Saturday, November 9, 2013

Michael Palmer (1942-2013)

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, as was my mom.

 

Michael Palmer, Doctor Who Became Top Author, Dies at 71. (The New York Times, 11/7/2013)

Writing as therapy.    Dr. Palmer began writing during what he described as the nadir of his life. An internist and former chief of medicine at Falmouth Hospital on Cape Cod, he had become hooked on self-prescribed pain killers and alcohol in the 1970s after a divorce and a series of knee surgeries. In 1978, he was charged with writing false prescriptions, sentenced to two years of probation and had his hospital privileges suspended.

LINKcat holdings

Three Birds Visit West Side Radiator


Photo by Retiring Guy taken here.

Hash Browns as a Work of Art


Hyperbole = Extravagant Exaggeration*

*As defined by Merriam-Webster.

Fresno State Loves Its Bulldogs, but So Does a Gang. (The New York Times, 11/7/2013)



Bulldog Stadium
Capacity:  41,031


CBS's Jeff Fager sez it's "as big a mistake as there has been"

In the 45 years that "60 Minutes" has been on the air.

CBS to Correct Erroneous Report on Benghazi.  (The New York Times, 11/7/2013)



Which we've done nothing to clear up. "The events of that night have been overshadowed by misinformation, confusion, and intense partisanship," reports Lara Logan.

Residual damage for Morgan Jones, a.k.a. Dylan Davies.


Simon & Schuster announced the book's publication has been withdrawn from sale in all formats, although its October 29th publication date insured that it found its way into some readers' hands.

The DeForest Public Library managed to snag a copy, for which there are just 2 holds.


Chapter 1 is still available to read here.  (At least it was when I composed this post.)


Newspaper and Magazine Articles on Houses: A Bibliography

More paper being recycled.



The Sunday Houses of Central Texas.  (The New York Times, 2/9/1984)

The American House:  What we're building and buying in the eighties, by Philip Langdon.  (The Atlantic Monthly, September 1984)
Margin notes
  • Exterior (reverting to more historical styles)
  • Traditional architecture (effective in showing off new-found wealth)
  • Status (size matters)
  • Solar (people prefer it obvious)
  • Outdated "organic" designs (enthusiasm has waned)
  • Geodesic dome (see above)
  • Mobile homes (1 in every 5 new homes in 1972; 15% in 1983)
  • Modular homes (manufactured as a series of boxes)
  • Increasing price; decreasing size (most families prices out of new-home market; average square footage shrank from 1650 in 1979 to 1580 in 1983)
  • Failure of "basic" house (eliminating frills, such as a fireplace, led to lack of buyer interest)
  • Small condo units (sleep in your living room on a roll-out bed)
  • Small condos:  resale value
  • California real estate boom (2800-square-foot, 4 bedroom Turtle Rock home priced at $72,000 in 1973; same type of houses reselling for $350,000 in Irvine in 1983)
  • "Planned-unit" developments (large tracts built up at more than the usual suburban density)
  • Successful design firms 
  • Livable high-density design  (Mission Verde in Camarillo, CA)
  • Abandoning old concepts (goodbye to 1950s concepts)
  • Lowering housing costs (by increasing zoning density)
  • Livable urban design (Golden Gateway Commons in S.F., for those who can afford it)
  • Basic urban living for those who want it 
  • Housing for single parents 
  • Condos for "uninvolved" singles (dual master-bedroom suites)
  • Energy concerns
  • Solar technology
  • Natural rhythms of time (suppressed by 20th century's reliance on mechanical heating, lighting, and cooling)
  • Earth-sheltered homes (300 in 1979; 4,000-5,000 in 1983)
  • No-furnace home (14-foot thick wall cavities)
  • Energy efficiency (R-value jumps from 13 in 1973 to 24 in 1983)
  • Security (creating the aura of security)
  • Amenities:  convenience and comfort 
  • The bathroom (the most glamorous room)
  • Privacy (fewer partitions in houses since World War II, only bedroom and bathroom are left)
  • New uses of space
  • "Curb appeal" (it's a facade; the house is not meant to be examined close up)
  • Changes in level (potential obstacle to elderly)
  • Ceilings (variations to give distinctive character)
  • Atlanta ("most vigorous home market"
  • Log homes (250 companies producing 40,000 houses per year)
  • Quality control:  modular homes (4% of U.S. house production)
  • Customizing modular units
  • Advances in home-building industrialization (bringing uniformity and predictability to house construction)
  • Materials today and yesterday (getting most strength from least material)
  • 1945-1955 (building components, e.g., plasterboard and prefabricated all panels, in primitive stages of development)
  • Unhappy home buyers (10% end up this way)
  • Architect (involvement for those willing to pay)

