Miami City Commissioner Francis Suarez: I’m running for mayor

It’s official: Miami City Commissioner Francis Suarez is running for mayor.

The 35-year-old son of former Mayor Xavier Suarez will make the formal announcement Tuesday at a press conference at his Coral Gate home.

Suarez’s candidacy has long been the subject of speculation around City Hall. The chatter intensified late last week, when campaign finance reports showed that in the last three months of 2012 he raised $460,000 through his “political communications organization.”

Suarez, in an interview Monday with The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, outlined his vision for the city. It includes replenishing rainy-day funds, promoting small business, beefing up the police department and making the mayor a player on the national stage.

“It starts with having a stable government that is forward-thinking and innovative,” he said.

Despite having flush campaign coffers and key allies, Suarez faces a tough road to the Nov. 5 election. Incumbent Mayor Tomás Regalado has already launched his bid for reelection, and observers say his popularity remains high among likely voters.

“It is going to be a competitive race,” said Barry University political science professor Sean Foreman.

Suarez, a real estate attorney, first ran for the City Commission in 2009. He was elected to represent District 4, which includes Flagami and stretches to the city’s western edge, and was previously held by Regalado.

Early on, Suarez and Regalado often appeared in public together. The mayor asked Suarez to serve as City Commission chairman in late 2011.

But the relationship soured last summer, when Suarez grew increasingly critical of Regalado’s administration. He voiced concerns about the high turnover among top staffers and questioned the finance department’s ability to balance the $500 million budget on time.

Suarez said those frustrations prompted his decision to run for mayor.

“I fundamentally believe that the administration is not being run professionally,” he said. “I have concerns about what will happen if nothing is done about it.”

Suarez said he has already proven his leadership abilities. He points to a pair of controversial motions he made, both of which passed the commission: one to cut employee salaries and another to fire then-Police Chief Miguel Exposito, who was feuding with the mayor at the time.

“I’ve taken the lead on very difficult positions,” he said.

During his three years in office, Suarez has had mixed results passing policy. In 2011, he championed changes to the city zoning code that made it easier to build affordable housing. But his biggest legislative push to date — an effort to create a strong-mayor form of government — failed to find support.

Suarez said he has a couple of new proposals to pitch, including a measure that would reduce permit fees for home repairs that cost less than $2,500. He also said he has ideas for using technology to make city departments run more smoothly.

If campaign contributions are any indication, Suarez will have the support of key business leaders, including Jackson Health System CEO and former city manager Carlos A. Migoya and former Mayor Manny Diaz.

Regalado, who has raised about $160,000 for his campaign and enjoys popularity in neighborhoods like Little Havana and Flagami, said he welcomed the competition.

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TSX off 10-month high, energy weakness offsets RIM jump

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada‘s main stock index finished short of a 10-month high on Monday as investor optimism for Research In Motion Ltd shares over the upcoming launch of its BlackBerry 10 devices was offset by falling energy shares.

Weakness in the materials sector, which includes mining stocks, also added pressure, while volatile oil prices were a drag on the energy sector. The two heavyweight sectors kept an otherwise positive index in check.

RIM shares extended a 13-percent gain made on Friday. The stock added 10.44 percent to C$ 14.70 and helped the information technology sector gain 2.48 percent.

“The investor confidence is brought about simply because of hope, and hope that the new BlackBerry 10 is going to be an answer to their prayers,” said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod.

“There has been some talk that this is a revival of RIM. We’ll have to wait and see,” he added.

The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> finished little changed, up a 0.91 of a point, or 0.01 percent, at 12,603.09. Earlier, it touched 12,636.68, its highest since March 5, 2012.</.gsptse>

The index, which marked its fifth consecutive day of gains, swung back and forth between positive and negative territories in choppy trade.

“There’s a lot of indecisiveness out there. People don’t really know which way to go and you’re getting these markets that aren’t really doing much of anything,” said Julie Brough, vice president at Morgan Meighen & Associates.

Investors kept a close watch on the U.S. debt ceiling talks, seen as a significant catalyst for the markets, with hopes that a compromise will be reached. “There is reasonable optimism that it would be resolved,” Brough said.

The energy sector was down 0.5 percent, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd slipping 1.81 percent to C$ 29.26 and Talisman Energy Inc falling 2.64 percent to C$ 11.78. Oil prices were volatile, with Brent crude rising to $ 112 on supply concerns.

