Mental Floss magazine thrives in struggling industry

When Pluto was demoted from planet status, the founders of Mental Floss, a quirky and offbeat magazine, found an opportunity in its demise.

A reader wrote in suggesting the publisher create a T-shirt for those mourning the loss of the solar system’s former ninth planet. And Mental Floss did just that. It produced a T-shirt which reads, “Pluto: Revolve in Peace.” The T-shirt became the first in a line of merchandise now accounting for almost one-third of the magazine publisher’s revenue.

Trivia geeks got their T-shirt and their favorite magazine got a lifeline.

It is that kind of opportunism and flexibility that has given Mental Floss, now 12 years old, a comfortable niche in the turbulent world of magazine publishing. Its success relies on its diversified revenue stream, which allows the company to reach a wide variety of people seeking a fun way to keep their minds sharp. It just so happens that people who enjoy reading the trivia lists in Mental Floss’s magazine or playing word games on its blog, are also willing to open their wallets for witty T-shirts or an Albert Einstein bobble head figurine – especially if they’re sold by Mental Floss.

“I’m not sure what we’re doing is revolutionary or completely new, but we knew when to tap into it,” said co-founder and president Will Pearson when asked about the merchandise sales. “We recognized that this brand could live in other ways besides the magazine.”

The magazine continues to be published eight times annually, and feature trivia lists like 10 facts about France’s coolest tree house as well as briefs on a variety of topics, like the history of the Statue of Liberty. (The sculptor charged World Fair visitors 50 cents to climb Lady Liberty’s only completed limb in 1876, her torch-carrying arm, to raise the funds needed to finish constructing the statue.) The Mental Floss blog posts games and flashes quick facts along the top of the web page. Did you know that Toyota held a vote last year determining the plural of Prius to be Prii?

Class action lawsuit shows strength of Hurricane Sandy

The lights went out on Long Island when Hurricane Sandy barreled into the coastline on Oct. 29 and for some, the lights didn’t come back on until 16 days later.

Some residents say that is too long and are suing the utility company responsible for providing electricity to the island. 

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has said that more than 1.1 million of its customers experienced power outages in the wake of the storm. The utility company is the only electric provider in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.

Those who live on the island jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean were not alone in their distress. The hurricane, which became known as a Superstorm Sandy, hit the east coast just as high tide peaked and the storm surge caused severe flooding, wind damage and days-long power outages from North Carolina to Maine.

One week after the storm hit, LIPA reported that 219,000 of its customers remained without power, those in areas where it was deemed unsafe to deliver electricity. It was not until Nov. 14 that LIPA restored power to all its customers whose homes were structurally sound ands able to accept service.

Cleanup and recovery efforts continue four months later and if that’s not enough of a reminder of Sandy’s strength, a class action lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court against LIPA is clearly indicative of the storm’s powerful impact.   

Four separate lawsuits were filed in New York Civil Supreme Court against LIPA and its service provider National Grid Electric Services over the companies’ response to Hurricane Sandy. Nine Long Island residents have been named as plaintiffs in the lawsuits, which will be consolidated into one class action suit. 

Mark Gross, a LIPA spokesman, said in an email that the company is not able to comment on the lawsuits at this time.

The plaintiff’s lawyers are entering uncharted waters. There have been very few class action lawsuits filed against utility companies in the past, said Mollins, a Melville-based attorney who in early November was first to file a complaint with the court.

But the lack of communication after Sandy — which came just a year after tropical storm Irene left some Long Island residents in the dark for more than a week – left people disgusted to the point where they felt compelled to take legal action.

“People are so frustrated because they couldn’t get answers about how long it would be before power was restored,” Mollins said in a telephone interview.

One complaint filed by Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Hertz on behalf of residents Joseph and Sandra Weiss, alleges that LIPA’s record system is so antiquated that workers often have to use paper maps and documents to locate damage. The outdated system makes it hard for the authority to communicate when crews will arrive and when power will be restored, according to the complaint.

The mayor of Lawrence, in Nassau County, told the New York Times in November that the map posted to LIPA’s website about where power had been restored was “fictional” and “preposterous.” The map portrayed power being restored to more customers in the town than there are actual homes, according to the mayor, Martin Oliner.

What makes Long Island residents even more frustrated is that a study completed by New York State in June of 2012 warned LIPA that its systems were antiquated and should be improved. The widespread outages following tropical storm Irene in August of 2011 prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo to commission New York’s Public Service Commission to evaluate the state-owned utility company and its ability to prepare for a storm.

The report reads: “A major issue of public concern was the inability to provide LIPA customers and public officials with accurate and timely ETRs (estimated response times).” It suggested that LIPA collaborate with municipalities to develop more proactive communications during storms and modify its tree trimming policy to meet industry standards. Downed trees complicated the power restoration process after both storms.

An amended complaint filed by Mollins, Parker Waichman, and Doulgas & London law firms in December alleges that LIPA did not act on what the commission suggested. In the governor’s State of the State Address earlier this month, he called for the privatization of LIPA.   

