Michael Bloomberg, the man who we'll freely admit is the least bad man to have run New York in a long time, is seeking a third term as mayor of this great city, which is not actually legal. But, you know, people all like him, even (well-off white) Democrats! So unlike when vicious rat-faced monster Rudy Giuliani tried this, after 9/11, everyone will basically get behind this repeal of term limits thing. Because we need a rich old technocrat independent in this time of great strife! By "everyone" we mean the Times and the Post and the Daily News because the alternatives—what the hell are the alternatives? Some stupid Democrats from the City Council whom no one has ever heard of, and also Marty Markowitz—are lousy and unknown and scary. It has been a peaceful and mostly prosperous couple years for New York, yes. It was, overall, a nice change of pace from the Giuliani years, for everyone. We all got along, there was "consensus." But you know his NYPD are just as miserable and free from accountability as Giuliani's! He recently (admirably) changed the way New York measures poverty, revealing that he has not done very much until now to, like, alleviate any of this poverty. The race and class divisions are basically as bad as they have ever been in New York, right now, after two full terms of Bloomberg. And he wanted the Olympics! Remember that bullshit? So, like, maybe this third term is his desperate last shot at becoming some sort of crusader for the little people? Except he's never seemed vaguely interested in that, until now, sort of. So maybe he just wants to run again to finally ban salt. (Because, hah, that is his real legacy: New York is not allowed to be gross anymore!) All of his advisors advise against a campaign to overturn term limits, because even tho Mayor Mike is quite popular, term limits are even more popular, and seeking to get out them after years of supporting them rubs voters the wrong way. So then who is advising Mike to try this stunt? You will never guess!

It looks like Michael Bloomberg has finally made up his mind! Following months of speculation about what he'll do once his term in office expires, the Times is now reporting that Bloomberg will announce tomorrow morning that he plans to seek a third term as mayor. And Ron Lauder is apparently cool with the idea, too, so he's got that going for him as well. [NYT]

God, the city is getting desperate. On Tuesday Michael Bloomberg ordered city agencies to cut costs. Now the Parks Department has come up with a way to do just that. It plans to recycle the "doors, toilets, sinks, lights and even soap dispensers" from Shea Stadium by installing them at parks around town. [AP]

Mayor Bloomberg is thinking about raising property taxes by 7 percent beginning in January. Great timing, huh? But don't say Mike didn't warn you! "Perhaps to soften people up for a tax hike, the mayor has referred to the need to find new revenue sources at least three times in the last week, most recently during his radio address on Friday." [NYT]

♦ Samantha Ronson refused to DJ an event at Rubyfruit, allegedly because she doesn't spin at gay or lesbian bars. Her rep, of course, denies this. [P6]
♦ David Spade didn't turn up at Eric Trump's charity golf tournament in New Jersey last week because he thought it was taking place at Trump's LA course. [P6]
♦ An Atlantic City monsignor wants his name added to the list of Raffaello Follieri's victims. He says he gave the Italian playboy $110,000 because Raffaello said he needed the funds to pay some nuns. [NYDN]
♦ MTV has finally confirmed Whitney Port's Hills spinoff. It will begin airing in early 2009. [E!]
♦ How exciting! Mike Bloomberg will become an honorary citizen of Tbilisi, Georgia tomorrow night. [P6]

Last week, Forbes annointed Michael Bloomberg the richest person in New York with a net worth of $20 billion. The Wall Street Journal offers up a handful of reasons today why he's probably not worth that much, at least after the events of last week: "If Bloomberg were publicly traded, its stock likely would have taken a dive this week... There are now two fewer investments banks buying Bloomberg terminals, not to mention the thousands of finance workers who also will lose their jobs—and their terminals—this year." [WSJ/Wealth Report]

You may just be excited to have a job right now. But some people have it really good: The Daily News has a rundown of New Yorkers who get sweet, free apartments as part of their jobs. Included on the list is UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (five-story townhouse on Sutton Place), Columbia President Lee Bollinger (his Morningside Heights house is worth an estimated $19.8 million), Michael Bloomberg (Gracie Mansion comes with the job although he doesn't actually live there), and a bunch of pageant girls (Miss USA, Teen USA, etc.) Also included: Cardinal Edward Egan (left) lives in a 48,550-square-foot Madison Avenue mansion right behind St. Patrick's. (Yes, you read that number right.) Of course, he's also had to devote his life to God and abstain from sex all these years in order to qualify for the sweet housing arrangement, a trade-off that not too many people would be willing to make.

