I agree with Dave on this (NYT charging to access OP-ED and columnists). This is a bit late. I don’t think the legacy media can pull off charging online any longer. There are generally too many alternatives.
Monthly Archives: May 2005
Mayor Dave’s Plan for Madison
Mayor Dave released a memo to Department Heads regarding the 2006 capital budget Monday. A few tidbits:
- Two more swimming pools will be included in my 10-year plan; like the first pool, they will be built with a combination of public and private funds
- A new Central Library: included in my 10-year plan, funded through a mix of public and private support
- Streetcars: included in my 10-year plan; funded through a mix of local, state and federal funds
- Redevelopment of East and Towne malls along New Urbanist lines: private investment
Reasonable ideas, but for the streetcars… I’d love to see rail to O’hare, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Wisconsin Utility CEO Compensation
Thomas Content takes a look at Wisconsin regulated utility CEO compensation.
Las Vegas Centenary – in Pictures
The BBC commemorates Las Vegas Centenary, in pictures.
Local Tech Firm Sonic Foundry’s Annual Meeting
Andrew Wallmeyer summarizes Sonic Foundry’s current state of affairs and provides a useful bit of history in terms of their stock mania and subsequent losses. The tech business can be brutal. We’ll see how SF navigates these waters.
“When you look at the number of tech companies that didn’t make it when the bubble burst, it’s truly amazing that this company was able to get it under control and survive that period,” he said. “The carnage was so absolute.”
If some of this smacks of boosterism, that’s because it is. Aside from their personal financial interest, many of the stockholders at the meeting said they root for Sonic Foundry because they want to see a local company succeed.
“I’ve been up and I’ve been down with the company,” said Hughes, who once watched his Sonic Foundry holdings fall from $100,000 to $1,000. “But it’s nice to be in a Madison company, being from Madison.”
Income Movements Out of Southeastern Wisconsin
Paul Gores takes an interesting look at income flows from Southeast Wisconsin – via a new Public Policy Forum report. Essentially people who leave make more than people moving in. In addition: “Every county is southeastern Wisconsin loses more income to Madison’s Dane County than it gains from Dane County”.
Vienna VR Scenes
Peter Winkler has posted some great VR scenes from Vienna.
A Good Sign for Madison’s Culinary Scene – Odessa Sightings
 |
L’etoile Restaurant, has been seen on recent Saturday Mornings (Farmer’s Market) at the Cafe. I told here that I thought she was moving on. She mentioned that she would be cooking more often, which, I think, is good for Madison. |
GM’s Troubles Ripple Locally: Tower Automotive
Thomas Content discusses Milwaukee auto parts supplier Tower Automotive’s ongoing layoffs. Tower will have less than 200 employeees next week. Tower supplies steel car and truck frames to the domestic auto manufacturers. Content’s article arrives the same week as GM’s announcement that they were talking with Toyota about hybrid components. Sadly, these increasingly popular parts will likely come from Toyota’s network, rather than domestic sources…
Stifling Creativity
Eugene Zinovyev (A UC Berkeley undergrad):
Today, entertainment lobby groups are consciously trying to prevent technological and creative progress in the United States.
Late in March, Ted Olson, the former solicitor general under the current President Bush and counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America, wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal arguing against peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, likening them to services that allow users to exploit others’ property illegally with no legal repercussion. Yet, the analogy between his scenario and the sharing of music and movies is deeply flawed, because digital movies and songs are not property in the same sense that a car or a pair of shoes are.