Goodwill Shines in Recession

041411-SLT-goodwill
Goodwill Shines in Recession

April 14, 2011

BY SAM TURLEY
THE PARTHENON

It's 2009, the recession is in full swing and John Stevens just lost his retirement money.

He walks into a Goodwill store for new jeans. He buys two pairs, tags from JCPenney still attached.

His total cost at checkout was $6.

Stevens has shopped at local Goodwill stores for more than a decade, he said, but in the past two years his visits have been more frequent.

“What would I do without Goodwill? Well, I’d have to wear more clothes with patches on them,” Stevens said.

“Sometimes an economic downturn will actually work to our benefit,” said Carter Seaton, marketing director for Goodwill Industries of
KYOWVA Area, Inc. “People will come here to shop when they can no longer afford somewhere else.”

Seaton said financial struggles during the recession have driven people to think differently about how and where they shop, and that change in shopping habits has driven more people to Goodwill.

“I can’t afford the name-brand things like I used to,” said Daniel
Benda, who said he has been shopping at Goodwill over other stores since the recession began.

Retail stores part of Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA saw a 5 percent increase in retail sales in 2010 – a new high for the organization.

Goodwill stores differs from other stores in the way they operate, because they resell items that have been donated. Profits from sales go to fund programs and services the organization provides, such as job training.

According to its 2009 IRS 990 form, Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA earns more than half of their overall revenue from their retail stores.

According to Guidestar,org, a website that specializes in nonprofits, a majority of charities saw a decrease in donations in 2010. The decrease first spiked in late 2008, when 52 percent of charities reported a decrease in donations, compared to 19 percent in early 2007. Charities cited ewer individuals giving and individuals giving as major factors.

In contrast, Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA saw an increase in both categories. In 2010, donations increased by 10 percent, and the number of donors grew by 22 percent, Seaton said.

The local increase is part of a national trend. According to a brochure on Goodwill.org, total retail sales for Goodwill nationwide increased 10.8 percent between December 2009 and December 2010. The organization also opened more than 100 new stores across the country.

In 2009, Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA made $6.9 million in revenue, according to their IRS 990 form. Gifts, grants and contributions to
Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA increased by $300,000 to $1.4 million in
2009, compared to $1.1 million in both of the previous two years.

The organization received $91,797 in funding from United Way of the River Cities, Inc. in 2009 – the second-largest amount of any organization funded by United Way that year. The funding was more than twice as much as the previous year’s funding of $41,297.

Seaton said the money came as part of grants for specific projects and partnerships with the United Way on services such as free tax preparation.

“We’ve been very supported by them,” Seaton said of United Way.

Their biggest revenue came from donated goods, which accounted for $3.8 million dollars in revenue, or half of their overall revenue.

The organization spent 82 percent of their total disbursements on program expenses.

“We’re not recession-proof, but we survive a lot better than most non-profits,” Seaton said.

Seaton said the only negative impact the recession has had on Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA is a difference in the goods being donated.

“Sometimes the donation pool isn’t quite as good as it could be,” Seaton said.

She said people hold onto things longer during the recession, which means the items aren’t in as good of shape, and people also shop at stores such as Walmart rather than Macy’s, so the quality of the items is lower.

However, Seaton said the quality of the items for sale hasn’t changed, but the amount of time required to sort through items has increased.

“We’re doing more culling,” she said. “In the stores, we still put the best quality out there.”

Benda said he if he didn’t have access to Goodwill, he isn’t sure how he would make ends meet.

“It’d be tough,” Benda said. “I’d have to learn to do without.”

Bleak Budget for Huntington

033011-SLT-budgetanalysis

BY SAM TURLEY

THE PARTHENON

As the country suffers through another year of economic hardship, cities across the U.S. are feeling the pain, and Huntington is no exception.

As the recession continues its impact, the city will have to cut funding once again - a trend over recent fiscal years.

In Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe's proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year, funding was cut across many of the city's departments, including layoffs of city employees and reduction in allocations across the board.

"With all that we have done and all the cuts that we have made, it has not been enough for us to weather this economic storm," Wolfe said in his 2011 State of the City address. "We must cut more and ask for even more sacrifice from our employees and our citizens."

In each of the past three fiscal years, the city budget has shrunk. In the 2010 fiscal year, the budget was $44.9 million. In the 2011 fiscal year, the approved budget reduced by 2.5 percent to $43.8 million. For the 2012 fiscal year, the budget proposed by Wolfe is $41.8 million, a reduction of 4 percent.

