ronhoon's Blog

I remember a comment from Katherine Graham, when she was still in charge of the Washington Post.  She said she couldn't predict exactly what the internet would do to the newspaper business in the future, but she knew it wouldn't be good.  And then, it wasn't that long ago that one of the business leaders of the New York Times said he wouldn't be surprised if they weren't even doing a print edition in five years time.

Well, here we are in the fall of 2008, and the tough times in the economy are taking their toll on a newspaper that I've always admired:  The East Valley Tribune.  The Trib is annoucing massive job cuts, close to 40% of their workforce, and a complete restructuring of the way they do business.  They'll focus on Mesa, and other East Valley cities...and stop publishing for Tempe and Scottsdale.  The paper will be free.  Though it will come just four days a week.  The emphasis will shift to their website.

This is a sad day for a lot of employees there.  And for readers, like me.  The Trib has been part of my routine for years.  But is an honest reflection of two things happening at once:  The economy is in trouble...and there is a massive shift away from print and toward on-line news consumption.  It's the perfect storm, and they couldn't help but be caught up in it.

A couple of months ago, I was staying at a friend's house in another city.  Since I wake up so early...I love to go out and get a paper, and sit and enjoy it back at home.  I went off to get the paper, and a little later, when he asked where I'd gone, his response really stuck with me. 

And as he sat at his computer, reading the same type of news from many different websites, he asked, incredulously, "You went to get a paper???"  Suddenly, I felt like I what I'd just done was like from another era.  Why go pay for a paper, when you can get it's info, and news from papers in Pittsburgh and New York, LA and Seattle, Boston and London, immediately...and for free.  Not to mention the other myriad of websites with great content...including this one!

And then there's the whole issue of immediacy.  Nothing can beat television for live coverage of news events as they are unfolding.  Newspapers have never been able to compete in that arena.  And there's a warmth and a chemistry from the people who bring you the news (or so we hope!) on television, that can't be duplicated on some national website, or in print.

At Fox 10, we are working constantly to create a symmetry with our website, myfoxphoenix, and our TV news delivery.  Every day we're looking for ways to make this partnership work in new and creative ways for you.  In fact, we're always open to suggestions...for TV, for the web, or for both.  That kind of interactivity hopefully helps us do a better job...and is one of the many ways the business in changing.

Those who adapt to these changes will only become stronger, more trusted news sources in the coming years.  The business will certainly look a lot different ten, or 20 years.  And I doubt those boxy newsstands waiting for your quarters will be part of it much longer.

With a growing number of comparisons to the Great Depression...more and more Americans are starting to grasp the scope of the financial crisis facing our country.  And today John McCain took the nearly unprecedented step of suspending his campaign.  He's going back to Washington to work on some sort of solution to the crisis.  It's impossible to know how much of this decision is affecte by politics...we are at the height of the campaign...and how much of it is the sheer demand on his time as the United States Senate debates one of the most important issues it has faced in our lifetimes.

I do know this.  He has angered some Republicans in the past for his willingness to work with Democrats to create compromises on legislation that, in the end, will get them passed.  That was his whole pitch to voters at the convention in St. Paul:  If you want someone who will work with people on both sides of the aisle, you'd better choose me...that's what I've been doing for years.  It's a hard argument for Obama to counter because he just hasn't been in the Senate that long.

Because of his track record, this crisis presents McCain the opportunity to be one of the key people in Congress who puts some sort of package together to try to solve this ridiculous mess that Fannie and Freddie and other mortgage and financial companies got us into.  But make no mistake...this is a high stakes gamble on McCain's part.  If he's successful, it will no doubt enhance his image.  But if he's not, if this whole thing descends into gridlock, it could backfire, and literally cost him the election.

Where do you find the smartest people in America?  According to a new survey from Travel + Leisure magazine the answer is:  Seattle.  Now...I was in Seattle last week, and the people there don't seem any smarter than they do here in AZ.  My hometown of Wenatchee, Washington, though?  Different story.  Brilliant people all over the places there!

It's more interesting to see which city came in last on that list of smarts:  LA.

What do you think?  Have you seen examples of smartest or stupidity in either of these cities?  Got another city that ought to make the list?

This same survey said the Phoenix metro area has the 11th most beautiful people in the country.  Miami's number one.  San Diego is number two.  I don't know whether we should feel good about #11 or insulted.

John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate has the potential to be a true game changer in the race for the presidency.  Here are a few things about her that you'll be learning in the coming days.

She was born in Sandpoint, Idaho to two school employees, her mom a secretary, and her dad a science teacher and track coach.  They all moved to Alaska when she was a child, and there she developed her love for the outdoors...spending time hunting, ice fishing, and riding snowmobiles. 

After serving on the city council in Wasilla, and serving in some other government positions, she took on the incumbent Republican governor, beating him in the primary, then beating the Democrat, Tony Knowles, in the general election in 2006.

Funny that we all heard so much about the "bndge to nowhere" pork barrel project in Alaska.  It didn't make nearly the headlines when that project was cancelled...by Sarah Palin.  It also sounds like she's butted heads with lots of powerful men in Alaska, either before becoming governor, or since then...and doesn't seem to back down a lot.

We'll learn a lot more about "Sarah Barracuda," which was her nickname was during her years playing for the girls basketball team at Wasilla High School, in the coming days. 

But, I'm wondering if you think the obvious play for Hillary Clinton's supporters, will work.  I know this much...it certainly knocked Barack Obama out of the headlines, just hours after his speech at Invesco in Denver.

I've never been to the towns in France and Belgium where old timers remember how the Americans came through in 1944 and 1945, pushing the Nazis out, and restoring freedom to millions of people.  But I'm told that even to this day, they are grateful to the Americans for the sacrifices made on their behalf.  It's poignant as I write this...on Monday, the 25th, as today marks the day that Americans liberated Paris.

But now I fast forward to today.  It appears that all American troops will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.  Iraq's leader has stated that an agreement on that is now in place.  It wasn't long after learning that news, that I ran across a story that tens of thousands of people gathered in Baghdad's huge Shaab Stadium for a soccer match.  With a capacity of 50,000...the stadium would've been a tempting target for terrorists.  But nothing happened.  Nothing but a soccer game, that is.  And thousands went home talking about nothing more than their team and how they played.

After great turmoil, and predicitions that U.S. efforts in the country would never work, it now appears that in fact, life is moving toward a more normal pace in Iraq.  Violence is down dramatically.  The dictatorship of Saddam Hussein is gone.  The people of the country now have the freedom to choose their leaders in democratic elections.  Many others are committing to the future with their savings, opening up businesses in a young, but promising free market.

There's still a long way to go to bring Iraq to the point where it could ever be considered the most stable democracy in the region (outside of Israel of course.)  But considering the kind of countries that sit nearby....Iran....Saudi Arabia...Syria....it has to be considered a success.  It sure has a more promising future than those countries that still cow their people into submission.

The question is this:  Will the Iraqis remember the American lives lost, the blood shed on their behalf, to bring this democracy to a part of the world where many thought it would never work?  Will visitors to this country 50 or 60 years from now, find Iraqis who are still grateful for the American sacrifices on their behalf?

I've joked about this in the past.  And it would be a constant source of laughs, if the government wasn't wasting so much of your money.  I'm talking about the so-called "virtual fence."

Now comes a report that all work on the fence has come to a screeching halt, because the Interior Department hasn't signed off on it.  This is typical government red tape that we see all the time...and which leads many Americans to think many people within the bureacracy don't care about getting anything accomplished.  They just want to keep their cushy government jobs.  If more paperwork can be pushed, if more decisions can be delayed...well, then...that's just job security.

But...you may be thinking...didn't the building of the fence get fast track authority from Congress?  Yes.  But that only applies to building the real fence, which by the way, will be the only thing that works...not this kooky star wars style border project that has been a joke from the start.

So, you're reading this right.  If they were just going to build a real fence, the job would be humming along right now, and voters might begin to believe their government can get something accomplished.  But since someone, somewhere along the way got sold this ridiculous "virtual fence" project...and since it wasn't included in the fast track authority...work has come to a grinding halt.  And will probably get lost in paperwork forever.

The honorable thing to do would be for every high level government offiicals who approved this laughingstock of a project to resign...and maybe even reimburse taxpayers for this foolhardy decision.  Instead, you will see that no one will take responsiblity.  And as a result...you'll also see that no fence will ever be built along huge chunks of the border.

