Grumpy Editor

NEW CALIFORNIA LAW LIMITS FREELANCE WRITERS ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

 

Freelance writers are grumbling after California recently enacted a law that restricts their annual output, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

A controversial 6,700-word bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom limits Golden State publishers from assigning more than 35 stories a year to a freelance writer.

 

If publishers do not follow the new law, it would be considered a crime leading to legal headaches.

 

An active writer calls the new law “overreaching and harmful to people who prefer the flexibility that comes with being a freelancer,” adding "media outlets will look out of state, assign work to other California residents who haven’t hit the 35-project cap or slash their entire freelance budgets to avoid the hassle of record-keeping.”

 

Author of the law is a former labor organizer who originally capped freelancers to 25 submissions a year, before lifting it to 35 after protests.

 

 

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DOW ON A TEAR.  Investors today are watching the Dow Jones Industrial Average to see if it continues higher into new territory after closing Friday at 28004.89, up 222.93 points.  Behind the move are fading recession fears, brighter trade developments and a rosier economic outlook.  

 

ON-POST STORES EXPAND FOR VETERANS.  The Pentagon will expand access to discounted, on-post stores for 4.1 million veterans and some of their caregivers at the beginning of next year, says the Defense Department.

 

McCLATCHY TO CUT SATURDAY PRINT ISSUES.  California-based publisher McClatchy says it plans to eliminate Saturday print issues at all its daily newspapers Around the country by the end of the year.  The newspaper chain has over 30 publications in 14 states, including the Sacramento Bee, Miami Herald, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Charlotte Observer.

 

CHILD PRODIGY, 9, GETS BA DEGREE, AIMS FOR PhD.  A child prodigy from Belgium is set to gain a bachelor's degree next month at the tender age of 9.  Described by staff as "simply extraordinary," Laurent Simons is studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology, then plans to embark on a PhD program in electrical engineering while also studying for a medicial degree (his parents are doctors).

 

ANOTHER 9-YEAR-OLD CATCHES BIG FISH.  On a fishing trip with his father at Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, Alex Flores, a 9-year-old boy, catches a 42-pound blue catfish after it put up a fight for several minutes.

DESPITE STRIKEOUTS.  Baseball's major league minimum salary will rise to $563,500 next season, a hike of $8,500.

OBITUARY COVERS LIVE PERSON.  The Northern Echo, an English newspaper, apologizes for publishing an obituary on a person still alive after checking with three independent sources to confirm his passing. "We removed the story from our website and social media channels as soon as we were made aware that it was incorrect," notes the paper.

DOG READY FOR ADOPTION.  Lucas, a dog found barely alive in July after plunging off a Santa Barbara, California cliff, is ready for adoption. The canine was rescued after falling more than 70 feet to the beach, breaking two of his legs and damaging his hip.  He was lying motionless in the sand for six hours before being discovered by Good Samaritans who called first responders to transport the dog to an emergency animal hospital.

NO DROUGHT TALK IN CALIFORNIA --- THIS MONTH

Heading into spring, California soon will be concerned (an annual ritual) about its water supply, especially with the influx of millions of new residents since the last reservoir was constructed in 1979, observed Grumpy Editor.

Since that last reservoir --- New Melones in Calaveras County --- went operational, California has added 15 million people.

An upcoming reservoir, the Pacheco Reservoir in southeast Santa Clara County, is in the works but completion is more than a decade away.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack, source of about one-third of California’s water supply, last week was up 161 percent from its historical average for that date and up from just 69 percent on New Year’s Day.

Every major reservoir in California is at or above its historic average, and some, like San Luis, east of Gilroy, were full.

The 10 largest reservoirs in California were built between 1927 and 1979.

Shasta Lake, the massive inland sea on the Sacramento River, was completed in 1945. Oroville, the tallest dam in the country at 770-feet on the Feather River in Butte County, was finished in 1968.

Until more reservoirs are built, much California water runoff continues to flow into the Pacific Ocean.

 

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SOME STATES EYE DUMPING DST.  With daylight saving time kicking in yesterday, some states were mulling joining Hawaii and most of Arizona to opt out of a system established more than 100 years ago. Considering staying permanently on standard time: California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. 

