Robert Moon's letters

There's a guy in Cincinnati who really knows how to write a letter to the editor. He keeps them short and to the point. Pithy, as my idol Bill O'Reilly (sarcasm alert) would say.

His name is Robert Moon. He sends us more letters than we can use.

Here are some he has sent that we are not able to use. I just wanted to get them out there for the world to see, at least the small corner that passes by this spot.

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If it costs too much to employ Americans, then the solution is not to import cheap labor and throw American workers under the bus. I'm sure Democrats are dissapointed that they failed to add 12 million Democrat voters to the population and to our already strained welfare programs, but the solution is to target the things that needlessly make Americans less employable, like frivolous lawsuits, labor union abuses, over-regulation, and the tax code.

As long as Democrats keep defending frivolous lawsuits, trying to raise taxes, regulating businesses to death, and enabling unions to harrass and intimidate their way into power, there will continue to be a strong demand for cheaper labor. And silencing talk radio will not change this.

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Somewhere between their relentless opposition to parental choice in schools, the active interest they've taken in reviving the "Fairness" Doctrine, their support for obscenely expensive socialized medicine programs, and their proposal to deny workers the right to vote on funding Democrat campaigns through unionization in secret, free from union intimidation and harrassment, Democrats have thoroughly eliminated "pro-choice" as a legitimate description of what they stand for.

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1st letter:
If Democrats want voters to think they can be trusted with presidential power in 2008, they might want to stop taking such an active interest in using their existing power to deny people their basic Constitutional rights with ideas like "Fairness" Doctrine. What part of "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech" don't they understand?

2nd letter:
If Democrats are going to be in such a rush to deny workers basic civil liberties by stripping them of the right to vote secretly, free from union harrassment and intimidation, on whether or not they want part of their paycheck to be signed over to the Democrats through unionization, then they might at least want to explain what need there even is for unions now that federal law covers everything they were created to protect. Driving employers into bankruptcy and overseas by making them pay workers $30/hour to put wheels on cars is not worth trampling free speech and free assembly to accomplish.

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Any politician who defies the overwhelming majority of Americans and shoves the worst parts of this amnesty bill down our throats in individual broken up legislative acts will lose my vote and gain a motivated enemy, just as if they had voted for the original proposal. We have no business adding millions of poor people to our already strained welfare programs under the guise that we actually expect our notoriously ineffective government beuracracies will make them pay their fines and adhere to far more involved, complicated rules than before, just to reward them for breaking our laws and cutting in front of law-abiding immigrants.

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I cannot buy Democrat rhetoric about being the party of the 1st Amendment when they use their new razor thin majority to try to counter the persistent popular rejection of liberal talk radio by putting Congress in charge of which political opinions can be expressed on the air. Between this and their recent power-grabbing proposal to deny the workers they claim to represent their right to vote on unionization privately, without union harrassment and intimidation, trampling free speech and free assembly, Democrats seem more like a wolf in sheep's clothing than a champion of individual rights.

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I don't run these here because I endorse Mr. Moon's points, although I do agree with some of them. All I'm trying to say is that he knows how to write a letter to the editor.

Who knows. I might take some of his letters and weave them into a bullet-points column sometime.

Dead tree media

It's four months old, but I noticed this while looking for information related to the ever-changing ownership here at The Herald-Dispatch.

Media companies are having a hard time.

I like this line in particular:

Unfortunately, the end does not appear to be in sight, as younger generations -- both in the U.S. and abroad -- generally seek their news from Internet sources rather than newspapers or television.

People who rely on the Internet may gripe about the dead tree media, but where do they think Web sites get their news? Seriously, would www.herald-dispatch.com exist without the print edition of The Herald-Dispatch?

The newspaper industry is going through a significant shakeout. Knight-Ridder is history. The Wall Street Journal could be about to change ownership. The LA Times has its own turmoil. Meanwhile, smaller papers are being bought left and right.

We'll just have to see what companies are left standing in five to 10 years, and whether there are changes at the top.

iPhone

My mother was fond of saying some people had more money than they had sense. I don't know if this applies to that, but . . .

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohioans joined the national wait for Friday’s launch of the iPhone, the Apple Inc. gadget combining the functions of a cell phone, iPod media player and wireless Web browser. ...

Apple and AT&T Inc. stores nationwide were offering the product at that hour in each time zone, with customers limited to two iPhones per purchase on a first come, first served basis.

Apple has not disclosed how many will available at launch. But, despite prices starting at $499 and a minimum $59.99-a-month, two-year service plan with AT&T, analysts expect it will sell out by early next week.

People lined up to get in stores at 6 a.m. to buy a $500 cell phone that carries a $60-a-month service plan.

Makes me glad I always skip the first wave of any tech gadget, just as I try to skip the first wave of a new car model.

Anyway, when I remember to, I carry a cheap cell phone on a pre-pay plan. My wife has a regular phone on a regular plan, but it doesn't cost us $60 a month.

If I didn't need a land line for my blazing-fast dial-up Internet service (sarcasm alert), I could dump my land line.

When I hear people with iPhones and such talk about the high cost of living, I tune them out.

Herald-Dispatch sold again

For those who haven't heard, The Herald-Dispatch has been sold again. Yesterday afternoon, the announcement came that Champion Industries had agreed to acquire The Herald-Dispatch from GateHouse Media for $77 million.

The sale came as no surprise to some of us. Huntington is pretty far out of the GateHouse clusters of newspapers. The only options we saw were for Gatehouse to acquire other papers near us or for GateHouse to sell us again.

