Local: Buy-outs and buy-ins
Here are two pieces of news that I heard from people who heard from someone else.
- The buyout that GateHouse is offering its employees to take a hike? It consists of one week’s pay for every year of employment. And they don’t pay out all at once, and if the company goes under before you are paid off, you are out of luck, In other words, it’s not a hell of a good deal. I can see it encouraging people to look for work elsewhere, but not encouraging a lot of journeymen reporters to retire.
- I heard from a source who heard from a source that former Peoria City Council member Marcella Teplitz has pretty much decided to run for the 2nd District seat she held before losing it to Barbara Van Auken.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 am
I have no beef with Marcella and I appreciate her past service, but I think she would be wasting her time trying to regain the 2nd district seat. BVA is doing a very good job and Marcella just isn’t needed in that role again. I do hope she will find other ways to serve, though.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
So now Gatehouse is offering EVERYONE who works for their papers a buyout? (Except their CEO and directors, of course)
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:49 am
The State-Journal Register is reporting that their publisher, Scott Bowers, is going to serve as publisher of BOTH the SJ-R and Rockford Register Star effective Aug. 1. The RRStar’s publisher is quitting. Of course, these are also Gatehouse papers.
Anyone want to take bets on Bowers being also asked to take over the PJS while he’s at it? Or the next step being that the PJS, Pekin, Galesburg, and Lincoln will all share the same publisher?
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Having Marcella enter the race would ensure a BVA victory. I think BVA has some vulnerabilities but Marcella’s are far worse.
Remember the Arbors.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Wasn’t BVA also involved in The Arbors?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Journeyman reporters are louts??
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Save it Marcella for something else you can help the City with; BVA is unbeatable.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Where on earth did you get that information on Marcella? She has no desire to run for City Council. Whoever told you that doesn’t know what they are talking about.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:40 pm
If you mean who got the money for the arbors, Main Street and Columbia Terrace. That was Marcella.
If you mean who got things done? That was Marcella.
If you mean who is seeing things deteriorate in the inner city and wants to do something about it. That would be Marcella.
I think she is in! Council members should Do, not BE.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Jay: I am absolutely certain that during her tenure on the council, Mrs. Teplitz was able to get funding for projects in her district. And I have witnessed BVA fighting and succeeding in getting funding for other pro. AND she fought like HELL to keep the Arbors in the budget when others on the council thought it should go elsewhere. But BVA believed a commitment had been made to the neighbors and she fought to make the city live up to that commitment.
This “Teplitz did everything and BVA did nothing” campaign isn’t going to wash. Sorry.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Maybe not, but I’m not sure the Second District deserves either of them. Unfortunately, they are both more alike (did they go to the same charm school?) than different; and not in a way that I think is positive. I hardly measure neighborhood improvement as arbors, flowers, or posturing and that’s about all that I see them truly accomplish. Meanwhile, crime and crumbling infrastructure take over the district.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:34 am
I don’t think it’s a feather in anyone’s cap that the arbor went up there. They only got it as a consolation prize for losing two blocks of houses and having their entire neighborhood destabilized. Congratulations.
July 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
No such offer made to this reporter at a GHS paper…I’ve got 17 years in…but this paper laid off a dozen people last month
July 24th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
mike: I should have made it clear that GateHouse has been making this offer to selected staffers.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am
they haven’t made this offer to any staffer at this paper