One of the biggest reductions in funding comes for the city's insurance programs. The proposed budget of $8 million is $300,000 less than the 2011 budget.

The proposed budget also included a reduction in floodwall funding, shrinking by $100,000 to $1.4 million.

Another cost-cutting measure in the proposed budget for 2012 is the layoff of eight city employees. However, under the proposed budget, Huntington City Hall will return to a 5-day workweek, but employees whose pay was decreased in a cost-cutting measure in last year's budget will not have their prior salaries restored.

The Cabell-Wayne Animal Shelter lost $100,000 in funding in the budget process. The shelter lost $25,000 in the 2011 fiscal year allocations.

One of the few areas that received an increase in funding is the city's budget for road paving. Allocation for paving is $1 million for the upcoming fiscal year, a 66 percent increase compared to the current fiscal year's allocation of $600,000.

However, one element not considered in the budget is the new municipal occupation tax, which will be implemented July 1. The tax replaces the $3 per week user fee, but the tax was not approved before Wolfe submitted his budget proposal.

Huntington is far from the only city facing budget cuts. Cities across the United States are also cutting funding because of a reduced budget.

"Nearly every public official in the country is being forced to make tough choices and decisions that affect the people they are elective to serve," Wolfe said in his State of the City address.

Utica, New York - a city with a statistically similar population size and demographic to Huntington - had to take $1.9 million from their rainy day fund in order to balance their 2012 fiscal year budget, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch.

Larger cities are also cutting their budgets. San Diego is reviewing ways to combat a projected budget deficit of $56.7 million in the upcoming fiscal year, according to KGTV San Diego.

Although Huntington, like many other cities, is still suffering from the recession, MSNBC.com's Adversity Index shows hope for the city. According to the index, Huntington is beginning to enter an economic recovery mode, as is the state as a whole.

Police and Fire Sidebar

033011-SLT-budgetsidebar

BY SAM TURLEY

THE PARTHENON

Many city departments will face budget cuts in the 2012 fiscal year, and for Huntington's police and fire departments, cuts are nothing new.

At a Huntington City Council meeting on March 10, council members looked at the budgets of both departments and trimmed money to reallocate to paving funds. The council approved taking $100,000 from the police department and $90,000 from the fire department.

In the 2010 fiscal year, the Huntington Police Department received $11.6 million in funding. In the 2011 fiscal year, they received $11 million. For the upcoming 2012 fiscal year, the proposed allocation is 10.9 million.

The Huntington Fire Department has also had their budget reduced in the three most recent fiscal years. In the 2010 fiscal year, the budgeted amount for the fire department was $10.5 million. In the 2011 fiscal year, the adopted budget allocated $10.2 million. In the budget proposed for the 2012 fiscal year, the proposed amount is $10.3 million, a slight increase from the prior year. However, four vacant positions in the Huntington Fire Department will remain unfilled, a measure that is expected to save the department $65,000.

Ordinance and Rules Committee Meeting

The Charleston Ordinance and Rules Committee met tonight to discuss a bill for an increase in rental rates for the Charleston Civic Center and Charleston Municipal Auditorium.

A representative from the civic center said an increase was necessary due to the economic difficulties and an increase in operation costs, including a rate hike from AEP. He also said the charges were still in line with comparable cities, so he didn't expect the civic center or auditorium to lose business because of the expense of renting either facility.

The representative said the biggest cost comes from air conditioning. A committee member asked why the costs were so high, and the representative responded that it was because the A/C units were installed in 1980 and were inefficient from an energy standpoint, but were too expensive to replace at the time.

The committee voted to pass the bill unanimously. The bill will next be taken up by the finance committee.

Rules and Ordinance Meeting

I will be attending the rules and ordinance meeting tomorrow in Charleston.

I am not sure what the committee does, but their title sounds important which makes me curious about what will be discussed.

Huntington City Council Meeting

In tonight's meeting, the Huntington City Council voted to approve four surveillance cameras by the Huntington Police Department. Each council member voted in favor of an ordinance to expand the number of cameras the department has. One resident in attendance criticized the ordinance. He said he did not think the police department needed to spy on the city's residents, but that it what they would do with the cameras. He then when on a diatribe about what was wrong with the city, and at one point called Councilman Jim Ritter "a liar and a thief." Ritter became visibly angry and responded, "Do you want to take this outside, son?" The chairman told them both they needed to settle down immediately and told the resident there was nothing left for him to say.

