Category Archives: Joel’s J School

Thank you, Jack!

Posted on August 29, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell I’ve been very slow to acknowledge these kind words from Metro Times columnist Jack Lessenberry on June 20, 2012: The bridge to somewhere: You just had to be happy last week when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper … Continue reading →

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Who broke Poway?

Posted on August 23, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell According to CNBC, on August 7, 2012, Voice of San Diego reporter Will Carless “broke” the story of a billion-dollar borrowing boondoggle in the California school district of Poway. While Carless corrected CNBC for mispronouncing his name, … Continue reading →

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Credit

Posted on August 9, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell I appreciate the article by Andrew Donohue in the Voice of San Diego acknowledging my work in uncovering and reporting about the Capital Appreciation Bond scandal in California. Donohue responded to my complaint that reporter Will Carless of the … Continue reading →

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Letter to CNBC

Posted on August 8, 2012 by hro50ta1

On May 2, 1988, the public school in Holt, Michigan issued a “creative” financial instrument known as a Capital Appreciation Bond. It was the first of a wave of CABs that swept over Michigan school finance Until 1987, school debt … Continue reading →

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CABs: What I get

Posted on May 27, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell A few days ago, joelontheroad registered more than 5,500 hits in a week. Not Facebook, but for a guy without the resources of, say Huffington Post or The New York Times or even a small town weekly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloggery, CAB scams, future of newspapers, Joel's J School, Muni bonds | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Chicago’s police riot and Reuters’ memory hole

Posted on May 24, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell George Orwell explained how history could be obliterated — state-appointed historians in his novel, 1984, would simply clip offending facts out of news reports and drop them down the “memory hole.” Reuters, a self-styled news service, had … Continue reading →

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‘Nature of the issue’

Posted on May 20, 2012 by hro50ta1

“The strife distracted everyone because no one could push back,” said one current trader in the office who insisted on anonymity because of the nature of the issue. — The New York Times, “Discord at Key JPMorgan Unit Is Blamed … Continue reading →

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Newspaper Red Squads — again

Posted on April 17, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Scary news coming from reporters. Newspaper publishers — you know who you are! — are actively searching through journalists’ social media accounts in search of comments critical of news bosses and expressions of political opinion. Sorry to … Continue reading →

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We’re back!!!

Posted on March 15, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell What a relief! Thought I was a goner. Son Adam and pals Potsy and Freddie labored to breathe life into the old database. For a while, I thought I’d lost my entire site. Hundreds of blog columns, … Continue reading →

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Interfering with news? What’s new?

Posted on February 16, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Unbelievable! Frightening news! Democrats are poised to take over Philadelphia newspapers! A former Democratic mayor of Philly who was also a governor of the state is heading a group who plan to acquire the newspapers. Already, they’re … Continue reading →

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