Mike Bloomberg went to Washington yesterday to meet with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank. Officially, he went to discuss the crisis on Wall Street, but he may have had other ideas in mind: "Mr. Bloomberg has told several friends that both the Treasury and World Bank positions appeal to him." Unfortunately, Paulson had to cancel his breakfast meeting this morning. And maybe Mike's just playing the tease for the 35th time? "Mr. Bloomberg is known to float balloons—such as his interest in running for president and governor—only to retreat later, after whipping his colleagues and the news media into a frenzy of speculation. That may be the case with his interest in the Treasury and World Bank jobs." [NYT/City Room]

• After frantic takeover talks with Bank of America and Barclays ended over the weekend—and after the U.S. government declined to provide a bailout—Lehman Brothers was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning, marking an end to the 158-year-old firm. [Bloomberg, NYT, WSJ]

If mayor Michael Bloomberg buys the New York Times, this may have been the genesis: a game of Telephone started by those two inveterate gossips, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his biographer Michael Wolff.

Some folks aren't all that happy that Michael Bloomberg has yet to decide whether he's going to try and revise the city's term limit laws and seek a third term as mayor, or find something else to do with his vast wealth and influence when his term runs out next year. So who's unhappy, exactly? All the people who were planning to run themselves, until the mayor mucked up their plans and suggested he might not be opposed to changing the law and serving out another term.

1) As well as something going on in Denver this week, there's also been some tennis! The 8th Annual USTA Serves' OPENing Gala was on Monday: Roger Federer's No. 1 fan Anna Wintour was there, although judging by the look on the face of the man standing behind her, some tennis fans weren't especially impressed by the sight of the Vogue editrix. Other attendees included Martha Stewart, Michael Bloomberg and Diana Taylor, Keisha and Forest Whitaker, Maria Sharapova, Boris Becker, Chris Evert, and Oscar de la Renta. [Wireimage, Getty/Jezebel]

David Paterson revealed today that he totally supports efforts to keep Mike Bloomberg around for a third term as mayor. Oh, and he would have loved it if Mike had run for president, too. "Basically, the governor is a big fan of anything that would keep Bloomberg from running against him in 2010." [Daily Politics]

Mayor Bloomberg has revealed that he plans to explore putting wind turbines on top of bridges and skyscrapers in order to develop sources of renewable energy in the city. Bloomberg outlined the plan during a speech in Las Vegas on Tuesday night: "He later evoked the image of the Statue of Liberty's torch, saying he imagined it one day "powered by an ocean wind farm." If the city needs an entire wind farm just to power the bulb in Lady Liberty's outstretched arm, that doesn't bode too well, if you ask us. In any event, since Bloomberg said that both private and public businesses will be asked to participate, we look forward to seeing a windmill planted atop the Bloomberg building in Midtown. Although we should probably also take note of the Times' cautionary closing: "Mr. Bloomberg is known for introducing ambitious proposals that later collapse, as did his congestion-pricing plan for Manhattan." Especially as he only has 500 days to get it done.

Dick Parsons says he has no plans to run for mayor and that Mike Bloomberg should serve another four years. We believe it! If he were gearing up to campaign, would Parsons2009.com really still be available? [NYM]

• Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi will be tying the knot in California tomorrow. Portia is expected to wear a Zac Posen gown in front of their 20 guests. [Us, P6]

Because nothing says rock 'n' roll like a group of grandfatherly types in suits, Michael Bloomberg, Clive Davis and Billy Joel gathered yesterday to announce the opening of New York's branch of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Opening in November on Mercer Street, the 25,000-square-foot space will contain memorabilia like Bruce Springsteen's first car, Elvis Presley's motorcycle jacket, and some stuff Joel "found around his house." [NYSun]

You thought Mike was worth plenty as is? He's about to get richer. The price of a Bloomberg terminal goes up on December 1st. [Dealbreaker]

So Michael Bloomberg won't be going to the Olympics in Beijing, or attending the upcoming Democratic or Republican conventions. At least that's what he revealed today at a press conference alongside Jay-Z. During which he also dropped in a reference to one of Jay's songs. So if you don't see him at the conventions, but you do see him bobbing his head at the Young Jeezy concert in two weeks, now you know why. The video of the mayor and the rapper is here.

The Observer sits down with attorney Jonathan Mechanic, widely considered to be one of the city's best-connected real estate attorneys. His clients? How about Jerry Speyer, Steve Roth, Stephen Green, Mike Bloomberg, Bruce Ratner, Doug Durst, Mort Zuckerman, Harry Macklowe, Miki Naftali, William Zeckendorf, Gary Barnett, Bill Rudin, Donald Trump, Kent Swig, Joe Moinian, and Larry Silverstein. We're exhausted just reading that list. [NYO]