should carry no or lower costs.

Borrowers whose lenders aren’t present may go to a counselor or other experts there for help.

Johnson’s aides said homeowners will be asked to do exit interviews. This way, the Senate office and Suozzi’s office will be able to keep track of what happened in each case and follow up with unresolved problems or contact lenders not at the forum.

The location is Joseph M. Barry Career and Technical Educational Center (BOCES), 1196 Prospect Ave. For more information or to make an appointment with a participating lender, call Johnson’s director of community affairs, Abdul Hakim, at 516-746-5923.

--Ellen Yan

The newly refurbished Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum has a new ad agency. Austin & Williams in Hauppuage has just been named the advertising and marketing agency of record for the aircraft carrier, one of the world’s largest maritime museums.

The agency was named after a “very competitive review,” according to a museum statement. Neither the agency nor the museum disclosed a dollar amount for the account.

After a renovation that began in 2006, the 900-foot-long Intrepid is scheduled to return home to Manhattan’s Pier 86 in October. The museum will reopen on Nov. 8 for Veteran’s Day weekend.

“We wanted to move forward with a new branding campaign that will reflect the importance of the museum,” said Susan Marenoff, the museum’s executive director.

Austin & Williams will develop marketing strategies and the creative work in a branding campaign that will cross many different media.

The agency is over the moon about its selection. “We are truly proud and honored to have been selected to re-launch the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, a historic landmark that is one of our nation’s most compelling symbols of heroism,” said the agency’s president Ken Greenberg.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Marcum & Kliegman, the Melville-based accounting firm, is acquiring what it calls the metro area’s largest forensic accounting firm--RosenfarbWinters.

RosenfarbWinters will operate as M&K Rosenfarb. It will have offices in Manhattan and in Tinton Falls and Roseland, N.J.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

We hear a lot about the highs of chief executives, but not so much about the lows. In a real coup, Fortune snared a trio of former top dogs, David Neeleman of JetBlue, Ed Zander of Motorola and Jim Donald of Starbucks, and got them to talk about their lost jobs and dreams.

Telling their families of their lost jobs was one of the hardest parts. Donald talks about trying to let his mother down easy after he got fired, but she made it easier for him. Neeleman recalls having to tell his wife at the same time that her mother had just died.

Neeleman talks about the debilitating effects of the quick and high rise of oil prices. He also says that he didn't realize the importance of communicating with members of his company's board.

And then there was the matter of that February 2007 snow and ice storm. Neeleman said the company did the best it could in recovering from a public relations point of view. Then, in early May, he said, "a couple of board members came to my office and said, basically, 'We want you to step down as CEO and be the chairman and be responsible for strategy.' I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe it. Just the fact that I was flabbergasted - either I'm the biggest idiot on the planet or maybe the process could have been better. "

Zander doesn't engage in revisionism. He sees it that he had three great years and then hit a wall along with the cell phone division. He believes that he made the right decisions for the long term, even if others like super-investor Carl Icahn, disagreed.

For Donald, Starbucks was a place where he accomplished a lot. "We went from 4,000 stores to 16,000 stores, from 20 countries to 40 countries." But, he added, "Working for the Starbucks employees is a very humbling experience."

Of the three, Neeleman is the only with concrete plans. He's building a new airline in Brazil. So he's asked what's the biggest difference between building Azul and building JetBlue. His answer: "We're not going to be deicing airplanes. No ice."

--Noel Rubinton

A gauntlet has been thrown. But will anyone pick it up?

Two teams of developers, one headed by AvalonBay Communities and the other by Ornstein Leyton Company, will each construct a Bellport home in five days next week as part of Habitat for Humanity’s nationwide building blitz.

“AvalonBay is ready to meet the challenge – I’m betting that our crew is faster than Orenstein Leyton’s, although I’m sure they think otherwise,” Matthew Whalen, vice president the Melville-based AvalonBay, said in a press release.

Both have similar track records and experience; they’re large Long Island builders who also participated in Habitat’s blitz two years ago.

When asked by Newsday, Whalen said he’s ready to back his words with some sort of collateral if Alec Ornstein, president of his Garden City company, goes along with a friendly wager: “I will bet Alec whatever he wants to bet. However confident he feels, I will match that confidence because I’m that confident in my team.”

There’s no indication that Ornstein knows he might have to watch another crew’s timing as well as his own. He could not be reached for comment yesterday, but in the press release, he said that “it is an honor to be in partnership with such a respectable organization, not only to build a home for a family in need, but to help in further enriching the Long Island community.”

The two teams will be making noise and more from about 6 a.m. Monday to hopefully about 7 p.m. Friday on the same street, Bourdois Avenue, where two mothers and their children will also put sweat equity into their future homes.

They'll be joined by volunteers from Medford-based Pulte Homes of New York and Dix Hills-based JCV Development Inc.

The project has been organized by Habitat's Suffolk affiliate and Long Island Home Builders Care Inc., the charitable arm of the Long Island Builders Institute. Scores of vendors, from the mirror supplier to the paint guys, will donate their time and supplies too.

One home will go to Sharon Kwaak, a certified nursing assistant, and daughter Zaylee, 4, who now live in a small basement one-bedroom apartment in Patchogue. The other will go to Ana Maria Rodas, a Costco employee, and children Diana, 20, Ana, 19, and Richard, 17; they now live in Habitat transitional housing in Bay Shore after moving from a Brentwood basement apartment with structural damage.

--Ellen Yan

The current economic slowdown has generated many stories about how companies are coping with higher prices and retrenching consumers.

A tech luncheon at the Milleridge Cottage in Jericho Tuesday afternoon took a different tack. It focused on how chief information officers at major Long Island corporations are weathering the slowdown.

The CIOs said that, more than ever, they have an eye on the bottom line.
“In a slow economy there is less money to spend on new investments and initiatives,” said Bill Taub, vice president of Global IT Security at software developer CA Inc., the Islandia-based business software maker.

Taub and six other panelists spoke at the annual CIO luncheon of the Association of Information Technology Professionals/Long Island chapter.

Because of cutbacks, “there is much more of a conversation around investments and tangible returns,” Taub said. “I better make those numbers and those benefits better be real.”

Charles Bonomo, a vice president and chief information officer at MSC Industrial Direct, a tool distributor in Melville, said that the slowing economy has broadened IT’s role to include making a company more competitive.

“The days of IT providing [just] technology to an organization are long gone,” Bonomo said. “What we need to provide is competitive advantage.” Those advantages include making use of the latest technologies to help customers manage inventories or order products more easily from MSC than from competitors.

“If you’re not creating competitive advantages for your company,” Bonomo said, “you might as well be outsourced.”

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Putting your economic stimulus payment into savings or using it to pay bills is understandable, but sounds oh-so mundane when you look at the range of people’s uses on HowISpentMyStimulus.com, created by Rudy Adler, 26, a Brooklyn entrepreneur/freelance writer.

Among the more than 400 postings so far, with photos, that range from touching to funky to downright scary, are:

--"Half of my house is a shrine to the Terminator franchise, and I squandered, er, ‘spent’ my check (with the wife's blessing) on the new centerpiece of my collection--a Terminator 2 arcade machine!"

--"I used my $600 to bail myself out of prison, along with $6900 more."

--"I bought an American made firearm, to help stimulate the American economy."

--"I bought $50 worth of lottery tickets. But I didn't win :((((("

One person blew the money on diamond-shaped tattoos on her lower arms, another to buy home brewing supplies, another to buy a ferret named Mitzi. But Adler points out that many people also used the money in more traditional or generous ways – for travel, home improvement, digital cameras. One woman gave part of her money to her colleague to help her get back her repossessed car.

Some took a swipe at President Bush, but most people "seem happy to have the money," says Adler.

How has he used his windfall from Uncle Sam?

"Ha!" he said in an e-mail. "I got $600 and actually I spent it on this web site!"

--Patricia Kitchen

Once again, there are some strong voices of concern in Long Island Business News about the purchase of Newsday for $650 million by Cablevision.

In an unsigned editorial on "Cablevision's growing empire," the Business News' policymakers say the "acquisition of Newsday means that the cable operator so many Islanders love to hate now holds more power over us than ever before." The editorial says "Cablevision is now the chief gatherer and disseminator of general interest news on Long Island. That is a huge responsibility and it's landing in the lap of arguably the most clandestine company in our region." It goes on to criticize Cablevision for not making its executives available for interviews after the deal was announced (Newsday didn't get any access either).

The Business News editorial ends by saying: "Newsday belongs to Long Island. It's their [Cablevision's] job to return it to its rightful owners."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in its opinion section, Fair Media Council executive director Jaci Clement takes another swipe at the Cablevision deal. Clement has been one of the most vocal critics and she again denounces "such massive consolidation." She adds, "Anyone who believes in the fundamental freedoms that built America cannot be in favor of this deal. It's been billed as a way to save Newsday but, in doing so, we lose Long Island."