At the beginning of the meeting, Tom McCallister, a Huntington resident, addressed the council about a sanitation board meeting he said he was supposed to be informed about. He said he stood in front of council at a previous meeting and asked about the sanitation board meeting, only to later find out that it had met without him knowing about it. The chairman said he agreed, and added that he (the chairman) "dropped the ball" by not letting McCallister know.

McCallister also criticized Mayor Kim Wolfe for not attending the meeting. He said the mayor has an obligation to be there. McCallister said the mayor has missed multiple city council meetings despite the fact the city charter says the mayor is supposed to be at all meetings. I thought this was interesting, and I would like to know exactly how many meetings the mayor has missed and exactly what the city charter says about mayoral attendance at meetings. I may look into it independently when I have the time, but if I were a reporter with the City Hall, Mayor's Office or a similar beat, I would research it as a possible investigative story.

Huntington City Council

I will be attending tomorrow evening's Huntington City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. The agenda is available here: http://www.cityofhuntington.com/pages/aa-councilagenda.html.

From reading the agenda, I don't expect any heated debate or long discussions. Most of the issues on the agenda appear to be simple and to the point.

Belle Town Council Meeting

I attended the Belle Town Council meeting this evening, where they discussed the issue of a new mayor. Larry Conley was the town's mayor, but he died in February, leaving more than three years left in his term. Last week, the council voted to appoint Kim Holmes, the town's recorder, as mayor for the remainder of the term. Holmes is serving as interim mayor, as in Belle, the recorder serves as lieutenant mayor.

However, the council voted in a closed meeting, and the agenda of the meeting was not posted. This angered many residents, and it was also a violation of West Virginia State Code.

So, tonight's open meeting was a "do-over," the town's attorney said. He guided the meeting and explained to the residents in attendance. The council heard comments from multiple residents who wanted an election for mayor to be held as soon as possible. Kim Holmes said that she no longer wanted the appointment of mayor because of the stress of trying to act as mayor for the next three years while also working full-time.

The council originally voted to appoint another councilperson as mayor, which angered many of the residents at the meeting. Then, one of the councilmen withdrew his vote and said he thought an election would be best. The councilman who made the motion for an appointment withdrew his motion, and a councilwoman motioned for an election. The council then voted for an election. The meeting was adjourned after the attorney explained that election dates and other matters would be settled at the next town council meeting in three weeks.

It was an interesting and emotional meeting (the councilman who withdrew his vote started crying as he talked about wanting to do what was best for his town), and it also tied into conversations we've had in class about the necessity for open meetings. About 40 of Belle's 1,100 residents showed up to the meeting, and nearly every one of them said they had signed a petition for an election because it was the democratic approach. It was great to see a small town care so much about its government.

Belle Council Meeting

The Council of Belle will meet tomorrow evening to vote on what to do about a new mayor, and I will be attending the meeting. Their elected mayor died last month.

Zoning Appeals Board Meeting

I will be attending the Zoning Appeals Board Meeting tomorrow morning in Kanawha County.

I have not been to a zoning board meeting before, and I was unable to get a copy of the agenda. I am curious to see what the board will discuss.

UPDATE: This meeting was continued.

Huntington Budget Proposal

To: Burnis Morris

From: Samantha Turley

Re: Story Outline: Major Story no. 5

Date: March 17, 2011

Subject: Huntington’s austere proposed FY 2011-2012 budget

Scope: I will research the 2012 budget and examine where cuts have taken place. Mayor Kim Wolfe said economic troubles for the city will continue into the 2012 fiscal year, and I will detail for readers how the economy has impacted the budget, what parts of the budget have been affected and how it will affect different major departments. I will compare Huntington’s budget to budgets in similar cities (such as size and location) to see if Huntington’s budget and budget cuts are comparable to those cities. In a sidebar, I will examine the budget allocation to the Huntington Police Department and how funding cuts will affect the department.

Need: Cuts to the city budget affect city services, including fire and police departments. The public needs to know where cuts are taking place and how it will affect them.

Methods: This story can be documented by a thorough analysis of the 2012 budget and a comparison to budgets from the three previous fiscal years. I can research it further by obtaining other city budgets from similar cities and comparing them to Huntington’s budget.

