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Sep
20
Remains of the Day, 9-20-07
Filed Under Remains of the Day | Comments Off
1. Welcome Debra Adams Simmons as the Plain Dealer’s new managing editor. She replaces Tom O’Hara. She’s 42 and from the Akron Beacon Journal, where the PD article says she was a vp and editor. ABJ folks – whaddyaknow? Not much, or something?
2. Now, anyone can access New York Times columnist Paul Krugman’s blog, called “The Conscience of a Liberal.” H/t Progress Ohio (and belated happy b-day!).
3. The Knight Foundation’s Future of the First Amendment survey is available for review, critique, lambasting and lauding. H/t PJNet.org which summarizes with the gist that kids get their news from online sources and what they consider to be news isn’t so different from what their parents think is news.
4. Fun analysis at PressThink about how it was a consent decree of the Web Court that forced the NYT to go free. It’s all clear to me now! (I agree, too.)
5. We knew this was coming – parents of caged kids sue social workers. Generally, social workers for municipal entities have immunity but there are limits. It will be interesting to see how far this goes.
6. A game called Consumer Consequences to help you determine how sustainable you are, to be played before, during or after you read these related posts from Brewed Fresh Daily here and here and terra, not terror. H/t Poynter.
7. This article about schools and colleges underreporting crime does not suprise me, especially having been the victim of a crime, on campus, at Georgetown, at the hands of another classmate whom the administration knew was a problem. Another story for another post.
8. Feminist Campus E-zine. Several ways in which I’m probably excluded from their target audience, but I still really like to see what groups like theirs are doing, especially with their leadership program.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:36 pm September 20th, 2007 in Remains of the Day | Comments Off
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Sep
20
Why are Barack Obama and Joe Biden listed as “not voting” on the rebuke MoveOn.org resolution?
Filed Under Politics, WH2008 | 14 Comments
I’m just asking.
I saw this information and I checked out the list and I wondered, why. Why are two Democratic Presidential candidates, Illinois Senator Barack Obama and Delaware Senator Joe Biden, listed as “not voted”? All the other presidential candidates who are U.S. senators voted yeah or nay. The third “not voted” is Maria Cantwell (D) of Washington State.
Anyone?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:43 pm September 20th, 2007 in Politics, WH2008 | 14 Comments
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Sep
20
Hattip to RealNEO, but of course.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:35 pm September 20th, 2007 in Blogging, Media | Comments Off
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Sep
20
Cuyahoga BOE attracts small crowd, had Internet viewing component too
Filed Under Elections, Government, Ohio | Comments Off
Karen Schaefer of WKSU filed this report about the public session today. She opens with saying that there were only about 20 people there at the beginning of the meeting.
In searching around for news of how the event went, I found this website that appears to have been a live Internet stream of the event, complete with a chat component, hosted by Voices of Cleveland and Beyond Video Productions. Did anyone try it during the session?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:36 pm September 20th, 2007 in Elections, Government, Ohio | Comments Off
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Sep
20
PD’s Blog 5 features The Wom Blog and Dan Hanson among other good choices
Filed Under Blogging, Media, Ohio | 11 Comments
I don’t know who exactly is responsible for the Blog 5 picks but the choices, when compared to what the PD’s PDQ did a couple of years ago with just one-liners, demonstrate how far blogs have come, and how far the people in the large media outlets have come in discerning which ones have posts of real interest.
This week, Blog 5 highlighted all worthy blogs. But I especially note Word of Mouth.
I swear, no one does it better than the Wom crowd. Their community is incredibly fortunate and seems to know it – just look at the literally thousands of comments they’ve gotten on their first-person posts.
I covet their stamina, humor, tenacity and success in connecting and conversing. Who couldn’t benefit from more of all that?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:48 pm September 20th, 2007 in Blogging, Media, Ohio | 11 Comments
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Sep
20
David Brennan, family give $6million to wife, daughters, granddaughters’ school, Our Lady of the Elms
Filed Under Education, Government, Ohio | 8 Comments
From the underappreciated Cleveland Scene blog, C-Notes:
This morning, the Elms announced that it had received a $6 million donation from Brennan and his wife, Ann — the largest gift in the school’s history. Turns out Ann is an Elms alum. So are her daughters. Her granddaughters are also currently enrolled at the school, which sends roughly 98 percent of all its students to college — unlike Rankin’s old school, OHDELA, where only 20 of 1,500 students graduated, she wrote.