Meanwhile, it seems like the New York Times wanted to do a story on Newsday in its Cablevision era. But no one had any real answers for the reporter, Richard Perez-Pena, and the story was largely a recent history of Newsday, with details on ownership changes and impact on the paper.

--Noel Rubinton

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Tough times call for new business strategies and a Manhattan group hopes to provide some for women and minorities struggling to grow their companies during the economic turndown.

The National Minority Business Council is partnering with the U.S. Small Business Administration for an economic summit on June 9 in Manhattan.

The summit’s theme is “Bridging Troubled Economic Waters: Strategies for Survival and Growth.” Presenters from the public and private sector will offer ideas on how small businesses owned by women and minorities can navigate the current environment of rising costs, tighter credit and less corporate spending on contracts.

The council is co-sponsoring the summit because it feels that businesses owned by women and minorities are “not being heard from or talked about in the current economic downturn,” said John F. Robinson, the council’s president.

The summit will take place at 26 Federal Plaza, sixth floor, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To obtain an invitation or for more information call 212-693-5050.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Unless you’re still waiting on your federal tax rebate check, you may not want to hear from the IRS so soon after the end of tax season. But the Holtsville office wants to share some good news about an employee.

Norma Brudwick, field director of the IRS’ Brookhaven Accounts Management Operation, a customer service organization, has won an executive award for outstanding service. Her unit responds to taxpayer inquiries.

In 2007, her operation closed over 400,000 taxpayer cases, and resolved almost four million telephone inquiries, increases of seven percent and nine percent, respectively.

“She believes that every level of the agency must be held accountable in order to gain the public’s trust,” the IRS said in a statement.

Last week Brudwick and 46 other metro area employees were honored in a ceremony on Ellis Island. A federal executive board representing 52,000 government employees in the metro area selected the awardees. An awards ceremony took place on Ellis Island last week. U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey was the keynote speaker.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Seems small-business owners aren’t letting the sour economy affect their vacation plans, according to a new American Express survey.

Despite the challenging economy, the same percentage of small-business owners as in last year--59 percent--plan to take at least a week off this summer.

Entrepreneurs in the South lead the pack, with 63 percent planning to take at least a week off this summer, compared with 59 percent in the Northeast.

Fewer small-business owners in the Northeast plan to scale down vacation costs because of the economy, 14 percent vs. 17 percent in the South and 24 percent in both the North Central region and the West.

Owners from the North Central region and the South are more likely to check in with their businesses at least once a day--58 percent and 59 percent respectively. That compares with 55 percent for the Northeast and 49 percent for the West.

For more on the survey go to:
http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2008/sbvp.asp

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Employees of Betatronix Llc of Hauppauge have a special interest in the scheduled landing Sunday of the Phoenix Mars Lander, an exploratory spacecraft designed to study the history of water and habitability potential of the red planet's arctic ice-rich soil.

Betatronix supplied the robotic arm of the Mars Lander with potentiometers, position indicators that monitor feedback on movable parts in space. Betatronix makes the devices for the space and defense industries.

The robotic arm of the spacecraft will dig into Mars' surface to collect samples for analysis.

Launched in August, the Phoenix Mars Mission is the first in NASA's Scout Program.
Betatronix, which employs about 75 people, also supplied potentiometers for the Mars Rover program.

--Gary Dymski

Back in another era, subprime was not the bad word it is now but a legitimate part of the mortgage industry.

There were people who wanted homes but didn’t qualify for traditional mortgages, which called for good credit record, assets and income. The requirements were like a three-legged stool; if one leg was slightly wobbly -- say someone self-employed without full proof of income or someone who couldn’t pay 20 percent down -- the other two legs had to be stable for the borrower to get a loan.

Lenders would make rational risks and come out with reasonable loan-to-value mortgages.

What contributed to the subprime collapse in August was "creative financing." Some lenders gave two loans to cover everything, including closing costs, as a way of getting the business of borrowers who obviously couldn’t pay. Others lured customers with low introductory interest rates, only to smack them with high ones a year or so later.

Now, the old management crew at Delta Financial Corp., a subprime lender that filed for bankruptcy in December, is returning with a new mortgage company, Reliance First Capital. On the surface, that may sound foolhardy in today’s still wobbly lending industry, but there may be a niche for the newcomer, as Newsday reports.

