Monthly Archives: September 2008

Google Can Help You With Your Train Commute

A Google display booth was present, if not open for business, when I passed through Grand Central yesterday morning–located between, I think, Track 23 and the Hudson News just off the center of the concourse. Later, chief Googlers Sergey Brin … Continue reading

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Classic Word of the Week: TRAUMADINEJAD

As Iran leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wows ‘em over at the United Nations General Assembly, we dust off a classic Word of the Week for the occasion. TRAUMADINEJAD \TRAW ma DINN eh JAHD\ noun: The extra traffic stress felt by car … Continue reading

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LIRR-DISABILITY SCANDAL: FBI Raids Retirement Board’s L.I. Office

On Day Three of the Long Island Railroad/Employee Disability Scam Scandal (LIRREDSS), federal agents raided the Westbury offices of the Railroad Retirement Board, the shady federal organization that signs off on railroad employees’ dodgy disability claims. What a scene it … Continue reading

Posted in Helena Williams, LIRR Scandal, Railroad Retirement Board | 5 Comments

JerseyJim: Beleaguered Bankers Working Late

My morning’s train from New Jersey rolled along pretty smoothly–luckily no random searches or unspecified security measures, as so many riders throughout the Northeast experienced yesterday. [Check out the comments, they're a trip!]  Morning trains have been more crowded since … Continue reading

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LIRR-DISABILITY SCANDAL: Rethinking ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad’

A very special dedication to every not-that-disabled former LIRR employee who’s enjoying a nice round of golf on a pleasant fall day as the rest of us working stiffs work.   I’ve Been Shirking on the Railroad I’ve been shirking … Continue reading

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LIRR-DISABILITY SCANDAL: One Metro-North Conductor’s Take

I chatted up the friendly conductor on the ride out of Hummerville today, asked him if he’d been following the LIRR-disability scandal. He had. He said his LIRR cousins had a pretty plum deal. “Looks like I picked the wrong … Continue reading

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LIRR: Disability Rate ‘Alarming and Out of Sync’

The Long Island Railroad was quick to issue its rebuttal to the NY Times’ brutal investigative story on rampant employee misuse of disability pay. LIRR pins the blame on the mysterious Railroad Retirement Board, the federal outfit located in Chicago, … Continue reading

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SPECIAL SUNDAY EDITION: NY Times Puts LIRR’s Balls in a Vise, Tightens

If you ride the Long Island Railroad or Metro-North, or in any way pay taxes in America, spend the next 20 minutes reading this because some fat Long Island golf guys are stealing your money. The NY Times has flat-out … Continue reading

Posted in Edward Koerber, LIRR, LIRR Scandal, Martin Dickman, Railroad Retirement Board | 12 Comments

Uneasy Ryder

I got out of the train at Valhalla station, looking for the Ryder Cup. Couldn’t find it anywhere. [image: Yanks Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker at Valhalla Golf Club, compliments of NY Times]

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‘Torn, Indeed

Check out the sweet Hawthorne sign at the train station. C’mon, Metro-North, fix our damn sign–it’s been defaced for a few months now. The train station is, for many, the gateway to Hummerville–home of famed Pop’s Deli, Bellissima Salon, and … Continue reading

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