News Cut: March 25, 2008 Archive

A News Cut reader forwards this video of an ABC News segment about a group that takes schoolchildren on a tour of a natural history museum to reinforce its teachings on creationism. Interesting enough, although I admit the part I found the most interesting is when the tour guides ask the kids to fill in the blanks of their questions. "And that's called.... ....... ........ right, circular reasoning." Also note the part where they ask the kids the question, the kids start shaking their heads in the affirmative and say "no."

Remember when we thought cellphones would harm our brains? Remember when we thought cellphones would harm our brains? Remember when we thought cellphones would harm our brains?

Whoops, sorry. I had to take a call.

Out in northern California, a town is up in arms over the "danger" of WiFi, reports the Tech Dirt blog.

The pitch in Anoka County to approve a quarter-cent sales tax increase and a $20 motor vehicle excise tax increase as part of the transportation bill passed by the Legislature, came with an interesting twist this morning: it's property tax relief.

The Anoka County Board approved the tax increase on a 5-2 vote after refusing opponents' requests to listen to a dozen or so people who showed up to oppose the tax increases, and the county's joining with other like-minded counties to decide how the tax money will be spent.

The concept of tax relief only went so far, however. When one commissioner asked the board to agree to reduce the property tax levy to prove their sincerity, the board demurred.

Anoka County property taxpayers are on the hook for $4 million to fund operations of the Northstar commuter rail line. But with the tax increases passed today, that burden shifts to the sales tax.

"If we don't pass this, it's only going towards property owners, instead of asking renters and visitors to help pay for it," said board chair Dennis Berg.

His colleague, commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah sponsored the motion to commit the county to reducing the property tax levy by a like amount. "It is an odd concept," she told me after the meeting. "That's the way it was sold to the legislators, that's the way it that it has been promoted here within the county -- that it's property tax relief, that the sales tax you're collecting from people who don't necessarily live in the county. But if it was true property tax relief, there would be a willingness to actually commit to true property tax relief. " (Listen | Full interview)

"Unless we want to stick it to the property owners only, we need a sales tax," countered commissioner Scott LeDoux, who said people who visit the National Sports Center in Blaine or the 3M championship would be paying some of Anoka County's costs.

The debate over whether to impose the taxes is different in the smaller counties of the metro area now that the Counties Transit Improvement Board has been created (and which Anoka County voted to join today) to collaborate on spending the tax money on regional transportation. But with a weighted voting system, Hennepin and Ramsey County have a larger share of votes when it comes to deciding what projects to fund.

That had Sivarajah concerned. "They can run Anoka County right over and eat our lunch," she said. "There's no protection. I'm concerned about Anoka County taxpayers paying for what Minneapolis and St. Paul want."

But Mary Richardson, of the Metro Transitways Development Board, said any project to be funded with the sales tax money would need the support of a third county.

If the furor over the transportation bill that the Legislature passed and then overrode Gov. Pawlenty's veto of, has trickled down to the county levels, you couldn't tell by the attendance at today's meeting.

"It was a pretty bad turnout," said Andy Aplikowski, who tried to organize opponents. "I was surprised not to see a line of contractors' trucks and protesters and all that kind of stuff coming in because that's what I've heard they've been doing at some of the bigger counties. But I think people knew they weren't going to be able to say anything so they said, 'why bother?'" (Listen to full interview)

On Wednesday morning, MPR's Midmorning is going to look at the issue. Joining Kerri Miller will be Jim McDonough, Ramsey County commissioner, representing District 6, and Randy Maluchnik, Carver County commissioner, representing District 3.

The State Patrol is unveiling the "new look" for its squad cars on Wednesday morning.

According to a news release , "the new State Patrol squad design incorporates a maroon body with white doors -- reflecting a retro look of Patrol squads used during 1960-1991."

"The new design aims to strengthen the identity of the State Patrol, enabling motorists to better recognize troopers and how the agency supports safe travel on Minnesota roads."

OK, I sort of get the notion of strengthening the identity part, once you take it out of marketing-speak. But the other part, "enabling motorists to recognize.... how the agency supports safe travel on Minnesota roads..." With two white doors you can do that?

It's an interesting notion because driving home these days I see a lot of unmarked troopers pulling people over, because their cars look like everyone else's.

Thanks to the Minnesota State Patrol Troopers Association Web site, we already have a preview of the preview:

Actually, the retro look is pretty cool. It practically screams Broderick Crawford.

I can hear a return to yesteryear, when the trooper would sidle up to the car, lean in, push his hat up just a bit with his index finger and say, "where's the fire?"

And when you get home, your kids will be playing with action figures.

But then little Johnny -- yeah, we'll start calling our kids 'little Johnny' again -- will start whining about getting one of those cool new black and white TVs like the kid next door has.

At which point, you'll just head down to the lodge to be with the fellas.

According to the British Antarctic Survey, this is a picture of an ice shelf in Antarctica that has been around for "hundreds, maybe 1,500 years." It apparently broke off or collapsed within the last few weeks. Some scientists say it's because of global warming.

Here's a higher resolution photo. And here's another. Unfortunately, it's awfully difficult to figure out what scale we're looking at here. I can't tell whether these were taken from a mile up or by someone standing on the ice. However, an intriguing video posted along with a press release (as of Tuesday evening the site had crashed) suggests the ice shelf was about the height (above the water) of a warehouse.

It's an event we don't get to see very often," Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. told the Los Angeles Times. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple... That gets to be a runaway situation."

As for what it all means, well, let the debate begin.

For what it's worth, a person who says he's Mike Bortin writes to remind us he was released from prison two years ago. Who is Mike Bortin? He was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army and one of the people -- along with Kathleen Soliah (now Sara Jane Olson), Emily Harris, and James Kilgore -- whom Patty Hearst claimed committed the bank robbery in which Myrna Opsahl, a bank customer, was killed. He told part of his story to the Star Tribune last week, before Olson was rearrested.

Bortin, William Harris, and Emily Montague (formerly Emily Harris, the woman who admits she accidentally killed Opsahl), got prison terms ranging from six to eight years.

Olson was also sentenced to 6 years in the case in 2003, and had previously been given a 14 year sentence for planting car bombs.

Montague and Harris have also since been released from prison.

"Why is Sara being unmercifully attacked and vilified," the writer asks. "Selective witch hunting?"

Does he have a point?