A Meaningful Night at the Kendig Awards

Arts Council's Rhonda Morgan, gadabout Julie Hunsaker and Kendig winner Ernie Zulia.

Me and my cousin SharYn McCrumb, a Kendig winner and a former winner.

Taubman boss David Mickenberg with Rupert Cutler, journalist Gene Marrano.

Emily Sibitzky of AC photos me.

Jim Sears of Center in the Square with Ferrum's John Carlin.

Kendig winner Jason Garnett of Shadowbox and his partner Keri Sink.

My pal Kurt Navratil (left) with Wayne Strickland of the Regional Commission.

Kay Strickland of VWCC with Carolyn Payne, a Grandin Theatre board member.

FRONT columnist Kathy Surace with husband Joe.

Artist Polly Branch with AC Board Chairman Phil Sparks.

Erin Ashwell (left), an attorney at Kendig winner Woods Rogers, and I chat.

(This was initially published May 11 late in the evening after the Kendig Award ceremony. Blogger crashed, erasing it and it has been published again with the later date.)

 At a time when civilized America is watching the Virginia General Assembly and our nation's congress systematically dismantle the arts, it was heartening to see a gathering tonight to celebrate the people and organizations who are jumping into the void to make certain our children have something to enjoy.

Our heritage as a country that loves the arts is in danger these dark days, but you'd not have known it at the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge's annual Perry F. Kendig Awards ceremony at the Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke. I've been going to these events for years (and have even won a couple of the awards), but have never seen a more impressive and deserving list of honorees, ranging from the obvious (Ernie Zulie, SharYn McCrumb, George Kegley and Nancy Dahlstrom) to a few surprises whose bios and video profiles showed they are incredibly strong choices (Joanne Steele, Douglas Jackson, Jason Garnett of the Shadowbox Community Microcinema). Even the old-line arts organization (Roanoke Symphony) and  supporter (Woods Rogers) were exceptionally strong.

McCrumb (my distant cousin, by the way) has been a star novelist for years and is nearing two dozen novels, most big sellers nationally. That is a huge accomplishment in a field where the book is shrinking. Ernie Zulia has established himself over a number of years in Roanoke--with Mill Mountain Theatre and now with Hollins University--as a powerhouse theatrical director and Nancy Dahlstrom's visual art celebrates the bright side of a sometimes dim world. Jackson and Steele were the real surprises, he for his intense enthusiasm and positive attitude, shed for a dedication to teaching that is rare.

Jason Garnett is one of my favorites because he left a bad situation and turned it into gold with an idea of his own, the Shadowbox, which celebrates local filmmaking. The Symphony's story is one of an almost humdrum success at a time when that is marvelous news and Woods Rogers has been a supporter of the arts since God was a baby.

It will take this, all the people in the room and a whole lot more to overcome the dimwits in our governing bodies who believe the arts is optional and not deeply educational, but tonight, I think we got a commitment. You could see it, perhaps at its best, when AC Executive Director Rhonda Morgan handed the glass remembrance to each winner. There was a deep something in her face that looked like love. I think a lot of people were feeling that warmth for these winners.

(I have spelled Sharyn's name without the Y one too many times and when I stop to capitalize it, I remember it. Yay me.)

Kicking off Down By the River, the Economic Engine

Ed Walker hails one of the organizers at Down By the River.

Ed Walker shares a laugh with his wife, Katherine.

Ed and author Roland Lazenby, who's working 'River," talk.

Ed with his ever-present kids.

Ed Walker was pacing the big green field, slapping backs, stopping to talk, examining the fixtures and philosophisizing about the Roanoke that can be, as is habit.

Roanoke's most respected and remarkable business professional--and I say that without reservation because he does the right things for the right reasons, always--has built yet another impressive venue in Down By the River, a music extravaganza that almost immediately rivals Festival in the Park in importance and will grow exponentially, given the opportunity.

Ed is so strong in his belief about the potential for Down By the River, which starts tonight, that he called a news conference and was standing, nervously awaiting the arrival of the cameras when I showed up with my Nikon a little while ago. Ed hates publicity and he especially hates to have his photo taken, so I took the rare opportunity to get a little news and a lot of photos. Never know when the photos will come in handy.

Ed's message on this day is that Down By the River is the product of "four elements: quality, commitment, cooperation and competence." It was the cooperation that had him smiling and going on and on, naming names of people in local government, volunteers, professional show people, visitors who just show up from West Virginia, Tennessee and D.C. to see what's going on with all those Grammy winners in one place. In Roanoke. By the river. On a rainy night.

