Odds and ends, 4/13/07

So WVU has a new president, and it's the guy who's politically well-connected.

This being West Virginia, that news is supposed to surprise me how?

*o*

The first thing I did after getting back to my desk yesterday after we were told Gannett had sold The Herald-Dispatch was to get on the Internet and find whatever I could about our new owners. The first thing I found was a news item from Reuters where Gannett had announced the sale.

Get this: At the bottom of the brief about one American company buying another was this line:

(Reporting by Avishek Mishra in Bangalore)

Outsourcing gone wild.

*o*

Speaking of WVU, that school's Board of Governors today approved a tuition increase of 5.5 percent for next year. WVU has a master plan to increase tuition 5.5 percent a year.

Someone tell me again how kids from families in the poorest state in the USA are supposed to deal with this sort of price increase? Oh, yeah, by going to school on the 10-year plan and borrowing money they won't pay off until middle age.

I have a dog in this fight. My oldest is in 9th grade. Right now, I'm more worried about the fact she has noticed she will be old enough for a learner's permit soon, so I'll be providing driving lessons. But worrying about paying for college is close behind.

Lucky for me, she has discovered the possibility of a Promise scholarship, but she really doesn't want to go to college in West Virginia. The chance of a free ride may change her mind.

*O*

See you next week.