But it’s an area that sometimes struggles with keeping these attractions in top condition. Old mine water runs into the rivers. Abandoned buildings sit in ruins hoping to be renovated or removed for a new building.

The region’s environmental legacy just took another hit.

The EPA recently filed suit against the Scranton Sewer Authority. For dumping more than 1 billion gallons of raw sewage into the Lackawanna River last year. The entire city’s infrastructure needs to be improved, and the sewage lines are no different. The authority submitted a plan in 1998 and has not updated the plan (I assume that means they haven’t started either!)

The authority director may claim “substantial progress” in upgrading the sewage system, but we’re at a time when we need more. Nature is one of this region’s strongest assets. The area’s leaders shouldn’t be satisfied with progress, but in preserving its assets (oh, and meeting the law). That’s what makes for a livable community.

Earlier today, the chairman of the Federal Reserve said the recession was probably finished. He may have missed yesterday’s Times, which reported the job losses continued – 5,500 positions at Eli Lilly. (The Federal Reserve isn’t the official arbiter of a recession anyway – that’s left to a council of economists to measure the country’s economic growth.)

The slow recovery matches so many descriptions of an economy being reset.

So is there a recovery or a reset? Can Americans keep up their increased savings? Will they want to? What changes in spending habits do you plan to make?

The Diocese of Scranton's Mother Church

After covering the press conference, each news outlet produced a similar reaction piece from around the Diocese. (The results were easy to figure out: Catholics who stopped going to church are glad he’s gone; Catholics interviewed on their way into Noon Mass think he did well in a tough job.) Then each newspaper and television station produced a piece highlighting the history of the Diocese of Scranton and its nine bishops. One television station went through the work to put together a piece on the challenges of leading a Diocese with changing demographics. (This is just a sampling of the coverage. You can find all of the articles from each outlet through the initial main news articles.)

I’m always interested in following the news, and I watched and read the coverage Monday evening. The tidbit of resigning because of insomnia at 63 – more than a decade before he’d normally retire – makes for a great twist too. (The auxiliary is retiring at 77.)

I’m sure Sunday will bring more man-on-the-street interviews and look-back pieces. Beyond that, I’m curious to see the additional local coverage. (About 325,000 of the 1 million residents is Catholic. That 30 percent figure is higher than the 22 percent nationwide so this is a big deal here. This is also a community that is big on religion, whichever one you follow.)

There is an additional, well-informed source to follow if you happen to be interested in the process of filling the seat. That blog, in fact, carried three stories as the drama played out to its final press conference on Monday.

Thanks to patwalsh_2000 for the Creative Commons picture via Flickr.

I’m not sure whether this is an economic slowdown, recession, reset, or whatever word you want to call it.

Sure, it’s bad. And every commentator wants to compare it to something: Early 1990s, Early 80s, 70s stagflation, Great Depression, Panic of 1873, etc. There’s no doubt that folks are aware – very aware – that the economy is in a difficult stretch. Not that we’re oblivious to past recessions, but this one has some teeth.

Maybe I’m paying more attention. But maybe there is something to all the talk that this is a turning point that will change how our system works.

I made some decisions to alter my saving and buying habits before everyone started to feel it. I’m looking at our apartment and wondering whether we should opt for a place that has a bit better infrastructure – say at least insulation in the attic. We’ve passed up a few of the kitchen gadgets. We’re paying down debt. We’re seeking our masters degrees. We’re trying to stay ahead of the knowledge economy.

I’m hoping we use the opportunity to make other changes though. Advanced degrees makes us look smarter, but dropping the land line for cell only makes sense. I’d love to back up my computer files to the cloud AND be able to get rid of all the paper I’ve lugged from apartment to apartment. I’d like to reduce our energy bills (and consumption) – through insulation and by monitoring when we run the washer and dryer. I’d like to eat out less and eat healthier at home.

As for the news? One of my colleagues was talking about something else, but could have been talking about this today: This is a great time to keep your head down. Keep busy and don’t look up.

The Digital TV switchover has been sitting out there for years now. A year ago, television stations went frantic in trying to convince millions of Americans to race out for special receivers and converter boxes to avoid a blank television on February 17. A few weeks ago, Congress and the President even changed the law to delay the mandated shut-off date for broadcasting on analog. The stations in my market went ahead with the switchover today anyways. I doubt many noticed.

More than half of Americans have cable and aren’t affected. And even more have bought a television recently enough to catch the digital signals without a special piece of equipment. How many Americans might be affected? 14 percent. If they all have really old TVs. Leave No Television View Behind. (They might start reading.)

Lots of fear, because without urgency I might miss my third-rate newscast. DTV-2K. Hype overblown.

We missed a great chance to stimulate the economy today because of months and months (and months) of breathless DTV hype. We should have had broadcasting television stations make the change without any announcements. Then we might have had hundreds of thousands of Americans scrambling for new televisions today and placing calls to repairmen. The result would have been a huge spending spree and millions of dollars of retail purchases. Could have started an economic turnaround if somebody would have thought it out. Instead, those millions of purchases were spread out over 12 months – diluting their impact and leaving us to wait for small tax refunds, rebates, and reductions.

On Inauguration Day, 2001, an analyst chimed in for a minute that what he (or she) was seeing was truly remarkable. It was monumental. For all of the angry feelings and political fights that followed the 2000 presidential election, the U.S. had a peaceful transfer of power.

The same thing will happen again in a few hours.

This doesn’t have anything to do with a party or a political belief. It’s just the realization that throughout this country’s history, it’s remained stable by transferring the reigns of executive leadership to a new person – sometimes from a different party. This happens without riots and revolutions without demonstrations and disobedience. The system proscribed more than 200 years ago is carried out in a regular fashion.

Simple. But really something remarkable when you think about the past 200 years’ worth of world history.

But I’m not really sure what to make of the “news.” It was pretty clear that the economy was having a tough time before the official pronouncement.

I’m not an economist, and I haven’t conducted detailed studies on herd mentality and crowd reactions. But it strikes me that one of the positive things today is that we’re saying the word now. It puts a name to the thing haunting us and keeping us awake at night. No more of this he-who-shall-have-no-name crap. The reason I don’t want to overspend on Christmas presents isn’t the slowdown or bad times or the economy. It’s the recession.

It’s a serious word, and it makes everyone stop and think. Do I need the extra coffee? Should I buy the extra gift? Can we eat in tonight? It works in business as well. Can I justify this expense? Are we throwing good money after bad? Are we really fixing the problem? Is this the most efficient and cost-effective way to do this?

That’s good practice – for individuals and businesses – in good times and in bad. It might be the brightest spot for a bit.

Some folks are already writing and addressing holiday cards. Overachievers.

Of course, some people have paid staff to put together cards for the season. I’ve sat in on discussions (and wrestled privately) with whether it’s better to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to avoid mixing holidays for different religions and cultures.

Here’s an idea around that problem: Segmenting the audience. It’s paid staff. They should be correct, right? Doh!