NORTH KOREA NUKE SITE BACK IN ACTION.  In the wake of summit talks last month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea appeared to restore normal operations at a long-range rocket launch site it partially dismantled last year as part of what was claimed to be disarmament steps, declared U.S. analysts. 

 

TORNADO SENDS BILLBOARD 20 MILES.  A fierce tornado with 170 m.p.h. winds that blasted southeastern Alabama were so strong a billboard sign was sent flying 20 miles into neighboring Hamilton, Georgia.

 

GOAT NAMED HONORARY MAYOR.  Fair Haven, Vermont elected a three-year-old Nubian goat named Lincoln that edged out a victory over Sammie the dog.  As the town's first honorary pet mayor, Lincoln will attend special events throughout the year. 

 

NEW JERSEY CITY FROWNS ON BARKING. Saddle River, N.J. seeks to clamp down on excessive dog barking, proposing an ordinance that would prohibit loud, continuous barking for over 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.  It would be stricter at night, with penalties kicking in for barking lasting more than 15 minutes from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (Officials didn't say how they plan to muzzle barking canines.)

 

DNC NIXES FOX NEWS ON DEBATES.  The Democratic National Committee nixed Fox News hosting any 2020 Democrat primary debates, citing the network's "inappropriate relationship with President Donald Trump."

 

RECORD WET WINTER.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said from December to February (what it calls winter), the lower 48 states received 9.01 inches of rain and snow --- 2.22 inches more than the 20th century normal. Record or almost record rain and snow fell in the West, Tennessee Valley and parts of the Great Lakes. 

 

MILWAUKEE GREETS NEW SPORTS EDITOR.    Louisa Boardman has been named the third sports editor in the history of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She started her career with Milwaukee newspapers in 1985.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CALIFORNIA SOLAR REQUIREMENT COULD ADD $10,000 TO NEW HOME PRICE

Little has been said about it nationally, but home buyers in California, already facing some of the highest prices in the nation, will be paying a bit extra next year when the Golden State makes solar mandatory for new houses, notes Grumpy Editor.

The requirement could easily add $8,000 to $10,000 to the home’s price, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC).

The solar addition will increase the average monthly mortgage payment by $40, figures CEC.  But, it adds, new home buyers will save an average $80 a month on  heating, cooling and lighting bills.

Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, tells CNBC's "On the Money" that the new solar requirement could undermine a segment of the real estate market that's struggled to add to new homes relative to demand.

Added costs could hit "the affordable side of the market," she mentions, where prices on available homes have been under pressure.

"It's a very different perspective depending on if you're looking for affordable homes, or pricier homes," she adds.  “It's already difficult for builders to build, and I think this is just going to exacerbate that problem."

 

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RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE REPORT DELAYED.  Robert Mueller’s final report on the two-year investigation of the so-called Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which media were awaiting this week, won’t be out after all, leaving print and broadcast outlets in suspense.

DOW POSTS NINTH STRAIGHT WEEKLY GAIN.  The Dow rose above 26,000 again on Friday, gaining 181.18 points to close at 26,031.81 for the first time since Nov. 8 in posting its ninth consecutive weekly gain --- longest streak since May 1995.

MILLENNIALS TARDY ON AUTO LOAN PAYMENTS.  A record seven million Americans are more than 90 days late on auto loan payments and millennials are clearly leading delinquency rates, finds the New York Fed. It notes the number of new auto loans and leases appearing on credit reports last year reached the highest level in 19 years.  Researchers note there was a “sharp worsening” in the number of delinquent auto loans held by borrowers under 30. 

FOUR TERM MINNESOTA DOG MAYOR DIES.  Duke the four-term ceremonial canine mayor of Cormorant Township, Minn., went to "doggy heaven" last week.  The Great Pyrenees, 13 years old, made national news for being elected the dog mayor, acting as the village's ambassador to the public.

 

SEN. SCHUMER QUESTIONS HEDGE FUND WITH EYES ON GANNETT.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to know how many journalists hedge fund Alden Global Capital intends to lay off if it manages to take control of Gannett, publisher of USA TODAY.

 

SMOLLETT REAPS HEAVY COVERAGE IN MEDIA.  Actor Jussie Smollett, gaining more media coverage than the President over the past week, was cut from this season’s final two episodes of Fox’s “Empire” after Chicago police charge him with filing a false report for allegedly staging a hate crime attack on himself.