Check out this paragraph in the GateHouse announcement of the sale:

Mike Reed, Chief Executive Officer of GateHouse Media, commented, "While we are constantly evaluating investment opportunities in the local media sector and continue to have a very strong pipeline of future opportunities, we did not see the Herald Dispatch as a good strategic or geographic fit and felt we could redeploy the capital more effectively elsewhere. It was always our intention when we recently acquired several properties from Gannett to dispose of the Huntington Herald Dispatch, and I am delighted to announce the sale of this venerable publication to Champion Industries, a company with a strong presence and history in the local market."

Now check out this comment from a news release issued by Champion:

Marshall T. Reynolds, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Champion, said, "The Herald-Dispatch is a premier institution in West Virginia and the entire tri-state area. We believe this opportunity will generate numerous expansion and growth opportunities. We expect this acquisition to generate substantial earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to Champion and feel that a locally owned newspaper will provide important benefits to our communities as well as shareholders. I personally am excited to work with The Herald-Dispatch to better our communities and to create an entity to complement Champion Industries and to expand our revenue base and diversify our operations."

If your question is what happens with The Herald-Dispatch now, my answer is simply, "I don't know." Just as my response was when Gannett sold The Herald-Dispatch to GateHouse. But I do expect the best.

I'm supposed to be on the Tom Roten morning show, guest hosted by Alec Plymale, at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow to talk about letters to the editor. And right now, that's all I know.

Byrd not ashamed of being old

Robert C. Byrd apparently doesn't like the idea that political buzzards are circling him, considering he sees himself as being able to fulfill the duties of his office.

In recent days, news reports from various organizations and blogs have speculated about who would succeed Byrd should he die in office. A lot would depend on when Byrd died in relation to the election cycle.

On Thursday, Byrd let the world know he's not dead yet. Quoting from a news release his office issued:

"My only adversity is age. It is not a bar to my usefulness as a Senator. I still look out for West Virginia. I still zealously guard the welfare of this nation and its Constitution. And I still work every day to move the business of this nation forward, to end this reckless adventure in Iraq, and to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States against all those who would reshape it to suit partisan agenda."

"I will continue to work until this old body just gives out and drops -- but don't expect that to be any time soon."

"I believe that all ages and all occupations should be part of a truly representative Congress. I also believe that society works best when the energy and idealism of youth pairs with the experience and wisdom of age."

"America is the land of opportunity. I don't think that our some 36 million citizens over age 65 are disqualified from participating in the life of the country that we helped to build."

"Age is no barrier to accomplishment. When the spirit and the mind are willing, the creative juices continue to flow. I like to think that I still have a few things left on my ‘to do’ list. I also like to think that some day our rapidly aging society will get over its fear and its denial of aging."

I'm not Byrd's biggest fan. But it's great to see him send a signal that he has no intention of stepping aside in favor of the various pols who must be drooling at the mouth in anticipation of his death or disability.

And surely there are those who don't want to see Byrd leave office, but they have to prepare themselves for what they will do when (not if) that day comes. They must have to walk some taut ropes to position themselves without appearing greedy for Byrd's seat.

But we'll let the pols sort that one out. Me, I have too much going on at home to worry daily about Byrd's health.

(Yeah, man. You're looking at Big Daddy.)

It's raining again

That means I'm going to have to mow my yard this weekend.

Odds and ends, 6/27/07

You don't have to do much searching to find stories about various members of Congress who want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Why? To muzzle talk radio.

I find some right-wing commentators obnoxious and whatever, but why single out the one medium that is not friendly to those in power right now? (Duh).

I prefer the First Amendment in its simplest form and simplest interpretation. That includes getting rid of any attempts to muzzle political speech in the name of campaign reform or fairness. The West Virginia Legislature considered such a law a year or two ago. I prefer to think of such laws as "The Incumbent Protection Act of 2007" or whatever.

Letting the great minds in Washington and Charleston decide who can say what, where and when just doesn't sound like a wise policy to me.

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First, the AP story, then my comment:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday accused former President Clinton of not responding forcefully enough to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or later terrorist attacks.

The former New York mayor criticized Democrats, accusing them of weakness and naivete in dealing with terrorism. Giuliani made the comments to about 650 business, corporate and political leaders at Regent University, the conservative Christian college founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

“Islamic terrorists killed more than 500 Americans before Sept. 11. Many people think the first attack on America was on Sept. 11, 2001. It was not. It was in 1993,” said the former New York mayor.

Giuliani argued that Clinton treated the World Trade Center bombing as a criminal act instead of a terrorist attack, calling it “a big mistake” that emboldened other strikes on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya and Tanzania and later on the USS Cole while docked in Yemen in 2000. ...

Democrats were quick to criticize Giuliani.

“Rudy’s arrogance has gotten the best of him,” the Democratic National Committee said in a one-paragraph response. “How can a man who failed to prepare New York City for a second attack after the first one, who sent firefighters and emergency workers into Ground Zero without respirators and quit the Iraq Study Group to raise money keep America safe?” ...

Other than arguing over the accuracy of Giuliani's comment, it appears the primary season may have morphed into one where people are going after their probable opponents in the other party rather than those in their own. This was the first wire story I saw today on that.

Having said that, there's little reason for someone like me here in West Virginia to get really worked up over the primaries. Why should I? What say will I have? By the time most West Virginians get a say, it will be only to verify and confirm the candidates that voters in other states have chosen.

If this election is as close as the previous two, perhaps West Virginia's voice will count in the 08 general election, but I have a hard time seeing how it will matter in the primaries.

