Arnold

• Schwarzenegger has taken Mayor Bloomberg into his warm, shapely bosom--but it's Governor Pataki that Arnold takes to see Battery Park City's Solaire, the green 27-story tower finished in 2003. (NY Times)
• The Brooklyn Paper officially apologizes for their semi-nude photo of Maggie Gyllenhaal: "Its placement on Page One was inappropriate and not in line with our standards." That's her neighborly house warming present. (BP)
• Developer-cum-"preservationist" Aby Rosen, the most stylish man in the real estate biz, says "the Upper East Side has lost a little bit of its progressive luster." But is his Lord Foster-designed tower the solution? Answering that question is going to leave "a lot of blood on the floor." (NY Sun)
• After 56 years, 17 million gallons of spilled oil, and 50 carcinogenic acres, Senator Schumer comes to the aid of Greenpoint. Exxon Mobil still doesn't care. (NY Times)
• Next month, New York's 21st Park Avenue Armory show will assemble 65 dealers for "Modernism: A Century of Style & Design." Stylishly, the show will preview Richard Meier's On Prospect Park. Grab your name-brand $6 million apartments early! (Interior Design)
- Max Abelson  read more »
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Arnold Schwarzenegger on Mike Bloomberg: "He's my soul mate. He's the man."

Errol Louis thinks the mayor needs to "dream bigger, talk louder and invest more political capital" if he wants to solve the city's poverty problem.

The Times looks at whether John Faso left the legislature and then lobbied them on a huge financial deal. His spokesman said it wasn't lobbying, but rather, "advising on how to get the process done."

Faso also wants to cut income taxes for couples earning under $50,000 and individuals earnning under $25,000.

State Comptroller Alan Hevesi had a state employee drive his wife around for three years.

Andrew Cuomo and others rip Jeanine Pirro over the freed Westchester inmate she refused to help while she was D.A.

The number of students reading at grade level drops sharply between fifth and sixth grade, according to a new state report. Students in charter schools did better, according to The Post.

Charles Bagli can hardly believe that, "Now, at long last, finally, for sure, the new framework for rebuilding at ground zero is in place. A firm deal was approved yesterday. Really."

The crowd at this year's Clinton Global Initiative is pledging to do more than last year.

Columbia withdraws its invitation to Iran's President.

Councilman Dan Garodnick gets the Public Lives treatment.

And one Brooklyn brownstone goes hot pink.

-- Azi Paybarah

The Daily News reports that Mike Bloomberg contributed to the campaign of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Times reports on the immigration rallies held yesterday, and the retirement of Senator John Marchi.

And the Albany Times Union reports on Randy Daniels endorsement of John Faso.

—Nicole Brydson

A few advances in stories you first saw here or in the Observer:

The Washington Post's politics blog notes our Shrum book scoop and adds rumor -- and Shrum denial -- that the semi-retired consultant is whispering in Arnold's ear.  read more »

The Associated Press tracks the Democrats' response to Pirro spokeswoman Andrea Tantaros's undergrad musings, but omits her (rocking) Wawa-smokes defense.

And the Times reports on Bill Weld's Kentucky trouble. You may recall that Jess had the story and relevant documents here yesterday, but using a complex algorithim involving the number of hours by which you get beat and the distance your reporter travels, the usually-gracious Times declines to credit. (We, of course, blame Arthur Sulzberger for this.)

We're told that Arnold, as good as his word, will appear at the New York County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner March 7, as he promised last year. Also there will be Rudy Giuliani, County Leader James Ortenzio (who likes nothing better than bantering with Arnold in Austrian German), and another Republican Governor whose star lately seems to be falling as fast as the California Governor's rises.  read more »

Many Albany observers are under the impression that George Pataki has decided to sacrifice his local popularity to court the national Conservative movement.

If that's the plan, it isn't working very well. Here's the conclusion of an editorial comparing Pataki with Governor Arnold in today's Wall Street Journal:  read more »

"Come to think of it, Mr. Schwarzenegger sounded a lot like George Pataki circa 1994, the year he first won the Governorship. Back then, Mr. Pataki was the one pushing for fiscal constraint and vowing to fight the special interests. That Governor Pataki has been pretty much AWOL since the end of his first term. Listening to him this week, you wouldn't know that the state's fiscal problems today are on balance worse than when he took over 10 years ago. If Mr. Pataki wants to rediscover his political convictions, or at least an agenda, he might give Arnold a call."

Your desk at Park Strategies awaits, Governor.

I had high hopes that De-Lovely would relieve the tedium of a summer plagued by spider men, Stepford  read more »

They say trends start in the West.  read more »

Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power , by Lou Cannon.  read more »

Arnold, the first hundred days. Was it a dream, or a nightmare?  read more »

What do conservatives demand from a citizen aspiring to high office?  read more »

An election update from The Observer 's West Coast bureau:With a little over a month left until vote  read more »

The testosterone level on movie screens this week is so high that you may feel like a proverbial 90-  read more »