Elms says it will use the funds for a massive renovation, including a new theater, gym, fitness center, commons area, and parking lot. The new construction will consist of recycled materials, energy saving design, and lots of Virgin Marys.
As an alum, I would never argue that the Elms doesn’t deserve such generosity. For years, the school has been running on meager funds to provide girls the best education possible. Despite out-of-date science labs and ancient textbooks, Elms girls excel in all their subjects. They pass AP tests with flying colors, score above average on their SATs and ACTs, are deemed National Merit Scholars, and, in the case of me, excel in the all-but-forgotten art of drinking Schlitz.
Still, one has to ponder the notion that these girls are receiving money that probably belongs to less fortunate White Hat kids. Through his donation, Brennan proves he knows the value of investing real money into education. The question is: why can’t he do the same for his own schools?
Cannot be better stated. Thanks, Denise.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:55 pm September 20th, 2007 in Education, Government, Ohio | 8 Comments
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Sep
20
Because I see so many hits on it, I’m bumping up this Yom Kippur 2006 WLST post because it includes fasting guidelines from my Conservative synagogue’s rabbi.
The fast that begins at sundown tomorrow segues into Kol Nidre, the service that begins the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. Tonight, my oldest son and my husband will join several other synagogue members and turn all the Torahs to a certain section, in preparation for the processional of all the Torahs to the front of the sanctuary.
Me. I’ve got my menu planned and my timeline for cooking and chores (for tonight and tomorrow) outlined. In some ways, I’m glad the holy day is on the weekend, it makes it a little easier somehow. However, because it falls on Shabbat, the fast could be a bit longer – extra passages are added into the services to accommodate the Sabbath.
This holy day is solemn, even as members greet one another with kisses on the cheek and oohs and ahs of how nice we all look. Because inside our minds, many of us are thinking about far more serious topics. As we should be.
For those readers who’ll be observing the holiday, may you have an easy fast and be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:36 pm September 20th, 2007 in Jewish, Judaism | Comments Off
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Sep
20
More from “what did they do before Taser” file: Ohio patrolman stuns cuffed, inebriated woman multiple times
Filed Under Civil Rights, Crime, Ohio | Comments Off
Jeff Hess got me going on this topic. Read the story and view the video, courtesy of NewsNet5.
Read about excessive use of Tasers in the U.S. here.
Connecticut’s Office of Legal Research produced this report which compares Taser use guidelines from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) with those recommended by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).
Here’s a 2005 GAO report on Taser use.
What I can’t find is a comparison of how much safer the law enforcement people or the arrested are, or anyone else is for that matter, now that there are Tasers. I’m sure there must be something on that, because how else would we justify the continued use of the thing?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:02 pm September 20th, 2007 in Civil Rights, Crime, Ohio | Comments Off
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Sep
20
Ohio legislature to let fee for wireless 911 expire, updated with county reports
Filed Under Government, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse | 2 Comments
I’ve written about the poor provision of wireless 911 in Ohio and the impending crisis as more people give up landlines numerous times.
Now, a source from inside the statehouse tells me that although a few lawmakers would like to renew the 33 cent fee, most lawmakers prefer to let the authorization for the fee expire as it now stands at the end of 2008.
Opinion: enormous mistake to let this minimal surcharge for a life-saving service expire. National reviews of the need for and ability to meet the need for wireless 911 service placed Ohio at the bottom already. If you get in deep doodoo, you are going to be in even deeper doodoo.
The only way for this to change? If an Ohio legislator who currently doesn’t support extending the fee – which, btw, is already on the extreme low-end compared to most states, gets stuck in the doodoo.
If you fear for the impact of the fee’s expiration, I would urge you to contact your local and county government.
Here’s info from the FCC you should know.