Sources: I already have the FY 2012 budget as proposed by Wolfe. I will obtain the city budgets from other city websites. I will obtain the budgets for the past three fiscal years from the City of Huntington’s website, and if it is not available online I will contact the city clerk for access. I will interview Wolfe and multiple city council members. If possible, I would also like to find a person who is an expert in city budget to get their viewpoint on the city budget for Huntington, how it compares to other cities and if they think it is a reasonable budget plan.

Presentation: This story can be presented as an overview of the city budget and budget cuts, a sidebar study examining the cuts to the Huntington Police Department in further detail and a follow-up story after the Huntington City Council finalizes the budget.

Follow-up: A follow-up can be written once the Huntington City Council finalizes the budget. In the follow-up, I will compare the FY 2012 budget as proposed by Wolfe with the budget finalized by the city council.

Huntington's Budget Process

Covering the city's budget process is difficult but interesting. It's a daunting task with a lot of quantitative information to understand, but the budget process and subsequent decisions has a major impact on life in Huntington.

A recent example was the city's decision to cut $100,000 in funding to the local animal shelter. The shelter learned of their funding cut through a Herald-Dispatch article.

I am interested in hearing about how the city chooses where to cut funding, and how the city chooses how much to cut from each area.

Ebenezer Medical Outreach

Ebenezer Medical Outreach, Inc. is a charitable organization in Huntington, W.Va., that provides medical care to those without health insurance. Over the next few weeks, I will be researching and writing a story about the impact the recession has had on the organization. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of uninsured Americans has been on the rise since the recession began. As an organization that provides services to the uninsured, I expect Ebenezer Medical Outreach has had an increase in the number of people seeking their services.

I obtained the following information from the 2009 IRS 990 form:

Yvonne Jones is the executive director of Ebenezer Medical Outreach. She received a salary of $65,035. The organization did not list salary information for other employees. Ebenezer Medical Outreach had total revenue of $731,618 and total functional expenses of $881,568. At the beginning of the year, it had $1.1 million in total assets. At the end of the year, it had $974,288 in total assets.

Contact information:

Ebenezer Medical Outreach, Inc.

1448 10th Ave.

Suite 100

Huntington, WV 25701

304-329-0753

emohealth.org

State of the City

I'm attending the State of the City address delivered by Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe. In his third address, I expect Wolfe to outline his proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year, and I expect for him to talk about the city's struggles and successes over the past year.

SEC Filings: Champion Industries

Searching for Champion Industries (NASDAQ/CHMP) brought up many results. Some of them were difficult to understand, but I found a news release, which was useful. The Jan. 27 release explained, in layman's terms, the company's results for the fourth quarter and for the 2010 calendar year. Having this document available is a smart move. It will be an aid to journalists who may be covering this topic.

Other documents were not as easy to understand. I found many quarterly reports and annual reports. I found some of it comprehendible, but a lot of the terminology would be hard for me to explain to readers if I were writing a story without help from someone more knowledgable.

I also found documents referred to as proxy statements, which were identified as being for use at the company's annual shareholder meetings. I'm not sure of the meaning behind the title, but digging deeper into the text I found information regarding the election of directors, including biographical information for the potential directors. Information about the number of directors' meetings held was another thing included.

The documents were intimidating, but I think with some time, effort and guidance, they could be understandable.

Edit: Out of curiosity, I also looked up CSX on the SEC website. I found an interesting feature for their filings - interactive charts that allowed users to click on different categories for details about what that category encompassed. This is a great feature, and it's an extremely useful one, as well.

A State of Cooperation

True to expectations, President Barack Obama stressed bipartisan cooperation and economic recovery in his second State of the Union address Tuesday.

Obama began his speech to Congress and the country with acknowledgement of the Tucson, Ariz. shooting and a call for parties to work together.

“Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater – something more consequential than party or political preference,” he said.

He avoided politicizing the issue. Rather than taking it as an opportunity to advocate for gun control, he left it as a point for Congress to rally around. Any attempt to use the shooting to further any political viewpoint would have created a greater strain between parties and forced the spotlight away from the tragedy itself.

The president also spent considerable time on an issue at the forefront of many Americans’ minds: the economy. Obama recognized continuing concerns by calling for a government “that lives within its means” and said he would take a tough stance on spending in order to reduce the national debt.

“If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it,” Obama said. He also proposed a five-year freeze in non-security discretionary spending by the government.

Specific measures for economic revitalization were a smart inclusion by

Obama. The economic strain on many Americans remains far from over, and giving them

tangible remedies to look for and rely on will demonstrate he actually has solutions in mind for the current economic woes.