Encana Corp shares dropped 2.31 percent to C$ 19.05 after the surprise resignation of the chief executive officer of Canada’s largest natural gas producer.

The three energy companies were the three biggest drags on the index.

Materials stocks, home to mining firms, was down 0.3 percent amid a slew of deals within the sector.

Miner Alamos Gold Inc said it will buy Aurizon Mines Ltd for about C$ 780 million ($ 793 million) in cash and stock to get access to Aurizon’s only operating gold mine, Casa Berardi, in northern Quebec. Aurizon shares jumped 34 percent to C$ 4.57, while Alamos Gold fell 11.94 percent to C$ 14.90.

Russia’s state uranium firm agreed to pay $ 1.3 billion to take Canada’s Uranium One Inc private, as the successor to the Soviet Union’s nuclear industry seeks to strengthen its grip on supplies. Uranium One’s stock rose 14.52 percent to C$ 2.76.

In other company news, shares of Harry Winston Diamond Corp rose 4.41 percent to C$ 14.90 on the company’s plans to sell its high-end watches-to-necklaces division to Swatch Group in a $ 750 million cash deal that expands the Swiss watchmaker’s luxury offering and lets the Canadian group concentrate on its diamond mines.

(Additional reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by James Dalgleish and Nick Zieminski)

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The Bachelor Recap: Sean Lowe Whittles Ladies Down to 15

Last week, Bachelor Sean Lowe narrowed 25 beauties down to 19 after a whirlwind night of first impressions. This week, the sexy 26-year-old Texan followed his heart, rather than instinct, as he ventured one step closer towards finding his bride-to-be.

Whisked away by helicopter, Sarah became the envy of the house when she was chosen as the first person to enjoy a one-on-one this week. Not your average first date, the twosome braved a 300-ft freefall before toasting to the future with a glass of champagne, and it seemed the adrenaline rush was just the key to getting Sean's shy date to open up about a heartbreaking incident where she was left embarrassed by her disability. Moved, the bachelor gifted his date with a rose.

Video: Inside 'Bachelor' Sean's Harlequin-Themed Date

Next, 13 ladies were chosen for a romance novel-themed photo shoot date, complete with shirt ripping and tons of exposed skin. Given four themes (Western, vampire, sexy and historical), most were game for the challenge. In the end, professional model Kristy won the Harlequin-sponsored event to score a three book cover deal for her steamy shoot with Sean. She did not, unfortunately, win a rose; Kacie B. took that honor.

Desiree was second to snag a one-on-one with Sean and, to shake it up, the playful bachelor decided to test his date's sense of humor with a prank that, at Desiree's expense, involved staging the destruction of a faux million-dollar work of art. Des kept her cool and passed the test with flying colors, earning her a real date at Sean's pad complete with a home-cooked steak dinner. Sparks flew and the two tossed off their clothes, slipping into the hot tub for a steamy make out session after which Desiree was given a stem.

During the last group date, a new villain emerged among the girls. Amanda became public enemy number one when her unfriendliness had the house wishing adversary Tierra was around to lighten the mood.

Pics: Meet Sean Lowe's Lucky Ladies!

When the time came to bestow the final roses, AshLee, Lindsay, Robyn, Lesley M., Jakie, Selma, Catherine, Kristy, Leslie H., Tierra, Taryn, Daniella and Amanda were granted another week to impress Sean.

Uncomfortable with the competition, Katie L. decided to call it quits during the first of two group dates.

Tune in next Monday for an all-new episode of The Bachelor on ABC.

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As cause of woe$, Monica takes the cigar

John Crudele

It’s all Monica Lewinsky’s fault.

The former White House intern, a special friend of President Bill Clinton (who was curiously named “Father of the Year” last week by one publicity-seeking, morally tone-deaf organization), was the cause of our financial problems over the past six years.

OK, give me your full attention before you declare me legally insane, because I am half serious about this. You already know the oral history of the case. Lewinsky, then an eager 22-year-old graduate of Lewis & Clark College, got a little confused one day while at the White House. So instead of serving her country above and beyond the call of duty, she serviced Clinton above and below.

And she blew it for all of us.

The facts of the Lewinsky matter started coming out in 1998, and the affair eventually resulted in the impeachment of Clinton in 1999. He whined, he apologized to Hillary, and he maneuvered. And in the end the Senate gave Clinton a pass and let him serve out his term in office.

