Say it isn’t so! Sacrebleu!

I was in Whole Foods Market in Old Town Alexandria tonight when I came across an old friend who mentioned to me that Andy Parks had been fired at WMAL. As I stood there in shock listening to how shocked she was at the news, I thought to myself I just can’t believe it. So, I came home, looked online and sure enough, WMAL radio released a statement Monday saying that its longtime morning host and all around good guy Andy Parks is no longer with the station.

Politically Illustrated reports:

“Andy Parks, a name synonymous with 630 WMAL for nearly 25 years as morning host and airborne traffic reporter, is no longer with us. Andy is an extraordinary talent, consummate professional and friend. Andy, we salute you and thank you for your immeasurable contributions to WMAL.”

The morning show has added Chris Plante. While I enjoy Chris Plante’s regular morning show from 9:00am until 12 noon, IMHO Plante and Grandy in the early A.M. don’t have the same chemistry.

Ah well, at least there’s Imus in the Morning to keep me entertained in the early morning.

UPDATE:
DCRTV.com has more on what is happening at the station:

New MAL Morning Sked – 4/26 – DCRTV hears about the new WMAL morning schedule, starting today: 5 AM Bryan Nehman’s “News And Notes,” 6 AM Fred Grandy and Chris Plante, 8:30 AM Plante solo, 10 AM to noon Austin Hill, filling-in while a host for that slot is sought. Grandy’s partner Andy Parks is gone. WMAL’s website at wmal.com has been updated to confirm the new schedule, with the “Plante And Grandy In The Morning” at 6 AM. The newcomer gets top-billing over the old-timer? DCRTV wonders: It looks like Plante is the main morning man, while Grandy is just hanging on for a transition period. We’ve been told that Plante is paid a lot less than either Grandy is or Parks was. More: ABC newscasts at the top-of-the-hour during the morning show are gone, as is “traffic and weather on the 5s.” Nehman now does the top-hour newscasts, with traffic before and weather after. The station still hypes 20 minutes ad-free from the top-of-the-hour during morning drive…..

Parks To BAL? – 4/26 – With Andy Parks gone from WMAL, after at least two decades at the DC talk station, will he land a new gig on the local radio dial? Sources say he could be heard next on Baltimore news talker WBAL. That would mean a shorter commute for the Carroll County resident. Stay tuned…..

Watching Jamie Oliver’s recent Food Revolution on ABC really opened my eyes to a lot of things especially how important it is to have fresh food. Jamie went into Huntington, WV, considered one of the fattest cities in the USA in 2008, and really opened my eyes to a HUGE problem facing America – obesity.

This problem starts in the home.

My family and I don’t eat a lot of fast food but, after watching the six episodes of the show, my family and I will be eating even less fast food. Fresh is better.

Because of Jamie’s work in Huntington, WV, Jamie won the prestigious TED Prize for 2010. TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, is a non-profit community of some of the world’s most influential “thinkers and do-ers”, and previous TED Prize winners have included Bono, Bill Clinton and Dave Eggers. The prize is $100,000 to go towards current social projects as well as a “wish” – the TED community pledges to help make the wish come true.

Jamie used his speech to attack the global food giants for profiting from obesity without ever investing significantly in measures to tackle the world’s most deadly – and worsening – health crisis. He asked the TED community to provide the talent, hard work and other resources needed to make the wish come true.

The speech is amazing and I urge everyone who comes across this post to view it. Visit JamieOliver.com to view the wish list.

(Video via JamieOliver.com)

School lunches have been called many things, but a group of retired military officers is giving them a new label: national security threat.

Newsmax Health reports:

That’s not a reference to the mystery meat served up in the cafeteria line, either. The retired officers are saying that school lunches have helped make the nation’s young people so fat that fewer of them can meet the military’s physical fitness standards, and recruitment is in jeopardy.

A new report being released Tuesday says more than 9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24, are too overweight to join the military. Now, the officers are advocating for passage of a wide-ranging nutrition bill that aims to make the nation’s school lunches healthier.

The officers’ group, Mission: Readiness, appeared on Capitol Hill with Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The military group acknowledges that other things keep young adults out of the armed services, such as a criminal record or the lack of a high school diploma. But weight problems that have worsened over the past 15 years are now the leading medical reason that recruits are rejected.

