Herald's Levinson: STOP HELPING THE HERALD!

Today we examine Suzanne Levinson's action against a local blog. It's an action that is already drawing ire from other professional journalists. Sadly, Suzanne Levinson is Director Of Operations for the Miami Herald.

It's sad because she's apparently blisteringly stupid.

Here's the story: a blog called Random Pixels posted some pictures he found on the Herald site, buried in a slideshow. He's a photographer and a journalist, and as a journalist, he often offers insight into the news media, and sometimes it's bluntly critical. Other times, not so much, such as the entry in question.

The article in question is titled "Random Pixels Recognizes..." In it, he salutes the Herald for the work of two of their staff photographers, and to make the point, he included the photos from the website (since you can't link directly to a picture embedded in a slide show).

This photo:

CHARLES TRAINOR JR. / MIAMI HERALD STAFF PHOTO

and this one:

JOE RIMKUS JR. / MIAMI HERALD STAFF PHOTO

Frankly, while the subjects are pretty, there is nothing particularly exceptional about these photos. Nobody is going to be winning any awards of any sort for them as photographs. In fact, that's the satirical point that Random Pixels was making. These are just pretty good pictures of very pretty girls. No one is ever going to look back at them to prove who won the game, or if a law was broken, or the state of the union. They're not good candidates for a poster or magazine cover. They aren't even worthy of a postcard. In fact, because they were buried in a slide show, it's unlikely that very many people would ever have seen them - until RP included them in a post.

He didn't claim credit for the photos - they are full attributed. He even provided a link to the Herald photo gallery, so that his readers could go and see more Herald photos. Far from doing any kind of damage to the Herald, he's actually sending traffic their way!

And Levinson's response?

Please remove these photos and any other Miami Herald content present on your site immediately.

It's obvious that the Herald's Director of Site Operations is absolutely clueless; about copyright law, and about how the internet works, either of which is bad news for the Herald.

First, the internet. INTERnet. The INTER stands for interconnectivity. The goal of every website is to have other websites link to it. It increases visibility. It's how search engines work: the website with the most links to matching specific parameters must have the best relevance to the search parameters. The website with the most links is the most likely to have data worth searching for

When I link to other blogs, their traffic goes up, and sometimes I get an email thanking me for the link. In fact, on one of my blogs, I get thank you notes from magazines and news outlets -and even reporters - for driving traffic their way. It's quid-pro-quo.

So stories with content like Random Pixels' works on two levels: first, people will follow the links, which increases traffic at the Herald. Second, it increases the the likelihood that search engines will cite the website in searches, which also drives traffic to the website. It's a win-win situation for the Miami Herald, which is why it's so mind-bogglingly stupid of Levinson to complain about it.

Some of you might be saying "But - he used those pictures! They are protected by copyright!" And yes, he did, and yes, they are. But he didn't violate copyright. When you write an article about copyrighted material, you are permitted to use small samples of that material if it's germain to your article. It's called the Fair Use doctrine, and specifically covers use of copyrighted material in news stories or satire.

It says loads about the Herald that the person in charge of its website not only is apparently unfamiliar with Fair Use, but is so out of touch with the workings of the internet that she'd threaten someone who's actually increasing the visibility of the Miami Herald on the internet. "Stop telling people to read the HERALD" is what she's really saying.

This illustrates one of the worst by-products of the massive layoffs made by the Herald - you end up with a staff consisting of the very best (whom you don't layoff because they bring in revenue) and the very worst (whom you keep because their salaries are lower). Columnists and creators of content associated closely with the Herald, tend to fill the first group. A few advertising execs are in that first group, too.

Since Levinson isn't in sales and doesn't have a byline, this action makes it very apparent which end of the spectrum she falls into.

Remember Shirttail Charlie's?

Right on the river, across from Riverfront, it was a great place for a burger and brew. Well, good news: a new restaurant just opened, and it's hopping:It's now The Pirate Republic. And yes, it's run by the same group that has the place over on the beach.