Clinton eventually made money writing books and doing whatever it is that ex-presidents do. And now Lewinsky is even said to be offering her story to the highest bidder since, I guess, interns-who-serviced-presidents-in-that-way aren’t on much of a career path.

The rest of us wish we had done as well as those two.

Anyone who was a grown-up back in 1998 — and I reluctantly count myself among them — remembers just how disruptive the impeachment was. And those of us who write about financial markets also understood back then the unique danger that came with the first president in 130 years potentially being thrown out of office.

The folks in Washington, in particular, knew the possible problems. The last thing this country needed in the midst of this political confusion was financial chaos. So it’s no wonder that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan — who was also handling the collapse of hedge fund Long Term Capital Management and the effects of financial problems in Russia — kept interest rates exceptionally low throughout the impeachment year and beyond.

The stock market thrived (for a while). The Internet bubble helped some people make lots of money, although others eventually lost fortunes. And — most important to the Lewinsky-is-to-blame thesis that I’m presenting here for the first time — the housing market roared thanks to the generosity of the Fed, which was like the person who put the teakettle on the stove and walked away for too long.

When Osama bin Laden struck in 2001, interest rates were already low because of the impeachment. But the Fed needed to push them down even more to contain any possible financial panic and keep the US economy going despite such a major disruption to the economy.

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.CO sets sights on changing &#x2018;the fabric of the Internet&#x2019;

For the millions of people who equate the Web with .com, . CO Internet is out to change that mindset.

The Miami company that manages and markets the .co domain is already making impressive gains — more than 1.4 million in 200 countries have hung their businesses, blogs, personal projects or dreams on a .co virtual shingle. Still, that’s just a tiny fraction of industry titan VeriSign’s 105 million .com registrants.

“We want to change the fabric of the Internet,” Juan Diego Calle, founder and CEO of .CO Internet, said during an interview in .CO’s Brickell office. “We can only make that happen not by changing what happened in the last 25 years of the Web, which is owned by .com. We want to change the next 25.”

About 2½ years after the launch of .CO Internet, .co — the country code of Colombia — continues to be one of the fastest-growing Internet domains in the world and grew by 24 percent in 2012. .CO Internet is profitable and is projecting to bring in more than $25 million in revenues this year, the company said. The early success of .CO Internet, with operations in Miami and Colombia, is powered by passion and perseverance.

Calle moved to Miami from Colombia at age 15 with his family. He started several businesses, including one he sold in 2005 providing seed capital for what would come next. “I can’t say I ever sat still.” When he learned Colombia would be commercializing the country's .co domain extension in late 2006, he said it hit him like a lightning bolt.

With the right strategy and by “marketing the hell out of it,” the entrepreneur believed .co could solve a huge problem in the market — vanishing Internet domain names. If you’ve tried to nab a new .com address lately, you can relate — it’s difficult to find one that hasn’t been snatched up.

Calle thought that by appealing to the hearts and minds of the entrepreneur, .co could go where .info, .biz, .net or .me had never gone before. But first he needed the right team.

One of this first stops: The Big Apple, to visit Nicolai Bezsonoff, who had been an advisor and shareholder in Calle’s TeRespondo.com, a sort of Ask Jeeves for the Latin American market that was sold to Yahoo in 2005. At the time, Bezsonoff was the director of technology and operations at Citigroup.

“We went out for coffee, he started pitching me on a napkin. I said ‘really dude you want me to leave a big job at Citigroup for this?’ ” said Bezsonoff. “But he kept showing me the numbers … Later, that napkin was on my desk and it was one of those boring days and I kept looking at it and thought maybe I should.” He would become .CO’s chief operating officer.

Lori Anne Wardi, a lawyer and serial entrepreneur who was working at a venture capital firm at the time, became vice president in charge of brand strategy, business development and global communications. “She’s the heart and soul of the company,” said Calle. Eduardo Santoyo, based in Bogota, would become corporate vice president over policy and be the liaison with the Colombian government. “Some would say it was overkill talent but I needed the best. ... When you have a big dream, you have to think big and hire the right people,” Calle said.

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SunPass coming to Rickenbacker, Venetian causeways in 2014

The introduction of SunPass on two Miami-Dade causeways is the latest in a series of initiatives to expand use of Florida’s electronic toll-collection system beyond state highways.

