McGovern made good points in presentation
By FAYE ARMITAGE
Fruit Cove
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/032909/opinions_032909_060.shtml
It was standing room only, when I arrived at St Augustine's UU, to hear former U.S. Sen. George McGovern speak at his first public appearance since moving to St. Augustine earlier in the year.
He is well-known for many accomplishments, and in particular for starting up President John F. Kennedy's Food for Peace program, which he said gave him the opportunity "to visit just about every country in the developing world."
One of his most famous quotes that I like is: "I'm tired of old men dreaming up wars for young men to fight," which of course is still very applicable today.
McGovern started us off with his views on leadership. He believes that the best leaders are those who are "strong-minded and tender-hearted." He also feels that being idealistic and realistic is not contradictory, saying "the most realistic are those that hold on to their ideals." We need to "make our own country live up to the ideals that we claim,....calling America home. Look to the Gettysburg address for the best way out." Because the sound quality was poor I didn't catch the context, but did hear him talk about overcoming what (President Franklin) Roosevelt coined "a groundless fear." That we all need to contribute to building a "just and humane" society. That we should have "a vision of the world, free from hunger." The poor are often ashamed, but "it is our leaders who should be ashamed."
He then continued on poverty saying "one out of seven people, or one billion people, never know what it is to have a decent meal."
He is particularly proud of his work with former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole in the Commission on Nutrition and Human Needs. McGovern considers the legislation that came out of this work, the most productive for our nation as "it tripled the size of the school lunch program." The three best programs to come out of Congress are: WIC, food stamps, and school lunches. He feels we can be "reasonably sure Congress will be expanding these programs."
Next he shared with us what U.S. Sen. Paul Douglas told him about his philosophy on being a good senator. In his first term, world peace was his objective. He found this to be elusive, so in his second term Douglas said that as an economist, he decided to make a strong and healthy economy his goal. In his third term he worked primarily for his state, and in his fourth term his goals were even more limited and closer to home: the Indiana sand dunes.
McGovern continued with his take on today's problems: If we can afford to put $700 billion in banks, we can afford to put in an equal amount of money for the rest of us,.....aid to the unemployed and schools, where 500,000 face the prospect of being fired. It's not so much about helping big industry, but instead the middle class and the poor. He also advocates an international school lunch program, and says three things immediately happen:
1. Enrollment jumps. It is the best magnet to get children to come to school.
2. Academic performance improves.
3. A delay in young marriages is seen when about six years of education is achieved. Also where a birth rate for young marriages is typically six, we see a 2.9 cut in the birthrate.
McGovern closed by saying that he hopes to live long enough to see us feed every school-aged child. "It's a better way to fight terrorism," he said. It would be more effective than trying to eliminate every terrorist.
Faye Armitage is an economist and advocate for stem cell research.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Editor & Publisher: Is 'Florida Times-Union' [and 'St. Augustine Record' ]Parent Headed For Bankruptcy Next Week?
Is 'Florida Times-Union' Parent Headed For Bankruptcy Next Week?
By Mark Fitzgerald
Published: April 03, 2009 11:28 AM ET
CHICAGO It could be a very Blue Monday for Morris Publishing Group April 6 as the publisher of The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and a dozen other dailies bumps up against a deadline to make a loan payment it apparently cannot afford.
Struggling under a debt load of nearly $413 million, Augusta, Ga.-based Morris missed an interest payment of $9.7 million under its biggest credit agreement back on Feb. 1. Since then, Morris has been operating under "forbearance" agreements from its lenders that temporarily waive the serious penalties for skipping the payment.
The forbearance agreement expires at 5 p.m. EDT Monday, and Morris must either make the $9.7 million payment or negotiate another payment waiver -- or it could be forced to immediately pay as much as $411.7 million.
"We do not have the resources to make such a payment," Morris says in a filing earlier this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In the annual report to the SEC, Morris and its auditor, Deloitte & Touche say they are uncertain if Morris can continue as a "going concern."
"The company has short-term obligations that cannot be satisfied by available funds and has incurred violations of debt covenants that subject the related principal amounts to acceleration, all of which raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," the auditors note says.
The annual report at various places suggests bankruptcy is one possible outcome for its financial fix, but does not explicitly say that it is under consideration. A message seeking comment from Craig Mitchell, Morris' senior vice president of finance was not returned.
In late January, Morris hired Lazard Freres & Co. LLC as its financial advisor, and Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, a law firm with an extensive bankruptcy practice, as its legal counsel.
"These firms will assist us in evaluating our strategic options regarding Morris Publishing's existing capital structure," Morris Chairman William S. Morris III said in a statement at the time.
Another deadline looming over Morris is a requirement to sell, or reach a binding agreement to sell, some asset by March 31, with the proceeds going to pay down debt.
"We may not be able to consummate the mandatory transaction required by Amendment No. 3 to our Credit Agreement," Morris says in its filing.