In Los Angeles, a bit of 1880's Fantasy.  (The New York Times, 12/6/1984)

The house that Chicago built:  In the '20s, a bungalow was really the cat's meow, by Paul Gapp, Architecture critic.  (Chicago Tribune, Date unverified)

Bungalow's Origins, Raj to California.  (The New York Times, date not verified)

The Many Charms of the Front Porch.  (The New York Times, date not verified)

The House of the Future Won't Be That Different.  (The New York Times, 1985)

Mail-Order Homes Sears Sold in 1909-37 Are Suddenly Chic.  Many Still Stand Occupied, Notably in Carlinville, Ill.; Pets of Preservationists.  (The Wall Street Journal, date not verified)

Life's dream in a kit -- mail-order houses.  (Chicago Tribune, date not verified)

The Three Home Stages in the Lives of Americans.  (The New York Times, 1985?)
  • Apartment
  • Single-family home
  • Condominium
For Predesigned Homes, a Long and Thriving Business.  (The New York Times, 2/13/2013)

Emphasis in Housing Market Shifts Toward Costlier Trade-Up Homes.  (The Wall Street Journal, 3/9/1986)

Traditional Styles Still Best Sellers.  (The New York Times, date not verified)
  • Tudor
  • Colonial
  • Victorian
Plans:  Ranch or Tudor?  (The New York Times, 3/13/1986)

Markets for New and Old Houses Are on the Rise, by Alan S. Oser.  (The New York Times, 1987)

A Good Place to Live, by Philip Langdon.  (The Atlantic Monthly, March 1988)
Seaside, Florida, is one of the places covered in another of Langdon's informative, lengthy articles.


n a Clash of Decades, A House Surrenders.  (The New York Times, 11/14/1996)
The "teardown syndrome" in Highland Park, Illinois.)

Don't Mess with Coralville, Charles and David

Iowa Town’s Vote Delivers Rebuke to Kochs’ Group. (The New York Times, 11/6/2013)

Excerpt: The group [Americans for Prosperity] , founded by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, did not back specific candidates, but it targeted incumbents in the town, Coralville, for their role in running up a $280 million debt. Yet the involvement of an outside group provoked so much anger that the race became as much a referendum on the group’s involvement as on the issues themselves, and it captured national attention, including from the White House.



Voters may choose up to 3.

Sue Dvorsky called it.  "I actually think it's going to backfire", it being Americans for Prosperity's involvement.

Source of voting results:  Coralville Courier, "Coralville votes for more of the same", 11/5/2013.

Sadly, the voter turnout of 24.4% set a new record for an off-year (i.e., mayoral/council) election.

The Popularity of John as a Baby Name: 1880-2012


The #1 name for 44 years:  1880-1923.

#1 song for 5 weeks in late 1961 on the Billboard Hot 100.


In the top 10 for 108 years:  1880-1986, 1991.

#1 for 2 weeks in April 1962.


There were 16 boys named John, out of a total of 195, in the Warren Area High School class of 1968.
  1. John Asp
  2. John Bailey
  3. John Dickey
  4. John Erickson
  5. John Foreman
  6. John Gardner
  7. John Gross
  8. John Harper (probably the most successful of this group)
  9. John Hornstrom
  10. John Kent
  11. John Mahan
  12. John McCurdy
  13. John Nelson
  14. John Seastead
  15. John Tillard
  16. John Young
Reached #7 in July 1962.

