Ludlum Elementary School in Hempstead did not even wait until the inauguration to go ahead and rename themselves Barack Obama Elementary School last night. Like the election of Obama himself, the push to rename the school came in large part from a youth movement--this time of preteens in the largely African-American and Hispanic community. District Superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria praised the students' exuberance saying, "You want to talk about "Yes We Can!"? That was a......

On a quiet street in Mastic, residents found over a dozen cars had racial slurs sprayed on them. Newsday reports some target President-elect Obama--"The graffiti included racial slurs, as well as sexually graphic references."--and that neighbors were shocked, with one saying, "I'm really surprised. This is like the United Nations here." One of the victims told WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs (who took the photo), "It's all over the place. It's just sickening. You know...it's sad.......

Time Out New York’s current issue has a feature documenting ingredients used in both restaurant kitchens and industrial settings like labs and factories: The chemical methylcellulose, for instance, is not only used by chefs like Sam Mason at Tailor, but is also very closely related to a key ingredient of K-Y. Another peculiar ingredient is mastic (or mastiha), which is often stored next to the tapioca maltodextrin in the kitchens mentioned in the TONY piece.......