Odds and ends, 11/20/08

It took a while, but Huntington's largest gasoline retailer posted a pump price of $1.999 a gallon this morning.

By coincidence (?), on Oct. 20 -- a month ago -- the price dropped below $3 when it hit $2.999.

On Aug. 5, 2005, it was big news when the price hit the unheard-of level of $2.459. And 26 days later, when it broke the $3 barrier.

It will go back up soon. But now I can afford go out and photograph some bridges 50 miles away.

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Banks and auto makers aren't the only ones suffering in this economy.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) _ Focus on the Family says it has eliminated more than 200 positions, the largest staff cuts in the evangelical Christian group's 31-year history.

Citing the faltering economy and a decline in donations, Focus officials said Monday that 149 employees would lose their jobs, most by month's end.

Another 53 open positions will be left vacant.

Ministry spokesman Gary Schneeberger says the group's board has approved a $138 million budget for the fiscal year that began last month after bringing in a record $146 million in revenue the previous year.

"There was an economic reality that said we had to meet this budget," Schneeberger said. "We found ourselves in a position where we can't continue to place an additional burden on donors."

Donations in October were down $2 million compared to the same month in 2007, Schneeberger said.

The cuts are ministry-wide. Glenn Williams, Focus on the Family's chief operating officer, said many involve operations, human resources, finance and marketing. Some programs also are being eliminated, including a magazine for teens that lost readership to the Internet, he said. ...

"... including a magazine for teens that lost readership to the Internet." Just like us folks in the mainstream media. The Internet is making a big impact on how people perceive information. They want it for free. Information is supposed to be free. It's free on TV, and it's free on the Internet. Who can be bothered with a magazine or a newspaper nowadays?

Beyond those myopic concerns, I wonder how this economy is affecting donations to other, similar organizations.

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Ever wonder why all the couples in those eHarmony.com commercials were heterosexual? It was because eHarmony was a heterosexual-only service. Until this week, after a court case.

This is from the AP story:

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Online dating service eHarmony said Wednesday it will launch a new Web site which caters to same-sex singles as part of a discrimination settlement with New Jersey's Civil Rights Division.

The settlement is the result of a complaint New Jersey resident Eric McKinley filed against the online matchmaker in 2005. McKinley, 46, said he was shocked when he tried to sign up for the dating site but couldn't get past the first screen because there was no option for men seeking men.

"It's very frustrating and it's very humiliating to think that other people can do it and I can't," he said. "And the only reason I can't is because I'm a gay man. That's very hurtful."

Neither the company nor its founder, Neil Clark Warren, acknowledged any liability. ...

McKinley called the settlement "fabulous" and said he was happy with the outcome. He's considering signing up for the new site once it launches.

Pasadena, Calif.-based eHarmony said it plans to launch its new service, called Compatible Partners, on March 31. ...

Theodore B. Olson, an attorney for eHarmony, said that even though the company believed McKinley's complaint was "an unfair characterization of our business," it choose to settle because of the unpredictable nature of litigation. ...

Here's an excerpt from an article in the Wall Street Journal:

The settlement stemmed from a complaint, filed with the New Jersey attorney general's office by a gay match seeker in 2005, that eHarmony had violated his rights under the state's discrimination law by not offering a same-sex dating service. ...

As part of the agreement, the Pasadena, Calif.-based company will develop and market Compatible Partners, a Web dating service for same-sex couples, and will allow the site's first 10,000 users to register free. EHarmony will also pay $50,000 to the attorney general's office and $5,000 to the man who first brought the case.

In a statement Wednesday, eHarmony denied violating discrimination law and said its business had been based on years of researching opposite-sex marriages to understand what makes such couples compatible.

Whether Compatible Partners will advertise on TV, I have no idea. Neither article mentioned it.