I haven't eaten there yet, but it's only a matter of time...

...And That's....The End of the Story.

Newsman Paul Harvey is dead at age 90.

Wait, 5 to 7, or death? Let me think about it...

The first two paragraphs of the Sun-Sentinel story say it all:

The defendant faithfully attended every court hearing, and was pleasant to the judge. On Friday morning, when he entered Courtroom 7750 at the County Courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale, he fully expected charges against him would be dropped.

Instead, the judge revoked bond for John Ross and ordered him into custody. As he was about to be handcuffed, the father of three fled, jumped into the New River and drowned within minutes.

He seemed polite for an escaped prisoner:

Ray Castellanos, 35, was working on a boat docked along the river when Ross appeared."He stopped right in front of me and asked if he could get on."

The very sad part is that his lawyer really thought he had a good case, and would be able to get Ross off.

More Airline Toilet Humor

You got to love a headline like this: another entry for the "I'm really not making this up department."

Man Covered In Feces Attacks Flight Attendant

Passengers said the man left the plane's bathroom covered in his own waste on the Dec. 26 flight.

The man was not arrested, but was turned over to mental health professionals from a care center in Iowa where he reportedly lives.

Breaker, Breaker; The Snowman is 10-7.

Jerry Reed, who played Burt Reynold's sidekick in the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies has died at age 71 of emphysema.

Reed had been a country music star before taking on film. He'd won a Grammy for "When You're Hot, You're Hot" in 1972 and had numerous hits, starting with "Guitar Man," which was later covered by Elvis Presley. Presley had problems getting the right sound, and Reed eventually came in and played for The King.

As Reed recounted:

"I hit that intro, and [Elvis's] face lit up and here we went. Then after he got through that, he cut [my] 'U.S. Male' at the same session. I was toppin' cotton, son."

He collaborated with Chet Atkins on two successful albums, Me & Jerry, and Me & Chet.

Reed appeared on numerous TV shows and several movies before making the classic buddy film. A favorite on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Alice, and even an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. He had his own show in 1978, the short-lived variety show, The Jerry Reed Show.

Jerry did several movies with close friend Burt Reynolds before The Bandit movies, including Gator and WW and the Dixie Dancekings.

Reed had originally been cast as the Bandit, when Hal Needham let Reynolds read the script. Burt liked what he saw, and his presence kicked it up from a "B" movie to a mainstream release. The addition of a few more stars guaranteed a wider release, and the film became a fan favorite.

Reed eventually did get to play The Bandit in a later sequel. He wrote and recorded the movie's theme song, East Bound and Down, which also made the charts.

Those of us of a certain age will always remember Reed best as Cletus "Snowman" Snow, the wisecracking trucker, and perennial friend of The Bandit.

The Snowman is 10-7 and on the side; all you good buddies put that hammer down and mind them smokies.

Port-O-Justice

I just had to share this story I found on the CBS4 website: they found it on the St. Petersburgh Times website.

Lorenzo Earl Knight gets caught breaking into car, and after a brief chase, he tries to hide in a port-o-let: but apparently, the 22 year old punk didn't realize that they could do this:

And that's all the poop on this story.


(photo by John Farrish)

"Mover"-ing Day

Driving down I-95 on Friday, I saw something unusual:

It looks like the new Metro Mover cars are arriving - or are these for the Airport? Either way, they are here!

To Heck with SunFest: the Real Deal is in Fort Lauderdale.

I lived in West Palm Beach for many years. SunFest was still free, back then. It was still the friendly little jazz festival along the lake, something special for the people of Palm Beach County. It was a way to say farewell to the tourist season, a chance to take in one last break in the sun before summer kicks in. That's gone the way of a dollar a gallon gas and fifty cent coffee.

