Johnny Podres died last night in a hospital in upstate New York at the age of 75. He'd been suffering from serious medical problems for some time. In 1955, Podres ensured himself a place in Brooklyn and baseball history as a young left-hander who pitched the Dodgers to their only World Series Championship while in Brooklyn, and he did it against the hated Yankees. Ask someone real quick, "Who was the World Series MVP in......

EXPLORE: Last call to visit the historic Governors Island this season! Free ferry rides depart hourly right next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. Sitting 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan and about 400 from the Brooklyn waterfront, it isn't often you can get a view of the city and a house like that one to the right all from the same place. All Weekend // Governors Island // More info here READING:......

We're smack dab in the middle of Bike Month, and today the Bicycle Film Festival kicks off. Tonight at the (solar powered) opening party, there's a bit of a change in the lineup as Mates of State had to cancel their performance. However Team Robespierre and Parts & Labor will be filling their shoes with help of last minute addition Dan Deacon. After that there's a dance party with Gang Gang Dance, the best part......

Sixty years today at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When Robinson took the field to play first base against the Boston Braves, he became the first African-American player in modern era of Major League Baseball. Despite enduring constant harassment by fans and other players during his first year, Robinson won Rookie of the Year honors from the Sporting News and Major League Baseball. In what would......

A look at some noteworthy television programs this week: American Experience: The Berlin Airlift (Monday 9:00 p.m., WNET 13) A look at the use of airpower for good when the Allies supplied Berlin with food and other necessities via air to get around a Soviet blockade. The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman (Monday 10:00 p.m., WNET 13) The life, work and legacy of the Nobel winning economist are looked into.......

Let's all take a brief moment to contemplate the penny: Tiny, sometimes red, sometimes black, sometimes shiny, sometimes sticky, you can exchange them for goods or services, a hundred of them make a buck ... OK, we done? Good. Now think about this: This week the cost of the metals in a penny rose above 0.8 cents, more than twice the value of last fall. Because the government spends at least another six-tenths of......

Too many times, we’ve suffered through a poorly directed film (or Brittany Murphy movie) and admitted the only aspect which kept us from banging our head up against the overpriced tub of popcorn was the trailer lineup. Sad, but for many of us, often the trailers are the best part of the money-sucking movie experience. Bam Cinematek understands our appreciation (as well as our ADD) and tonight at 7:00 PM, the theatre will present......

Au Revoir Simone...

Little Brooklyn, Burlesque Star...

Randi Weingarten, United Federation of Teachers president, is using the reading rugs in city classrooms as a latest issue to be used in teachers' contract negotiations with the city. The union says reading rugs used in pre-K till second grade are "havens for skin flakes, insect parts, rodent droppings and other unhealthy gunk." Though this information is based on only nine schools (which do not have vacuums or custodians who will vacuum), Gothamist still says,......

S. Epatha Merkerson, Lieutenant Van Buren on Law & Order, stars in a new play at the Public Theater, "Fucking A." Ben Brantley of the Times feels it's well acted if uneven and another sign of playwright Suzan Lori Parks' talent. (Brantley's review is also amusing for how it tries to explain the full title: "The full title of '. . . A' cannot be printed here. Suffice it to say that 'A' is modified......