Storm Coverage: How Essential Am I?

Here we go again.   This time 60 million people could be in the crosshairs of Hurricane Sandy or her effects in a storm that is expected to linger longer than most.   I was asked to man the Mohegan Sun studio of 102.3 The Wolf on Monday evening - at the height of it all.   At first I thought I'd have to evacuate where I live anyway, so why not hunker down in a massive complex where I'm hardly likely to even notice the effects of Sandy?     Then I started to hear revised forecasts calling for strong wind and rain to begin even sooner and the increased likelihood of our station simulcasting everything from the Cumulus New London broadcast center anyway.   That begged the question: Why would I want to risk my safety to watch over live coverage from somewhere else?   I remember too well the drive in to the studio during Tropical Storm Irene last year.  Being a hardcore radio guy, I am normally the first to jump in when there's an emergency.   When the cable and internet go out and newspaper delivery often gets disrupted, radio rules!    If they need me to take part in the active coverage out of New London, I'd be open to that.    It's not my first rodeo with this radio storm coverage thing, but if they're covered at broadcast central I'll opt to stay safe by the time things get wild.   We'll see.   I hope you don't go out in this storm unless you absolutely have to.

UPDATE 11/2: I went in early Monday as the storm was just getting started and pulled a marathon air shift from Mohegan Sun, being there from 2pm to midnight with no regrets. No doubt I lucked out with the storm winds and rain decreasing by midnight and getting my own power back a day later. When I see the aftermath of devastation up and down the East coast, I appreciate what I have.

Hooked on House Hunters

"Reality shows" of every stripe have taken over evening television, with the likes of Honey Boo Boo, Real Housewives, Ice Road Truckers and the History Channel's Pickers.   It's no wonder the younger generation is no longer getting hooked on the old daytime soap operas.    These not always spontaneous "slices of life" and the story lines that develop on danceoffs and singing competitions now provide enough melodrama in prime time.    Even the Weather Channel is getting in on the act with shows about life in the Arctic.   I can't say I'm too fond of most reality TV, but I've found a couple of cable shows that grab my attention on a Friday night when television can become a truly vast wasteland.    Home & Garden TV has House Hunters and International House Hunters back to back.    The premise is simple enough.   A realtor shows a prospective home buyer or buyers three different properties for sale or rent.    There's no host, but an unseen woman is one of my favorite narrators.    As I watch, I learn the popularity of granite kitchen countertops.    I wonder out loud why a couple without kids needs three bathrooms.     Some folks can be so hard to please, while others seem to have no taste at all.     Like any reality show undoubtedly edited to the max, the viewer gets a guided tour of the Househunters' lives as well as the homes.    Unlike  many shows, it all gets resolved in thirty minutes with the househunters happy in their newly chosen homes.    It always leaves me more anxious to put in a granite countertop.   

The Best Money Can Buy?

Rep. Chris Murphy & Linda McMahon

It's a good thing Connecticut isn't a swing state in the presidential race.     We already are being bombarded by political ads in the U.S. Senate race between Representative Chris Murphy and WWE CEO Linda McMahon.   Last Friday I saw Chris Murphy at a campaign stop in Colchester.   The audience posed very thoughtful questions and I thought Murphy gave some reasonable and specific answers.   I wished the overall tone of the race could be so civil.   While at least one well-funded pro-Murphy PAC has done some serious mud slinging, Murphy's own ads have taken more of a high road.    Linda McMahon has financed her own election bid, presenting a more female-friendly image than her last Senate race.    I don't begrudge her wealth; it can be used for a lot of good.    I'll take her word over her opponent's about being pro-choice on abortion, but I don't believe for a minute McMahon would have any effective voice on that issue amid a national Republican party that is so dominated by the far right.    Some of her statements on job creation, energy policy and deficit reduction are full of - as George W. Bush put it - "fuzzy math" talking points big on cuts and short on revenue that VP Joe Biden rightly called into question last week.    The attacks on Murphy's personal finances from 2003 and the endless negative ads only serve to bring the discourse deeper into mud and Connecticut voters lose.   By financing herself, McMahon could have changed the attack ad strategy.    Instead, she made it worse.

The Region Shudders Again

Mohegan Sun, Uncasville

This hits especially hard right before the holidays.    Perhaps the recent layoffs of 300 workers at Mohegan Sun Casino shouldn't come as a complete surprise.    Nonetheless, it is a big blow to an already struggling eastern Connecticut economy.       Revenue is down as out of state casinos and a shaky recovery take their toll, but I can't help but wonder whether massive layoffs should always be the first option.   There is no doubt this region has historically depended far too much on a few giant companies like EB and Pfizer.   This leaves us susceptible to the decisions of too few.    New London County is not a remote market; it is halfway between New York and Boston with a great harbor and tourist attractions.     There is no reason why this region can't diversify.     If I ran a major financial or tech company, I'd prefer New London and vicinity over the traffic and costs that choke growth in places downstate like Fairfield County.    How big a wakeup call do we need?      I appreciate what our resort casinos offer; They are two of the finest in the world and I hope they can thrive for workers and the tribal owners.    That doesn't mean we should bet everything on them.

MSNBC: Try The Decaf

MSNBC's star commentators need to chill out!      By the end of the first Presidential debate, I thought the intense preparation had served Mitt Romney well enough to maintain some traction in his uphill battle to take the White House away from Barack Obama.       I found him changing his tune yet again, forgetting about his party's out of control far right while short on specifics.     He certainly did not hurt his candidacy in this performance.      The President also made his points in a straightforward way.     Neither side delivered any zingers or knockout punches, which is why I was shocked to see how livid the liberal panel was with President Obama for not aggressively ripping apart Romney's twisted logic on Medicare and Obamacare.      You would think Obama had just blown any chance of being reelected.     I heard a caller to the liberal Alan Colmes radio show refer to the MSNBC reaction as "alternate reality."     My own political views are much closer to MSNBC than Fox News, but these guys (Rachel Maddow was the adult in the room) need to understand what both candidates already have had to acknowledge.       "Acting Presidential" means trying to stay above the "my way or the highway" fray by showing those undecided centrists they can reach across the aisle and be President of all the people.       While the MSNBC lefties are boiling over Obama not throwing the 47% comment on Romney's face, Obama's failure to aggressively pounce on Romney's shifting vagaries leaves Joe Biden to be the attack dog in the VP debate against a well-rehearsed Paul Ryan.         The debates confirm what we already suspected: it ain't over.      That's more than we can say about the Red Sox.     Go Yanks!