"I want a brave man, I want a cave man."

Related posts:
The popularity of Sheila as a baby name:  1917-2002, 2003-2004.  (11/9/2013)
The popularity of James as a baby name: 1880-2012.  (11/7/2013)
The popularity of Michael as a baby name: 1880-2012.  (11/7/2013)
The popularity of Sherry as a baby name:  1926-1995.  (11/7/2013)
Friends choose 15th and 16th most popular baby names for their unexpected twin boys.  (11/3/2013) 
Destiny Hope Cyrus's impact on popular baby names for girls.  (10/15/2013)
"Gone With the Wind" and baby names.  (11/27/2011)
The baby names list, 1900-1999.  (5/11/2010)

The Popularity of Sheila as a Baby Name: 1917-2002, 2003-2004

She Knows Baby Names: Sheila


Sheila's 5 best years as a popular baby name for girls (Social Security Administration):
  • #52 in 1962
  • #50 in 1963
  • #51 in 1964
  • #50 in 1965
  • #51 in 1966


"Her cheeks are rosy, she looks a little nosey."

"Sherry" was #1 and "Sheila" was #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending September 15, 1962.  Dickey Lee's "Patches" -- we never did learn her real name -- was #9.

Related posts:
The popularity of James as a baby name: 1880-2012.  (11/7/2013)
The popularity of Michael as a baby name: 1880-2012.  (11/7/2013)
The popularity of Sherry as a baby name:  1926-1995.  (11/7/2013)
Friends choose 15th and 16th most popular baby names for their unexpected twin boys.  (11/3/2013) 
Destiny Hope Cyrus's impact on popular baby names for girls.  (10/15/2013)
"Gone With the Wind" and baby names.  (11/27/2011)
The baby names list, 1900-1999.  (5/11/2010)

Library Signage: No Food and Drink Chastisement in 165-Word !!NOTICE!!

BANNED!!


Hat tip to Kent Barnard for sharing on wispublib.

This Adorable Moppet Loves the Birmingham Public Library and Really Loves Books About Flying Things



You can get ANY book about animals or flying things.  (Birmingham Public Library blog, 11/8/2013)

The Birmingham Public Library Foundation has set a January 1, 2014, fundraising goal of $50,000.  You can donate here.

Sidebar from the Popular Baby Names website.   Grey is not in the top 1000 male names for any year of birth in the last 133 years.

Friday, November 8, 2013

When I'm 64......I'll start getting flyers from Miracle Ear in the mail

Received my first one today.


Want to know more?

L is for Leaves


Photo by Retiring Guy taken here.

Little Free Library with Birdhouse


Photo by Retiring Guy taken here.

Sez Who?!


Photo by Retiring Guy taken here

The Radiator as Sculpture



A Radiance All Their Own.  (The New York Times, 11/5/2013)

Not just for hissing anymore.  But Mr. van Leeuwen is not alone among Europeans in reimagining the radiator as sculpture. His Continental peers have designed dozens of conversation starters, radiators that resemble a forest grove, a paper clip, a garden hose that uncoils and snakes around a room, and even a wall-hung homage to an artistic masterpiece. Hotech, an Italian radiator company, has a collection with names like Chagall and Fabergé. Its David model is a beefy male torso.   (Plus you'll learn where the New York Times got its headline.)

The Crack-Smokin', Murder-Rantin' Mayor of Toronto



Toronto's Rob Ford Problem.  (The New Yorker, 11/7/2013)

It's a mystery to me.   As everyone who watches “The Daily Show” or “David Letterman” now sort of knows, Toronto elected Rob Ford to be its sixty-fourth mayor, in 2010. Asking why a city of two and a half million mostly sane people would do such a thing makes for an interesting conversation.

And that's not all.

Ford recently admitted to smoking crack cocaine.  "There have been times when I've been in a drunken stupor," he sez.

There must have been many times, sir!

Everybody wants to rule Toronto.  (Source:  Wikipedia)


Toronto:  A tale of 2 cities.  (Source:  Wikipedia)

Notes and Whatnot on "Challenges in Governance" (Library Style)

"Challenges in Governance:  The Leadership Characteristics and Behaviors Valued by Public Library Trustees in Times of Conflict and Contention", by Jennifer Arns.  Library Quarterly, vol. 77, no.3, 2007]

Abstract:   Although single-purpose boards and commissions have been used to provide public goods and services since the colonial era, little scholarly attention has been given to the leadership characteristics and behaviors required of their members.  As a result, appointing officials and those considering appointment have had little systematic guidance concerning the skills associated with successful service. 

This study addresses this problem by exploring the skill and knowledge preferences of board members at three exemplary public libraries and the effect of contentious censorship controversies on these preferences. 

Analysis of the board members' assessments of twenty-three commonly recognized leadership characteristics and behaviors reveals a dramatic increase in the numbers highly valued by the board members during controversies and statistically significant changes in their collective value. 

These findings suggest that assumptions concerning the experience and training that lead to effective public library board performance should be rethought or, at least, receive further consideration.

The article is divided into the following sections and subsections:
  • Introduction
    • Research problem
    • Research objectives
    • Literature review
  • Method
    • Theoretical perspective
    • Hypotheses
    • Data collection
    • Analysis
  • Results
    • Important characteristics and behaviors during the controversies
    • Changes in the mix of characteristics by board members
    • Limitations
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Appendix

From Method/Theoretical perspective.  Three constructs or archetypical public administration figures
  1. The high-powered analyst
    • well-developed business knowledge and professional skills
    • represents the "science of administration"
    • knowledge and skills are operationalized through business-related tasks and activities
      • analysis
      • planning
      • budgeting
  2. The philosopher-king
    • personifies the "art" of public administration
    • gravitates toward process and relationship-oriented tasks and behaviors
    • attentive to others
    • possessive the vision, nerve, and eloquence...to mobilize community groups
    • promotes citizen participation
    • nurtures external relationships
  3. Solomon (dog-catcher)
    • captures personal traits related to good "character"
      • integrity
      • vision
      • empathy

The three libraries chosen for this study (and the controversy)
  1. Medina County District Library, Ohio.  (library's resistance to placing filters on computers; community concern over access to pornography)
  2. Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County.   (Child pornography allegations regarding the movie The Tin Drum)
  3. Cumberland County Public Library, North Carolina.  (Suitable of certain books for "nonadult readers", which blossomed into charges "that library staff were doing little or nothing to keep children from viewing explicit sexual materials in the library".)
Yes, current and future public library board members, if it's a controversial and contentious issue that you'll be dealing with, it's likely to swirl around the general topic of sex.

Reasons the above 3 libraries were chosen
  1. Prolonged debate of sufficient significance to capture regional and national attention
  2. Size of libraries' population service area, i.e., not too big or not too small)
  3. Libraries' reputation
  4. Length of tenure of directors
Behaviors and characteristics associated with each of the 3 constructs

High-powered analyst
  • Business experience
  • Computer knowledge
  • Legal expertise
  • Library knowledge (e.g., operations, goals and objectives)
  • Contracting experience
Philosopher-king
  • Masterful communication
  • Familiarity and involvement with community and minority group concerns
  • Poise under pressure
  • Propensity to come forward
  • Willingness to bargain
  • Organizational risk taking
  • Ability to identify and mobilize opinion leaders
  • Understanding of social and ethical issues
Solomon (dog-catcher)
  • Integrity
  • Vision
  • Dedication to helping others
  • Humor
  • Flexibility
  • Energy
  • Expressiveness
  • Persistence
  • Empathy
  • Personal risk taking

Table 1.  Number of respondents who attributed "great importance" to each behavior or characteristic under typical circumstance (found on page 298 of article)

Color coding (arbitrary)
  • high (10-15 responses)
  • medium (6-9)
  • low (1-5)