He was optimistic about he called a growing economy, but he acknowledged further revitalization would be necessary to maintain the state’s standing as a world superpower.

“This is our generation’s Sputnik moment,” Obama said, referring to

a surge in American innovation and growth triggered when the Soviet Union beat the US into space. He highlighted a plan for technological investment to bolster the nation’s economy. He said his upcoming budget would include spending on biomedical research and clean energy technology.

However, one statement from the president seems to be an overzealous statement. “For all the naysayers predicting our decline,” Obama said, “America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world.”

While it may be a true statement, the Americans who struggle to find jobs and pay their bills following the economic collapse may feel obliged to disagree.

Showing that it is never too early to think about re-election, Obama highlighted his successes of the past year. One of the biggest – and most controversial – achievements was the passage of the health care bill he said was “reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients.” It’s a bill House Republicans are fighting to overturn, but it’s also a bill that can provide with its passage evidence that Obama is a president capable of keeping a promise to the American people.

Obama did attempt to appease Republican critics by acknowledging that the bill had flaws. He again called for Republicans and Democrats to work together to find compromise on controversial parts of the bill and asked Congress not to “walk away from reform.”

Obama was smart to acknowledge imperfections in his administration. He called some of its setbacks deserved. By doing so, Obama decreased backing for the recent “us vs. them” mentality between the two major parties, as he noted his own weaknesses.

Another promise met by Obama – and highlighted in his speech ­– was the repeal of the military policy Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

“No American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love,” Obama said in an emotional appeal. The bill had its critics, but emphasizing the human element is likely to help garner wider approval of the repeal.

Obama also addressed the US military presence in the Middle East, saying that it would soon be coming to a close. He said the war in Iraq would end this year, and troops would begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July.

Withdrawal from the Middle East would likely boost his approval ratings. According to Gallup, about 73 percent of Americans in 2010 viewed engagement in Iraq unfavorably.

However, Americans may not believe this promise. Obama failed to deliver on a similar promise he made in his presidential campaign and reiterated in February 2009, when he said most troops would be out of Iraq by August 2010.

Obama’s speech was by no means perfect. On some issues, he avoided delving into specific plans of action, instead favoring platitudes and rhetoric. While pleasing on the surface, a lack of a roadmap for reaching certain outlined goals may lead citizens to lack faith in the president’s abilities to achieve them.

Yet such platitudes are commonplace in politics, and the true measure of the speech will come as the next year unfolds, when Americans will get to see if overall, the promises from their president are worth trusting.

The (Economic) State of the Union

The overarching theme that will take the spotlight in Tuesday evening’s State of the Union could be described by a Clinton 1992 campaign slogan: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

President Barack Obama delivers his second State of the Union address, and like his predecessor Bill Clinton, Obama faces the challenge of fixing a recession inherited from a Republican president named Bush.

Whether Clinton caused the early 2000s recession or contributed to the end of the early 1990s recession is an issue still at debate by many, and whether Obama will succeed in guiding the country out of the economic crisis remains to be seen and may not even be agreed upon soon.

But for now, most Americans likely could not care less about the partisan arguments. They simply want jobs and a chance to rebuild their financial standings. Obama will promise the country that the economy is the top priority, because a nation must have the support of citizens who can actually support it.

Obama leads the country during its worst economic standing since the Great Depression, and can only hope for the long-term approval (and election success) achieved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt united the country and guided it through an abysmal economic period. For Obama’s presidency to be a success (and be two terms), he must do the same, and he must begin by demonstrating the American people that he can and will bring the economic downturn to an end.

The economy now overshadows the current conflict in the Middle East, but the issue is still one of rightful concern for many Americans. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been compared to the Vietnam War, but Obama is responsible for ensuring that the nation’s final opinion on this war and its outcome is not viewed with the same negativity. Obama cannot ignore his promises to withdraw from the Middle East.

President Lyndon B. Johnson faced the challenge of fighting an unpopular war. A bull-headed approach to a drawn-out conflict was the downfall of Johnson and his presidency, and if he does not withdraw the troops soon, Obama will face the same fate.

Obama is already overdue on one promise from last year’s State of the Union, which was to have all troops removed from Iraq by August 2010. Obama should acknowledge this and provide the country with a well-reasoned explanation and a withdrawal timetable they can trust.