Now you pay to walk the streets your tax dollars built; I shudder when I consider parking fees. It's a boon to restaurants and hotels, but the theaters take a hit, and what kind of cultural event closes down the library for a week? Sure, there are big-name acts, but when did Sheryl Crow or Little Feat become jazz acts? Not much jazz left at what's become a slick and profitable operation. A few years back, the management sued a local artist because he painted a picture of the event and had the audacity to call it "SunFest." No, the friendly little festival is now a cold, greedy money machine.

Screw 'em. We don't need them. There's a real jazz festival every month along the river in Fort Lauderdale; not only is it FREE, not only can you bring your DOG, you can set up tarps and have a picnic while the jazz drifts past you, born on the same breezes carrying the smells of fresh food.

I'm talking about the SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch in Fort Lauderdale. That's right, the first Sunday of every month, you can hear some of the best LOCAL jazz bands in South Florida. No pop-music shills, here.

I took some pictures of this Sunday's event; and I promise you, I didn't get it all. Here are the highlights, and more can be found on Flickr

Nicole Henry

Camped out on the Plaza to listen to Nicole Henry

Time For Jazz!!



Everyone loves jazz on the river




I do mean everyone.




Watching the boats go by


The Porcelain Quartet in the Broward Center's Peck Courtyard.




Yes, you can really take your boat to Sunday Jazz Brunch.



Plenty of shade in the Historic Village

Proud.

Rick at South Florida Daily Blog has selected my post "If We're Opening the Door..." as this week's South Florida Post of the Week.

In honor of this event, and in keeping with the basic premis of the nominated post, I think we should push for THIS new tag:

WFOR; Can They Get A Story Straight?

Last year, I put up a story about WFOR getting their facts wrong. Eventually, they corrected their story, although as far as I know, I'm the only one who heard their apology. Nothing about the error ever appeared on their website. I didn't think it was all that big a deal; it didn't besmirch anyone's reputation beyond their own.

I just didn't realize how badly stained their reputation already was.

Turns out, that wasn't the first time WFOR put up false information. Back in October 2006, they interrupted programming to report that the son of Miami-Dade Police Director Robert Parker had been arrested for armed robbery. The fact is that Robert Parker Jr. hadn't been arrested; for that crime or any other.

To add insult to injury, when WFOR reporter Gary Nelson arrived at the police station to cover the story and was told that Robert Parker, JR hadn't been arrested, Nelson immediately called his station to report that the police were engaged in a cover-up!

From the Herald article:

''Nelson then proceeded to get on his cellular phone and told someone that he felt that there was some sort of cover-up,'' according to the lawsuit, filed by firm Martin, Lister, Alvarez & Genovese.

The false story was on their website, and was repeated on air several times, over several hours. Eventually, of course, they did retract the story and apologize for their error.

At the time of the story, WPLG interviewed Director Parker, who said in part:
"...a great travesty has been done here in terms of besmirching my reputation..."

Of course, WFOR chose a different quote:
"It's certainly unfortunate and I'm already starting to feel the effects of it."


I certainly remember the story; but I do not remember the correction. I guess they didn't interrupt programming several times to make it.

Robert Parker has filed a lawsuit against WFOR and Gary Nelson. His son, Robert Jr, is also a plaintiff in the suit.

Best Fidel Post

This is from David Terrenoire, at his blog A Dark Planet

A couple of the best snippets:

He killed thousands of innocent people without cause, outlawed music, tapped the phones of his enemies, and threw poets into jail without trial.

I don't know why Jesse Helms didn't love this guy. Maybe it was the free education and health care.

And this one:

I told this story in Beneath A Panamanian Moon, and it was based on a real incident. I knew a man named Choppo who had fought with Fidel in the mountains of Cuba. Choppo had on his wall an 8x10 of himself and Fidel firing up a massive baton. When I asked Choppo about El Presidente he said, "Fidel was a good man, but then he got caught up in politics."

