Secretary Of State Projects Voter Turnout Saturday
Written on 13 November 2007 by adminJay Dardenne believes 25-30% of voters will participate.
With only one statewide race on the ballot, it will be local races such as elections for legislative seats, council positions, and Sheriff that drive Lousiana voters to the polls Saturday.
Secretary of State Jay Dardenne tells 99.5FM he’s projecting a turnout in the range of 25% to 30% this Saturday.
Dardenne says “negative” campaign ads may play a part in voter disinterest. “Some believe the general trend toward negative campaigning is frustrating people’s interest in the process and I think there is some truth to that,” Dardenne says.
The state’s chief election official says turnout in 2008 should be much higher.
“Next year will be different because it’s a presidential race, and typically presidential races produce the highest turnout in our elections,” Dardenne says.
The Secretary of State says he hopes to expand early voting opportunities in Louisiana because he believes that “the ability to vote early is going to make more people engage in the process.”
Dardenne says his office is also exploring ways to encourage voters to participate. “I think we need to get creative with our message to people, in a non-partisan way, using radio, television and the internet,” and he says it will be up to the legislature to decide whether to fund such an effort.
Dardenne says he doesn’t support the idea of offering incentives to voters to participate in elections. “I’m not a fan or that nor compulsory voting,” he says, adding that he believes people should vote simply “because it is their civic duty.”
Diesel Fuel Costs At All Time High
Written on 13 November 2007 by adminTriple-A Mid-Atlantic says the price of diesel fuel has hit an all-time high in Virginia, while the average price of regular gasoline is a penny below $3 a gallon.
The organization says the average cost of diesel rose to $3.34 a gallon in Virginia today, an increase of more than 32 percent in the last year.
The national average price is $3.45, also a record.
Meanwhile, the average cost of unleaded regular gasoline is $2.99 in Virginia and $3.11 nationally. Triple-A says the cost of gas has gone up 35 cents within the last month as the Thanksgiving travel holiday approaches.
Typically, gas prices fall after Labor Day, but they have steadily risen this year.
What to do about Iran?
Written on 13 November 2007 by adminHow to cure the headache of Iran.
IN 2006, George Bush famously gave Angela Merkel, the German chancellor a brief, impromptu neck-rub at a summit. At the weekend, though there was no massage, the two leaders discussed a topic that has been giving lots of world leaders tension headaches: the ongoing standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme. The two leaders stood rhetorically side-by-side: Ms Merkel said “we agreed we want to resolve, and also can resolve, diplomatically the problem of Iran’s nuclear program.” The German-American relationship appears to have changed 180 degrees since Mr Bush’s fury at Gerhard Schröder, Ms Merkel’s predecessor, over the Iraq war.
Earlier in the week, Mr Bush had also met with Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president. This visit, too, seemed both productive and extraordinarily friendly for a meeting of French and American leaders. Mr Sarkozy was rapturously received by Congress. Mr Bush even addressed his counterpart in French, welcoming him to the “Maison Blanche”, while Fox News, a conservative television station that has bashed France in recent years, ran Mr Sarkozy’s picture over the caption “Ooh la la”.
But if America and “old Europe” are now getting along better in public, not all is sweetness behind the scenes, particularly over what to do about Iran. Mr Bush wants to turn the screws relentlessly, and has refused to rule out military strikes—although the Pentagon poured cold water on the idea this weekend, telling the Financial Times that it is not preparing a pre-emptive attack and that a strike is not in the offing. Mr Sarkozy and his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, have taken a surprisingly tough line as well, hinting at military action should Iran continue to refuse to stop enriching uranium. (Iran’s president recently announced another milestone, saying 3,000 centrifuges are now enriching successfully.)
But Ms Merkel’s government has been more wary about turning up the pressure. The Europeans still have much economic leverage with Iran if they choose to use it, and thus more to lose if there are sanctions or conflict—the European Union (EU) is Iran’s biggest trading partner, with Germany making up a hefty share. It, along with other European countries, has cut down on export credits to Iran. But big European companies like Siemens (a German-based engineering firm) and Total (a French oil one) do business with Iran, although they may decide to hold back from future contracts. European leaders are now discouraging their companies from making further investments there.
