Another Cruise Ship Drama

Cruise boat nightmare: Dinner and comedy show turns into overnight sleepover after boat is stranded
By Nina Mandell
Daily News Staff Writer
Sunday, December 12th 2010, 12:38 PM

The Showboat Branson Belle was stuck overnight after high winds pushed it ashore.

A relaxing dinner cruise turned into an unwanted sleepover for the more than 600 people stranded on a Missouri lake cruise boat Saturday night.

After setting off on what was supposed to be a dinner cruise and a comedy show on the Showboat Branson Belle, the boat ran into problems after strong winds and problems with its thrusters pushed it against a shoreline, CNN reported.

"We were almost back to the dock, when we heard a couple of loud noises. The comedian said something funny and we all laughed," Jim Wellborn, a passenger on the boat, told CNN.

But then the captain interrupted the show to tell them something had gone very wrong and they would be stuck for a little while.

The 640 crew members and guests on board weren't harmed and had heat, electrical power, food and beverages on board, a spokesman for the boat company told reporters.

Nine passengers with pre-existing medical conditions - including two who reportedly had seizures on board - were rescued early from the boat, which was supposed to be on water for only a few hours when it set out to sea around 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The rest of the passengers on the Showboat Branson Belle finally began disembarking around 9 a.m. Sunday morning after spending the night on the cruise ship.

To rescue the passengers, response crews built a temporary road and ramp to get to the stranded boat, which gained enough propulsion to push itself to an inlet cove, local television station KSFX reported.

A Missouri lake cruise boat set out to sea? Cruise boat nightmare? No icebergs or giant waves, no collision with another ship? Sounds like they disembarked into a cornfield and onto a hay wagon which was towed back to civilization by a large John Deere tractor. Where was the Coast Guard?

News from my Home Town

Lansing man expected to face charges in connection with shots fired at house
Melissa Domsic • mdomsic@lsj.com • December 7, 2010

LANSING - A Lansing man is expected to face charges after police say he shot at a house Monday afternoon.
The man, 25, drove a blue four-door Buick to a house in the 1100 block of East Main Street and fired numerous rounds from a handgun at the front door of the home at about 12:50 p.m. Monday, said Lansing police Lt. Noel Garcia.
People in the house returned fire through the closed door, he said. There was no evidence of injuries.
The man fled by car and led police on a short chase before officers stopped the pursuit, Garcia said. Officers eventually caught the man as he fled on foot in the 1100 block of Walsh Street.
Police said he will faces charges in relation to the incident.
No one was at the house when officers returned. The homeowner was cooperative and was not at the house during the incident, Garcia said. The incident remains under investigation.

Fired numerous rounds from a handgun at the front door of the home? People in the house returned fire through the closed door? On a Monday afternoon? The house was on East Main Street? Main Street? Sounds like the Old West.

Detroit's holiday tree arrives — from New Jersey
November 03. 2010 Micki Steele / The Detroit News
Detroit —The city's holiday tree — a giant Norway spruce from New Jersey —was installed today above the Woodward Fountain in Campus Martius Park.
"We're always looking for a Michigan tree," said Bob Gregory, president of the Detroit 300 Conservancy that manages the popular downtown park. "But the perfect tree is 60 feet."

We don’t have a 60 foot spruce in Michigan?

Dearborn mayor rebukes Nevada candidate’s remarks
Detroit News Staff Writer Oralandar Brand-Williams contributed

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’ Reilly says he plans to send Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle a letter regarding controversial remarks she made recently claiming that his city is being ruled by Islamic law.
“She’s doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” said O’Reilly on Friday about Angle’s comments.
“I’m going to send her a letter and invite her to take a tour of Dearborn. I think she would be amazed.”

Angle recently told a crowd of supporters that the country needs to address a “militant terrorist situation” that has allowed Islamic religious law to take hold in some American cities, citing Dearborn as an example.
Her comments came at a rally of tea party supporters in the Nevada resort town of Mesquite last week after Angle was asked about Muslims working to take over the country, and marked the latest of several controversial remarks by the Nevada Republican.
In a recording of the rally provided to the Associated Press by the Mesquite Local News, a man is heard asking Angle: “I keep hearing about Muslims wanting to take over the United States ... on a TV program just last night, I saw that they are taking over a city in Michigan and the residents of the city, they want them out. They want them out. So, I want to hear your thoughts about that.”