Ed is a marvel of efficiency, competence, organization and belief that what he's doing--whatever it happens to be at the moment--will work for the good of the city and everybody in it. He hasn't been wrong yet. His construction projects, music venues, radio station and the support of a wide variety of businesses that are best defined by the creativity of their owners is becoming legend.

He thinks Down By the River is going places and I'll take his word for it. I don't much like music and crowds, so I'll have to take second-hand reports, but with Ed involved, there will be success. It may take a few years, but it's coming and it will be more than local.

Courtney Dobbs at the Finish Line

Here's our girl, Courtney Dobbs ready to run for Tech.

A happy runner is a good runner.

That's Courts on the outside.

Tired at the finish, but the smile remains golden.

Courtney crosses the finish line.

Mitzi Hartwell of PowerTools and I met this delightful young woman, Courtney Dobbs, at a recent Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce technology event at the civic center. Courtney was marketing director with a Blacksburg tech company (Social Engagement Strategies) whose table was next to Mitzi's and we all got to talking. I think Mitzi and I both liked this fresh young kid immediately.

Then we found out this working freshman is on the Virginia Tech track team--a very good runner, in fact--and the deal was sealed. Courtney looks like she's 13 years old and I'm sure that haunts her every time she tries to be taken seriously, but I have yet to detect any hard feelings about it from her. She simply plugs away as who she is, a capable, intelligent young woman of accomplishment and she has us all in the palm of her hand immediately.

Yesterday, she ran in an NCAA qualifying event at Roanoke College and the Mitz and I showed up as her fan club and marketing department. Here are some photos of our girl finishing third in the 5K. Remember, she's a teenager and her future is bright in both track (and cross country) and business.

Blogger's Back and I'm Pissed

After nearly 20 hours of being down with no attempt to explain why, Blogger, which hosts this and many other blogs, is back up. I'm not happy that the explanation was not forthcoming. Being down is common, easy to explain and forgivable. Giving no explanation is one of the stupidest mistakes a business can make and it seems to be common with technical types who believe the rest of us to be incapable of understanding their world.

Maybe we won't understand what is going on, but a simple message like, "We are having some problems that we don't fully understand and our engineers are working as hard as they can to get your blog back in operation. We would give you a timeline if we could, but until we figure out what the problem is, it would only be a guess. Please bear with us. We appreciate your support and value your blog."

Simple, easy and smart. What we got from Blogger was none of that.

Roanoker List Ignores the Real Best Writers

Went by Curry Copy around noon today to get some holes drilled in my novel for binding and shipping off to some mythical potential agent and Mitzi Willingham mentioned that this blog had been mentioned in The Roanoker Magazine's annual "Best of Roanoke" issue. She brought out her copy and I took a look, discovering I won a fromtheeditr.blogspot.com had won a silver medal and was behind a blog about the weather at the local daily newspaper.

I rationalized that mine was considered the best among non-multi-million-dollar-company-supported blogs--with a huge marketing platform--and was satisfied that I'd done all I could, so I went looking to find out who the best writer in the region was. This one's always interesting because it's always wrong. Never once in all the years I've been following it has it been right about the best writer (and that includes last year when I won a Gold that I didn't deserve). Kurt Rheinheimer, editor of The Roanoker and a guy who could have won the award, but never has, and I discussed the imbalance in the selections last year and he promised to do something about it, like separate out the newspaper people whose high profile is most often far more significant than their writing.

The magazine certainly did that. In fact, it eliminated everybody but those working at the daily newspaper. The paper has its own category and its writers compete only against each other. The Roanoker even separated sports from everybody else at the paper and comics got its own spot.

My guess is that fewer than 10 percent of the people in this region who call themselves "professional writers" work at the daily paper in Roanoke. With the recent loss of two-time Pulizter Prize finalist Rex Bowman, it is easy to single out Beth Macy as the best there, but that's like singling out the best player for the Baltimore Orioles for the Major League award. Beth is a fine writer--regardless of genre--but she deserves better than to say she's the best at the paper. We already knew that.

What's left out here are people like the group from Hollins (Larsen, Dillard, Hankla, etc.); Virginia Tech's burgeoning master's writing program led by Ed Falco, Nikki Giovanni, and Lucinda Roy; and writers/teachers at Roanoke College (Melanie Almeder best among them) and Radford University (Bill Kovarik, Jim Minick and others). Smith Mountain Lake is a treasure trove of fine writing at the upper levels with Keith Ferrell and David Baldacci, among others; and the Roanoke Valley features novelist Sharyn McCrumb and sports biographer Roland Lazenby. Those are the most obvious candidates for any "Best Writer" list for this region and there are a number of others with strong accomplishment in our field.

