Free Press – December 21, 2006

Joe Conti LCB, YMCA, Haycock School, Bush Legacy, Football Bowls

Dear Friends,

Good morning. My principle subject today is State Senator Joe Conti’s new job…chief of the state Liquor Control Board (LCB). His appointment is an expensive mystery. And I have a few notes about the Haycock Elementary school, the YMCA, the President’s legacy, and the cost of college football bowl games.

But first, here’s a mea culpa. In my column about how Upper Bucks’ public schools teach math, I incorrectly wrote that the Quakertown schools have a Citizen’s Action Committee (CAC). I should have identified the organization as the Citizen’s Advisory Committee. A knowledgeable reader gave me the heads up. She also mentioned that the CAC does not concern itself exclusively with math. True. I regret the error.

And now to business.

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Grogan has a wonderful sense of humor. You may have read the best seller about his dog, “Marley and Me.” His piece about State Senator Joe Conti’s appointment to the new position at the LCB was hilarious. Grogan noted that the Governor named the retiring state senator to a newly created position…Chief Executive Officer of the LCB with a salary of $150,000. That’s twice his salary as a state senator.

Grogan has coined a new name for Conti…Senator Water Heater. “For most of his [Conti] 12- year legislative career, he was known as a likable and responsive politician,” Grogan began (Dec. 15). “Then came the 2 a.m. vote in July 2005 in which Conti voted with the majority of lawmakers to give themselves hefty pay raises.”

When the public found out, there was Hell to pay. A few legislators refused to return the money, Conti among them. The results at the polls were telling. Nearly one third of the legislature was thrown out of office by the voters or chose not to run for reelection.

“When reporters asked Conti why he refused to pay back taxpayers, he quipped sarcastically that he couldn’t; he’d already spent it on a new water heater” Grogan continued. “What a funny guy,” Grogan added. “In the spirit of the moment- let’s make jokes rather than answer the public honestly- I dubbed him Senator Water Heater.”

Actually, Joe Conti has some experience with the LCB. He was a restaurateur at Conti’s Cross Keys Inn and the Pipersville Inn before leaving the business to become a full time politician. And in the state senate, Conti served as chairman of the Law and Justice Committee, which oversees the LCB.

Is that sufficient background to make him the CEO of the LCB? Ed Rendell thinks so. But, as a naturally suspicious fellow, it’s hard for me to believe that Rendell, a Democrat, would pick Conti, a Republican, unless…

…Unless what? I don’t know but my bet is that there’s more to this story. We’ll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I have a book, which every elected official should read. The title is “Smart Mice, Not-So-Smart People” and was written by Arthur Caplan, the bioethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. It addresses 76 ethical questions with one or two pages to outline each problem. You, the reader, are left with providing the solution...it's a fast read.

State and federal legislators are at the bottom of the trustworthiness ladder. Caplan’s 209-page book would be a great help to them. It only costs $21.95. Why not send a copy to your favorite legislator?

Item.

Haycock Township is home to the Haycock elementary school. With its small size, only 120 students, it occasionally makes the hit list when the Quakertown school board looks for cuts. Not only does that notion infuriate the proud residents who are quick to point out that their students score considerably better than average on state rankings, Haycock tax payers are considering jumping ship…the Quakertown school district ship, that is. The township wonders whether the voters would be happier being included with the adjacent Palisades school district instead? One day, I’ll get to the residents’ plans to thwart Quakertown’s periodic threats of closing the little school.

Item.

Doug Hutchinson leads the board of directors of the Upper Bucks YMCA. He and Pat Edwards, the Y’s Executive Director, were upbeat as they led community residents through the Y’s future home on Fairview Avenue in Quakertown several weeks ago. The former Campania Company’s clay pot manufacturing facility is huge, containing 78,000 square feet. The Y will build a mezzanine, which will increase the useable space to 100,000 square feet. When completed, the Y will have invested nearly $9.5 million in the new facility. I’ll share a recent interview I had with Hutchinson in a week or two.

Item.

I was astounded to read USA TODAY’s analysis (Dec. 13) about how much money 64 big-time-football colleges receive for playing in 32 college bowl games. The smallest fee for each college was $250,000 (for appearance in the MPC Computer Bowl). The highest was $17 million for each college! Five bowl games paid $17 million to each school. Fourteen of the 32 bowl games paid over $2 million each to 29 colleges.

And we call this amateur sport? Author James Michener had it right when he wrote, “Sports in America” 30 years ago. He said that big time college basketball and football programs were shams. Michener believed that colleges and universities should pay the players to entertain the student body and alumni. After all, he opined, it’s a business. And with the graduation rates of these “college” players hovering well below 50 percent, who’s kidding whom?

Item.

It looks like Hillary may not become the first female president. “Democrats have an overwhelmingly favorable view of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, but she would be soundly beaten if she ran for president against Senator John McCain, a new Los Angeles Times/ Bloomberg poll has found (Morning Call, Dec. 14).” At the moment, she may not get past the Democratic primaries thanks to the meteor-like rise of Barak Obama, the junior senator from Illinois.

That’s too bad. I was looking forward to an all-female presidential race in 2008…Hillary versus Condoleezza [Rice].

Last item.

Friends of James Bucanan can rest more easily. It would appear that Bucanan’s lock on historians’ list of worst presidents in America might soon be broken. Bucanan was Pennsylvania’s only president. Because he was unable to prevent the Civil War, historians named him the worst American president.

Judging by a USA TODAY/ Gallup Poll taken several weeks ago, 54 percent responded that George W. Bush has scores of below average or poor. This compares to Bill Clinton’s 25 percent disapproval rating (and he was impeached…not convicted, of course, but impeached); George H. W. Bush’s 18 percent; Ronald Reagan’s 10 percent; Jimmy carter’s 22 percent; and Gerald Ford’s 12 percent.

Move over President Bucanan. You’re about to be overtaken.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith