It’s been fun hanging out with Mike Jerrick and the gang of Good Day Philadelphia. What a great show. I’ve been working the night shift since joining Fox29 and these are my coworkers I rarely see. I confess after years of doing Morning Television I moved to the night shift and put away my alarm clock. It’s not easy getting up early especially for television. I give everyone on this team a lot of credit. They work hard and long hours. This photo was taken with one of our guests, teen Author Sara Samarasinghe. She has written more than half a dozen books on important topics like bullying. She’s an inspiration. We had many great guests last week and I’ll be filling in again for the next couple of days, then going back to nights. See you then.
Chilean Miners Rescue
I have covered many stories in my career but this one is one of the highlights. It was heartbreaking when we first learned about the Chilean miners trapped 1/2 mile underground, enduring toxic conditions and the fear they would never get out alive. Then what some would call a miracle, engineers from Nasa and a Pennsylvania company came together to design a plan to get the 33 men out . They worked closely with Chilean rescuers and government officials to get the equipment and strategy into place 2 months ahead of schedule. The miners underground for 69 days. The rescue was precise and flawless and captivated the world. We watched for 24 hours as the Phoenix capsule was lowered into a dark hole, reached the cold bottom, a miner with a unique story to tell got inside and then 20-30 minutes later emerged looking healthy. The hugs, tears of joy, cries of loved ones–raw emotion and we all felt a gift of life had been given. I had that same jubilant feeling each time a miner surfaced. Then hearing how little food they had, the special diets created by Nasa to help them cope and withstand the claustrophobic ride to the top. The people behind the names became known to all of us, and it’s amazing now to see they’re healthier than expected. Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera called it a day of faith and a new Chile had emerged one filled with pride. It was a privilege to cover and history was made.
Food Stamps Debate
I am all for fighting the Obesity Epidemic in the U.S. but this program may go too far. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Patterson want the o-k from the Department of Agriculture to change the publicly-funded food stamp program. The proposal, those who receive food stamps would not be allowed to use them to purchase soda or sugary drinks. Currently 1 in 8 Americans is on food stamps.
Studies do show a child who drinks one sugary drink per day has a 60 percent higher risk of obesity than a child who abstains from the drink. But is it fair to single out this sector of the population. In the words of Whoopie Goldberg , who at one time was on welfare, on “The View”, “this suggests all poor people are overweight, it discriminates”.
I tend to agree. If the point is to fight Obesity that address all U-S citizens and perhaps impose a soda tax, sugar tax, candy tax. What does this say about the role of government in our lives. I am all for banning Cigarettes because they are harmful to those who don’t smoke. If the intent hear is to promote health and wellness then at least address everyone at that same time. What do you think?