What we get with so many of these numerous categories is exemplified by the choice of "sexiest" person in the area. That goes to the familiar and the easy pick, usually some TV news person who is not in the least sexy, but we've been over this well-worn ground a dozen times. I would suggest that Beth Macy belongs in the real group of the area's "sexiest" women because she's not only lovely of face, but also of spirit and she is mightily accomplished.

I'm peeing in the wind here and I'll admit we gotta take these award dealies for for what they are: low-end popularity contests. Not many people pay attention to writing and writers and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Blogs, though, that's a different matter. Blogs are important.

Actress Jane Seymour Draws Big Crowd to RVCVB Lunch

Jane Seymour and Bart Wilner chat.

Overflow crowd showed up for the actress.

Actress Jane Seymour, who will play the lead role in Sara Elizabeth Timmins' "Lake Effects," talks with Entre Computer Center owner Bart Wilner at the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau's annual meeting at the Hotel Roanoke at noon today.

Seymour was the guest speaker. The movie was shot recently at Smith Mountain Lake and will be released soon. The appearance drew more than 500 people.

Lovely Time in the Middle of Nowhere

That's me with Sally Roseveare and Becky Mushko.

Sally talks about her Smith Mountain Lake-based mysteries.

Becky went on and on about something or other.

A couple of local writers--Sally Roseveare and Becky Mushko--and I talked about our recent works today at the Phoebe Needles Center in Franklin County and it was lovely gethering.

The Needles Center is lodge about a mile from the Middle of Nowhere near Calloway (which is to say it ain't near nothin') and on this day, the crowd was comprised of people in the general age group of the three of us, which is to say old.

We picked a couple of books each and talked about and read from them, then had a discussion with the crowd, which was as interesting as anything. Good questions about some of the inside moves in publishing. There seems to be a lot of interest in how books are made--beyond how they are written.

The lunch was so good that I went back through the line with a take-home box and now I'm getting ready to have it for dinner. There was a fruit salad with baby greens and raspberry vinagrette that was to die for.

A Move Toward Youth (Surprise!) at WDBJ7

Chris Hurst

WDBJ7 in Roanoke has named young reporter Chris Hurst, most recently at a station in eastern Washington state, co-anchor of NEWS7 at Six and NEWS7 at Eleven when long-time anchor-reporter Keith Humphry retires later this month.

In recent weeks, WDBJ7 has lost much-honored news director and Roanoke native Amy Morris and popular anchor Natasha Ryan. Ryan moved up the ladder to Seattle, and Morris, who was fired, jumped all the way to WABC in New York, that network's flagship local station.

WDBJ7 has dominated the news ratings in this market for many years and this move appears to be toward youth. In recent ratings releases, younger viewers have preferred WDBJ's competitors. Humphry and Jadhon are both old by television standards where diapers are often the preferred after dinner wear.

Hurst will share the NEWS7 at Six anchor desk with Jean Jadhon and co-anchor NEWS7 at Eleven with Hollani Davis. Humphry did not do the later newscast. Hurst has a broadcast journalism degree from Emerson College in Boston.

“I’m incredibly honored by this opportunity to serve our viewers in this new role,” says Hurst. “I don’t think there is any replacing Keith Humphry; his experience and ability cannot be replaced. I'm going to try to bring a different energy and experience to our viewers in the years to come.”

“Chris has a real talent for storytelling and is a great communicator as well as a hard working journalist,” said WDBJ Television President and General Manager Jeff  Marks.“We [believe] he fits well.”

A Lesson for Young Moms from the New Yorker

For several years now, I've been trying to make a point about modern motherhood. All I have done is piss people off.

So, now the point gets made in a wonderful New Yorker cover cartoon that takes all my thousand words and slaps self-absorbed young moms and their SUV baby carriages (double-wides) in the chops. Good for you New Yorker. And it came on a good day for lessons:  Strollers don't have all rights of way all the time.

Slashing Budgets Even When They Don't Need To

Graphic from the Daily Kos shows some of the problem.

While our Repubic Party brethren are slashing and burning every dollar they can find in the federal budget (save for those that support the very rich in making even more money), the guy in the Virginia Governor's Mansion is going a step farther and cutting when there isn't even the need. My buddy Dan Casey of the local daily deals with the phonomenon in a fine column today (here).

Dan talks of the inconsistency of cutting Public Broadcasting funding while throwing funding at a movie ("Lincoln" by Steven Speilberg) to be made in Richmond.There is inconsistency all over the board, but the primary problem here isn't whether the cuts are consistent, it's there's a major philosophical gulf between the right and the left. The right's idea of proper government function--and, therefore, funding--is far different from the view from the left, or even a wide portion of the center.

