http://www.meridianstar.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:56:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_318235646.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_318235646.html In today's world of widening waistlines and processed food health disasters, the pressure is mounting to eat simple, homemade meals. But at the same time, shrinking wallets and busy schedules make it harder than ever to eat healthy foods made in your own kitchen. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_318235345.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_318235345.html Despite the often anti-Microsoft sentiment expressed in the media and even more so in higher education, I am pro-Microsoft. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:40:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_310004112.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_310004112.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:23:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_298002404.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_298002404.html If there’s ever been an issue that liberals, moderates, conservatives, and libertarians could all get behind, the Voter ID Ballot Initiative is it. The success of free and democratic elections is based on the assumption that all votes are cast fairly and honestly. One person gets one vote and each vote counts. Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:21:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_298002152.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_298002152.html Most little girls scream and run away from bugs. Not my ten year-old. She loves to find them and pick them up. Our house is in the woods and the day my girls and I moved in, she found some furry caterpillars and let a dozen or so crawl on her arm. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:39:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013922.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013922.html There has been a major trend in economic development in recent years that can probably best be summed up using a professional sports analogy: states and local communities across the country have been the team owners, economic developers have been the agents, and the businesses looking to expand have been the talented prospective athletes. States and communities have offered huge tax breaks and incentives to lure jobs to their areas, in much the same way star athletes are offered hefty signing bonuses. Economic developers have leveraged more incentives, including utility deals, and acted as a liaison between the companies and communities — similar to the way agents market their athletes and sell their talents to teams. And businesses — like star athletes — have had the luxury of sitting back and being pretty selective in where they expand or start up. For some communities, especially those with appealing locations who are willing to up the ante, that strategy has been a good one. Some have seen businesses come to town with everything they promised, sparking the local economy and providing people jobs. If that star athlete comes to a franchise and puts up big numbers and takes the team to the Super Bowl, it looks like a smart investment. But what if the star athlete blows out a knee and never plays a down? What if that $10 million signing bonus only sells a few hundred season tickets or some t-shirts? Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:38:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013834.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013834.html Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:38:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013858.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013858.html The UN’s declaration of carbon neutrality for the upcoming Copenhagen Environmental Conference is a curious example of modern logic. In order to counter the environmental impact of air travel for some 50 presidents, 35 prime ministers, their staffs, and thousands of attendees (estimated at 450 tons of carbon emissions), the UN has promised to earmark funding for a power plant in rural India that uses corn husks instead of fossil fuels to produce electricity. Here’s the principle behind offsets: You’re planning on doing something you think is20bad and feel guilty about it. Rather than altering your actions, pay someone else to do something good to offset your negative impact and presto—no more guilt. Surely if the Copenhagen Conference organizers were concerned about the environmental impact of air travel they could have limited attendance or conducted meetings via video-teleconference. But curiously they decided to go ahead and do what they scold everyone else for and then offer to fund a Third World environmental project in their honor. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:37:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013814.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013814.html Whether through my previous or current work in press relations and public affairs, or through this column, I have had the opportunity to meet and build relationships with many of Mississippi's newspaper editors and publishers. Last week, the Newspaper Association Managers sponsored national newspaper week, a more than 60 year tradition to promote newspapers "as a vital and vigorous news medium." The theme, "Carrying the Torch of Freedom" sought to communicate that newspapers "work outside government to represent [the public's] interests. [Newspapers are] free as privately owned businesses outside government to have that precious power as guaranteed by the First Amendment. That power, that freedom will continue to serve the public in the future. Newspapers continue to carry a torch of freedom." So I reflected on local newspapers: the people, the business, the public service. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:37:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013728.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013728.html Although smart business strategies are important in any economic situation, the current weak economy makes sound business decisions critical. Your small business can take several steps to maintain your stability in the current economic environment. Don’t panic. Don’t assume the sky is falling. Remain confident to employees and customers. With continued hard work, planning, and perhaps some tough decisions, you will survive. Communicate. Share information about your positioning in the weak economy. Let customers, vendors, and employees know that you are on top of the situation and making changes to sustain your business. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:32:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013413.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_291013413.html Service-learning is a teaching and learning method that combines service to the community with classroom curriculum. The academic skills taught in the classroom are used to create a community service project to impact real community issues, such as safety, hunger or diversity. It’s a hands-on approach to mastering subject material while fostering civic responsibility. Service-learning provides a context for talking about learning in terms of not only what students know but also what they are able to do. Critical to this type of learning is building in the time for students to reflect on their service experience. Reflection time helps the students make the connection between classroom and community learning to ensure they understand the extent to which they can impact positive change. Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:50:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_284005116.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_284005116.html One of our great American icons, often closely associated with Halloween, and magic, and spooks is Harry Houdini. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:30:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_282003059.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_282003059.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:34:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_277003519.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_277003519.html This past week as I pulled up to the Star's downtown offices, I saw an all too familiar — and heart-wrenching — scene unfold. Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:32:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_277003257.html http://www.meridianstar.com/columns/local_story_277003257.html Nothing widens the mind like traveling to distant places and meeting people who speak other languages and live completely differently than you do. I love to travel.