Tonight’s guests include: Our Friday Reporters Roundtable.

Al Baker notes: “After a white officer fatally shot an off-duty black officer in Harlem in May, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly wrote to the governor vowing to increase the number of minority officers in the department’s top tier.
On Friday, Mr. Kelly aims to follow through by tapping several minority commanders for coveted positions within the department at a promotion ceremony at 1 Police Plaza.”

The AP reports: “The House ethics committee is investigating whether five Democratic lawmakers, including two committee chairmen, received improper gifts in traveling to Caribbean conferences in 2007 and 2008.”

NYC columnist writes: “This feckless bunch in Albany, a k a your state senators, can’t even scuffle properly. Just when you thought they couldn’t embarrass themselves any further, they reduced themselves this week to ‘my gavel is bigger than yours’ gamesmanship and to nyah-nyah name-calling.”

Wilensky-Lanford & Fahim write: “On Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn, the normally staid campaign ritual of collecting signatures elicited an unusually hostile response, according to a 20-year-old campaign worker. The worker, James Soyers, who was seeking support for Anthony Herbert, a candidate for a City Council seat, said that he and another worker were collecting signatures near Ralph Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 4 p.m. when a man in a blue sport utility vehicle drove quickly toward them, stopped, and threatened them with a gun.The vehicle, Mr. Soyers said, was adorned with campaign posters for Councilwoman Darlene Mealy, whom Mr. Herbert is hoping to unseat. Ms. Mealy, who was at an event on Thursday night half a block away from where Mr. Soyers said he was threatened, said, ‘No one associated with my campaign had anything to do with this alleged incident.’"

New York Post

Fred Dicker notes: “Gov. Paterson angrily escalated his war on the dysfunctional state Senate yesterday, directing the state treasurer not to pay per diem and travel expenses for the 62 lawmakers.”

Seifman & Campanile write: “Mayor Bloomberg leveled his harshest attacks at do-nothing lawmakers yesterday -- charging city schools will be as dysfunctional as the state Senate if mayoral control isn't extended. ‘Just take a look at what happens when nobody's in charge. You want to see a school system in disarray, a good example would be the Albany Senate. Nobody's in charge and they can't function,’ Bloomberg said.”

New York Daily News

Lovett & Blain focus on some harsh words from State Sen. Kevin Parker about the governor: “Albany's dysfunctional follies veered further into the inane on Thursday: Gov. Paterson cut off some Senate pay, a lawmaker branded the governor a ‘coke snorting’ womanizer and the Senate - once again - accomplished nothing.”

Michael Saul notes: “Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau urged voters on Thursday to support Cy Vance Jr. as his successor, calling him the ‘best qualified.’ “

Have a great weekend. Until Monday.

Bob Hardt