Speaker to discuss the Jews of Zimbabwe

You are invited to hear Modreck Zvakavapano Maeresera and Tudor Parfitt, as they lecture on "The Lamba Jews of Zimbabwe" at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Jewish Museum of Florida, 301 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

You will want to attend this event; Maeresera is a leader in the Lemba Jewish community in Zimbaabwe. He coordinates a program of Jewish cyber-learning, studying with volunteer rabbis and teachers via the Internet in Harare, where he teaches other students what he has heard and recorded. In the rural congregation of Mapakomhere, 150 miles from Harare, Maeresera leads Shabbat services and promotes Jewish education.

In a press release statement he said, "My vision is to have a vibrant Lemba community that is fully committed to observing Judaism, the religion of our forefathers, and to have the necessary infrastructure that a Jewish community would need, such as synagogues and schools and religious leaders." He said, in the near future he would like to see Lemba fully reintegrated into mainstream Judaism.

Parfitt is the President Navon Professor of Sephardi-Mizrahi Studies and Research Professor in Florida International University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and has studied emerging Jewish communities around the works. He has studied the Lemba Jews for decades.

It’s free and open to the public.

Kids’ art event continues through Monday

The Children’s Trust will present a "Kids Grove Arts Party," from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday in the kids zone at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove. The event is in conjunction with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Abrakadoodle Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

Each day the Abrakadoodle staff will present "Art in Our World Curriculum," one-hour sessions where children will draw, paint, sculpt, design mosaics and collages and well as create in the styles of multicultural master artists to include Picasso, Bearden, Matisse, Miro, Hokusai, Monet, Martinez and Kahlo.

Other highlights will include a 10 a.m. show each day, the musical "Party with Picasso and Friends," presented by Sugar and Spice Puppet Theater, and at 11 a.m., the musical "The Dean of Green, " an eco-children’s theater production that teaches children the importance of growing up green, healthy living and protecting the earth. The play is directed by Corky Dozier, event creator and founder and director of the Coconut Grove Children’s Theater. Dozier also celebrates she 50th year in children’s theater, this year.

Author to speak in Key Biscayne

Lunch with an Author will present award-winning author Mary Murray Bosrock, presenting her newest book, "Grandma Has Wings," at noon Thursday in the Island room of the Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way.

Bosrock, a part-time resident of Key Biscayne, is a popular radio and television guest and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox News and A&E Network. She said she got her "wings" when her two sons, Matt and Steve, gave her six granddaughters in eight years. It amazed her, she said, that her little girls noticed things like arm fat, brown spots, veins and dropping chins, and learned to love what she couldn’t change by turning it into a story. Her granddaughters loved the story so much, that Bosrock decided to share it with other grandmas.

She also is the author of the book series, "Put Your Best Food Forward," which sold worldwide and has been published in Polish, Chinese, Russian, Thai and India.

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Hugh Grant is a Dad Again

Hugh Grant confirmed Saturday that he is a dad again.

PICS: Celebs and Their Cute Kids

The 52-year-old British actor tweeted, "In answer to some journos. Am thrilled my daughter now has a brother. Adore them both to an uncool degree. They have a fab mum."

Hugh and actress Tinglan Hong welcomed a daughter named Tabitha in 2011. No word yet on what Tabitha's little brother is named.

Related: Hugh Grant Responds to Jon Stewart Diss

Hugh told The Guardian in 2012 of being a dad, "I like my daughter very much. Fantastic. Has she changed my life? I'm not sure. Not yet. Not massively, no. But I'm absolutely thrilled to have had her, I really am. And I feel a better person."

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Consumer confidence treaded water in Jan.

Consumer confidence didn’t fall in January, but it remains low, according to the Discover US Spending Monitor.

The survey found that only 31 percent of respondents thought the economy improved in January, which was almost the same as the December number. And just 15 percent of those polled thought the economy was good or excellent, the same number as the previous month. The overall confidence level on the economy was about the same as the previous month.

“People have tended to be cautious about the economy for a long time. We haven’t seen much change in that sentiment for a while,” said Matt Towson, a spokesman for the poll.

The Discover US Spending Monitor surveys some 8,200 consumers over the course of a month. It talks to about 275 people per night.

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NBA’s best player (LeBron James) isn’t best-paid

HOUSTON --
When LeBron James walks onto the court for Houston’s NBA All-Star Game Sunday, he’ll do so as the undisputed king of his sport.

Named the league’s most valuable player three times in the past four years, James is once again dominating the NBA and most likely headed for his fourth MVP award — two fewer than Michael Jordan — with presumably a long career still ahead.

But while James is the most valuable player in the NBA, he’s nowhere close to being the league’s highest paid. Of the 10 players voted into the starting lineup of Sunday’s All-Star Game, five earn more than James, whose salary for this season ranks 13th in the NBA.

James’ decision a while back to “take my talents to South Beach” was a case of trading dollars for victories. The league caps what teams can spend on salaries.

The bimonthly checks cut by team owner Micky Arison this year will equal a bargain come season’s end: $17,545,000.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, the league’s highest-paid player, will earn about $10 million more than that this season.

James understands he’s underpaid in the purest sense, but he also understands reality: He makes obscene amounts of money playing a game. Super-rich athletes who gripe about money seldom get much sympathy — witness the outpouring of scorn when golfer Phil Mickelson recently complained that increased taxes on high earners, coupled with California’s high tax rates, might force him to make “drastic changes” in his playing schedule.

James also makes a fortune in endorsements, from companies ranging from Nike to Sprite to Samsung to Dunkin’ Donuts.

Still, the obvious question remains: Considering not only James’ impact on the Heat, but also his overall contribution to the entire NBA, how much money could James command on the open market if there were no league-imposed economic constraints?

“Per year, if there were no salary-cap restrictions, I think he’s worth well over $100 million, easy,” said Shane Battier, the Heat’s heady forward and former Duke University schoolmate of Heat CEO Nick Arison.

That’s $100 million per year.

It’s an audacious and historic number, but considering James’ recent run of play, it’s not complete fantasy. James is performing at a historic level of excellence. After thoroughly wiping the court in Oklahoma City on Thursday, scoring 39 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out seven assists, James has scored at least 30 points in seven straight games.

The last player to accomplish that feat going into the All-Star break was Wilt Chamberlain back in 1963.

“This guy, LeBron James, he’s doing stuff that I’ve never seen,” said Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on Thursday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA. “He’s on another planet.”

Considering Barkley’s sharp criticism of James in the past, not to mention his history of going head-to-head with Michael Jordan during both men’s prime, that’s high praise.

But a market value of $100 million?

“Really, it boils down to the ego of an owner,” Battier said. “A lot of owners would pay just to have LeBron James on their team. I can think of a couple that would pay him, easily, nine figures per year.”

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State’s flawed contracting process comes under fire

TALLAHASSEE --
In the last two years, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has agreed to let the state lose $48 million.

That’s the amount of taxpayer money Atwater spent to settle dozens of bad contracts and grants that he said could have been avoided had the state done a better job cutting the deals.

“We could have built two elementary schools with that money,’’ said Atwater, a former Senate president whose office writes the checks.

In each case, the state concluded it was not going to get what it paid for, Atwater said. “So we said, ‘This is hogwash and you know it. ’ ”

Rather than taking the company to court, the state agreed to settle the contract at a loss.

With $50.4 billion of the state’s $70 billion budget spent on vendors this year, Florida is one of the largest buyers of goods and services in the Southeast, but its contract management is haphazard and inconsistent.

Now, Atwater, Gov. Rick Scott and his secretary of the Department of Management Services, Craig Nichols, are inching toward some improvements that will change the system.

Atwater is asking the Legislature for “pre-audit” authority to review contracts before they are completed to make sure the state is getting its money’s worth.

Nichols has published a guidebook for contract negotiators, including a set of uniform standards. His agency has increased the number of agencies using the state’s online purchasing program, MyFloridaMarketPlace, to get better discounts, and DMS is working to streamline the state’s patchwork of contract procedures.

Scott has urged his agency heads to attempt to re-negotiate their top contracts to produce savings, and he recommended spending $353,000 in his 2013-14 budget to hire four full-time people to train contract managers across the state.