High-powered analyst

  • Business experience (9)
  • Computer knowledge (4)
  • Legal expertise (1)
  • Library knowledge (9) 
  • Contracting experience (3)
Philosopher-king
  • Masterful communication (10)
  • Familiarity with community concerns (9)
  • Poise under pressure (9)
  • Propensity to come forward (7)
  • Willingness to bargain (6)
  • Organizational risk taking (4)
  • Ability to identify and mobilize opinion leaders (3)
  • Understanding of social and ethical issues (6)
Solomon (dog-catcher)
  • Integrity (15)
  • Vision (12)
  • Dedication to helping others (10)
  • Humor (9)
  • Flexibility (9)
  • Energy (6)
  • Expressiveness (5)
  • Persistence (5)
  • Empathy (5)
  • Personal risk taking (3)
Table 2.  Number of respondents who attributed "great importance" to each behavior or characteristic during controversies  (found on page 299 of article)

Color coding (arbitrary)
  • high (15-17 responses)
  • medium (11-14)
  • low (2-10)

High-powered analyst

  • Business experience (10)
  • Computer knowledge
  • Legal expertise (8)
  • Library knowledge (15) 
  • Contracting experience (2)
Philosopher-king
  • Masterful communication (16)
  • Familiarity with community concerns (13)
  • Poise under pressure (16)
  • Propensity to come forward (16)
  • Willingness to bargain (3)
  • Organizational risk taking (11)
  • Ability to identify and mobilize opinion leaders (17)
  • Understanding of social and ethical issues (15)
Solomon (dog-catcher)
  • Integrity (17)
  • Vision (15)
  • Dedication to helping others (12)
  • Humor (15)
  • Flexibility (12)
  • Energy (13)
  • Expressiveness (10)
  • Persistence (8)
  • Empathy (7)
  • Personal risk taking (11)

Under typical circumstances, board members involved in this study place the highest value on Solomonic behaviors and characteristics.  But when the shit hits the fan, it's time to be more of a philosopher-king.

I would suggest -- and I'm going to come back to this topic -- that the most highly valued behaviors and characteristics should be
  • Ability to identify and mobilize opinion leaders
    • 3 "great importance" responses under typical circumstanced
    • 17 "great importance" responses during a controversy
  • Propensity to come forward
    • 7 "great importance" responses under typical circumstanced
    • 16 "great importance" responses during a controversy
In other words, relationship building and library advocacy should be ongoing activities in which library board members share a leadership role, not  just something that has to be done when there's trouble a'brewin'.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Popularity of James as a Baby Name: 1880-2012


In the top 5 from 1880 to 1980.

(From 1962)


Continuously in the top 20.

Related posts:
The popularity of Michael as a baby name: 1880-2012.  (11/7/2013)
The popularity of Sherry as a baby name:  1926-1995.  (11/7/2013)
Friends choose 15th and 16th most popular baby names for their unexpected twin boys.  (11/3/2013) 
Destiny Hope Cyrus's impact on popular baby names for girls.  (10/15/2013)
"Gone With the Wind" and baby names.  (11/27/2011)
The baby names list, 1900-1999.  (5/11/2010)

(From 1970)

The Popularity of Michael as a Baby Name: 1880-2012



Lowest ranking:  #59 in 1892.

In the top 10 since 1943.



The #1 name for 44 years:  1954-1959, 1961-1998.

Related posts:
The popularity of Sherry as a baby name for girls:  1926-1995.  (11/7/2013)
Friends choose 15th and 16th most popular baby names for their unexpected twin boys.  (11/3/2013) 
Destiny Hope Cyrus's impact on popular baby names for girls.  (10/15/2013)
"Gone With the Wind" and baby names.  (11/27/2011)
The baby names list, 1900-1999.  (5/11/2010)

The Popularity of Sherry as a Baby Name: 1926-1995


The name's meaning

According to the Social Security Administration annual list of popular baby names, Sherry peaked at #48 in 1962, the same year that the Four Seasons had their first smash hit.



Debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 singles at #65 for the week ending August 25, 1962, just before I started junior high.  It was one of the first 45 RPM records that I bought.


Jumped into the top 10 at #1 in its 4th week.

Spent 5 weeks at #1, 14 weeks on the chart overall.

Chamber of Commerce 1, Tea Party 0

Byrne Wins Republican Runoff in Alabama House Race.  (The New York Times, 11/5/2013)

Excerpt:  The runoff was the first of what is likely to be many battles to come over the direction of the party, and it proved, to the relief of many in the Republican leadership, that a strong showing by the establishment can win tough races. But it also underscored just how difficult and costly such victories may be going forward.

Sore loser.  Dean Young, the candidate that Byrne defeated, says he refuses to call Byrne to concede and will not be voting for him in the fall election.

The guy is definitely a piece of work.  (Plus I tend to be suspicious of people who get their undies in such a tight little bundle over sexual orientation.)



But this is southern Alabama folks, and there were 34,534 people that voted for him -- Dean Young, the self-professed future of the Republican Party.


Related post.
Business groups attempt to escape the chokehold of their Frankenstein monster.  (11/2/2013)

Macy's Flagship Store Gets Ready for Residents of Manhattan's Mushrooming Billionaires' Buildings



Macy's Splurges on a Makeover on 34th Street.  (The New York Times, 11/5/2013)

Elevating the store experience:  A major upgrade — and a strategy for Macy’s as it tries, like other retailers, to capture a larger piece of the thriving luxury goods market — is the expansive great hall beckoning shoppers inward from Broadway, with a full wraparound mezzanine above the luxury handbag and cosmetics counters. All in all, once the four-year renovation is completed in 2015, Macy’s will have added 100,000 square feet of retail space, for a total of 1.2 million square feet.

Related post:
From the Excess Files: 6250-square-foot, full floor apartment, yours for \just $67,000,000.  (11/4/2013)

Another 3-Way Race for Governor in Maine in 2014

Hope it goes better than 2010, when Tea Party fav Paul Le Page won with just under 38% of the vote.



Maine Governor Candidate Says He Is Gay.  (The New York Times, 11/4/2013)

Excerpt: Mr. Michaud faces a three-way contest in Maine. Gov. Paul R. LePage, a Republican with Tea Party backing, is to announce the beginning of his re-election campaign on Tuesday. Eliot Cutler, an independent, is also running. Mr. Michaud has a slight lead in early polling.


Ballotpedia

Who's Running for State Office in the 17th Senate District (2014 Edition)


Wittwer sees problems. (Reedsburg Times-Press, 11/6/2013)

Excerpt:   The incumbent, Sen. Dale Schultz, a former Republican Senate majority leader, has held the Senate seat for 22 years. He has been targeted for removal by conservatives after he was the only Senate Republican to vote against Walker’s collective bargaining change in 2011 and he opposed making it easier for an iron ore mine to open in northern Wisconsin. Schultz was also the only Republican to vote against Walker’s budget this year in the Senate. 

[Ernie] Wittwer said Schultz is a good man.

Ernie Wittwer on Facebook.

Related posts:
19th Assembly District.  (11/7/2013)
9th State Senate District. (10/23/2013)
15th State Senate District.  (10/10/2013)
Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014: Waukesha County DA Brad Schimel.  (10/10/2013
25th State Senate District.  (10/9/2013)

Who's Running for State Office in the 19th Assembly District (2014 Edition)

Not Jon Richards.

Rep. Jon Richards enters race for Wisconsin attorney general. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/16/2013)

Sara Geenen, a labor attorney with the Previant Law Firm, just announced that she is running.

WisPolitics news release.

The 19th Assembly District stretches along Milwaukee's Lake Michigan shore.  It is overwhelmingly Democratic.


Related posts:
9th State Senate District. (10/23/2013)
15th State Senate District.  (10/10/2013)
Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014: Waukesha County DA Brad Schimel.  (10/10/2013
25th State Senate District.  (10/9/2013)

850 Amazon Jobs at the Low End of the Middle Class Household Income Range

Wisconsin to provide Amazon with $7 million in tax credits. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/6/2013)

Excerpt: Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman said in October the average wage at the facility will be just over $13 an hour for around 850 employees. 

