Sunday Opinion: Quebec power, phones on the water, post office closings, and more Sunmount
Morning, folks. The editorial pages are all over the place this Sunday with no discernible themes or cross-talk, but some interesting observations.
Let’s start in Burlington, where the Free Press is opining about the possibility that a Quebec company could emerge as Vermont’s primary source of electricity.
The question for the Gaz Metro bid is, how will Vermont’s energy landscape be affected when one company serves 70 percent of the state electricity market?
In Plattsburgh, the Press-Republican is reminding parents, lifeguards and other chaperones that cell phones and texting shouldn’t distract from their primary duties.
We’re worried that plugged-in parents, babysitters and, heaven forbid, lifeguards won’t adequately supervise swimming children if they are busy checking email, texting or trading photos.
In the same way that texting and chatting on cellphones distracts drivers, digital devices distract parents and others who are responsible for the care of children.
Thousands of children drown each year; most of these catastrophes are avoidable. According to the Centers for Disease Control, two children age 14 and under die every day from drowning: the third-leading cause of all deaths for children ages 1 to 4. The first line of defense is a supervising adult.
The Glens Falls Post Star is praising the US Postal Service for an austerity plan that could include the closure of a dozen North Country post offices.
So residents in South Glens Falls who are upset about the planned closure of their little post office shouldn’t be surprised, nor should they expect to get any relief from their complaints.
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise scolds Courtney Burke, commissioner of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, for clumsily suggesting last week that Sunmount in Tupper Lake would close. But the newspaper says the kerfuffle had a happy ending.
[W]e hope she gets her facts straight about Sunmount in the future, but we’re very glad to hear a head of this formerly secretive agency speak about it openly. We strongly hope she continues that. Plus, her blunder produced an extraordinary piece of good news: The state has no plan to close Sunmount, [spokesman Travis] Proulx said.
Finally, the Watertown Daily Times is arguing that we need to prepare kids better for college, specially African American and Hispanic kids.
The results showed disparities between different groups of students as well: 13 percent of black students in New York state and 15 percent of Hispanic students were judged ready for college, according to State Ed’s measurements, while 51 percent of white graduates and 56 percent of Asian-Americans passed muster.
So there it is. A lot of different ideas and takes — interestingly, not a peep yet about the same-sex marriage vote, which probably just means that Sunday editorial pages were locked in before the last-minute vote. As always, your comments welcome.
Point one – Vermonters like to think they are pro environment but getting their power from Quebec is interesting because Quebec has no interest in protecting the environment or its native people.
Point two – cell phones, ipads, etc are junk means of communicating. They delude people into thinking they are actually connected to anyone. Actually, they disconnect us from being with the one we are actually with.
I wouldn’t bet on Sunmount not closing.
Point three – Here it is hard to argue with the Post Star. The USPS is losing money due to three competitive factors: UPS, FedEX and the Internet. Keeping small PO’s open just so someone can say hi to someone is not practical.
Point four – the real tragedy here is the need to go to college. Education yes but it is a waste of time and money when college becomes a requirement to get a job that really shouldn’t require a college degree.
RE: Cell phones, iPads, etc. Yes, they can be a distraction. So, can the hot blonde sunning by the pool in a string bikini or any number of other things. It is imperative that people learn to focus on what is most important in the moment. Failure to do so is not the fault of the distraction but of the one who is distracted.
I’m not making any bets on Sunmount either. “A funny thing, the future. It’s always in motion”.
The “austerity” plan of the USPS does virtually nothing to solve their fiscal problem. According to the Postal Regulatory Commission, closing all 10,000 small and rural post offices would save the Postal Service less than 0.7% of its total operating budget. The plan only calls for closing the smallest 2000 which would save less than 0.35% of a budget that is in double digit deficit. It’s the equivalent of a family that is overspending by $20K/year trying to balance their budget by buying one less stick of gum per year. It’s a “feel good because we’re trying” answer that hurts the communities most in need of service while not addressing the real problem.
Sounds like a typical Post-Star editorial. Giving the finger to its readers. Their editorials are special… even when I agree with the position, I find their tone snide and pompous.
For a lifeguard to be talking on a cell or texting while on duty is just plain wrong. That being said, as a former lifeguard (from a long time ago), I have often thought 2 modern inventions would have made the job safer (a cell phone) and less boring when no-one was at the pool (an IPod).
College Preparation
Given the cultural bias inherent in our education system, I can understand why whites are better prepared. How do we explain the fact that we do so much better with the Asian-Americans as compared to blacks and Hispanics?
Given the cultural bias in our education system I CAN’T understand why whites are better prepared.