According to the federal criminal complaint against ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, he was “intercepted conspiring to sell [President Obama’s] Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship” (page 57). Notwithstanding, the federal case, evidence delivered exclusively to this new media outlet indicates that Blagojevich was able to successfully implement a portion of that plan…
Something Doesn’t Smell Right In Madison
After making steady progress on months of contentious negotiations, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) issued a press release on January 30, 2009 announcing they were cancelling an upcoming February concert nearly a month away. According to the PR, the reason for the cancellation is because the Musicians of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra negotiation committee rejected provisions in the WCO’s latest negotiation offer. However, additional details in the WCO’s PR come across as smelling a bit off…
Good News About The Negotiation Process
Amid a season filled with real and potential negotiation strife, there are still a number of instances where the collective bargaining process is being implemented without undue friction. One recent example is the Westchester Philharmonic negotiations which concluded at the onset of 2009. What makes this particular negotiation worth examining is the fact that not only did it bridge the period before and after the economic downturn but the process included …
A Useful Look At Access and Affordability
The 2/2/2009 edition of the New Yorker published an intriguing article by Alex Ross who took it upon himself to find out how much live classical music he could consume in New York City on a budget of $100. As it turns out, it was quite a bit thanks in part to some fantastic free offerings throughout the city. On the other hand, the majority of Americans don’t live in a metropolitan area that offers as much variety as NYC, but Ross’ article serves as an enormously useful launching point for this discussion…
Star Trek II:The Opera
I don’t know if anyone has ever investigated any potential link between opera and Star Trek fans but after watching the 1/25/2009 episode of Robot Chicken it might be a worthwhile effort (if you don’t already know what Robot Chicken is, it takes too long to explain – just go here). Leave it to the creative duo of former ToyFare Magazine editor Matthew Senreich and actor Seth Green (you know, Dr. …