Angle responded that “we’re talking about a militant terrorist situation, which I believe it isn’t a widespread thing, but it is enough that we need to address, and we have been addressing it.”
“My thoughts are these, first of all, Dearborn, Michigan, and Frankford, Texas, are on American soil, and under constitutional law. Not Sharia law. And I don’t know how that happened in the United States,” she said.

“It seems to me there is something fundamentally wrong with allowing a foreign system of law to even take hold in any municipality or government situation in our United States.”

O’Reilly added that Angle should know that “the U.S. Constitution is the greatest protection against Sharia law and any government-controlled religion.”
He said Angle should also realize that everyone who comes from the Middle East is not Muslim.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly? Does that sound Muslim? Sounds Irish to me. This Muslim city has an Irish Mayor? This is all quite confusing.

Attention: Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe

Summer Heat Continues To Bake The Sooner State
KTUL.com Newa Channel 8 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Posted: Aug 09, 2010 2:45 PM EDT

Oklahoma continues to bake under 100 plus degree temperatures Monday. The hot and humid weather that has been with us for several weeks isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Bell, California Again...

Benefits push Bell ex-manager's annual compensation to more than $1.5 million

Robert Rizzo's vacation and sick time totaled more than 28 weeks a year, the city discloses.

By Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2010

Former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, whose $787,637 salary prompted widespread outrage, received an unusually lucrative package of benefits that increased his annual compensation to more than $1.5 million, according to city records.

Rizzo's benefits package for this year, which covers time off, retirement and medical and other types of insurance, shows he was entitled to vacation and sick leave that totaled more than 28 weeks a year.

The revelations come as the L.A. County district attorney's office and California attorney general's office are investigating high salaries received by Rizzo and other top city administrators as well as City Council members, four of whom earned nearly $100,000 a year before cutting their pay two weeks ago.

The documents provided by the city set Rizzo's total annual compensation at $1,540,299.96, which included some unspecified benefits.

A Times analysis estimated that Rizzo would collect an annual pension of more than $600,000 upon retirement.

On Friday, the city released documents showing that several department heads were earning more than $200,000, including two whose total compensation topped $400,000. Documents obtained by The Times also show that the city had made payments of more than $100,000 each to two officials in addition to their reported compensation.

The newly reviewed records show that when the benefits package is added, Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia's $376,288 salary more than doubles, to $845,960. Police Chief Randy Adams' pay jumps from $457,000 to $770,046 annually.

Spaccia was to have received $188,640 in vacation and sick pay and Adams $76,428, the records show. Adams, according to his contract, was to have received lifetime medical benefits for him and his family.

Attention Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe

Heat blamed in 2 deaths as Midwest temps soar
KMOV.com
Posted on August 3, 2010 at 6:43 PM

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- At least two people have died due to recent blistering temperatures across the Midwest, and health officials urged residents Tuesday to keep an eye on those who could be vulnerable as the mercury continues to rise.

The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for portions of Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma through Wednesday night.
Forecasters said temperatures would approach 110 degrees in some areas. By late afternoon, they had already topped 100 degrees in many areas, including 101 degrees in Oklahoma City, 102 degrees in St. Louis, and 106 degrees in Wichita, Kan.
Little Rock, Ark., hit 107 degrees, breaking the previous record of 104 degrees set in 1987. St. Louis topped 100 degrees for the first time since Aug. 15, 2007.

On Monday, the 108-degree reading in Wichita, Kan. broke the city's old record of 106 degrees, set in 1970.
Arkansas was sweltering, too. Monday highs reached 107 degrees in Blytheville and 106 in Little Rock. Freedom, Oklahoma felt temperatures rise to 109 degrees, while it was 108 and 107 elsewhere in the state. Missouri was hottest in the southwest corner of the state -- Mt. Vernon reached 104 degrees Monday.