Morris also said it does not expect to be rescued by the family-owned Morris Communications, its parent until a corporate restructuring in January put it under the roof of an entity called Shivers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Fitzgerald (mfitzgerald@editorandpublisher.com) is E&P's editor-at-large.
By Mark Fitzgerald
Published: April 03, 2009 11:28 AM ET
CHICAGO It could be a very Blue Monday for Morris Publishing Group April 6 as the publisher of The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and a dozen other dailies bumps up against a deadline to make a loan payment it apparently cannot afford.
Struggling under a debt load of nearly $413 million, Augusta, Ga.-based Morris missed an interest payment of $9.7 million under its biggest credit agreement back on Feb. 1. Since then, Morris has been operating under "forbearance" agreements from its lenders that temporarily waive the serious penalties for skipping the payment.
The forbearance agreement expires at 5 p.m. EDT Monday, and Morris must either make the $9.7 million payment or negotiate another payment waiver -- or it could be forced to immediately pay as much as $411.7 million.
"We do not have the resources to make such a payment," Morris says in a filing earlier this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In the annual report to the SEC, Morris and its auditor, Deloitte & Touche say they are uncertain if Morris can continue as a "going concern."
"The company has short-term obligations that cannot be satisfied by available funds and has incurred violations of debt covenants that subject the related principal amounts to acceleration, all of which raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," the auditors note says.
The annual report at various places suggests bankruptcy is one possible outcome for its financial fix, but does not explicitly say that it is under consideration. A message seeking comment from Craig Mitchell, Morris' senior vice president of finance was not returned.
In late January, Morris hired Lazard Freres & Co. LLC as its financial advisor, and Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, a law firm with an extensive bankruptcy practice, as its legal counsel.
"These firms will assist us in evaluating our strategic options regarding Morris Publishing's existing capital structure," Morris Chairman William S. Morris III said in a statement at the time.
Another deadline looming over Morris is a requirement to sell, or reach a binding agreement to sell, some asset by March 31, with the proceeds going to pay down debt.
"We may not be able to consummate the mandatory transaction required by Amendment No. 3 to our Credit Agreement," Morris says in its filing.
Morris also said it does not expect to be rescued by the family-owned Morris Communications, its parent until a corporate restructuring in January put it under the roof of an entity called Shivers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Fitzgerald (mfitzgerald@editorandpublisher.com) is E&P's editor-at-large.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Hate groups grow in number
Hate groups grow in number
Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Syndicated Columnist
Publication Date: 04/01/09
There are now 926 hate groups in this country.
Take a second and consider that number. It represents an increase of more than 50 percent since 2000. And by "hate groups," I don't mean guys in their bathrobes who go online and pretend their followers are legion. No, I mean actual Klan cells, Neo-Nazi sects, gay-bashing "churches," cliques of black separatists, white nationalists, nativists, racist skinheads and other merchants of venom who meet, plot and recruit in all 48 contiguous states. (Alaska and Hawaii have no known hate groups.) Nine hundred twenty-six of them. The number is a record.
We learn all this from the Southern Poverty Law Center www.splcenter.org) in Montgomery, Ala., which has, since its founding in 1971, become a leading authority on the business of hate. According to the latest issue of Intelligence Report, the SPLC's quarterly magazine, that business is booming.
And maybe you wonder how this can be. How can hate enjoy such phenomenal growth in a nation where a Jew serves as senator from Connecticut, a Muslim serves as representative from Minnesota, a Hispanic is governor of New Mexico and a black man is president? The answer is that we are a nation where a Jew serves as senator from Connecticut, a Muslim serves as representative from Minnesota, a Hispanic is governor of New Mexico and a black man is president. Because if those things strike you as signs of progress, well, they are signs of apocalypse to those who believe only white, male Christians are fit to lead.
But that's not the only reason for the increase. SPLC also cites the debate over illegal immigration that has dominated much of this decade. Though former President Bush offered thoughtful, moderate leadership on the issue, he was drowned out by demagogic extremists competing to see which could most effectively scapegoat undocumented workers. They, too, bear responsibility here.
Finally, there is the economy. When things get tough, people become more receptive to the idea that their miseries are all the fault of some alien other. So the stock market, too, is implicated. Hate rises when the Dow falls.
I imagine the SPLC findings land like cold water in the faces of those who took Barack Obama's ascension to the presidency as proof that the nation was finally cured of the sickness of hate. The truth, I'm afraid, is more nuanced than that.
Maybe it helps to think in terms of alcoholism, a disease that can, with treatment, be contained, controlled, put into remission -- but never cured. Even when you've got years of sobriety under your belt, the germ of it lurks in your bloodstream. Which is why alcoholics do not call themselves cured. Rather, they say they are recovering.
Hate is something like that, a fact some of us have never quite understood. Such folks are convinced there is a goal line out there somewhere which, once crossed, will allow the nation to declare itself cured. And once cured, we'll never have to grapple with hatred again.
