City Hall newsaper is reporting that, despite midterm elections this week that saw a wave of Republican victories around the state and a series of setbacks for gay marriage around the country, supporters of same-sex marriage say they are closer than ever to achieving passage. According to City Hall’s most recent count, 21 Democratic Senators have expressed that they are in favor of passage, however several of those have said they would prefer it if a bill did not come to the floor right now. Read the full story here.

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Bloomberg squeaked by with a narrow victory, and according to some papers, people weren't all that excited to vote in the first place. Well, the reporters over at City Hall newspaper have decided to move and start predicting what we might be seeing in 1,462 days, when voters return to the polls once again. Read the full story here.

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What kind of a world do we live in where a man can't sit on his stoop with fake sticks of dynamite without getting arrested, especially when all said man wants to do is turn them into a piggy bank?

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It's great the city claims to want to help artists out. Who doesn't want to help an artist out? But is it really that amazing when part of the plan is to decorate the Brooklyn Army and St. George Ferry terminals? Crain's reports that the Bloomberg administration is putting resources into local arts support:

"The new programs will give visual artists a chance to display their work in various city-owned properties, including the Brooklyn Army Terminal and St. George Ferry Terminal; provide free outdoor performance space in the city's parks; train 50 out-of-work entrepreneurial professionals to apply their skill sets to the nonprofit cultural world; help artists develop business plans and provide them with low-cost studio space; and provide $25,000 grants to each of two neighborhood “arts clusters” to help organizations draw audiences."

 The low-cost studio space is probably the most important item on the list (the re-training sounds a bit dubious), but we're interested to see what sort of "art" is going to be hung to please the tourists...

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Forgot to vote in today's primary runoff this morning? Umm. We did too. Well, you know, it was all windy and blustery and we were on the way to the subway and then...it was too late. But of course the polls remain open well past sundown and there are no more Jewish holidays, so really those excuses are getting weaker. The NYTimes is reporting that voter turnout out for the runoff is just a trickle. And since this vote will most likely determine who the next Comptroller (David Yassky or John Liu) and Public Advocate (Bill de Blasio or Mark Green) will be for the city, it's kinda important that you go and vote.

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Tell us what you think! What do you think the best "Hotel Experience" is? Have a favorite place to take a date? It's your chance to make your opinion count. Take the 2009 Best of Manhattan (and Beyond) Readers' Poll available here. 

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We've never been the wake and bake type, but this morning's AM New York has an interesting weed-related cover story that has us thinking about pot already. Why, it asks, are marijuana arrests skyrocketing when it's been decided that pretty much everyone—including the mayor—has enjoyed a puff now and again?

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When you're done checking out our endorsements, see who the nightlife community is pulling for. That's right, the dudes who charge you $14 for a drink have a lobby.

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In an extensive investigative report on City Hall's website, Edward-Isaac Dovere looks into the Working Families Party company, Data and Field Services, which may or may not flout campaign spending laws. It will take some time to get to the bottom of all that is implied in the piece, but as Dovere states at the very beginning:

"A complicated web of coordinated activities, shared resources and staff, and quiet money transfers between the Working Families Party, a secretive private company called Data and Field Services and at least six current Council campaigns, as well as Bill de Blasio’s campaign for public advocate, appears to have found several ways around the strict city campaign finance laws. Upwards of a million dollars, and possibly more, are involved, with over $1.7 million in matching funds comprised of taxpayer dollars already disbursed and more are potentially at stake."

Read the full story here.

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Because the Naked Cowboy was in danger of winning the mayoral race, Jonny Porkpie, the self-proclaimed "Burlesque Mayor of New York City," has emerged as the Cowboy's main challenger.

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