The remaining 250 employees will include technicians, computer programmers and managers, earning annual salaries ranging from around $50,000 to $250,000, Bosman said.


Source used for column graph: By the Numbers: The Incredibly Shrinking American Middle Class.  (Moyers & Co., 9/20/2013)

The Working Poor Families Project.  Low-Income Working Families:  The Growing Economic Gap.

Related post:
Amazon associate annual pay, $23,894. Federal poverty level for a Family of Four, $23,550.  (10/13/2013)

The Four Incorrigibles of Waukesha County

Lassa bill unanimously passes Senate. (Stevens Point Journal, 11/6/2013)

32-0, with Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, who represents a big chunk of Waukesha County, not voting.  A bill designed to help individuals with disabilities overcome barriers to employment, co-authored by State Senator Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, unanimously passed the State Senate on Tuesday. The bill now goes to the Assembly. 

Senate Bill 274 increases funding for vocational rehabilitation services, an increase that will trigger nearly $18 million more federal matching dollars for the program. In 2012, Wisconsin’s Vocational Rehabilitation program successfully helped 3,250 disabled persons enter the workforce, but there is currently a waiting list of more than 4,000 for the program.

It passed in the Assembly by a vote of 90-4, with the 4 naysayers being representatives who live in Waukesha County.


The "no" votes

Follow the Gogebic Money


As you might expect, Scott Walker has received the biggest bundle.

$10,000

But among current legislators in the Assembly and Senate, Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) leads the pack.

$3,300

Which is why it should come as no surprise to read these news items.  (Bold highlights added.)

Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Allouez, offered the amendment to Senate Bill 278, and it improves on the initial proposal by state Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst.  ("Editorial:  Mining bill changes don't go far enough."  Green Bay Press Gazette, 11/6/2013)

The bill [SB349] by Ballweg and Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) would specify that local governments could regulate sand mines by zoning, but not other means.  ("GOP bill would limit local regulation of sand mines" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/17/2013)

The proposal [SB1] accomplishes that, said one of its co-authors, Sen. Tom Tiffany, (R-Hazelhurst).New "Wisconsin mining bill to be first considered in new session".  (Milwaukee Business Journal, 1/16/2013)

Related posts:
Sand mine industry leaders put our minds at ease.  (11/5/2013) 
Scott Walker donor promises jobs, permanence for Independence and Whitehall residents.  (10/29/2013) 
Sen. Tom Tiffany's sand mine bill a hot potato.  (10/28/2013) 
Another Walker campaign donor for SB349.  (10/25/2013)
Expensive to the Tune of $430,505.49 (as of June 30, 2013).  (10/25/2013) 
The Nipper Chronicles: The frac sand mining masters speak.  (10/18/2013)
Things aren't so tranquil in Glenwood City Wisconsin lately  (10/10/2013)

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Pocatello Idaho's Bad News Cycle



Idaho Town Struggles After Pinning Hopes on a Failed Factory. (The New York Times, 11/5/2013)

Excerpt:   Pocatello’s road was tough before Hoku ever came to call. It lost many of its good railroad jobs when Union Pacific consolidated operations in Utah. A potato processing factory in a neighboring town — about 10 percent of the work force commutes there from Pocatello — has said it will close next year. And like Idaho as a whole, it has suffered from a downward spiral in wages.



Didn't take long for the bottom to fall out of this dream.





Rand Paul's Test Results: I'd Say He Flunked the First One

And I'm not the only one passing out failing grades.



Though Defiant, Senator Accused of Plagiarism Admits Errors. (The New York Times, 11/5/2013)

Excerpt: Mr. Paul’s handling of the disclosures was being watched by his Senate colleagues and by strategists and potential donors to a 2016 national run. Some said they viewed it as a test of whether he could cope with the intensity of a campaign and the presidency itself.

Downtown, where all the lights are bright



"Downtown".  Debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending December 19, 1964 at #87.  Reached #1 five weeks later.  Remained on the charts for a total of 15 weeks.

You want bright lights?

