Oklahoma began last Labor Day weekend by tying the record set in 2011 for its strongest earthquake: 5.6 magnitude, centered fifty miles west of Tulsa. The state has recorded thousands of earthquakes during the past few years. In 2009 Oklahoma suffered nine quakes over 3.0, the strength than can be felt. In 2015, there were 907. So far this year, 400. The state’s official position is that the upsurge has nothing to do with the hydraulic fracturing – “fracking” – that has increased exponentially over that period.
Month: September 2016
Where Does the Time Go?!
Fifty years ago, August 29, 1966 to be exact, the Beatles played a concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. That was their last live performance until their impromptu show on the roof of their Abbey Road studio three years later. They stopped playing live shows because the screaming from the audience was so loud they could not hear themselves play.
Director Ron Howard has produced a documentary film, “Eight Days a Week,” chronicling the era of Beatlemania. Never-before-seen footage of the Candlestick concert is featured in the movie.
“But I also thought it was even more important to try to tell a story that would convey to people who really have no idea — I’m thinking of the millennials, I suppose; people who have grown up with the music and think they know something of the story — the intensity of the journey and the impact they had.”
The movie is set for release – excuse me, will drop – mid-September.
Bonus points if you know the reference “Eight Days a Week.”
News From My Alma Mater
The University of Oregon has many prominent alums: Steve Prefontaine, Ann Curry, Phil Knight, Ken Kesey, and me. A driving force behind the founding of the University of Oregon in 1876 was Matthew Deady. He served as the university’s president for its first twenty years. The first building at the U of O was named in his honor and is still in use today. Deady’s other accomplishments include serving as president of the convention to draft Oregon’s first constitution and he was named Oregon’s first district court judge after statehood. Deady also was a staunch defender of slavery and a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan. Oops.
Labor Day Update
So-called “Right-to-Work” laws and the vilification of unions by conservatives are having their intended effect. The declining percentage of workers belonging to unions has resulted in lower wages, not just for union members, but for non-union workers as well.
“…private-sector union decline since the late 1970s has contributed to substantial wage losses among workers who do not belong to a union. This is especially true for men. And most hurt by the decades-long decline in the nation’s labor movement are those nonunion men who did not complete college, or go beyond high school—groups with the largest erosion of union membership over the last few decades.”
A study by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, reports that non-union wages would be five percent higher if union participation had remained at 1979 levels. The percentage is higher for those lacking college educations; even higher for those without high-school diplomas.
Dismiss It At Your Peril
Well, they don’t have to know where they’re going…
Here’s a news bulletin for travelers: New York City taxi drivers are no longer required to speak English. Blame Uber and Lyft.