SNOW HITS HOLLYWOOD.  Last week's snow in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles is the first such dusting since 1962.

CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS FEE FOR TEXT MESSAGING

As if Californians aren't being taxed enough --- with the highest state income tax rate in the nation along with lofty sales and gasoline taxes --- Sacramento wants to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones, notes Grumpy Editor.

Funds from that would go to subsidize wireless services for lower income residents.

The proposal, frowned on by wireless industry and business groups, is slated for a vote next month by the State Public Utilities Commission.

Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council business group calls it "a dumb idea," adding, “This is how conversations take place in this day and age, and it’s almost like saying there should be a tax on the conversations we have.”

Wunderman says he is unaware of any local or national program that taxes texting.

An editorial on the subject in the Wall Street Journal signs off with:  "On the bright side, California's tax on texting should give millennials a lesson in rapacious progressive government."

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WHITE HOUSE PRESS HOLIDAY PARTY SCRATCHED.   President Trump canceled the White House Christmas holiday party for the media, a decades-old tradition that attracted those covering the White House, as well as other Washington reporters, anchors and commentators plus New York media executives who would fly in for the occasion. The invitation-only event grew so large that there were two back-to-back events, one for broadcast outlets and one for print.

HEART TROUBLE CHANGES FLIGHT.  A Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Seattle to Dallas was forced to turn around mid-flight after officials realized a human heart had been left onboard.  The heart was intended for delivery to a Seattle hospital after a previous flight from Sacramento.  In covering the event, media fail to report the exact location of the heart on the aircraft --- in an overhead bin or in the cargo hold.

CBS SELLS TELEVISION CITY IN L.A.  Television City, a 25-acre site on the western side of Los Angeles where many famous TV shows originated, is being sold for $750 million to Hackman Capital Partners.  CBS will continue producing shows at the site for at least five years. CBS originally bought the property in 1950. But since 2008, the company’s primary studio facility has been the 40-acre CBS Studios Center in Studio City with 18 sound stages and more than 210,000 square feet of office space.

WWI WARSHIP SINKING SOLVED.  It took 100 years for the finding, but a mysterious explosion that resulted in the sinking of the USS San Diego just miles outside New York City finally is solved.  The Navy believes the only major U.S. warship to sink in World War I hit an underwater mine planted by a German submarine.  The 500-foot armored cruiser sank in less than 30 minutes on July 19, 1918.

 

VENEZUELA NEWSPAPER STOPS PRESSES.  With a 75-year run, El Nacional, Venezuela’s last nationally-circulated newspaper, published its last print edition on Friday.  It continues with an online version.

 

MONEY MAGAZINE REMAINS UP FOR SALE.  Meredith Corp. continues to seek a buyer for personal finance magazine Money, once part of Time Inc.  One source says the publication is expected to sell for $10 million to $15 million.

 

WEEKLY STANDARD ENDS RUN.  Final edition of Washington-based The Weekly Standard will be published today.  It ends a 23-year run for the conservative publication.

 

CBS ELEVATES MAJOR GARRETT.  CBS News names Major Garrett as its chief Washington correspondent.  He has served as CBS's top White House correspondent. The new title makes him a prominent player in the network's coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

TRUMP SCOLDS CALIFORNIA FOR NOT COOPERATING WITH ICE TO CURB 'CRIME NEST'

President Donald Trump doesn’t hold much hope for renegade California where many politicians --- from Gov. Jerry Brown, on down --- can’t seem to get on the same track, observes Grumpy Editor.

Trump says he’s considering pulling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers out of California because he feels the Golden State, loaded with Democrat politicians, is giving his administration no help in targeting the violent MS-13 gang, especially in Los Angeles.

“Frankly, if I wanted to pull our (ICE) people from California you would have a crime nest like you’ve never seen in California,” warns Trump.  “All I’d have to do is say ICE and border patrol, let California alone,” adding “You would see crime like nobody has even seen crime in this country.” 

Trump also took a shot at California’s leadership.

“They are doing a lousy management job,” declares Trump. “They have the highest taxes in the nation and they don’t know what’s happening out there. Frankly, it’s a disgrace, the sanctuary city situation, the protection of these horrible criminals in California and other places. If we ever pulled our ICE out and we ever said, ‘hey, let California learn and let them figure it out for themselves,’ in two months, they’d be begging for us to come back.”

