Stiff Fines Are Set for Long Wait on the Tarmac

The federal government will impose stiff penalties starting this spring on airlines that keep passengers waiting too long on the tarmac without feeding them or letting them off the plane — a remedy that will relieve many travelers but mean longer delays for a few.

Under the rule, airlines that do not provide food and water after two hours or a chance to disembark after three hours will face penalties of $27,500 a passenger, the secretary of transportation announced on Monday.

In recent years, relatively few flights have been held on the ground for more than three hours — about 1,500 a year, or roughly one out of 6,200 flights — but that has been enough to affect more than 100,000 passengers a year and to create substantial public resentment.

“This is President Obama’s Passenger Bill of Rights,” said the secretary, Ray LaHood, using the term favored by proponents of like-minded legislation that is before Congress. The administration’s action does not require Congressional approval.

But the airlines predicted that the rule would create a new set of complications and might force them to put more breathing room into their schedules.

Obama to tout $19B in contract savings

The Obama administration says it has saved $19 billion by streamlining federal contracting spending that doubled under the Bush administration.

The savings were part of a push to reduce federal contracting costs by 3.5 percent in fiscal 2010 and by $40 billion annually by 2011.

Book Review: This is Where I Leave You

Title: This Is Where I Leave You
Author: Jonathan Tropper
Year: 2009
Type: Fiction
Genre: Drama, Comedy

Review: This is an excellent story regarding life, family, and marriage. I look forward to reading other books by Tropper - it is that good. I would like to point out that it can get pretty sexually graphic, however, so it may not be for all.

Grade: A-

Book Review: Strength in What Remains

Title: Strength in What Remains
Author: Tracy Kidder
Year: 2009
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Drama, Africa

Review: The first section of this book is excellent (Deo and his travel to America). The second part is basically a review and boring words which were included to make the book longer. It is well worthy of a read.

Grade: B+

Book Review: When You Reach Me

Title: When You Reach Me
Author: Rebecca Stead
Year: 2009
Type: Fiction
Genre: Children

Review: I thought this was all right. It is short and can be read in a couple hours easily. I just didn't find it all that interesting.

Grade: C

Book Review: No One Belongs Here More than You

Title: No One Belongs Here More than You
Author: Miranda July
Year: 2007
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Drama

Review: This is a very good modern short story book. It is a very liberal book, meaning the short stories may deal with sex, drugs, etc. Worthy of a read if you are interested.

Grade: B

Florida man sentenced for threat to kill Obama

federal court judge sentenced a Florida man to three years in prison on Friday for threatening to kill President Barack Obama in an e-mail that said "the blood of Obama will run down the streets."

Nathan Wine, 21, admitted to the judge in Tampa in August that he sent the threatening e-mail to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command on November 5, 2008, the day after Obama won the U.S. presidential election.

Wine, who had faced up to five years in prison, acknowledged in his guilty plea that he had meant the e-mail as a death threat, although he did not reveal a motive.

In his poorly spelled e-mail message, Wine said he would "not mind going behind bars for being a trigger man on this tyrant."

"I will not rest until this tyrant of America is gunned down," he said. "The blood of Obama will run down the streets of D.C."

Wine was indicted in the federal case in January after surrendering to police on a local warrant charging him with stealing a gun.

Some Schools Are Dropping Driver's Ed to Cut Costs

Because of budget cuts, many schools around the country are leaving driver's ed by the side of the road. They are cutting back on behind-the-wheel instruction or eliminating it altogether, leaving it to parents to either teach their teenagers themselves or send them to commercial driving schools.

"If my parents would have taught me, it would have been different," said Ashley, a 16-year-old sophomore. "When I drive, they try to tell me what to do, and I get nervous."

Some educators and others worry that such cutbacks could prove tragic.

"As soon as people start taking driver's education away from the kids, we're going to pay for it with lost lives, collisions, and ultimately that costs everybody," said John Bolen, past president of the Florida Professional Driving School Association.

Some worry also that many parents can't afford the $350 to $700 that private lessons can cost or don't have the skills to teach their kids themselves. Even for those who can do it, the combination of parents, teenagers and learning how to drive can be volatile.

Nonprofit Millionaires

Surprisingly, executives at the head of leading nonprofit foundations earn as much as $1 million to $4 million a year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. These compensation packages often include salary, bonuses, health insurance and other benefits. For the past 17 years, the Chronicle has released its annual compensation package rankings for the wealthiest U.S. charities and foundations that raise the most donations. The 2008 list included a whopping 325 nonprofit organizations.

At the top of the pay list was James Mongan, CEO of Partners HealthCare System, which operates a group of nonprofit hospitals in Boston. Mr. Mongan, who is also a Harvard Medical School professor, brought home some serious bacon in 2008. Partners HealthCare System paid the wealthy professor $3.4 million for his loyal services.

The second on the nonprofit executive salary list was Glenn Lowry, director for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Lowry earned nearly $700,000 less than Mongan in 2008; he brought home $2.7 million. Coming in at a close third was Steven Altschuler, who earned $2.4 million as the CEO for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Report: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink

There were 106 death sentences imposed in 2009, the Death Penalty Information Center estimated in its annual report released Friday. That number is the smallest since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 and compares with an annual average of 295 death sentences during the 1990s.

Fifty-two people were put to death in 11 states this year, nearly half as many executions as 10 years ago.

The center, which opposes capital punishment, attributes the drop in both executions and new death sentences to fears of executing the innocent, concerns about the high cost of the death penalty and laws that allow inmates to be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Nine men who had been sentenced to death were exonerated and freed in 2009, the second highest-number of exonerations since the death penalty was reinstated, the report said.

Plaza at the Jacksonville Town Center Coming Soon

he St. Johns Town Center is getting a sort of town center within a town center, promising dining and entertainment for everyone.

"Plaza at the Town Center" is set to open in the spring 2010.

The plaza will feature unique dining, themed bars and saloons, martini lounges and lots of live music, plus boutiques, coffee shops, and retail shops.

It's being developed by Landmark Leisure Group and Ben Carter Properties.

Congress Travels More, Public Pays

Lawmakers take scores of overseas trips each year to visit military bases, meet foreign officials, attend conferences and see how U.S. funds are spent. Ever since a corruption scandal in 2005 led to restrictions on privately funded travel, legislators have been taking more trips paid for by the government.

The cost they reported for such travel abroad was $13 million in 2008, a 70% jump from 2005, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records. Lawmakers don't have to report the cost of domestic travel when the government pays. The $13 million didn't include the expense of flying on Air Force planes, which lawmakers don't have to disclose.

Over the 2005-08 period, the cost of legislators' privately funded travel, both domestic and overseas, fell 70%, to $2.9 million, according to LegiStorm.com, a Web site that tracks it.

Teachers Union Raps Fla. Stimulus Application

Florida's statewide teachers union is discouraging local affiliates from endorsing the state's application for up to $700 million in federal stimulus grant money.

Education Commissioner Eric Smith's plan would require school districts and their teachers unions to adopt local merit pay plans based on student test scores as a condition for receiving grant money.

Florida Education Association President Andy Ford called the proposal "fatally flawed" Thursday in an open letter to Smith published as an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper.

Ford called the application for a Race to the Top grant "prescriptive, topdown and unreasonable."

Who should have to pay to rescue stranded climbers?

"Depending on conditions, it can cost a lot," says Gerry Gaumer, a spokesman for the National Park Service, which spent nearly $5 million on search and rescue in 2008. "A lot of it depends on things like how much equipment you use. You're endangering your own people too."

Rescue services have traditionally been provided free of charge, like police and firefighting, but public anger over costs has led several states to implement charges, often when officials determine that the rescuees have acted negligently. In a notable case, New Hampshire fined a Boy Scout $25,000 after he departed from marked trails, sprained an ankle, and required a rescue, using a 1999 law that allows for recovery of costs in cases in which the state department of fish and game determines negligence. Seven other states have similar laws, with a variety of limits and conditions, often passed in response to costly incidents.

Book Review: The Man's Book

Title: The Man's Book
Author: Thomas Fink
Year: 2009
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: History

Review: This is a pretty good reference book akin to the Dangerous Book for Boys (which is much better). Half the book, however, was about topics I could care less about. I would recommend a purchase if it was really cheap, otherwise just rent.

Grade: C+

Book Review: Liberty and Tyranny

Title: Liberty and Tyranny
Author: Mark Levin
Year: 2009
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Politics

Review: I was very disappointed with this novel. It is just another "conservative" who attacks the "liberals" yet at the same time seems to forget the mistakes of past and present Republican politicians. I was expecting a little bit more.

Grade: C-

Book Review: Gone Tomorrow

Title: Gone Tomorrow
Author: Lee Child
Year: 2009
Type: Fiction
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Review: Another average Jack Reacher novel. Worthy of the read solely for its entertaining value.

Grade: C+

Book Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Title: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Author: Mohsin Hamid
Year: 2007
Type: Fiction
Genre: Drama

Review: This was a pretty decent book. The story was intriguing and short. My only complaint was the lack of any ending. It just seemed to end all of a sudden. Maybe I missed something...It is short though, which often brings my score up greatly.

Grade: B-

Book Review: Lowboy

Title: Lowboy
Author: John Wray
Year: 2009
Type: Fiction
Genre: Drama

Review: This is a very well written story. Worthy of a read for sure. My only problem with the book is that it seems to be missing something - the plot and characters are there, it's just...It reminds me of Seinfield in some ways.

Grade: B

Key Vote: Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009

This House bill would overhaul financial services regulations and place new controls on institutions deemed to pose a risk to the entire financial system. The bill now awaits Senate action.

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio