Category: Quick hits

Yesterday was a day long awaited by researchers and genealogists as the detailed information collected in the 1940 Census is released to the public.  These census forms have been kept confidential by law for 72 years.  The 1940 Census is considered to be the first modern census, using sampling to collect detailed data, and also taking the first census of housing.  The census that year counted 132 million Americans, compared to the 2010 Census total of nearly 309 million.  The …

Weekly Address: Passing the Buffett Rule So That Everyone Pays Their Fair Share.  President Obama calls on Congress to pass the Buffett Rule, a principle that ensures that millionaires and billionaires do not pay less in taxes as a share of their West Wing Week: 3/30/2012 or “I’ve Got Seoul”:  This week, the President traveled to the Republic of Korea to attend a nuclear security summit where he also visited the DMZ, held a series of bilateral (and one trilateral) …

Even with the economic downturn, one consumer product that is advertised in every possible medium — television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and billboards — is the automobile, reflecting the huge role that cars and trucks play in our lives.  The first advertisement for an automobile in a general consumer publication appeared in an issue of the Saturday Evening Post this month in 1900.  The car was the short-lived product of the W.E. Roach Company of Philadelphia, and the ad’s theme was …

One of the most frightening industrial accidents in the U.S. occurred March 28th in 1979.  It was 4 a.m. at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on the Susquehanna River, south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  A cascading chain of events started when someone mistakenly cross connected air and water lines in the plant’s number two reactor.  Before the crisis was over, the plant reportedly came close to a hydrogen gas explosion and a meltdown of its uranium core, which would …

Last night I attended the retirement ceremony for outgoing Henderson Vance County Chamber of Commerce President Bill Edwards.  It was a heartfelt celebration, with words spoken by chamber members, elected officials at the local and state level, even a song honoring Mr. Edwards.  At the end Bill gave a moving speech as well thanking everyone.  I don’t want to say details of who was there or post pictures since it was  private event.  But I’ll ask the Chamber if I …

Chapel Hill’s town council voted Monday to ban all cellphone use behind the wheel, including hands-free devices. The ban is the first of its kind in the state.  Read the full article here With spring here, a device that’s been around since time immemorial is being honored — it’s National Umbrella Month.  No one knows who invented the umbrella or exactly when, but it’s estimated that it was being used as much as 4,000 years ago.  It’s thought the original …

Weekly Address: President Obama Says House Must Pass Bipartisan Transportation Bil.  President Obama is calling on the House of Representatives to pass a bipartisan transportation bill that would repair crumbling roads and bridges and support construction jobs in communities all across America. According to a new report, 90 percent of these construction jobs are middle class jobs. The Senate passed the bill with the support of Democrats and Republicans because if the bill stalls in Congress then constructions sites will …

Tara Servatius, a blogger for the John Locke Foundation, a “free-market think tank” in Raleigh, N.C., resigned on Thursday after posting an offensive cartoon of President Obama on the foundation’s blog earlier in the week. Servatius issued a statement saying she was “genuinely sorry my inclusion of the photo along with my blog post has caused controversy.” But the conservative blogger also defended her inclusion of the photo as an attempt to articulate her position “At the time, I was …

Wednesday marked the birthday of one of the major figures of the American wine industry — Julio Gallo.  With his brother Ernest, he started making wine after Prohibition ended in humble surroundings — a rented California warehouse, with equipment bought on credit.  Over the years, the brothers’ hard work saw their winery become the largest in the U.S., and their creative marketing techniques helped shape the nation’s drinking tastes.  Now, Americans buy $18.5 billion of wine annually.  California vintners produce …

Yesterday, March 20th.  As of 1:14 Eastern time in the morning, it’s spring in the northern hemisphere.  While celebrated by poets, composers, and artists, people of every age will also be glad to welcome a change in the weather after the long winter.  While winter may hang on in spots around the country for a few weeks more, the time is coming for spring rains and soon afterward, a profusion of flowers in an infinite variety of colors.  Those whose …

One of the most remarkable piano players in jazz celebrates her 94th birthday today — Marian McPartland.  Born in England, she married Chicago jazz cornetist Jimmy McPartland after the two met while performing at USO shows in World War II.  Coming to the U.S., McPartland played a long engagement at the New York nightclub, the Hickory House.  In the ’60s, she began a series of radio shows highlighting guest pianists, which led to her decades long program on NPR called …

President Obama says that America needs an all-of-the-above energy strategy that invests in new technologies and ends the $4 billion in annual subsidies to oil companies that are earning historic profits. Listen and watch in this weeks Weekly Address: This week, the President pressed for support of advanced manufacturing, held a series of “Live from the White House” Interviews, made a major announcement on trade rights, hosted Prime Minster Cameron for an Official State Visit and a trip to an …