Hope you'll get a chance to check out our new 9am hour of Fox 10 Arizona Morning.  It's going to be entertaining...with some news...some of the stories beyond the top headlines that people are talking about that day...and some features that provide you information you can use in your life right away.

Rick and Andrea host.  And all of us are part of the show.  You'll have to check out Cory's Corner.  I can't wait to see some of the places he decides to show up and just start talking to people.

We used to say that our most loyal viewers were in the "Four Hour Club."  Now, to qualify for this honor, you'll have to enter the "Five Hour Club."  And while lots of you can only tune in for a half hour or hour of your morning, I'm sure there will be some who spend all morning with us.

Thanks for making our first four hours such a ratings success.  We hope you'll love number five!

Like a lot of people in Arizona, I've been wondering the last few years, "Where'd the monsoon go?"  Last year's monsoon rainfall total of about a half an inch at the airport, had me thinking maybe we should just quit talking about "the rainy season."

Well, it's back, and with a vengeance, this year.  The airport has logged over 3 inches, and other measuring locations around the Valley have seen bigger numbers.  While it's not enough to pull us out of the drought, we are headed in the right direction.  Did you know that our rainfall total this year is already around 6 inches?  So now, we're approaching our average for a full year of a little over 7 inches.  At the current rate, we could top that number with the next good storm!

I know lots of folks don't like the humidity in Arizona.  I mean if it was that way year round, we might as well live in Louisiana or Mississippi.  The dry weather will be here soon enough...using the new criteria from the weather service, somewhere around September 15th.  And, as opposed to other cities that seem to deal with a lot more rain on a much more regular basis, every time we get a good soaking, it seems to cause havoc at Sky Harbor. 

Still, it's worth it, to keep the desert blooming and the mountains green.  I got caught in a rainstorm this week in Payson, and the temp dropped to 68 degrees in the middle of the afternoon!  An hour later, I was back in the Valley at 100!

So, let's hear it for a monsoon that's finally not wimpy.  Who knows when we'll get another one?

Here I am in my 50's, and I can remember being a kid in junior high, listening to the music of James Taylor.  We were on a family vacation in 1970 or '71, driving along a highway in Northern Idaho, and a tune of his called "Carolina On My Mind" came on the radio.  I looked out the window, watching the trees rushing by, and fell in love with his music right then and there. 

So, here we are in 2008 now, and he's been around that time, consistently making great music.  And in his concert the other night in Phoenix, he showed no signs of slowing down.  He loves his band, they love him, and the audience eats up their music.  JT said at one point during show that he'd fight anyone who said he didn't have the greatest band in the world...putting up his dukes to the camera to make his point. 

But as good as that band is, where James Taylor becomes almost magical in his performance is when it's just him and his guitar, as he sits on stage under a single spotlight.  That voice of his, so unique, you recognize it instantly on the radio, is as smooth and clear today, as it was when he started cranking out hits almost 40 years ago.

It's been several years since he came to Phoenix.  And it seemed like both he and his fans didn't want to say goodbye.  The few people I saw leaving at what appeared to be the end of his show, missed a lot of encore music...another good 20 minutes worth.  Considering that the show started at 8, and didn't let out til almost 11 am, that was three great hours of music.

Except for the intermission.  "I don't know why we take 'em," he said, "but we have to, so we'll be back in 20 minutes.  All the members of his band left the stage for a well earned break.  Except for James.  And this is what makes his different.  He seems so humble, almost shy, on stage.  That's a change from so many performers who think the world revolves around them.  But Taylor never left the stage during the entire intermission.  For the full 20 minutes, he leaned over to shake hands, pose for cell phone pictures, and sign autographs.  Talk about somebody who knows he owes his success to his fans.

I realize you have to be in the 40-plus age group to have been there when some of his biggest hits first hit the airwaves.  I'm talking about songs like "Fire And Rain," "You've Got A Friend," "How Sweet It Is," "Your Smiling Face," "Mexico," and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight."  I just hope a new generation appreciates his music, too.  His is the kind of talent we're all lucky to enjoy.

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Did you go to the show?  Do you have a favorite tune of his, even a memory of listening to his music when you were younger?  Where would you put him on the list of greatest vocalists?

Let's run through the list of problems Delta Airlines has had in the last few days.

First, there is the still unexplainable holding of passengers on board an aircraft for SEVEN HOURS.  This is after virtually every airline promised it wouldn't keep passengers trapped on board planes any longer.  That was at JFK, and a spokesman for the airline said they had no idea why it happened...other than a thunderstorm in Las Vegas.  Still waiting for an explanation from the pilot...I guess.  But it's not hard to pull the plane up to a gate and let people off.

Then there's the story about the lady who ended up dead in the restroom of a Delta flight.  This was an overnight flight from LA to Atlanta.  It's still unexplained why the flight attendants didn't check to see why the restroom was in use during final approach and landing.  But after all that, they went to go look, and found the woman dead.

The capper is the new policy that charges the poor guy whose traveling with a lot of luggage.  By the time you get to a third bag on Delta now, they'll charge you $125.  Add the $50 for the second bag (OK, it's true they don't charge for the first), and you're at $175 each way.  Do the math on that one:  That's $350 per round trip.  That could be more than the cost of the ticket to fly there in the first place.

Compare this to Southwest.  Somehow they fly people all over the country without charging for luggage.  And, as opposed to Delta, and virtually all the other airlines, they make a profit.

Looking at the one time industry leader (I put Delta in that group along with American and United), is it any wonder the whole airline business is in trouble?

The headlines blare than gas prices are down a dime in the last two weeks.  Big deal!  The price of oil has dropped from $147 a barrel to $123 a barrel.  That's close to a 15% decline.  Doing the quick math, that means the price of gas should have gone from $4.05 a gallon in Arizona to $3.45. 

Ah, but it takes a while for the price drops to be passed through, some might say.  If that's true, why were we seeing nearly instantaneous increases at the pump here in AZ when the oil price would go up that same day? 

Maybe you saw on our show where I quoted prices from other places around the country.  Rick's hometown of Euclid, Ohio is as low as $3.79.  Alexis and my hometowns (Sacramento and Wenatchee) are higher...at 4 bucks and up.  But there are several places now where has gas has already fallen to $3.60 or less.  By mid-morning on Monday, gas in Oklahoma City was down to $3.35 a gallon!    At that rate, they'll be $2.99 a gallon before we even get back down to $3.50.

Being next to California, which pays about the highest in the country, hurts us a lot, since we get so much of our gas from them.  But we're not that far from Texas, and I just saw $3.49 a gallon there...let alone those Oklahoma prices.  

So while it's a little good news in Arizona...it could sure be better.

Is John Edwards for real?  His wife is fighting cancer, he's just been accused of having an affair and lying about it, and his response is to release a statement that he doesn't respond to lies?  That it's all tabloid trash?  He thinks that will make it go away?

Listen, John Edwards was one of the major candidates for President this year.  Four years ago, he was the Vice-Presidential nominee.  He has spent most of his life developing his reputation.  Think about it.  Isn't that more important than almost anything to him?  I would think so.  So, shouldn't he be absolutely OUTRAGED that the National Enquirer is reporting that he has a mistress and a child with that mistress?  To dismiss this with a brief statement, to pretend that most everyone in the country hasn't already heard about it, doesn't make sense. 

Here's what he should do (at least if he is innocent.)  He should file a Billion dollar lawsuit against the Enquirer.  He should then go under oath, and prove all the reporters who were waiting for him in the basement of that hotel (why not just walk in and out of the lobby if you're not trying to hide anything?) made everything up.  Because someone is lying here.  If it's the reporters for the Enquirer, the tabloid should be forced to pay so much they might as well go out of business.  But if it's John Edwards, he should be called out for being a man who cheats on his wife while she fights cancer, and then lies to all of us about it.

If you were innocent of such sleazy charges wouldn't you file a HUGE lawsuit?  Anything short of that makes John Edwards defense not too believable.

Here's a conversation I found myself having in the newsroom.  Why is there not an unprecedented effort underway from the highest levels of government to try to come up with solutions to the energy crisis?  Seriously, where is the leadership?  Why hasn't President Bush called the top leaders in business together with key people in his administration and the leadership in the House and Senate and said, we're not leaving until we come up with some concrete solutions?  The simple fact that it's just fodder on the campaign trail makes it seem like the two top candidates are just throwing out ideas (John McCain:  Drill More!) (Barack Obama:  Make Smaller Cars!) to see if anything sticks.

