MISCmedia by Clark Humphrey » Blog Archive RANDOM LINKS FOR 8/30/11

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RANDOM LINKS FOR 8/30/11

August 29th, 2011 by Clark Humphrey

Despite whatÂ Republican politicians would have you believe, Washington state actually leads the nation inÂ new business creation these days.
One of these new businesses will be a downtown JC Penney store, in the old Kress five-and-dime store building at Third and Pike. That’s just a block from the old (1930-82) Penney store (Target’s going in on that site later this year). It’s great news, but what will become of the loveable, and vitally needed,Â Kress IGA supermarket in the building’s lower level? Its operators insist they’ve got a long term lease and are staying no matter what.
It’s not just the state civil payroll that’s ethnically un-diverse. TheÂ state legislature is only 6.8 percent nonwhite.
Local theater blogger Jose Aguerra asks whether local troupes are beingÂ too coy and inoffensive, even in their depiction of female orgasms. (In my day, Seattle’s live theaters prided themselves on presenting edgy, daring material, even if the promise was grander than the product.)
A UW Medical Center administrator got caughtÂ embezzling a quarter mil from the hospital. You’re only hearing about it now because the state auditor made a statement publicly praising the U for how it investigated and prosecuted the inside thief. A potential huge scandal was thus turned into a low-key moment of triumph for the administration. At least if you read the Seattle Times version of the story. KOMO offers a far more critical spin on the affair.
Grist.org’s David Roberts ponders what the heck Friends of the Earth is doing getting involved with right-wing lobby groups in proposing aÂ “green” federal budget slashing scheme.
The link we ran last week about the electric-guitar company? The company that got raided by federal agents, who were supposedly looking for endangered imported wood? The company flatly denies all allegations. And the Murdoch Wall St. Journal, ever eager to bash anything environmentalist,Â claims the feds could next go after folks who own old vintage instruments that contain now-restricted components.
Should any of us care about speculation about the new Apple CEO’s private life? Ars Technica says no.
Birth rates are dropping in many countries, especially those where female fetuses are sometimes selectively aborted. The Economist calculates some countries, at their current rates of decline, could totally run out of people in 600-700 years. Of course, if you’re not a dystopian scifi fan you know trends don’t stay the same, at the same rate, forever.
Sasha Brown-Worsham believes “we should parent more like they did in 1978.” More Boo Berry and daytime TV; less overprotectiveness and constant fear.