But that's probably how it is in a lot of smaller states. Who goes to New Hampshire or Iowa in September and October unless they absolutely have to?

The reverse would be true for the primaries. Take California. In primary season, candidates need to win that state, but for the general, they already know it's not really in play, so they don't have to spend much time there.

So let's see how much attention West Virginia gets in the next 18 months, and when it gets it.

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Another thought on the passing of Bob Evans:

It would not have been the same if his parents had named him Jacob or Dustin or Joshua or Jim or Sunbeam or Apple or Morgan or Gary or . . .

Bob Evans was a Bob. If he wasn’t named “Bob” at birth, he would have had to change it.

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You've seen the "deer crossing" signs around here. When I was in Alaska a few years back, there were several "moose crossing" signs. And I've had to stop on my road a few times while a momma wild turkey led her chicks across.

On Sunday, I saw something new.

My kids and I were coming down Route 2 in Mason County. We were right above the RV park near Glenwood when a skunk and four little skunklets crossed in front of us. We stopped, and traffic coming the other way stopped. The skunks took their time crossing. Momma kept watch on her babies and led them into the weeds between the road and the ditch, and they disappeared.

It was the first time my kids had seen live skunks in the wild. They had seen them as road kill, but never walking free in the wild.

Perhaps the DoH needs to put a "skunk crossing" sign near the RV park. Or maybe not.

Immigration bill, 6/27/07

Best description I've heard of the Bush/Whoever immigration reform bill that's now in Congress:

“This immigration bill is little more than an amnesty bill all gussied up. But no matter how much lipstick they put on this bill, it is still amnesty, and I will still oppose it. There is no excuse for turning a blind eye to the 500,000 aliens expected to sneak across the borders illegally this year. Instead of rewarding those who break our immigration laws, Congress ought to secure our borders, enforce the laws on the books, and encourage employers to hire American workers. Congress should reject this legislation." -- Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.

Odds and ends, 6/26/07 Updated

Okay, bear with me on this one ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An employee whose religious beliefs conflict with the political positions of their labor union cannot be forced to pay dues, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost’s ruling broadens the category of employees who may opt out of unions because of religious beliefs beyond Seventh-day Adventists and Mennonites.

A Roman Catholic teacher who refused to pay dues to the National Education Association, claiming its views on abortion conflict with her own, sued the State Employment Relations Board after the panel ruled against her claim for a religious exemption.

Carol Katter, a teacher in St. Marys in western Ohio, said the union supports abortion rights and she does not. “I was not going to give 1 cent to those causes,” she told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Tuesday. ...

In his ruling Thursday, Frost struck down the Ohio law that held only members of religions that “historically held conscientious objections” to union membership could opt out. The judge said anyone with demonstrated religious beliefs should be exempt from paying dues to unions whose positions they find objectionable. The law discriminated among religions by recognizing the Seventh-day Adventist and Mennonite objections to joining unions while denying the same right to others, the judge said.

My question: What business does the NEA have in getting involved in the abortion debate?

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Like that's going to happen. . .

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Construction will begin in August on a $16.3 million bridge for the King Coal Highway, Gov. Joe Manchin said Monday.

Ahern & Associates of South Charleston won the contract for the project, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed in October 2009, Manchin said.

The four-lane bridge will span U.S. 19 in Bluefield. ...

When completed, the 95-mile (King Coal Highway) will run from Bluefield to Williamson, where it will join the Tolsia Highway. The two highways will be part of Interstate 73/74.

U.S. 52 from Williamson to Bluefield needs to be upgraded, but I don't know that four lanes are justified, unless it gets a lot of coal truck traffic. And anyone who thinks there will ever be an Interstate 73/74 had better talk to highway officials in Michigan and Ohio. The last I heard, Ohio had no desire to spend millions to bring various roads there up to Interstate standards for I-73/74.

It sounds like people in southern West Virginia are spending lots of money preparing for something that probably won't happen.

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I just got an e-mail from something that sounded like a think tank. The summary was of something called, "The State of White America." It could be either racist trash or a thoughtful essay. It was the first.

There's room for a thoughtful, well-researched piece on the state of white America. But not from people who think desegregation was the worst thing that ever happened in this nation.

University research and licensing

Marshall University wants to be thought of as a research institution. That's why President Stephen Kopp is trying to get the state to provide Marshall with a few million to endow a research institute on the Marshall campus.

How lucrative research can be and how far behind all schools in the state are -- even the gold and blue up north -- can be seen in a big report by the Southern Regional Education Board. The full report, including lots of Excel charts, can be found here. I've not had enough time to go through it thoroughly, and in the places where I have looked for detailed information, some numbers jump out at me as not possibly being true, so I've made a call or two to check on them.

This one, in light of Marshall's research goals, does jump at me:

From 1995 to 2005, West Virginia's institutions of higher education ranked near the bottom in terms of income from patents and licensing. West Virginia schools raked in all of $91,000 in that time. Florida schools ranked second in the nation at nearly $1.35 billion. Georgia was fifth with $447.6 million.

In West Virginia, $91,000 is a lot of money. In Florida, it's probably not even expense account money, when you compare the two revenue streams. If you want to look at the states with less reported licensing income than West Virginia, you have to look at Wyoming, South Dakota and Alaska.

To think that 50 years ago, the populations of West Virginia and Florida were about equal.

Marshall is banking on biotech. So are a lot of other people. Kopp wants to establish the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, or MIIR for short, to jump-start some serious research that could have commercial applications.

Marshall and other school(s) have a long way to go to catch up with some of their peers in this regard. It could come down to resources. Does Marshall build an indoor football practice facility, a baseball stadium or an engineering building?