But simple exhortation may not be enough. At her meeting with Mr Bush, Ms Merkel was vague, saying mildly that “Germany needs to look somewhat closer at the existing business ties with Iran.” Britain and France want new EU sanctions on Iran that would bind the whole 27-member block. But joint EU foreign policy requires unanimity, and a block of countries including Germany, Spain and Austria oppose EU sanctions that are not based on a new resolution from the UN. Russia’s and China’s continuing refusal to back new sanctions could thus block European sanctions too, to the irritation of those who are keen to put pressure on Iran quickly. An alternative route may become more likely with America and individual allies proceeding in a coalition of the willing.
Add to this the fact that America’s warmest European relationship has cooled somewhat. Gordon Brown, who took over from Tony Blair this year, has proclaimed (like every modern British prime minister) his country’s place alongside America. But that place will not be Iraq, at least, as he hurries to withdraw troops. And Mr Brown, not least because British voters would not be keen, does not show anything like the personal friendship with Mr Bush that Mr Blair did.
Washington Grantmakers Conference Celebrates 15 Years of Funder Collaboration in D.C. Region
Written on 13 November 2007 by adminWashington Grantmakers will host a 15th Anniversary Conference for funders, nonprofits, business community, and public officials, on Thursday, November 15, 2007. “The Power of Generosity: Giving in the National Capital Region” will feature a panel of local leaders discussing the region’s assets and challenges. Washington Grantmakers will release the report “Our Region, Our Giving - 15th Anniversary Edition: Then and Now.”
Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (Washington Grantmakers) will host its 15th anniversary conference on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Alice Rivlin, Brookings Institution, will offer an examination of the National Capital Region’s assets and challenges, and reacting to her will be a panel of regional leaders:
- Maria Gomez, president and CEO, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care
- Barbara Lang, president and CEO, DC Chamber of Commerce
- Margaret O’Bryon, president and CEO, Consumer Health Foundation
- Stewart Schwartz, executive director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
The 15th anniversary edition of Washington Grantmakers’ annual giving report will be available at the event. “Our Region, Our Giving: 15th Anniversary Edition - Then and Now” compares the current philanthropic landscape in the National Capital Region to that in 1992, the year Washington Grantmakers was founded.
“Our funding community has come so far since those early days in 1992,” notes Julie Rogers, president of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation and founding Chair of Washington Grantmakers. “We’ve grown dramatically in numbers, and, most importantly, we’ve formed deep working relationships that improve our work, our ability to partner with outstanding nonprofits and our impact on the lives of people in our region.”
“Philanthropy is evolving,” says Washington Grantmakers President Tamara Lucas Copeland. “Evolving in how it invests, collaborates, and defines impact. Funders and nonprofits are increasingly partners in clarifying needs and identifying strategy. And funders are increasingly seeing the importance of working with public officials as a necessary step toward making lasting change.”
Activist and author Geoffrey Canada will provide the luncheon plenary address. A June 2004 cover story in The New York Times Magazine called Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) “one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time.”
Joel L. Fleishman, JD will address Washington Grantmakers’ members in a private morning meeting. Dr. Fleishman is a professor of Law and Public Policy and Director of the Heyman Center on Ethics, Public Policy and Professions at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University. His book, The Foundation: A Great American Secret - How Private Money is Changing the World, was published in January 2007.
Register for the conference online at http://regonline.com/powerofgenerosity
Public Schedule:
11:00 a.m. - Exhibit Hall (Dr. Joel Fleishman will sign copies of *The Foundation*, royalties benefiting the Duke University Foundation Research Program).
11:30 a.m. - Opening Plenary - Alice Rivlin, Brookings Institution
“The National Capital Region: Our Assets; Our Challenges; Our Region”
12:00 p.m. - Panel discussion of regional leaders
12:45 p.m. - Luncheon Plenary: Geoffrey Canada, Harlem Children’s Zone
“The Power of Generosity in the Nation’s Capital: Change Agents”
2:15 p.m. - Roundtable Discussions - Facilitator: Carolyn Lukensmeyer, AmericaSpeaks
4:00 p.m. - Reception
Thursday’s event is sponsored by WG member Freddie Mac Foundation. Other sponsoring members include Fannie Mae (luncheon), the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation (reception), Community Foundation for the National Capital Region (giving report), Kaiser Permanente, American Legacy Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and the Horning Family Fund.
About Washington Grantmakers:
Washington Grantmakers is a membership association and a leader in the philanthropic sector. Established in 1992, Washington Grantmakers’ membership is composed of private foundations, community foundations, public charities, corporate foundations, corporate giving programs, government grantmaking agencies, and individual donors. The organization promotes and supports effective and responsible philanthropy and is committed to improving the quality of life in the Washington, DC region by identifying community needs and making positive change through sustained action.