Is The Heat Getting To The Senator?

Inhofe Still Insists 'We're In A Cold Spell': Is The Heat Getting To The Senator?
Huff Post - Lucia Graves - First Posted: 07-23-10 05:54 PM

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) reiterated his skepticism of climate change science during an outdoor interview at the Capitol this week, in the midst of the Washington heat wave.

"I say the same thing that I said back in January and February when we had the coldest winter that we've had in a long time," said Inhofe.

"But back then you said that we are in a cold spell, that we're nine years into it," the reporter interjected.

"Actually we are," said Inhofe. "I don't think that anyone disagrees with the fact that we actually are in the middle of a cold period that started about nine years ago."

During the record-breaking snowfall in Washington this February, Inhofe drew headlines for building an igloo outside the Capitol with his kids. The sign on it read: "Al Gore's Home. Honk If You Like Global Warming."

Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that 2010 is globally the hottest year on record since record-keeping began in 1880.

Just like here in Michigan, we have a couple of big snowfalls, and the climate change deniers start talking about "the coldest winter in years”. Snow on the ground does not mean it’s unusually cold. Every time it snows, they start talking about Al Gore.

Why is this political?

Big Money In Bell, California

Big money, little regard - Those are the two things Californians give their elected officials
July 18, 2010By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times

Even a cursory look at events last week was enough to show the concept of "public service" being turned on its ear.

On Wednesday, The Times reported that Bell, California [population 36,664 in 2000], one of the poorest cities in the county, paid its city manager nearly $800,000 a year. Almost twice, that is, the annual salary of the president of the United States.

Other city officials received generous rewards as well: The Bell police chief, who manages 46 employees, makes 50% more than the Los Angeles police chief, who manages about 13,000. The city is already under investigation by the district attorney for paying its part-time City Council members about $100,000 a year.

Bell's city manager wasn't exactly apologetic. "If that's a number people choke on, maybe I'm in the wrong business," Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo said, referring to his $787,637 annual salary.

In the wrong business? At $800,000 per? He could make more in the private sector? Maybe robbing banks.

What is the matter with the citizens of this town?

Say What?

Christian music star Jennifer Knapp comes back and comes out
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
April 16, 2010

After selling about a million records and winning at Christian music's prestigious Dove Awards in 1999, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter simply vanished in 2003 -- leaving fans wondering where she had gone. There were countless theories as to why Knapp checked out, including the possibility of illness.

But the one that raised the most ruckus among her die-hard fans was the one which proved to be true: Jennifer Knapp is gay.

This week Knapp burst back onto the music scene with news of a comeback and a coming out. Her new album will be released in May, and she has revealed that she has been in a same-sex relationship for the past eight years.

Knapp said she realizes that some fans will now view her earlier work with lyrics about inner turmoil as evidence of the struggle between her beliefs and her sexuality. But she says she has always struggled as a person of faith to be the person she wants to be, and her sexuality was only a part of that, she said.

God has always known she would walk this path, Knapp said.

So You Think Your City Is The Only One In Trouble

L.A. Controller Warns that City Could Exhaust General Fund by Next Month
Los Angeles Times April 5, 2010

Los Angeles Controller Wendy Greuel says she expects the city's general fund "will be out of money" by May 10 and that the L.A. will likely deplete its reserve funds and be in the red by June 30.

Greuel alerted Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council of the city's dire financial situation after the head of the Department of Water and Power stated he would oppose sending $73.5 million in utility revenue to the city treasury. Interim General Manager S. David Freeman said the council's vote to block a proposed electricity rate hike last week threatens to put the utility in a deficit.

Greuel urged the council and mayor to immediately tap the city's reserve funds so that the city has enough cash to cover payroll.

That Time of Year Again

Ann Arbor Hash Bash could have record crowd
BY BILL LAITNERDETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 2, 2010

Saturday’s 39th annual Hash Bash, the yearly gathering where people openly smoke marijuana on the University of Michigan’s Diag plaza, could draw the event’s biggest turnout ever, organizer Adam Brook said.

The record was about 10,000 pot smokers, who jammed “almost shoulder to shoulder” on a fine spring day a decade or so ago, but perhaps 12,000 or more will squeeze in on Saturday, from noon to 1 p.m., thanks to the good weather that’s expected, combined with widespread enthusiasm for Michigan’s 15-month-old medical-marijuana law...

Public smoking or other use of marijuana remains illegal, even for state-approved medical patients, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. Still, enforcement has been minimal, if not non-existent, at previous Hash Bashes.

Big show out by Algonac Yesterday

The St. Clair River was plugged up with flow ice, and a tug/barge combo (tug slotted permanently into the back of a barge) was stuck. The U.S. Coast Guard had two ice breaking tugs there and a chopper overhead directing operations, and the Canadian Coast Guard had one of their icebreakers (much larger than the U.S. tugs) there. Took a while, but when everything opened up, it looked like the ice was flowing at about five or six knots. Like a dam breaking. Fun to watch. The coast guard boats would be sitting still, then pour on the power and within yards they were at full speed going through the ice. Then they would stop, and do the same backing up.
Beautiful, bright and clear sunny day, in the high 50’s maybe 60. Dozens of people there to watch. One of the guys I talked to had driven over from Birch Run, about a hundred miles from Algonac, just to see the show. It was so strange to be so warm, the grass is all greening up, guys in T-shirts, and the river was full of ice.
This flow ice is not solid, just all floating chunks, but it jams up in narrow sections of the river and stops everything. The water downstream drops several feet and upstream sometimes floods. This is about the fourth time in the last few weeks that the Coast Guards have been out there to open things up. The strange thing is that there is no ice on the big lakes, and there wasn’t really much ice anywhere on the lakes this past winter.

The guy from Birch Run commented that it looked like our ‘Stimulus Money’ at work, “spending our tax money”. I told him icebreaking had nothing to do with the 'Stimulus', that the U.S. Coast Guard is required by law to keep the shipping lanes open.

The most famous U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker on the lakes is the Mackinaw, retired June, 2006 after 62 years of service, built during WWII to keep the lakes open for shipping iron ore to the steel mills.

USCG Cutter Mackinaw

GOOD NEWS

Soo Locks Open Early By Request of Shipping Community
9 & 10 News – Northern Michigan’s News Leader
Posted: 3/22/2010

For the first time since the early 1980's, the Soo Locks opened four days earlier than usual.The first freighter locked through Sunday morning, after waiting overnight. Several requests from the shipping community and their customers promoted the Army Corps of Engineers to move the opening date ahead. The Lake Carriers' Association says there are a number of steel mills very low on iron ore. The steel industry is increasing operation rates. Currently they're at 70-percent capacity, compared to a year ago where they were below 50-percent. For now, this is a sign the economy is doing better...

The Downsizing of America

Kansas City board OKs plan to close nearly half of schools

CNN, March 11, 2010 6:02 a.m. EST
Superintendent John Covington called for the closing or consolidation of almost half of the city's public schools. A divided Kansas City school board voted Wednesday to approve the downsizing.

Covington proposed the "Right-Size" plan arguing that the financial future of the entire school district was at stake. The plan shutters 28 of Kansas City's 61 public schools, cuts 700 jobs and saves $50 million to help reduce a burgeoning deficit.

Some called Kansas City's measures draconian but school districts across America, hit hard by budget cuts, have been struggling to make ends meet.They have had to make tough choices between closures, program cuts, bus route cancellations and layoffs of teachers and staff. Schools in at least 17 states have opted for four-day weeks.

Anti-Gay California Politician Cited for DUI--After Leaving Gay Bar
by Kilian Melloy, Thursday Mar 4, 2010

An anti-gay California state senator was placed under arrest for drunk driving after leaving a gay bar. A male passenger was in the vehicle along with the lawmaker was not arrested, reported Sacramento CBS affiliate Channel 13.

