15 city council members (including the ubiquitous John Liu) have thrown their support behind a temporary $1 taxi surcharge. But the Taxi and Limousine Commission and the mayor continue to reject the proposal, with Bloomberg pointing to hybrid taxis as the best solution to skyrocketing gas prices. At a rally yesterday, taxi driver Parvinder Singh told NY1: "This gas price is just killing us – all the drivers and all the 5 percent we're paying......

In 2004 – the year taxi fares increased 26%, President Bush got re-elected, and Janet Jackson’s nip slipped – the average price of gas in the city was $1.80 a gallon. It now costs around $4.45 a gallon, with no signs of diminishing, and there is increased clamor from cabbies for the city to institute a surcharge of $1 per ride. But Taxi and Limousine Commission chairman Matthew Daus yesterday declared that "under no circumstance" would the TLC implement a surcharge. ...

A New York State Assemblyman ticked off about congestion pricing for suburban drivers is retaliating by proposing a $4-per-ride surcharge for taxi riders, rather than the congestion fee of $8 for motorists entering Manhattan below 60th St. That taxis are another form of mass transit that allow New Yorkers to get around without owning a car escapes Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, whose district includes parts of Westchester County. Brodsky and other representatives of suburban communities feel......

There are worries that a proposed $50,000 surcharge on all MD's in the state could do irreparable harm to New York's health care community. The state's medical malpractice liability fund is underfunded, and state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo is looking for ideas. Doctors unable to obtain liability insurance from commercial carriers are required to get insurance from a pool for high-risk doctors called the Medical Malpractice Insurance Plan, which charges doctors at least 290% the......