I saw the news today, but not in the papers.

One of the mysteries of living in New York is you never know what will make the news. You can be walking down Seventh Ave and see three police cars careening through traffic in hot pursuit of something far ahead of them while overhead the heavy hum of a helicopter or two fills the air.

"Wow!!" you say to your companions, "What's all that about?!"

You will never know. Tune in the radio that afternoon, nothing on the Seventh Ave chase. Check out Channel One, News All Day and Night, nope, nada. Local newscasts at six reveal nothing and the next day's paper of record, the New York Times and the world's highest quality fishwrapper, the New York Daily News contain not a word. No helicopters, no squadcars with screaming sirens.

You can be down the block and see four fire engines and an ambulance as I did at Sixteenth and Eighth yesterday morning about 7:30AM. They had Eighth Avenue shut down. There were men with fireaxes, something I have sometimes wanted to carry at Eighth Ave and Sixteenth at times earlier in the morning than 7:30. Hoses had been stretched down Sixteenth Street towards the Jamaican restaurant and the Oo La La Laundry. People were staring out the window at Starbucks. That's right. People at Starbucks were gawking. There's your news story. People at Starbucks do not gawk. They do not. They stare laser-like at their newspapers looking for the article on the wild pursuit on Seventh Ave yesterday and, not finding it, read yet another editorial piece on Cheney's idiotic sense of himself. They have a bite of cinnamon-swirl coffeecake, they do not gawk.

I tuned to 1010 WINS, news every ten minutes, weather every ten minutes, sports every -- well, you get the idea. Nothing about the fire in Chelsea. Four fire trucks, an ambulance and men with fireaxes can't get a mention, they did report that Cheney had turned the blame regarding the shooting onto himself and, added as an aside, that in regards to intelligence matters he has the power to declassify information. Oh, that's why it took so long, but what about the fire?

Still no word.