Durham Weather Alert

DURHAM—Power outages caused by high winds and heavy rains made a difficult morning commute for UNH students and employees.

The power outages, which occurred at the intersection of Madbury Road and Route 4 in downtown Durham, eliminated the use of traffic lights and the Durham police force had to stand in and direct traffic.

In addition to Durham, power outages have been reported in several other New Hampshire towns, including Conway, Eaton, Madison, and New London.

Although UNH students experienced flickering lights earlier this morning, the university has not yet initiated any curtailed operations. Students hope that holiday travel will not be impeded by the extreme weather.

According to weather forecasts, 38 mph winds and heavy rains are expected to taper off by tonight. However, New Hampshire and Maine residents may be able to expect a snowy Thanksgiving weekend.

The Obama-Clinton Relationship

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The New York Times article "Clinton-Obama Detente:From Top Rival to Top Aide" focuses on President-elect Obama's pending decision to select Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state. The lead of the article is both a summary and a scene-setter; it tells the reader that the article is going to discuss the relationship between Obama and Clinton, but it also describes a specific instance in which Clinton gave a passionate speech supporting Obama.

Although the article shares interesting facts about past presidents and their secretaries of state and has an easy-to-read narrative style, the piece lacks hard evidence. One fact is attributed to the "people on both sides," referring to people who supposedly listened in on a conversation between Obama and Clinton on an airplane.

In addition to vague references, the article doesn't really get to the heart of the issue surrounding the Obama-Clinton relationship: their disagreements over foreign policy. In my opinion, American citizens are more interested in learning about how the pair plan to handle foreign policy as opposed to the nice things they have said about one another.

An outline for this story might look something like this:
1. Highlight past conflicts between Obama and Clinton
2. Talk about steps that they have taken to resolve those conflicts
3. Discuss why Obama plans to elect Clinton as secretary of state
4. Talk about their personal and professional relationship

Drug Smuggling results in New York City Police Chase

NEW YORK CITY—Four New Yorkers are dead as a result of a police chase involving Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and suspected French assassin, Pierre Jeantot. At around 4:00 p.m. Sunday, Doyle pursued the suspect from 35^th Street Station to 15^th Street Station, the place where Jeantot was finally shot and killed.

The chase began when Jeantot, 36 of Nice, France, attempted to assassinate Doyle from the roof of a building near his apartment at 1767 W. 57^th Ave. The New York City Police Department believes that this attempted assassination is related to Doyle’s recent investigation of illicit heroin smuggling from France into the United States.

According to a public statement issued by New York City Police Commissioner Ruth L. Ess, “Jeantot was allegedly working on behalf of a French drug kingpin who Doyle and his partner, Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, had been investigating.”

The document also stated that Jeantot entered the country on Nov. 4 on a flight from Paris to New York City, according to Homeland Security Records. Two other men are suspected of being involved in the smuggling operation and are being pursued by the police department at this time.

Jeantot, who accidentally shot and killed 63-year-old Betty B. Badluck of the Bronx in his pursuit of Doyle, attempted to flee the scene when he realized that he was being pursued by Detective Doyle. Doyle sprinted up to the roof of the building where Jeantot had been shooting but found nothing but an abandoned rifle.

When Doyle caught sight of Jeantot he was running towards the 35^th Street Station where he boarded the train. Doyle had no choice but to chase the train by car, narrowly avoiding other vehicles and pedestrians in his pursuit of Jeantot.

While Jeantot was aboard the train he shot and killed three train workers; Roland Evans, 34 of Brooklyn, Horatio C. Hornblower, 30 of White Plains, and Peter Howe, 27 of Queens.

Hope and Horror

Monday, November 17, 2008

In today’s edition of the New York Times, the article “A Time of Hope, Marred by an Act of Horror” caught my attention, simply because of the implications made in the title. This article relates the story of Bishop Bryan Robinson Jr. and his mostly black congregation in Springfield, Massachusetts.

On the same night that Barack Obama was elected president, and blacks across the country breathed a sigh of relief that change had finally come; Robinson’s almost-complete church was burned to the ground. The church, which was 75% completed, was a project almost 7 years in the making.

The article opens with an anecdotal lead and continues this story-telling style throughout the piece. It relates the story of how Robinson came to be pastor of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ in Springfield, and explains the emotional roller coaster that he and his congragation experienced on the night of the fire.

The article also shares specific details of the fire, such as the exact location and building dimensions of the church, but mainly it focuses on the story of how the church finally began to be built. It also focuses on timing; it closely intertwines the timing of the fire in correlation to Obama's election and describes how that fact impacted Robinson.

A possible outline for the writer of this story might include the following:

1. Introduce Bishop Bryan Robinson Jr.

2. Explain his story and how he became a pastor

3. Tell the story of the fire

4. Relate the timing of the fire to the presidential election

5. Emphasize the hope that Robinson and his congregation still have for a new church

California Fires

Sunday, November 16, 2008

I immediately took notice of the online version of the New York Times article, “Firefighters Struggle to Contain California Fires,” because of the graphic images that accompanied it. The beginning of the article is set up with a summarizing lead, and it sheds light on the catastrophic effects of the California wildfires.

This article is jam-packed with information; the number of people that have been evacuated, the percentage of the fires that have been contained, and countless locations that have been affected by the fires. Although this data was informative, I found it to be somewhat overwhelming at times.

