For years, Peter Vallone has made a practice of attending morning Mass, where he presumably seeks guidance for his job as Speaker of the City Council. But Vallone might do well to substitute, just once, his daily church routine with a visit to the Bronx, specifically to Montefiore Medical Center Thursday morning clinics for children who are poisoned by lead. Such a trip might prove especially useful now, as Vallone is orchestrating a roiling battle over the city's lead-paint laws. The speaker appears to be locked in the clutches of a powerful landlord lobby that wants to ditch its responsibility for keeping apartments— and... More >>>