But it doesn't work that way.
In a nation so deeply riven by culture, race and religion, there is always a temptation to hate somebody, to blame some group of others for the job you lost, the crime committed against you, the fear and uncertainty you feel. There is a simplicity and a seductiveness to it that are all too easily mistaken for righteousness.
So there is no "cure" for a nation's hate. There is only an ongoing process of getting better, not unlike the alcoholic who must daily earn his sobriety anew. This explosion of hate is a reminder of what happens when we forget that, when we are undeservedly sanguine about how enlightened we've become.
It is said that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Well, that's the going rate for tolerance, too.
*
Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33132. Readers may write to him via e-mail at lpittsmiamiherald.com. Leonard Pitts will be chatting with readers every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on www.MiamiHerald.com.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/040109/opinions_040109_047.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Syndicated Columnist
Publication Date: 04/01/09
There are now 926 hate groups in this country.
Take a second and consider that number. It represents an increase of more than 50 percent since 2000. And by "hate groups," I don't mean guys in their bathrobes who go online and pretend their followers are legion. No, I mean actual Klan cells, Neo-Nazi sects, gay-bashing "churches," cliques of black separatists, white nationalists, nativists, racist skinheads and other merchants of venom who meet, plot and recruit in all 48 contiguous states. (Alaska and Hawaii have no known hate groups.) Nine hundred twenty-six of them. The number is a record.
We learn all this from the Southern Poverty Law Center www.splcenter.org) in Montgomery, Ala., which has, since its founding in 1971, become a leading authority on the business of hate. According to the latest issue of Intelligence Report, the SPLC's quarterly magazine, that business is booming.
And maybe you wonder how this can be. How can hate enjoy such phenomenal growth in a nation where a Jew serves as senator from Connecticut, a Muslim serves as representative from Minnesota, a Hispanic is governor of New Mexico and a black man is president? The answer is that we are a nation where a Jew serves as senator from Connecticut, a Muslim serves as representative from Minnesota, a Hispanic is governor of New Mexico and a black man is president. Because if those things strike you as signs of progress, well, they are signs of apocalypse to those who believe only white, male Christians are fit to lead.
But that's not the only reason for the increase. SPLC also cites the debate over illegal immigration that has dominated much of this decade. Though former President Bush offered thoughtful, moderate leadership on the issue, he was drowned out by demagogic extremists competing to see which could most effectively scapegoat undocumented workers. They, too, bear responsibility here.
Finally, there is the economy. When things get tough, people become more receptive to the idea that their miseries are all the fault of some alien other. So the stock market, too, is implicated. Hate rises when the Dow falls.
I imagine the SPLC findings land like cold water in the faces of those who took Barack Obama's ascension to the presidency as proof that the nation was finally cured of the sickness of hate. The truth, I'm afraid, is more nuanced than that.
Maybe it helps to think in terms of alcoholism, a disease that can, with treatment, be contained, controlled, put into remission -- but never cured. Even when you've got years of sobriety under your belt, the germ of it lurks in your bloodstream. Which is why alcoholics do not call themselves cured. Rather, they say they are recovering.
Hate is something like that, a fact some of us have never quite understood. Such folks are convinced there is a goal line out there somewhere which, once crossed, will allow the nation to declare itself cured. And once cured, we'll never have to grapple with hatred again.
But it doesn't work that way.
In a nation so deeply riven by culture, race and religion, there is always a temptation to hate somebody, to blame some group of others for the job you lost, the crime committed against you, the fear and uncertainty you feel. There is a simplicity and a seductiveness to it that are all too easily mistaken for righteousness.
So there is no "cure" for a nation's hate. There is only an ongoing process of getting better, not unlike the alcoholic who must daily earn his sobriety anew. This explosion of hate is a reminder of what happens when we forget that, when we are undeservedly sanguine about how enlightened we've become.
It is said that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Well, that's the going rate for tolerance, too.
*
Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33132. Readers may write to him via e-mail at lpittsmiamiherald.com. Leonard Pitts will be chatting with readers every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on www.MiamiHerald.com.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/040109/opinions_040109_047.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
King has desire to be crowned chancellor
King has desire to be crowned chancellor
By BRANDON LARRABEE and ADAM AASEN
Morris News Service
Publication Date: 04/01/09
State Sen. Jim King said Tuesday he wants to be the next chancellor of Florida's State University System, an announcement that jolted an already crowded race to succeed the Jacksonville Republican in Legislature and drew largely positive reviews from the higher education community.
"I am going to apply," King said after a committee meeting Tuesday morning.
"I'm going to go through all the hoops. I have no idea whether I'll even make the short list."
King, 69, has no background in education beyond his work during 23 years in the Legislature. He doesn't see that as an obstacle.
"I am not an academician," he said, "but I am a pretty good politician."
King would replace Mark Rosenberg, who retired this year.
