The Long Island Power Authority should be ashamed of themselves! According to The New York Post , they’ve sent millions of their customers ‘normal’ electric bills, as if Sandy and the power outages never even happened!?!? The clueless utility charged Sandy-soaked Long Island residents an estimated rate that covered the entire billing cycle, and the statements made no mention of potential refunds to account for the prolonged blackouts. Jonathan Saporta was slapped with a double whammy by the Long Island Power Authority — a $649 bill for the Long Beach home he left in October and a $281 bill for his new Great Neck pad. He also is expecting a $1,700 bill for his storm-ravaged restaurant, Jake’s Wayback Burger, which is in hard-hit Long Beach and remains without power. “I can’t get LIPA to acknowledge my existence on earth to talk to me about anything,” he ranted. “But I guess they had power, so they could print my bills. Nice, right?” Saporta, 33, moved to the Great Neck home on Oct. 1 and got the bill in the mail on Wednesday for a cycle covering 43 days — including the two weeks he spent in the dark following the Oct. 29 storm. Even though he switched his account to the new address on Sept. 26, he still received an e-mail bill for the Long Beach house on Nov. 10 — and somehow it was $390 more than the previous month. “I am not paying any of my bills, that much I promise,” said Saporta. “They can put me into collections, and I’ll fight them tooth-and-nail. “It’s simply criminal.” Michael Hilferty, 29, an attorney from Long Beach, was e-mailed his bill — which was about a dollar more than the previous month — as he chowed down on some turkey. “To get this message on Thanksgiving was crass and classless. It’s just heartless,” he said. His oceanfront building was flooded with 7 feet of water and inundated with 4 feet of sand, covering the LIPA meters. Hilferty left the apartment, which remains dark and boarded up, and has been staying in Connecticut. Yet he was hit for 29 days of electric usage, including delivery and system charges. David Wasserman, 40, of Merrick, tried to report online the difference between his actual and estimated electric usage. “I got some message that said, ‘Service records show your usage would be higher. Please call an operator for further assistance,’ ” he said. “No one ever picked up.” LIPA did not return repeated calls seeking comment. Con Ed, on the other hand, wants to refund its Manhattan customers who lost power $3 and customers from other boroughs who lost power $6, the utility proposed this week in a filing with the Public Service Commission. Those figures represent a portion of customers’ fixed monthly bills, which exclude power usage. This is just ridiculous. SMH Images via tumblr
See there’s this thing called iTunes… but apparently Nicki thinks all of her sales come from Walmart customers. Whining about the busted sales of her repackaged, old azz material, Nicki’s throwing stores like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart under the bus. According to The Huffington Post , Nicki admits that the re-release wasn’t even carried by some retailers: When asked in an interview with Power 105.1 if it was hard to purchase “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up,” Minaj responded, “It is hard to get the album because the stores basically said that the last few re-releases they had put out did not do well and they didn’t want to take a chance. So, Target and Walmart is not selling the album. Target is actually my biggest retailer — they’ve always been my biggest retailer. They’ve sold the most Nicki Minaj albums ever, so, thank you, Target. But I wish you could’ve sold this one.” Minaj continued, “Best Buy only took limited because they’re like ‘Oh no, we want to play it safe,’ so it’s very difficult and it kind of sets you up to fail.” The singer’s second album, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,” debuted at number one on Billboard with 253,000 copies sold in the album’s first week. The re-release, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up” hit stores on Nov. 19. “At the end of the day, I was happy I was able to put the music out,” Minaj said. Maybe it’s the quality that’s effecting your sales? Just sayin’. Images via WENN
O-O-O-O-O-Oppa Gangnam style! PSY’s Gangnam Style Becomes The Most Viewed YouTube Video Ever 34-year-old Korean Pop sensation, PSY, over took Justin Bieber as the artist with the most watched video in the history of YouTube with “Gangnam Style.” PSY rocketed to fame since his “Gangnam Style” video, which at one point was the #1 rap single in the country, became a worldwide hit following its release in July. Saturday it overtook Bieber’s hit single, “Baby” from his debut album, My World. Read more at Hip Hop Wired
Need some “Snow” for the holidays? Here ya go Young Jeezy Featuring Lil Lody “How It Feel” After dropping the video for his new song, “Get Right,” the Snowman strikes again with “How It Feel.” Young Jeezy enlists longtime production collaborator, Lil Lody, to play hypeman on this new joint called ,”How It Feel.” Jizzle has alluded to a new mixtape hitting the streets sooner than later with an album to follow up. Read more at Hip Hop Wired
