Saturday, June 07, 2008
Editorial: Short takes
Quick views on some of the week's news.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Seek shelter; it's blazing hot out there
Usually by the time a long stretch of hot, muggy days descends upon Southwest Virginia, we've had a month or so to warm up and prepare.
The inferno now baking us struck earlier than usual this season. It might not have felt so bad if May hadn't been so chilly. There's no adjusting time, folks.
If those of us who enjoy relatively good health are struggling and complaining, imagine how uncomfortable the elderly, the young and the frail are feeling. There's no better time than today to check in with your aging aunt, the widower who lives next door, or that young family you know from church who lives in a stuffy, unair-conditioned apartment. Pets, too, could use a little extra attention.
The Roanoke Times' weather expert, Kevin Myatt, noted in Friday's column that this is a heat wave possibly destined for the record books. We might not break 100, but the heat index will make it feel as though we have, and then some. Suffocating temperatures are expected to last several more days.
Stay cool, stay safe.
A cool way to wait for the bus
Students in Jennifer Fowler's Patrick Henry High School art class dropped by Roanoke City Council's meeting earlier this week. The students have been working with Bassett artist Ed Dolinger to design ideas for a new bus shelter near the school's entrance and Brandon Avenue. We're not talking just a covered bench, but functional public art.
Two designs are under consideration: Dolinger's resembles a tree that would blend with nature's canopy, and the students' forms a PH yellow and purple umbrella. The final selection will be made later this summer, and the school's welding class will tackle much of the work.
This project and one planned for William Fleming expose students to how the creative process jibes with government. Valley Metro has been involved throughout, offering counsel on safety concerns. It's a valuable civics lesson.
When completed, the bus stop will offer more than shelter from the elements. It will add another cool piece of art to the cityscape and pay tribute to the students and their advisers.
From The RT blog
Paying to fly -- by the pound
There's a new airliner with an intriguing idea: The more you weigh, the more you pay. You can fly from Philly to LA for just $2.25 a pound (www.flyderrie-air.com/). But you better read the fine print: "The Derrie-Air campaign is a fictitious advertising campaign created by Philadelphia Media Holdings to test the results of advertising in our print and online products and to stimulate discussion on a timely environmental topic of interest to all citizens."
Fake ads. That's an interesting way to boost media credibility.
The RoundTable blog is now tweeting
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Virginia's great divide?
Media Matters for America reports that "MSNBC Live" anchor Andrea Mitchell had this to say Thursday about Obama's visit to Bristol:
"Interesting images today. Barack Obama, Mark Warner in southwest Virginia. This is real redneck, sort of, bordering on Appalachia country. This is not the Northern Virginia, you know, sort of high-tech corridor. And these are voters that he would not logically be, you know, gravitating to. This is the beginning of a pivot."