There's a lesson for us all, I think, in this election year.

Tip o' the hat to Dusty for pointing this out.

Shut UP - You're Not Helping!

Some interesting comments in the CNN story about two escaped convicts: in a plot reminiscent of ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ or THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, the escapees dug holes in the walls that they kept hidden behind nude centerfolds, and fooled guards into thinking they were still in their cell by making dummies to lie in their beds.

Union County Prosecutor Ted Romanko tried to wave off any comparison between the prison break and the movies:

"I really prefer not to compare with any movie, although I can understand why you might because it does look certainly very similar to some of them."

Similar? Let's have a look:

A dummy lies under a blanket to fool the guards in the NJ prison break.


A Dummy lies under a blanket in a scene from "Escape from Alcatraz"

Call me crazy, but that's about as close as you can get.

But Romanko digs himself and the prison deeper: the inmates hid the holes in their walls behind "photographs of bikini-clad women." In SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, the prisoner uses a series of pin-up girls, starting with Rita Hayworth. (The full title of the short story the movie is based on was "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption)

Romanko's damning comment:

"...in 'The Shawshank Redemption' they had a better poster on the wall."

"Better?" "Better" as in "the big ass Rita Hayworth poster did a better job of covering the hole than a magazine centerfold or two?" How is the fact that these inmates did a worse job covering the hole they dug something to criticize when it was still more than enough to let them GET AWAY WITH IT? That kind of "better?" Is Romanko smoking CRACK?

I know what you're thinking, you're thinking, c'mon, how could they know? I mean, WHO tries to pull that movie crap in real life? The prison authorities had no reason to suspect that anyone would ever try such an insane scheme to escape.

Unless, of course, they had tried it before:

"According to police, Blunt tried to escape in September using similar methods."

Oh, sure, how could anyone have POSSIBLY guessed that this guy would try to act out a movie to escape from prison - AGAIN?

No wonder the escapees left a thank-you note. I would have, too. The guards did everything but unlock the doors for them.

Oh, did I forget to mention the thank-you note?

"Thank you officer -------- for the tools needed, you're a real pal, Happy Holidays, :-)" *

Of course, prison policies are as much to blame as lackadaisical oversight; the article also reports that they men had FOOTLOCKERS to hide the peices of brick in. Hey, why not give them a lockbox so they can safeguard their shivs? FOOTLOCKERS?!? Are you nucking futs?

Let's face it, there's no way the authorities are going to come out of this without looking like idiots. But jeez, someone shut Romanko up before he says something ELSE incredibly stupid. Dude, you're only digging the hole deeper. Quit talking. Seriously.

*I'm not shitting you - there was a smiley. Honest to god.

Bottled vs. Tap: Deja Vu

Newsweek has an article up in today's online edition:

Is Bottled Water Better Than Tap?
It may be trendy to sip brand-name water, but experts say it's no healthier than drinking from the faucet.

Hmm. Something vaguely familiar....didn't I read something about...

[d'oh!]

Of course. It was ME.

"People who purchase water are basically paying money for a product
inferior to one that their tax dollars have already delivered to their
homes in huge quantities."

But Newsweek found some new information;

"While clean water in any form is good for you, tap water is better for the environment. Bottled water is usually packaged in single-use bottles made from fossil fuels, says Janet Larsen, director of research for the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. And bottled water often travels long distances, which can burn a lot more fuel. This week, the EPI released new data that shows that manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil."

And in a conclusion that warms this maniac's cockles:

The EPA's (Head of Water Programs) (Benjamin) Grumbles drinks bottled water only when he's on airplanes or traveling. "We're a mobile society, so there will always be a need for bottled water," he says. "[But] tap water is a tremendous bargain."

You bet it is. As I concluded back in August:

And you can smugly watch the stupid people fill their carts up with cases of bottled water while tucking their lottery tickets into their pockets.

Bottoms Up!

