Is St. Paul ever going to have the discussion about what to do with those cameras that have infested every nook and cranny of the downtown? We got them, you may recall, to prevent violence during the Republican National Convention. The Indianapolis Star has an article today considering the question of whether surveillance cameras make any difference. Among others, it cites this study of cameras in San Francisco, which said they have no impact. Plus, they’re creepy.
Everywhere we turn, another invasion. Today’s threat: worms. The University of Minnesota has a Web site to document the invasion of earthworms, which are not native to our region. You can join the research team and keep a wary eye on the critters. (h/t: Kristin Gay)
After the ditching of the US Airways flight in the Hudson River earlier this year, the topic of bird strikes on airplanes referred to plenty of statistics gathered by the Federal Aviation Administration on this Web site. Now, the FAA is trying to make this data secret. It says if the data is public, airlines and pilots will be less inclined to provide it. One wonders if anyone has considered the idea of requiring them to?
The New York Times has a really interesting multimedia slideshow on a single parent teenager. It’s part of a larger series the paper has done called One in 8 Million, individual profiles of people who live in the city. I find the fact all of the images are in black & white fascinating.
In suburban Chicago a controversy has brewed. A 26-year-old Muslim woman, arrested for allegedly beating a two-year-old to death, was photographed for her mug shot without a headscarf “and wearing a skimpy top.” Her husband says the photo insults Islam. Police say they removed the head scarf after the woman made suicide threats.
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning – Kerri Miller picks up where News Cut leaves off in the first hour with a discussion on same sex marriage. In the second hour: a discussion on teaching social skills in the classroom, which also sounds like a topic mentioned on News Cut on Monday.
Midday – After a first-hour discussion of politics, Midday jumps into what life was like during the Great Depression. Hint: There was no iPhone.
Talk of the Nation – It’s Science Friday so that means an hour of talk on climate change and then a discussion of how you’d drink your coffee in space. Really.
All Things Considered – Laura Yuen looks at some of the publicity in the Somali community. Alix Spiegel discovers a pill that takes the fun out of stealing things, and the folks in Washington will waste moments of your precious and too short life by discussing the Obama’s search for a dog.
SYMMETRY 101
I started this week’s “Five at 8” with Fats Domino. We end it with something appropriate to send you into the weekend.
Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.
Bob Collins