The right has been cutting--deeply cutting--education funding for years and it now rests at such a low level that Virginia families can't afford to send their children to state-supported colleges. Money for roads and bridges and transportation has dried up and the infrastructure is falling apart amid cries of even deeper cuts.

Meanwhile, a story in USAToday yesterday tells of a federal tax rate that parallels that of the 1950s when the largest question about President Eisenhower was, "What you got again' Ike? He ain't done nothin'." And he, by god, hadn't if it cost a dime. Meanwhile, the Repubs got us into two wars (up to three now) while slashing taxes and we've built a deficit that they're blaming on the Dems. Some of it is sticking, not so much because it should, but because the Dems have the White House.

So, the cuts just keep on coming and the services just keep on diminishing. Look at the post prior to this one and you'll see what at least one offshoot of all those cuts is. Hint: on Mother's Day, our mothers are losing their place in the world.

Best Country To Be a Mother? How 'bout Norway?

You'd think that a country as mommy-centric as the United States would not only top the worldwide ratings for motherhood, but that it would be No. 1 with a bullet. But the 1 in the number comes after the 3: No. 31 and dropping.

Our mommies rank behind nations in Eastern Europe where the living standard is a fraction of what we enjoy, but whose health care system includes everybody and where children's  and pregnant mothers' mortality rates are not as embarrassing as ours. Save the Children ranks the world's mothers annually.

According to the blog Babble, the U.S. ranks low partly because it is dead last among Tier I developed nations in maternal mortality at 1 in 2,100. Only the Russian Federation, Albania and Moldova were worse. A woman in the U.S. is seven times more likely than a woman in Italy or Ireland to die from pregnancy-related causes and she is in 15 times more danger than her Greek sister.

We’re weak in Under 5 mortality (8 per 1,000), ranking us right in there with Latvia, and making us half as safe as nine other industrial countries. In the U.S., 58 percent of children attend pre-school, fifth lowest in the developed world. Our maternity leave policy (duration and percent of wages paid) is the worst of any wealthy nation. Women’s representation in politics in the U.S. is similarly dismal (17 percent of congressional seats, while Sweden has 45 and Iceland 43).

No. 1 in the rankings is Norway, a socialist country that provides quality healthcare to mothers and children (and everybody else). The top of the list is dominated by countries that make certain their people have full access to health care all the time, regardless of their income.

Here is the list from Save the Children of the 43 Developed Nations included in the report State of the World’s Mothers. The list is based on a number of criteria, including women’s health and life expectancy,  educational, economic and political status, as well as children’s health and education. Specifically they looked at things like maternal mortality, maternity benefits, percentage of women using modern contraception, under-5 mortality rate and ratio of male to female earnings.

1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Denmark
6. New Zealand
7. Finland
8. Belgium
9. Netherlands
10. France
11. Germany
12. Spain
13. United Kingdom
14. Portugal
15. Switzerland
16. Ireland
17. Slovenia
18. Estonia
19. Greece
20. Canada
21. Italy
22. Hungary
23. Lithuania
24. Czech Republic
25. Latvia
26. Austria
27. Croatia
28. Japan
29. Poland
30. Slovakia
31. United States
32. Luxembourg
33. Belarus
34. Malta
35. Bulgaria
36. Romania
37. Serbia
38. Russian federation
39. Ukraine
40. Moldova
41. Bosnia and Herzegovina
42. Macedonia
43. Albania

The bottom end includes these destitute countries: Central African Republic,  Sudan, Mali, Eritrea, DR Congo, Chad, Yeman, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Afghanistan. that's a Who's Who of poverty, war and deprivation.

(Photo: Norwegian Institute for Public Health.)

A Good Evening at the Ball Park

Fireworks celebrated the 2-1 victory and a lovely night.

The old editor and his good buddy Christine Ward.

Host James Creekmore and Blair Wood inside skybox.

View from the Creekmore Law Firm skybox.

The old editor, Christine and new FRONT ad exec Kathy Bibb.

James Creekmore of the Creekmore Law Firm in Blacksburg invited me and a couple of buddies to his salem Red Sox skybox tonight on a lovely evening in Salem. It was a fun night with some interesting people that included Blair Wood, a new lawyer at Creekmore, about whom you'll be reading soon in FRONT.

I showed up with my good friend Christine Ward and colleague Kathy Bibb (one of our two new ad executives and a fun gal) and we all chatted with some good talkers like Keith Finch and the firm's marketing director Allison Davis, who has an extensive and varied background in the arts. She also has as lovely an Irish look as Maureen O'Sullivan. Graceful gal.