Call her Bey-Casso cuz she’s nice with a brush! If Beyoncé ever decides to retire from the stage, she has a career as an artist ahead of her according to friend and fellow recording artist Alicia Keys. According to WENN reports : The “Crazy in Love” hitmaker stunned guests at a paint party Keys threw for her art collector husband Swizz Beatz by showing off her watercolor skills and the hostess is convinced the R&B superstar could make a living selling paintings. She says, “We had canvases everywhere and you did whatever you could – even if you could only splat paint on it… There was something so cool about that for people. Jay (Jay-Z) and B (Beyonce) came… Beyonce’s actually a really beautiful painter.” This actually isn’t the first we’ve heard of this talent. Bey talks about painting for relaxation’s sake all the time and back in February The UK Sun said she’d been honing her hobby at the urging of sister Solange: “Solange took painting lessons while living in Paris last year and has passed on tips to Beyonce and she’s really taken to it. “While her baby Blue Ivy is sleeping, she’s been getting the brushes out. “It’s a way for her to unwind. “She has already completed four canvases, including one of husband Jay-Z holding their daughter.” Would you buy a painting by BeyBey? WENN
Guess the joke is on us…?? Djimon Hounsou Admits That He And Kimora Lee Simmons Were Never Married As we reported earlier this week, Djimon and Kimora finally announced to the public that they are getting a “divorce” , but that isn’t exactly what is going to happen… According to PEOPLE It’s over for Djimon Hounsou and Kimora Lee Simmons. “Djimon Hounsou and Kimora Lee Simmons have officially separated after 5½ years,” the actor’s rep tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Though never married, they have one child together, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, who is 3½ years old.” “There have been quite a few hurtful rumors circulating. The truth is Djimon + I have been separated for some time,” Simmons Tweeted Wednesday. “We have remained happy, loving, co-parenting friends + family. We all have much to be thankful for.” Welp, at least there won’t be any long, drawn-out, divorce proceedings, and Djimon gets to keep the couple dollars that he came with. All’s well that ends well… Image via SplashNews
That’s just an estimate too because the overall cost for Sandy’s destruction is expected to rise. According to The Huffington Post : Superstorm Sandy caused at least $29.4 billion in overall damage in New Jersey, according to a preliminary analysis released by Governor Chris Christie’s office Friday. The estimate of the damage caused by the storm, which ravaged the Northeastern U.S. coastline late last month, includes personal property, business, infrastructure and utility damage, Christie said in a statement. The statement said the preliminary cost estimate is “inclusive of aid received to date and anticipated from federal sources,” including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration. Christie said it was a “conservative and responsible estimate” that could be revised higher, Christie said. Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he planned to ask the federal government for $30 billion in disaster aid for the state. Earlier this month, New York City Comptroller John Liu said the storm was costing New York City $200 million a day in lost economic activity, with that amount likely to top out at about $1 billion. “This preliminary number is based on the best available data, field observations and geographical mapping, and supported by expert advice from my Cabinet commissioners and an outside consulting company,” Christie said in the statement Friday. Christie said the estimate will be refined in the future to include impact on the next tourist seasons, real estate values and population shifts. The record-breaking “superstorm” blasted through eight Northeastern U.S. states on Oct. 30, killing dozens of people, battering coastal neighborhoods and forcing mass evacuations. The storm shut down the entire New York City subway system for days. Images via tumblr
Her ex-boss called the police once she’d walked out of the store! According to The Huffington Post, 59-year-old Vanessa Farreira went on strike as the rest of her co-workers just stood there and stared. Farreira informed her manager publicly Wednesday morning that she was going on strike…Within a half hour, Farreira would be told by police outside that she was trespassing and ordered to leave. She’s worked in the store’s cake department for eight years, and she earns $11.90 an hour, she said. “I love to decorate cakes,” Farreira said Wednesday. “That’s my priority — to do my cakes the best I can.” As much as she loves her job, there’s plenty Farreira doesn’t like about her employer. According to Farreira, Walmart’s wages are too low for workers to survive on, and the company keeps too many of its employees on part-time status, leaving them to rely on government assistance to get by. “They pay low wages, then the taxpayers pick up the tab for food stamps and Medicaid,” Farreira said. “They need to take care of their people. They need to be responsible to their workers.” A few months ago, Farreira heard about the union-backed group OUR Walmart, which is orchestrating an as-yet-unknown number of strikes at Walmart stores throughout the country this week, throwing the world’s largest retailer into damage control just ahead of Black Friday. Farreira said she liked the idea of a group advocating for workers, so she joined. Farreira said she tried to recruit members, but it wasn’t easy. “They’re so scared,” Farreira said of her co-workers. “I couldn’t get anybody to join. They said, ‘You can’t fight Walmart.’” Whatever strikes hit Walmart stores this Friday, it’s likely only a small, perhaps miniscule fraction of the retailer’s 1.4-million member U.S. workforce will take part. And though news footage may show