Postcards from Retiring Guy's colletion.

Former Florida Guv Charlie Crist Maintains Year-Long Lead in Polls Over Current Guv Rick Scott


Crist, Former Florida Governor, Tosses Hat in Ring Again. (The New York Times, 11/4/2013)

They still like him.   But Mr. Crist remains generally well-liked and is ahead of Mr. Scott in most polls. Despite any misgivings over his party-switching and his U-turns on issues like gay rights and offshore oil drilling, Democrats have mostly rallied behind Mr. Crist.

If Preservation was the Goal, Then I Guess It Was All Worth It

[sigh]

Big Money Flows in New Jersey Races to Thwart Christie Agenda. (The New York Times, 11/4/2013)

Excerpt:   The effort, designed to preserve Democrats’ dominance of the State Legislature and complicate Mr. Christie’s plans to build a record of legislative achievement as he considers a presidential bid in 2016, has inundated some legislative districts with millions of dollars in negative ads on a scale never before seen in New Jersey.

What was the outcome?

The Democrats preserved their their 8-seat majority in the State Senate.

And Stephen M. Sweeney probably enjoyed a restful night's sleep:     But because several Democratic senators routinely vote with the governor, party leaders are concerned that a shift of just a few seats could give him a governing majority in the upper chamber.


On the other hand, Democrats lost 2 seats in the Assembly, although they still have a solid, if not dominating, majority.


Related posts:
Virginia elections: 2012 Presidential and 2013 gubernatorial.  (11/6/2013) 
Some recent new Jersey election results.  (11/6/2013) 
As you would expect, voting drops off considerably for an off-year election.  (11/5/2013)

Professional Athletes and Grape Pedialyte

Somebody stocked up on the wrong flavor!

The question I have:  Is required to drink Pedialyte from a bottle nipple?

 

For Athletes, a Home for Away Games.  (The New York Times, 11/4/2013)

Excerpt:    When the Minnesota Vikings checked into the J. W. Marriott Chicago last season, the hotel’s staff scrambled to fix a mistake: They had stocked the wrong flavor of Pedialyte, a favorite rehydration drink for players.

What RG learned.  The Marriott hotel chain specializes in the professional sports hospitality business.  They expect to corner 40% of the market this year.

Virginia Elections: 2012 Presidential and 2013 Gubernatorial


Terry McAuliffe, Democrat, Is Elected Governor of Virginia in Tight Race. (The New York Times, 11/5/2013)

The consensus is that neither party fielded its best candidate for Virginia's 2013 gubernatorial election.  With so many federal workers living in northern Virginia (Loudoun, Fairfax, and Prince William Counties, as well as the "independent" City of Alexandria), Cuccinelli was hurt by his support of the government shutdown and did not succeed in turning the election into a referendum on the Affordable Care Act.

And you can probably make the case -- many observers already have --  that Robert Sarvis, the Libertarian candidate, played the role of spoiler in this election.


Sarvis did best, gaining more than 10% of the vote, in counties where Cuccinelli easily outpolled McAuliffe. But in a two-man race, would Sarvis's supporters have stayed at home or still gone to the polls?

Perhaps the sentiments expressed here is a good place to start before answering this question.

Sarvis ran strongest in counties in the Valley and Ridge region of west-central Virginia.  (The yellow boxes indicate a percentage of the vote of 8% and more.)  He did poorest in the far western counties, the Appalachian Plateau region that borders Kentucky, as well as the border counties with Tennessee and North Carolina.


Related posts:
Some recent new Jersey election results.  (11/6/2013) 
As you would expect, voting drops off considerably for an off-year election.  (11/5/2013)

Some Recent New Jersey Election Results



Political parties look to bring out vote for off-year election.  (Long Island Newsday, 11/2/2013)

I don't think recent elections will change anyone's outlook.  Democrats acknowledge that Republicans often have an edge in off-year elections because their voters tend to be older, own homes and follow local pocketbook issues including taxes.

Related post:
As you would expect, voting drops off considerably for an off-year election.  (11/5/2013)