Lots of fun and I want to thank James for the invite.

(By the way, during the Seventh Inning Stretch, I got the chance to explain to Christine and Kathy that the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is actually a song about a guy asking a girl for a date and she telling him where she wants to go. Great song.)

Tech Professor Falco's Novel a Pre-quel to The Godfather

Virginia Tech's burgeoning literary program will get some more good national exposure shortly when English Professor Ed Falco's prequel to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather is published. It is scheduled to be out in June 2012, published by Grand Central Publishing.

Ed Falco

The book is titled The Family Corleone and is a novel is based on an un-produced screenplay by Puzo and set in New York in 1933 before the Corleones’ rise to power.

A Tech press release quotes Publishers Weekly: “The story reveals the history of how Vito Corleone fought to survive in the brutal criminal underworld to become the influential and respected Don in The Godfather. Jamie Raab, executive vice president and publisher of Grand Central, says the novel “both honors the original, and stands on its own as a Godfather novel for a new generation of readers.”

Falco is the winner of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and the Emily Clark Balch Prize in Fiction, Falco has written four story collections, three novels, and several plays, in addition to poems, essays, and book reviews. He is director of the English department’s Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing, and he edits The New River, an online journal of digital writing.

Jenny Boone, Two Others Leaving Local Daily

Jenny Boone

Chris Winston

Roanoke’s daily newspaper is again losing significant institutional memory after being hit by major defections from the newsroom. Leaving for other jobs are New River Valley editor Chris Winston and star business reporter Jenny Kincaid Boone, one of the most productive reporters in the annals of the paper.

Also leaving, from the reports I'm getting, is veteran sports copy editor Buddy Wright. Rumors are rife about why he left, but I can’t find anything to confirm that he was fired. One local daily employee said, “He’s been on super secret, hyper-level probation for as long as I can remember.”

The popular Jenny (a long distance runner of some note and a truly talented and nice young woman) will return to her alma mater, Roanoke College, to work in public information. She leaves the local daily May 18. There, she joins former Roanoke daily editorial writer Leslie Taylor). She will write for the RC Web site and for publications of the department.

She had been with the local daily since 2002, beginning as an editorial assistant (right out of Northwestern, where she earned her master’s). She became a business writer in 2003 and has been there since. Her production has been high and of solid quality and replacing her story output will be an enormous challenge.

Winston has been all over the place. He was business editor and sports editor, both briefly. He ran a Virginia Tech/Landmark (owner of the local daily) Web experiment designed to be the next Facebook called biglicku.com (it failed). He was something of a go-to guy for a good while. He will leave May 14 to return to his home state of South Carolina to become a regional editor for AOL/Patch. He will help launch 12 “hyper-local” news sites this summer and coordinate political coverage with the Huffington Post of the Palmetto State’s 2012 Republican primary.

Internal memos that I saw mentioned Jenny and Winston, but not Wright. I’m told he didn’t even get the obligatory “left to pursue other interests.” But, hey, I can’t confirm that.

It's Time for Mayor David Bowers to Shut Up

David Bowers: Still talking

When Meridium CEO Bonz Hart handed Roanoke Mayor David Bowers the microphone for a few short remarks at Meridium's building dedication yesterday, one of Roanoke's most prominent and respected business leaders leaned toward me and said, just above a whisper, "I hope Bonz doesn't think he's getting that microphone back. David doesn't know when to shut up."

And off he went, right on cue, making the dedication about him, introducing minor political figures, talking about ... well, I have no recollection. My guess is that nobody else does, either. Eyes rolled. People sighed and fidgeted.

This has become a problem. It is happening with increasing frequency. A few months ago, at an Arts Council function, David was to have done a short introduction and it turned into a 30-minute speech about him and his peeps. The embarrassment in the room was palpable. I've seen it over and over in recent months and people generally joke about it.

There was a time when David Bowers represented Roanoke well at events like this. There are those who argue that it's the only thing he did well, but he was good at it. That time is no more because David doesn't know how much is enough. It's not just the unwanted speeches, either. I was told by someone who knows that David pretty much took over the tours of the building after his speech and that officials were getting complaints from the employees who were conducting the tours. They wanted him gone. He was a problem.

Ego, obviously, is playing a role in this and David has a tendency to talk too much anyway, so together, they give him the air of the buffoon who just can't stop talking.

David would have done well to have watched City Manager Chris Morrill, who had a simple, short message about Meridium--and not about politics and himself--and who delivered it with grace. He gave the celebration back to the people it was about. That's the way it's done.

Public Broadcasting's State Funding Cut by Governor

It looks like public broacasting in Virginia, which Republicans love to hate (but often listen to), is going to be hit with a meat cleaver from Gov. Bob McDonnell's office. The McDonnell line-item veto will cost $424,000 next year, or 16 percent of the budget for public broadcasting in Virginia.

According to The Richmond Times-Dispatch today,  McDonnell used the line item veto to reduce the appropriation, passed over an earlier veto. Said McDonnell, “In today’s free market, with hundreds of radio and television programs, government should not be subsidizing one particular group of stations."

The reduction is in appropriations for educational funding. That remains at $2.2 million, the same as last year.

Market Building Re-Design: Nothing To Write Home About

Roanoke City Market Building under construction.

The third floor finally gets bathrooms.

This is the multi-purpose room on the third floor.

Newspaper photographer Eric Brady shoots the third floor.

This is the newly-designed entrance.

This structure is in the middle of the main floor. Yuck.

Doug Waters talks to a reporter.

Brick mason adds an attractive entrance.

Leasing Agent Roger Elkin, Doug Waters talk to press.

It pains me to harp on this (not really), but I continue to be completely underwhelmed by the re-design of the Roanoke City Market Building, which a bunch of us media types toured this morning with leasing agent Roger Elkin of Hall Associates and Doug Waters, who is head of the group running the building. The occasion was to promote occupancy for the building before its grand opening Labor Day. It will have "soft openings" for vendors before then, however, as they move in.

As I've said to the point of boredom in the past, when Roanoke City Council awarded the architecture contract to Cunningham/Quill of Washington, D.C., it made a serious error. Today, I saw more evidence of council's failure. (Council rejected a marvelous concept from local firm Spectrum Design in favor of the out-of-town firm.)

The best that can be said of the design is that it includes plenty of bathrooms, something that anybody designing the building would have featured. There were no bathrooms at all on the top floor of the building and now there are stalls aplenty, which will be a good thing if the big room with a stage is used as frequently as the city hopes it will be.

The most distracting element of the entire design is the large structure smack in the middle of the main floor, ostensibly for vegetable vendors. I can't imagine why they would want to be in the building instead of outside, but hey, that's just me. The sides of the mezzanine have been removed and two separate end-pieces remain for, I suspect, dining.

Here are some photos. Judge for yourself.

Buseum Puts Two More Buses Back Into Action

Bev Fitzpatrick's obsession with old buses is beginning to bring home some dividends for his "Buseum."

The Commonwealth Coach & Trolley Museum at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke--which is Bev's museum--has announced the restoration of two of the most significant coaches in its fleet. They are buses with extensive years of service in Blacksburg, Richmond, and Northern Virginia. The Buseum, as it is also known, is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s official transit museum.

The newly restored buses are a 1962 GMC New Look coach from the AB&W (Alexandria, Barcroft & Washington) Bus Company and a 1966 GMC New Look coach from the Virginia Transit Company in Richmond. Each coach has been restored to its original livery (design and paint scheme) and original coach number when bought new. The inside of each bus remains as it did when purchased.

The Commonwealth Coach and Trolley Museum, Inc. was formed in 1999 when the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke de-accessed its fleet of transit coaches, school buses, and trolleys.

“It’s so important to us that people not only see, but truly experience these historic coaches,” says Bev, who is also director of the transportation museum. “Riding one of these buses brings back memories for many people, gives younger riders a view into history, demonstrates the safety, convenience, and ease of public transportation, and provides an unusual public service to the community.”

'Food Insecurity' in Virginia Highest Here

More than 15 percent of residents in Southwest Virginia are what's known as "food insecure," people who don't have enough to eat, representing the highest level in Virginia. That is according to a new study, "Map the Meal Gap," conducted by Feeding America Southwest Virginia and Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization.

The study found that 177,480 people in Feeding America Southwest Virginia's 26-county, 10-municipality region - 15.4 percent - go without food because of a lack of money. The report, released just before Feeding America Southwest Virginia's 30th anniversary fundraising gala on May 10, is the first detailed look at the food budget needed by families struggling with hunger in the region each year - an average meal cost of $2.54 per person.

"So often we talk in terms of how many meals or pounds of food we provide, and we certainly are proud to have distributed 14 million pounds of food last year, but to know the actual need and where we should be as a community is simply staggering," says Pamela Irvine, President and CEO of Feeding America Southwest Virginia.

According to the "Map the Meal Gap" study, nearly half of the food insecure in the region are from working families who are not eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance programs such as SNAP food stamps.

Those who do not qualify for federal nutrition programs often must rely on charitable food assistance programs and need better wages and employment opportunities to help them meet their basic needs.