--Ellen Yan

On May 15, just three days after a devastating earthquake struck southwestern China, Arrow Electronics announced that it was donating $100,000 for the earthquake relief effort. And the Melville-based electronics-parts distributor also pledged to match employee donations to designated charities.

The swiftness of the announcement isn’t surprising. The news of the quake hit home afterall: Arrow has three sales offices in areas affected by the 7.9 magnitude quake, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. One office is in Chengdu, just 60 miles from the epicenter. The others are in Xian and Chongqing.

“We have operations in China, and I’m proud that Arrow has been a longtime contributor to the global community in times of need,” said William E. Mitchell, Arrow’s chairman and chief executive. “It’s critical that we support the assistance efforts associated with this catastrophic earthquake.”

The company has a total 14 people who work in sales and technical jobs in the offices, a spokesman said. They are fine. But the offices have been closed off and on because of powerful aftershocks.

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

For months the speculation has raged over whether the U.S. economy has fallen into a recession. And it seemed the pessimists were winning as story after story talked about the battered U.S. economy.

Now it seems that the optimists have more to crow about, including some news today from the Confernece Board. The Manhattan business group’s composite index of leading economic indicators rose in 0.1 in April, matching the increase in March. That rise came after five straight months of declines.

“These data certainly reflect a weak economy but not one in recession,” the board’s labor economist Ken Goldstein, said about the latest report. And he said the increases in March and April “could be a signal that the economy may not weaken further.”

Just last week the Wall Street Journal noted that some economists are backing away from their doom and gloom forecasts because of the Fed’s intervention in the credit markets, the president’s economic stimulus package and cheerier economic reports.

What’s the take-away here? Most people, even economists, can be lousy at predicting the future.

For more on the Conference Board report go to:

www.tcb.org

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Cablevision's purchase of Newsday has some shaking their heads.

One set of head-shakers are those who say they are interested in a competitive media landscape. Attorney E. Christopher Murray writes in Long Island Business News that "a serious question arises as to whether the two primary local news organizations on Long Island should be owned by the same company."

He doubts that the deal could be successfully challenged in court and worries: "There will undoubtedly arise issues on how Cablevision acts as a local corporate citizen, but there will be no significant independent local news service to cover Cablevision’s conduct. If an issue arises concerning how Cablevision operates on Long Island, what is the likelihood that either News 12 or a Dolan-owned Newsday will vigorously and independently cover the controversy."

Elsewhere in the same current issue of the Business News, Ambrose Clancy is among the more business-oriented head-shakers. Clancy says that local advertisers are going to pay big-time because of the consolidation. "Cablevision’s James Dolan is about to become the king of Long Island media, and advertisers are planning on paying more to the monarch as a result," he writes. He quotes business people as saying ad rates will go up in a combined Dolan-owned entities and local advertising agencies could be squeezed out of the picture.

--Noel Rubinton

Many commentators have noted that the Dolans and Cablevision paid a higher price for Newsday than the ambitious Rupert Murdoch and that there's only a limited amount of apparent synergy and efficiency between the companies.

But now comes Alan Mutter, a former newspaperman and cable operator who's now involved in new media ventures. In his blog, Mutter has done a withering analysis of the Cablevision-Newsday deal and concludes that the Dolans & company way overpaid. After his calculations, which include increasing Newsday's stated cash flow in the Murdoch case because of the advantages Murdoch would have gotten from the combination, Mutter concludes: "Cablevision has agreed to buy Newsday for nearly 2½ times more than the value placed on it by the most daring and sophisticated publisher in the world. Do Charles and James Dolan, the father-son team leading Cablevision, know more about newspaper publishing than Rupert Murdoch?"

Mutter also cites several recent mega newspaper deals, including McClatchy's purchase of several Knight-Ridder papers and the New York Times' Boston Globe transaction, as examples of deals that later had bad financial consequences for the buyers.

"Given this treacherous environment," he says. "Cablevision's brass may have a tough time selling their shareholders on the rationale and pricing for this deal."

--Noel Rubinton

Among those most interested so far in how the Newsday-Cablevision combination will affect Newsday coverage have been sports writers and fans. Because the Knicks and Rangers have been among the most visible parts of the Cablevision empire, and people are thinking about how Newsday, under Cablevision's control, will cover the teams -- especially when things go bad, as they have been in recent years.

One of those writing about this situation is Richard Sandomir, the witty writer about the business of sports for The New York Times (part owner of the Boston Red Sox). Sandomir, who was a reporter for Newsday years ago before he went to the Times, is skeptical.

