David Andrews
Friday Facts: Narnia, Math, Linguistics, Lascivious Radios
:: Median age of mathematics texts used in city public schools: 18 years
:: Median tenure of mathematics teachers in city schools: 4.5 years
:: Median SAT mathematics score, city schools (2008): 485
:: Percentage of 12th graders in city schools who know how ‘median’ differs from ‘average’: 38%
:: A city ordinance passed in 1931 prohibited the hiring… »
A Bridge Too Far: Stimulus funds to destroy city landmark
The current economic downturn and an infusion of $14 million from the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill) passed by congress earlier this spring have brought back to life a controversial city project many believe should never be revived.
Since 1988, access to the 19th Street Bridge over the Ostahanoc River has… »
Museum’s Ford Thrives on Bailouts
One of the many historical treasures of the Keets Harbor area, the Maritime Military Museum has thus far avoided the budget shortfall common to many other municipal, civic and cultural institutions around the city. No small contributor to the museum’s fiscal health has been its Development Director, Albert Ford, who took over fundraising efforts in… »
New Mayor to Toss Quarters
One of outgoing Mayor Joseph Wilders’ best-received programs was his initiative to remove outdated ordinances from the city’s legal code (first item). However, the gratitude of the populace at no longer being required to maintain the lower edge of their moustaches above the upper lip (1871) eventually proved to have a negligible effect on his… »
Friday Facts: Politics, Plumber, Pancakes
:: Republican City Councilwoman Maribeth Cosgrove currently has a nine point lead over Democratic incumbent Joseph Wilders in polls released this morning in advance of the mayoral election.
:: City Treasurer Donald Munro reports that Mayor Wilders has spent $1,192 of his own funds on clothing during his current re-election campaign. An additional $29.95 in… »
Onshore Insourcing: Indian Firm Moving Jobs to City
Recent news about the economy has been unsettling, to be sure- but the entire last decade has also seen a steady decline in manufacturing jobs locally, particularly within the city itself. In a welcome reversal of fortune, Mayor Joseph Wilders will announce today that Nihar Products Limited (NPL), the world’s fifth leading manufacturer of buttons,… »
South Side Motorists See Red Over Orange Lights
Many of the laws of physics quantified by Isaac Newton in the 17th Century were of great service to inventors in the centuries after his death in 1727. Even so, Sir Isaac probably never imagined that the kinetic energy released by the inherent explosive properties of fossil fuels would lead to a world nearly… »
Carpe’s Marina and the Underground Railroad
For a city that has hosted kings, presidents and many other world leaders, a visit from a cabinet secretary in an outgoing administration might seem like small potatoes. But Idaho’s Dirk Kempthorne, the current United States Secretary of the Interior, was here recently for a very special reason: to officially establish Carpe’s Marina… »
Friday Facts: Hooper Slaw, Sal’s Famous, Bloop
:: Number of consecutive weeks the Griswold Arthouse has featured Jaws as its “Friday Midnight Movie”: 1,664:: Number of “Jaws Burger” fried fish sandwiches sold at the adjacent President Heights Cafe’ during in that time: 41,679:: Percentage sold between the hours of 2 am and 5 am Saturday morning: 83:: Number of stars awarded the… »
Friday Facts: Discount Pork Credit Rebate A.M.
:: Mayor Wilders’ recent initiative to “clean up” the city’s catalog of archaic, outdated, obtuse or redundant ordinances begins in earnest next Wednesday when he plans to unveil his self-authored C.O.M.B. (Consolidate Our Municipal Bylaws) Initiative. Among the ordinances targeted by the measure are a 1988 ban on prostitution services for pets, last year’s… »
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