“The substance of our complaint, at the moment, is in deception, fraud and breach of contract,” Mollins said. He believes his clients can win if he proves that LIPA took customers’ money, some of which was slated for maintenance of it system, and did not use that money for maintenance.

 A tariff for electric service LIPA files with the New York State Public Service Commission allows the utility company to charge a certain percentage for maintenance, which is incorporated into the monthly fee LIPA customers pay. Mollins believes the report completed in June of 2012 demonstrates that this money was not used properly for maintenance.

“The bottom line is that utilities have to know they are held accountable,” Mollins said. “We want to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” 

Protest of FreshDirect reflects neighborhood’s desire to change

FreshDirect could deliver jobs to Mott Haven, but residents try to slam a South Bronx door in the grocer’s face with hopes of an improved neighborhood

FreshDirect’s fleet of delivery trucks would not be out of place in Mott Haven, a South Bronx community located just one subway stop outside Manhattan. Easy access to major thoroughfares draws a number of truck-intensive businesses to the neighborhood. Moving vans and delivery trucks clamor up and down Bruckner Boulevard, connecting them up to Yonkers and the Bronx or south to Queens.

The online grocer’s delivery trucks would fit nicely in between the FedEx and New York Post trucks parked along the Harlem River. But some residents would like to see Mott Haven continue transforming into a residential area, so that FreshDirect’s new facility and truck fleet would eventually stick out like an eyesore.

With the help of more than $100 million in subsidies from the state of New York, FreshDirect plans to relocate its operations from Queens — where the expanding company has outgrown its current building — to Mott Haven this year. The CEO of the online grocery delivery service has pledged to bring 1,000 new jobs to the area over the next decade. Yet, a strong group of community activists called South Bronx Unite fiercely opposes the move.

The protest, whether or not it is successful, represents a change in Mott Haven’s pollution filled air. Unemployment, poverty and asthma rates remain high, but some residents are dedicated to staying here and improving their neighborhood. To this group, keeping another trucking company out of Mott Haven is worth the cost of possibly missing out on 1,000 new jobs over the next decade.

“It’s like a double standard. Things that are not accepted in other boroughs, they get dumped here,” said Libertad Guerra, a Mott Haven resident and member of South Bronx Unite.

The South Bronx is home to numerous delivery and moving companies, as well as a Waste Management treatment plant. But Guerra, an artist and anthropology professor at the City University of New York, does not want to see an increase in truck traffic in her neighborhood. She and her husband Monxo Lopez bought an apartment building in Mott Haven four years ago planning to raise a family here. Guerra wants to end what she perceives is a double standard that has come to exist in the South Bronx.

The fight against potential new jobs, however, is a point of contention between South Bronx Unite and community groups welcoming the job-creating grocer with open arms.

Welcome to Mott Haven

Mott Haven, a South Bronx community located just one subway stop outside of Manhattan has some of the highest unemployment, poverty and asthma rates in the country.  But protests from some residents against the pending move of FreshDirect, an online grocer, to the area represents a change in the air here. They want to stay here, raise their families here and don’t want Fresh Direct to move in with a large fleet of delivery trucks, taking up public land along the waterfront — even if the company would bring new jobs with it.

Steering students in the right direction

It does not exactly model the traditional American Dream, but the state of Florida is considering pushing college students in the direction of in-demand jobs. Let’s face it, sometimes college students need to be told what to do.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other GOP legislators are thinking of nudging students towards degrees for engineering, science, health care specialists and technology experts by having the state subsidize the tuition for students who enroll in related majors, according to a New York Times article published last week: “Florida may reduce tuition for select majors.”

A task force put together by the Florida governor suggests that tuition rates be frozen over the next three years for selected majors. State funding, which has dropped dramatically in Florida and across the country for higher education, would be expected to fill in the gap. That may add up to a lot, however, since engineering and science courses cost colleges more to provide and staff than those classes closer to the social sciences category.

Gov. Scott argues that the education needs to be run more efficiently and more like a business. If the state can cover theses costs, the initiative could be highly successful. It encourages students to pursue in-demand jobs, which could in turn lower the unemployment rate and also play a role in making the U.S. economy more productive and efficient.

Opponents of the idea, however, are worried Florida universities could lose high-quality professors in those social science categories, like anthropology and sociology. Liberal arts advocates argue that many, even engineers, can benefit from a well-rounded college experience in the humanities, which aims to nurture analytical and writing skills.

Sorry kids, no more recess

Well, they better make this worth it.

In an effort to give American students, especially those from low-income areas, a leg-up, more than 30 schools across five states will begin a pilot program in 2013, adding 300 hours to the school year calendar.

Three hundred more hours adds up to more than 46, six-and-one-half-hour school days.

The program aims to help underperforming students catch up on standardized test and give them more opportunities to participate in enrichment activities, according to Motoko Rich’s article in the New York Times on Dec. 3. Participating schools are located in New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Tennessee.

Individual school districts will have the final say on how exactly to add those 300 hours, likely by lengthening the school day and adding days to the school year calendar, says Abby Ohlheiser reporting for Slate.