The Justice Department has threatened to deny millions of dollars in federal grant money to communities that refuse to comply with a statute requiring information-sharing with federal law enforcement.

 

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THOUGHTS ON GUN CONTROL LAWS.  Americans aren’t convinced stricter gun laws will reduce crime and don’t trust the government to enforce those laws, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey.  It finds 15 percent of American adults say stricter gun control laws increase violent crime, while 39 percent think stricter laws would decrease violent crime. Another 39 percent believe beefing up the country’s gun control laws would have no impact on violent crime.

CANADA COMMITS MILLIONS TO LOCAL JOURNALISM.  Canada’s federal government plans to commit $50 million over five years to support local journalism aimed at providing funding to one or more “independent non-governmental organizations” that will support local journalism in underserved communities.  The investment is being made to help “ensure trusted, local perspectives as well as accountability in local communities.”

STEVE JOBS EARLY JOB FORM GOING TO AUCTION.  A one-page job application filled out by future Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1973 when he was 18 is expected to fetch $50,000 when it hits the auction block in March.  The form indicates he was seeking employment as an “electronics tech or design engineer.”

CONFERENCE TAKES SHOT AT MEDIA.  First panel of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md., took direct aim at the state of journalism in the United States.  Its title:   “An Affair to Remember: How the Far Left and the Mainstream Media Got in Bed Together.”

WOLF TO ROAST PRESIDENT.  Stand-up comedian Michelle Wolf will host the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner, April 28.  She is a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” and also is working on a project with Netflix for an upcoming comedy show.  

ATLANTIC ADDING STAFFERS.  The Atlantic, one of the nation’s oldest print magazines and profitable for eight consecutive years, is adding 100 staffers (a 30 percent staff increase) as a part of a 12 to 18-month expansion across all divisions, with roughly half of the additio0,s going toward editorial.

NAVY ADDS INCENTIVES.  The Navy dangles new incentives that include allowing first-term enlisted sailors to have their families with them overseas in efforts to entice longer sea duties in Japan, Guam and Spain.

NEW ‘FACE THE NATION’ MODERATOR.  Margaret Brennan made her debut as CBS’s “Face the Nation” moderator yesterday.  She replaces John Dickerson who moved to New York to become one of three “CBS This Morning” anchors.  Brennan worked at Bloomberg News and CNBC before joining CBS in 2012.

BUFFET’S MEDIA GROUP CUTS POSITIONS.  Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is cutting jobs in its newspaper empire because of declining advertising revenue.  BH Media Group is reducing staff by 148 employees and not filling 101 vacant positions, representing a total of about 6 percent of its workforce.  Buffett’s hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, is eliminating 43 positions. 

California lifts ‘drought’ as wasted water continues

After a season when “tons” of water saturated the dry Golden State, filling or overflowing rivers, lakes and reservoirs, California Gov. Jerry Brown finally lifted the drought declaration, notes Grumpy Editor.

Brown declared the emergency in 2014 and officials later ordered mandatory conservation for the first time in state history.

But now, brown grass has given way to green and residents, with lifted restrictions, can now take longer showers.

However, rather than building more reservoirs to cope with increased water usage from growing population and more farming, keeping an eye on conservation will continue, say state officials who don’t seem to be concerned about precious Golden State water being wasted by flowing to the Pacific Ocean.

Over recent months, billions of gallons of water are being released from lakes and rivers, even including the Los Angeles River, to avert flooding.  Some areas discharge water to protect endangered smelt and salmon.

Water conservation will be a way of life in California, reminds Felicia Marcus, who heads the State Water Resources Control Board. “This drought has been one for the record books, but it won’t be our last or longest,” she predicts.