The study takes a look at meals in a whole new way, using county-level data on food costs from The Nielsen Company to break down the food budget shortfall of residents into an approximation of the meals missing from the tables of people at risk of hunger in southwest Virginia each year.

Although "Map the Meal Gap" showed that the region's food costs are average with the nation as a whole, food insecurity is the highest in Virginia. "What this tells us is that there are a lot of hard-working people, with jobs, who simply can't make ends meet enough to put food on the table consistently," Irvine says.

In a departure from the standard of measuring meals in pounds, "Map the Meal Gap" estimates the relative cost of a meal that food secure people usually spend according to food prices in each county.

Feeding America Southwest Virginia is hosting a black tie-optional fundraising dinner in commemoration of its 30th anniversary. The event on Tuesday, May 10, features Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America and musical performances by David Stewart Wiley, music director and conductor of Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.

The event, at the Roanoke Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, begins May 10 with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and program at 7 p.m. Cost is $75 per person or $125 per couple. Reservations must be received by May 6 and can be made by calling 540-342-3011.

A Brief Respite from the News: Limbaugh's Take

Limbaugh on the verge of blowing.

Just for grins a little while ago, I turned on the "Rush Limbaugh Program" to determine how close to imploding he must be with a major success by a president who is not a Republican. He was closer than I thought. I could hear steam coming out his ears, see that fat red face, detect the high pitched, whiny professional victim blaming the Democrats for ... well ... being successful.

It was a masterful production, full of more pure bullshit than I've heard from even The Donald in recent weeks. A classic Limbaugh performance of screaming, whining, crying, complaining, hating America, hating Dems, hating libs, hating the media, hating ... well, everything, drooling on the microphone and generally embarrassing everybody listening. I lasted a good five minutes and I deserve an award . This guy is truly sick and and even more entertaining than he can imagine. It's like watching a cancer grow with a time-lapse camera.

Tallying the Cost of All Those Wars

Our buddies in the Repub Party, who are always intensely interested in the cost of government, will want to get a load of what Osama Bin Laden has cost America in dollars alone.

This story at Huffington Post gives an impressive breakdown that includes:

• A total of $1.415 trillion from Sept. 11, 2003 through FY 2012 (if Congress approves the current request).
• Already approved has been $1.283 trillion for “military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks.” 
• That breaks out to $806 billion for Iraq, $444 billion for Afghanistan, $29 billion for enhanced security and $6 billion on “unallocated” items. 

 And it ain't over, with or without Bin Laden. The Congressional Budget office says that expenditures "could reach $1.8 trillion by FY2021.”

(Graphic: gawker.com)

Showing Respect for a Killed Adversary's Religion

The question that will immediately haunt the Obama Administration, following the killing of arch-villain Osama Bin Laden, will be the disposition of the body. My guess is that many in America, hell bent on revenge or simply opposed to everything the president does, would have wanted Bin Laden's remains hung upside-down in Times Square for a week or so.

Instead, he was buried at sea by those who killed him, the CIA and Navy SEALS. Here's the New York Times' explanation: "Muslim tradition requires burial within 24 hours, but by doing it at sea, American authorities presumably were trying to avoid creating a shrine for his followers?" Showing respect for the religious tradition of this man and its millions of followers is smart, respectful and quick.

You might also note that May 1 is significant in that Hitler's death was announced May 1, 1945 (he actually shot himself April 30) and George Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" May 1, 2003.

A Marriage Challenge: Naked on the Couch

The following is from Betsy Gehman in Lynchburg, who is kinda like my mom, but isn't, but is. Anyhow, it's complicated. She sent this little story and I nearly fell out of my chair when I read it, so I thought I'd pass it along. It's really funny.

Last week was my birthday and I didn’t feel very well waking up on that morning.

I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my husband would be pleasant and say, “Happy Birthday!”, and possibly have a small present for me.

As it turned out, he barely said good morning, let alone “ Happy Birthday.”

I thought ...

Well, that’s marriage for you, but the kids ... they will remember.

My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast and didn’t say a word.. So when I left for the office, I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.

As I walked into my office, my handsome Boss Rick, said, “Good Morning, lady, and by the way Happy Birthday! “ It felt a little better that at least someone had remembered.

I worked until one o’clock , when Rick knocked on my door and said, “You know, It’s such a beautiful day outside, and it is your Birthday, what do you say we go out to lunch, just you and me.” I said, “Thanks, Rick, that’s the greatest thing I’ve heard all day. Let’s go!”

We went to lunch. But we didn’t go where we normally would go. He chose instead a quiet bistro with a private table. We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.

On the way back to the office, Rick said, “You know, It’s such a beautiful day... We don’t need to go straight back to the office, Do We?”