The Florida Board of Governors will select the next head of the system, which includes 11 schools with more than 300,000 students.
Term limits would have forced King out of the Senate in 2010. Instead, the candidates preparing for an election to replace him faced the real possibility that a special election to fill the seat could take place much earlier than expected.
Former House Speaker John Thrasher, the Orange Park Republican who intends to relocate to Jacksonville to seek King's seat, said he would run even in a special election.
"It would accelerate everything, obviously," he said.
Trasher has yet to file to run but said, "Everything would have to be moved up quite a bit."
King said he decided to seek the position after educators approached him about the idea a couple of weeks ago. The former Senate president said he thinks he could bring political savvy to a job whose occupants haven't always had smooth relationships with the Legislature.
"Instead of being in compliance, we're at war," King said. "I think I can bridge that gap. I would like to have an opportunity to do so."
Rep. Bill Proctor, St. Augustine Republican who chairs the House State Universities and Private Colleges Appropriations Committee, agreed that King's experience in the Legislature could be an asset.
"I have found him to be a very sound thinker in my limited work with him," Proctor said.
John Delaney, University of North Florida president and acting chancellor, said he considers King "a friend" and thinks. "He has a lot of assets he'd bring to the table."
Henry Thomas, president of the United Faculty of Florida's UNF chapter, said he thinks King would make a good chancellor, although many faculty members might be leery because they'd prefer to have an academic leader at the helm.
Thomas pointed to Delaney, the former mayor of Jacksonville, as an example of a politician who can lead an academic institution.
"It might take them some time to warm up to the idea," Thomas said. "But I think they would eventually get behind him."
The Board of Governors, which has been running ads in trade publications, set Tuesday as the deadline for applications but not as a hard-and-fast date. Candidates may still apply.
Bill Edmonds, spokesman for the Board of Governors, said the search committee won't comment on the search until later in the process.
Delaney, who is not on the search committee, said numerous applicants -- including elected officials, sitting presidents and former chancellors -- have indicated their interest either verbally or by submitting an application. A compete list will be made public when it is compiled.
If he does run for King's seat, Thrasher would become the fourth Republican in the race. The other three likely candidates said they would also run regardless of the election's timing.
"We'll be ready for everything that comes our way," Jacksonville City Councilman Art Graham said. "It's just like everything else - you've got to adapt."
"We're committed to this race," said former Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach. "We're in regardless of whether it's a regular election or a special election.
"It's appealing, rather than running a marathon, to run a sprint."
Businessman Dan Quiggle said a special election would boost his prospects, particularly with voters still remembering his work to defeat proposed tax increases in Duval and St. Johns counties.
"I think a special election benefits us," he said, "because Florida families are tired of career politicians, they're tired of higher taxes, and I am a job creator and a proven tax fighter."
brandon.larrabee@jacksonville.com
(678) 977-3709
adam.aasen@jacksonville.com
(904) 359-4247
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/040109/state_040109_019.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
By BRANDON LARRABEE and ADAM AASEN
Morris News Service
Publication Date: 04/01/09
State Sen. Jim King said Tuesday he wants to be the next chancellor of Florida's State University System, an announcement that jolted an already crowded race to succeed the Jacksonville Republican in Legislature and drew largely positive reviews from the higher education community.
"I am going to apply," King said after a committee meeting Tuesday morning.
"I'm going to go through all the hoops. I have no idea whether I'll even make the short list."
King, 69, has no background in education beyond his work during 23 years in the Legislature. He doesn't see that as an obstacle.
"I am not an academician," he said, "but I am a pretty good politician."
King would replace Mark Rosenberg, who retired this year.
The Florida Board of Governors will select the next head of the system, which includes 11 schools with more than 300,000 students.
Term limits would have forced King out of the Senate in 2010. Instead, the candidates preparing for an election to replace him faced the real possibility that a special election to fill the seat could take place much earlier than expected.
Former House Speaker John Thrasher, the Orange Park Republican who intends to relocate to Jacksonville to seek King's seat, said he would run even in a special election.
"It would accelerate everything, obviously," he said.
Trasher has yet to file to run but said, "Everything would have to be moved up quite a bit."
King said he decided to seek the position after educators approached him about the idea a couple of weeks ago. The former Senate president said he thinks he could bring political savvy to a job whose occupants haven't always had smooth relationships with the Legislature.
"Instead of being in compliance, we're at war," King said. "I think I can bridge that gap. I would like to have an opportunity to do so."
Rep. Bill Proctor, St. Augustine Republican who chairs the House State Universities and Private Colleges Appropriations Committee, agreed that King's experience in the Legislature could be an asset.
"I have found him to be a very sound thinker in my limited work with him," Proctor said.
John Delaney, University of North Florida president and acting chancellor, said he considers King "a friend" and thinks. "He has a lot of assets he'd bring to the table."