Although all branches of the military now meet or exceed recruitment goals, retired Navy Rear Adm. James Barnett Jr., a member of the officers group, says the obesity trend could affect that.

“When over a quarter of young adults are too fat to fight, we need to take notice,” Barnett said. He noted that national security in the year 2030 is “absolutely dependent” on reversing child obesity rates.

Recruitment isn’t the only problem posed by obesity. According to the report, the government spends tens of millions of dollars every year to train replacements for service members discharged because of weight problems.

One of the best shows to come along in a while is Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. On the show, the famous chef chronicled his journey to Huntington, WV, one of the unhealthiest cities in America and how he got the kids in the town eating fresh food not processed food.

The show really captured America’s unhealthy obsession with junk food and how it affects our kids. I urge everyone who comes across this post to view at least some of the episodes (you can find them here on Hulu.com) online. Most importantly, sign the petition at this link or at the link on the top right of the screen. Our kids will thank you.

And the media says the Tea Party crowd is supposed to be the violent group?

The fight over Senate Bill 1070 took to the streets of downtown Phoenix, as riot Police were called to the Capitol to control an unruly group of protesters.

Witnesses say a group protesting against SB1070 began to fight with a man who was for the controversial immigration bill.

Police tried escorting that man away from the scene, fearing for his safety, when they too came under attack by people throwing items, including water bottles.

A young man was arrested during that melee.

Things calmed down moments later, but riot Police remained at the capital to maintain some sort of order.

These illegal immigrant enablers are fighting to allow illegals to break into our country and avoid having to comply with Federal law. The polling organization Rasmussen Reports points out that 70% of likely voters in Arizona approve of the new law signed into law late last week by Republican Governor Jan Brewer.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=1424

Stephen Strasburg, the future star of the Washington Nationals, won his professional debut yesterday in Altoona, PA. The Washington Post was there and provided this video.

http://specials.washingtonpost.com/mv/embed/?title=Stephen%20Strasburg%20makes%20his%20professional%20debut&stillURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Fphoto%2F2010%2F04%2F11%2FPH2010041103805.jpg&flvURL=%2Fmedia%2F2010%2F04112010-4v&width=480&height=270&autoStart=false&clickThru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Fvideo%2F2010%2F04%2F11%2FVI2010041103795.html

This past week, the Alexandria City Council announced that the City of Alexandria’s share of President Obama’s stimulus package would come to around $16 million dollars. Mayor Bill Euille said:

“I realize that $16 million might not seem like a lot of money, but it’s $16 million we wouldn’t have had otherwise, and it’s being put to good use.”

One of the projects to be funded with a portion of the $16 million dollars is the replacement of the incandescent traffic lights bulbs with LED bulbs. While I am all in favor of energy conservation, there’s one glaring problem with this project that needs to be addressed.

Many municipalities across the country have switched to the LED bulbs in their traffic lights because they use 90 percent less energy than the old incandescent variety, lasting far longer and reducing energy costs. Unfortunately, their greatest asset is also their greatest liability: energy is conserved while heat production is reduced.

LED traffic lights are not necessarily safer than the current incandescent traffic light bulbs because the LED bulbs do not burn hot enough to melt snow off of the traffic lights during a snowstorm, obscuring the colors of the traffic lights. This hazard has been blamed for dozens of traffic accidents across the country and at least one death.

As a result, some communities are testing possible solutions including: installing weather shields, adding heating elements like those used in airport runway lights (how much energy does that save?), or coating the traffic lights with water-repellent substances. Some cities, like Green Bay, Wisconsin, fix this problem by removing the snow from the LED traffic lights by hand.

Again, how much energy does that save?

If you have to have a person remove the snow from LED traffic lights by hand, you could leave the old traffic lights in place; thereby avoiding the need to clear off the ice and snow (and thus saving the energy required to do so).

Our kids, like my soon to be two year old, are going to be responsible for paying this money back in the future. Clearly, they deserve that the Alexandria City Council be a better steward of their money and we citizens do too. Given the winter we had in 2010, and with subsequent winters expected to be just as bad, does this really sound like a project where the money is being put to good use?