You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2009.
Here’s what we reported on today (and late last night):
- Neighborhood Association Appeals Javanon Decision
- Fund for the Arts Gets $8.8 of $10 Million Goal
- JCPS To Release Report On Player’s Death
- County GOP Urges Abramson To Step Aside
- Judges, Non-Profits Offer Foreclosure Help
- No New Talks Set In Norton-Anthem Impasse
- JCPS Board of Education Affirms Superintendent
This post comes to us from Elizabeth Kramer.
Many cultural pundits are still commenting on the dance talent of Michael Jackson, but now the world has lost a pioneer choreographer. Pina Bausch died today at the age of 68 — only five days after being diagnosed with cancer, according to the Associated Press.
The German choreographer is noted for making dance, including ballet, more contemporary. She was the artistic director and choreographer of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch company, based in Wuppertal in Germany.
She also created choreography for films, including Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk to Her, and appeared in Federico Fellini’s And the Ship Sails On.
In 1975, Bausch created choreography to Stravinsky’s iconic music, the Rite of Spring.
(I included this in my report on the Louisville Ballet’s recent debut of Adam Hougland’s choreography to the same music with New York City Ballet dancer Wendy Whelan dancing the main role.)
NPR aired a profile of the artist in 2004.
Over at Page One, Jake has Brad Cummings’ statement on why he doesn’t want Mayor Jerry Abramson to run for a final term as Metro Mayor. Cummings is chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. In his 2,200 or so word statement, he brings up taxes; population growth; controversies at Animal Control, Housing and Zoning; and the old saw Cordish.
It’s a scathing look at the Mayor’s tenure. Some of Cummings’ points do deserve explanation from the administration, but any time the “laundry list of failures” argument is used in politics, it raises lots of questions about accountability.
I’d like to know where you think the blame falls for things like lagging population growth and wages. I wonder how Louisville stacks up against the rest of Kentucky. Does Louisville suffer more than cities that are in more successful states? Is it the mayor’s job to overcome state cuts to education and other areas that are crucial to success?
And if anything that goes wrong under Abramson’s watch is his fault, is the mayor to be credited for every success?
Of course, the local buck obviously stops at Abramson’s desk. But what things that happen to and in Louisville are under the mayor’s control, and what aren’t? I’m not saying it is or isn’t, because that’s ultimately impossible to know. What do you think?
Rick will monitor the Indiana special session. There could be a budget vote today.
Stephanie will cover the unveiling of the Foreclosure Conciliation Program.
This afternoon, I will cover the Exploited Children’s Help Organization annual demonstration on the dangers of
hot cars. I’m also hoping to get something on the Norton/Anthem impasse.
Today on State of Affairs..”Taking a Stroll Through Bernheim Forest”
Here’s what we reported on today:
- Louisville Tech Gets New Name, Degree Programs
- Teenage Drivers in Indiana Face New Restrictions
- Interviews Continue in Commissioner Search
- Beshear Says Cuts Are Coming
- Center For School Safety Issues New Report
- Minimum Wage Increases This Week
- Business Owner Says Customers Prefer Shallow Lake Cumberland
- MSD Rates To Go Up This Week
- New Law Allows Some Sex Offenders Onto School Campuses
- Budget Deadline Looms In Indiana
Four years in journalism school or four hours on YouTube?
Mark at Depth Reporting tweeted about YouTube’s Reporters Center. It’s a channel that features instructional videos and expert advice on how to be a journalist. Most of the early videos cover the basics of shooting, editing and posting your content. The later clips from Chris Cillizza, Bob Woodward and Michael Isikoff give some great tips on style and technique.
I don’t see a problem with more people wanting to be journalists, as long as there’s an effort by those people to be good and responsible journalists. Anyway, if you’ve ever wanted to try reporting, watch these and go start a website.
Here’s a Reporters Center video from Scott Simon. He gives advice on how to tell a story, but the real lesson is how to wear a pocket square while working in a non-visual medium.