Henry Thomas, president of the United Faculty of Florida's UNF chapter, said he thinks King would make a good chancellor, although many faculty members might be leery because they'd prefer to have an academic leader at the helm.
Thomas pointed to Delaney, the former mayor of Jacksonville, as an example of a politician who can lead an academic institution.
"It might take them some time to warm up to the idea," Thomas said. "But I think they would eventually get behind him."
The Board of Governors, which has been running ads in trade publications, set Tuesday as the deadline for applications but not as a hard-and-fast date. Candidates may still apply.
Bill Edmonds, spokesman for the Board of Governors, said the search committee won't comment on the search until later in the process.
Delaney, who is not on the search committee, said numerous applicants -- including elected officials, sitting presidents and former chancellors -- have indicated their interest either verbally or by submitting an application. A compete list will be made public when it is compiled.
If he does run for King's seat, Thrasher would become the fourth Republican in the race. The other three likely candidates said they would also run regardless of the election's timing.
"We'll be ready for everything that comes our way," Jacksonville City Councilman Art Graham said. "It's just like everything else - you've got to adapt."
"We're committed to this race," said former Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach. "We're in regardless of whether it's a regular election or a special election.
"It's appealing, rather than running a marathon, to run a sprint."
Businessman Dan Quiggle said a special election would boost his prospects, particularly with voters still remembering his work to defeat proposed tax increases in Duval and St. Johns counties.
"I think a special election benefits us," he said, "because Florida families are tired of career politicians, they're tired of higher taxes, and I am a job creator and a proven tax fighter."
brandon.larrabee@jacksonville.com
(678) 977-3709
adam.aasen@jacksonville.com
(904) 359-4247
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/040109/state_040109_019.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Solution to carriage horses is more pedestrian streets
The Parking and Traffic Committee of the City of St. Augustine needs to rise above their Babbitry -- their offensive, vicious, selfish, self-aggrandizing provincial hickdom and their vacuous, mind-altering economic self-interest -- factors that led the City of St. Augustine to violate artists' rights and order them arrested.
Now hear this ex-Vice-Mayor SUSAN BURK and ex-Mayor LEONARD WEEKS).
PTC must recommend closing more downtown streets to traffic, making them pedestrian malls like St. George Street.
This will be safer for horses and people, while allowing merchants to prosper. Compare the PETA letter below, which rightly raises concerns about horses and cars being driven on the same streets.
There are no cars (or trucks) on the Williamsburg, VA city streets during daylight hours. No beer trucks clog Duke of Gloucester Street, subjecting tourists views to a scene "teared, bleared and smeared with trade," as the late Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins put it.
What do you reckon?
Now hear this ex-Vice-Mayor SUSAN BURK and ex-Mayor LEONARD WEEKS).
PTC must recommend closing more downtown streets to traffic, making them pedestrian malls like St. George Street.
This will be safer for horses and people, while allowing merchants to prosper. Compare the PETA letter below, which rightly raises concerns about horses and cars being driven on the same streets.
There are no cars (or trucks) on the Williamsburg, VA city streets during daylight hours. No beer trucks clog Duke of Gloucester Street, subjecting tourists views to a scene "teared, bleared and smeared with trade," as the late Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins put it.
What do you reckon?
Letter: City should shut down carriage business
Letter: City should shut down carriage business
Jennifer O'Connor
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Norfolk, Va.
Publication Date: 03/31/09
Editor: This is in regard to the March 26 article in The St. Augustine Record, "City wins carriage appeal."
Here's one way for the city of St. Augustine to save a bundle on legal fees: get out of the horse-drawn carriage business altogether.
It's cruel and dangerous to forces horses to pull oversized loads in heavy traffic and in arduous weather conditions. Horses are forced to avoid careless and impatient drivers, breathe in lung searing exhaust fumes, and plod along scorching asphalt.
Accidents have occurred in nearly every city where carriage rides are allowed, including St. Augustine.
City officials can protect taxpayers' pocketbooks from future lawsuits and refuse to support the cruel treatment of horses by putting this industry out to pasture for good.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/033109/opinions_033109_031.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Jennifer O'Connor
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Norfolk, Va.
Publication Date: 03/31/09
Editor: This is in regard to the March 26 article in The St. Augustine Record, "City wins carriage appeal."
Here's one way for the city of St. Augustine to save a bundle on legal fees: get out of the horse-drawn carriage business altogether.
It's cruel and dangerous to forces horses to pull oversized loads in heavy traffic and in arduous weather conditions. Horses are forced to avoid careless and impatient drivers, breathe in lung searing exhaust fumes, and plod along scorching asphalt.
Accidents have occurred in nearly every city where carriage rides are allowed, including St. Augustine.
City officials can protect taxpayers' pocketbooks from future lawsuits and refuse to support the cruel treatment of horses by putting this industry out to pasture for good.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/033109/opinions_033109_031.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Beach driving a federal issue, compromise necessary and proper
Beach driving needs to be regulated, not banned. (See below). There aren't enough parking spaces on our beaches, which means some beach driving is necessary, particularly for older persons and people with disabilities.
