Earlier today, the Voice brought you news of pending legislation in Albany that would make New York-based websites, such as blogs and newspapers, "remove any comments posted on his or her website by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post."

For state Sen. Thomas F. O'Mara and Assemblyman Dean Murray, the gist of the would-be law is to prevent cyber-bullying.

Murray does not think that this violates free speech or presents constitutional concerns.

"It absolutely in no way infringes on anyone's rights. They are absoltuely free to say whatever they like. However, if the statement is challenged by the target or the victim of those statements, they have two options. They can either identify themselves or put their name to the statement, or the statement will be removed. This is not reinventing the the wheel. This has been the standard letter-to-the-editor policy that has been in place for hundreds of years," Murray told the Voice.

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Andrew Cuomo had decided to fight cyber-bullying, and recent reports indicate that he and several legislators are working to OK a bill before the legislative session's end.

This isn't the first time cyber-bullying legislation has come up in New York. However, uncertainty about how to handle this kind of behavior has come to light recently, as outrage has broken out over Dharun Ravi's 30-day jail sentence.

So we decided to chat with a couple cyber-bullying experts to learn more about these type of laws and what they need to include to actually prevent internet intimidation.

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We don't know how we missed this when Komengate went down but apparently, pink "for the cure" recycling trucks currently circulate New York City. (This pic was snapped today, on Hudson Street, by the Voice's Robert Sietsema).

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As the medical marijuana debate continues in New York, there's a bit of news from the West Coast that might interest vote-seeking Empire State pols: Looks like prescription pot can make or break a candidate.

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Nothing like a quick sex scandal to spice up a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

In a 73-page lawsuit filed by a Manhattan teacher, the President of the United Federation of Teachers prez Michael Mulgrew, known for his heated relationship with Bloomberg's Education Department, has been accused of having sex with a guidance counselor at the high school he used to teach at in Brooklyn.

Apparently, a custodian walked in on him and Emma Camacho-Mendez in the workshop and, once caught, they forced the worker and the principal of the school to keep their mouths shut. Also, according to the suit, Camancho-Mendez was rewarded with a UFT job paying $22,000 a year on top of her $85,000 guidance counselor salary. 

However, as with every scandalous accusation, there is an overblown twist. And this one is serious: the lawsuit also name-drops Bloomberg, Chancellor Dennis Walcott and other high officials as knowing about the incident.

One word: blackmail. 

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As of now, the Out of School Time program reaches 154 schools in Brooklyn. According to its website, it offers "a mix of academic, recreational and cultural activities for young people (grades K-12) after school" and is free of charge. It's also a relief to parents who work longer hours and rely on the program to watch over their children into the evening.

But, according to a new report out by The Daily News, it looks like almost 10,000 kids in Brooklyn who participate in the program are out of luck this fall.

The OST program houses 52,567 students every weekday city-wide. This number will be halved once the budget cuts from Bloomberg's administration are installed. Here's the data: this year, the budget was $91.5 million; next time school is in session, the funds will have dropped to $73.3 million. Instead of 154 programs, Brooklyn will be left with 77 overloaded OST's, pushing 10,000 kids out of the program. And none of the parents involved are too happy about it.
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If this is true, this has to go down as one of the worst workplace intrusions we've ever heard.More >>

This afternoon brings us news of Aimee Copeland, a grad student from Georgia who is battling a life-threatening flesh-eating bacteria infection after getting a deep cut in a river. Copeland has already had one leg amputated to stop the disease's spread. These infections are very rare -- there are only about 750 cases per year, the Associated Press reports. Still, they tend to be so severe and sound so scary that you might start to wonder: Should I worry about flesh-eating bacteria?

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When Ashley Madison, OkCupid of adultery, released stats suggesting that family friendly-seeming Park Slope might have more cheating spouses -- especially dads -- than elsewhere in New York, people reacted the way people tend to react to this kind of news.

Of course, some (wrongly) blamed wives for paying more attention to their kids than their husbands. Others tried to tap into deeper cultural currents to explain this phenom.

The Times' Motherload blog then asked today: "Does Helicopter Parenting Drive Dads to Cheat?"

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Seniors south of Bronx Park say they don't feel safe because of a recent rash of robberies. So the City is arming them with...whistles.

Yep, you read that right. Whistles.

Here's what's up: Robberies have swelled by 41 percent in the 48th Precinct, the Daily News notes. This includes West Farms and other Community Board 6 neighborhoods.

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