“We are hoping that a year from now, in 2014, the new system will be in place on both the Rickenbacker and then the Venetian Causeway,” said Michael R. Bauman, chief of the Miami-Dade public works and waste management department’s causeways division.

Originally, the county had planned to activate SunPass on the causeways in 2012, but the project was delayed because of contractor issues and efforts by all Florida tolling agencies to centralize back-office operations that include billing and other customer services, Bauman said.

Conversion of causeways’ C-Pass system to SunPass transponders will be one of the most significant changes in the history of the storied roads that carry tens of thousands of commuters every day to and from the mainland.

The 5.4-mile Rickenbacker, the longer of the two causeways, is also the newest. It opened in 1947. The 2.8-mile Venetian opened in 1925.

Tolls have been charged on both causeways for decades. The Rickenbacker was the first to adopt electronic tolling in 1997 with the C-Pass system, followed by the Venetian shortly after.

Both causeways still take cash at some toll plaza lanes.

While the plan is to eliminate cash tolls, Bauman said details are more advanced for the Rickenbacker than for the Venetian.

As a result, he said in an interview, details of how SunPass will operate on the Venetian remain undecided.

On the Rickenbacker, however, he said the toll plaza will be removed and its eight lanes will be reconfigured into four lanes with electronic gantries. Cash will no longer be accepted.

In both cases, said Bauman, lower annual tolls paid by residents and commuters served by the Rickenbacker and Venetian will be preserved under the SunPass arrangement.

The vehicles of residents and commuters already registered with causeway systems will be recognized by SunPass, and no additional toll charges will be made, Bauman said.

The current cash toll price on both causeways is $1.50. Whether that rate will remain once SunPass kicks in is still under discussion, Bauman said.

On the Rickenbacker and Venetian, residents with C-Pass transponders pay a flat $24 per year. Nonresidents who drive the Rickenbacker pay $60 per year and Venetian commuters pay $90.

Registration will continue, but it will be done online.

Drivers who don’t have SunPass will still be allowed to use the causeways. They will be billed later via Toll-by-Plate, Bauman said.

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Iowa man, sister reunite thanks to Facebook, boy

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been reunited with his sister 65 years after the siblings were separated in foster care thanks to a 7-year-old friend who searched Facebook.

Clifford Boyson of Davenport met his sister, Betty Billadeau, in person on Saturday. Billadeau drove up from her home in Florissant, Mo., with her daughter and granddaughter for the reunion at a hotel in Davenport.

Boyson, 66, and Billadeau, 70, both tried to find each other for years without success. They were placed in different foster homes in Chicago when they were children.

Then 7-year-old Eddie Hanzelin, who is the son of Boyson‘s landlord, got involved.

Eddie managed to find Billadeau by searching his mom’s Facebook account with Billadeau’s maiden name. He recognized the family resemblance when he saw her picture.

“Oh, my God,” Boyson said when he saw and hugged Billadeau.

“You do have a sister,” Billadeau said.

“You’re about the same height Mom was,” Boyson said.

Billadeau’s daughter, Sarah Billadeau, 42, and granddaughter, Megan Billadeau, 27, both wiped away tears and smiled during the reunion.

“He didn’t have any women in his life,” Sarah said. “We’re going to get that straightened out real fast.”

Boyson said he’s looking forward to visiting Billadeau near St. Louis and meeting more family.

“I’m hoping I can go and spend a week or two,” he said. “I want to meet the whole congregation. I never knew I had a big family.”

Eddie, who enjoys messing around with his family’s iPad, said he’s glad he was able to assist in making the reunion happen and that he learned about helping others at school.

“Clifford did not have any family, and family’s important,” the boy said.

Near the end of their tearful reunion Boyson and Billadeau presented Eddie with a $ 125 check in appreciation of his detective work.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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70th Annual Golden Globes Show Recap

Universal/ Warner Bros.

Some big surprises and lots of humor kept the 70th Annual Golden Globes fun, interesting and fast-moving Sunday night in Hollywood. On the film side, Argo was named Best Picture of the Year - Drama, while Les Miserables was named Best Picture of the Year - Comedy or Musical, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Jackman, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway among the stars taking home trophies. On the TV side, Showtime's Homeland scored big and so did HBO's Girls, with Lena Dunham, Claire Danes and Damien Lewis among those recognized.

Get the complete list of winners HERE.

