BROOKLYN WEATHER:  The nice weather returns. Sun with some clouds. A high of 50, I said 50 degrees. More Brooklyn weather here.

BIG NEWS: A STATE JUDGE RULED LAST NIGHT that an additional $5.6 billion must
be spent on the city’s public schoolchildren every year to ensure them
the opportunity for a sound basic education that they are guaranteed
under the State Constitution.  Beyond that, another $9.2
billion must be spent over the next five years to shrink class sizes,
relieve overcrowding and provide the city’s 1.1 million students with
enough laboratories, libraries and other places in which to learn  Read all about it.

_HOWARD DEAN IS READY TO LEAD THE DEMOCRATS. "If
you’d told me a year ago I’d be standing here doing this as your choice
for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, I would not have
believed you, and neither would have a lot of other people," Dr. Dean
told a cheering Democratic crowd in Washington. He was elected by a
voice vote shortly before noon on Sunday without opposition." Read all about it.

_METROCARD PRICES ON SUBWAYS AND BUSES are going up on February 27th. Higher bridge and tunnel tolls to begin on March 13th.   Read all about it.

_FDNY UNDER DISCRIMINATION probe. US Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the Fire Department discriminates in hiring and promotion.   Read all about it.

LOCAL BEAT: PARK SLOPE RESIDENT, SUSAN SOMMERS,  the lead lawyer for the Lambda Legal’s landmark litigation to secure the right for same-sex couples to marry in New York City is featured in today’s Private Lives column in the New York Times: "I do sort of travel through life assuming that people think I’m a
lesbian, and I don’t go out of my way to correct them; it really is a
part of my identity," she says, taking a breather in her cluttered
office downtown at Lambda. She joined the organization five years ago
after dropping off the corporate fast track to have her third child and
spend more time at home in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Though after a few
years of 24/7 domestic duty, she says, "I did kind of feel like I was
falling off the face of the planet."

_RENOVATION TO BEGIN SOON on the Park Slope Armory, which is being
turned into an indoor sports center. Located at 8th between 14th and
15th streets, the renovated armory will house a community-use sports
and education facility, as well as a women’s shelter. A non-profit
organization called Take the Field Take, will be contributing $2
million for the renovations.  The Mayor and the City Council have each
committed $6 million and the Borough President’s Office has committed
$2 million to the project

_PUBLIC SCHOOL MID-WINTER RECESS  is 2/20 – 2/25. Start making those playdates and plans!

DAILY DISC: Grammy winner,  The Songs of Stephen Foster,(Emergent)

TUESDAY: Open  house at the Brooklyn Secondary School for Collaborative Studies, one of the 52 new high schools opening in Fall 2005. 2/15. Tour: 5:30 – 6 p.m. Presentation 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 610 Henry Street. Fourth Floor library. An opportunity to meet their High School planning team.

NEW SNEAKERS: Registration for the Brooklyn Half-marathon on March 19th is now open.

_The 10th Annual Cherry Tree 10-mile
race is on Saturday February 19th at 10 a.m.  To register stop by Slope
Sports. Seventh Avenue between Berkeley and St. Johns.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Laurie Anderson performs her one woman with
violin show,  "The Song of the Moon" at BAM 2/22 – 3/1. "Anderson
weaves stories, music, songs, and words into epic portraits of American
culture."  Get your tickets here.

_The Wooster Group at Art at St. Anns "House/Lights" from Gertrude Steins, "Dr. Faustus."  38 Water Street. Weekends through 4/20. 38 Water Street. DUMBO.

UP AHEAD: The Moonlighters, Hawaiian steel guitar swing. Barbes. 276 Ninth Street at Sixth Avenue.  2/18. 10 p.m

FOR THE BIRDS: Great Backyard Bird Count at the Prospect Park Audubon Center. 2/19 at noon. Enter park at Lincoln and Ocean Avenue. Free.

MID-WINTER VACATION TIP: 8th Annual Sports
and Arts in Schools Fest is a free 3-day long festival of sports and
arts activities at Chelsea Piers, Lincoln Center, Queens Hall of
Science, Riverbank State Park and Robert Clemente State Park. It’s open
to NYC public school kids in groups of 10 accompanied by an adult
during the mid-winter break from 9 a.m. until  3 p.m. To register, call
Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation at (718) 786-7110.

HERE/SAY:  "One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so
much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But
we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather
confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken
in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern,
nor attracted much sustained inquiry." Harry G. Frankfurt, philosopher, in his book, On Bullshit.