The article continues in this heavily-informative style until the final few paragraphs where it talks about a specific example that makes the disaster real for readers. It talks about the impact of the fire on the Oakridge mobile home park, and shares quotes from some of the residents who lost their homes.

The addition of such a specific example of how the fire impacted California residents brings the story full circle. Although the story maintained a very suspenseful tone throughout, the stories of the Oakridge residents has an even larger impact.

A tentative outline for this article would include the following:

1. Summarize the overall effect that the fires have had on California

2. Share cumulative data on the fire

3. Describe how the situation is being handled by government and fire department officials

4. Relate some of the personal stories of those who have been affected

5. Make readers aware of the current status of the fires

Commitment to Change

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Ever since Barack Obama was elected as the 2008 Democratic candidate, my eyes habitually scan the pages of the New York Times for instances of his name. That is why I took an interest in Saturday’s article, “In Transition, Ties to Lobbying,” which opens with a summary lead.

The article begins by describing how Mr. Obama’s recent imposed restrictions on the White House transition team show that he is committed to making a change in Washington. Although the lead reveals the slightest hint of skepticism, saying that Obama's list of staff members "includes a complicated tangle of ties to private influence-seekers," the article goes on to describe the measures being taken to make sure that the special interest of lobbyists' is eliminated.

To make sure that this happens, Mr. Obama has prohibited lobbyists from handling any similar issues in which they have dealt with in the past 12 months. He has also ruled that transition team members are barred from “working on matters where family members or recent business associates may have a direct conflict of interest.”

The article highlights some potential problems within the transition team, such as Obama's appointment of several lobbyists with ties to Fannie Mae and other mortgage giants. However, I feel that the following quote from a transition spokeswoman summarizes the general conclusion of the article: “While these rules disqualify many well-qualified professionals from participating in the transition as a result, they also put in place the right safeguards to prevent any potential conflicts of interest."

Here is a probable outline for the content of this article:

1. Highlight some of Obama's changes to transition team regulations
2. Discuss possible problems that might occur within these regulations
3. Discuss the benefits
4. Talk about certain appointments within the team that are controversial
5. Show quotes both for and against the changes

Have Doctors Really Developed a Cure for AIDS?

Friday, November 14, 2008

While browsing last Friday’s edition of the New York Times I stumbled across the article, “AIDS Patient Is Reported Cured in Berlin With a Rare Treatment.” The idea of a cure for the much feared AIDS virus seemed too good to be true, so I decided to give it a closer look.

The article can best be related to one of those sleep aid drug commercials; you know, the ones where they spend one minute talking about the benefits of the drug and another five listing off all the negative side effects.

The article, which uses a summary lead, begins by describing how a 42-year-old American man living in Germany was cured by receiving a transplant of AIDS-resistant blood stem cells. At first, the treatment sounds like a dream come true; that is, until you read paragraphs two-six which list the drawbacks and complications.

Although the patient discussed in the article has been free of the AIDS virus for 20 months, the new treatment will be of little to no help in treating the millions of people suffering from AIDS in Africa. Not only is the “cure” unsuitable for treating the masses, but it is also extremely risky. In order to perform the procedure doctors must use drugs to essentially wipe out the patient’s immune system, the process of which carries a notorious 10-30% mortality rate in AIDS patients. There is also an “extremely small” chance of finding a compatible stem cell donor.

All in all, I found the title of the article to be a bit misleading. Although it is true that a man has been cured of AIDS, it is unlikely that that cure will be able to be applied to the millions of people who are infected with the virus.

A possible outline for the writer of this article would be the following:

1. Tell the story of the cured man in Berlin

2. Make readers aware of the treatment's risks and limitations

3. Highlight the recent strides that have been made in AIDS research

4. Explain promising studies and possible cures

Election Day in Durham

DURHAM, NH—Oyster river High School buzzed with excitement this morning as thousands of people gathered to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

“Students have such a great hope for change,” said Larry Brickner-Wood, UNH Chaplain and a poll volunteer. “It infuses the election with great energy and excitement.”

Bridget Farmer, 20, was just one of many young voters present at the polls this morning. Farmer, who campaigned with Senator Obama during the primary election, noted a good mix of voters but predicted that New Hampshire is “probably going to go blue.”

Farmer was not the only person to notice a predominantly Democratic presence at the polls in Durham. In addition to Democratic buttons and campaign signs, the vast majority of new voters were affiliated with the Democratic Party.

“All of the people that I’ve registered here at the polls have been either Democrat or Independent,” said Deputy Town Clerk Tom Poirier. “I haven’t yet registered any new voter under the Republican Party.”

Poirier, who considered himself a “staunch Republican” until 2004, now campaigns with Obama and estimated that there were two or three Democratic voters for every Republican voter in Durham.

In addition to the overwhelming Democratic presence at the polls, election officials and voters alike were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people that came out to vote.

“It’s been really busy since we opened at seven this morning,” said Poirier. “There was a point where voters were starting to get anxious because the lines were so long, but now it’s under control and things are running smoothly.”

According to Democrat Suzanne Dev of Durham, NH, the line at Oyster River high School can be viewed as nothing but a positive thing.

“I’ve been here 20 years and I’ve never had to wait outside to vote,” said Dev, as she watched the line that stretched outside the gym in amazement. “It’s great because it means that a lot of people care about voting and are ready for a change in this country.”

“I felt good about being able to vote,” said a UNH student who wishes to remain anonymous. “Voting is a powerful thing and I am happy to have been a part of it.”