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U.S. Olympic Committee and Allstate Announce the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2009
The fans have weighed in, the votes have been counted and the results are final. Today, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and Allstate Insurance Company (NYSE: ALL) announced the members of the Class of 2009 who will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate. The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame is the only national sports hall of fame that uses fan voting as part of its selection process. This year's class is comprised of five Olympians, one Paralympian, one team, as well as three additional individuals: a coach, veteran and a special contributor.
The star-studded inductee list includes Michael Johnson (athletics), Picabo Street (alpine skiing), Teresa Edwards (basketball), Willye White (athletics), Mary T. Meagher (swimming), Sarah Will (Paralympic alpine skiing), the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team, longtime Men's Gymnastics coach Abie Grossfeld, skiing veteran Andrea Mead-Lawrence, and special contributor Peter Ueberroth. Amazingly, members of this talented group of athletes
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What has changed in five years?
Air now top concern
2002: Valley residents rate expanding population and urban sprawl as the biggest issues in a Public Policy Institute of California survey.
2007: Residents rank air quality as the Valley's No. 1 issue, as indicated by surveys in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Farms make advances
2002: Dirty diesel engines are largely unregulated on farms. Officials are just realizing dairies are a major source of air pollution.
2007: Farm and dairy pollution controls take a leading role in the Valley's air cleanup, reducing more than 85 tons of pollutants per day.
Cleanup delays continue
2002: The federal Environmental Protection Agency approves local air officials' request to enter the Valley into the worst-offender category: "extreme noncompliance for the one-hour ozone standard." The move delays the district's cleanup deadline to 2010.
2007: The EPA is expected to accept Valley air officials' request for extreme noncompliance on the newer eight-hour ozone standard. The status will delay
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IOC criticizes USOC for launching network
The International Olympic Committee chastised U.S. Olympic officials on Thursday for "unilaterally" launching their own television network, warning the project could jeopardize relations with Olympic broadcaster NBC.
The IOC accused the U.S. Olympic Committee of acting hastily by announcing plans Wednesday for the "U.S. Olympic Network," which is scheduled to go on air next year after the Vancouver Winter Games with Comcast as broadcast partner.
"We were aware that the USOC had been considering a new 'Olympic broadcast network', but we have never been presented with a plan, and we had assumed that we would have an opportunity to discuss unresolved questions together before the project moved forward," the IOC said in a statement from Lausanne, Switzerland.
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USOC surprised at IOC's complaints about network
The U.S. Olympic Committee's venture into the TV business is irritating some international Olympic leaders - not exactly the reaction the Americans were expecting when they decided to create a network solely devoted to promoting the movement.
The USOC unveiled details Wednesday of the network it is forming with Comcast. The announcement came two days after International Olympic Committee television director Timo Lumme sent the USOC a letter warning that the federation might not receive all the clearance it wanted for programming and naming rights.
Among the IOC's chief concerns are how the new network will affect the IOC and USOC's relationship with NBC, which televises the Olympics in the United States and puts more money into the movement than any single company.
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A winter's tale: cold, rainy and smells of smoke
It's that time of year. The cold fronts and rain storms are pushing new air into the Valley. After a good storm, you can step out on your front porch and smell the fresh smoke.
It is time for The Bee to repeat the story of wood-burning in the Valley and how it is damaging people's health. I live in a middle-class neighborhood where plenty of people have new cars in their driveways. Yet every fall you see loads of wood being delivered. Apparently the cost of wood has not gone up enough.
If the county and city need some new taxes, wood for fireplaces is a good target.
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