Fishing for compliments
Written on 13 November 2007 by adminWhy catching fewer fish means catching more fish.
EVERY story about overfishing tends to involve the same dramatis personae. There are the heroic conservationists urging restraint, the dithering politicians who must balance the needs of their many constituents, and the outlaws of the ocean: the wicked fishermen seeking to pillage the ocean. The story usually ends unhappily, with fish stocks collapsing and fishermen going out of business—and indeed most of the world’s fishing beds are either at or past capacity.
Among fishermen, Spaniards have a reputation for being the most voracious consumers of marine life. This is why it is so surprising to read reports that fishermen in Lira, in northwestern Spain, are asking for a marine reserve.
A marine reserve sets aside an area of the ocean, and leaves it unfished for all, or part, of each year (Lira’s reserve would be partial). In Lira, fishermen used to catch octopus, squid, brown crab and turbot. The fish are nearly gone and the fishermen are asking for a reserve not because they have suddenly turned green, but because they think it will help them maintain their livelihoods.
Marine biologists have been campaigning for marine reserves for decades. When they were first suggested, the reaction from fishermen ranged from suspicion to disapproval. Even conservationists were sceptical at first: after all, building fences in the ocean to keep animals penned in is impossible.
At first it was hard for some fishermen to accept that banning fishing in a particular area would help them catch more fish. And, for the first few years, it might not. But a reserve allows fish a refuge where they can increase in size and spawn. Some fish do not spawn until maturity: catch them before that and you’ve no baby fish produced for the next year.
In addition, big fish produce disproportionately more eggs than small ones. So the numbers of eggs produced per adult will increase as the fish in the reserve get older. These eggs, and the fish themselves, will spill over to areas outside of the reserve, where they can be fished. And as the entire ecosystem recovers, marine productivity in the reserve is restored to a maximum, which again increases the spill-over effect.
One study of marine reserves in St Lucia and Florida showed that catches by adjacent fisheries increased by around 50%, and the biomass of five types of commercially exploited fish tripled in three years inside the reserves and doubled in adjacent fishing grounds. A more recent study in Sicily showed that a reserve multiplied the catch by a factor of 27 in only five years.
Marine reserves won’t be a silver bullet in every situation, and will need to be well policed, to make sure fishermen don’t cheat by fishing in restricted areas. But they will ultimately be no harder to enforce than the business of net types and mesh sizes.
A well-planned network of reserves across the world would allow the marine environment to recover from decades of overfishing, benefiting all both the fish themselves and the people whose lives depend on them. They could thus turn the standard overfishing story of conflict into one of harmony, in which fishermen, conservationists and politicians alike work toward the same end.
Chicago police officers get desk duty after video raises questions about police report
Written on 7 October 2007 by adminThree police officers in a troubled unit have been assigned to desk duty after questions arose about the accuracy of a police report on a March 2004 drug arrest, a newspaper reported Saturday.
Officers claimed Raymundo Martinez was arrested outside a bar after they found drugs on him, but a surveillance video showed about 30 officers searching patrons and arresting him inside the bar, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The officers have been assigned to desk work, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. The 2004 bar search involved an elite police unit now under state and federal investigation. Seven members of the same unit already face state charges, including armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping. All have pleaded not guilty.
The newspaper reported the report was filed by special operations section Officers Eric Olsen and Greg Insley. Bond would not name the officers, citing a pending investigation, and did not confirm that Olsen and Insley were among them.
A call to the police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, was not immediately returned. A phone message left with an Eric Olsen in Chicago also was not immediately returned, and no published listing could be found for Greg Insley in Chicago.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald last week revealed a federal investigation of the unit on the same day that a former special operations section officer was charged with planning the murder for hire of another officer.
Schools see bleak fiscal report
Written on 6 October 2007 by adminFairfield Schools may sink in the red by 2011.
The Fairfield Schools could be in the red by nearly $9 million by 2011, according to a financial projection released Thursday.
That projection has board members - who already have tense relationships - pointing fingers at each other.
Treasurer Nancy Lane outlined her five-year forecast, which shows that if funding remains the same, the district will have an $8.9 million deficit by June 2011. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, the district will spend more money that it takes in, quickly depleting reserve funds that have built up after voters approved a levy increase three years ago. The district’s ending balances will drop from $12.6 million in June 2008 to $10.1 million in 2009 and $2.7 million in 2010, Lane projected.
“This is a bleak forecast in terms of four to five years from now,” said board president Mark Morris.
