"Well, I think the concept will come back. I don't know that it will work, because I don't know if people understand why the M.T.A., structurally, can never be profitable because it just doesn't raise the revenues relative to the services it provides," Paterson told John Gambling on WOR.

The proposal—pushed hard by Michael Bloomberg in 2008—died when it was never voted on in the State Assembly. Michael Daly this morning blamed Speaker Sheldon Silver for the M.T.A.'s current fiscal woes, and Silver earlier this week blamed Bloomberg for congestion in the city.

Paterson yesterday vowed to restore cuts to student Metrocards, the most controversial of the M.T.A.'s proposals to save money.

Daily News: One of the things about the swine-flu scare is that it gets scarier as the flu spreads, and the news that the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert level to Level 4 from Level 3 yesterday is an indication that the organization believes geographical containment of the flu strain is not a feasible way of controlling it. That's the news today, as cases pop up in Israel and Spain abroad and Ohio, Kansas, Texas, California and possibly New Jersey as of today. So on one level it seems counterintuitive to focus on one family in Queens in which five people have been infected: such is the situation of the Civitanos. Seventeen-year-old Frankie was one of the cases at St. Francis Prep that led the tabloids over the weekend, and the flu spread to four others in Jacqueline Civitano's (his mother) clan. (While Wood War's health-policy credentials are questionable at best, we'd like to suggest a policy banning "Spring Break," potentially a powerful weapon in the arsenal of the authorities governing public health.) Anyway, this kind of prosaic treatment, in which the words "swine flu" could be replaced with "head cold" and the article would read like one of those letters you get from Mom detailing with meticulous precision and not much imagination the daily goings-on at home, will probably appeal to some. Michael Daly's column comes complete with one of the favorite formulations of this kind of article: "The swine flu here has been relatively mild, but don't tell that to Jacqueline Civitano of Queens ..." See, because to her, the swine flu here has not been relatively mild! So if you see Jacqueline Civitano and start telling her that the swine flu in New York has been relatively mild and she puts up her hand like a big "stop" sign as if to say, "Don't even go there with me!" you will know why if you have read Michael Daly today. Anyway, it's not totally clear to me how panicky things seemed to the newsroom about swine flu when the Daily News closed last night, and since swine flu will probably be around for a while, there will be plenty of opportunity for the News to scream about it. In the meantime, though, it seems like the News should be allowed to share in the excitement of St. Francis Prep, a Queens Catholic high school, for introducing this meme to America: This is home turf for the paper, after all, and we always like to promote our hometown success stories.

Of course, there's a great one-day story to distract us from the coughing and headaches the swine have passed onto us: the ill-fated flight of Air Force One, trailed by a fighter jet, over New York. The planes, flying low over New York for a "photo-op," rattled windows and sent a few of the more jittery types running nowhere in particular. We think the very least that Louis Caldera, the White House military officer who approved the "operation," could have done would be to supply said photos to our local newspapers! Because the Daily News sure had a hard time coming up with one. Most of the left side of the front page is taken up with a photo that seems to show the two planes flying not very low at all, over a harbor landscape that, just to crop it into the same picture as the jets, involves a giant swath of hazy blue sky. But even stranger, given that there are pictures that at least in terms of perspective seem to place the planes quite close to the tall spires of lower Manhattan, is the tiny red type the newspaper used to flag the story. "HOW DUMB WAS THIS!" it reads. I don't even think it's in bold letters! Also, a question gets a question mark at the end? "Widespread panic, mayor furious ... and they were taking souvenir photos!" reads the even tinier subhead. WHY DIDN'T THEY COVER THE SKY BETWEEN THE PLANES AND THE HARBOR WITH LARGE, BOLD, ALL-CAP TYPE!

New York Post: Now the Post was able to find the two planes in the same picture not only of Lower Manhattan, but taken from an angle that New Yorkers will recognize foregrounds the World Financial Center, which from the east, not so very long ago, would have been at least partially obscured by the two towers of the World Trade Center. Doesn't this demonstrate far better the reason the operation was such a terrible mistake? And sure, to get the planes and the skyline in the same picture required a giant expanse of blue sky, but by filling that sky with type the paper closed the distance conceptually, and also got a lot more out of the story. "SCARE FORCE ONE" was the headline—and a good one! (Even if it was one of about 10 that you and your friends probably came up with last night, too, if you are nerdy enough to think about the tabloid headlines all the time, as we are.) Really says all that needs to be said, and without the need for bad punctuation. What to do with the rest of the hazy blue expanse left on the right-hand side of the page? How about "White House apology for NYC jet panic?" Fine! It gets the job done.