The state’s contracting process has been the target of criticism for years, most recently from former Senate budget chairman JD Alexander who bashed state agencies for using different methods and even different codes to buy cars, lease buildings or purchase cell phones and computers.

In 2011, an independent group hired to review the state’s online purchasing program, the 10-year-old MyFloridaMarketPlace system, found that half of the eligible state contracts were covered by the program and that the system was “hampered by poor project governance, lack of standard procurement processes… uneven executive sponsorship and continued dependence on older shadow systems and workarounds.’’

An analysis by the Herald/Times found hundreds of contracts, known as evergreens, are given terms that allow them to automatically renew, with little or no standards. Other vendors get in the door as the lowest cost bidder, but the cost is allowed to balloon with budget amendments. Dozens of contracts have been on the books with the same vendor for more than 20 years.

One of the loudest critics has been the Koch brothers-funded Americans For Prosperity, which lists as its top legislative priority the increase in oversight and transparency of the state’s contracting process. The Republican Legislature and governor’s failure to properly police the state’s contracting system has earned the organization’s charge that the process “rewards cronyism and picking winners and losers.”

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'Escape from Planet Earth' Interview

Jessica Alba, Rob Corddry, William Shatner, Sofía Vergara and George Lopez are among the all-star voice cast creating laughs in the fast-paced, animated comedy-adventure Escape from Planet Earth, and they tell ET's Brooke Anderson that it's the perfect film for the whole family.

Pics: 13 Must-See Movies of 2013

In theaters now, the out-of-this-world 3D comedy is told from the alien point of view, following the misadventures of famed interplanetary astronaut Scorch Supernova from the Planet Baab and his buddies. Trapped by evil government forces on the distant "Dark Planet" (aka Earth) and tossed behind bars in Area 51, it's up to his nerdy brother Gary to navigate the third rock from the sun's strange customs and inhabitants in order to save him.

Video: Cosmic Comedy in 'Escape from Planet Earth' Premiere

The film also features the vocal talents of Brendan Fraser, Jane Lynch, Sarah Jessica Parker, Craig Robinson, Steve Zahn, Chris Parnell, Ricky Gervais and Jonathan Morgan Heit.

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Walmart sweats Feb.

Walmart Stores had the worst sales start to a month in seven years as payroll-tax increases hit shoppers already battling a slow economy, according to internal e-mails obtained by Bloomberg.

“In case you haven’t seen a sales report these days, February MTD sales are a total disaster,” Jerry Murray, Walmart’s vice president of finance and logistics, said in a Feb. 12 e-mail to other executives, referring to month-to-date sales.

“The worst start to a month I have seen in my [7 years] with the company.”

Walmart and discounters such as Family Dollar Stores are bracing for a rise in the payroll tax to take a bigger bite from the paychecks of shoppers already dealing with elevated unemployment.

The world’s largest retailer’s struggles come after executives expected a strong start to February because of the Super Bowl, milder weather and paycheck cycles, according to the minutes of a Feb. 1 officers meeting Bloomberg obtained.

Murray’s comments about February sales follow disappointing results from January.

Walmart fell 2.1 percent yesterday to $69.30 in New York for the biggest decline since Dec. 12.

“As with any organization, we often see internal communications that are not entirely accurate, that lack the proper context and represent individual opinions,” David Tovar, a Walmart spokesman, said in an interview.

Murray declined to comment.

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Credit reports still not error-free

Lucky you if you’re one of the many consumers who recognize an error in your credit file and are able to successfully dispute it, get it removed and receive the credit rating you deserve.

But woe to those who find errors and still have trouble getting corrections from any of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian or TransUnion.

That’s the conclusion of a long-awaited study by the Federal Trade Commission on credit report accuracy.

Each credit bureau maintains files on more than 200 million consumers, which are used to create credit histories. The information is then used to create credit scores, which can affect consumers’ ability to get a credit card, a home loan, an apartment or even a job. The most widely used credit scoring system is FICO, which ranges from 300 to 850. The higher your FICO score, the better.

The FTC found that 26 percent of the 1,001 participants surveyed identified at least one potentially material error, such as a late or missed payment. When information was successfully disputed and modified, 13 percent of participants saw a change in their credit score.

Not all the errors resulted in a significant increase in a consumer’s credit score. But for 5.2 percent of participants, the errors were serious enough that it made them appear more risky and thus resulted in them having to pay more for products such as auto loans and insurance, the FTC said.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers certain rights to dispute and challenge inaccurate information in their credit files. But if true errors remain on people’s reports even after they have challenged the information, the current dispute process is not serving consumers well, the FTC said in its report.

As often happens with such studies, people see what they want to see.

The Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade organization, said the FTC’s study proves that the vast majority of credit reports are error-free.

“The FTC’s research determined that 2.2 percent of all credit reports have an error that would increase the price a consumer would pay in the marketplace and that fully 88 percent of errors were the result of inaccurate information reported by lenders and other data sources to nationwide credit bureaus,” the association said in a statement.

The association is right. But when you talk about the millions of files being kept, there are still quite a number of people with incorrect information in their reports. The FTC concluded that the impact of errors on credit scores is generally modest (an average of an 11.8-point increase in score), but for some consumers, it can be large.

“Roughly 1 percent of the reports in the sample experienced a credit score increase of more than 50 points,” the report said.

Several consumer advocacy groups feel that this conclusion confirms their long-held concerns about the accuracy of credit reports.

Because the credit bureaus have become powerful gatekeepers, you ought to care about this issue even if you haven’t found errors in your report, said Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

“If 5 percent of consumers overall have serious errors, that’s about 10 million adults. Sooner or later, it will happen to you,” he said.

Everyone with a stake in this issue urges consumers to take action by pulling their reports every year. Only about 44 million consumers per year, or about one in five, obtain copies of their files, according to another recent report. You have the right to get a free copy of each of your credit files once every 12 months. Just go to www.annuacreditreport.com, the only official site, to get them.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The federal government needs to do more to monitor the systems the bureaus have in place to investigate a consumer’s complaint about an error. Far too often the furnishers of the data will just resend the incorrect information back to the bureaus.

Evan Hendricks, author of Credit Scores and Credit Reports: How The System Really Works, What You Can Do, has frequently testified in court cases and before Congress about the struggles people have in correcting their reports. Responding to the FTC survey, he said, “With FTC’s confirmation that credit report errors are all too common and harmful to consumers, it’s high time that credit reporting agencies overhaul their operations so they actually comply with the law and investigate consumers’ disputes, with actual human beings as investigators.”

Since consumers don’t control the flow of the data about them and yet this information is so vital to their credit lives, even the small percentage error rate the FTC found is unacceptable.

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Miami-Dade packed for weekend of events

Lured by sailboats and megayachts, urban street art and Romero Britto — and, of course, the lack of snow — thousands of visitors are expected to pour into Miami-Dade this holiday weekend.

The activities started Thursday morning with the opening day of the 72nd annual Progressive Miami International Boat Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Yacht & Brokerage Show on the Indian Creek Waterway. Art Wynwood kicked off with a VIP preview Thursday night. And the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, in its 50th year, opens its gates on Saturday.

Combined, the events expect nearly 250,000 attendees over Presidents’ Day weekend — many of them from out of town.

“Presidents’ Day weekend is the busiest weekend here in South Florida,” said Nick Korniloff, founder and director of Art Wynwood. “It’s when the 30 five-star resorts are at the highest occupancy, when the Europeans and South Americans and Northeast residents come here. It’s a very diverse, well-cultured audience.”

Expecting similarities in audiences interested in yachts and art, Korniloff will have shuttles running between Art Wynwood in the Midtown Miami neighborhood and the Yacht & Brokerage Show near the Fontainebleau.

In its second year, the fair features 70 dealers from around the world, many representing urban street artists or selling Latin American and Asian art. That’s a jump from last year’s 53 dealers. Korniloff said he expects about 30,000 attendees this year, up from 25,000 at the inaugural event.

