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| First of The Week Tidbits...........................My Opinions |
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| Ron Walton | |
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Another strike? Workers at Federal Mogul in Blacksburg have hit the picket lines this morning. The plant is located in the Blacksburg Industrial Park. Local Union 2533 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Union (IAMAW) is on strike because of wages. However, this strike is somewhat different than that of the UAW strike on Volvo just a few weeks ago. The UAW strike was over a new contract as the old one had expired. This strike is over a 4 year contract only in its second year. Hey, if you agreed to it and if they are honoring it, get your butt back to work.
New Stuff. We have some new things happening with our website. First of all, we have started to provide you with more audio entertainment starting with www.theradio.com. This website was conceived by a former boss and mentor of mine, and it is good programming. Check it out - I am sure there is a channel just right for you!
Sports. Virginia Tech golfer and Current British Amateur champion Drew Weaver, who missed the 36-hole cut at The Masters on Friday, returned to the course Sunday to cheer on his fellow Virginia Tech golfer Johnson Wagner. Wagner finished the tournament tied for 36th with a +7. Weaver will return to his Virginia Tech teamates and college action on Wednesday at the ACC championship in North Carolina. Weaver was an excellent ambassador and representative for Virginia Tech during interviews and play at the Masters, and managed to induce a few "Let's Go Hokies" from the Masters' gallery.
Speaking of The Hokies. The annual Maroon-White spring football game is this Saturday. Admission to the game is free and kickoff is set for 2:00pm. Parking for the game will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fans planning to attend Saturday's game should be aware that Parking Lot No. 5, otherwise know as the 'Chicken Hill' Lot, is closed due to construction and will not be available for use during Saturday's game. Last year's game was cancelled due to the April 16th shootings.
Politics. Didn't I mention a few weeks ago that the politicians with the fewest votes seem to become network political experts or expert opinion writers? Well, don't look now but Mitt Romney is filling in for Paul Harvey this week. The Paul Harvey program airs on SuperTalk 101.7.
Congressman Rick Boucher and the Ninth District Democratic Committee has announced that Montgomery County has been selected as the site of this year’s Ninth District Democratic Party Convention. This will be the first time that Montgomery County has hosted this biennial event. The groups' wesbite says details are still being finalized. For more information, go to http://www.mcdemocrats.org/
Amazing. Is this kid from Roanoke, Cameron Johnson, incredible or what? Johnson has advanced to the final round of "Oprah's Big Give". The feats he performed in his effort to assist the family of an 11-year-old girl with bone cancer were magnificent. The 21-year-old self made millionaire has shown he can be as effective in helping people in need as he can in building a business. Did I hear someone say that there was nothing on TV to watch and reality shows were not as good as they once used to be? Just put those thoughts into the "idiot" file and watch the conclusion of Oprah's Big Give this week! And jumping back to politics for a second, I wonder if Oprah has read the polls....the ones that say her approval rating has gone from 75% to 55% since she endorsed Obama?
And by the way, if you have not seen it, you should. Radford native Michael Gregory went to Atlanta to audition for American Idol for this season. Michael did it as a spoof and his performance wound up on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tIVQznX-pM). Watch it - it's funny stuff. Oh, and by the way, Michael is a very accomplished musician that we may see in the finals one day if he decides to ever go that route.
Media. What the heck is happening over at 810AM? Is my radio messed up or is there no longer a local morning show at the station? There doesn't seem to be any local news coverage as well, if you characterize what they were doing as "local news". It also seems that their audio relationship with a local website has ended as well, as there has been nothing posted from 810 in quite sometime. At least the AM810 powers had the good sense to put Dennis Prager back on. Clearly, the station powers thought that Clark Howard could compete with Dave Ramsey over at SuperTalk 101.7, an FM station. No chance. Put a fork in that one.