To push back the projected deficit, board members agreed they needed to look at ways to cut spending. That in turn prompted a hourlong, heated discussion, most of it focused on a document board member Arnie Engel gave the board nearly 18 months ago.
In that document, Engel proposed several spending cuts. But when questioned by fellow board members on specifics, Engel became defensive, and couldn’t produce exact numbers.
However, he maintained the district could cut spending by $5 million in personnel and another $1 million in other areas.
Engel, who founded the anti-tax group Citizens for Accountability and Results in Education, talked about cutting aides, as much as 25 percent of the teaching staff, librarians, curriculum administrators, technology technicians, building public relations representatives, principals and others.
One point that especially irked his fellow board members was the idea of eliminating planning periods for teachers, and requiring elementary teachers to teach art, music and physical education.
“I’d like to see your proposal in a form with real data. If you want my support, you need data,” said board member Eugene Ball.
“I think your plan … is quite absurd,” Morris added.
After the meeting, Engel said his fellow board members had no intention of seriously considering his ideas. “All they were trying to do is catch me off-guard or embarrass me,” Engel said.
Poll finds Clinton expanding her lead nationally, Iowa much closer
Written on 6 October 2007 by adminHillary Rodham Clinton has strengthened her position as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. But her strong showing nationally belies a much closer race in Iowa, where she is in a tight three-way contest with Barack Obama and John Edwards.
A new AP-Ipsos poll shows Clinton ahead of Obama, her closest rival, by more than 20 points _ 46 percent to 25 percent. The rest of the field is in single digits: Edwards, a former North Carolina senator pulled in 9 percent. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden each had 2 percent and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd 1 percent.
Only Clinton and Obama have the deep financial resources to compete in the early contests and in the crush of big states holding primaries Feb. 5.
The rest of the candidates are redoubling their efforts in Iowa, hoping a good showing there will give them a «bounce» into the later states. The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 14; they are all but certain to move up. Iowa traditionally gives voters the first chance to choose delegates to the party presidential nominating conventions, serving to winnow the field and provide momentum for the top finishers.
A closer look at the AP-Ipsos poll CLINTON: The New York senator draws support from women, blacks and voters without a college degree. She has neutralized what was expected to be a major liability _ her vote to authorize the Iraq war. She no longer is heckled on the campaign trail for that vote and has managed to persuade many anti-war Democrats that she would move quickly to end the conflict as president.
Clinton has worked hard to convince voters that she is not the brittle, calculating figure she long has been portrayed to be. While she does not have the intuitive campaign skills of her husband, voters say she has impressed them with her warmth, ready smile and willingness to spend hours taking questions, chatting and shaking hands. A bona fide celebrity, Clinton never tires of posing for cell-phone photos with starry-eyed fans.
She still has obstacles to surmount before winning her party’s nomination. She must convince skeptical Democrats eager to reclaim the White House that she can win a general election. She must walk a fine line between embracing President Bill Clinton’s legacy and projecting independence and an ability to bring change to Washington. Most important, she must win or come in a close second in Iowa; otherwise, her sense of inevitability will vanish.
OBAMA: Despite his charisma, crowd appeal and early opposition to the Iraq war, the Illinois senator’s support has remained essentially flat for months and has begun to drop in some key areas.
He is popular among upscale, educated voters, but the poll indicates Clinton still holds a 12-point lead in that group. While he hopes to be the first black president, and his strategy relies in part on blacks coming out for him, his support among black voters has dropped by 5 percentage points since the last survey.
Obama still has strengths to draw on as the race enters its final stretch. He has significant financial resources to invest heavily in the early states. His message of hope and change resonates among voters eager to move on from the hyper-partisan Bush and Clinton years. His strong field operation in Iowa makes him highly competitive there.
But the freshman senator has liabilities, especially the lingering concern among many voters that he lacks the experience necessary to govern in a dangerous world. He can be somewhat remote and chilly as a campaigner, making an intellectual connection with voters rather than an emotional one. He has been known to cut off voters when their questions go on too long and can appear weary of the endless glad-handing and other rituals of retail politics.
EDWARDS: While his national numbers show him badly trailing Clinton and Obama, Edwards remains strong in Iowa and is counting on a good showing there to fuel momentum in other states.
The multimillionaire lawyer has adopted a tough, populist tone, pledging to fight poverty and challenging members of Congress to refuse health insurance until they pass a law to bring coverage to everyone. He has railed against lobbyists and other Washington power brokers, and has gone further than other candidates in depicting Clinton as a charter member of the Washington establishment.