Speaking about Jim Dolan, the Cablevision and Madison Square Garden chief, Sandomir says in understated fashion, "Dolan is an unlikely newspaper owner."

"Perhaps all Dolan wants is a vehicle to cross-promote Cablevision products and he will not dictate the direction of the editorial product," Sandomir muses, "But Dolan is not a man of half-measures or indifference. So Newsday staffers must wonder how a company and a chief executive who have shown hostility to journalism will treat journalists on its payroll."

--Noel Rubinton

For small investors feeling woozy from the ups and downs of the stock market, Hofstra University is hoping they might want to learn about investing in a racehorse.

The university’s continuing education center is offering a two-day course for small investors interested in owning a racehorse as an alternative investment.

The seminar takes place on June 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Hofstra and on June 22 from 7:30 to 1:30 at Belmont Park. The cost is $225.

The course’s timing couldn’t be better. Earlier this month, Long Island crackled with the excitement of the racehorse Big Brown, whose owners are Long Islanders, winning the Kentucky Derby.

Attorney and thoroughbred owner Chris Wittstruck, who will teach the course, will examine the benefits and risks of owing a racehorse as an investment.

To register or for further information call 516-463-7800 or go to:

ccepa.hofstra.edu

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

To reduce energy costs and conserve natural resources, a California dairy has turned to a Massapequa Park solar-energy company.

Under a $1.7 million contract from Scott Brothers Dairy Farm, Clear Skies Solar will install a solar power system to generate electricity for the dairy farm. The company hopes to begin construction on the solar panel system this summer.

“An increasing number of agricultural businsses are looking at ways to decrease their carbon footprint and conserve natural resources,” said Ezra Green, Clear Skies, chairman and chief executive. “

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

There's nothing like former employees to give media criticism with sharp attitude.

Marvin Kitman, for decades one of Newsday's top attractions as TV critic, left several years ago and hasn't been happy about some of the directions taken by his former company. And now the purchase of Newsday by Cablevision doesn't exactly charm him.

Writing in The Huffington Post, Kitman gives it to Cablevision with the sharp wit that his readers were accustomed to. Kitman asks: "What's in Newsday for the Dolan family?"

Then he answers: "In all my 35 years at Newsday as the media critic, I never became a great admirer of Cablevision. Admittedly, on Long Island Cablevision is ubiquitous. With cable, Internet, phone they are kind of everywhere, like crab grass. Their Ch. 12 News is also great on the weather."

Then he gets personal: "Nobody has ever accused father Dolan of being stupid. The same thing cannot be said about his son, James.

"Perhaps the most important reason for buying Newsday is to get the paper to stop all the criticism on the sports pages about the way Jim has been running the Knicks into the ground. Not to mention the Rangers and Madison Square Garden.... Under Co-Emperor James, the Dolan Empire has run numerous assets into the ground, like the embarrassing loss of the Yankee telecasts. The latest debacle is the Dolans' decision to block the redevelopment of Penn Station because they think its bad for the Garden."

He ends with a less than gentle suggestion: "If the Dolan family is serious about the newspaper business they might start with something a little more modest, perhaps buying a paper in Iowa, a weekly."

--Noel Rubinton

It's not a total lovefest about the purchase of Newsday by Cablevision. Concerns are being raised about what the diminished competition could mean to journalism on Long Island.

Count Henry E. Powderly II and David Reich-Hale of Long Island Business News as leading members of that chorus.

In their blogs, Powderly and Reich-Hale worry about the impact of the combined companies. Powderly refers to an article in today's Newsday and says: "Reading on, one can’t help but hear the Dolans’ voice in the article, which is pocked with advertising fluff phrases like “premiere institution,” “stunning waterfront home” and “powerhouse family.”

He adds, "Is this what we can expect, Cablevision advertorials masquerading as news?"

Powderly also says that the Newsday coverage had too many voices praising the deal rather than raising questions.

Reich-Hale says, "We’ve received e-mails and op-ed submissions from folks worried that Cablevision will force Newsday to stop covering them fairly" and he cites allegations that News 12 laid off serious coverage of the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment case.

--Noel Rubinton

....well, you don't really need to imagine it anymore. Cablevision has bought Newsday and Long Island Business News is having some visual fun with it. Take a look.