Toyota and the UAW, 6/25/07

Someone has posted an interesting comment on the entry of a few days back about Toyota and the UAW. Because older items get kicked off the page after a while, you can find it here.

It's worth reading.

Bob Evans, 10/12/1986

From an article in The Herald-Dispatch:

Has Columbus forgotten its roots?

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio -- Have the people in Columbus forgotten where they came from?

That phrase, in several variatioins, is often uttered when people in or near Gallipolis hear that the original Bob Evans Steakhouse is closing.

So what if the steakhouse is cramped, if smoke from the grill drifts over the counter, if you have a hard time being seated a lunchtime?

Some people in Gallipolis talk about the little building on Ohio 7 as if it were a landmark, as if someone had decided to build a warehouse in the ciyt park.

This is the place that expanded into a drive-in next door, where truckers parked their rigs while eating and where the kids cruised on weekends. This was where everything that Evans built -- 161 restaurants, the Farm Festival, the International Chicken Flying Meet, the conservation work, the contributions to 4-H, promoting Rio Grance College and Community College -- began.

. . . Howard Webster, an Iowa City, Iowa, resident who was passing through town with his wife, said, "I ate at this place 25 years ago. It's what got me introduced to Bob Evans. We were on a trip through here. We liked it very much."

The company has no restaurants in his home state, but "I wouldn't mind if they'd put one out there," he said.

. . . But the first steakhouse is not the only original part of the company due for replacement. Evans himself is 68. The mandatory retirement age at Bob Evans Farms Inc. is 70.

In the last few years, Evans has rarely been featured in company advertising. His photo is seen once in the company's most recent annual report, and that was in a group photo of the company's officers.

Evans said Friday that he will be busy after he is forced into retirement, perhaps with his horse farm or dealing in cattle.

. . . Evans said he does not expect to be excluded from the company's advertising forever. After all, he said, even Pepsico is putting the Colonel back into Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Bob Evans, 12/18/86

From an article in the Dec. 18, 1986, The Herald-Dispatch written by my wife's favorite newspaper writer:

Until his two open-heart operations in 1980, Evans was his company's chief pitchman. By the time his health had returned less than six months later, the company had decided to use other commercial spokesmen.

He refuses to complain directly about the most recent Bob Evans Farms ads, including the ones featuring long-time employees saying the same things he did six years ago.

"What you have to do is go by sales. I'm not going to complain about (the new advertising) no matter how bad it is."

... Evans was recovering from the open-heart surgery and dropped from the advertising about the time the board of directors almost sold the company to Beatrice Foods Co. Evans said he met with a Beatrice representative in the family room of his Gallipolis house and discussed terms of the merger contract.

Evans called off the deal when his attorney told him what was in the contract. The advertising change "happened in the next couple of weeks," Evans said.

... Evans is a conservationist by avocation. He bought about 40 old farms years ago when they were cheap. They had pretty much languished unused until he had accumulated enough money to improve them.

I'll post excerpts from another story in a little bit. It's understandable that the second generation wants to make its own mark, but too many times in business, people destroy the brand in trying to re-invent it. I don't know what most people think of when they see a Bob Evans restaurant, but I know who I think of.

Bob Evans

Later today, I plan to have a slightly long post about the passing of Gallipolis, Ohio, restauranteur Bob Evans. Bob was an amazing character. I had a lengthy interview with him about 20 years when he was kicked out of his own company by an age requirement. It was almost as though his relatives in management couldn't get rid of him fast enough.

I learned a lot talking to Bob and reading about him. His views on wildlife influenced my thinking on urban affairs in cities the size of Huntington.

Anyway, after I get some weekend editorial pages out of the way and attend my final parent-counselor conference of the 06-07 school year, I plan to write something, including lengthy excerpts of that article from 20 years ago.

Odds and ends, 6/21/07

This is how I feel about a lot of modern environmentalism, namely the last panel:

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Sen. Robert C. Byrd reached a milestone today. Today, Byrd cast his 18,000 roll call vote in th Senate.

We and a lot of other newspapers throughout the state ran an article last week about how frail Byrd has become physically in the past year, particularly since his wife died. Some folks will say a frail Robert C. Byrd is more valuable than a healthy anyone else. I don't know that I buy that, but I have to say Byrd is probably better in that seat than about anyone else I can think of. Whether that says something good about Byrd or bad about the rest of the political talent pool in West Virginia, or any combination thereof, is for the reader to decide.

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The number of letters to the editor we receive has dropped off in recent weeks. Could be the weather. Could be the lack of a news event that grabs interest, although we've had a lot of traffic on our forum about the mayor's veto. Or it could be the fact that people can now post comments anonymously on the Internet and not have to worry about the bother and wait of getting a letter to the editor published in the print paper.

Odds and ends, 6/20/07

From The Associated Press:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — If western and southwestern counties continue to inch toward a drought, West Virginia could see the worst fall wildfire season in six years, the state Division of Forestry said.

“We’ll spend the rest of the summer doing training and preparations, making sure we are ready. You have to be ready just in case,” assistant state Forester Dan Kincaid said Tuesday.
“Hopefully we’ll spend a lot of time getting ready and it won’t be a bad season. But we can’t take that chance.”

This year, 466 fires burned a total of 3,727 acres through May, Kincaid said.While that number is considered average or even below average for West Virginia, he said, the situation could worsen in late summer or fall when the leaves start falling from the trees.

I seem to remember back in the early 1980s, when I was living in Ohio, that the fires in eastern Kentucky were so bad that smoke from then drifted across Wayne and Cabell counties into Lawrence and Gallia counties in Ohio. You could stand outside in Ohio, miles from Kentucky, and smell smoke from fires there.

I have a pile of brush that I need to burn, but I don't dare until we get some rain -- a good, light, steady, two-day rain.

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If I read the astronomical tables right and if I did the correct conversion of Universal Time to Eastern Daylight Time, the summer solstice occurs at 2:06 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21. As noted earlier, I think summer got here a long time ago.

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A story in this morning's paper, Mike Bartrum, who played on Marshall University's first NCAA Division I-AA national championship team, officially retired from the National Football League on Tuesday.

I don't know if that has anything to do with this, but it does give you pause when you see what happens on the football field, especially at the NFL level where players are so big, strong and fast.

Cracking knees are one thing. Long-term effects of concussions are another.

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And more on "hot gas":

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal court in Kansas will oversee dozens of lawsuits filed across the country claiming oil companies have knowingly overcharged customers when gas station fuel temperatures rise.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation this week ruled the so-called “hot fuel” cases would be centralized in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., rather than tried in separate courts. Centralizing cases is considered a way to make the process more efficient for both sides and avoids district courts duplicating and possibly contradicting each other’s actions.

It also would streamline the process of deciding whether to certify the cases as class-action lawsuits, which could demand billions of dollars in damages or key changes in how gas retailers operate.

In its ruling Monday, the panel said it looked for a judge who had the time and experience to deal with what could turn out to be a mammoth case involving hundreds of plaintiffs and scores of oil company defendants. ...

The lawsuits center around the oil industry’s century-old practice of pricing gasoline on a standard of 60 degrees. As temperatures rise during warmer months, the gasoline expands, meaning customers get less energy per gallon.

Because few gas pumps adjust the dispensing of fuel according to temperature, gas is an average of about 5 degrees warmer than the federal standard, according to a study analyzed by Dick Suiter of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, which has held hearings on the issue, estimates temperature changes could cost consumers $1.5 billion at the pump during the summer and is considering legislation that would force oil companies to install pumps that adjust for temperature changes.

Gas retailers have asked Congress to wait for additional studies, claiming that forcing them to install new pumps would be too expensive.

Trial lawyers have jumped on the issue, filing dozens of federal lawsuits claiming retailers are using temperature changes to rip off consumers. ...

This is talk about "hot fuel." I wonder what happens to E85 or E10 ethanol fuels when the weather gets really hot. Or diesel or biodiesel.

More on small cars and auto safety (updated)

The Christian Science Monitor weighs in on the automobile size vs. safety debate with this story from June 12, which I learned about a little while ago.

Remind me sometime to walk through a dealership lot and look for cars that don't have power windows, automatic transmissions, air conditioning and other weighty options. The best car for mileage that I ever drove was a 1990 Honda Civic hatchback with a four-speed manual transmission, no AC, not even a radio. I don't think it had power steering, either. And in a basic car like that, don't even think about cruise control or power seats. It got about 40 mpg on the highway.

If we want to talk about improving CAFE, this is where we start -- by convincing Americans to buy stripped-down cars. But it will be a very tough sell until we see $5 or $6 gasoline.

And my five-person family would barely fit in one of those things. It wouldn't fit there at all if one or more kids were in a child restraint seat.

UPDATE 1: For another view, which happens to contradict views I posted earlier, try this one that talks about the changing weights of "small" cars and the record of weight-vs-safety research.

UPDATE 2: I don't think Michelle linked to this one. If you did, Michelle, I'm sorry to duplicate, but this piece from the IIHS from a few years ago has some interesting conclusions. (PDF alert). The most interesting one to me, and one that I agree with, is that if we must legislate any vehicles out of existence, would would aim at the very smallest and the very largest. When you start doing that, though, who's to say you can ride your Harley but I can't drive my Yugo?

Gasoline and hot weather

Let's see if we get this right. Gasoline expands in summer, so the amount of energy in each gallon drops. Gasoline is priced at a 60-degree standard. Gas pumps don't adjust for temperature changes, so motorists get less for their money in hot weather.

I know this is in court, but I had to ask myself if this is real. It sounds like an urban legend gone bad, but it's not.

It is true. Here's a PDF explanation along with the formula for calculating the difference between what the pump says you get and what you really get. I'll have to play around with this some later -- I hope.

Odds and ends, 6/18/07

Has anyone else noticed that the paint on the pink bridge is starting to peel?

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I got to work today and was told the air conditioning was out until evening. I wonder how many other people work in buildings that were hermetically sealed because of the energy crisis in the 1970s, and now we don't have a window to open when the AC is on the blink. It was so bad at one point that I went outside and stood in the sun to cool off.

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The cost of clean-coal technology, from a press release provided by American Electric Power:

A proposed Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) clean-coal power plant in New Haven, W.Va., could be completed in mid-2012 at the earliest at a cost of approximately $2.23 billion if appropriate regulatory approvals are obtained in West Virginia and Virginia without delays, according to testimony filed with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) today by Appalachian Power, an operating subsidiary of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP). ...

To recover anticipated costs of the IGCC plant, Appalachian Power estimates that it will need to increase West Virginia rates by approximately 12 percent by 2012 when the plant goes into service.

I didn't get all that excited when West Virginia American Water Co. filed for a 24.9 percent rate increase a couple of weeks ago. Usually, they ask for 25 and settle for something a lot smaller. Likewise, I have to wonder about how much AEP really thinks it needs to pay for its proposed IPCC plant.