According to Rich, research on the effectiveness of increased school hours is mixed. Maybe it’s the jolt of energy the U.S. education system needs. But it won’t mean anything if that extra time isn’t used effectively.

The pilot program will be funded by a combination of federal and state programs, as well as the Ford Foundation and the National Center on Time and Learning, a nonprofit research center created solely to support this cause.

Should medical school be subsidized?

I had dinner with a good friend of mine, a fourth year medical student, tonight who had some interesting things to say about the education system in the United States. She believes the U.S. government should pay the education costs associated with going to medical school, especially given the upcoming changes brought on by Obamacare.

Let’s face it, you don’t hear about too many doctors who can’t find a job, but med students likely acquire more debt than other students. The average student debt for a med student is just under $200,000, but then some students have extra debt from undergrad. My friend, the soon-to-be Dr. Power, is underneath more than $200,000 in debt from school and I’ve seen her work extremely hard for the past four years, still returning to waitress at the Jersey Shore each summer. Regardless of changes to the system by Obamacare, Medicare continues to pay less and less to doctors for the same service. If this continues, possibly compounded by Obamacare — but that’s still unclear — doctors will be making less and less, and paying more and more.

There is no ideal solution, my friend said. She agrees that, fundamentally, everyone should have access to quality healthcare. But if pay to doctors is cut, the profession may not attract the high-quality candidates it does now. They’re willing to shell out a quarter of a million dollars now, but that’s because they think they’ll be earning more than $200,000 a year for the rest of their career. Almost-Dr. Power suggested that doctor’s salaries be capped and fees be standardized. Sure, doctors can make less, she said, but then their education costs need to be at least partially covered by somebody else.

So, as it more than often seems, education costs are simply too high in the United States.

Chronic unemployment hurts high school students in the South Bronx

With an unemployment rate at 13.9 percent, the South Bronx has the highest unemployment rate in the New York City metropolitan area. The poverty rate is just under 40 percent and about 42 percent of people in the South Bronx have completed high school, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Mott Haven, located just one subway stop away from Manhattan, has the highest unemployment rate in the New York City area.

In an area as impoverished as the South Bronx, I could argue that the high unemployment rate deters students from finishing high school. Whereas most of my posts on this blog focus on the difficulty college graduates have finding a job, my recent trip to the South Bronx encouraged me to see the issue in a different light. Here, students may be too discouraged by the challenges in their daily lives to even finish high school, as suggested by  an article posted to InsideSchools, an independent guide to New York City public schools. It appears to be a vicious cycle.

The article describes how South Bronx High School, plagued with safety issues (students feared being robbed when walking to the school), graduated its last class in 2005. Now the building itself is home to two different schools: Mott Haven Village Prep and University Heights Secondary School. Although graduation rates are not great, some top students have been accepted to competitive colleges in the past few years.

FreshDirect, the online grocer, may be moving to Mott Haven in the near future, bringing with it 300 new jobs in the next few months. But, in an area with unemployment so high, there is a strong community group, South Bronx Unite, actively opposing the relocation of FreshDirect to the South Bronx. Group leaders feel the space could be used in a more effective way and argue that the small amount of jobs the grocer would bring are few and poorly paid while coupled with an increase in truck traffic and pollution to the area. For more on this issue, check back to katielobo.wordpress.com in the next few days.

Falling off a ‘cognitive cliff’

There is a copious amount of talk about the fiscal cliff as we head towards the end of the year. Some argue that the term fiscal cliff, first referenced by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, is improperly used, an over-statement, and/or misunderstood. With so much talk surrounding this analogy, used to describe what might happen on January 1st due to impending spending cuts and tax increases, you would think it would be better understood. My mother even sent me an unprompted text the other day about this confusing metaphor: “I am a bit unclear about this fiscal cliff.” Yes mom, so is everyone else.

Yet, I stumbled across a similar turn of phrase today in the latest article from George Weiner for Huffington Post: “Millenial Unemployment: The Cognitive Cliff.”  Weiner argues that our society might be facing a kind of intellectual decay as recent college graduates are sitting at home (or bar tending, or taking tickets) rather than in the professional workplace. The fact that Millenials, or Generation Next, are not career building and are not learning skills needed in the workplace immediately after graduation could be reducing our society’s collective intellectual capital — which isn’t good for anyone.

Although it’s hard to quantify how much of a problem this could be, we know it’s not good as college graduates will likely see high rates of unemployment and underemployment for the fourth consecutive year. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 19.1 percent of recent college graduates are underemployed.

So yes, it’s not fun to be unemployed or underemployed. It means I have less money to spend at the bar now, less money saved for important things — like a house — in the future, and there’s this sometimes overwhelming sense of un-fullfilment continuously lurking in the background. But, it’s not just bad for my friends and I. It’s bad for companies and the economy, potentially long into the future.

But, is it a cognitive cliff? Like the “fiscal cliff,” I’m not sure we’re using the correct geographical reference. Let’s hope it’s more like a valley.