However, after certain talking heads had already penciled in Obama as a definite one-term president, some of the promises of his campaign platform have begun to come to fruition. The country still stings from the pain of economic troubles and continues to have a presence in the Middle East, but Obama should remind citizens that he has made strides in accomplishing what they elected him to do.

In the time since his previous State of the Union address, Obama has signed into law his promised health care reform. He also successfully guided the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, a promise he made in his 2010 address.

His opponents may be against those achievements, but they speak to those whose original support has wavered, and they will help to guide former followers back to the flock.

Obama will acknowledge the Tucson shooting. Less than three weeks separate the speech from the shooting, and as one of the victims, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be missing from the address’s audience.

He faces a challenge with this tragedy: he must find the delicate balance between expected call for unity and the political exploitation of a tragic event.

He is unlikely to linger on the subject, instead opting to ask his fellow countrymen to be guarded in their rhetoric, and for them to remember that we are united under one flag as Americans.

A united America is best for the country, but it is also best for Obama (unless, of course, it is one united against him). This time next year, the 2012 election campaigning will be in full force. For Obama to position himself as a re-electable president, he must send to the polls citizens who know their president’s promises are held.

Obama no longer needs the American people to believe in change. Obama needs the American people to believe in him.

Parthenon Errors in Capital Classic Coverage

In reviewing The Parthenon’s coverage of the Marshall basketball games against WVU, the first and most egregious error I noted was a simple lack of fact-checking.

In the women’s basketball story, the final graf referred to Marshall looking to hand WVU its fifth loss. However, WVU only had one loss, not four.

From my standpoint, no errors should be considered “acceptable.” However, while a lack of subject-verb agreement or a misspelled word constitutes poor writing, a factual error constitutes not only poor writing, but also lazy journalism. In my book, it’s an inexcusable mistake.

The writing also suffered in regards to time elements – a mistake I’ve admittedly been prone to. The men’s basketball story began with a time element. Christ isn’t back (to the best of my knowledge) and even if He was, it certainly isn’t the focus of this story. So, the time element should not be included in the lede. In addition, it is also separated from the verb.

Finally, I noted a basic capitalization error. In the headline of the women’s story, “Capital Classic” isn’t capitalized. It should be. It’s a proper noun, and therefore it should be capitalized.

All in all, The Parthenon’s coverage had errors that could have been caught with adequate proofreading. However, it was a very inexperienced team that produced the edition, and I’m sure they’re learning from their mistakes.

The Quad

As a follower of college sports, I was surprised I'd never come across this blog. Now, it's likely to take a prominent place in my browser's bookmarks bar.

I love this approach to sports; this blog can dig beyond the headlines and find different but interesting stories. Sometimes it's a different view of a popular subject such as the BCS Championship, other times it's a completely offbeat but fascinating (such as the post on Auburn's presence in outer space).

All in all, a great angle to take on the world of sports, where coverage lacks quality, not quantity.

City Room

I like this blog due to the variety of topics it covers. In recent posts, the focus has been on snow, but even that can be a surprisingly varied subject to cover, ranging from the disappointment of no snow day to the frustration of an unplowed road.

But the blog's coverage is vast; I found interesting posts from New York political scandals to self-guided audio tours.

All in all, it's a fascinating blog to persue, and it's one that makes me want to pack a bag and take the first mode of transporation I find up to the Big Apple.

The Lede

In addition to appreciating their spelling of "lede," I like the approach that this blog takes, highlighting the coverage by other bloggers of newsworthy events.

Blogging - especially when done by non-professionals - is a controversial issue among journalists, but I think this blog shows the best of blogging and how it can be used properly as a news tool.

In addition, the blog also gives its readers a different viewpoint on current events, which is always value when assessing what's really going on in the world.

Paul Krugman

On my personal list of "Subjects I Find Intersting," economics would fall just above the drying of paint.

Yet in the hands of Paul Krugman, I find it not only comprehendable, but also interesting.

Krugman strikes a balance between conversational and concise, compelling and informative. He gives the reader the ability to comprehend his subjects, even if they may seem complex at first glance.

In his recent column "Trouble with Trade," Krugman explores difficulties related to the world market. It's a concept that may seem both boring and incomprehensible, but he breaks down concepts and makes them understandable without being in any way condescending. Krugman writes in a way that respects his readers as intelligent human beings, albeit ones largely lacking in Economics degrees.

Of course, Krugman expands in his columns to subjects beyond economics; however, he brings his same analytical approach to his view of various subjects, and the reason for the popularity is certainly understandable.