Letter America: Dear Author

This just in regarding my government stimulus application for a $50 million newspaper bailout: Progress! Dear Mr. Pein: Thank you for your interest in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Indeed! This is to acknowledge receipt of your message. Your proposal will be directed to the appropriate state agency to identify potential funding opportunities. Sweet. Your expression of interest via the New Mexico Office of Recovery and Reinvestment website does not constitute an official application for funding. Oh. Does this mean more work? You will be contacted with information regarding the application process for specific funding opportunities. We also encourage you to review the competitive funding opportunities that are being advertised on http://www.recovery.org, http://www.grants.gov, and http://www.recovery.state.nm.us for ongoing updates. Competitive funding opportunities?! I thought this was supposed to be easy money. Anyway, the email isn't signed, but it came from an address associated with Gov. Bill Richardson... So, you know, he probably read my application personally.

It's bankruptcy. The company announced the not-too-surprising decision this morning. The Reuters story makes more sense than the press release: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thornburg Mortgage Inc (THMR.PK) said it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and go out of business, making the provider of "jumbo" mortgage loans one of the largest casualties of the nation's housing slump and credit crisis. ... Thornburg on Wednesday said it intends to sell or liquidate its remaining assets, with the assistance of the restructuring firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Capital Inc. It also said it will not make an interest payment due March 31 on its senior subordinated notes maturing in 2015. Keep watching SFR for more coverage of this story. Update 4:50 p.m.-ish: Here's a quote form tomorrow's New Mexican, in the form of a press release from the city. Please note that Santa Fe Mayor David Coss is out of the country and therefore requests for his comment on this matter cannot be granted at this time. City of Santa Fe Economic Development Division Response to Thornburg News Due to the large volume of phone calls received by the City of Santa Fe Public Information Office on the news that Thornburg Mortgage plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the city's Economic Development Division has issued the following statement: The City of Santa Fe's Economic Development Division has been closely watching developments at Thornburg Mortgage since the housing crisis and economic recession began. As a long-time Santa Fe business which employs many people at high-wage jobs and contributes heavily through its philanthropic endeavors, Thornburg is a valuable member of Santa Fe's business community. Today's news further emphasizes the importance of the work of the City's Economic Development Division to diversify the economy and create high-wage jobs. In these challenging economic times the City and its many partners are more committed than ever to helping people find and create work opportunities in Santa Fe. Errmm... Official reassurances after the cut. The City's Economic and Community Development staff have been working hard to get in front of the economic and home foreclosure crisis in many ways. Here are some of the projects that the City of Santa Fe is working on to ensure Santa Fe not only survives the economic recession, but that the city is positioned to come back stronger than when the nation entered into the crisis: Ø Stimulus Money and Job Creation – The City of Santa Fe has already been identified to receive $781,600 in federal economic stimulus money for energy and conservation projects as well as $1.1 million for the Santa Fe Airport. Stimulus money has been or will be requested for other projects including water, transit and affordable housing as well as roadway infrastructure improvements. Staff is working to identify other stimulus funds which can help spur economic activity and job creation in Santa Fe. Ø Business Retention and Expansion Program – Economic Development staff are developing a program to help Santa Fe businesses access resources for retention and growth; this includes, financing and technical assistance. Ø “Santa Fe: Buy Into It” – This awareness campaign is a collaborative effort with local business groups and local media. It is designed to provide support for the local economy by re-circulating dollars and taking advantage of the multiplier effect. www.buyintoit.org Ø Workforce Housing – The City's Office of Affordable Housing works proactively with the public, non-profit, and private sectors so low and moderate-income citizens have access to housing. Through capacity building, technical assistance, and regulatory mechanisms, the City of Santa Fe has built a network of strong cooperation and assistance in the community. These partnerships include the Homewise “Santa Fe Business Campaign for Homeownership,” in which Homewise works with local business owners to provide affordable housing for their employees, and a $600,000 Home Energy Efficiency Loan Program, which not only increases the value of homes and saves homeowners money over time, but also creates work for the Santa Fe's green collar workforce. Ø Talent Task Force – A committee working to find solutions and facilitate better access to work opportunities for skilled people in Santa Fe.