At the boat show, which includes locations in Miami Beach and downtown Miami, organizers anticipate more than 100,000 visitors. About 40 percent are from outside the state and a quarter of visitors are international, said Cathy Rick-Joule, show manager and vice president of the boat shows division for the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

“We’ve definitely seen a continued influence of Brazilians; you hear Portuguese spoken everywhere,” Rick-Joule said, adding that Russian, Chinese and Korean visitors have also been increasing.

Monty Trainer, president of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, has been busy publicizing the 50th year of the event with pop artist Romero Britto, who designed this year’s festival poster and will attend at some points during the weekend.

“This is the best year for all our exposure,” Trainer said. “Romero Britto is going to be a big draw.”

The show will feature 380 artists this year, 30 more than last year, when about 118,000 people attended. Of those, nearly 40 percent were overnight visitors who came to town for the festival.

Trainer expects this year’s activities to draw a bigger crowd — with a caveat.

“If this weather holds up, we’re in business,” he said. “But if you get bad rain, all your promotions are out the window.”

On that front, the forecast is mixed. The National Weather Service calls for a 60 percent chance of rain in Miami on Friday, dropping to 20 percent for Saturday with a high near 77. Sunday should be sunny and cool, with a high only in the mid-60s. By Monday, the weather should be just about perfect for February: sunny and topping out around 74.

“When other folks unfortunately have it bad, we have it good,” said Rolando Aedo, chief marketing officer for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “I think the country as a whole, with the exception of us, has been experiencing severe weather. It bodes well for our hoteliers and frankly bodes well for our winter season. We’re hearing very, very good things.”

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Simon Baker Gets Star on Walk of Fame

Today was a very special Valentine's Day for Simon Baker, as he received the 2, 490th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

PICS: Candid Celeb Sightings

"It's about inspiration -- not for me, but for anyone else," said Baker when asked what the honor meant to him. "Nine out of ten people might walk across that star and not know who my name is, but someone might come along and it might inspire them."

As a young actor, Baker drew on the inspiration of those around him to gain the confidence needed to get to where he is today.

"Like a lot of young actors, I was filled with self-doubt," said The Mentalist star. "I was incredibly fortunate to meet people who believed in me more than I believed in myself."

Perhaps his biggest supporter was his wife Rebecca, whom he wed in 1998.

"My wife once gave me a card that said, 'Opportunity, having knocked, moves on.' And the most important opportunity that I took advantage of in my life was marrying her," Baker said before kissing his wife who was in attendance.

Click the video to hear what Naomi Watts had to say about her friend of more than 20 years.

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Time Inc. magazine deal may fetch a bit less

Keith J. Kelly

MEDIA INK

Time Warner’s talks to spin off most of the Time Inc. titles into a new publicly traded company controlled by Meredith Corp. were quietly started last fall, sources said.

Now that they are out in the open, insiders expect the pace of negotiations to pick up with a final deal hammered out within 30 days.

With Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune excluded from the deal, sources say the price could drop into the $1.7 billion range — below the $2.5 billion to $3 billon or so that the entire company might have fetched.

The three titles that will stay with Time Warner are believed to have cash flow of around $80 million. The entire company posted a profit of $420 million last year on revenue of $3.4 billon, but minus those three titles, profit would have been closer to $340 million.

With an earnings multiple of five — which is the most even the best print properties can expect these days — it puts the price tag at $1.7 billion. Before the 2008 recession, quality publishing operations could command multiples of 10 times earnings.

Meredith execs are expected to stay in town through today to try and hammer out terms of the deal, which is expected to yield a new publicly traded company that includes People, InStyle, Real Simple and other women-targeted titles.

Meredith, based in Des Moines, Iowa, owns TV stations and magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle and Fitness.

Meredith posted cash flow from operations last year of $195 million — less than half that of Time Inc.

But Meredith, headed by CEO Steve Lacy, will have control over the new entity — and that has many Time insiders nervous.

“I’d guess that most of the centralized jobs in Time Inc. will disappear,” said one source.

Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang, who has been on the job a year, and Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Martha Nelson, who has been there just a few months, should be feeling jittery.

There has been no sign of another suitor.

On the strategic front, rivals Hearst and Condé Nast are not interested.

Hearst Magazines, which dipped during the recession, is rapidly improving after digesting Hachette Filipacchi Media two years ago.

But another big deal as large as Time Inc. could raise anti-trust concerns.

Condé Nast parent Advance Publications still has most of a $500 million war chest from its sale of Discovery stock two years ago. However, it has a lot of headaches in its newspaper wing and has been using its cash judiciously to make small bets on digital properties.

On top of that, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes wants a deal done as quickly as possible.

“Jeff wants a clean exit,” said one source. “He’s not trying to get the extra $200 million he might get if he conducted an auction.”

Penguin deal OK’d

The Justice Department gave its blessing to the proposed merger of Pearson’s book publishing unit, Penguin, with the Bertelsmann-controlled Random House.

The deal, which was announced in late October, puts best-selling Random House author John Gris- ham under the same corporate umbrella as Tom Clancy.

Bertelsmann will own 53 percent and Pearson 47 percent of the new company, Penguin Random House, which will be the world’s No. 1 English-language publisher.

The deal still needs clearance from the Canadian Competition Bureau and the European Commission, among others, but both companies said they expect the deal to close in the second half of the year.

Adweek goings-on

It was not all pink slips at the restructuring of Guggenheim Digital Media — formerly Prometheus Global Media — earlier this week.

At Adweek, James Cooper has been running the show since Michael Wolff was given the heave-ho in October 2011, but he still had the title of executive editor. This week, new CEO Ross Levinsohn promoted Cooper to editorial director of Adweek and gave him control of digital content and production.

Levinsohn is decentralizing the digital operations and pushing it down to individual editors Bill Werde, editorial director at Billboard, and Janice Min, editorial director at the Hollywood Reporter.

Exit at Vogue

Laurie Jones, managing editor of Vogue and Anna Wintour’s right-hand woman, is stepping down Feb. 28. One of her claims to fame was hiring a young Wintour as a senior editor of New York, where Jones was the managing editor.

A few years later, after Wintour had edited British Vogue, HG and American Vogue, she returned the favor and hired Jones at Vogue.

kkelly@nypost.com

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American Airlines, US Airways announce merger

After a nearly yearlong courtship, the union became official Thursday: American Airlines and US Airways have formally announced plans to merge.

An early morning announcement by the airlines confirmed reports widely circulated after boards of both companies approved the merger late Wednesday.

The move brings stability to one of Miami-Dade County’s largest private employers more than a year after the airline and its parent company filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving the fate of thousands of employees — and the largest carrier at Miami International Airport — in question.

According to the Thursday announcement, the deal was approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, creating the world’s biggest airline with implied market value of nearly $11 billion, based on the Wednesday closing price of US Airways stock. The airline will have close to 100,000 employees, 1,500 aircraft, $38.7 billion in combined revenue.

The deal must be approved by American’s bankruptcy judge and antitrust regulators, but no major hurdles are expected. The process is expected to take about six months, according to a letter sent to employees Thursday by American CEO Tom Horton.

Travelers won’t notice immediate changes. The new airline will be called American Airlines. It likely will be months before the frequent-flier programs are merged, and possibly years before the two airlines are fully combined. The new airline will be a member of the oneWorld airlines frequent flier alliance.

And for Miami travelers, it’s unlikely that much will change at any point. American and regional carrier American Eagle handled 68 percent of traffic at the airport last year, while US Airways accounted for just 2 percent. American boasts 328 flights to 114 destinations from Miami.

“We don’t expect any substantial changes at MIA if the merger occurs because our traffic is largely driven by the strength of the Miami market and not the airlines serving it,” said airport spokesman Greg Chin.

American has said for more than a year that its long-term plan calls for increasing departures at key hubs, including Miami, by 20 percent. That pledge has already started to materialize; in recent months, the airline has added new service to Asuncion, Paraguay and Roatán, Honduras.

During its bankruptcy restructuring, about 400 American employees lost jobs, leaving American and its regional carrier, American Eagle, with 9,894 employees in Miami-Dade County and 43 in Fort Lauderdale. US Airways has few employees in the area.