The Best in Movies

In addition to Best Pictures Argo and Les Mis, Amour was named Best Foreign Language Film (Austria) and Disney-Pixar's Brave was named Best Animated Feature Film. A shocked Ben Affleck was named Best Director for Argo, quite the vindication after being snubbed for a Best Directing Oscar nom, and a very jovial Quentin Tarantino got the Best Screenplay award for Django Unchained.

Daniel Day-Lewis picked up the Best Actor - Drama award for his turn as Lincoln, and was quick to credit the other actors in the room: "Such beautiful performances this year; I'm very proud to be one amongst you." He also singled out director Steven Spielberg, "a humble master with a quicksilver imagination. ... You've given me an experience that I will treasure until the end of my life." Day-Lewis beat out Richard Gere, John Hawkes, Joaquin Phoenix and Denzel Washington.

Hugh Jackman was named Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for Les Mis, beating out Jack Black, Bradley Cooper, Ewan McGregor and Bill Murray. Thanking the "most amazing cast in the world" and his "visionary director," he also singled out his wife for "talking him off the cliff" when he doubted his singing abilities during rehearsals.

Related: ETonline's Complete Golden Globes Coverage

Jessica Chastain was named Best Actress - Drama for her role as a tenacious CIA analyst in Zero Dark Thirty. Calling her win a dream come true, the emotional and proud actress she pointed out that she's "been on the sidelines for years, and to be here at this moment, it's a beautiful feeling to receive this encouragement and support." She also told her director Kathryn Bigelow, "You've done more for women in cinema than you've taken credit for." Chastain bested Marion Cotillard, Helen Mirren, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz.

Silver Linings Playbook star Jennifer Lawrence was named Best Actress - Comedy or Musical over tough competition Emily Blunt, Judy Dench, Maggie Smith and Meryl Streep. Joking, "Oh, what does [the statuette] say? I beat Meryl!" She went on to thank her co-star Bradley Cooper, "who made me better every day," and surprisingly started to choke up while thanking her family.

Les Mis star Anne Hathaway was named Best Supporting Actress, and practically had to pinch herself to see if the moment was real. She excitedly said, "Thank you for this lovely blunt object I will forevermore use as a weapon against self-doubt," and gave a shout-out to the "great and gutsy actresses" (Amy Adams, Helen Hunt, Sally Field, Nicole Kidman) in her category as well as her "fearless" cast and director.

Christoph Waltz owes a lot of gold to Quentin Tarantino: He was named Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Django Unchained, his second nom and win following his audacious Inglourious Basterds introduction to the mainstream film world. The Austrian actor told his director, "My gratitude knows no words," and concluded, "This journey was incredible. To borrow a sentence from my character … The North Star is that one. Ta-da." Waltz bested co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, Alan Arkin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tommy Lee Jones.

Pics: Golden Globes Red Carpet Fashion

The Best in TV

Homeland hit a major home run Sunday night, winning Best Television Series – Drama and beating out Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, The Newsroom and Mad Men, while seeing its two stars, Damian Lewis and Claire Danes, win Best Actor and Actress in the category. Calling the statuette a true "perk" to have picked up along the way, Lewis dedicated the win, "To my mom, who I know is out there looking down on me, bursting with pride and telling everyone how well her son is doing acting." For Danes, it was her fourth Globe win, and she thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press for being "so insanely generous for so many years now. I was up here when I was 15." She lauded the women in her category, saying, "I'm very proud to be working in this medium, in this moment, in this company," and thanked her co-workers for accommodating her pregnancy during the production of the show.

Girls was named Best TV Series - Comedy or Musical, and its star and executive producer Lena Dunham upset the competition to win Best Actress – Comedy or Musical. Besting Zooey Deshanel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, she declared "I worship them" before sharing her award with "every woman who felt there wasn't a space for her; this show made a space for me."

Other Awards of the Night

HBO's Game Change also hit a triple, named Best Motion Picture Made for Television, with its star Julianne Moore landing Best Actress in the same category for her portrayal of Sarah Palin, and Ed Harris winning the Best Supporting Actor prize for his portrayal of presidential hopeful John McCain; Hatfields & McCoys star Kevin Costner was named Best Actor in a Mini-Series Made for Television; Don Cheadle was named Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical for his performance in House of Lies, while Maggie Smith was singled out for her Best Supporting Actress in a Series for her performance in Downton Abbey.