boisterous gatherings by activists outside stores, the more daring acts of protests will have been undertaken by individual workers like Farreira who walk out when there are no TV cameras around. In recent days, it became clear that if she went on strike she would probably do so alone. But Farreira said she felt compelled to walk out after an incident a few days ago. In a letter she’s filing with the National Labor Relations Board, Farreira accuses management of retaliating against her because of legally protected organizing in the workplace. Farreira said that on Saturday she received her first-ever “coaching” — a formal bit of Walmart disciplining that could help lead to dismissal down the road — after a customer complained about a problem with a cake order. Despite occasional problems with cakes in the past, Farreira said it was the only coaching she’s been given in eight years. She said she believes she was disciplined because she was a known member of OUR Walmart who might demonstrate on Black Friday. She said in her letter that she would withdraw her complaint if the coaching were removed from her file. “I’ve worked at Walmart and never had a writeup, no warning, no nothing,” Farreira said. “I’ve been in the baking industry in retail operations for 20 years and never [been] disciplined.” On Wednesday morning, Farreira said she and other employees were called to a meeting where the manager warned there might be distractions led by OUR Walmart surrounding the holiday. According to her own version, Farreira told her co-workers it was employees’ right to go on strike, and then things got “pretty hot.” A few workers said Farreira didn’t speak for them. Farreira said she was speaking for the ones who were afraid to say anything at all. To cool everybody off, Farreira said the manager tried to lead everybody in a “Walmart cheer.” “Why don’t you just quit?” Farreira said one co-worker told her. “I said I’ve got eight years invested in this place — I’m going to make it better,” Farreira said. After the meeting, Farreira said her manager came to the bakery with store security and asked her if she planned on disrupting the store on Black Friday or Thanksgiving. The manager offered an “open-door” discussion to talk about her grievances, which Farreira declined. Farreira gave her a letter informing her of her charge being filed with the labor board and then clocked out. By then, several family members had shown up to support Farreira, including her daughter, Tanya Russ, who said the scene was “awkward and tense.” “Everybody was looking, but nobody was saying anything,” Russ said. “The other workers, they were looking but everybody got really quiet. Then I just said, ‘Walk out.’ So we walked out.” Russ noted that her mother is in a better position than many workers, since her husband has a good job and they’re less dependent on her wages. “She didn’t have to do this,” Russ said. “She’s not in a position [many] workers are where they live off the government and don’t have a car and don’t know how the bills will get paid. She’s standing up for them and for her future co-workers.” The police soon arrived, took down their information and ordered them to leave because they were trespassing (the police order comes at the end of the video below). According to Sgt. Denise Roberts of the St. Cloud Police Department, the police issued the trespassing warnings at Walmart’s request. They were not given summonses because no civil or criminal charges will be filed. In all, more than 20 such warnings were given to people outside. “We did it on behalf of Walmart,” Roberts said. “Walmart just has a policy with this Black Friday that they don’t want anybody doing any demonstrations inside the store or outside.” Farreira has both Thanksgiving and Black Friday off, with her next shift set for Saturday. She’ll be spending the holiday at her daughter’s house with her family. She said she has much to be thankful for. “I’m blessed compared to other workers at Walmart,” she said. Do you think the strike will have a big effect on Walmart stores this coming weekend?? Images via
Does K.Michelle want her ex-boo Memphitz back? Is K.Michelle Still In Love With Memphitz? Love & Hip Hop ATL star K. Michelle might still be riding high after her recent record deal but by the emo azz tweets she let out recently you wouldn’t know she was celebrating. K.Michelle took to her account and tweeted about a lost love… We have a feeling K.Michelle might be talking about someone but you can’t help but wonder about her infamous relationship with Memph. Although, the relationship was known to be wildly toxic and supposedly violent, she always seemed to mention how in love she was with her former boo despite how bad things were between them. Is K.Michelle still in love with her ex? Should Toya watch her back? Twitter
His car got rolled up on and his driver didn’t survive the hit. According to TMZ : Hector “Macho” Camacho is in critical condition after being SHOT multiple times in Puerto Rico tonight … this according to multiple reports. The former boxing champ was reportedly in the passenger seat of a car around 7 PM local time … when another vehicle rolled up and someone opened fire … striking Camacho several times in the neck and face. The driver of Camacho’s car was reportedly killed in the attack. According to reports, Camacho was taken to a hospital and is currently listed in critical condition. Cops are investigating — so far, it’s unclear if police have identified any suspects. This story is still unfolding as we keep everyone involved in our thoughts. Images via TMZ
