RamblingDyna

The holidays have come and gone and it sure did feel different this year, obviously. The kinetic energy to grab the best deals and buy as much as you can carry to the car was…restrained. The checkout lines were not as long as in past years. I’ve been walking through the San Francisco Center for a week. It’s located in the heart of the downtown shopping district, a stone throw away from the famous cable car stop. It’s home to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom and the energy is very different, almost subdued. It’s like you want to dip your hands into the jar full sinful sweets but can’t because you know it’s bad for you. That’s what the crowds looked like as they snaked slowly between aisles of 50-70 percent off sales bins. They didn’t clamor over each other and hoard bundles of red tagged stuff. People browsed, poked and prodded, looked again and then walked away. Before Christmas, the crowds were plentiful but not as packed and hungry. I figured the recession cloud was hovering over...

Weary, baggy eyed airport travelers are stranded for the second day in a row as winter storms shut down planes and ice runways. Retailers keep their fingers crossed praying that second black Friday will reap extra change. Gas prices are down by 60% but people are still watching their mileage as with any other expenditures. Families are tightening and streamlining their belts. Xmas wish lists are pared down or done without. In the Xmas 24 hour marathon television favorite, A Xmas Story, the mother of the main character, Ralph, asks him what he wants on his Xmas wish list. Initially, she denies him his Red Ryder BB gun because it's dangerous. In the end, Ralph and his brother get everything they wanted. Even though it's a fictional and all time movie classic favorite, I'm sure financially strapped families now watch these idyllic scenes with a sobering perspective. People are coping and learning, most for the first time, how to really save and buy what's necessary. Can...

It's been a couple of years since I've been to any career networking events but the past seven days sure have been busy and they all happened by accident. I just signed up for a journalism group that meets periodically in San Francisco; missed their first meeting and didn't expect to see their next invitation for a couple of weeks. But the group organizer emailed the members about a fundraising event for two local non-profit, online news startups: The Public Press and Newsdesk. The last time I was in the same room with a group of reporters was when I was covering a murder trial in New England years ago. As many national and local newspapers and other commercial media groups are shutting down shops and slashing hundreds of editorial staff, the life and livelihood of true news reporters and the journalism field is being threatened. These two online media groups like a few others nationwide are working hard to not let true hardnosed journalism succumb and wither away to ...

I didn’t catch the beginning of the television news report but San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom, held a press conference in a city store. He stressed how important it is for citizens to support local businesses by buying from city shops. A CBS TV reporter asked him why he bought his Chevrolet SUV hybrid in a Colma car dealership instead of a San Francisco shop. Colma is right next door, south west of San Francisco. Newsom was put off guard by what he appropriately described as the “gotcha question” and said he didn't know why because he didn’t buy the vehicle. Someone else did. Then he attempted to ignore the unrelenting reporter who asked him why he’s promoting buying local when he’s not following his own words. Newsom this time was obviously annoyed and said that since he didn’t buy the car, he can’t answer the question and will find out about it and get back to the reporter. Isn’t that just lovely. The “I didn’t do it” excuse simply absolves Newsom of any accountabili...