The Gun Debate Rages. A news release on Friday states that a "lie-in" will take place on the Virginia Tech Drillfield at 2:00pm on Wednesday. Virginia Tech still has not released a decision on giving the Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence a permit to hold the protest against the gun laws. The Student Government Association also voted to ask the group to hold their demonstration on another day. The question though, is what do the University and SGA plan to do with any Tech students who participate in the National Empty Holster Protest April 21st to the 25th? A group called the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus will be protesting on approximately 125 U.S. Colleges and Universities by wearing empty holsters. And who is the big supporter of this group? It is Eric Thompson, owner of TGSCOM, parent company of sites like www.thegunsource.com as well as other similar sites that sold Cho Seung-Hui the Walther P22 firearm used in the Virginia Tech shootings and also sold Steven Kazmierczak, who killed five people at Northern Illinois University on February 14th, two 9mm Glock magazines and a holster. Holsters sometimes conceal a weapon and it is hard to tell if there is a gun in there or not.............this could be a problem. It may be something that University officials may wind up having to address.
Remembering...............this week will bring back many memories and sights from a year ago. It is also bringing back the media. We really hope that the media takes a step back and allows people to remember and to reflect in a way that continues the healing process. The tragedy at Virginia Tech has already been analyzed a million times over. Dr. Steeger and the Virginia Tech authorities have made sweeping improvements and changes to better protect the students, faculty and workers. So, if you are part of the media about to converge on Virginia Tech and you are reading this, please remember one thing - it is not necessary to capture every emotion on tape. There are aspects of life that do supercede the media and this week will be one of them. Let it alone, please. Comments (3)
  written by The Burg Guy, April 14, 2008
Your opinion story is too late. The media is already here shoving a microphone in everyone's face. Why can't they let this be what it is, and that is a time for remembering those we lost. Why do they have to find some story that this is not about. Go back to Atlanta or wherever you came from.
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 written by citizen, April 14, 2008
I,too, believe that the strike is not timely; totally asinine. Having a family member that retired from there, after losing his hearing and much of his health (most of which I attribute to the plant; one should visit, as I did, and hear the noises and see the oil-filled air, let alone, breathe it), I feel that I am a realist. I think the workers deserve fair pay, but they are violating the timelines of the contract. Besides, "Mogul" has wanted to close/move that plant for years. Who knows who and what really instigated this strike?
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The New River Valley got its first dusting of snow on Monday night. Temperatures dropped, the climate was just right and everyone woke up to a blanket of white! Photos by Tim W. Jackson |
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First, The Burg Guy's comments are understandable but let's take a look at things from another prospective. This tragedy was one that affected people worldwide, if for no other reason than the magnitude of the crime. The world needs and deserves to know what's going on here and how we're doing 1 year after the event. And if it weren't for the media that wouldn't happen. It is indeed a time to mourn the losses, but not just for VT or the local area in genera. So NO, don't go back to Atlanta or anywhere just yet. Stay around a few days and let the world know that Blacksburg and VA Tech are holding their heads high and despite the magnitude and hurt of the 4-16-07 tragedy we are holding our heads high and recovering/coping with things quite nicely...and that we haven't and never will forget.
Now, talking about radio. Can't say I ever knew that there was a radio station on AM 810. From my humble point of view AM is all but dead. The only 2 formats that I know of that have a snowballs chance of surviving on AM are talk radio and bluegrass. Speaking of bluegrass does anyone know hows things are going for the station in Narrows (AM 990)? They signed on with a bluegrass format on July 1st of last year.
Local talk radio is the essence of the pits when it comes to the actual operation of the stations (except when the programming is live). I guess it comes natural for someone who spent nearly 2 decades in broadcasting but every time I listen to AM 710 or Supertalk 101.7 I hang my head in shame at the enormous amount of dead air between programming and news or ads cut off in the middle because some dumbkopf hasn't programmed the automation correctly. If the local news talks want an EXCELLENT example of how to run a talk radio station, then please listen to 960AM WFIR in Roanoke. They've got their act together.
I miss radio and sometimes wish I could go back on the air (in a part time capacity).
That's all for now....keep up the good work!!!