 

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On the campus front: A bill before a Vermont House committee would protect student journalists and their media advisers. It calls for content not to be suppressed because it involves political or controversial subject matter or is critical of the school or its administration. Meanwhile, colleges, seeing an upswing in demand for creative writing courses, are adding writing programs to accommodate interest in that area. The number of schools offering bachelor's degrees in creative writing has jumped to 733 from three in 1975, according to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, an industry group based at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

 

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's new book Old School: Life in the Sane Lane debuts on top of the New York Times bestseller list amid reports that 21st Century Fox, parent company of Fox News, paid millions of dollars to five women who accused O'Reilly of sexual harassment…How much did you make in your current or last job? The New York City Council votes legislation that bans employers from asking job applicants that question…Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. eliminates 289 jobs at its newspapers amid a decline in print readership and advertising revenue…Oops! A 58-year-old pilot was arrested on suspicion of operating an aircraft while under the influence after he landed his single-engine Piper on the warehouse parking lot of fashion designer Michael Kors distribution center, Whittier, Calif…A global coalition of tech leaders, academic institutions, nonprofits and funders, including Facebook, Mozilla and Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark, are behind a $14 million initiative to combat declining trust in news media and advance news literacy. It will be administered by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism…Adults over 18 years old watched 27.1 billion minutes of cable news in 2016, a 44 percent jump from the 18.8 billion minutes in 2015, according to a Nielsen report…A newspaper at the Mexican border city Juarez is shutting down because rampant killings of journalists in the area have made it too dangerous for operations to continue...Look for bank shareholders stirring at Wells Fargo's annual meeting April 25 after Institutional Shareholder Services says the majority of the bank's board of directors should be removed because of lack of oversight on the recent sales practices scandal...Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein will reunite at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner with a speech defending “a free and independent press”…Added ingredient: A consumer in Florida reported finding a dead bat in a packaged salad mix.

 

Sharp headline over a Wall Street Journal story on the razor business:

Gillette, in Change, Shaves Prices

 

 

 

Questions remain in wake of U.C. Berkeley rioting

Grumpy Editor noted a couple of interesting things in connection with last Wednesday’s widely-covered rioting at U.C. Berkeley: With wall-to-wall protesters, some tossing explosives and others smashing windows and starting fires, only one (or three) arrests were made. And, strangely, apparently no media person sought quotes from U.C. President Janet Napolitano, the former secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama.

The violent protests that prompted the cancellation of Breitbart senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos’s speech resulted in $100,000 in damage.

Police estimated 1,500 protesters were involved.

Most stories cited just one arrest. But KGO, San Francisco, put the number nabbed at three.

Media were silent on some questions:

Why weren’t there more arrests?

Why weren’t there more police on the scene?

Were many protesters non-students?

Rioting extended to downtown Berkeley where windows of bank offices were boarded up Thursday after being smashed the previous night.

On Thursday's CNN Tonight, U.C. Berkeley professor and former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich promoted a conspiracy theory, maintaining it was a group of right-wingers --- perhaps linked to Breitbart News --- who were responsible for the rioting.

The uprising resulted in President Donald Trump questioning federal funds to the campus while mentioning, “U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view.”

U.C. Berkeley last year received $370 million in research money from the federal government, more than half its total research budget of $674 million.

 

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Setting the media straight:  Vice President Mike Pence was busy on the Sunday news circuit, making the rounds at ABC's "This Week," NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS' "Face the Nation" and "Fox News Sunday"... The Mercury News, San Jose, reported after a month of blizzards, the Sierra Nevada snowpack --- source of a third of California’s drinking water --- is 177 percent of the historic average, most since Feb. 1, 1995, adding, “California Gov. Jerry Brown isn’t likely to amend or rescind the state’s emergency drought declaration until April”…NewsBusters observed New York Times CEO Mark Thompson on CNBC’s Power Lunch argued that the newspaper doesn’t display a liberal bias because “we aim to be objective and to tell people straightforwardly what's happening”…The New Yorker and Vanity Fair have pulled out from White House Correspondents’ Dinner events slated for April 29… Now animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is concerned over ‘Punxsutawney Phil,“ the groundhog that gets national coverage on Groundhog Day.  On Thursday, “Phil” took the stage in Gobbler's Knob, Pa. and predicted six more weeks of winter. The time-honored tradition, however, could actually be harmful for Phil, PETA told Britain’s DailyMail.com…Meredith Corp., publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, Parents and Shape, among others, laid off 40 staffers…The Wall Street Journal is closing its bureau in Budapest as part of its downsizing in Europe and Asia.

 

In a New York Times op-ed piece, actress Angelina Jolie wrote that discriminating against refugees for their religion or country of origin "invites the very instability we seek to protect ourselves against."

Do campus fees result in some students being homeless?

Hard to believe, but a study found one in 10 California State University students is homeless and one in five doesn’t have steady access to enough food --- yet students pay thousands of dollars in annual tuition fees, observed Grumpy Editor.