This isn’t really Louisville news, but since we like talking (read: griping) about FOIA, we thought we would share another method of obtaining hard-to-find government documents. This story comes from IT World. It seems that decommissioned government hard drives were not wiped clean and ended up being sold in Ghana.
The drive had belonged to a Fairfax, Virginia, employee who still works for the company and contained “hundreds and hundreds of documents about government contracts,” said Peter Klein, an associate professor with the University of British Columbia, who led the investigation for the Public Broadcasting Service show Frontline. He would not disclose details of the documents, but he said that they were marked “competitive sensitive” and covered company contracts with the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Transportation Security Agency.
The data was unencrypted, Klein said in an interview. The cost? US$40.
When I was a kid, a neighbor bought a used Apple II from another neighbor and found neighbor #2′s unfinished adventure/crime novel stored on the hard drive. I’ve gotten phone calls from people who have bought used cell phones that once belonged to people I knew. So seriously, clear your data. Also, don’t send personal messages from devices you don’t own.
If you’re the type of person who is into sleuthing, keep an eye out for any decommissioned Metro hard drives. Let us know what you find.
As always, our Monday SoA post comes to us from Laura Ellis.
State of Affairs has a short but full week this week! On Monday we’ll find out what the latest research says about Alzheimer’s disease. Are we any closer to finding out what causes Alzheimer’s, and how to treat it – or even better, prevent it?
Bernheim Forest is 80 years old. Well, okay, the actual forest is older, but it’s been Bernheim for 80 years. On Tuesday we’ll talk about the history of the forest and what it has to offer today. We’ll be asking you to join the show with your memories and favorite things about Bernheim.
On Wednesday we’ll be looking back at our country’s origin with Ray Raphael, the author of Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation. In the book, he tells the story “from the beginnings of unrest in 1761 and ending with the ratification of the Bill of Rights thirty years later,” through the lives of seven lead characters – not all of them the founders we usually hear about. The SoA team loves history shows, and we’re looking forward to a new perspective on a story as old as the U.S.
Metro Police officers join us on Thursday for a general “Ask LMPD” show. This is your chance to ask your questions, and share your concerns, about the LMPD. They’ll also fill us in on some of the challenges law enforcement officers are working on in our city, and what their latest projects are.
Then on Friday, WFPL will bring you Independence Daze: A History of July Fourth, from Backstory With the American History Guys. Like I said, we’re history geeks, so we don’t mind sharing our time slot (or taking a day off)!
Elizabeth did a feature on charter schools last week.
Kentucky doesn’t have charter schools…well, not legally anyway. The Gatton Academy in Bowling Green is essentially a charter school, with characteristics of a magnet school. that can’t yet grant diplomas. The legislation to legalize Gatton has never passed the General Assembly. So if you go to Union County High School then get accepted into Gatton Academy, you’ll get a great education but your diploma will still say “Union County High School.” (Disclosure: There’s no bias here against UCHS. I went to Union County Elementary School until 3rd grade)
In her feature, Elizabeth mentions Chicago’s charter program and she discusses how it works. In St. Louis, where the state took over the school district, charters were a touchy subject. On the one hand they can offer a better education than standard public schools, but on the other hand, they can take funds from the kids who–it could be argued–need the funds the most. And with St. Louis City facing urban blight, poor schools could have been another reason for young people to not move to the city. Charters, then, could bring in those young people, because they could start a family and send their kids to better schools. But that again brings up arguments of favoring some kids over others, just because their parents might bring more money to crumbling parts of the city. In that situation, the charter school debate eventually raises the extremely uncomfortable discussion of gentrification, regardless of the race of young professionals or natives.
What do you think? Should Kentucky legalize charter schools, or are they unfair for the students who stay in the standard public schools?
Here’s what we’re reporting on today:
Rick is keeping an eye on the Indiana General Assembly budget talks.
There’s a new law that affects teenage drivers in Indiana. Stephanie is covering that and tonight’s Board of Education meeting.
The state Board of Education is searching for a commissioner, and we’ll have news on that, too.
I’m out today, but we’ve got more news and blog posts for you, so check back here in a couple hours.
Today on State of Affairs…”What Have We Learned About Alzheimer’s?”