On Cape Cod, all you have to do to drive on the beach is pass a test and pay a fee.
This lets locals enjoy Cape Cod National Seashore -- and tour tourists on it for fees (as the Massachusetts Audubon Society does) -- while preserving the beach from heedless tourists who might destroy wildlife habitat.
One friend from Texas (who shall be named "Goober" to protect the guilty) insisted on driving on Vilano Beach in a rental car several years ago. When he got caught in sand, a local quickly pushed him out of it.
More damage is done to the beach by heedless tourists than by locals. The answer is to let the National Park Service handle it.
Of course, we won't have to worry about tourists in this economy until Congress enacts the St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Highway Act. Tourists will be attracted by well-kept parks that preserve our historic and environmental heritage, preserving St. Augustine's "sense of place," as Professor Lamy of UF wrote in his insightful 1989 book.
On Cape Cod, all you have to do to drive on the beach is pass a test and pay a fee.
This lets locals enjoy Cape Cod National Seashore -- and tour tourists on it for fees (as the Massachusetts Audubon Society does) -- while preserving the beach from heedless tourists who might destroy wildlife habitat.
One friend from Texas (who shall be named "Goober" to protect the guilty) insisted on driving on Vilano Beach in a rental car several years ago. When he got caught in sand, a local quickly pushed him out of it.
More damage is done to the beach by heedless tourists than by locals. The answer is to let the National Park Service handle it.
Of course, we won't have to worry about tourists in this economy until Congress enacts the St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Highway Act. Tourists will be attracted by well-kept parks that preserve our historic and environmental heritage, preserving St. Augustine's "sense of place," as Professor Lamy of UF wrote in his insightful 1989 book.
Opinion: Keep vehicles off beach for safety
Opinion: Keep vehicles off beach for safety
Liz Krist
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 03/29/09
Editor: I cannot believe in this day and age car and truck traffic is allowed on the beaches. With global warming, why this needless traffic?
Day and night it never stops. Tell me why they are out there 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the morning?
In 10 years at Crescent Beach I have never seen a Sheriff's patrol car on the beach after dark. If I was a criminal that's where I would do my business.
Please save this natural resource for our grandchildren. Please get the cars off the beach for everyone who wants to walk and be safe.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/032909/opinions_032909_056.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Liz Krist
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 03/29/09
Editor: I cannot believe in this day and age car and truck traffic is allowed on the beaches. With global warming, why this needless traffic?
Day and night it never stops. Tell me why they are out there 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the morning?
In 10 years at Crescent Beach I have never seen a Sheriff's patrol car on the beach after dark. If I was a criminal that's where I would do my business.
Please save this natural resource for our grandchildren. Please get the cars off the beach for everyone who wants to walk and be safe.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/032909/opinions_032909_056.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Pay Cuts at St. Augustine Record, New York Times Alike
See below. The economy left by the wretched reign of ruin of GEORGE W. BUSH continues to stagnate. Meanwhile, BUSH is becoming just a dim memory -- a dim bulb who was the first (and perhaps last) M.B.A. to be President. Our economy locally will begin to revive when Congress enacts the St. Augustine National HIstorical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Highway Act -- we need more economic stimulus than a few good jobs for Usina Construction and other plugged-in contractors.
What do you reckon?
What do you reckon?
Associated Press: Morris Communications to Reduce Wages for All Employees
Morris Communications to Reduce Wages for All Employees
Published: March 19, 2009 4:42 PM ET
AUGUSTA, Ga. Morris Communications Co. has told its employees it will reduce wages 5 to 10 percent, effective April 1. The reductions will affect both hourly and salaried employees.
The chairman of the company, William S. Morris III, said Wednesday the move was painful for the Morris family, but it had done everything it could to put it off.
Morris says the pay cuts are the least painful way to preserve the greatest number of jobs.
Morris Communications, based in Augusta, has diversified holdings that include newspaper and magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications and online services.
Morris Publishing Group was formed in 2001 and publishes 13 daily newspapers, including The Florida Times-Union, The Augusta Chronicle, the Savannah Morning News and the Athens Banner-Herald.
A report from the Augusta Chronicle follows.
*
"This is very painful for us, for the Morris family,'' said William S. Morris III, chairman of the Augusta-based company. "We've done everything we can to put it off.''
Mr. Morris said the pay cuts are designed to preserve jobs in a difficult economic environment.
"The newspaper business is facing unprecedented challenges," Mr. Morris said in a news release. "Just yesterday, after 126 continuous years of publishing, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed its last edition. Other newspapers have sought protection from creditors in bankruptcy court, severely cut back on their publishing schedules or abandoned the business entirely.
"Morris Communications so far has been able to avoid such far-reaching action. We continue to talk to our lenders and bondholders to seek a sustainable restructuring of our debt. But we must also do what is necessary to try to keep our operating costs in line with declining revenues."