State Sen. Roy Ashburn was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol at about 2:00 a.m. on March 3 when his state-issued vehicle was observed being driven erratically. The driver, identified as Ashburn, was taken in and charged for driving under the influence. Channel 13 reported that unidentified sources said the senator had been at Faces, a popular gay nightspot, prior to his arrest.

In a March 4 article, the online news site Talking Points Memo characterized Ashburn, who is married and has four children, as "a fierce opponent of gay rights" who had led anti-marriage equality rallies.

Arizona Will Not Raise Taxes

Closing of Rest Stops Stirs Anger in Arizona

The New York Times, By Jennifer Steinhauer
Published: March 4, 2010

PHOENIX — The people of Arizona kept their upper lips stiff when officials mortgaged off the state’s executive office tower and a “Daily Show” crew rolled into town to chronicle the transaction in mocking tones. They remained calm as lawmakers pondered privatizing death row.

But then the state took away their toilets, and residents began to revolt.

“Why don’t they charge a quarter or something?’” said Connie Lucas, who lives in Pine, Ariz., about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from here. “There was one rest stop between here and Phoenix, and we really needed it.”

Arizona has the largest budget gap in the country when measured as a percentage of its overall budget, and the state Department of Transportation was $100 million in the red last fall when it decided to close 13 of the state’s 18 highway rest stops.

Some residents see something sinister in the closings. Betty L. Roberts, who lives in Sun City, west of Phoenix, said the topic was a hot one among her friends. “I honestly think they are setting us up because they want to do a tax increase,” Ms. Roberts said. “I think by shutting down things people want, they will give us one.”

Arizona is not alone in singling out toilets. Colorado, Georgia, Vermont and Virginia are among states that have also closed rest stops …

The Arizona Transportation Department has suffered an ever-ugly combination of large cuts and unforeseen costs. More than $500 million of the transportation budget was recently diverted to the state’s general fund … and the department has closed 12 field offices, deferred $370 million in highway construction projects and cut 10 percent of its staff.

That's a Lot of Bull

Thief Stuffs Red Bull Down His Pants
nbcconnecticut.com/news, By Debra Bogstie

The latest incident at the Mobil On The Run on Blue Hills Avenue happened Monday night, said store owner Alan Lubin. Surveillance video shows the suspect dropping 17 cans of Red Bull into his pants, repeatedly looking over his shoulder, and then walking out the door.
"It weighs probably about 20 to 30 pounds worth of Red Bull in his pants and he walked out like there was nothing," said Lubin. "I'm sure he's been in here before because we're missing a lot of Red Bull."

And the horse that you rode in on too...

Man with holstered gun rides horse to church
Feb. 24, 2010 11:09 AM, Associated Press

ELLISBURG, Ky. – Members of a small central Kentucky church successfully disarmed a man who rode horseback to morning services, then walked into the church with a holstered gun.
Police said the man, 43, was arrested about an hour later at a house and charged with public intoxication.
The Advocate-Messenger of Danville reported Monday that local and state police were called to Ellisburg Baptist Church after the man arrived, disrupting the service.
Cindy Adams, wife of pastor Jerry Adams, said several men led him outside and talked him into giving up his gun and a rifle he had also brought on the horse.

Toyota Knew…

Toyota tried to cut costs on recalls
L. A. Times
By Ken Bensinger February 22, 2010

Toyota Motor Corp. officials took credit for saving hundreds of millions of dollars by persuading federal regulators to limit or avoid safety recalls and rules, a company document released Sunday shows.

A company document touts successes in limiting regulators' safety actions -- months before the sudden-acceleration problem was widely known outside of Toyota and the federal highway regulatory agency.

The document, an internal company presentation, depicts an automaker focused on getting what it termed "favorable recall outcomes" from regulators, with a goal of saving money even as the death toll climbed from accidents in which Toyota vehicles accelerated uncontrollably.

The presentation by executives in the company's Washington, D.C., office was addressed to Yoshimi Inaba, Toyota's top U.S. executive, and dated July 6, 2009 -- months before the sudden-acceleration problem was widely known outside Toyota and the federal highway regulatory agency. Released by congressional investigators, the document describes the automaker's regulatory agenda and highlights a wide-ranging string of "wins for Toyota."