Can we just round it up to a cool billion? New Mexico's share of the federal stimulus package, passed by the Senate today in its version of the bill: $953 million. That's the word we got just a few minutes ago in a joint press release by New Mexico's Democratic Senators, Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman. Notably, the biggest NM-specific pieces of the package are for highway construction and repair ($246 million), "state fiscal stabilization"—i.e., preventing budget cuts—($206 million) and nearly $100 million for food stamps. This might better be called a "keep-shit-from-falling-apart" package rather than a "stimulus" package. Udall and Bingaman each brag about their contributions to the Senate bill: Bingaman was able to include in the bill a tax credit that will allow companies, such as Schott, Advent Solar, Emcore and Nanopore, to write off 30 percent of the cost of investing in facilities to manufacture renewable energy technologies, like solar panels. He also was able to include a proposal to stimulate the demand for municipal bonds – and thus enable communities to obtain the financing they need to make infrastructure improvements – by allowing banks to acquire additional tax-exempt debt of up to $30 million, up from $10 million. This increase will make it possible for states and municipalities to borrow for school and road construction projects at a lower-interest rate at a time when capital is tight. Is a lack of new construction really the core of the problem today? Udall won unanimous support for an amendment he wrote to expand tax incentives to employers who hire veterans who have served since September 2001. The initiative will apply to veterans who are discharged from the Armed Services from September 2001 through December 2010, and includes veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bureau of Labor Statistic reports that of those veterans who served in our military since September 2001, 6.1 percent were unemployed and the economy has only worsened. At the same time, the jobless rate for veterans of all eras combined was 3.8 percent in 2007. Hmm...so "war on terror" vets are beating the average national unemployment rate? None of this is a done deal yet. Now the US House and Senate have to agree on a bill. Then Obama signs it, or not. The Senators' very long press release comes after the cut. For Immediate Release: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 BINGAMAN & UDALL: BILL WOULD DIRECT AT LEAST $953 MILLION INTO NEW MEXICO'S ECONOMY WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today said there is at least $953 million for New Mexico in the Senate's version of the economic recovery package, which will be used to create good jobs in the state. The measure passed today 61-37, and must now be finalized with the version the House of Representatives passed. “Nearly 600,000 Americans lost their jobs in January, offering further evidence that we are facing the most serious economic crisis in decades. We need to inject capital into the economy to create jobs and get people back to work,” Bingaman said. “This bill will help New Mexico build roads, invest in drinking water projects and create incentives to expand the manufacture of renewable energy technology. We need to get an economic recovery package to the president right away.” “Today, we are facing the most severe economic crisis in generations with 600,000 jobs being lost last month alone,” said Udall. “Economists from across the political spectrum are certain that the only way to prevent a deepening recession is to infuse our economy with capital now. While this is not the exact legislation I would have written, it is an important step to stabilizing our economy with substantial investments in long-term priorities like infrastructure and renewable energy while also cutting taxes. I am also proud that it includes my amendment to expand tax incentives to employers who hire post-9/11 veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces.” As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bingaman was able to include in the bill a tax credit that will allow companies, such as Schott, Advent Solar, Emcore and Nanopore, to write off 30 percent of the cost of investing in facilities to manufacture renewable energy technologies, like solar panels. He also was able to include a proposal to stimulate the demand for municipal bonds – and thus enable communities to obtain the financing they need to make infrastructure improvements – by allowing banks to acquire additional tax-exempt debt of up to $30 million, up from $10 million. This increase will make it possible for states and municipalities to borrow for school and road construction projects at a lower-interest rate at a time when capital is tight. Udall won unanimous support for an amendment he wrote to expand tax incentives to employers who hire veterans who have served since September 2001. The initiative will apply to veterans who are discharged from the Armed Services from September 2001 through December 2010, and includes veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bureau of Labor Statistic reports that of those veterans who served in our military since September 2001, 6.1 percent were unemployed and the economy has only worsened. At the same time, the jobless rate for veterans of all eras combined was 3.8 percent in 2007. Below is list of the categories and levels of funding New Mexico would stand to receive under the Senate's version of the recovery package: New Mexico's Infrastructure and Science In order to rebuild our weakening