Pretty Soon the Journal Could Be a Home-Based Business

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More bad news for the Camel City's last major tree killer:

A corporate consolidation initiative by Media General Inc. will result in the elimination of two newsroom operations at the Winston-Salem Journal by Oct. 31, company officials said Wednesday.
 
The copy-editing and page-design departments will be shifted to larger Media General publications –the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia and The Tampa Tribune in Florida. The consolidated operation is expected to start up in the third quarter, said Media General, which is based in Richmond.

The consolidation will involve job cuts.

 "It is undetermined how many jobs and where," said Ray Kozakewicz, a spokesman for Media General. The Journal has 18½ positions in those two departments, representing 20 percent of its newsroom staff.

A design coordinator will be based at the Journal, Kozakewicz said.

From what I can tell it sounds like they'll be losing about 16 people from the 92-ish that are currently there.  Sure, some might be able to get jobs in Richmond or Tampa if they want them but that's still a job loss as far as Winston-Salem is concerned. 

At this rate I might be able to rent the Journal space in my house as the kids move out over the next five years.  I can easily accommodate the five of them and their computers.  I might even be able to fit in the high speed copier (with collator/stapler!).  


Gaudio Stepping Down (Found via Twitter?!)

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Just saw a Tweet from WXII that Wake Forest head basketball coach Dino Gaudio is stepping down.  Supposedly there's a 4:30 press conference today so I guess we'll know more at 4:35.

Update 2: The Journal's Wake Forest beat reporter Dan Collins blogged it.

Update: Now WXII site is saying Gaudio was fired. 

A Little Tarnish for BB&T

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Winston-Salem based BB&T has enjoyed a very strong, positive public image especially during the last few years as other "local" banks like Wachovia painted themselves as evil-banker-villain people.  Well, it looks like the sterling image is in danger of being tarnished.  To wit, two stories in the last week (h/t to Ed Cone for lead to first story):

Visions of Profits Gone, Lot Buyers Sue (News & Observer)

Attorney Wes Hodges, whose firm filed the suits against Saunders, said that buyers were subjected to high-pressure sales tactics. He said they were told it was certain that they would reap big profits by the time the two-year loans came due and that the subdivisions would be finished by then.

He said prices of the lots were artificially increased via fraudulent appraisals and that the lender – BB&T in most cases – signed off on the loans knowing the prices had beenhyped. The frontline bankers approving the loans were paid bonuses of up to 100 percent of their annual salary for hitting targets for the number of loans written, he said.

BB&T is a defendant.A spokeswoman for the bank said it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation but that it will vigorously contest the allegations.

Whistle-Blower Ordered Re-Hired in a Ponzi Scheme (Associated Press)

The BB&T Corporation must rehire a former company investigator who said she was fired after exposing a $100 million North Carolina development scam, an administrative law judge said in a ruling released Friday. The decision, made by Judge Jeffrey Tureck, said the investigator, Amy Stroupe, should be reinstated to her position with back pay because of protection afforded by whistle-blower laws…

Investigators say the development, known as the Village of Penland, was a Ponzi scheme, and Judge Tureck said in his ruling that the bank was assisting the fraud by making loans to investors in the community.

Oh So Terribly Happy at a/perture

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A couple of days ago I had a chance to take a sneak peak at a flick titled Terribly Happy that's currently playing at a/perture.  The best way I can describe it is it's kind of like a Danish version of Fargo, without the wood chipper.  It might not be as gruesome as Fargo, but the bog outside the tiny town where the film is set sees its share of bodies.

The premise isn't too revolutionary: big city cop goes a little cuckoo, gets shrinked and then gets sent to a small town to get his head straight while on the job.  Small towns being what they are, the locals are more than a little weird and the cop gets himself tangled up in their weirdness in short order.  I guess you could compare it to Deliverance, but the locals all have their teeth and there's not a banjo to be found anywhere.

If you like movies that are a little off-beat, have some tension and don't mind a little violence I think you'll like Terribly Happy.  Personally I love films with strange characters and a little edge to them so I really liked this one.