Best Original Score – Motion Picture went to Mychael Danna for Life of Pi, and Adele's stirring Skyfall was named Best Original Song – Motion Picture. The new mom and multiple Grammy winner exclaimed, "Oh my God!!!!" when she hit the stage and candidly said that this was really just a fun night out with her friend, also a new mom: "We've been pissing ourselves laughing over there." She also thanked her "lovely Simon."

Related: Best Golden Globe Award Zingers

Show Highlights

Co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler kept the proceedings full of laughs, with their opening monologue especially putting the celebrity audiences in stitches. Throughout the show, the pair also slipped into the audience, wearing goofy disguises as actors looking to accept faux nominations; Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell played clueless presenters who saw none of the movies in the Best Actress category -- but tried to fake it anyway when describing the performances; Tony Mendes, the real-life CIA agent behind the true story of Argo, took the stage with John Goodman to present Argo, and Bill Clinton also surprised the audiences to introduce Lincoln; Sacha Baron Coen roasted his Les Mis co-stars; and Francesca Eastwood, daughter of Clint Eastwood and Frances Fisher, and Sam Fox, son of Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, were presented as Mr. and Miss Golden Globes.

And there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Jodie Foster was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award by good friend Robert Downey Jr. Starting with plenty of self-effacing comedy ("I'm 50! You know, I was going to bring my walker tonight, but it just didn't go with the cleavage."), Foster turned the podium into a confessional and half-joked about giving a big "coming out speech" before turning the focus to how important privacy truly is as a celebrity ("If you had been a public figure since the time that you'd been a toddler, you too would value privacy above all else.") and declaring how proud she is of her "modern family." Getting emotional, she concluded, "This feels like the end of one era and the beginning of something else."

Watch ET for complete coverage of the 70th Annual Golden Globes.

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Grand Central crisis

Steve Cuozzo

Microsoft just announced it’s moving its New York headquarters to a new office building at Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street. Construction has started on a new home for Coach Inc. at Hudson Yards. And it’s old news that Conde Nast is moving to the World Trade Center. But which big companies are moving their front offices to Midtown’s fabled east side?

Not one — even though it should be the city’s most desirable neighborhood for corporate headquarters, with its transit links and unparalleled hotels, stores and restaurants.

That’s why East Midtown rezoning is desperately needed. The vast Grand Central district isn’t just “obsolescent”; it’s useless for companies wanting to move or grow and increasingly irrelevant overall. Without prompt attention, it will tragically devolve into a well-located back-office district.

Business Wire

Older buildings can’t beat this: A rendering of 250 West 55th — the kind of modern structure that’s stealing Midtown East’s snazziest tenants.

No government decision due this year matters as much as Midtown East rezoning. The stakes are huge: Will Manhattan retain its pre-eminent position among world business capitals? Or will institutionalized decay in its heart reduce it to also-ran status?

The long-overdue proposal from the Department of City Planning would allow construction of larger new buildings than are now permitted in a 78-block swath of the East 40s and 50s. Mayor Bloomberg wants it passed before he leaves office; the City Council must vote by October.

It’s a fourth-quarter, hail-Mary play after years of delay in bringing the area into the 21st century.

The Manhattan market draws its juice from new office towers that draw glamorous tenants seeking a showcase home with advanced electronic, security and environmental features.

Yet once-supreme Midtown East is frozen in aspic. Zoning written in 1961 made major new development there near-impossible. Existing buildings, now 66 years old on average and burdened with antiquated systems and cramped floor plates, are dinosaurs facing functional extinction in the digital age.

In much of the district, they can’t even be replaced with modern structures no larger than the ones there now. That’s because most of the buildings predate the 1961 rules, which shrank the size of permissible reconstruction. Existing structures were grandfathered in — not so, potential new ones.

As a result, leading companies in need of state-of-the-art new facilities are moving anywhere but along or astride the Park Avenue corridor that was once their first choice.

But council members are being furiously lobbied against the rezoning. Preservationists, “congestion”-phobes, advocates for “higher civic aspirations” and just plain obstructionists want to kill or dilute the measure — or at least delay it ’til Bloomberg’s gone.

They howl that larger, taller skyscrapers might, God forbid, cast shadows on or diminish the grandeur of masterpieces like the Chrysler and Seagram buildings and Grand Central Terminal.

Meanwhile, landlords who know how desperate the situation is pull their punches for fear of making the fading precinct sound even less appealing than so much of it has become.