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WFOR; the "Eye on South Florida"gives Truth a Shiner - UPDATED Nov 27, 2007

Unless you're living in a cave, by now you've heard that the Writers' Guild is on strike. This is the organization that represents the men and women who write scripts for television shows and movies.

The basis of that strike is the fact that producers are making millions of dollars from digital distribution,( DVD sales, streaming media, and all those various other means that allow you to see your favorite TV show without actually having to tune in to the network during the broadcast.) and writers aren't being paid anything. Well, they make four cents on each DVD, but bupkus for the rest of it.

I've already covered this in an earlier blog, but I wanted to set a little background for this story.

WFOR's Jawan Strader put together a small story on the local impact of the strike. South Florida makes millions of dollars from various film and television productions that come here to film on location. Burn Notice is the biggest ongoing project, but CSI:Miami tapes enough footage to give their show an extremely thin veneer of Miami flavor.

Jawan Strader, from his WFOR bio

He interviewed Greg Howard, a locally based screenwriter (and a successful one), as well as Graham Winick, the Film and Event Production Manager with the City of Miami Beach.

It's what follows those interviews that sends the story awry.

When I first saw the story, it was the transcript on the website; the video footage hadn't been aired yet. And here's the paragraph that concludes that version of the story:

"The strike has also impacted some live theater productions throughout the area. And in June, Hollywood insiders say we could see another strike involving actors and directors."

The problem with this statement is that the first sentence is completely false.

You may know that I work in live theater. I've worked in professional South Florida theater for over twenty years. I know pretty much everyone in live theater down here on a first name basis, and most of them know me. We all borrow stuff back and forth, and we all use the same pool of actors, designers, and technicians.

So it's not hard to understand that I know what's going on around the South Florida Theatre Scene. I've even started a BLOG about it. Someone would have mentioned it if they had to close a show early, or cancel a production outright, because of the writers' strike.

The fact is that the Writers' Guild strike has had zero impact on live theater in South Florida. No plays have been canceled, no one is worried about losing the rights to a script down the line. You see, unlike Hollywood, we don't hire writers. They don't work for us. A playwright writes a script, and if a theater likes it, we pay them a royalty for the right to do the show. There are no issues about residuals, because we have no recordings of the shows. It's all done "live." The playwright gets his royalty fee, and often a percentage of the house. There's no union, and no collective bargaining to set rates. Often, there's an agency. But each playwright or licensing firm sets its own fee schedule. We don't dictate those rates, they are more or less set by market forces.

I was wondering where the heck anyone could come up with a piece of drivel like this. I decided to write to Mr. Strader and ask him.

He called me back within minutes. He asked when the story had aired, and I told him I'd only read the text on the website. He seemed a little confused at my questions.

You see, his report ended differently than what WFOR put up on the website.

His broadcast version ended like this:

"As far as ... plays are concerned, I did put in a call to the Carnival Center, and they said they had no comment at this time, but then they did say that the business side of the Carnival Center would not be impacted.
But according to the writers, this strike could have a secondary impact on the center, as well as other centers like the Carnival Center across the country. And in June, we could see another strike involving actors and directors."

After I read him what was on the WFOR website, he agreed that the web version drastically altered the tenor of his story. And watching the tape, he very definitely does not say that there has been any impact on theatre in South Florida yet.

Before we concluded our conversation, he said that he'd talk to the person responsible for the internet version of the report and have the live theater reference removed. "I wouldn't want anyone to reach the wrong conclusion, and what it says certainly could do that." I thanked him, and went on with my day.

Later that night, I noticed the story was "Updated!" I looked at the story, and found no change to the transcript, but only that the video clip was now available. And yes, as Jawan told me earlier, his version of the story is different than the posted version. In fact, the broadcast version is far superior to the posted text; it contains a lot more information, and a lot more quotes.

I have to say that I don't like inaccuracies in news. So I used the feedback form on the website to let WFOR know that it's reporting something that simply isn't true.


