Archive for August, 2008
August 19th, 2008
That was my wife’s advice as I left home this morning. She had just finished reading the story about the layoffs at the Register Star.
The cuts are painful, but there are still more journalists in the newsroom today than when I started here in 1980.
The newspaper industry is experiencing the kind of economic pain that we’ve been writing about with other industries.
When I first started in this business, computers were almost unheard of. I wrote stories on a manual typewriter. I edited stories using a pencil and eraser. The finished product was sent to a Linotype operator who keyed in the stories.
I was at my second newspaper before I started working on a computer and it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that we started using computers to create pages and put type on them.
In the mid-1990s, the Internet Age was dawning. I remember our short experiment with a bulletin board system, which eventually led to our Web site rrstar.com.
There will always be a need for people to gather and organize the news. How it’s delivered will continue to change. How many people will be needed to gather news and make that delivery will change also.
August 18th, 2008
A couple of posters questioned whether Saturday’s driveway/sidewalk story was news.
Rockford finally enforcing an ordinance that’s been been on the books forever, an action that could cost you money, fits my definition.
Granted, this is my neighborhood. What’s frustrating to me, is how would a homeowner know what to do?
You look around and none of your neighbors have a sidewalk running through their asphalt driveways so you would naturally think you don’t need one either.
I talked to Ald. Joe Sosnowski about the issue a couple of weeks ago. He said contractors were mailed notices that the city would start enforcing the sidewalk rule. Fine, but if a contractor fails to comply, it’s the homeowner who’s on the hook. How were homeowners notified? You read in the story that one homeowner got the wrong message from City Hall.
This all makes me wonder what other ordinances the city may start to enforce that it’s never enforced before. I’m all for enforcing the law, but how do you know what the law is when your eyes show you what the practice is?
August 15th, 2008
This morning’s story about the Ingersoll fine came about because frequent guest columnist Bill Berg, who used to work for Ingersoll, called to tell me about it. He followed the phone call with an e-mail that included a link to a story on an Indian Web site.
Berg called again today and said there’s a bigger story than what was published. Can you figure out what it is?
August 14th, 2008
That’s what happened to this morning’s Editorial Board session. Edit board members have lots of responsibilities that sometimes conflict with our Monday and Thursday meetings.
Today we had two folks on vacation; one working from home; four with other meetings that could not be missed; and one running late.
That left me alone in the conference room.
That doesn’t mean I can write anything I want. We use e-mail as a tool to discuss topics when we can’t have any face time together.
August 13th, 2008
Chicago is doing some nice things for its bicyclists. Do we have enough riders in Rockford to follow suit? Some of us would rather see the bike-lane striping begin.
August 12th, 2008
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is frustrated with Illinois politics.
The Illinois Democrat was in town Monday to pitch his Small Business Health Options Program. He dropped by to visit with a few members of the Editorial Board.
Durbin worked diligently a few years ago to get Illinois more money for its roads than has ever come to the state in the federal transportation bill.
How did Illinois’ lawmakers thank Durbin? By doing what they do best: nothing.
Three years ago the Illinois Congressional Delegation, with Dennis Hastert as Speaker of the House and Durbin in a leadership role in the Senate, secured $6.2 billion over five years — a 30 percent increase over the 1998 transportation bill.
But to get that money, the state needed a capital plan to match its dollars with the federal money.
Illinois has not approved a capital plan since 1999. The state is losing whatever advantage it gained with the extra money because costs have risen sharply during the lost years.
Although Illinois probably will get its money eventually, Durbin’s dilemma comes with the transportation bill that comes up next year. He’s unlikely to get much support from his colleagues in the Senate who can rightfully say “Why should we give you more money? You didn’t spend what we gave you last time?”
Durbin said Illinois needs a capital plan, although he’s not a fan of expanding gambling to finance it. He thinks it’s an “irresponsible way to finance government” because poor people and the elderly are most likely to be gambling’s targets.
We agree, but there are no other options being discussed as lawmakers return to Springfield for a special session.
Durbin also is disappointed with the petty personal politics that has led to gridlock in Illinois.
The big dispute, of course, is between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Speaker of the House Mike Madigan. Durbin said the feud has gone beyond policy differences and is mired in “deep personal feelings” of animosity between the governor and the speaker.
Durbin also mentioned that Blagojevich has called him perhaps 10 times in the six years he’s been governor. You would think the governor would call someone of the senator’s experience, expertise and clout more often than that, especially considering the problems the state faces.
August 11th, 2008
We’ve all had near accidents — or maybe we weren’t that lucky — because a motorist was talking on a cell phone and wasn’t paying attention to the road.
As a bicyclist, I’m especially aware of drivers who are holding a phone in one hand and trying to make a turn with the other. I stop because I know they don’t see me (or care to). Fellow bicyclists have told me stories about being clipped or being nearly clipped by someone yakking and driving.
The Tribune’s Jon Hilkevitch writes about cell phones and traffic accidents in today’s column.
Distracted walking will be the next issue. More and more I see folks walking and talking on the cell phone. It seems they expect motorists to stop no matter what color the light at the intersection may be.
August 8th, 2008
The governor was in Springfield AND talked to reporters. That indeed is rare.
August 8th, 2008
I ran into ex-publisher Fritz Jacobi in the parking lot a few minutes ago. I told him that his name came up in yesterday’s editorial board meeting.
We were talking about Brett Favre’s comeback and Executive Editor Linda Grist Cunningham told us to imagine how disruptive it would be for Fritz to come back and want to be publisher of the RRS again. We, like the Packers, have moved on.
When I told Fritz that he laughed and said “I’m not coming back.”
I told him I realized that but he could always say that he’s been compared to Brett Favre.
August 7th, 2008
We have a few Green Bay Packers fans on the Editorial Board and the consensus today was that Brett Favre should have stayed retired.
I disagreed, as did Online Editor Anna Voelker, a die-hard Favre and Packers fan. I’m a Bears fan, but loved to watch Favre play because he looked like he was having so much fun out there. He played (and will) the game like it’s supposed to be played.
But Anna and I were the minority. The rest of the board said Favre’s ego had gotten the better of him and he couldn’t stay out of the limelight.
You have to have an ego to play any sport at a high level. You have to think you are the best and can continue to be the best whenever you step on the field. If you don’t think that way, you should walk away from the game.
Obviously, Favre still thinks he’s pretty good, but the J-E-T-S? Doesn’t seem right. The Jets were 4-12 last year ands I doubt Favre can make them a playoff contender. The team has too many holes.
New Yorkers are pretty excited. A Jets Brett Favre jersey was available about an hour after the trade was announced.
Favre may be in for a rude awakening. The New York press is much more critical than media in the Midwest.
Good luck Brett, I think you’re going to need it.
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