economy, these investments in our physical and cyber infrastructure will put New Mexicans immediately to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, and will also enable the creation of a stronger and more efficient infrastructure for the 21st century economy. $19.7 million through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to address the backlog of drinking water infrastructure needs $19.5 million through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to address the backlog of clean water infrastructure needs $245.7 million in Highway Funding to be used on activities eligible under the Federal-aid Highway Program's Surface Transportation Program and could also include rail and port infrastructure activities at the discretion of the states $34.9 million in Transit Formula Funding for investments in mass transit $9.4 million through the Public Housing Capital Fund to enable local public housing agencies to address a national $32 billion backlog in capital needs – especially those improving energy efficiency in aging developments – in this critical element of the nation's affordable housing infrastructure $14.1 million in HOME Funding to enable state and local government, in partnership with community-based organizations, to acquire, construct, and rehabilitate affordable housing and provide rental assistance to poor families $8.6 million through the Homelessness Prevention Fund to be used for prevention activities, which include: short or medium-term rental assistance, first and last month's rental payment, or utility payments. As such, most of this funding will go directly into the economy of local communities, as the funds will be used to pay housing and other associated costs in the private market Education and Training in New Mexico In order to compete in the 21st Century, we must have a well-educated workforce, capable of adapting to an ever-changing economic environment. Investing in education now will ensure that the next generation of New Mexico's workers is ready and able to meet the challenge of global competition. In the near-term, millions of workers have seen their jobs disappear, and find themselves unable to match their skill sets with existing opportunities. Providing job training in new and expanding fields will help to lower the unemployment rate and help today's workers better compete against foreign competition. $206.4 million through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to local school districts and public colleges and universities in addition to incentive grants as a reward for meeting key education performance measures and additional funding for other high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education $105.5 million for Special Education Part B State Grants to help improve educational outcomes for individuals with disabilities, raising the federal contribution to nearly 40 percent, the level established when the law was authorized more than 30 years ago $7.8 million in education technology funds to purchase up-to-date computers and software and provide professional development to ensure the technology is used effectively in the classroom $101.3 million for Title I Education for the Disadvantaged to help close the achievement gap and enable disadvantaged students to reach their potential $3.3 million in State Employment Service Grants to match unemployed individuals to job openings through state employment service agencies and allow New Mexico to provide customized reemployment services $2.8 million in Dislocated Workers State Grants, particularly for grants that support immediate strategies for regions and communities to meet their need for skilled workers, as well as longer-term plans to build targeted industry clusters with better training and a more productive workforce $2.7 million for Department of Labor's Adult State Grants $6.3 million for Department of Labor's Youth State Grants $3.9 million for Vocational Rehabilitation to help individuals with disabilities prepare for and sustain gainful employment New Mexico's Energy The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 would provide investments in areas critical to the development of clean, efficient, American energy, including modernizing energy transmission, research and development of renewable energy technologies, and modernizing and upgrading government buildings and vehicles. $5.1 million through the State Energy Program $17.9 million through the Weatherization Assistance Program Indian Country Investments According to Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, “Nowhere in this nation are jobs and construction improvements more needed than on American Indian reservations. Tribal communities suffer an average unemployment rate of 50% and have faced longstanding infrastructure needs.” To address these concerns, the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, have included approximately $2.9 billion in national funding to create jobs, improve infrastructure, and generally improve the quality of life of Native Americans in New Mexico: Improving Indian Health Service and Indian Health Facilities ($545 million). Of this amount, $50 million would go to fund contract health care services, $85 million to improve health information technology, and $20 million for health care equipment. The remaining funding would be dedicated to building new and repairing Indian health hospitals, clinics and sanitation and water facilities Improving Access to Health Care by prohibiting co-payments for Medicaid recipients, exempting some Indian property from inclusion in resource determinations