General observations: Today's installment of Wood War allows us to pontificate on a difference between the two papers. The Post just has a better understanding of the value of density on the front page than the News does. Filling the page with images and type in such a way that every element seems ready to explode from its container is a way of expressing urgency, even agitation; it's one of the defining elements of the emotional landscape the Post uses to lure in readers every day. I used to say that I thought there was a full-time staffer at the Post that read through the copy and replaced all latinate words with germanic ones: "arrest" becomes "nab," "rapidly" becomes "fast," "assist" becomes "help," "error" becomes "mistake," "salary" becomes "wage." The dense front page is somehow the visual equivalent, and today the effectiveness of the technique is clear.

Winner: New York Post.

Update: We wrote that Mr. Daly sells $1.2 million a year in the Hamptons. Instead, that number refers to the region's average sales price. Pardon us.

More press release excitement after the jump.

RE/MAX BEACH PROPERTIES
TO OPEN IN SOUTHAMPTON

August, 14 2006, Southampton, New York - RE/MAX of New York, Inc. is pleased to announce that RE/MAX Beach Properties will soon open at 241 County Road 39A in Southampton, NY, at the intersection of North Main Street, and will provide comprehensive real estate services for properties in the Hamptons on the South Fork of Long Island. Broker Michael Daly and his wife, Barbara, will operate the office under the RE/MAX Renowned Properties flag, which is used to market high-end homes. With an average sales price of over $1.2 million in the Hamptons, Mr. Daly believes that the Renowned Properties marketing program will serve the agents that join the new brokerage well.

"This is a very competitive market", says Mr. Daly. "Once agents and brokers realize that they can keep 95 percent of their commissions, be in control of their own business and be part of the worldwide referral network, I believe they'll be very interested in the opportunities we offer. We are very excited about this market; the consumers in this region are highly sophisticated, well-educated, world-traveled and are familiar with the RE/MAX Renowned Properties brand. RE/MAX conducts business in 64 countries; this gives us the power to provide high-end customers worldwide exposure when marketing their properties."

Daly spent 20 years as a hospitality industry executive before joining Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in 1998. He became a top-selling agent, then managing director with the company and went on to serve as a senior executive at NRT before starting True North Realty Associates, which will be doing business as RE/MAX Beach Properties. Barbara Daly is a licensed real estate agent who previously spent 20 years as an executive in the health insurance industry.

"In my travels around the world I have seen RE/MAX real estate signs on magnificent, high-end properties. RE/MAX has an outstanding reputation, and I am proud to be the one to bring this excellent company to the Hamptons. I have also been impressed by the caliber and experience of the RE/MAX brokers and agents that I have met overseas and here in New York. Our brokerage will be specializing in residential real estate, and will focus on the second home and resort sales markets. No matter what market you're in, RE/MAX renders outstanding service, and that's what our business is built on," said Mr. Daly.

"RE/MAX Beach Properties will be opening in one of the hottest markets in the country. Michael is building a strong team, and we expect he will be able to capture significant market share in a short period of time," said Henry Weber, President and Regional Director of RE/MAX of New York, Inc.
RE/MAX Beach Properties is the latest office to become part of the rapidly-growing RE/MAX of New York, Inc. real estate franchise network. Today the network has more than 1,900 real estate professionals working from more than 135 franchise locations.
To reach the RE/MAX Beach Properties office, call 631-287-6200 or email mdaly@remax.net.

RE/MAX of New York, Inc. is a leader in the sale of residential and commercial real estate in New York State. RE/MAX of New York, Inc. has a sales force of more than 1,900 agents and 135 offices throughout New York. RE/MAX agents in New York generated over $12.9 billion in sales since 2003 and completed more than 90,000 transactions. For more information, visit www.remax-newyork.com on the Internet.

The RE/MAX franchise network is a global real estate system with more than 6,522 independently owned offices engaging 120,000 member sales associates who lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production while providing real estate services in residential, commercial, referral, relocation, and asset management. Local community involvement is important to RE/MAX members who participate in thousands of local charitable causes and have raised more than $66 million for Children's Miracle Network. RE/MAX is also a major sponsor of the Komen Race for the Cure Survivor Program. For more information visit www.remax.com.