I’m sure Patrick could give me about 99 other reasons to love SI, but after high speed cable and music, what more could I ask for? (Okay, how about a Barnes & Noble where I might see Newt Gingrich? Wait a minute, they’ve got that too!)

Reason No. 1

Verizon FiOS cable TV service in New York City?

That might not be just a pipe dream for much longer after a city committee on Tuesday approved a cable franchising deal that will allow the provider to sell cable TV service to residents in the five boroughs.

The deal calls on Verizon to provide all city residents with access to its fiber-optic cable TV service by June 30, 2014.

The company has already been installing FiOS network in New York City, but has thus far only been allowed to offer Internet service, not cable TV. Cable providers are required to reach cable franchising deals with every city in which they want to offer service, and New York’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee on Tuesday finally approved a deal with Verizon.

Don’t rush to cancel those Time Warner Cable subscriptions just yet, though. By the end of 2008, only 13 percent of the Bronx, 15 percent of Queens, and 12 percent of Brooklyn will be FiOS cable TV ready. Manhattan will fare a little bit better with 57 percent coverage by year’s end, while Staten Island will be at 98 percent.

The Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn will not see any significant build outs until about 2011, when about 60 percent of those boroughs will have FiOS coverage, according to the agreement schedule. [Yahoo!/PC Magazine]

Reason No. 2

Staten Island, NY – May 7, 2008 – The Neptune Group and Snug Harbor Cultural Center is pleased to announce Staten Island’s first annual “Staten Island Music Festival: Rock the Harbor “˜08” taking place on the beautiful grounds of Snug Harbor’s Cultural Center on three outdoor stages with 30 bands at 1000 Richmond Terrance, Staten Island, NY, on Saturday, June 14, 2008.

The following artists are confirmed for Rock the Harbor ’08: The Budos Band, Paragraph, Happy Anarchy, Heavy Weather , Heavenly Tenants, Julius C, The Delay, Morning Pages, Mark Sica of Nashville Attitude, The Jon, Corrao Q, Wahoo Skiffle Carzies, The Rabbits, The Great Unwashed, Pablo and all the way from Jupiter Florida: B-Liminal.