Wrapping Up July 31

Here’s what we reported on today:

• Dealer Favors Cash For Clunkers Expansion, Would Prefer Some Changes
• Park Dedicated to Memory of Cezar Ivan Cano
• Ex-Louisvillian To Screen New Film

See you in August.

Coffee Lovers Break Grounds in Guatemala

This post comes from WFPL intern Cassidy Herrington, a Heine Brother’s Coffee barista who recently traveled to Guatamala with the company to work with Habitat for Humanity.

A group of 16 Heine Brothers’ Coffee baristas and patrons traveled to Guatemala this month to construct homes with Habitat for Humanity.

Sarah Crawford, a Heine Brothers’ employee, served as the leader for the team and previously traveled to Guatemala on five other occasions for Habitat projects.

Our Neighbors To The North

Today’s State of Affairs State of the News program is all about Indiana. Julie will sit down with Matthew Tully from the Indianapolis Star, Dale Moss from the C-J to discuss Hoosier news and issues, including the re-emergence of Stephen Daeschner. At 12:45, Tony McVeigh will call in with a preview of this weekend’s Fancy Farm picnic. A good time will be had by all. Listen, then call or tweet your comments.

Daybook For July 31

I’m getting something on the possible  suspension of the ‘cash for clunkers’ program.

Stephanie is going to the dedication of a new city park honoring Ivan Cano.

Tony has  a preview of the Fancy Farm picnic. He’ll be filing stories throughout the weekend and a feature for Monday.

Rick has some tape we can use today with filmmaker John Paul Rice, who’s screening his new movie here this weekend.

Today on SOA…”State of the News”

Wrapping Up July 30

The council meeting stretched out, and the sagging pants resolution was sent back to committee. Here’s what we reported on today, though. I may be a little late with my first post tomorrow.

• Council Requests Public Hearings Before Authority Appointments
• Indiana Group Encourages Families To Sign Up For Insurance
• Council Members Prepare To Amend Bridges Ordinance
• PSC’s Ice Storm Survey Ends Tomorrow
• PGA Events Returning To Valhalla
• FEATURE – Democrats Prepare For Mayoral Bids

Tonight’s The Night For Sag…Maybe

The Metro Council will vote tonight on a bridges authority and possibly a nonbinding, anti-pants-sagging resolution sponsored by Councilwoman Judy Green, though the resolution may be tabled or sent back to committee. I’ll be at the meeting, and I’ll post updates on the WFPL News Twitter as they happen.

Rand Paul’s National Fanbase

I don’t mean to antagonize our readers, but for reasons that are not at all political, Rand Paul is becoming my favorite contender for Sen. Jim Bunning‘s seat. Why? Because his supporters are our busiest commentors.

I’m not being sarcastic, I really enjoy the conversations Paul supporters start. Dialogue is essential to the political process.

But the thing is, of the 9 people who commented on that post, none of them had Kentucky IP addresses. It’s possible that they’re masking their whereabouts or are Kentucky voters on vacation, and it’s also possible that they aren’t Kentucky voters, but still plan on putting powder into Paul’s money bomb scheduled for next month. Then again, maybe they aren’t donors and maybe they’re proving my point.

Anyway, I’m glad to see outsiders getting interested in Kentucky politics. Stick around and comment on other stories, too, please.

Very Enthusiastic Media Amateurs

The folks who clicked on our Fancy Farm post may be interested in this. Der Spiegel has an interview with Wired editor in chief Chris Anderson.

Anderson can sometimes be cold and forward thinking to the point of nihilism or idealism:

SPIEGEL: Your local newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, is fighting for survival. If it was to disappear tomorrow …

Anderson: … I wouldn’t notice. I don’t even know what I’d be missing.

Anderson says he doesn’t use the words media or news, since they’re now meaningless. It’s bold, and he offers no terms to replace the obsolete ones.

There are no other words. We’re in one of those strange eras where the words of the last century don’t have meaning. What does news mean to you, when the vast majority of news is created by amateurs? Is news coming from a newspaper, or a news group or a friend? I just cannot come up with a definition for those words. Here at Wired, we stopped using them.

He goes on to speculate that media may become a hobby for reporters. Read it here. His predictions are daring, and Wired’s patron saint Marshall McLuhan would be proud.

Wrapping Up July 29

Here’s what we reported on today:

• Council Committee Discusses Vacation Pay
• Board Praises Ramsey, Who Again Turns Down Bonus
• PGA To Announce Valhalla Events
• Gleason Says Lottery Can Meet Legislative Mandate
• Volunteerism Grows; Americorps Seeks Input
• Parks Effort Gets $5 Million Donation
• Opponents to Elementary School Assignment Plan Speak Out
• Downard Will Not Run For Mayor

Grayson And Paul

With Jim Bunning out of the Senate race, the likely successor to the candidacy is Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

But a few commentors on The Edit disagree. They say Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul is going to use his father’s famous money bombs to raise enough money to beat Grayson in the primary.

I’ve been quick to dismiss Rand Paul’s internet popularity as just that, popularity that only exists on the internet. But while Grayson may have more active supporters who are actually in Kentucky, a giant money bomb could buy tons of ads all over the Commonwealth. And ever since the days of Lincoln, voters have generally favored the big spenders.  The first money bomb will test my theory, but I think that without Bunning, Grayson’s fundraising will increase, giving him a larger and more reliable source of funds than Dr. Paul.

Let’s say the money bombs exeed all expectations. Grayson is still likely to have the support of party big-wigs, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Some supporters may not be pleased with how McConnell handled Bunning’s short-lived candidacy, but an endorsement from McConnell is unlikely to hurt Grayson, unless those DNC ads make an unexpectedly large splash. There’s also the fact that Grayson is a well-liked politician in a statewide office with supporters in both parties and across the Republican spectrum. Sure, he once supported Bill Clinton, but he’s in the GOP now, and since Kentucky once went to Clinton in the presidential election, Grayson’s preferences 17 years ago might not do as much damage as some people hope.