I responded, “I guess not. What do you have in mind?” He said, “Let’s drop by my place, it’s just around the corner.”

After arriving at his house, Rick turned to me and said, If you don’t mind, I’m going to step into the bedroom for just a moment. I’ll be right back.” “Ok.” I nervously replied.

He went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes, he came out carrying a huge birthday cake. Followed by my husband my kids, and dozens of my friends and co-workers, all singing “Happy Birthday.”

And I just sat there.

On the couch.             

Naked.

(Photo: www.horror-asylum.com)

'Win Win' Wins Narrowly

If Paul Giamati is reading the phone book, my guess is you'll like the story. When the story's a good one, like "Win Win," the movie can make an evening.

In this wrestling chick flick, Giamati plays a lawyer with a faltering practice who coaches the local high school wrestling team, which has had about as much success as his law practice of late. One of Mike Flaherty's (Giamati) few remaining clients is an old man in the early stages of dementia, whom the court wants to house in a senior home, but the old boy wants to stay home. Mike, seeing the $1,500 a month he can get for caring for the old man, offers to become his guardian. He promptly puts the old man in a care facility, constituting a breach of ethics at best.

The old man, played crisply by Bert Young, has a druggie daughter he wants to locate in order to take care of him, but she's in rehab. Her high school-age son shows up looking for grandpa and the plot thickens. Mike and his wife take the boy in. He turns out to be a state title level talent and joins Mike's family. Everything's going well until the mom gets out of rehab and wants her dad and son (because of the father's money) and the complication threatens everything.

It's an often funny, always discombobulated scenario and, though this one's not going to win any prizes, it's worth the ticket price just to see Giamatti's expressionless hound dog face tell the story.

Landslide Ralph Looking for a Place To Play

Looks like Landslide Ralph Smith's (right) going to have to move again if he is to remain a part of our government. The bumbling Republican who needs a script to answer the telephone appears to have been drawn out of his State Senate District with the new General Assembly plan--set to be signed by the governor--and he's on the prowl for a new home again.

Smith, who moved from Roanoke, where he was a one-term mayor (possibly the worst in Roanoke history), to Botetourt, where he has been a laughable Senator, is wealthy and owns property all over the place. A move is not out of the question and these days carpetbagging Republicans seem to be a trend. Look at Morgan Griffith, who didn't even have to move to claim a U.S. Congressional district he didn't live in (and still doesn't) during the most recent cycle.

There is speculation from my pal Val Garner (here) that Smith will either go to the 19th District or the 21st where he will challenge either Repub Bill Stanley in a primary or Democrat John Edwards in a general election. Landslide has the bug and it's hard to shake.

But he has to understand that special favorable circumstances are going to run out for him soon. He became the mayor of Roanoke with 34 percent of the vote (thus "Landslide") when two Democrats split 66 percent down the middle and he beat Brandon Bell, who barely campaigned in the primary because he thought people would understand just how thoroughly unqualified Smith is for any office. But these are the people who put George Bush in office, so he miscalculated.

Supreme Court: 'A Decision With Devastating Consequences'

Remember when conservatives used to scream "Bloody Murder!" about "activist" judges? They're quiet these days as the Republican Supreme Court dismantles the constitutional protections of ordinary citizens and small businesses against the overbearing dominance of corporate America.

Here's the latest outrage, according to a story on HuffingtonPost today:

On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court sided with AT&T in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion--a decision with devastating consequences for consumer protection and civil rights. In essence, AT&T asked the court to allow it to use the fine print of contracts to eliminate class actions, a practice that flouts the laws of 20 states. In a 5-4 decision, the court granted AT&T's request.

The case's potential impact is breathtaking. Corporations can now prevent consumers and small business owners from exercising what is often their only real option for challenging companies that defraud them by millions or even billions of dollars: banding together to file class action lawsuits. The case could be equally devastating to millions of non-union employees, who need class actions to challenge systemic discrimination by their employers. 

The Supreme Court has given major corporations the green light to engage in nearly limitless wrongdoing against others, so long as they do it in relatively small dollar amounts, which ensures that no one can afford to challenge the misconduct without a class action.

A sudden demise of class actions will shock the markets and the legal system. It will dramatically increase the market power of major corporations over ordinary Americans and small business owners, who are already outmatched. Innumerable laws that protect the public will become irrelevant because few people can enforce them.

This, of course, is the same group of Supremes who earlier ruled that price fixing is OK (helps the poor by taking the complexity out of choices) and that corporations are people and can, in effect, control elections and buy politicians as an expression of free speech.

(Graphic: PavlovianObeisance.com)