Use this tool to read about how your county, in Ohio or anywhere else in the States, stacks up.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:01 pm September 20th, 2007 in Government, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse | 2 Comments
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Sep
20
Update on Michael Righi, a Circuit City receipt & law enforcement’s reach
Filed Under Civil Rights, Crime | 1 Comment
Jeff Hess of Have Coffee Will Write offers this update on a case that had been getting enormous attention nationwide, although the incident occurred in Cleveland. There was to be a hearing today, but Michael Righi writes that the hearing has been cancelled:
I have been contacted by a number of people who indicated that they are planning on attending my hearing which was originally scheduled for tomorrow, September 20th 2007 in Brooklyn, Ohio Mayors court. I just received confirmation a few minutes ago that there will be no hearing tomorrow. I am very appreciative of the people that wanted to be there, and I’m very sorry for the last minute notice. Please do not show up at the municipal building as I will not be there. I’m sorry to be brief in my posting but I can’t say much more at the moment. I will provide more information at a later time.
-Michael
This comment may be from the Plain Dealer’s Michael Sangiacomo, who wrote the PD article to which the comment author’s hyperlink connects. It offers a bit more info.
This coverage from two days ago covers the relevant bases and indicates that Righi’s case was settled on Monday, 9/17/07:
Mr. Righi’s case may not be one that resolves the consumer/retailer relationship problem since his arrest came after he left the store and the police officer involved ended up charging him with obstruction. His lawyer said yesterday the criminal matter had been resolved and charges would be dismissed.
Thoughts?
Here’s what I originally wrote.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:30 am September 20th, 2007 in Civil Rights, Crime | 1 Comment
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Sep
20
Cuyahoga BOE public session TODAY; San Fran says e-voting results can’t be known for weeks
Filed Under Announcements, Elections, Government, Ohio | 1 Comment
WCPN aired this piece this morning on a Cuyahoga County Board of Elections public hearing that will be held today, 9/20/07, from 2:30-6pm on the topic of electronic voting (see below for a reprint of the announcement).
While the situation here seems and feels grave, consider this article from today regarding San Francisco’s low expectations for e-voting (counting could take up to three weeks, according to comment in the article) and the California Secretary of State’s actions:
San Francisco voters won’t get computerized results at the end of election night in November, but will have to wait weeks instead, due to problems with The City’s electronic voting machines.
The Examiner first reported the potential disaster in May, shortly after Secretary of State Debra Bowen — whose office oversees elections — sent a letter to the company that provides San Francisco with its voting equipment, Elections Systems and Software. In that letter, Bowen said her office would not certify the voting equipment The City uses. Bowen’s spokesperson said in July that the ES&S system is “seriously flawed.” The City began preparing to hand count ballots.
On Friday, Bowen sent a letter to ES&S notifying the company that it would conditionally recertify the voting system — but would only allow the central computers at San Francisco’s election office to tabulate ballots, not the machines used at the precincts.
“Instead of having 561 machines at the precinct level tabulating, it’s just three machines at City Hall,” S.F. Election head John Arntz said.
If you can get to that session today, please, please go.
Public Session
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Technology Committee.
This session will be to discuss electronic voting and our current Premier Election Solutions formerly Diebold Election Systems, Inc.
September 20, 2007 at 2:30 to 6:00 pm.
Board of Elections 1st Floor
2925 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:19 am September 20th, 2007 in Announcements, Elections, Government, Ohio | 1 Comment
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Sep
20
Talk about women who are ferocious 24/7, that’s what Jodie Foster’s latest movie sounds like. I can promise you I won’t be seeing it (mostly a time thing, but I also am not into violence in movies – I still can’t watch the end of Braveheart).
Shockingly, Michelle Malkin has yet to post about the movie. Given her attention to actresses, motherhood and all, it must be an oversight. Or her motherhood demands haven’t given her time either – I totally get that.
The NYT reviews the film here. My favorite line:
That it [the movie] may also be viscerally satisfying is a sign of just how cowardly “The Brave One” really is. It’s a pro-lynching movie that even liberals can love.
But, you know, it is just a movie. Like Sally Field is just an actress.
VSAS: 7
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:19 am September 20th, 2007 in Culture, Flip, Parenting, Women | Comments Off
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