According to the release, wage reductions will be 5 percent for those who earn less than $25,000 per year, 7.5 percent for those earning $25,000 to $50,000, and 10 percent for those earning $50,000 or more.
Morris Communications publishes 13 daily newspapers, including The Augusta Chronicle through its Morris Publishing division. Its other holdings include non-daily newspapers, free community publications, magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications and online services.
Published: March 19, 2009 4:42 PM ET
AUGUSTA, Ga. Morris Communications Co. has told its employees it will reduce wages 5 to 10 percent, effective April 1. The reductions will affect both hourly and salaried employees.
The chairman of the company, William S. Morris III, said Wednesday the move was painful for the Morris family, but it had done everything it could to put it off.
Morris says the pay cuts are the least painful way to preserve the greatest number of jobs.
Morris Communications, based in Augusta, has diversified holdings that include newspaper and magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications and online services.
Morris Publishing Group was formed in 2001 and publishes 13 daily newspapers, including The Florida Times-Union, The Augusta Chronicle, the Savannah Morning News and the Athens Banner-Herald.
A report from the Augusta Chronicle follows.
*
"This is very painful for us, for the Morris family,'' said William S. Morris III, chairman of the Augusta-based company. "We've done everything we can to put it off.''
Mr. Morris said the pay cuts are designed to preserve jobs in a difficult economic environment.
"The newspaper business is facing unprecedented challenges," Mr. Morris said in a news release. "Just yesterday, after 126 continuous years of publishing, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed its last edition. Other newspapers have sought protection from creditors in bankruptcy court, severely cut back on their publishing schedules or abandoned the business entirely.
"Morris Communications so far has been able to avoid such far-reaching action. We continue to talk to our lenders and bondholders to seek a sustainable restructuring of our debt. But we must also do what is necessary to try to keep our operating costs in line with declining revenues."
According to the release, wage reductions will be 5 percent for those who earn less than $25,000 per year, 7.5 percent for those earning $25,000 to $50,000, and 10 percent for those earning $50,000 or more.
Morris Communications publishes 13 daily newspapers, including The Augusta Chronicle through its Morris Publishing division. Its other holdings include non-daily newspapers, free community publications, magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications and online services.
NY TImes: Times Co. Announces Temporary Salary Cuts
March 27, 2009
Times Co. Announces Temporary Salary Cuts
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
The New York Times Company budget plans announced Thursday, including a temporary 5 percent pay cut for most employees, should avert newsroom staff cuts at the flagship Times newspaper this year, the executive editor, Bill Keller, said.
The cuts were mandated for management and nonunion employees, and the Newspaper Guild has been asked to agree to them for those it represents on the newsroom staff. If the union does not agree, Mr. Keller said during a meeting of hundreds of staff members in the paper’s main newsroom, “we will face layoffs, probably on the order of 60 to 70 people,” out of almost 1,300 on the news staff.
Also on Thursday, The Times laid off 100 people in its business operations, and Mr. Keller said it would make other cuts, like reducing spending on freelancers by 10 to 15 percent and possibly consolidating some sections.
The planned 5 percent pay cut for nine months, coupled with an additional 10 days of leave, would apply to most employees at the largest units, including The Times and the corporate offices, and to most nonunion employees at The Boston Globe.
Across the company, advertising revenue fell 13.1 percent in 2008, and 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter. Executives declined to provide any 2009 figures, but said that so far the year has been worse than expected. In a message to employees, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the chairman, and Janet L. Robinson, the chief executive, wrote, “The environment we are in is the toughest we have seen in our years in business.”
The Washington Post announced on Thursday that it will offer buyouts to selected employees, including some in the newsroom, but did not say how many jobs it wants to eliminate. The Post has gone through three rounds of broader buyouts in the last six years, including one last year that drew more than 100 newsroom employees and more than 200 workers over all.
The Times Company’s pay reductions will be in effect from April through December, and staff members will revert to their previous salary level in 2010 unless economic conditions fail to improve, company officials said.
The Guild, which is the largest union at The Times and the only one the company asked for concessions, represents most newsroom employees, and a smaller number in other departments. The company declined to say whether it would seek any concessions from union employees at The Globe.
Mr. Keller said Times management was to meet with the Guild Thursday afternoon to discuss the requested cuts. Calls to Guild officers were not returned.
At smaller parts of the company, including About.com and a chain of small papers, wages will be cut 2.5 percent and employees will get five days off.
The layoffs announced Thursday represent almost 5 percent of the more than 2,000 employees in the business operations of The Times newspaper. The company laid off 27 people in The Times’s advertising department last month, and about 500 people in January, with the closing of City and Suburban, a newspaper and magazine distribution subsidiary. At the end of 2008, the company had 9,346 employees, down from 10,710 working in the same operations two years ago.