--Noel Rubinton

For quite some time, the Dolans have seemed to make a living off upending the conventional wisdom about what Cablevision would and should do. Buying Madison Square Garden, professional teams, a string of movie theaters--all were met with consternation.

Now the Dolans are back in the high-profile arena, closing in on taking over Newsday. So Tim Arango and Richard Perez-Pena, reporting for the New York Times, have combed through the record and the community of financial analysts. They come up with plenty of wondering: "Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, Wall Street is wondering just what the Dolans are thinking. Like many actions taken by the Dolans, the family that controls Cablevision Systems, based on Long Island, and a host of New York properties like Madison Square Garden, the Knicks and the Rangers, their recent bid to buy Newsday from the Tribune Company for $650 million has resulted in a collective head scratch."

The reporters add: "Most analysts question the rationale for buying Newsday and had hoped Cablevision’s quest failed. But when it comes to the Dolans, the only thing that is predictable about them is that they are unpredictable."

Cablevision remains a public company despite the Dolans' efforts to take it private in recent years. Still, note many analysts, the Dolans continue to act as if it were their private domain.

--Noel Rubinton

It’s now safe to say that no aspect of worklife is beyond a survey in this country. Proof of that is a new poll from the staffing company Spherion Corp. “American Idol” continues to be the most talked about TV show but it is becoming less of a topic of discussion, according to the poll. T

Thirty-three percent of U.S. workers named “Idol” as the show they discussed the most at work, down from 37 percent last year. And the workers are spending less time at work talking about it: 17 percent in the current poll, down from 21 percent last year.

The TV-talk provides the ties that bind at work those surveyed said, but their numbers decreased slightly: 40 percent this year, vs. 44 percent last year.

For more on the study go to:

http://spherion.mediaroom.com/pressroom

Nearly everyone in Medialand seems certain Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will soon be the new owner of Newsday. The only one now showing a little bit of doubt might be Murdoch himself.

At a company conference call on Wednesday, Murdoch confidently predicted success with $580 million bid, even though it is considerably lower than the $650 million from Cablevision's Charles Dolan. Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman also submitted a competing $580-million bid for the paper.

"No, I don't think Cablevision will prevail," said Murdoch, predicting he'd be approved within a week. "Just be patient a couple of days." Murdoch indicated he though he had a tentative deal with Tribune's chief Sam Zell for Newsday. " We think everything's in hand."
Even long-time Cablevision watchers think Murdoch's the one.

"I think it's a done deal," said Chris Marangi, an analyst at Gabelli & Co, which has also been a stakeholder in the cable firm. "Murdoch doesn't say things by accident."

But at gala Time magazine event on Thursday night, Murdoch conceded his comments to Newsday at the conference call might have been a little premature.

According to The New York Observer, Murdoch "tempered his bravado", referring to his comments from a day earlier."Yeah, I might have gone a little too far saying it was a certainty," he told The Observer. "I was telling the truth, but you don't know until ..." without finishing the sentence.

According to the Observer, Murdoch later said "[Mr. Zell] has a great reputation with the banks and the financial circles everywhere." Zuckerman, also at the Time affair, had a "no comment" when asked if he might increase his $580 million bid for Newsday. The Observer originally wanted to team up with Cablevision in a joint bid for Newsday but has bowed out for now.

Although Marangi thinks Murdoch will likely prevail, his analysis of Cablevision's finances shows that the company's roughly $650 million in estimated free cash flow available this year matches the amount of money bid by Dolan thus far. Without adding significnatly to its long-term debt, Marangi said, Cablevision could probably up its bid even more if necessary.

"If he [Dolan] wanted to, he could go further, but he has a board [of directors] too and he doesn't have carte blanche," Marangi said. In a battle of media billionaires for Newsday's future, Marangi said, "Murdoch's pockets are a lot deeper."

--Thomas Maier

They weren't exactly side by side, by News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and Cablevision chief James Dolan had the chance, separated by less than 12 hours, to talk to the financial press about their companies' bids for Newsday.

What a difference those hours made, according to Devin Leonard of Fortune. Murdoch was bold, speaking freely of his interest in Newsday, how it could help his company and why the suburban daily would be his within a week.

Meanwhile, Dolan was nearly tongue-tied when the subject that he must have expected--Cablevision's interest in Newsday--came up. He didn't even decline comment crisply and sounded a bit put out that people kept asking about it.

Victory doesn't always go to the bold, but Leonard didn't have anything positive to say about Dolan and the Cablevision did--even though it's reported to be $70 more than Murdoch's.

--Noel Rubinton