Among the accomplishments cited in the document:

* Saving more than $100 million as it "negotiated" a limited recall in 2007 of 55,000 floor mats in Camry and Lexus ES sedans that had been the subject of a sudden-acceleration investigation. By agreeing to the recall, Toyota avoided a deeper investigation into the problem.

* Delaying the implementation of a federal safety rule requiring side-impact air bags, which saved the company $124 million and the cost of 50,000 hours of labor.

* Stalling or mitigating safety regulations governing roof crush standards, electric shocks from hybrid- and electric-vehicle batteries, and sliding doors on vehicles, which saved Toyota $11 million on its Sienna van.

* Avoiding a government probe of rust problems in the Tacoma pickup -- even though Toyota had issued an internal buyback program because of that issue. It also passed, unscathed, an investigation into the rear hatch on the Sienna, which numerous consumers had complained could fall without warning and cause injury.

In the document, officials also indicated that "sudden acceleration" was one of the "key safety issues" in models including the Lexus ES, Lexus LS, Camry and Tacoma, showing that it was concerned about the problem months before its first major recall.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-docs22-2010feb22,0,5030188.story

WTF

Pennsylvania school district denies spying on students with MacBooks
By Gregg Keizer - Computerworld
February 19, 2010

A suburban Philadelphia school district yesterday denied it spied on students by remotely activating the cameras on their school-issued MacBook laptops.
In a statement released late Thursday, Christopher McGinley, the superintendent of Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, Pa., admitted that the MacBooks' cameras could be turned on without the user's knowledge, but said that the functionality was part of a security feature.

On Tuesday, a high school student and his parents sued the district, claiming that the boy's MacBook had been used to spy on him in his home. According to the lawsuit, Michael and Holly Robbins of Penn Valley, Pa., said they first found out about the alleged spying last November after their son Blake was accused by a Harriton High School official of "improper behavior in his home" and shown a photograph taken by his laptop.

Improper behavior in his home? Accused by a high school official? What kind of an ‘official’? The ‘official’ decides what is improper behavior in the student’s home? Maybe improper behavior is some pervert 'official' spying on students. Are we paying 'officials' to this? Is it a full time job? How many photos were taken? Of who? Who has the photos? Lot's of questions here.

Peeping under changing room doors at a department store gets you arrested...and maybe registered as a sex offender.

More Dumbing Down of America

Get Rid of 12th Grade in Utah to Save Money, Says Senator
Associated Content Community, Published by McCarvel 2/17/2010

Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars on February 1st appeared before the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee and suggested that Utah schools eliminate the twelfth grade and get rid of busing for high school students to save $60 million. He said this grade was a waste of time for most students and that many squander away this year, which costs the state millions of dollars.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah has a $700 million budget shortfall, so $60 million is a significant cut. However, most parents will agree with teachers who say this grade is important to the development of the student. We are preparing them to enter the world in this grade. I have seen my own children sense that they are reaching a major goal in their life when completing the 12th grade and graduating from high school. Just because the state of Utah faces a budget crisis in education, which every state has for the last 30 years, it is no reason to create an unemployment crisis and make Utah kids miss out on crucial instruction that they need for college admission. According to the Utah Board of Education, it makes no sense to make students [even] less prepared for college than they are already.

This is really the way to compete in the world markets. The good people of our U.S.A. complain about immigrants getting the jobs, and our corporations are complaining about the lack of qualified job applicants, as Microsoft is. And Congress keeps a lid on the H-1B Visas, so MS builds a facility in just over the border in Canada to hire foreign professionals. H-1B Visas are for immigrant scientists, engineers, programmers, research analysts, management consultants, and others with a Bachelor's or higher degree. These are not 11th Grade ‘graduates’.

MORE TOYOTA

Toyota on the Potomac
Business Week ‘In Depth’ February 11, 2010

As the Japanese automaker hustles to complete an orderly recall of millions of vehicles, it is mounting an image-restoring counteroffensive. In Washington, reports Politico.com, the company is ramping up its already considerable lobbying operation in an attempt to head off a political backlash. Politico cites Senate records showing that "Toyota-related entities spent $4.1 million on lobbying last year—and $35.2 million during the past decade."