“It really isn’t going to affect Miami in a very major way anytime soon,” said Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant in Evergreen, Colo. “Only because US Airways isn’t a big player in South Florida.”

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, American and US Airways combined would still only be the fifth-largest airline after Southwest, Spirit, JetBlue and Delta, a spokesman said. The two airlines have little overlap in routes from Fort Lauderdale.

Despite the lack of major changes, Boyd said the merger would be a good development for Miami.

“It should be positive for the employees and it should be positive for the communities that the airlines serve,” he said.

Robert Herbst, an independent airline analyst and consultant, said US Airways will add a “significant amount” of destinations in the Northeast, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

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Jewish liturgical music festival continues through Sunday

The Fifth International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music is being celebrated in Miami through Sunday. It will feature new works from composers from throughout the United States, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom. The music reflects a diverse range of musical styles and traditions.

The six-day festival is presented by Shalshelet: The Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music and will include school and youth workshops and Shalshelet composers in residence at area congregations over Shabbat.

The main festival events will include workshops from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, 20350 NE 26th Ave., and the Festival Concert at 7 p.m.

As a part of the festival, composer Raquel Pomerantz Gershon, who is known for her uplifting, original take on Jewish sacred music, will sing her own songs and traditional prayers in the Kabbalat Shabbat service at 6 p.m. Friday at Beth David Congregaton, 2625 SW Third Ave. The service will be followed by a Shabbat dinner.

Gershon started composing songs in her teens and has won awards at past Shalshelet festivals. She has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Israel. She has recorded three CDs, including "Jerusalem on My Mind," and lives in Dallas with her husband Rabbi Bill Gershon and their three children.

For more information on the Kabbalat service and the dinner following the service, call 305-854-3911 or go to www.bethdavidmiami.org.

Wenski to say Mass for members of religious orders

Archbishop Thomas Wenski will celebrate a thanksgiving Mass for all consecrated men and women, who have chosen religious life. The Mass will be at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary Cathedral, 7525 NW Second Ave. The Archdiocese of Miami will also celebrate those who this year will celebrate their 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of consecrated life.

Also, on Feb. 24, the 2013 Archbishop's Motorcycle Poker Run will take place at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Catholic Church at 7500 SW 152nd St. in Palmetto Bay.

The event starts at 8 a.m. with Mass; registration at 9 a.m., and Kick Stands up at 9:30 a.m., with the poker run concluding at Peterson's Harley Davidson, 19400 NW Second Ave in Miami Gardens.

Registration is $25 for rider entrance fee, and includes a commemorative T-shirt. The winning hand receives a $500 Peterson's Harley Davidson gift card. Proceeds will benefit Catholic Charities and St. Luke's Center.

Art exhibit highlights graffiti

Catalyst, a program geared toward reaching out to the hip-hop youth culture in Miami and its sponsor, Greater Miami Youth For Christ, will have its first Graffiti Art Exhibit from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday at Pyramid Art Studios, 8890 SW 129th Terr in The Falls Art District.

Vivian Stigale, Catalyst spokeswoman said the exhibit is called "26," and will feature the work of 26 different street artists.

"It takes much skill, dedication and strength to do graffiti — aerosol art and street-style murals — and is often misunderstood and is frequently criminalized," Stigale said.

The Catalyst program, founded nearly a decade ago in Miami Springs by Joel Stigale, allows emcees, break dancers, graffiti artists and DJs to practice their art in a safe, drug-free environment while being challenged to embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ.

For more information call Bonnie Rodriguez or Vivian Stigale at 305-271-2442.

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Artists You Should Know: Emeli Sande

British recording artist and songwriter Emeli Sandé is already making waves in the UK and hopes to become the latest in a growing list of British musicians that have taken over the world in recent times. Her debut album Our Version of Events is the UK's biggest selling album of 2012 and with her lyrically rich songs powered by an incredible voice, I have no doubt she is the next Global superstar. I recently chatted with Emeli before her gig at the ChapStick Sessions Concert in partnership with MySpace. Check out our full interview below and be sure to watch the concert footage above for a special performance of her latest single, Next To Me.

PICS: Candid Celeb Sightings

ETonline: You are one of music's rising stars, have a number one album (UK) for Our Version of Events, sang at the open and closing of the Olympics, and a new hit single Next To Me, how has the ride to fame been for you?

Emeli: It definitely feels surreal. It's been an incredible year and so much has happened that I didn't expect to happen so quickly. It's definitely been the type of year that you dream about as a kid so I'm very happy.

How much would you say your life has changed?

Dramatically it's definitely changed a lot. But I try to keep grounded by just focusing on the music so that part hasn't changed. But day to day it's so busy and you have less and less time to have alone and to write but it's all good that's why you do it in the first place.

A lot of wonderful talent has emerged from the UK in recent years so I've got to ask you, what's in the water over there??

(Laughs) Yeah I'm not sure! It feels like a really good time and I'm really proud to be part of this kind of new generation of musicians that are doing something quite creative. I think we all feel kind of free to experiment with different genres and it's such a small place so we all know each other and can learn from one another.

Tell me about your writing process. Are certain types of songs more easily driven by a lyric or music?

Sometimes when I play something on piano, the tone of it can inspire a feeling. But usually it's a concept that will pop in to my mind or a phrase or if I'm reading something it will spark something or a different way of thinking about the same subject. Usually it's the words but sometimes when I sit at the piano it all falls into place.

What would you say is your favorite lyric you've ever written?

I really like "when the floor is more familiar than the ceiling," just because whenever I sing that lyric I imagine somebody stuck to the floor, someone stuck to the ceiling. I've always been inspired by people that can make you see things so clearly with few words. And that's what I try to channel when I'm writing.

Is there any artist you're hoping to collaborate with in the future? Who are you currently listening to?

I think Drake is amazing lyrically; he's really doing something different I think. I love Frank Ocean as well. There's a lot of new people too, Ed Sheeran ... there's a lot of people I think are great. I love Rihanna, everyone does, and I think what she's doing is very honest and I really respect that.

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Buy hard

Jennifer Gould Keil

GIMME SHELTER

Bruce Willis is back on movie screens with “A Good Day to Die Hard” and he’s back on the Upper West Side, too.

Willis, who once lived on Central Park West with then-wife Demi Moore, is in contract to buy a co-op at the famed El Dorado building at 300 Central Park West for $8 million.

The three-bedroom, four-bathroom unit, which was listed for $8.695 million, offers plenty of space for Willis, wife Emma Heming and daughter Mabel Ray, who turns 1 in April. The living room, dining room and master suite face the park, and there’s also a “massive” windowed eat-in kitchen and a 38-foot formal gallery that’s “ideal for exhibiting art.”

FilmMagic

Bruce Willis

Getty Images

Meg Ryan

The building is a 1931 Art Deco structure created by architect Emory Roth. Amenities include a gym and a mini basketball court.

Levitt or leave it

Dede Sheoris-Levitt, ex-wife of hedge-funder Michael Levitt, has sold the gargantuan home she once shared with her husband at 4 Stone Tower Drive in Alpine, NJ, for $13.3 million — down from its $18.5 million asking price.

The 23,000-square-foot mansion comes with a gym, theater, two-lane bowling alley, nine-car garage, elevator, pool, spa, putting green and a tennis court. There’s also a 2,000-square-foot guest or staff house and a pool house.

The buyer is Joe Scott, who owns Mayrich Construction. Listing broker Dolores McCormack of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty declined to comment.

Scott has sold his home at 2 Margo Way in Alpine for $20 million to a mystery Russian buyer. Listing broker Rosemarie Campi of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty declined to comment.

We hear . . .

That music mogul Lyor Cohen is looking to buy a family-size residence on the Upper West Side. He recently checked out a $15.95 million unit at the Majestic at 115 Central Park West. He loves the neighborhood, our spies say, but not the layout of the unit he saw.

Fifth have

Billionaire Marc Rowan, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, and wife Carolyn have put their three-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom first-floor co-op at 927 Fifth Ave. on the market for $16 million.