The study --- not widely reported --- was conducted by the CSU system, largest public university system in the country, with 460,000 students at 23 campuses.

University officials said students aren't required to report unstable housing conditions and many don't seek help “because of the shame associated with homelessness.”

So the homelessness figure could be higher.

CSU undergraduates pay the systemwide tuition fee of $5,472 per academic year for enrolling in more than six units per term and $3,174 for enrolling in six or fewer units.

Students enrolling in graduate programs and other post baccalaureate students pay a tuition fee of $6,738 for more than six units and $3,906 for six or fewer units.

In addition, students at each campus face mandatory fees, varying by location.

 

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Major overreaction?  It should be noted, following the British vote to leave the European Union, that the U.K. accounts for only about four percent of the world economy...Overlooked quotes on taxes in an election year:  "We have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world --- 39 percent.  Other countries over the past 20 years have been steadily lowering their corporate tax rates.  Ours has stayed the same.  We also have very unpredictable regulations," said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow and director at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and former U.S. Labor Department chief economist...Bank of America Corp. will pay $415 million to settle allegations that its Merrill Lynch unit misused billions of dollars in customer funds...Pacific Gas and Electric Co.will shutter its Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, last one in California, in 2025...Overlooked story:  The U.S. Senate voted down a Republican-backed proposal to expand the F.B.I.'s secretive surveillance powers following the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub...Bloomberg reported the U.S. commercial real estate market could be headed for a slump...Behind Californians leaving for other states: High home prices, worsening traffic, high taxes and a generally more expensive cost of  living.  In the past year, the number of people departing the Golden State exceeded by 61,100 the number who moved to California from elsewhere in the U.S., according to state Finance Department statistics. The "net outward migration" was the largest since 2011, when 63,300 more people fled California than entered...The Council of Economic Advisers reported the proportion of working-age men dropping out of the labor force in the U.S. is higher than in any other advanced economy in the world except Italy...The Japanese government said it is aiming to double the number of tourists visiting Japan to 40 million within four years...A Harvard survey reported by the Washington Examiner:  Home ownership hit a 48-year low, driven in part by foreclosures that put 9.4 million out of their homes...Weather blamed --- again:  Jane Harman, president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said women are disproportionately affected by climate change in developing countries.

 

A half century on TV.

KTRK-TV news anchor Dave Ward was honored last week as the person with the longest career as a television news broadcaster.

He started at the Houston station Nov. 6, 1966.

 

AP still sees California 'in midst of a drought'

Grumpy Editor observed keeping the California drought “alive” seems to be the goal of some journalists as was the case over the weekend with an Associated Press story with a second paragraph that read: “California is, in fact, in midst of a drought. Last year capped the state's driest four-year period in its history, with record low rainfall and snow.”

“In midst of a drought?” Hey, California’s drought, despite what Gov. Jerry Brown and environmentalists say, is over.

That followed a lead that mentioned Donald Trump, at a Fresno rally, declared, “There is no drought.”  That brought cheers from those attending.

Trump accused state officials of denying water to central valley farmers so they can send it out to sea “to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish,” the AP story pointed out, adding that Trump said, “You have a water problem that is so insane. It is so ridiculous where they’re taking the water and shoving it out to sea.”

Grumpy Editor found the much-heralded El Niño in recent months brought almost the normal average snow pack to California's Sierra Nevada. Snow serves as a reservoir with slow release of water over a long period.

Water from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada is channeled to Southern California via the Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913.

Meanwhile, going into spring, California's largest reservoir, Lake Shasta in Shasta County, rose above its average level for the first time in three years as did the state's second-largest, Lake Oroville in Butte County.