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I've been reading some pieces on various blogs scattered about where they talk about how kids don't get out and roam as much as they used to. I had been thinking about it, and it appears other people have the same concerns I do. When I was 13, as my oldest son is now, I thought nothing of walking to my sister's house 3.5 miles away. And I thought nothing of getting on my bike and riding several miles along state roads and back roads. But today we have predators and other dangers -- real or imagined -- out there. Plus I rarely see kids I don't know walking or riding past my house. In protecting our kids, I tend to think we've done them a great deal of harm.

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I know I dated this 6/18/07 in the title line. Maybe I should do like some magazines do and forward-date it to something like 7/1/07.

Advanced Placement and West Virginia

A news release from the Southern Regional Education Board arrived in this morning’s mail. The headline pronounced good news: “SREB states lead the nation in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.” The information inside had bad news: West Virginia lags again.

Nationally, 24 percent of graduating seniors took at least one AP exam in the 2006 school year. In the SREB states (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia), 26 percent did. The greatest percentage was in Florida, where 33 percent took and passed at least one AP test.

Do you have to guess which state had the lowest percentage? Yep, we were right there at 14 percent.

Kentucky, by the way, came in at 17 percent.

Now check out the percentages of those who scored a 3 (passing score) or higher. Nationally: 15 percent. SREB states: 14 percent. Kentucky: 9 percent. West Virginia: 6 percent.

Remember, this comes when the Cabell County Board of Education is thinking about eliminating the AP physics class at Cabell Midland High School.

According to the SREB news release, all West Virginia high schools must offer at least four AP courses or equivalent IB courses by fall 2008.

I have some knowledge of AP and IB, but I plan to learn more this coming school year.

What I really want to know is, are we here in West Virginia pushing our kids to learn? Do we give them the same opportunities to improve their academic skills that we give our athletes?

Why aren’t more of our children taking AP or IB courses? Is it because parents aren’t demanding them? Or do we offer something better?

Go away, Angelina

Disclaimer: I have never been impressed with Angelina Jolie. I don't think she's attractive, hot, beautiful or any of those other words we're supposed to use when we're talking about Hollywood stars. But one thing she is is a multimillion-a-year business. It's not surprising that she would throw her weight around. This time, she may have gone too far. No matter what you think of FOX News, you don't pull stunts like this.

The day I hold up someone like Angelina Jolie as any sort of role model is the day I hug a whitetail deer.

Quick question -- your thoughts needed

The Delta Queen doesn't stop at Huntington anymore. If it were to stop, what would you recommend for the passengers to do on a morning excursion? Remember, these are people with money to spend. They're looking for something different. Some of my first thoughts might not be any good, but here they are anyway:

Bus trip to Blenko Glass.

Heritage Farm, especially if Mike Perry gives the grand tour.

The Robert C. Byrd tour of the Huntington area.

If it can be worked out with CSX, a tour of the locomotive heavy repair shops. Not likely, but why not pitch the idea?

A quick trip to the Harley-Davidson museum.

If it can be worked out with Heiner's, a tour of a bread factory.

I'm open to any ideas, good or bad.

Taking (or not taking) the bus

This is from a Census Bureau news release.

Despite rising fuel costs, commuters continued to drive their cars in 2005, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis of data from the American Community Survey. The survey, gathered over the course of the year, found that driving to work was the favored means of commute of nearly nine out of 10 workers (87.7 percent), with most people (77 percent) driving alone.

In contrast, 4.7 percent of commuters used public transportation to travel to work in 2005, an increase of about 0.1 percent over 2000 levels.

About half of the nation’s public transportation commuters can be found in 10 of the nation’s 50 cities with the most workers age 16 or over: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. These cities account for 2.9 million of the nation’s 6.2 million users of public transportation (see detailed tables).

To see the tables, click here. I'll warn you that it's an Excel chart with multiple worksheets. To see something simpler, click here.

There are times when I want to live closer to work, or live close to where I could take a bus to work. Most days, I don't need to have my vehicle close to work. But some days I do. It doesn't pay the TTA to run a bus anywhere near my house, so it doesn't. But my family and I are country people. Living far away from the bus line is a lifestyle choice we make.

Short memories or no memory

So now there is talk in Congress about new laws to require automakers to build cars that get more miles per gallon.

Where were these people in the 1970s and 1980s? Do they remember the Vega, the Pinto, the Mustang II, the Monza, the Horizon .... you get the idea. These things were small chassis with aluminum-foil bodies. Even my beloved 1980 Scirocco was way too small for me to drive today.

There is a reason people like me drive SUVs: our children. No way I'm putting my family into a car too small to survive a crash. Tax me; raise gasoline prices; have me pay more for insurance. I don't care.

Don't try to send me back to the 1970s, because I'm not going.

Toyota and the UAW

The United Auto Workers is making noise again about forming local unions at Toyota factories in the United States:

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Current and former workers at Toyota’s Kentucky plant shared stories Sunday about low wages and poor working conditions — rallying points many in the assembly line are hoping will ultimately lead to unionization.

A crowd of about 200 people — many of them workers at the Georgetown plant that produces the Camry — attended the meeting of the Kentucky Workers’ Rights Board, a panel of religious and civic leaders pushing for better labor conditions.

Like foreign-owned auto companies across the South, Toyota is nonunion, but the leaders on the board sympathize with the workers and many contend that should change.

“We are people of community, and part of our community has said to us that things are not exactly the way they need to be in the work situation at Toyota,” said Father John Rausch, coordinator of peace and justice at the Catholic Diocese in Lexington. “We are not trying to tear Toyota down. We are trying to make it better and have a better partner in community.”