As with North Face (which I reviewed here) this is more proof that a/perture is bringing in foreign films (yes, with subtitles) that just about any local moviegoer will find entertaining.  Sure there's a place in this world for art films, but I like the fact that a/perture is bringing in films that have a mainstream-ish plot and just happen to have dialogue in a non-English tongue. 

a/perture
311 W. Fourth St. (Across from
Mellow Mushroom)
Winston-Salem, NC
Phone: 336-722-8148
Website:
www.aperturecinema.com
Terribly Happy runs at a/perture through April 8


You Gotta See North Face at a/perture This Weekend

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Last night I got a sneak preview of North Face and I can tell you without reservation that if you're in town this weekend you really should head over to a/perture and see it.  Since I'm not a professional reviewer I won't even try to sway you with descriptions of the cinematography (okay, it was awesome) or go into great detail about the acting (okay, it was superb).  What I will tell you is that:

  • It will have you on the edge of your seat
  • You'll feel a might bit cold watching it
  • You'll totally forget that it's a German movie with subtitles

The film is set in 1936 and is based on a true story.  Here's the setup:

  • No one has ever climbed the north face of the Eiger
  • The Olympics are coming to Germany and a bunch of German Alpinists want to be the first to climb the north face so that they'll be able to bask in their glory at the Olympics
  • The Germans haven't annexed Austria yet, but they're planning it and that plays into the plot
  • Two young German climbers (our heroes) decide to give it a go
  • They're competing with two Austrians to make it to the top

Add a love interest to this mix and you've got a nice plot. Add the aforementioned cinematography and acting and you've got a really good movie.  Since I have two thumbs I'm going to point them both up for this one.

Here's the skinny on showtimes at a/perture.  Really, you should go (they serve beer and wine!)

a/perture
311 W. Fourth St. (Across from Mellow Mushroom)
Winston-Salem, NC
Phone: 336-722-8148
Website: www.aperturecinema.com
Showtimes:
Fri-Sat: 2:40, 7:20
Sun: 12:00, 5:20
Mon-Wed: 5:40


Go Topeka Your Name

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So Google's doing this little deal where they're going to provide nasty-fast connectivity to certain municipalities at no cost.  So cities around the country have been doing goofy things to try and get ElGoog to wire 'em up, and none goofier than Topeka, KS which changed its name to Google, KS.  So the folks at ElGoog have a sense of humor on this April Fools Day.  So here's the evidence:

GoogleTopeka
  

Kim Says Goodbye to His Dogness

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On a couple of occassions I've had the chance to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Winston-Salem Journal reporter Kim Underwood.  He's a great guy and it's always a fun conversation.  I also happen to think he's one of Winston-Salem's crown jewels and his piece on "His Dogness" goes a long way to explaining why.  Great stuff Kim.

Not Your Daddy’s RNC, or Maybe It Is

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I've never registered with a political party.  My brother once said it was because I've never taken a hard stand on anything (of course I disagree), but it's really because I can find enough distasteful about any political party's platform that I don't want to be associated with it.  Besides, I vote for the individual, not the party, so my lack of party affiliation has never bothered me.  Once I read this piece on RNC chair Michael Steele's expense account I was reminded why I've stayed independent:

While Steele has not purchased a plane, he continues to charter them. According to federal disclosure records, the RNC spent $17,514 on private aircraft in the month of February alone (as well as $12,691 on limousines during the same period). There are no readily identifiable private plane expenses for Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine in the DNC’s last three months of filings.

The RNC explains that Steele charters jets only when commercial service is unavailable, or when his tight schedule requires it. “Anytime the chairman has taken any private travel has been a either to a route that doesn’t exist or because of connections and multiple travel to where he just wasn’t able to do so,” Heye said. Yet Steele’s office repeatedly refused to explain in specific terms the circumstances of the February charter flights.

Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip to California, for example, included a $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $6,596 dropped at the nearby Four Seasons, and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.

RNC trips to other cities produced bills from a long list of chic and costly hotels such as the Venetian and the M Resort in Las Vegas, and the W (for a total of $19,443) in Washington. A midwinter trip to Hawaii cost the RNC $43,828, not including airfare.

Spike Lee Says I’m a Dream Killer

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Spike Lee made an appearance at Wake Forest University last week and among his comments was the following:

Quite often, young people allow themselves to be influenced too heavily by their parents, and wind up having life choices made for them, Lee said.

“Parents kill more dreams than anybody,” he said.

One of my oldest and closest friends has for years been called the "funsucker" by his wife and kids.  Personally I just see him as a proponent of reality-based parenting, but of course I've been accused of being a funsucker too so what do I know?

Now I can add "dream killer" to my resume.