This is the letter I sent in to WFOR.

As some one who works in local professional theater, I have to inform you of a factual error in one of the stories posted on your website.

The url is http://cbs4.com/entertainment/writers.strike.greg.2.568452.html

The error is at the end of the story: "The strike has also impacted some live theater productions throughout the area." This is incorrect. The Writers' Guild strike has had no effect on live theater whatsoever, and it will not have any affect in the future. Live theater doesn't use Writers' Guild screenwriters. We pay a royalty directly to playwrights or to their agents. There is no relationship between the writers' union and live theater.

I spoke to Mr. Strader about his story earlier today, and I believe this to be an editorial mistake; he maintains that he did not report any effects on local live theater, and his on-air report jibes with that. I pointed out that live theater and screenwriters have no effect on one another, and he agreed that the effects on theater would be "secondary, at best." I know a number of actors who will see a loss of income from TV and film work, but that only makes them more available to do live theater.

He also said he'd speak to the content editor about removing the erroneous claim. But the story was updated at 8:11pm and the error remains.The only foreseeable impact that the strike may have on live theater is an increase in our ticket sales as people tire of re-runs.

Please correct this story, or post some evidence to support your claims. The story is compelling enough without making stuff up.

Respectfully,

I did receive a response this afternoon, saying they were looking into it. But here we are, over 24 hours since I reported the error, and it's still there.

Sorry, guys. I gave you a chance to fix it.

I do not blame Jawan Strader. His story was forthright, honest, and provided a great local angle to a problem rooted across the country. He even thought to check for deeper local effects by calling the Carnival Center. Of course, the Carnival Center isn't a great way to measure the local theater scene since most of its productions are national tours that come in from all over the country, but it shows incentive. I gave him some names of local producers to chat with, for next time.

Whoever is translating the broadcast footage to a written format is failing to maintain the accuracy of the story. In a fit of laziness or lack of comprehension, they changed the story from an accurate report of local impact to an outright lie, and Mr. Strader - and the management of WFOR - should be outraged. What is the point of going to all the effort to get the facts straight only to have some nameless copy editor butcher the story and make a liar of you?

UPDATED NOVEMBER 27******************************************************

I just received an email from David Game, executive producer for CBS4. Apparently someone found this blog entry and forwarded it to him, and action was FINALLY taken, only eleven days after the error was pointed out to them. The story on their website is now actually TRUE, and that's what we were after.

Mr. Game apologized for the delay in taking action; he confirmed that they received my original message, and that an email was sent to staff to look into it, but obviously someone dropped the ball.

Mistakes happen to the best of us, and certainly I recognize that they happen. No one can expect any work of mankind to be without flaw. I wasn't angry when I sent them notice of the error, and I wasn't angry when I posted this blog. After all, *I* didn't make the mistake. If anyone deserves an apology, it's Jawan Strader. He's the one who had words stuck in his mouth. I hope that whoever screwed the pooch is making it up to Mr. Strader.

Perhaps he or she can wash Jawan's car for a month or two. That sounds fair to me.

And as for Mr. Game: you've corrected your website; but how about balancing eleven days of a false story? Have Jawan Strader interview a few artistic directors, to get the real story on how the Writers' strike is affecting local theater. Talk to David Arisco of Actors' Playhouse, Paul Tei of MadCat Theater, Joe Adler of GableStage, and Ricky Martinez at New Theater. There's also Richard J. Simon of the Mosaic Theater, Kim St. Leon of InsideOut, and Antonio Amadeo of The Naked Stage. I'm not saying talk to ALL of them. But these are the people who MAKE local theatre; these are the people who knows what impact national events might have on it.

You spent eleven days telling the world that these companies have been "impacted" by the Writers' Guild Strike. Now I challenge you to give the public the real story. I guarantee that you'll find a story in it.

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Bookfair showdown

Among the many respected authors appearing at the Miami Book Fair, there are two that stand out;

Rosie O'Donnell

and Jenna Bush.

Not because they are known for something other than writing, or that their books aren't great works of literature (which I can't judge, not having read either's offering).

But, c'mon, it's ROSIE O'DONNELL and GEORGE W. BUSH'S DAUGHTER!! Am I the only one hoping that Rosie will show up at Jenna's event and heckle her?

JENNA:
I'm here to talk about my experiences in Central...

ROSIE:
Hey! Twiggy! I can kick your old man's ass.

JENNA
...America. Um, when I met this woman, well GIRL, really...

ROSIE
I mean it! I'll kick his lying Republican ASS! Wha! HEY! LET ME GO!

JENNA
As I was saying, this girl who was....

ROSIE
G*****NED faschists! Get OFF of me! It's call FREE SPEECH, assholes!!

Sigh. I can only dream.

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Photos courtesy of Miami Bookfair International

Article on Celiac Disease

AlterNet has a great article about Celiac Disease. Newsweek also had a good write-up in honor of Celiac Awareness Month.

Articles like these make a huge difference: over the last five years, I've been seeing more and more gluten-free foods in my local Publix. I still make trips to health food stores, but I'm no longer having to get quite as much there as I used to, and my wallet feels the difference!

Army Corps Of Engineers; Can they really be this stupid?

Much of the US has been suffering drought, including Georgia. Water levels are down, and severe restrictions are in place. It's so bad that cattle farmers are on the verge of culling their herds. Lakes are drying up. And I mean COMPLETELY drying up.

The State of Georgia believes that the severe problem requires drastic measures. They want the Army Corps of Engineers to stop releasing water from Georgia's primary resevoir, Lake Lannier. The lake, which is FIFTEEN FEET below its normal capacity is being drained by 3.2 billion gallons a day. The water serves two purposes; to meet the flow needs of a Florida hydroelectric power plant, and to maintain an adequate water levels for endagered species of fish and wildlife.

The Governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, has requested that the outflow be reduced to stem the crisis. The Army Corps of Engineers response: what crisis? Apparently the Corps doesn't speak to the US Geological Service. Apparently, the Corps isn't even reading its own website. According to its own data, the levels are tailing off at an alarming rate.

Major Daren Payne of the Army Corps of Engineers wrote a letter to the Governor, stating that Georgia was "not going to run out [of water] any time soon." He's the deputy commander for the district that oversees the lake and the dams in the area. And he seems to be some kind of idiot.

Hey, Major Moron, here's a reality check for you:

On the left is a picture of the East Point Reservoir, taken about a year ago.*

On the right is a picture of the SAME reservoir, taken last week.
Notice something? Like the LACK of WATER? I'd certainly classify it as "running out of water."*

It's one thing for the Corps to claim that they are required to send a certain amount of water downstream to meet the needs of certain mandates; it's quite another to actually LIE about the problem. There IS a drought, and Georgia IS losing water at an alarming rate. If Major Payne can't admit that, it's time to toss his ass out and put someone in charge who, at the very least, isn't living in a state of denial.

Suddenly, the devestation in New Orleans makes more sense: after all, it was no secret that the city was below sealevel. It was no secret that the levees were old, and needed maintainence. But with men like Major Payne in command, nothing gets done because they simply deny that the documented problems exist.

There may be reasons not to stem the flow of water bleeding out of Georgia; the lack of a drought or false claims about the water supply are not among them.

*photos in this post linked from the CNN website.

Eichhorn Wakes Up and Smells the Coffee.

I guess the fact that pretty much everyone in the country now hates her guts has caused Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn to reconsider her monumentally stupid lawsuit.

Not only was it a petty and vicious things to do to the Cosmillos, it has had a chilling effect on the public's willingness to use 911 to call for help. Eichhorn was responding to a 911 call from the Cosmillo family when she was injured.


Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn (October 11, 2007)

According to the Sun-Sentinel, "City Manager Barbara Lipscomb, in a prepared statement, said she wanted to encourage Casselberry residents to continue to call 911 when there is an emergency." So not only did she heap stress and humiliation on a family who is caring for a child in a vegetative state, she's made people afraid to call for help in emergencies. Nice move, "sarge."

The Sun-Sentinel also reports that Eichhorn has been placed on administrative leave. Which is a good thing; at this point, I suspect that her effectiveness as a law enforcement officer is zero. Who'd want her to show up at their emergency? And does the city really want to risk sending out a litigious maniac out into the public? And once people found out who she was, there'd be a real risk of a riot.

No, Eichhorn has pretty much ended her career as a police officer. This might well be the most publicized career suicide in history.

The Sleazy Lawsuit of Andrea Eichhorn

I learned of this story out of Casselbury, Florida, via STUCK ON THE PALMETTO. And while they cover it pretty well, I'm so steamed that I decided to write about it, too.

Back in January, one year old Joey Cosmillo fell into his family's swimming pool. His mother found him, dove in after him, and brought him into the house to revive him, calling 911 for help. One of the first respondents on the scene was Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn. She slipped on a puddle of water from the boy, causing her to fall and break her knee.

Little Joey is permanently brain damaged; he's physically alive, but cannot walk, talk, or swallow. He eats and breathes through tubes.

Sgt. Eichhorn was covered by worker's comp. She missed two months of work. According to a statement released by the Casselbury PD:

"She returned to work in a light duty capacity for approximately a month thereafter. Eichhorn received full medical benefits, worker’s compensation care, her salary and accumulated sick and vacation time during her absence. Eichhorn was ultimately released for full duty.."

So she sued the Cosmillos. According to Eichhorn's shyster lawyer, workers comp and disability checks 'helped with medical bills, but wasn't enough.'

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," says David Heil.

Newsflash, Mr, Heil; they ARE the victims. Read the police report.

First, Eichhorn doesn't need any money to pay for her work-related medical bills. Worker's comp covers all of them. That's the law. You'd think a lawyer would know that.

Second, she works in a high-risk profession. As the saying goes, "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it!"

Third, this greedy cop and sleazy lawyer are suing based on negligence. They maintain that if the Cosmillos had cleaned up the water, Eichhorn wouldn't have slipped. Never mind the fact that they were trying to save the life of their child; the sleazebag lawyer responds that if the pool had been baby-proofed, the police would not have been called, and Eichhorn would not have slipped.

So what does the Casselbury police department have to say about this? Chief Jon Pavlis released this statement:

"I do not support the lawsuit filed by Sgt. Eichhorn and her attorney ... What happened to the Sergeant was an accident. She has been compensated for all time off the job due to this injury."

But the statement from the Police Department goes further:

"She discussed the possibility of filing legal action against the homeowners with Casselberry her police supervisors and the Chief of Police. The departmental supervisors and the Chief of Police recommended to Sgt. Eichhorn that she not file legal action against the homeowners since her on the job injury would be fully covered by the City’s workers compensation coverage that is provided to all employees. Eichhorn chose to file suit against the homeowners in this incident as a private individual"

Sgt. Eichhorn works in a dangerous profession, where grave injury and even death is a possibility at every moment of the day. She was injured in performance of her duties, and was compensated for her injury. She had a month of disability pay, and then went back to work.

Joey Cosmillo is in a nursing home, and will never have what anyone would consider a life.

I am outraged that this so-called police officer would inflict further suffering on this family. She isn't stuck with medical bills; she isn't facing huge expenses for care: all her medical expenses for this injury are covered. She must have dug through the gutters of the worst part of town to find a lawyer who thought she had a case.

Sgt. Eichhorn isn't driven by need: she's greedy. She's selfish. And those are two qualities we can't tolerate in our police.

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