They bought the space (which was previously owned by late plastic surgeon Robert Schwager, who had his office there) in May for $7.7 million. The unit has been converted into a 4,000-plus-square-foot, loft-style unit with a great room, Central Park views and 10-foot ceilings. There’s a pool table, a glass and stone bar and a “media wall.” The chef’s kitchen comes with a wine cooler and a sliding glass door, along with an “extra large” pantry.

It’s all set in a 12-story limestone-clad 1925 building with one apartment per floor — designed by Warren & Wetmore, the primary architects of Grand Central Terminal.

The listing agents are Douglas Elliman’s Kim Shepard-Fabrizi and Sandra Ripert (wife of Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert).

The Rowans aren’t leaving the building. In December, they bought a fifth-floor apartment from Claire Edersheim, the widow of financier Maurits Edersheim. They also own a sixth-floor spread in the building.

Meg’s moves

Meg Ryan’s uptown home hunt continues. The actress just returned to “You’ve Got Mail” territory when she saw a $8.75 million brownstone at 126 W. 87th St.

The residence, which dates back to 1888, features a front parlor with 12 1/2-foot ceilings. The top story includes an 18-foot ceiling, a skylight and front and back terraces. Listing broker Deborah Sabec of Town Residential declined to comment.

As Gimme Shelter previously reported, Ryan, who’s been renting in SoHo, recently had a broker inquire about a 907 Fifth Ave. apartment, as well.

Rest of the West

The last sponsor unit is now on the market at Extell Development’s 535 West End Ave. The full-floor condo is priced at $19.5 million and was previously packaged with an upper unit as a $37.5 million penthouse duplex, but the upper floor sold separately for $22 million.

Matt Damon (who at the time was living on a West 87th Street Belnord rental with his family) bid on the upper floor, but was outbid by a Wall Street family.

Brown Harris Stevens broker Lisa Lippman has the listing for the remaining unit.

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Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace coming to Dadeland as part of expansion wing

When Dadeland Mall opens its new expansion wing later this year, diners will be able to enjoy the first Bobby Flay Burger Palace in Florida and nearly a half dozen new dining options.

The highlight of the new two-story expansion is the outdoor terrace offering diners a view of the bustling Kendall Drive. This area aims to turn the mall into more of an entertainment destination, following a trend set years ago by others areas malls including Aventura Mall, Sawgrass Mills and Dolphin Mall.

The first phase of the 102,000 square foot expansion wing will open starting in May with the arrival of 18 new retailers, including Tommy Bahama, Hugo Boss, Microsoft, Stuart Weitzman, PUMA, Donald J Pliner, Porsche Design, Urban Outfitters, Express and Original Penguin.

The restaurants are expected to open in the fall.

The new wing, which was built on the site of the former Limited store location, is designed to open the mall up to Kendall Drive.

“It feels like a whole new Dadeland,” said Maria Prado, the mall’s general manager. “We’re going to have that entertainment component that we’ve been missing. This is going to take us to the next level and give people more reason to come and stay longer.”

Joining Chef Bobby Flay’s restaurant will be Aoki Teppanyaki, Balans, Earls Kitchen + Bar and Aroma Espresso Bar located on the ground floor. Aoki Teppanyaki is the first of a new concept by Kevin Aoki, the son of Benihana’s late founder Rocky Aoki. Earls is an upscale casual dining chain based out of Canada and this will be its first location on the east coast.

Aoki’s restaurant, which is designed to feel like a Kyoto-style Japanese Village, will include teppanyaki tables, a sushi bar and sake bar.

“It’s a tribute to my father and all his hard work in creating Benihana,” Kevin Aoki said. “I’m not trying to compete with Benihana. I’m trying to open a restaurant and create excitement using the things I’ve learned from my father and my experience.”

A spokesman for Bobby Flay said he chose Dadeland for his first Florida location because of the traffic and demographics in the area. This is the beginning of plans by Flay to expand Bobby’s Burger Palace to other locations in South Florida.

The other new retailers coming to Dadeland: Vince Camuto, Tesla Motors, Everything But Water, Fit2Run, babycottons, Luggage & More and ALO Diamonds.

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Michigan woman dies during Keys diving excursion

A Michigan woman died Tuesday while diving off Key Largo, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said.

Donna Hartson, 64, of Sterling Heights was aboard the commercial dive vessel Silent World 4 with her husband, Leroy, and six other divers, Deputy Becky Herrin said. They were diving to the Benwood, a wreck off Key Largo, between 2 and 3 p.m.

According to the vessel’s captain, the divers were in the water for about 40 minutes. They were getting ready to go to another location when Hartson surfaced and the captain saw her signaling for help.

When the vessel reached her, she didn’t respond. People aboard pulled her onto the boat, began CPR and called the U.S. Coast Guard to report the trouble.

When the Silent World 4 reached the Port Largo subdivision, it was met by deputies and paramedics. Hartson was taken to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was planned.

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Brill sold to tune of $185M

Lois Weiss

BETWEEN THE BRICKS

Eric
Hadar has signed a contract to buy the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway for $185 million.

The sellers are Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden’s Stonehenge Partners, along with Invesco of Texas.

Hadar and Abraham Merchant and Richard Cohn of Merchants Property Group, signed a contract to buy the building last week, sources said.

The direct deal is being completed without brokers and may have begun as a retail play.

Sources said the group intends to bring the 175,000-square-foot building back to its roots with pre-builts targeting budding music and entertainment companies. Colony Records recently vacated the retail portion of the building; with a spread from the basement to the third floor of more than 45,000 square feet, it could be the most valuable portion of the asset.

In its 1950s and ’60s heyday, the building’s offices were filled with agents, publishers and rehearsal studios.

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon still maintains his office there.

No one could be reached for comment at press time.

Once an active investor, Hadar previously owned both the Citigroup Building and the LVMH Building at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue.

*

A downtown dorm currently used by Pace University is on the market through Jimmy Kuhn, David Kolan and Lawrence “Chip” Porter at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. The former office building at 55 John St., and its income stream, could bring in $90 million for seller Yitzchak Tessler.

The dorm is entirely leased to Educational Housing Services, which has an agreement to provide Pace with 285 fully furnished dorm rooms. Not like the dorm rooms you lived in years ago, these all have flat-panel TVs with built-in game consoles, small desks, captain’s beds and full-size refrigerators.

There is also a small H&R Block office on the ground floor for when the students graduate and finally earn some dough to pay back their loans.

*

We just got a first look at the Real Estate Board of New York’s nominations for the most ingenious sales, leasing and financing deals of the year.

We’ll be reviewing the deals in more detail in The Post’s March 5 commercial real-estate special, and the coveted “Oscars” of the industry will be awarded on April 23.

The deals include: the sale of CUNY’s 20 East End Ave. and relocation to a tax-exempt office condo, submitted by Studley’s Ira Schuman, Daniel O. Horowitz and David Carlos; the sale of 88 Leonard St. by brokers Helen Hwang and Nat Rockett of Cushman & Wakefield; the purchase of a condominium by Y&R at 3 Columbus Circle by CBRE’s Mary Ann Tighe and Gregory Tosko; a flea market-to-flagship sale of 144 Spring Street by broker Christopher Owles of Sinvin Realty; the sale of 525 Broadway back to its original owner by ABS Partners Real Estate brokers Alan S. Cohen and Gregg L. Schenker.

Leases include: the pact for the New York Genome Center at 101 Ave. of the Americas by Bill Harvey of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and Daniel Segal, now with Orchard Real Estate Partners; Chadbourne & Parke’s lease at 1301 Ave. of the Americas by Moshe Sukenik, Barry Gosin and Chris Mongeluzo of Newmark; leases at 11 Times Square by Jones Lang LaSalle’s Mitchell Konsker, Paul Glickman and Matthew Astrachan; the lease of newly built 33 Beekman St. by Pace University through Newmark’s David A. Falk and Kyle J. Ciminelli; the Havas lease in Hudson Square by the Newmark team of David A. Falk, Jason T. Greenstein and Frank Kajon; the Viacom renewal at 1515 Broadway by the CBRE team of Michael R. Laginestra, Scott L. Gottlieb and Andrew J. Sussman; and a lease for Times Square Capital at 7 Times Square from CBRE team Ben Friedland and Silvio Petriello.

Both sides of Morgan Stanley’s 11.2 million-square-foot lease at One New York Plaza were nominated. The tenant’s team was Barry M. Gosin, Brian S. Waterman and Romel Canete of Newmark, while the Brookfield Office Properties’ agent was Duncan McCuaig.

Finance entries included the financing for 837 Washington St. through HFF’s Evan Pariser; 50 Oceana Drive West in Brighton Beach by The Singer & Bassuk Organization’s Scott A. Singer and Jeffrey Moroch; 1515 Broadway by HFF’s team of Whitney Wilcox and Michael Tepedino; HSBC Tower’s refinancing by the Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group’s Shawn Rosenthal; and 542-580 Second Ave. through NY Urban’s Chris Lama.

Lois@Betweenthebricks.com

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South Florida group commits to investing in U.S. Century Bank

U.S. Century Bank has signed off on its deal to recapitalize with cash from a high-profile group of local investors, allowing the Doral bank to remain independent.

The investment team, led by brothers Jimmy and Kenny Tate of Tate Capital, Sergio Rok of Rok Enterprises and Jorge Perez of Related Group, has expertise in buying distressed assets and promises to fortify U.S. Century to give it a financial foundation for success.

“We believe that our group, coupled with the additional investors we’re bringing in, will prove to be the proper brain trust needed in order to clean up the past and build a beautiful bank in the future,” said Jimmy Tate, 49.

The “handpicked” group is composed of about 10 prominent South Florida business leaders with substantial experience, who will each be making a significant investment, said Tate, who did not yet have their approvals to name them all, but said he hopes to soon.

“They are the leading businessmen in South Florida, and they are philanthropic, and they have South Florida at heart,” he said. “And they are very excited about this endeavor because they believe, as I believe, that there is a strong demand for a well-capitalized community bank that serves the banking needs of the local community.”

As part of the deal, the group will pump $50 million in capital into U.S. Century, becoming majority owners. In addition, the group will pay about $90 million to buy certain loans, including all $98 million of U.S. Century’s non-performing loans. The deal will also provide for a negotiated amount of more than $5 million to be paid to the federal government for U.S. Century’s $50.2 million in TARP funds, said U.S. Century President and Chief Executive Carlos J. Dávila.

“I certainly think this will be a very positive transaction for all the major stakeholders, meaning the community, the shareholders and our employees,” Dávila said.

U.S. Century’s 441 existing shareholders will remain as stockholders, though their percentage of ownership will shrink. Those shareholders will have the option to invest additional capital along with the new group, Dávila said.

The deal is the culmination of years of searching for capital for struggling U.S. Century, whose agreement to be bought by C1 Bank of St. Petersburg was called off by C1 in December.

U.S. Century, a Hispanic-oriented bank that opened in 2002, has been operating under a regulatory consent order since June 2011, which has mandated that it raise capital, among other issues.

The new deal, which is now under a signed letter of intent, should bring the bank “close” to regulators’ requirement of an 8 percent capital ratio, Dávila said.

“For a bank that is in distress or under a consent order where there is a requirement to raise capital, the terms and conditions of this deal are extremely reasonable and fair for the existing shareholders,” he said.

Furthermore, U.S. Century, with $1 billion in assets and 24 branches, now will get a new shot at life as one of the only remaining locally owned community banks of its size. Others, like City National Bank of Florida and BankAtlantic have been sold in recent years to foreign owners or larger U.S. banks.

Tate and his team have been working on the deal since January, after first making an unsolicited offer while the C1 deal was under way.

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Lauderhill police identify women killed in weekend crash

Lauderhill police on Monday released the names of two women killed in a weekend crash.

The driver was identified as Marie Pierre, 56, and her passenger was Valerie Duncan, 52.

Both were taken to Broward General Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.

Police say the accident occurred at Oakland Park Boulevard and Northwest 56th Avenue when Pierre, driving a silver Toyota Rav4, apparently swerved to avoid another vehicle entering the intersection around 10:45 p.m. Friday.

Pierre lost control when her westbound vehicle struck a second car, then slammed into a large traffic signal pole near the waterfall in the northwest corner, according to Lauderhill Police.

The women were on their way to their jobs as nursing assistants at the Sunrise Rehabilitation Center in Sunrise.

“They had to be at work at 11 p.m.,” said Duncan’s husband Paget Duncan. “They had plenty of time. They were not speeding.’’

Duncan said police told him the car that entered the intersection did so because the traffic light was malfunctioning and did not change.

Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to contact the Lauderhill police at 954-497-4700.

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Bachelor Recap Sean's Sister Provides Perspective on Tierra

Apparently there is one girl whose words have weight enough to sway The Bachelor from his affections for Tierra, and that's his sister Shay.

One week prior to the all-important hometown dates, Sean flies his sister to St. Croix to help him work out his feelings for the remaining six. Harking back to her sage, sisterly advice before he embarked on his Bachelor adventure, Shay tells Sean not to "end up with a girl no one likes." The words strike a painful chord with him seeing as Tierra's alienation from the other ladies is no longer a secret.

Pics: 'The Bachelor' Scorecard (Did the Relationships Sizzle or Fizzle?)

Inspired to test his sister's intuition, Sean decides to introduce Tierra to his sibling, but when he arrives to the ladies' hotel, the resident mean girl is found weeping after an all-out war of words with AshLee. At first dismayed by her pain, Sean comes to realize the humane thing to do would be to send Tierra home, fearing she won't be able to handle the more stressful weeks ahead.

"I can't believe they did this to me!" are Tierra's departing words as she is sent packing. "I hope the girls got what they wanted."

During the final rose ceremony in St. Croix, Lesley is cut loose from the remaining five. Despite their incredible connection and friendship, Sean worries that the relationship had gone stagnant.

Pics: Meet 'Bachelor' Sean Lowe's Lucky Ladies!

A confused, crying Catherine takes Lesley's elimination especially hard as she believed that Sean and Les, in her opinion, were better suited for eachother than she will ever be with Mr. Lowe.

Next Monday on ABC, Desiree, Lindsay, Catherine and AshLee will get to introduce their maybe-husband-to-be to the family, but it seems the hometown dates don't go over as well for Des in particular, whose protective brother appears unwilling to accept her "playboy" boyfriend.

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Bus strike: ayor Mike wins

Michael Benjamin

This afternoon, it will be checkmate for the school-bus strikers. The strike essentially ends — thanks to the Bloomberg gambit.

The mayor played it perfectly, and willingly sacrificed pieces to achieve his endgame.

At midday today, the Office of Pupil Transportation will open the bid packages for the K-12 school-bus routes. It can start service under the new contracts before September — though not as soon as parents hope, since the contracts must go through the city’s lengthy review process. Still, those bids are what the strike was supposed to stop.

AP

Losers: Local 1181 boss Michael Cordiello (r.) with International ATU chief Larry Hanley.

But yesterday, in a bid to be competitive, several bus companies went to court to void the employee protections in current contracts and to halt the new bids.

If that suit fails, a mix of new and currently-contracted bus companies will likely win contracts. Meanwhile, a number of bus companies with current contracts will probably decline to submit bids, because their union contracts would leave them uncompetitive. Their unionized employees, now on strike, would be out of jobs as of June 30.

For these workers, the only rational decision will be to return to work. Already in the last few days, workers have crossed union picket lines to return to their jobs.

After today (assuming the bus companies’ suit fails), it will make sense for more striking drivers and attendants to return for their last few months of pay and benefits, especially their health-care coverage. And it makes even more sense for these workers to seek work with the new companies.

In a sense, the worker-protection bubble finally burst. Small bus companies and their workers are collateral victims; the worker protections put those companies, already operating on a slim margin, at a competitive disadvantage.

When the city, citing court rulings, put out for bid new bus contracts that didn’t require the employee protections (as these contracts had for 35 years), that didn’t mean the bus companies could break their contracts with the unions to provide those priveleges. That left them handicapped in bidding, since they’d have higher labor costs than firms without the generous protections.

To stay competitive, the companies needed the union to work with them to lower costs. But the union instead went on strike — trying to force Bloomberg to retain the protections, and even to get the state to pass a new law to undo the court ruling.