Edwards has deployed his popular wife, Elizabeth, to take on Clinton more directly than he can. Among other things, Elizabeth Edwards has said Clinton is too polarizing to be elected and would not be a strong champion for women in the White House.
But Edwards faces formidable challenges. He has had to compete with Obama to position himself as the strongest «anti-Clinton» candidate in the field; that is a difficult task given Obama’s celebrity and record fundraising success. Edwards’ own fundraising has lagged, and he recently announced he would accept federal matching funds, which will limit what he can spend in each state. He has little campaign infrastructure outside Iowa and his candidacy probably cannot survive a defeat there.
THE REST
The other Democratic contenders have struggled in a race so dominated by the top tier. Richardson has built a relatively strong organization in Iowa and is counting on his long resume in Washington and as a Western state governor to win over voters. Biden and Dodd have recently directed their limited campaign resources almost entirely to Iowa, where they are hoping for one of the front-runners to slip and allow an opening.
Bush talks compromise on children’s health bill but offers no specifics
Written on 6 October 2007 by adminPresident George W. Bush signaled a willingness Saturday to spend more than what he had recommended for a popular children’s health program, but provided no specifics on how much higher he would go.
The president on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would increase spending for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by $35 billion (¤24.76 billion) over five years. Bush has called for a $5 billion (¤3.54 billion) increase. Several Republicans in both chambers have sided with Democratic lawmakers on the issue.
«If putting poor children first takes a little more than the 20 percent increase I have proposed in my budget for SCHIP, I am willing to work with leaders in Congress to find the additional money,» Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Democratic lawmakers say votes to override the president’s veto will be held in mid-October. That effort is not expected to succeed because it takes a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House to override a presidential veto.
The program provides health insurance to children in families with incomes too great for Medicaid eligibility but not enough to afford private insurance. Medicaid is the government health insurance program for the poor.
Bush used his radio address to once again make the case that he believes the spending increase sought primarily by Democrats is a step «toward their goal of government-run health care for every American.
«Government-run health care would deprive Americans of the choice and competition that comes from the private market,» he said. «It would cause huge increases in government spending.
While the government does heavily subsidize the health coverage offered through the program, most SCHIP beneficiaries get coverage through private insurers who contract with states. That was a point stressed by Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader in the House, when he provided the Democratic radio address Saturday.
«The truth is, America’s largest private insurance lobbying group supports this bill _ as do America’s doctors, nurses, children’s advocates and, most importantly, 72 percent of Americans,» Hoyer said.
The president noted that his administration has added more than 2 million children to the SCHIP rolls since 2001.
Hoyer often cited Republicans to make his point that the bill is bipartisan.
«As Senator Pat Roberts, a strong Republican from Kansas, recently said: ‘I am not for excessive spending and strongly oppose the federalization of health care. And if the administration’s concerns with this bill were accurate, I would support a veto.’ But Senator Roberts added: ‘Bluntly put, they are not.
Former Boy Scout gives troops $4 million donation
Written on 6 October 2007 by adminWhen Bill Latimer lost his father in World War II, his Scout master became a mentor and role model.
Now the Union City man is giving back _ in a big way _ to the group that helped him. Latimer is donating $4 million to the Middle Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America to pay for 1,500 acres of wilderness on the Cumberland Plateau the Scouts will use for camping, hiking, caving, rock climbing, rappelling, fishing and kayaking.
It will be called Latimer High Adventure Reservation, in his honor.
“Our Scout master was just a real fine man,” said Latimer, 69, on the phone from his Union City home.
The property contains about 300 acres of cleared land and more than 1,200 acres of pine and hardwood forest and is surrounded by another 50,000 acres of public wilderness, including Fall Creek Falls State Park. It will be available to Scouts and other youth groups from around the country year-round.
“We just don’t have the words to thank him; it’s a dream come true,” Joe Long, executive director of the local scouting group, said. “If we can keep a kid in
Latimer agreed.
“You just get in with a good group of young people, and you need to associate with good people; that helps keep you out of trouble,” he said. “I truly believe in what the Boy Scouts do. They help develop young kids.”
The council has been searching for a wilderness area to buy since 2002 and both the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee helped the group locate the property. They took out a loan to pay
The Middle Tennessee Council of the Scouts serves a 37-county area extending from the Tennessee River to the Upper Cumberland Plateau and Fort Campbell, Ky. It has more than 50,000 youth and adult volunteer members.
