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Aug
21
Because Bill’s got the story on a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter, Jim McNair, being fired that’s been picked up by at least Jim Romenesko at Poynter Online (who gives Bill the nod) and now Editor & Publisher (which doesn’t give Bill any attribution, but the timestamp is 1:15pm today and we know we read Bill’s account this morning).
Intuition, or, really, just common logic says that there’ll be more to come.
See also here and here for more reports on the firing.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:08 pm August 21st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
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Aug
21
Haleh Esfandiari released from Iranian prison on bail
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Finally. I heard the news just about an hour ago on The World, whose reporter spoke with Esfandiari’s husband. According to Esfandiari’s attorney, whom you may have heard of because she won the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi, Esfandiari is free to leave the country.
From Reuters via the Globe and Mail:
Iran on Tuesday released a U.S.-Iranian academic, who had been detained on security-related charges since May, after paying 3 billion rials ($320,000 U.S.) bail.
…
Iran has accused Ms. Esfandiari of involvement in what it says is a U.S.-led plot to topple its clerical establishment in a “soft revolution”. Washington has dismissed the allegation.
“I’m happy that the judiciary and the Islamic revolutionary court finally accepted the law and released my client on bail,” Ms. Ebadi told Reuters. Ms. Esfandiari’s family had paid the bail.
To a safe return home for her.
Now, does anyone think that, if she didn’t have thoughts about overthrowing the government there before they imprisoned her, she might have some now?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:46 pm August 21st, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Aug
21
I won’t be voting for either Dennis Kucinich or Mike Gravel in the Democratic presidential primary, but I’d like to read a reasoned piece with pros and cons as to why they are excluded from discussions that get the marquee treatment like this piece by Jerome Armstrong on The Huffington Post.
What Armstrong shows us and talks about is important. You could argue, therefore, either way: include K and G because the issue (Iraq) is so important, or not, precisely because of the importance of the topic and the irrelevance many believe is possessed by K and G’s candidacies.
Who is served by excluding them? The reader? The candidates? The author? The host?
I don’t know. I’m asking.
Upon whom does the exclusion most reflect? How?
NB: Don’t forget the online poll results for Kucinich after the 8/19 Iowa debate.
Malign them all you want – I can understand that. But still…should they be excluded from high-profile reviews of the Dem candidates’ positions?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:14 pm August 21st, 2007 in Politics | 5 Comments
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Aug
21
Remember this post, from 7/27/07, about how the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority wants to submit a tax levy to us in November? And that article was published a day after the county commissioners voted 2-1 to increase the county sales tax, ostensibly to undergird a medical mart and convention center?
No one is saying the ports newly unveiled plans are bad. No one is saying the increase is too much, too little or otherwise objectionable.
But to announce it right on top of the sales tax increase?
Left-hand meet right-hand anyone?
Okay. That was then.
This is now:
Today, we can read more details about the port’s plans in this article about how Adam Wasserman, the port’s chief, wants to grow the port and Cleveland’s economy over 25 years.
But a little something seems to be missing from the information provided in the Plain Dealer’s story:
The strategic plan estimates the port would have to spend at least $100 million to relocate. There’s little detail on how that money could be raised, though discussions have centered on leveraging the $3.25 million the port receives yearly from a countywide tax, or selling off the port’s prime lakefront land.
Hmmm, then there’s this:
As for local impact, the port plans to use its powers to issue bonds and buy land to pursue big projects, the draft plan said.
But otherwise? Not a single mention of this from 7/27:
The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority today voted to submit a 0.13-mill property tax levy to voters on Nov. 6.
The port authority receives about $3.2 million a year from the levy, or about one-third of its operating expenses. The rest of its income comes from fees from shippers and its development finance operation.
The current levy, which has been renewed every five years since 1968, does not expire until the end of 2008.
The port estimates the levy costs property owners about $4 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Sigh.
Not even a “they’ve scuttled the plan to float a levy.”
As one of my favorite college professors used to say in a thick Polish accent, “Sonow.”
What do we learn in today’s article?
That the port’s chief makes $248,000. People complain about school district superintendent’s pay? When they have to make kids grow into adults?
I don’t think so.
Not to say Wasserman doesn’t deserve or hasn’t earned this salary, I’m just raising the questions (and dubious myself, right now; after all – how do we judge how much a port authority director should make?).
And it’s a visionary plan. And we’ll get 50,000 jobs. And on and on.
But nothing about how to fund it.
What is it with our area’s leaders, vision but no funding ideas – that they want to make public anyway. Because I don’t for a second believe that no one ever has funding plans. They just don’t want to tell us about them.
Often, with good reason.
Which, you would think, means that they need to come up with more presentable ideas, yeah?
I’m telling you – this pattern isn’t anything like what I’ve been taught in leadership classes, or experience for that matter.
And PS – I forgot to mention: Mr. Wasserman, seriously now, not being snarky: if you want to start somewhere small, I’ve learned recently that bigtime longtime leaders think that, in order to attract the big money, you need to show that you care and are willing to spend the smaller dollars to show that you care (in the case I’m referencing: fixing bathrooms and ceiling tiles for some tens of thousands of dollars before trying to ask for donations of up to three-quarter of a million dollars to fix a bricks and mortar facility that’s nearly underwater).
So here’s my suggestion for the port, and this advice comes to you free:
The port authority’s website. Update it. Today. You’re in the news. Make that, ahem, portal, look shipshape, hm?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:29 pm August 21st, 2007 in Politics | 6 Comments
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Aug
21
Remains of the Day, 8-20-07
Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments
There’s actually a batch of links that I’m probably going to Force Quit on because I really want to write something more substantive about them. I am counting the hours to when I will have unimpeded chunks of lucidity? lucidness? when I’ll be lucid? so that I can write about a bunch of topics that…I really want to write about.
But, for now, you’re stuck with this one-dimensional version of a book jacket (snippets but no meat, though you can check out these book socks, baby):
1. Okay – so – I read today both that a) people want to lower the age of drinking to 18 (h/t Keeler Political Report), but also that b) the deaths from drunk driving are down (h/t Columbuser). Dontcha think we should just look a little more closely at whether there’s a link there?
Honest? I don’t know if there is. But let’s just rule it one way or the other first.
Trust me on this instinct: I remember being ahead of the age change by a year. It meant that when I was 17 I was getting into places where you only needed to be 18 and so on, because the push for the 21 age requirement didn’t come until after the states did the dance for the federal highway dough.
But I remember driving during those days too. Ahem.
2. Forbes magazine says our commute in Cleveland stinks. Repeat after me: new leadership-light rail. New leadership-light rail. New leadership-light rail. Tell you what! Those county commissioners change that sales tax language to say that it’s for light rail? I’ll let them raise it without my vote.
3. Bullet-proof book socks are next, I’m telling you.
4. I agree 100% with Jeff aka Yellow Dog Sammy on this topic and not even having Josh Mandel staring me in the face saying otherwise would make me change (might even make me feel more resolute).
5. PLEASE consider whether and how you can help out the Put it on the Ballot effort to get the Cuyahoga County sales tax increase before the voters via a referendum.
6. Why lookie here – anyone can get married at any age! Ooopsie. Duh. Doh. What. Ever.
I need to stop. I’m just too punchy.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:24 am August 21st, 2007 in Politics | 5 Comments
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