Two current employees and two fired ones described what they said were extraordinary steps taken by the company to prevent union organization.

A major focus of the hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, was the company’s use of temporary workers, who some of the employees said were doing the same amount of work as the full-timers for half the pay.

“They’re trying to get a job there,” said Cornelia James, who has worked at Toyota for 19 years. “Full-time employment is dangled in front of them like a carrot, and they’re told, any missteps and you’re out.”

This raises so many questions:

1. Toyota has made cars at Georgetown for more than 20 years, and a majority of workers has yet to find a good reason to join the UAW. Could it be that Toyota provides them more than they could get from a union? Or is Toyota really that good at using scare tactics? If I were a Toyota worker, I would have to look at Ford and GM and ask myself if I want my company following their lead.

2. On the other hand, the union makes a good point about the use of temporary workers. What the AP article does not say is how long people work temporary jobs at Toyota. Is it three months? Six months? A year? Permanently? Toyota might say it does not want to lay off permanent workers, so it hires temps for when times are good. But as long as there is no union, you will have two classes of people working side-by-side doing the same work with some difference in pay and a great difference in job security. But Toyota is not the only manufacturer using that practice.

3. And I can't help but think that if the UAW can get one local into one plant, the dominos will fall. The question is, though, whether the UAW can offer workers more than what they get from Toyota, Nissan and other Asian automakers now.

I really have no opinion on whether Toyota workers should join the UAW. That's for them to decide. I can only note that the most gains in organizing workers nowadays appear to be in the public sector. For whatever reasons, unions are losing ground in private industries and must turn to the public sector for their growth. So the UAW may be swimming against the tide in trying to organize Toyota.

It's been tried before. What would be different this time?

Suspended licenses and ATVs

Here's something to ponder:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — All motorized automobiles, including all-terrain vehicles, are off limits to West Virginians whose driver’s licenses are suspended or revoked, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

In a unanimous opinion issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia overturned a circuit judge’s dismissal of a May 2005 indictment against Robert L. Sarver.

Sarver was accused of operating an ATV on a county road in April 2004 after he lost his license following a third-offense drunken driving charge.

The state Supreme Court determined that Roane County Circuit Judge David W. Nibert erred in December 2005 when he dismissed the indictment against Sarver. Nibert’s ruling was based on state law not requiring ATV operators to have a license to operate on a public highway.

But the high court noted that driving is a privilege, and driver’s licenses that grant such a privilege apply to any and all modes of transportation that are motorized.

“With the revocation of his operator’s license, Mr. Sarver lost his privilege to operate any motor vehicle, which includes an all-terrain vehicle, on the public highways of this state,” Justice Joseph Albright wrote in the opinion.

The next logical step would be to require that all ATVs be registered as motor vehicles, meaning they would have to be licensed. It only makes sense. Every other motor vehicle that can legally operate on public roads must have a license plate. Why not ATVs?

When ATV owners got legislative permission to ride on paved roads, they opened themselves up to this sort of question.

Before anyone asks, no, I am not against ATV use. But I am against irresponsible ATV use when that use is on the same road that I drive on. And I have seen too much of it.

Odds and ends, 6/7/07

Here's another one of those "it's about time" items:

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky county plagued by widespread use of OxyContin is seeking litigation against the manufacturer of the powerful painkiller. The Pike County Fiscal Court has unanimously voted to authorize a local attorney to determine whether the county has a legal case against OxyContin’s maker, Purdue Pharma, Judge-executive Wayne T. Rutherford said Wednesday.

County records show that since 2005, Pike officials have dumped more than $7 million in bonds and coal severance money into the fight against prescription drug abuse.

Rutherford said OxyContin, a powerful slow-release painkiller, is the main culprit.

“We have an epidemic in this county,” he said, adding that prevalent abuse of the drug has given “us the reputation of being the OxyContin capital of America.”

Rutherford said county officials decided to pursue a potential lawsuit after the drug maker and three of its current or former executives pleaded guilty last month to misleading the public about the drug’s risk of addiction.

... OxyContin — the brand name for oxycodone — has been blamed for hundreds of deaths across the country in recent years, since the slow-release effect can be circumvented by crushing and snorting the pill. The drug has been called “hillbilly heroin” in drug-ridden Appalachian states like Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.

Sheriff Charles “Fuzzy” Keesee said prescription drug abuse is so rampant in Pike County — geographically the largest county in Kentucky — that his jail underwent a $5.6 million expansion in 2005 to deal with the problem.

Well, if states can do it, why not counties?

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As far as I know, I've never had a kidney stone. This photo and article just might get me drinking less caffeine-free Pepsi and more water this summer.

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Let them pay for it

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center at Cross Lanes says a new interchange off Interstate 64 could help ease congestion in the area should the track build its new table games casino, hotel and conference center.

Fine, as long as the racetrack pays for it.

People in this area have waited in vain for years for simple improvements to W.Va. 10 between Chapmanville and Huntington. The road is so curvy, it’s hard for a driver to sustain speeds greater than 35 mph for any distance. Removing some curves and otherwise straightening the road would suffice.

And let's not forget Route 2 or cable median barriers between the West 17th Street exit and the Big Sandy River.

A new interchange could cost $15 million or more. That same money would straighten lots of curves throughout West Virginia. Or it would install lots new, needed guardrail.

Money for new road construction is severely limited. There’s no sense in telling people in most parts of the state that their needs have to wait so gamblers and conventioneers won’t have to spend another 15 minutes to get where they’re going.

