michaelgambina-blog

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Purpose

This blog was created for a journalism course I was taking at Quinnipiac University in the Spring semester of 2012. It is no longer active.

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Unemployed vs. Employed

There are two sides to every coin. As the state continues down the road to recovery, the recession is in Connecticut’s rearview mirror. But, that does not mean there are not going to be obstacles along the way. The unemployment rate is greyer than it has ever been and jobs are still not easy to find.

Connecticut’s unemployment rate dropped one tenth of a percentage point between February and March, declining to 7.7 percent. Still, 2,700 jobs were lost in that same month.

Pat O’Neil, the press secretary for Connecticut House Republican Leader Larry Cafero says there is a reason for the lack of balance. The reason is due to the way the labor department counts and codifies unemployment.

People who are unemployed receive long-term unemployment insurance for a maximum of 99 weeks. These “99ers” are calculated into the state’s unemployed population until their insurance plans expire. When their insurance plans expire they are no longer calculated in the data even though they may still be jobless. The unemployment rate is declining because there are fewer people being counted overall, O’Neil said. According to O’Neil, the actual unemployment rate is approximately 9.6 percent.

But, further research contradicts O’Neil’s statement. According to the Connecticut Labor Market Information, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has a much more complex method of calculating the unemployment rate. Each state, including the Connecticut Department of Labor, follows their methods. The article states, the inclusion of the household survey results ensures that people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits are still represented.

Either way, government officials are working to increase job opportunity. Connecticut republicans and democrats met in October to form a bill aimed to increase job creation. Most of the bill focused exclusively on small businesses and high tech manufacturing jobs.

Connecticut citizens are creating their own jobs also; developing a common theme on Whitney Avenue in Hamden. About a mile away from Mount Carmel Wine & Spirits Co. is Wentworth’s, the longtime family operated homemade ice cream parlor.

Wenthworth’s is home to young employees. Emily McGinn is 18-years-old and also works at Sleeping Giant State Park. She is graduating from Hamden High School in June and is attending Roger Williams University in the fall. Emily says her “responsibilities” are what drive her to work.   

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in March, 25 percent of teenagers in America between the ages of 16 and 19 were unemployed. The unemployment rate for high school graduates with no college degree is 8 percent. The unemployment rate for college graduates with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher was 4.2 percent. The significant margin may reveal a crucial difference in future job obtainment and a positive sign for people like Emily.

Similar to Emily, many college students and graduates are also employed full-time, part-time, or interning in the upcoming summer months. 

View Where Do You Work? in a larger map

According to Connecticut Department of Labor Economist Matt Kryzek, unemployment rates for people without a college degree are always much higher. Not having one is a huge detriment. The economy is hiring less people and those with less credentials and experience are more likely to stay unemployed for the time being, Kryzek said.

No matter what path job seekers are taking and no matter what age they may be, one thing is for certain; opportunities are slim, and competiveness is high.

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Linda McMahon is running for Senator again. As the race heats up, take a look at her professional past, and a look at what she can bring to the future.

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Ethical concerns are a pivotal aspect of journalism. Take a listen to Mike and Ethan's podcast and find out what the latest ethical mishap in the sports world is all about.

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BROTHERS IN WINE

Beyond unemployment and poverty, there are success stories. Brothers Bob and Ben Feinn are owners of Hamden's Mount Carmel Wine & Spirits Co. The local business has been operated and owned by the Feinn family for almost a century.

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POVERTY IN THE CITIES

“It’s All Politics” thus far has embarked down the road of unemployment, a concern of many citizens.

Unemployment does not come alone. Data shows poverty is a close relative. On Jan. 8, 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson gave the State of The Union Address. He declared war on unemployment and poverty, hindrances debilitating Americans. Even during the Vietnam War, the concerns in America were not overlooked. The war in Vietnam has long ended, but the war on unemployment and poverty lives on.

Connecticut cities; Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Waterbury and Willimantic are some of the state’s most poverty stricken areas. Evidence is shown in the data visualization, “Poverty by Demographic.” All ages, races and family types are affected. Out of the six cities, the overall poverty rate ranges from as low as Willimantic’s 19.2 percent, to Hartford’s 31.9 percent.

