The World Around You

Matt Drudge notes a Wall Street Journal report that Roy Disney has resigned and is calling for Michael Eisner to step down,

Disney, nephew to the late Walt Disney, sent Eisner a three-page letter severely criticizing his leadership during the past seven years:

‘It is my sincere belief that it is you who should be leaving and not me,… Accordingly, I once again call for your resignation or retirement.’

WSJ reporter Bruce Orwall writes that in his letter Disney said that Eisner deserved credit for a successful first decade after taking the helm at Disney in 1984. But he then detailed seven areas in which he said Mr. Eisner has failed the company in the past seven years.

The list of complaints included everything from the performance of the struggling ABC broadcast networks and Disney theme parks to Mr. Eisner’s reputation for “micro-management of everyone around you.”

The resignation comes in advance of a Disney board meeting this week. Mr. Disney’s letter seems to indicate that the Disney board’s nominating committee had decided to leave his name off the slate of directors to be elected for the coming year. Mr. Disney also indicated that he would also resign from his position as chairman of Disney feature animation.

A Disney spokeswoman initially declined to comment.

A shake-up is overdue, but I would question whether Eisner will step aside. He still views himself as a player and does not yet want to relinquish the throne.

Kevin has announced the 2003 Weblog Awards. Look for the nomination post on Monday December 1st.

Can the legislature stand up to Paul Hubbert and the Alabama Educational Association? Can they stand up to Mac Macarthur and the Alabama State Employees’ Association? Their main source of power is political influence and if some of the ideas published in today’s Birmingham Newsever come to fruition, it could mean the end of that political influence has come as well.

Alabama could raise $130 million a year if it taxed all pensions, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office.

Most states with income taxes do tax public employees’ pensions, partially or fully, according to a 2000 survey by the Wisconsin Legislative Council.

The state could save $204 million a year by stopping payment of cost-of-living pension increases given over the years to teachers and other state retirees. Such increases are not guaranteed by law.

Alabama cannot lower the pension amount promised a person upon retirement, but legally it could stop paying cost-of-living pension increases awarded since that person retired.

Alabama could save $52.64 million a year by requiring public employees to contribute 1 percent more of their salaries toward retirement.

Most of Alabama’s teachers and state agency employees contribute 5 percent of their pay, which is in line with other public pension plans, according to a survey by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.

The state could save from $45.6 million to $79.2 million a year by adopting rules some states use for when people can qualify for a normal pension.

Before the mid-1970s, a teacher or state worker in Alabama had to be at least 60 to get a normal pension, with no penalty for early retirement. Lawmakers in 1975 changed the requirement to 30 years’ service, regardless of age. They changed it to 25 years’ service, regardless of age, in 1988.

Members of Riley’s commission asked Reynolds to figure the savings if Alabama switched to a rule-of-80 or rule-of-90 system.

Under such systems, a person can qualify for a normal pension if his or her age plus years of service equals a target number; 80 and 85 are common.

Mind you, none of these are proposals, they are simply ideas that were presented to a commission appointed by the Governor to come up with cost-saving ideas.

My family would be hurt doubly if any of these changes went into effect, but I am the first to acknowledge that everything should be on the table. What the Governor’s Commission needs to remember as well is that many cost-of-living increases were deferred in exchange for keeping benefits where they are. If salaries are brought into line with the regional or national average, then I have no problem with bringing every thing else into line as well. This would not save as much money in the short term, but would put the state on much firmer financial ground for the long haul.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, but I have had serious blogging withdrawl. Back to the grind on Monday morning. I hope you had a wonderful holiday as well.

A new blog dedicated to the 2004 election as seen in the blogosphere has done an informal count of the number of times presidential candidates are being mentioned on blogs. The results are not surprising.

This is obviously a response to media pressure, but a needed step nonetheless,

Senate President Pro Tem Lowell Barron on Tuesday appointed a committee to review pay for Senate staff, according to a memo from his office.

Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, will chair the bipartisan five-member committee. It is charged with “address(ing) issues related to compensation of Senate staff.”

Figures could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The Mobile Register reported Nov. 9 that some state senators had doled out more than $200,000 in extra pay to certain Senate employees during the last two years. Amid a state financial crisis, payments had ranged from supplements of a few hundred dollars per paycheck to one-time bonuses of several thousand dollars, state payroll records showed.

According to several Senate officials, the extra money is well-deserved by secretaries and clerks with added responsibilities. The officials noted that legislative employees do not qualify for overtime pay despite their long and often unpredictable hours during legislative sessions.

Both sides have a point. The employees did deserve extra pay for the late hours, but theere should be a policy as to what that amount is, rather than leaving it to a chairman’s discretion.

I hope Alabamians remember those who are suffering because of the lack of state funds this holiday season.

Amanda Rickman will put in her last day today as a state-salaried law clerk to Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Caryl Privett. Then she’ll be working without pay.

She’s one of about 400 employees of Alabama trial courts who were notified a few days ago that they’ll have to be laid off as of Nov. 28 because the state can’t pay them.

“What I’m going to do is, I’ll probably keep volunteering here at least through the holidays with no pay, just so I don’t leave my judge and her judicial assistant with no one in the office to help them,” said Rickman.

“It’s going to be hard. I’m fortunate to have caring parents that are going to help me out as much as they can in terms of getting my bills paid,” she said.

Rickman got her law degree in May at Cumberland Law School, passed her bar exam in August and has worked for Privett since then. Now she’s job-hunting, and the prospects don’t look particularly bright.

Happy Holidays!

If I did not live in Alabama this story would surprise me, but it doesn’t,

Former Auburn cheerleader Christopher Bailey said “War Eagle” one time too many.

Bailey, who became a University of Alabama cheerleader after transfering this year, gave the Auburn cheer on national television Saturday night while wearing the uniform of the Crimson Tide — and promptly got booted off the UA cheerleading squad.

Bailey, 23, was cut after Tide athletic officials received e-mail complaints concerning the interview Bailey did on ESPN during the televised Iron Bowl. A cheerleader for Auburn for three years, Bailey said he still has strong feelings for Auburn and during the interview with ESPN’s Adrian Karsten he complied with her request to say “War Eagle” and “Roll Tide.”

The decision was made at a meeting Monday between UA athletic director Mal Moore, cheerleading coordinator Debbie Greenwell and Bailey.

As a first-year member of the cheerleading unit, Bailey would not have been eligible to travel to Hawaii for Saturday’s Alabama football game against the Rainbow Warriors. But now he will not be allowed to cheer for Tide athletics during the spring semester either.

This may sound like a silly story, but this situation has really cost this guy a great deal. He will lose a partial scholarship and the opportunity to pursue his ambition to compete in national cheerleading competitions.

At the same time, someone who was the head cheerleader at Auburn should know his audience much better than this. The reaction was immediate and vocal and the action that followed was just as immediate.

UPDATE: Steven files this story under Alabama Politics as well.

Kevin at Wizbang is interested in selling two slightly used two year olds.