MORE TOYOTA

Regulators Hired by Toyota Helped Halt Investigations
Feb. 12 Bloomberg

Former regulators hired by Toyota Motor Corp. helped end at least four U.S. investigations of unintended acceleration by company vehicles in the last decade, warding off possible recalls, court and government records show.

Chrisother Tinto, vice president of regulatory affairs in Toyota’s Washington office, and Christopher Santucci, who works for Tinto, helped persuade the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to end probes including those of 2002-2003 Toyota Camrys and Solaras, court documents show. Both men joined Toyota directly from NHTSA, Tinto in 1994 and Santucci in 2003.

While all automakers have employees who handle NHTSA issues, Toyota may be alone among the major companies in employing former agency staffers to do so. Spokesmen for General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and Honda Motor Co. all say their companies have no ex-NHTSA people who deal with the agency on defects.

Possible links between Toyota and NHTSA may fuel mounting criticism of their handling of defects in Toyota and Lexus models tied to 19 deaths between 2004 and 2009. Three congressional committees have scheduled hearings on the recalls.

Scooter Guys For Palin

'Tea party' activists eagerly await Palin's words
Associated Press Feb. 6, 2010

Fremont Brown of Ashville, N.C., drives his scooter into the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, with bumper stickers on and in his briefcase proclaiming Palin 2012. Palin is scheduled to talk to the group Saturday night. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Typical fat guy on a scooter like you see at the mall, except he has his Palin in 2012 stickers.
Wonder who paid for the Scooter? Medicare? Social Security? Obviously Government provided, certainly not some private insurer. Probably on full disability too. Wonder if he would give up the scooter for Palin? Or go back to work?

Let’s find out where he got that scooter.

Loss of City Services

Colorado Springs cuts into services considered basic by many
By Michael Booth The Denver Post

COLORADO SPRINGS — This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.
Colorado Springs' woes are more visceral versions of local and state cuts across the nation. Denver has cut salaries and human services workers, trimmed library hours and raised fees; Aurora shuttered four libraries; the state budget has seen round after round of wholesale cuts in education and personnel.
More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.
The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.
Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.
Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.
City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won't pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.
Colorado Springs' woes are more visceral versions of local and state cuts across the nation. Denver has cut salaries and human services workers, trimmed library hours and raised fees; Aurora shuttered four libraries; the state budget has seen round after round of wholesale cuts in education and personnel.
"I guess we're going to find out what the tolerance level is for people," said businessman Chuck Fowler, who is helping lead a private task force brainstorming for city budget fixes. "It's a new day."

Michael Booth: 303-954-1686 or mbooth@denverpost.com
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14303473#ixzz0esNK85ys

SANFORD AGAIN

Governor flies to Washington to support S.C. bid for stimulus
Friday, Feb. 05, 2010 By Gina Smith

Gov. Mark Sanford flew to Washington on Thursday to tell the Obama administration that South Carolina wants $300 million in federal stimulus money.
Sanford, who spent much of last year fighting parts of the Obama administration's stimulus plan, now wants S.C. to have a piece of $4 billion in "Race to the Top" education money.The money is awarded to states based on their plans to improve education and innovate. Forty states have applied so far.

Toyota Quality

When is the media going to tell us about the serious problems Toyota trucks have been having for a few years now?

Some of the problems are:
frames prematurely rusting
rusting causing the spare tires to fall off
ball joints failing, front end collapsing
sudden acceleration
brake problems

Toyota even had a truck ‘buy back’ program. Ever hear about that? Why not?

If an American auto company had any one of these problems, it would be all over the news, the owners would be suing, and Consumer Reports would be reporting it too. Speaking of Consumer Reports – they have been pretty quiet about their favorite brand, Toyota.

And Toyota owners are still standing behind their vehicles. One interviewed on tv last night started ranting about how bad the U.S. auto quality is.

Head in the sand.