Data results place a strong emphasis on the family and in particularly, married couples. Data ranges from married couples in Hartford living at an 11.9 percent poverty rate, while married couples in Waterbury are living at a 30.5 percent poverty rate. Although these statistics vary, the poverty rates between married individuals with either no wife or husband present are even more drastic in range. In Hartford, males with no wives present live at an 11.7 percent poverty rate. In the same city, females with no males present live at an 80.4 percent poverty rate.

When both married individuals work full-time, the poverty rate is low. The highest poverty rate for two married individuals working full-time is at 4 percent in Willimantic. The next highest is 1 percent, and the remaining cities are at zero percent. When both married individuals are unemployed the average poverty rate is 45.8 percent among all six cities.

The data reveals where poverty hits the hardest, and where it is not felt at all. Both occur in the home.

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THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS

Foreclosure in America has long been an issue.

As of March 7 2012, 19 properties were foreclosed in Hamden, Conn. As of January 2012, 280 properties in New Haven County were foreclosed and 1,067 properties were foreclosed in the entire state. In the United States, 1 in every 624 properties was foreclosed in January. Since the recession in 2008, the climbing rates are more evident. The foreclosure rate in 2012 is more than double the foreclosure rate in May of 2005, when one in every 1,726 properties was foreclosed.

Rich DePodesta, owner of DePodesta Real Estate in Hamden, Conn., has been in the business for 25 years. He has lived and worked through the foreclosure crisis in Connecticut.

“It’s a tough situation,” DePodesta said. “No one thought the bubble would ever burst and it did burst and now unfortunately some people are suffering from it.”

According to DePodesta, business lately has not been so bad. Since the foreclosure bubble busted, market prices have gone down.

“Most of the people are finally realizing we’re down to the bottom of the cycle and the prices are good because they’re so low, the interest rates are good,” DePodesta said. “They feel if they wait much longer, they [prices] may start going up.”

Pat O’Neil, Communications Director and spokesperson for Connecticut House Republican Leader Larry Cafero also provided his input on the housing bubble.

“These were people that probably, a lot of them, couldn’t afford the house they were in to begin with,” O’Neil said. “The bubble was so enormous and there was such pressure on these, in many ways, devious lenders to get the money out there and these people really couldn’t do it, that’s where the real problem was.”

The foreclosure crisis has affected the state’s economy as well. Connecticut has had the largest tax increase in state history at 1.8 billion, O’Neil said. After the recession, the state had $236 million in deficit, due to people not paying their taxes as a result of unemployment.

Families in Connecticut have felt effects of the foreclosure crisis and recession consequences.

“The largest single investment that any family has is usually a house,” O’Neil said. “People were planning to either sell at the time of their retirement, to live their retirement years, to put kids through school. You have a huge cascading effect.”

According to O’Neil, the housing market is at least 20 percent of the state’s economic income. Unless the market finally finds the bottom and is able to reset itself on its own, artificial markets may be set in the mean time. In the short term, this may prevent foreclosure, but in actuality, this will make the market meltdown last even longer, O’Neil said.

Below is a Google Map of Hamden foreclosures as of March 8, 2012.

  View Hamden Foreclosures in a larger map

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THE RISING TIDE

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OCCUPY NEW HAVEN: A NARRATIVE

Donald Montano is a part-time worker, part-time Occupy activist, and full-time believer. Montano believes America and its economy is in a bad place. He refers to himself as part of the 99 percent protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed and high unemployment rates.

For Montano and his fellow protesters, the country is in desperate need of change. To them, life seems more stagnant than ever. Unlike the redundant drum beat and generator sound in the background, Montano is longing for a different tune. One all Americans can sing along too. Not only the 1 percent.

This is his story.

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THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE

In the political world, people may lie, but numbers do not. In keeping with the common theme of unemployment, statistics show that it is one of the states leading issues. As mentioned in The Connecticut Triangle, Connecticut's unemployment rate in 2011 was 8.2 percent. Although the unemployment rate is declining, thousands of citizens are still jobless. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the states population as of 2011 was almost 3,581,000 people. As of this past Dec., according to the Department of Numbers, 154,525 of those people were unemployed. The number of unemployed citizens reached it's climax in March of 2010. There is now almost 20,000 less people out of work and job growth is in on the rise. In Dec. alone, Connecticut added 600 jobs. The video below shows Connecticut's dark times with unemployment for the past five years, and the struggle to regain what it had lost.       

