Cigarette Butts, Spats And Fat Cats

THUMBS UP TO:

Cutting your own budget first

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell cut nearly $4 million from his budget last month in response to calls for belt-tightening from Gov. Tim Kaine. McDonnell cut his office budget by 9.1 percent, gave back a state-funded car and took a 2 percent salary cut. Ten executive attorneys in his office also took voluntary 2 percent pay cuts totalling $17,000.

McDonnell, in a news release announcing the cuts, said: “These are difficult times. This economic downturn, and sustained uncertainty, is forcing Virginia families and businesses to make hard decisions and Virginia’s government must do likewise.”

This is a positive step but could be just the beginning for Virginia agencies and offices; the state faces a possible $3 billion shortfall.

Adding smoking to health inspection info

Kudos to the Virginia Department of Health for adding smoking status to its Web site on restaurant health inspections. The state Web site averages more than 90,000 visits per month and displays information from more than 60,000 unannounced restaurant inspections per year. The new information for each restaurant includes whether smoking is permitted or banned. Smoke-free facilities are identified with a non-smoking icon. Look for the information on your favorite restaurant at www.vdh.virginia.gov.

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Declaring war on reporters

Maureen Dowd, the Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for The New York Times, has fallen out with Sen. John McCain and his campaign has removed her from flying in the McCain and Palin press planes.

Major media outlets pay thousands to the campaigns for travel and expenses. Dowd wasn’t let on the McCain plane after covering a McCain-Palin rally in Washington, Pa. on Aug. 30. She spent the night in Pittsburgh, while the traveling press went on.

“I had a great relationship with John McCain for 16 years, through columns he liked and didn’t like. So at first I thought it was a mistake and doublechecked with the press office. They said I was banned from both planes for ‘the forseeable future.’ Then [McCain spokeswoman] Nicole Wallace was gloating about it to reporters on the Palin plane,” Dowd wrote in an e-mail shared on poynter.org. “It was disappointing because I didn’t think John McCain would ever be as dismissive of the First Amendment as Dick Cheney,” Dowd wrote in the e-mail.

It’s another example of McCain’s declaration of war against the Times.

Ridiculous Wall Street paychecks

Kim Peterson of the Web site MSN Money reports that Alan Fishman of Washington Mutual (WaMu) is walking away with $19 million for less than a month at the helm of the troubled bank. “Congress wants to crack down on CEO mega-salaries for banks participating in the bailout,” Peterson wrote. “And while the politicians argue how best to do that, Alan Fishman of Washington Mutual is headed for the doors with $19 million in his pocket. If that wasn’t outrageous enough, consider this: Fishman started the job three weeks ago.

“I never saw the employment ad Fishman answered,” Peterson wrote, “but it must have read something like this:

“WANTED: Top executive for train-wreck bank about to be seized by federal regulators. Must be able to look busy while FDIC sells business from under you. Previous experience with angry shareholders sitting on worthless stock a plus. Perks: $7.5 million hiring bonus and $11.6 million cash severance.”

“Fishman got the best temp gig in history,” she concluded.

We agree. It’s these examples that infuriate American taxpayers.