Toyota to Stop Selling, Building Recalled Models
Cars.com By David Thomas January 26, 2010
Late today, Toyota announced it will stop selling the eight models included in its recent 2.3 million vehicle recall over a sticking accelerator pedal. A Toyota spokesman said, “This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible.”

The company says it will also stop production of the same vehicles starting Feb. 1. The delay is likely due to the complications of leaving vehicles unfinished on the line for an extended period of time. This is dramatic action, amid public outcry, because it includes two of the company’s and the country’s best-selling models, the Toyota Camry and Corolla.

We were surprised there wasn’t more media attention given to the issue, which is being blamed for a number of deaths, compared to other significant recalls from other large automakers.

The affected vehicles are:
2007-10 Camry
2009-10 RAV4
2009-10 Corolla
2009-10 Matrix
2005-10 Avalon
2010 Highlander
2007-10 Tundra2008-10 Sequoia

Not So Invincible

From ZDNet, January 19th, 2010
Mac OS X dirty dozen: Apple plugs critical security holes
Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 1:23 pm

Apple’s first Mac OS X security update for 2010 is out, providing cover for at least 12 serious vulnerabilities.
The update, rated critical, plugs security holes that could lead to code execution vulnerabilities if a Mac user is tricked into opening audio files or surfing to a rigged Web site.
With Security Update 2010-001, Apple also fixes flaws in the Adobe Flash Player plug-in that ships with the operating system.

The update is being distributed via Apple’s Software Update mechanism.

My How Things Change

My post from December 15, 2008: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, a potential 2012 contender for the GOP nomination for President, criticizing then President Bush for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, and for “trying to prop up the Detroit automakers”.

My how things change. Sanford would have a hard time getting elected to anything, and Obama is being blamed for the Wall Street Bailout, when in fact he hadn’t even been elected yet.

Sanford Blasts Bush Plans On Bailout
The Politico By Manu Raju
Dec 15, 2008

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is warning President Bush to back away from using the $700 billion Wall Street bailout for ailing Big Three automakers, saying doing so would fundamentally alter the nation's economy. In a letter sent to the White House on Monday, the Republican governor says Bush would be committing a "very great mistake" that would "open the floodgates to federal monies for every distressed industry across this country -- and there will be many in this economic slowdown. "Sanford, a potential 2012 contender for the GOP nomination, is siding with the anti-bailout wing of his party that is furious with Bush for trying to prop up the Detroit automakers and help distressed banks. He also is siding with his fellow Southern politicians who have sparred with Northern Republicans who hail from manufacturing states that are heavily unionized and have a significant Big Three presence.

Breckenridge Votes Overwhelmingly To Legalize Marijuana
From Huffington Post Nov 7, 2009

DENVER — The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.
Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote. The measure would allow adults over 21 to have up to 1 ounce of marijuana.
The measure is largely symbolic because pot possession remains a state crime for people without medical clearance. But supporters said they wanted to send a message to local law enforcement to stop busting small-time pot smokers.

Here in Ann Arbor, we have the oldest municipal decriminalization law still in existence in the U.S.
In 1972 the Ann Arbor City Council made marijuana possession a $5 fine. It’s like a parking ticket.
In 1990, the fine was raised to $25 after Republican (in Ann Arbor?) mayor Gerald Jernigan called the initial law "an embarrassment."
We haven’t had a Republican since.

Wife accused of tampering with husband's table saw
The Olympian, The Associated Press • Published January 09, 2010

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Court papers allege that an Olympia woman, angry that her husband left her, tampered with his power tools so that he received a powerful electric shock.

Carolyn Paulsen-Riat was booked Friday into the Thurston County Jail for investigation of third-degree assault, domestic violence, and second-degree malicious mischief. A judge released the 33-year-old woman on her own recognizance.

The Olympian newspaper reports that court documents say that on Jan. 1, the man was using a 220-volt table saw when he received the shock, knocking him to the ground. Thurston County sheriff's deputies say the man did not need to go to a hospital.
In the documents, deputies say the woman told them she had reversed the wires on his power tools because she was angry he was leaving.