In the meantime, $4 gas is slowly choking our economy to death.

I remember having to give a speech on a newsworthy topic during my days in college at the University of Washington.  The problem, as I saw it then, was that we were relying on foreign countries to import approximately 50% of our oil.  That was 1979.  Here we are almost 30 years later, and guess what, we haven't learned anything.  We're now moving toward the unbelievable number of 70% of our oil being imported.  It was a problem 30 years ago, and we've done nothing! 

Oh, no, wait, we have done something.  We've handed our very security and way of life over to Middle Eastern nations that we are now entirely dependent on.  So far that's only brought us to $4 gas.  Imagine what would happen if they decided to shut off the oil.  Don't laugh.  They did it to us in 1973, and it crippled us economically.  And that's when we weren't importing more than 30% of our oil.   Oh, yeah, and we've also allowed our standard of living to slip while enriching places like Dubai as we've sent billions and billions and billions of our dollars to the Middle East.

I know President Bush is in his last year in office.  But to simply wait for the next person to take office and try to come up with some solutions in mid-2009, won't cut it.  No issue...Social Security...Education...Iraq...is as important as this one.  I really don't know what the solution is.  In fact, I don't think there is one solution.  It has to be many things.  Everything should be on the table.  A consensus needs to be built.  This problem needs to be solved...or at least the first big steps need to be taken toward solving it.  Now.

Here we go again.  Hikers who get themselves lost decide to set a fire to announce to anyone looking for them, where they can be found.  We all remember when it happened several years ago, and ignited what eventually grew into the worst wildfire in our state's history.  The loss of forest lands in the Rodeo-Chedeski fire was so great, that some areas will not return to their prior state during our lifetimes.  The homes of many, many Arizonans were destroyed as well.

Now, the Lane Two fire rages in the mountains near Crown King.  It appears that hikers set the fire because they got lost.  I realize that accidents happen, but if you are going out hiking or camping, you have an obligation to take enough care that you don't get lost or stranded.  That's where the irresponsibility starts.  If you are not prepared with enough in the way of water, maps, and other items of survival, don't go out in the first place! 

But then to set a fire in the hottest, windiest time of year...meaning June, July,and August...when you know what can happen...moves beyond just irresponsibility.  Now, you are talking about the homes and the lives of hundreds of people being placed in danger.

We cannot afford to lose another thousand acres (let alone 400,000 acres as with Rodeo-Chedeski) to a man made fire...set for any reason.

I believe that anyone who sets a fire in Arizona's national forest lands...even if they think it will solve the problem they got themselves into...should be charged with the cost of fighting that fire.  That could become a staggering amount of money, but will be only a fraction of the cost, if you add it up, of the homes lost, forest land destroyed, and lives changed by a fire that rages out of control.

If you don't like your neighbors, you'll be interested in this story.  I've never heard one this wild before. 

Vicki and Jeff Mead have been trying to get an approval from Boulder County, Colorado to open an ATV rental business out of the building they bought back in 2007.  It's right along a highway in the town of Allenspark.

The county didn't like the idea, apparently, and neither did some federal officials.  But if the Meads have a real bone to pick, it's with their neighbors who have been fighting hard against their plans.  One neighbor in particular, Margaret Patterson, appears to be upset over damage done to nearby areas by ATV riders. 

So the Meads have come up with a unique plan to get back at their neighbors, and Ms. Patterson, specifically.  They've decided if they can't open an ATV shop at their location, they'll open a porn shop!  And it's all perfectly legal.

A sign has already gone up on the business announcing what's coming soon:  THE PATTERSON XXX PORN SHOP.  That's right, they named it after their neighbor!

Since the business used to be used as an art gallery, the county can't touch them for displaying "art", which as we all know is in the eye of the beholder.  The Meads said they never thought they'd be getting into the porn business...but here they are about to do it...and to try getting some pretty impressive revenge on their neighbors.

What do you think?  Whose side do you take?  And how have you resolved a dispute with a neighbor in the past?