When the National Labor Relations Board this month failed to force even a temporary resolution favorable to the union, the end was in sight.

Mind you, Mayor Bloomberg sacrificed a number of chess pieces to achieve his endgame.

Parents, especially of special-needs children, are angry at him for four weeks of educational disruption. The stress on special-needs kids is incalculable. The city schools lose federal funding for students who couldn’t attend during the strike.

Bloomberg alienated the bus company operators — who feel caught in the middle of the dispute — by not paying them for service they didn’t (couldn’t) deliver during the strike.

Finally, after more than a decade of fairly good labor relations, he will be remembered for breaking one union’s hold on an industry.

Bloomberg’s bold gambit will benefit his successors, who won’t be saddled with needlessly high school-busing costs.

If the city’s lucky, the mayor in his final months in office will use similar gambits to tackle some of the much larger union-benefit issues that are consuming ever-larger chunks of the municipal budget.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Green cards for sale at a South Beach hotel: Competition is on for EB5 investment visas

If David Hart gets his way, South Beach’s 42-room Astor Hotel will be on a hiring spree this year as it adds concierge service, a roof-top pool, an all-night diner, spa and private-car service available 24 hours a day.

New hires will be crucial to Hart’s business plan, since foreign investors have agreed to pay about $50,000 for each job created by the Art Deco boutique.

The Miami immigration lawyer specializes in arranging visas for wealthy foreign citizens under a special program that trades green cards for investment dollars. Businesses get the money and must use it to boost payroll. The minimum investment is $500,000 to add at least 10 jobs to the economy. That puts the pressure on Hart and his partners at the Astor to beef up payroll dramatically, with plans to take a hotel with roughly 20 employees to one with as many as 100 workers.

“My primary responsibility is to make something happen here over the next two years that will create the jobs we need,’’ Hart said a few steps away from a nearly empty restaurant on a recent weekday morning. “It’s all going to be transformed.”

Though established in the 1990s, the “EB5” visas soared in popularity during the recession as developers sought foreign cash to replace dried-up credit markets in the United States.

Chinese investors dominate the transactions, accounting for about 65 percent of the nearly 9,000 EB5 visas granted since 2006. South Korea finishes a distant second at 12 percent and the United Kingdom holds the third-place slot at 3 percent. If Latin America and the Caribbean were one country, they would rank No. 4 on the list, with 231 EB5 visas granted, or about 3 percent of the total.

Competition has gotten stiffer for the deep-pocketed foreign investors willing to pay for green cards. The University of Miami’s bio-science research park near the Jackson hospital system raised $20 million from 40 foreign investors under the EB5 program, most of them from Asia. The money went into the park’s first building; visa brokers are waiting to see if the second building will proceed so they can offer a new pool of potential green-card sales.

In Hollywood, the stalled $131 million Margaritaville resort had hoped to raise about $75 million from EB5 investors before ditching that plan last year to pursue more traditional financing. A retail complex by developer Jeff Berkowitz in Coral Gables also launched a program to raise $50 million in EB5 money for the project, Gables Station. Hart worked with other EB5 investors to back pizza restaurants in Miami and South Beach. A limestone mine in Martin County also was backed by EB5 dollars.

This year, the city of Miami itself is expected to get into the business by setting up an EB5 program to raise foreign cash for a range of city businesses and developments. The first would be the tallest building in the city — developer Tibor Hollo’s planned 85-story apartment tower, the Panorama, in downtown Miami.

With a construction cost of about $700 million, Miami’s debut EB5 venture hopes to raise about $100 million from foreign investors, said Laura Reiff, the Greenberg Traurig lawyer in Virginia working with Miami on the EB5 effort. “This is a marquis project,’’ she said.

The arrangement is a novel one for Miami, with the city planning to help a private developer raise funds overseas for a new high-rise. And it would allow Hollo and future participants to tout the city of Miami’s endorsement when competing with other Miami-area projects for EB5 dollars. “We will have the benefit of the brand of the city of Miami,’’ said Mikki Canton, the $6,000-a-month city consultant heading Miami’s EB5 effort. “A lot of these others are privately owned and they won’t have that brand.”

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Carnival cruise ship in Gulf of Mexico to be towed after engine fire

A Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico with 3,000 passengers onboard will be towed to port after an engine fire Sunday morning left it drifting, a cruise line official said,

The fire occurs in the engine room of the Carnival Triumph, which is owned by the Miami-based company.

The fire left the ship with no propulsion, the cruise line says, CNN is reporting.

There were no injuries reported. Passengers and crew have food, water and electricity from generators. Another Carnival ship, the Elation, is transferring more food and drinks onto the Triumph

The cruise ship was in waters off the Yucatan Peninsula, heading back to Galveston, Tx., when the fire occurred, said Astevia Gonzalez from the Carnival Cruises family support team.

The ship's automatic fire extinguishing system kicked in and soon contained the blaze.

The fire still left the ship passengers and 1,000 crew members drifting about 150 miles off the Mexican coast, the cruise line said in a statement.

"The ship's technical crew has determined the vessel will need to be towed to port," Carnival said around 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday, CNN said. "A tugboat is en route to the ship's location and will tow the vessel to Progreso, Mexico, which is the closest port."

According to Gonzalez, the ship is expected to arrive in port Wednesday.

After they are towed to Progreso, those aboard the Carnival Triumph will be flown back to the United States at no cost to them, the cruise line said.

They will also get a full refund, credit that can be used toward a future trip and reimbursement for all expenses — except casino and gift shop purchases — for their current trip.

The vessel's next two departures, scheduled for Monday and Saturday, have been canceled. Those slated to be on those trips will get full refunds and discounts toward future cruises, the cruise line said.

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2013 Grammy Awards Recap

Mumford & Sons, Gotye & Kimbra, Kelly Clarkson, Zac Brown Band and Fun. were just a few of the big winners at the 55th annual Grammy Awards telecast, hosted by LL Cool J and broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Read on for the recap...

For the Complete List of Winners CLICK HERE.

The Winners

Album of the Year went to Babel by Mumford & Sons; Record of the Year went to Gotye & Kimbra's Somebody That I Used To Know; Fun. won Best New Artist, and their We Are Young (featuring Janelle Monae) was named Song of the Year; Kelly Clarkson's Stronger was named Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Country Album was awarded to Zac Brown Band's Uncaged.

Other big accolades handed out during Sunday night's telecast went to Carrie Underwood (Best Country Solo Performance: Blown Away); Frank Ocean was the Best Urban Contemporary Album Winner for Channel Orange; The Black Keys earned Best Rock Performance for Lonely Boy; Best Rap/Sung Collaboration went to No Church in the Wild by Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream; and Adele nabbed Best Pop Solo Performance for Set Fire to the Rain (Live).

Pics: Grammy Hit-or-Miss Fashions

The Music

Taylor Swift opened the show with the wild circus-themed We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together; Ed Sheeran and Elton John teamed up for Sheeran's The A Team; Fun. sang Carry On; Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert sang Over You and Home; Miguel sang Adorn; Mumford & Sons, introduced by Johnny Depp, strummed I Will Wait; Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z went black-and-white for the rappin' 'n' groovin' Suit & Tie, followed with JT's new Pusher Love Girl; Alicia Keys and Maroon 5 united to perform Girl on Fire and Daylight; Rihanna crooned Stay with newcomer Mikky Ekko; The Black Keys were joined by Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a rousing version of Lonely Boy; Kelly Clarkson sang a beautiful rendition of Tennessee Waltz in honor of the late Patti Page, then knocked Carol King's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman out of the park; Sting joined Bruno Mars to sing Bruno's toe-tappin', reggae-tinged Locked Out of Heaven and The Police's Walking on the Moon, then Rihanna and Ziggy Marley took the stage to tribute Bob Marley with Could You Be Loved...

