Now, you might ask, why is the news that NY state officials approved a $1.7 billion expansion of the Javits Center - the convention center located way on the West Side of Manhattan - of importance to the publishing industry? Book Expo America, of course, which is held every other year at Javits (including next year's event at the end of May and beginning of June.) So the fact that the expansion plan calls for Javits to have, as the New York Times reported earlier today, "the city's largest ballroom, for the exhibition space to increase to 1.1 million square feet by 2010, from 760,000 square feet today, and for a sevenfold increase in the square footage used for meeting rooms," likely bodes well for future hosting of BEA. Not to mention that a new, 1,500 room hotel will be part of the complex.

Now, if only the city and state would get in gear and actually extend the 7 subway line all the way to 34th and 11th avenue, as promised for, oh, decades? Then things would be all the better. Still, this sure sounds like good news - as long as the money's put where officials' mouths are...