Yes, a number of marquee headquarters tenants such as Citigroup remain. But vacancies are inching up toward 13 percent (as counted by real-estate brokerage CBRE). More ominously, corporate momentum of the kind that sets the pace for the commercial scene is all on the way out, not in.

City Hall warns that without change, tenants who’ve been attracted to East Midtown “in the past would begin to look elsewhere.” In fact, they’ve been going elsewhere for many years.

Time Warner moved to Columbus Circle, Hearst to Eighth Avenue and Bank of America to Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street. Law firm Proskauer Rose chose 11 Times Square, where Microsoft is headed as well.

Two large law firms chose brand-new 250 W. 55th St. One of them, Kaye Scholer, is leaving 425 Park Ave., its home of 55 years. The building is so antiquated, its owners plan to tear it down for a new one designed by architect Norman Foster. But because the relic is “overbuilt” by 1961 rules, they must keep 25 percent of its steel merely to put up a same-size new structure.

That will complicate and maybe compromise the effort. But it’s that, or wait four years for new zoning to kick in, if it’s approved.

The “sunrise provision” and other complexities with which the city hamstrung the rezoning proposal are needless. But even with flaws, it’s a must to liberate East Midtown from its straitjacket.

Until then, the area’s only hope is ambitious upgrade of older properties, as is happening at 280 Park Ave. But patch-and-fix isn’t the optimal future for a neighborhood that still embodies the magic of Manhattan as no other.

The goal is to reaffirm its premier status. It will only happen by allowing new landmarks — big, tall and worthy of their setting — to rise in the century ahead.

scuozzo@nypost.com

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After rough year, Carnival hopes for calmer waters

After boarding the latest addition to the Carnival Cruise Lines family, Josh Beaver sampled lasagna at the new onboard Italian restaurant, downed some drinks with his traveling companions and hit the water slides while the afternoon was still young.

“So far, from what I’ve seen, there’s lots to do,” said Beaver, 33, of Holden Beach, N.C.

The Carnival Breeze hadn’t even left PortMiami yet on a recent Saturday, and already it buzzed with vacationers exploring all there was to do: nosh on a Pig Patty from the new Guy’s Burger Bar, make friends with bartenders at the new RedFrog Pub or check out a novel and a glass of the grape at the new Library Bar.

Here aboard one of the largest ships in the biggest brand of the Number One cruise ship company in the world, there was little hint that the last year was one of the toughest in the 41-year history of parent company Carnival Corp. & plc.

Last year got off to a catastrophic start when Costa Concordia, owned by Carnival unit Costa Cruises, struck rocks in Italian waters as the captain steered the ship on an unauthorized route. The massive liner listed to one side, and 32 people died in the chaos that followed.

“When you lose lives, it’s heartbreaking,” said Carnival Corp. Vice Chairman and COO Howard Frank, who devoted much of his time last winter handling the aftermath with Costa leaders. “And so I think in terms of our emotional reaction to it, it’s been the toughest year we’ve had.”

Carnival Corp. Chairman and CEO Micky Arison took criticism for not going to Italy following the wreck, but said he believes the company did the right thing and doesn’t second-guess his actions.

Financially, the company took a hit as well, starting with discounts that were necessary to drum up business after the accident. Costa’s future bookings plunged, but picked up after the operator slashed prices. As of mid-December, prices at Costa remained lower than they were a year earlier, though the company expects that to change once the anniversary of the accident passes.

“I think we’ve been consistent in saying the recovery at Costa is not a one-year issue,” Arison said during the December earnings call with analysts. “It’s going to be multiple years, and we are forecasting a recovery of about half the yield deterioration.”

The ship remains on its side off the island of Giglio; it’s expected to be removed by the end of summer.

A flurry of civil lawsuits have been filed, but none have reached trial yet; the company has reached compensation agreements with 70 percent of the more than 3,000 passengers who were not physically injured and 60 percent of injured passengers and families of those who died.

As the company and broader industry focused anew on safety, the summer months presented a fresh set of problems when the European economy weakened just as cruise lines were stationing more ships in the Mediterranean. While North America was immune to those concerns, the run-up to the Presidential election and the fiscal cliff debates prompted Carnival to worry about a slowdown in business at home.

Last month, Carnival forecast 2013 earnings that were lower than expectations and said advance bookings for the year were behind what they were a year earlier at lower prices. Many analysts believe the projections were conservative, though, and executives said they were hopeful that January would bring more robust business.

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