Statistics are beneficial to news reporting, but are not the only way to tell a story. Statistics can also be overwhelming and confusing. This video is not about numbers. The video below is about people who are the numbers. The Occupy Movement began on Sept. 17, 2011 in New York City's Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street District. In an effort to send a message, people across the country have gathered in major cities to protest social issues, economic inequality, corporate greed, and high unemployment. New Haven is one of many cities that has been influenced by the movement.

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THE CONNECTICUT TRIANGLE

During a time when unemployment is widespread, the economy has been viewed as the enemy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate was at 8.3 percent last month. Connecticut's unemployment rate was not much different last year, down from 9 percent in 2010 to 8.2 percent in 2011. Slowly, the unemployment rate in Connecticut and the nation is declining. The highest the U.S. unemployment rate has been in the past 10 years was 10 percent. After two years of fluctuation the nation's unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since Feb. 2009.

The state of Connecticut is taking steps in solving the unemployment crisis. According to Gov. Dannel Malloy, A Research Triangle may be the solution to a state with a high unemployment rate. The plan will combine the Technology Park in Storrs with the Bioscience Connecticut Initiative in Farmington. It's main goal is to create jobs for the present and future by expanding the University of Connecticut's Health Center. The project is going to cost $1.1 billion with the state funding $291 million, and the Jackson Laboratory raising the rest of the money. Spending such a large sum of money had Republicans on the fence about Malloy's plan. However, some Republicans like state representative Bill Wadsworth have crossed over to Malloy's side quicker than the rest. The image below depicts the possible future of UConn's Health Center.

The first Research Triangle was born in North Carolina, but by no means is the state free of unemployment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, North Carolina's unemployment rate was at 9.9 percent in Dec. 2011. It was also one of four states where unemployment rose from Dec. of 2010 to Dec. of 2011. The North Carolina Research Triangle is located in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The three cities combined had an umemployment rate of 7.75 percent as of Dec. 2011. Still, in Connecticut, a state seeking job opportunities, the economic impact the plan can have is compelling.  

Video courtesy of: UConn Health

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POLITICS AND CONNECTICUT

As campaigns begin to heat up on the national and state levels, political parties are spreading their messages. 

Connecticut voters have the opportunity to not only elect a president, but a new member to the senate this year. However, it is a long road until then and some are bound to lose on the way.  

Just like many Americans, Connecticut citizens are dealing with unemployment and illegal immigrant controversy. Political concerns like these must be reported on and the public should be informed.  

Politics and sports are fundamentally similar. There is winning, losing, trash-talk, cheerleaders, and games in the form of debates. Referees cannot be forgotten either. In this particular case, referees are the debate moderators. Just like athelets and referees do not always agree, neither do the moderators and debaters. John King of CNN can relate.

Some basketball coaches get technical fouls to light a fire under their team and the crowd. In Newt Gingrich's case, what he did in a South Carolina debate was not so different. Some think it eventually earned him a win.

The Republican and Democratic Party's have set out to seek election. But, it is always up to the voters.

The political games of 2012 have begun.

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THE PURPOSE

It's All Politics will report on the political concerns effecting Connecticut cities as pertaining to those on the national level.

Reporting in the future may consist of, and is not limited to, the economy, the job market, unemployment, education, and the national and state elections.

Reported information will occur on a consistent basis. News coverage will be confirmed prior to publishing, sources will be accurate and protected if necessary, and a journalistic code of ethics will be followed regularly.

It's All Politics will inform the public through the many different facets of multimedia. Aiming to report the news in the most effective way, different reporting tactics will be beneficial.

Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman is retiring, and the race to replace him has begun. Also underway is the race for the Republican Party's presidential nominee. Due to the GOP's efforts to seek election, the republican viewpoint in a democratic state will often be reported.  

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America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.

Warren G. Harding