Only in the public sector

Okay, I don't get it.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Students with perfect attendance generally just get a certificate of recognition. But their teachers in several West Virginia counties can get pay boosts of up to $1,200 for good attendance.

The Kanawha County Board of Education is the latest school board in West Virginia to pass an incentive policy for faithful attendance. Under the policy approved Monday night, school employees without any unexcused absences in the 2007-2008 school year will receive $1,050 bonuses. One missed day of work will net them $980 each in extra pay and two absences, $910. ...

Kanawha County Schools Treasurer Harry Reustle has said the price tag could be as much as $2 million a year, depending on how much the policy helps cut back on substitute teacher pay. Substitute teachers now cost the county about $4 million a year.

In March, the Jefferson County school board approved a policy that provides an annual bonus of $1,200 a year for perfect attendance to employees with at least 15 days of accrued leave in their accounts. Jefferson County Superintendent Steven Nichols said he proposed the incentives in response to what he calls “a disturbing trend in public schools.”

“A lot of folks look at it as part of their benefits package,” he said. “That’s never what they were intended for. It’s an insurance policy.”

Okay, I'm calling GateHouse and telling them I want a bonus for not using all my sick time last year. They will laugh at me the first time I make this demand. The second time, they will refer me to journalismjobs.com, which I will probably need.

Odds and ends, 6/4/07 (revised)

Regarding the recent thread on education spending, you can try the federal NAEP site with the Nation's Report Card.

I've been here before, and as I look at some numbers, it seems our education progress parallels our economic progress. We're getting better, but other states are getting better faster.

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A few days ago, blog fan Michelle left this note about the legislators' junket to Puerto Rico. She found this report that lists a lot of West Virginia municipal bonds, along with some from Puerto Rico and thought, what's going on here?

So I called around Charleston, and his is what someone in the state treasurer's office told me:

West Virginia doesn't have enough bond sales to stand alone, so some from Puerto Rico were added to the mix to make a full portfolio. That is the only connection.

Someone who knows more about municipal bonds might want to comment, but that is all I have right now.

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I have had more problems with this one entry than....

Cabell County dropout rate, 6/4/07

Two days ago, about 330 students graduated from Huntington High School and 400 graduated from Cabell Midland. I saw those numbers in the Sunday morning paper, and I thought they looked low. So a few minutes ago I checked with my records, and they are low. Here's why:

Here are the October enrollment numbers for the two public high schools in Cabell County for the Class of 2007:

Freshman year: 516 at Midland; 492 at HHS.
Sophomore year: 514 at Midland; 442 at HHS.
Junior year: 437 at Midland; 401 at HHS.
Senior year: 427 at Midland; 360 at HHS.
Graduating class: 400 at Midland; 330 at HHS.

So, 116 of the kids in freshman class at Midland four years ago did not receive diplomas from CMHS two day ago. That's 22 percent.

At HHS, you can see that 162 former freshman didn't graduate with their class. That's 33 percent.

A few of those students may have been held back a year for academic reasons, and they can expect to graduate next year. Some may have come to freshman year from private school or home school, decided public school wasn't for them and opted out.

And yes, people move in and out, but there can't be that many more school-age people moving out than in.

As I've said before, some students shouldn't be in the high school environment. It's sad to accept that, but some who drop out may go on to get a GED. Good for them.

But you have to look at the shrinking class of 2007 and ask if too many people are dropping out. Superintendent Bill Smith has told The Herald-Dispatch editorial board of problems that many students face at home. It makes you wonder how a teenager who is not dedicated to learning can overcome some of those problems.

This is something I'll have to chew on this summer.

Odds and ends, 6/1/07

Look for another good piece by reporter Bryan Chambers this weekend. He's looking at something that we've talked about here in the office for the past couple of weeks. After it runs, I can have nice, long post about it, assuming the computer can hold everything I want to say about the topic. What is it? Check the Web site on Sunday.

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Today was the last Friday of the school year for Cabell County. Next week, I hope to have a column describing what happened with my three young'ns this year. Main points: My ninth grader found out she's every bit as smart as I told her she was, and then some. My first grader found out how far he can go if he pushes himself. And my seventh-grade son learned he can go an entire year (so far) without having one discipline problem. Last year I wanted a bumper sticker that said, "My child is in detention at Beverly Hills Middle School." But this year he managed to behave himself.

If he has had one problem adjusting to middle school, it has been the Vogons. Those are the overly bureaucratic creatures from "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy." Poor kid has more trouble keeping up with the paperwork he has to fill out than anything else in middle school.

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Someone has sent me a form purporting to be the business license renewal application form for the city of Point Pleasant, W.Va. The form lists the license fees for various types of businesses. A beer distributor pays $150, while a laundromat with 10 or more machines pays $15. The sender points me to Line 18, where lawyers pay only $5.

"Wonder who wrote this?" he asks.

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For both people who read this blog, I was wondering if there's anything in particular you would like to see more of or less of. I'm curious.

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What the whatever. It's time to go pick up my first-grader from his after-school program. The best part of the program is that he gets to ride a Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 from his school to the after-school. The only thing that would improve that would be if he got to ride a Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner HDX once or twice a week.

Or if he could see a few more Freightliner trucks on the way. The kid was disappointed a few weeks ago when I told him Thomas Built Buses and Jeeps (one of which I drive) will soon be made by separate companies. But as long as Freightliner is still the parent company of Thomas Built Buses, he'll be happy.

He's the only kid I know who sits home at night reading sales brochures for school buses or who keeps asking his dad to get on the Web and find more history on the Superior Coach Co. That was the company that made the buses I rode at his age.

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