Kate Conger

A new 7-Eleven is under construction in the East Village.

Last week, the New York Times reported that the East Village was emphatically protesting an incoming 7-Eleven. The Slurpee giant is worming its way right to the trendy core of the neighborhood, renovating a storefront on Avenue A and East 11th Street. The neighbors are worried that the snack chain will have a negative impact on local businesses and further gentrify the already-changing area.

It's not the first time a New York neighborhood has tried to block a big chain from moving in -- think way back, if you will, to the Astor Place Kmart kerfuffle of 1996. The Times diligently covered that one too (although they've updated their terminology for anti-capitalist kids in the last decade; what were once "skateboarding teen-agers" are now "black-clad youths"). Back then, one resident fretted, "I hate the thought of stepping over Kmart shoppers on my way to buy bagels on Sunday morning."

Skeptical that one store, even one as gigantic as the 145,000-square-foot Kmart, could have such a distinctive impact on a neighborhood, we decided to pay a visit and find out.

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We thought the Beach Boys were all about fun in the sun; the nice beach tides and "Good Vibrations;" and a whole bunch of fun until daddy takes the T-Bird away. Apparently not. 

This little gem released by the forerunners of "professional" celebrity journalism, TMZ, captures on tape remarks made by Bruce Johnston. For those of you who don't know him, he's one of the background singers on "California Girls." He's also not a big fan of Obama. And he is absolutely vocal about it.

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On Tuesday, American hero Glenn Beck held back tears as he recounted the way that New Yorkers in Bryant Park mistreated him and his family at an outdoor screening of Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps the night before. Beck's tears demonstrate the seriousness of the situation -- this is a man who never cries. Apparently, Beck and his family were simply trying to enjoy the film when a pack of ravenous New York liberals descended on them. Beck reported on his radio show that the New Yorkers screamed, "We hate conservatives here," and "We're in New York and we hate Republicans." Later, he reports, someone "accidentally" spilled wine on his wife, Tania.

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