The Lumineers got the audience on their feet for Ho Hey; Jack White and Ruby Amanfu rocked Love Interruption, then erupted with Freedom at 21; Hunter Hayes played Wanted, and Carrie Underwood belted out Blown Away and Two Black Cadillacs; Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea and Kenny Garrett paid tribute to the late, great Dave Brubeck with Take Five; Elton John dedicated a tribute to the late Levon Helm, The Weight, to Levon and the late children of Sandy Hook, singing with gospel queen Mavis Staples, T-Bone Burnett, Brittany Howard of The Alabama Shakes and Mumford & Sons; Juanes performed Elton's Your Song in English and Spanish; Frank Ocean ran with Forrest Gump;  and to close the evening, LL Cool J put on his rapper cap with Chuck D, Tom Morello, Z-Trip and Travis Barker for the pumped-up (I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind) and No Sleep Till Brooklyn tribute to the late Adam Yauch.

Video: Music Stars Share Their Biggest Influences

Other Highlights

LL Cool J kept the proceedings swift and social-media current, calling the event "Music's biggest and most tweeted night," while pointing out, "A Grammy isn't just a shiny thing to hold onto, a Grammy is a dream come true." He also made sure to call out hashtags throughout the night to keep the conversation going, a Grammy first.

Those remembered in memoriam included Dave Brubeck, Andy Williams, Donna Summer, Chuck Brown, Robin Gibb, Patti Page, Earl Scruggs, Davy Jones, Dick Clark, Herb Reed, Andy Griffith, Marvin Hamlisch, Patty Andrews, Jenni Rivera, Doc Watson, Ravi Shankar, Adam Yauch and Levon Helm.

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Wheels coming off

Betsy McCaughey

The central parts of ObamaCare don’t roll out until 2014, but the wheels are already falling off this clunker. The latest news from four federal agencies is that 1) insurance will be a lot less affordable than Americans were led to expect, 2) fewer people than promised will get insurance and 3) millions of people who have coverage through a job now will lose it, thanks to the president’s “reforms.” Oh, and children are the biggest victims.

The Affordable Care Act is looking less and less affordable.

Start with the IRS’s new estimate for what the cheapest family plan will cost by 2016: $20,000 a year to cover two adults and three kids. And that will only cover 60 percent of medical bills, so add hefty out-of-pocket costs, too.

The next surprise is for parents who thought their kids would be covered by an employer. Sloppy wording in the law left that unclear until last week, when the IRS ruled that kids won’t be covered.

Starting in 2014, the law will require employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer coverage or pay a penalty. “Affordable” coverage, that is — meaning the employee can’t be told to contribute more than 9.5 percent of his salary. For example, a worker earning $40,000 a year cannot be required to pay more than $3.800.

But the law doesn’t specifically mandate family coverage — and now the administration says that won’t be required.

You can see why: If the lowest-cost family plan (again, two adults and three kids) is to run a whopping $20,000, and if the employee’s contribution is limited to $3,800, the employer’s tab would be $16,200 — adding about $7.40 an hour to the cost of that employee. Wisely, the IRS announced on Jan. 30 that employers won’t have to pay for dependents.

But the Congressional Budget Office’s much-cited prediction that ObamaCare would leave only 30 million people uninsured by 2016 was based on the assumption that kids would be covered by employers. At the very least, employers insuring their workers for the first time to avoid the penalty are unlikely to do that.

So how will the kids be covered? They won’t. The IRS shocked the law’s advocates by announcing that the insurance exchanges won’t provide subsidies for a child whose parent is covered at work.

Nor will these parents be penalized for not insuring their children — the IRS will kindly consider the kids exempt from the mandate.

Also exempt are millions of people who’ll stay uninsured because their state is wisely choosing not to loosen Medicaid eligibility.

Some background: Despite President Obama’s promises to help solve the problem of the uninsured by making private health plans more affordable, the law expands coverage mainly by forcing states to loosen their Medicaid eligibility rules. But the Supreme Court ruled that the feds can’t command states in this way.

At first, the CBO said that ruling would only prevent 4 million people from gaining coverage — but more states than it expected are refusing to go along; it could well be 8 million more without coverage.

Oh, and the CBO last week also doubled its previous estimate on how many people will lose the health coverage they now get through work, upping the figure to 8 million by 2016 and 12 million by 2019. Several top consulting firms put the figures even higher.

Yet the biggest setback is that most states are refusing to set up insurance exchanges. The exchanges are supposed to sell the government-mandated plans and hand out taxpayer-funded subsidies to most enrollees.

Here’s the glitch. The law says that in states that refuse, the federal government can set up an exchange. But the law empowers only state exchanges, not federal ones, to hand out subsidies. The Obama administration says it will disregard the law and offer subsidies in all 50 states anyway, but the case will likely go to the Supreme Court.

If the courts uphold the clear language of the law, then some 8 million people in the affected states won’t be eligible for subsidies to cover that $20,000 (or more) insurance bill. That’s another 8 million without coverage.

All in all, at least 40 million people could be uninsured in 2016, only 9 million fewer than before the law was passed.

Expect the momentum for repealing this law to grow as its flaws, perverse incentives and faulty predictions come to light.

Betsy McCaughey is the author of “Beating ObamaCare.”

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Green cards for sale at a South Beach hotel: Competition is on for EB5 investment visas

If David Hart gets his way, South Beach’s 42-room Astor Hotel will be on a hiring spree this year as it adds concierge service, a roof-top pool, an all-night diner, spa and private-car service available 24 hours a day.

New hires will be crucial to Hart’s business plan, since foreign investors have agreed to pay about $50,000 for each job created by the Art Deco boutique.

The Miami immigration lawyer specializes in arranging visas for wealthy foreign citizens under a special program that trades green cards for investment dollars. Businesses get the money and must use it to boost payroll. The minimum investment is $500,000 to add at least 10 jobs to the economy. That puts the pressure on Hart and his partners at the Astor to beef up payroll dramatically, with plans to take a hotel with roughly 20 employees to one with as many as 100 workers.

“My primary responsibility is to make something happen here over the next two years that will create the jobs we need,’’ Hart said a few steps away from a nearly empty restaurant on a recent weekday morning. “It’s all going to be transformed.”

Though established in the 1990s, the “EB5” visas soared in popularity during the recession as developers sought foreign cash to replace dried-up credit markets in the United States.

Chinese investors dominate the transactions, accounting for about 65 percent of the nearly 9,000 EB5 visas granted since 2006. South Korea finishes a distant second at 12 percent and the United Kingdom holds the third-place slot at 3 percent. If Latin America and the Caribbean were one country, they would rank No. 4 on the list, with 231 EB5 visas granted, or about 3 percent of the total.

Competition has gotten stiffer for the deep-pocketed foreign investors willing to pay for green cards. The University of Miami’s bio-science research park near the Jackson hospital system raised $20 million from 40 foreign investors under the EB5 program, most of them from Asia. The money went into the park’s first building; visa brokers are waiting to see if the second building will proceed so they can offer a new pool of potential green-card sales.

In Hollywood, the stalled $131 million Margaritaville resort had hoped to raise about $75 million from EB5 investors before ditching that plan last year to pursue more traditional financing. A retail complex by developer Jeff Berkowitz in Coral Gables also launched a program to raise $50 million in EB5 money for the project, Gables Station. Hart worked with other EB5 investors to back pizza restaurants in Miami and South Beach. A limestone mine in Martin County also was backed by EB5 dollars.

This year, the city of Miami itself is expected to get into the business by setting up an EB5 program to raise foreign cash for a range of city businesses and developments. The first would be the tallest building in the city — developer Tibor Hollo’s planned 85-story apartment tower, the Panorama, in downtown Miami.

With a construction cost of about $700 million, Miami’s debut EB5 venture hopes to raise about $100 million from foreign investors, said Laura Reiff, the Greenberg Traurig lawyer in Virginia working with Miami on the EB5 effort. “This is a marquis project,’’ she said.

The arrangement is a novel one for Miami, with the city planning to help a private developer raise funds overseas for a new high-rise. And it would allow Hollo and future participants to tout the city of Miami’s endorsement when competing with other Miami-area projects for EB5 dollars. “We will have the benefit of the brand of the city of Miami,’’ said Mikki Canton, the $6,000-a-month city consultant heading Miami’s EB5 effort. “A lot of these others are privately owned and they won’t have that brand.”

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