Last fall, Times executives said they did not anticipate any news staff reductions in 2009. Similarly, Mr. Keller said on Thursday that with a pay cut, management expects “that the newsroom will get through the year without a round of layoffs.”
“I wish I could make that a promise,” he added. “I can’t.”
In 2008, The Times eliminated 100 newsroom jobs through buyouts and layoffs. But with hiring for new positions, the net reduction was about half that. It has the largest news staff of any paper in the country, and one of few that has not contracted sharply.
Newspaper companies have been drastically shrinking payrolls in the last two years. And in recent months, several have resorted to mandatory unpaid leave, or furloughs, to reduce the number of layoffs.
The Times Company is characterizing its move with nonunion employees as a pay cut rather than a mandatory leave — though in practice, there may be little difference — to avoid strict federal rules governing furloughed employees. Other companies that have used furloughs have told workers, for instance, that they cannot make work-related phone calls or check work e-mail messages while on leave. Whether a cut for union employees is called a furlough will be subject to negotiation.
Separately, The Times newspaper will do away with the expanded index to its articles, created last year, that appears on the second and third pages, returning to something like the smaller guide that used to appear on the second page, saving several millions dollars annually on newsprint.
Times Co. Announces Temporary Salary Cuts
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
The New York Times Company budget plans announced Thursday, including a temporary 5 percent pay cut for most employees, should avert newsroom staff cuts at the flagship Times newspaper this year, the executive editor, Bill Keller, said.
The cuts were mandated for management and nonunion employees, and the Newspaper Guild has been asked to agree to them for those it represents on the newsroom staff. If the union does not agree, Mr. Keller said during a meeting of hundreds of staff members in the paper’s main newsroom, “we will face layoffs, probably on the order of 60 to 70 people,” out of almost 1,300 on the news staff.
Also on Thursday, The Times laid off 100 people in its business operations, and Mr. Keller said it would make other cuts, like reducing spending on freelancers by 10 to 15 percent and possibly consolidating some sections.
The planned 5 percent pay cut for nine months, coupled with an additional 10 days of leave, would apply to most employees at the largest units, including The Times and the corporate offices, and to most nonunion employees at The Boston Globe.
Across the company, advertising revenue fell 13.1 percent in 2008, and 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter. Executives declined to provide any 2009 figures, but said that so far the year has been worse than expected. In a message to employees, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the chairman, and Janet L. Robinson, the chief executive, wrote, “The environment we are in is the toughest we have seen in our years in business.”
The Washington Post announced on Thursday that it will offer buyouts to selected employees, including some in the newsroom, but did not say how many jobs it wants to eliminate. The Post has gone through three rounds of broader buyouts in the last six years, including one last year that drew more than 100 newsroom employees and more than 200 workers over all.
The Times Company’s pay reductions will be in effect from April through December, and staff members will revert to their previous salary level in 2010 unless economic conditions fail to improve, company officials said.
The Guild, which is the largest union at The Times and the only one the company asked for concessions, represents most newsroom employees, and a smaller number in other departments. The company declined to say whether it would seek any concessions from union employees at The Globe.
Mr. Keller said Times management was to meet with the Guild Thursday afternoon to discuss the requested cuts. Calls to Guild officers were not returned.
At smaller parts of the company, including About.com and a chain of small papers, wages will be cut 2.5 percent and employees will get five days off.
The layoffs announced Thursday represent almost 5 percent of the more than 2,000 employees in the business operations of The Times newspaper. The company laid off 27 people in The Times’s advertising department last month, and about 500 people in January, with the closing of City and Suburban, a newspaper and magazine distribution subsidiary. At the end of 2008, the company had 9,346 employees, down from 10,710 working in the same operations two years ago.
Last fall, Times executives said they did not anticipate any news staff reductions in 2009. Similarly, Mr. Keller said on Thursday that with a pay cut, management expects “that the newsroom will get through the year without a round of layoffs.”
“I wish I could make that a promise,” he added. “I can’t.”
In 2008, The Times eliminated 100 newsroom jobs through buyouts and layoffs. But with hiring for new positions, the net reduction was about half that. It has the largest news staff of any paper in the country, and one of few that has not contracted sharply.
Newspaper companies have been drastically shrinking payrolls in the last two years. And in recent months, several have resorted to mandatory unpaid leave, or furloughs, to reduce the number of layoffs.
The Times Company is characterizing its move with nonunion employees as a pay cut rather than a mandatory leave — though in practice, there may be little difference — to avoid strict federal rules governing furloughed employees. Other companies that have used furloughs have told workers, for instance, that they cannot make work-related phone calls or check work e-mail messages while on leave. Whether a cut for union employees is called a furlough will be subject to negotiation.
Separately, The Times newspaper will do away with the expanded index to its articles, created last year, that appears on the second and third pages, returning to something like the smaller guide that used to appear on the second page, saving several millions dollars annually on newsprint.
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