A GOOD DAY TO READ ABOUT ABE AND DREAM OF BASEBALL.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: RICK HAMPSON - Associated Press

The city that never sleeps stayed home. The snowiest storm in a decade blanketed an already winter-weary region at a rate of up to 2 inches an hour Friday, closing even the hardy financial markets and stymieing travelers from the A train to the Concorde.

It was Lincoln's Birthday, and Rudolph Giuliani, New York's new Republican mayor, urged constituents to be safe, stay home and read Abe's biography for inspiration.

The storm was the city's 12th of the season. By midafternoon, 9.3 inches had fallen in Central Park -- the city's heaviest since the same day 11 years ago, when 17.6 inches fell. Up to 18 …