Other precious Golden State water is wasted.  Billions of gallons of water were released from Lake Folsom a few months ago --- to avert flooding.  Other areas discharged water to protect endangered smelt and salmon.  The dumped water simply flowed to the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific also gets a boost from the Los Angeles area where the Los Angeles River almost overflows from major rainstorms. Its much-sought contents also ends up in the ocean rather than into additional reservoirs that should be, but somehow are never built, to provide water storage for drought periods.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

With Memorial Day today --- honoring those who died in military service --- a Watters' World segment on the Fox News Channel found most people, when asked about the holiday, knew little about what it represents...Vietnam War veterans probably mumbled a few choice words on learning President Barack Obama, on his visit last week to Hanoi, lifted the U.S. embargo on selling arms to the former enemy...So how is the U.S. economy?   A new Fed report found nearly one in four workers juggles two jobs and one in three workers has no retirement savings or pension...With more than five months to the national elections, MSNBC and CNN during the week continued to spend much time with multiple talking heads focusing mostly on anti-Trump chatter that often produces laughs to knowledgeable viewers.  Those two channels also provided heavy coverage of protesters outside of Trump gatherings while other newsworthy national and international happenings were not covered ...Time-consuming work by David Goldstein, investigative reporter for CBS2/KCAL9, Los Angeles, compared millions of voting records from the California Secretary of State’s office with death records from the Social Security Administration and found hundreds of dead voters in Southern California, most in Los Angeles County.  The finding did not make national headlines...The New York Times sent out voluntary buyout packages to some of its employees working in its newsroom and business department...Former governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee faced Fox News cameras again on Thursday, filling in for Sean Hannity...Tribune Publishing nixed a second takeover bid from Gannett Co. --- but said it is open to further talks...Biggest concern with Americans:  economy, jobs, security, taxes?  Guess again.  The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial last week, declared "climate change is the most pressing issue of our time." 

 

Television's highly-rated 1977 newspaper drama “Lou Grant,” starring Ed Asner as a gruff TV news editor, made it to DVD last week. 

 

 

 

 

Calif. gets high precipitation, but 'never enough'

Grumpy Editor finds good news often is followed by a sentence starting with "but."  Such was the case Friday with a story reporting El Niño in recent months brought much precipitation to California's Sierra Nevada, where the snow pack reached 87 percent of the long-term average.

Snow serves as a reservoir with slow release over a long period.

The "but" in this case read:  "But the drought is still far from over especially in Southern California."

The writer overlooked that water from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada is channeled to Southern California via the Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913.

Other precious water for the Golden State is wasted.  Billions of gallons of water were released from Lake Folsom a few months ago --- to avert flooding.  Other areas released water to protect endangered smelt and salmon.

The dumped water flows to the Pacific Ocean.

In the Los Angeles area, the Los Angeles River almost overflows from major rainstorms as its much-sought contents also ends up in the Pacific rather than into additional reservoirs that should be, but somehow are never built to provide water storage for drought periods.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Don't read this if you believe in global warming:  Mid-April weekend weather in the Denver area brought up to 14 inches of snow and as much as four feet of the frozen white flakes in the mountains.  However, in weather coverage TV news focused on a tornado in Oklahoma...Not much wound up in print or broadcast reports about the microphone in front of  Ted Cruz suddenly cutting off during his speech, and was never fixed by Fox News, at a New York City GOP gala Thursday night.  Viewers then heard his voice "bounced" in the room with clicking of glasses and table chatter mixed in.  Strange...Billionaire hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen, who heads Point72 Asset Management, pledged $275 million to build clinics offering free mental health care to veterans and their families. Plans call for 20 to 25 clinics across the country in the next three to five years, with the first ones opening in July, reported Stars and Stripes...Fortune said Delta Air Lines abruptly stopped charging extra for booking seats offline.  "It is much simpler for our customers to not have to worry if they will pay a fee for ticketing with Delta," Glen Hauenstein, Delta's incoming president, said...General Motors announced it will move production of a new vehicle out of its Orion township assembly plant in Michigan to a factory in Kansas...Donald Trump said he will not go to this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 30.  The GOP presidential front runner attended the affair in 2011 and was the butt of many of President Obama's jokes in the president’s speech, and again last year...Notice that TV news editors are fascinated with protesters shouting and waving signs outside political rallies, especially when Trump is speaking inside?...The swing away from using coal pushed St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp., largest U.S. miner, to declare bankruptcy...The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved paying $42 million to implode the Riviera Hotel/Casino in two phases, June and August.  The Strip attraction opened in 1955 at a cost of  $8.5 million…Matthew Keys, a former social media editor at Reuters, was sentenced to two years in prison for helping hackers break into the Los Angeles Times website in 2010.

Really?

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted drivers will pay an average of $2.04 per gallon this summer for regular gasoline.

But look for much higher prices at the pump in California and Nevada.