De Blasio won't kill innocent groundhog this year

From SI Live:

Mayor Bill de Blasio won't risk dropping Staten Island Chuck again this Groundhog Day.

Three years after a potentially-fatal fumble on his first Groundhog Day as mayor, de Blasio will skip the Staten Island Zoo's annual ceremony for the second year in a row.

"The Mayor's on Staten Island as much as possible and that will continue in 2017," de Blasio spokeswoman Jessica Ramos said. "We doubt the groundhog will be heartbroken."

The mayor's office didn't say what de Blasio would be doing on Thursday instead of attending the 7 a.m. ceremony.

The Staten Island Zoo said Public Advocate Letitia James will officiate instead of de Blasio.

Groundhog lets Bloomberg off easy again

From NBC:

...seemingly defying the odds, both Staten Island Chuck and Punxsutawney Phil did not see their shadows on this wintry Groundhog Day.

Amid shouts of "Chuck, Chuck, Chuck!" the little critter peered around for a bit before creeping out of his house, nibbling on some corn and posing for a rather awkward-looking photo op with Mayor Michael Bloomberg (whom he's bitten in the past) before retreating, gratefully, no doubt, to his home.

Chuck fails to bite schmuck

From SI Live:

Lured out of his house, Charles G. Hogg, better known as Staten Island Chuck, did not see his shadow and declared that winter will be over in two weeks.

"No shadow," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Spring is coming."

Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, meanwhile -- called for six more weeks of winter.

With all eyes on the pair with a rich history, Chuck did not bite Hizzoner today, instead acting as a sophisticated rodent.

"I think I have to be magnanimous and say that he put up a good fight," Bloomberg quipped after it took a few minutes to coax -- more like drag -- Chuck out of his winter home.

"I think it's clear who the champion really was. Last year, I was willing to put that finger, right here, in the way to protect the people of this great borough. The only thing that stood between Chuck and you getting bitten was my finger and I have a scar to prove exactly how much I love one of the five best boroughs we have."

The mayor donned heavy work animal-handling gloves this year after last year's leather proved no match for the groundhog.

I think it's clear who the coward really was.

My money's on the groundhog

From the NY Times:

Chuck’s trainer, Douglas Schwartz, still maintains that the mayor brought the attack on himself. Chuck was in one of his moods last year, and he did not want to come out of his wooden cage, so the mayor impatiently grabbed him by the belly. Chomp.

This year, Mr. Schwartz said Monday, “the rule is that nobody else will try to pick him up first — usually I try to pick him up.”

But in the heat of the moment, the mayor can no more easily be controlled than can a 15-pound, 4-year-old groundhog. And if Mr. Schwartz has learned anything in his 13-plus years as a city employee, it is that the boss is always right. He is ready for any eventuality.

“When it’s the mayor, he’s the center of attention,” he said. “You can’t be giving the mayor orders.”

Bullshit. He is a public servant and works for us, not the other way around. Unfortunately, the rodent seems to have more of a backbone than the electorate does.

New Yorkers take Chuck's side

New Yorkers Say Staten Island Chuck Was Defending His Turf When He Bit Mayor Bloomberg

NEW YORK (AP) -- New Yorkers think groundhog Staten Island Chuck was just defending his turf, and not making a political statement, when he bit Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The tongue-in-cheek topic was polled by Quinnipiac University, which released the results Wednesday.

Sixty-one percent of New Yorkers - including 79 percent of Staten Islanders - felt the incident was turf-related. Fifteen percent thought it was political.

Chuck - full name Charles G. Hogg - nicked Bloomberg's finger on Feb. 2. The mayor was trying to coax Chuck into view with an ear of corn for Groundhog Day.

Quinnipiac polled 984 registered city voters from Feb. 17-22. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.