The Round-Up: Friday

Pleas for government intervention rise again as the stock market continues to plunge and credit markets stay frozen. [NY Times]

In a 16th-century Mexican colonial town full of American ex-pats, old-time plazas sit in “almost exquisite equilibrium” with brand-new Starbucks. [NY Times]

A photographer builds his second-home in Vermont based on the principles he knows best—light. [NY Times]

Second-home buyers find “real country living” in Norris, Tenn.'s lake-side community. [NY Times]

Bloomberg steps back from his defiant stance against releasing homeowners’ rebate checks. [NY Times]

The new Meadowlands is on budget and on schedule, now it’s just a matter of getting New Yorkers to shell out a few thousand dollars to renew their season tickets. [NY Times]

Highlights from MTA’s long list of budget cuts. [NYDN]

Kimber VanRy—the Prospect Heights man fined for drinking a beer on his stoop—battles on. [NYDN]

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall calls for the destruction of the New York State Pavilion. [NYDN]

Pennsylvania developer hoping to build a Marriott in Dutch Kills asks for a waiver to get around new zoning laws that would nix the project. [NYDN]

Bronx pet shop owner losses 100 animals in a blaze Wednesday night. [NYDN]

Here’s some good news for these tough times: 99 cents for a slice of pizza. [NYDN]

The United Nations asks NYC to build anti-ramming barriers outside its building, yet the UN is refusing to conduct studies on the effects of terrorist attacks as a prerequisite for constructing these barriers. [NY Post]

Citigroup stocks tumble 25 percent, as investors call for the bank to break itself up into its constituent parts. [NY Post]

Hedge funds worldwide lost 9 percent of their value last month, bringing year-to-date losses for the industry to 16 percent. [NY Post]

Home price indexes are going increasingly local to address widespread national discrepancies. [WSJ]