Gov. Eliot Spitzer officially resigned after allegations that he has been involved in a high-priced prostitution ring. Lt. Gov. David Patterson has been selected to replace Spitzer, who will become the first New York governor to be ejected from office in almost a century. During his speech, he apologized to New Yorkers while his wife, Silda, stood beside him in support. His main point of apology was that he did not live up to the standards that he expected of other politicians and people in his position, and therefore he saw no other course of action but to resign. At this point in time, Spitzer has not been charged with any crimes.
This has both prominence and impact because not only does it pertain to a major figure in a major city, but it also sparks a change in the way the city is run and the view of Spitzer. It has timeliness because the story broke just this week. It also has slight oddity because it is rare to find a politician blatantly caught in scandal, and make few excuses for his actions when resigning. It is also odd because Spitzer has been known to speak out about his beliefs concerning ethics and politics. While proximity is low for Arkansasans, it hits close to home for a state whose most notable politician was caught in a sex scandal as well. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p.1, 03/13/08).
The most interesting story to me is about the recent strange weather across the state. To be honest, strange weather in Arkansas is not abnormal because the state does not have regular weather patterns. In nineteen years of living there I have seen hail in July, tornadoes in May and November, snow in April and sunny, 90 degree days in January. However, it is the snow the state fears the most. When it snows, it rarely drops more than an inch. And that inch wrecks havoc on the entire city. That is why over 5,000 citizens remained without power until Monday across the state. Over fourteen inches of snow fell in some areas, while 3 inches of snow blanketed the major metropolis area of Little Rock-North Little Rock-Bryant. However, this is an improvement from Friday night, when almost 30,000 citizens were without power due to the snowstorm. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. 9, 03/09/08).
Agriculture bill that could bridge financial gap stuck in congress, and the law upholding the bill’s contents has been extended by 5 weeks (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. A1, 03/13/08)…A possible raise in sales tax is projected in order to correct the Little Rock budget (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p.A1, 03/13/08)...Harry P. Ward, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas of Medical Sciences, died at age 74 after twenty-one years at the helm (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. B1, 03/13/08)…A California-based slaughterhouse admitted to using ill cows to produce their meats, 143 millions pounds of which were called back (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. 3, 03/13/08)…The Treasury Department has released information about the U.S. budget deficit already up 62% in 2008’s fiscal year (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. 2, 03/13/08).
