I have a “friend” who likes to remind me frequently that newspapers are dying. We have fun debates about the subject and then settle upon agreeing to disagree. Then I usually trap him by talking about a story we recently published and he offers up his comments which tells me he still reads a newspaper.

But, there’s more good news too for newspapers – and those of us in Michigan. American Opinion Research just released a study that found almost two thirds of Michigan consumers look to newspapers for information before making purchases. Add in newspaper websites and the percentage reaches into the 80’s.

Not bad for an industry that is supposed to have one foot in the grave.

Jack Schultz, an economic development mentor for small communities, has come forth with his amusing look at March Madness, office pools and the cost to businesses. According to Schultz, the outplacement consultancy firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., says this annual distraction could cost employers as much as $1.7 billion in wasted work time over the 16 business days of the Tournament, starting the Monday after the teams and brackets are selected (March 17) through its conclusion on Monday, April 7, in San Antonio, Texas.

Using average hourly earnings of $17.50 (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), Challenger calculates that workers earn an average of $2.92 every 10 minutes ($17.50 divided by 6). So, for every 10 minutes of work time the 37.3 million March Madness office pool participants spend focused on the tournament instead of their job responsibilities, employers will lose $108.9 million ($2.92 times 37.3 million).

Even if these workers waste just 10 minutes per day on March Madness, starting the day after selection Sunday, the cumulative outcome is a loss of $1.7 billion ($108.9 times 16) in unproductive wages.

Uncle Sam just sent me a letter reminding me about the tax rebate coming this spring. Wow! When did they decide to do that? Spending all that money to let people know an economic stimulus check is coming was well spent! I could go out and buy two hammers from the defense department.

Well, oil prices hit a record today and the prices at the pump followed. Is it just me or is there a pattern here we are all missing?

When gas was $1.00 a gallon, it began to rise and fall within a $0.50 variance per gallon and then settled in the $1.25 range and we were all happy to pay $1.25 per gallon. Then, it happened as we broke $2.00 per gallon and so forth.

I said to a friend a few months ago when we were ranging between $2.90 and $3.20 that we would spike a few times and gas would settle in around $3.00 per gallon and we’d all be happy to pay $3.00 per gallon. If I’m right, $3.00 is now our base price for the next few years.

But I hope I am not as this will have a huge impact on us all.

It’s not resolved, but the chance exists that Michgan’s Democratic Primary might have a ($10 million) do over to satisfy those who feel cheated. Michigan new the risks going in to the early primary. Do overs are reserved for elementary-aged children. Deal with it - life is not fair.

My mother would be so happy to hear that I have a portable GPS now.  The family joke was always about how anyone in our family could get rid of me by giving me directions in North, South, East or West. Yup, I am a directional idiot.

When we moved to Grand Haven, from the inland area,  the first words out of my mother’s mouth was more or less, “Well, that’s great! You have reduced your chances of getting lost by -25%”

I really love my Garmin. It’s portable, it talks to me sweetly and it gets me to where I need to go without people telling me to head east on ABC street, turn north and then the address will be on the southwest side of the road.

As a child of the 60’s I grew up during the time people became more concerned for the environment – at least that’s the way I remember it happening – and now I am enjoying the resurgence and commitment to becoming more green.

Many are saving money by paying more attention to the amount of waste they generate which ends up saving everyone money and helping the environment. Lighting is an easy way for anyone to become more active.

Becoming green also offers opportunities for new services from existing companies and new companies all together.

Because we all live on the shores of Lake Michigan it’s easy to see the effect of pollution on the environment.  Just go up five mile hill and look down to see the contrast in water clarity. True, some of that is caused by Mother Nature herself, but contaminated runoff is also present.

I think it’s well understood that while batteries run almost any aspect of our daily lives, they also pose another hazard for the environment. And that made me wonder about the potential number of batteries our community disposes of each year. Figuring the average individual disposes of eight batteries per year, that means we junk 368,000 batteries each year in the Tri-Cities area alone. And,  I would bet most of us don’t dispose of them properly.

Are there easy changes we can make in our lives to make a difference? Sure, we can walk more, ride a bike more and use less lighting. 

What are some things you might suggest that the average person does not consider?

If you are reading this, you’ve seen our new look that we launched today. Our webmaster Eric Koopmans has been working on this for quite a while so when you visit, the site comes up properly. We’ll find a few bugs here and there to fix over the next few days, but the redesign is quite a task. People have different computer operating systems, different monitors, different web browsers and different versions of those web browsers to consider.

The new look is to allow for some very exciting additions to come on the Tribune’s website - stay tuned.

That’s the reported cost to Michigan taxpayers for holding last Tuesday’s presidential primary.

An interesting and entertaining way to compare your views against the candidates. Try it out.

http://www.selectsmart.com/president/2008.html