for Medicaid and CHIP, and making it easier for these populations to receive Medicaid benefits through Medicaid-managed care organizations ($25 million) Strengthening Indian Education. $167 million would be dedicated to tribal and Bureau of Indian Education school construction, repairs, and modernizations Addressing Tribal Public Safety and Justice. $325 million in funding would work to improve tribal justice systems and fight high violent crime rates in Indian Country. $275 million in funding would be dedicated to building new and improving existing detention centers in Indian Country. The Interior Department recently reported unmet needs for Indian jails of $8 billion. In addition, $25 million would help strengthen tribal court systems, and $25 million would go to improve drug and alcohol treatment in Indian Country Improving Tribal Housing. $510 million would be dedicated to block and competitive grants administered through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act to construct and rehabilitate reservation homes and other authorized projects. An additional $25 million would go to the housing improvement program administered by the BIA Improving Indian Reservation Roads. $486 million would be allocated to improving tribal and BIA roads, bridges, and reservation transit systems. Of this amount, $320 would go the Indian Reservation Roads program within the Department of Transportation. An additional $16.8 million would go to improve tribal transit. And $150 million would go to improve tribal and BIA roads through the Department of the Interior Improving drinking water and water service systems on reservations ($459 million). Included in this amount is $274 million for Bureau of Reclamation Indian water projects. $65 million for tribal irrigation and dams improvements. And tribal governments would also receive approximately $120 million through a set-aside in the Safe Drinking and Clean Water Revolving Funds Other Improvements: o Indian Reservation Food Distribution (USDA) – $5 million to support the approximately 86,000 low-income Native Americans who receive this monthly benefits in lieu of SNAP (food stamps) benefits o BIA major facilities improvement and repair – $115 million would go to repair existing federal buildings that are most in need of improvements o BIA workforce training – $20 million would help put to work and train unemployed persons on Indian lands o BIA Indian Loan Guarantee Program - $10 million would be used by the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development to issue guaranteed loans to tribal businesses and improve economic development on Indian lands o Tribal Community Development Financial Institutions (Treasury) – $20 million help build financial institutions in Indian Country o Tribal Energy Efficiency Block Grants (set-aside) - $42 million would go to fund tribal energy projects Protecting the Vulnerable in New Mexico The current economic crisis has affected all New Mexicans, but none more so than the most vulnerable among us. The spending proposed here will serve to lessen the blow of the current recession, providing immediate relief for children, the poor, and others who may find themselves struggling to put food on the table or a roof over their head. It will also address the urgent need to provide safe and secure places to live, even in neighborhoods that are struggling with high unemployment and surging foreclosure rates. $654,349 for National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance $670,759 through the Emergency Food Assistance Program $99.5 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (formerly Food Stamps) $525,365 for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which provides grants to nonprofit and faith-based organizations at the local level to supplement their programs for emergency food and shelter to provide for the immediate needs of the homeless $17.8 million in Child Care and Development Block Grants to provide quality child care services for in low-income families who increasingly are unable to afford the high cost of day care $2.9 million for Head Start to allow additional children to participate in this program, which provides development, educational, health, nutritional, social and other activities that prepare children to succeed in school $1.1 million in Community Services Block Grants to local community action agencies for services to the growing numbers of low-income families hurt by the economic crisis, such as housing and mortgage counseling, jobs skills training, food pantry assistance, as well as benefits outreach and enrollment $797,123 for Senior Meals Programs to help senior meals programs cope with steep increases in food and fuel costs. Many programs are reducing meal deliveries to seniors or closing meal sites Law Enforcement in New Mexico $11.3 million in Byrne/JAG grants to support law enforcement efforts $513,016 for crime victims compensation and assistance $694,320 in Internet Crimes Against Children Grants to help law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative response to offenders who use the Internet, online communication systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children $2.2 million in Violence Against Women Grants for victim services programs to improve the criminal justice system's response to violent crimes against women and to assist victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking who are in need of transitional housing, short-term housing assistance, and related support services Additional Benefits for New Mexico Unemployment Benefits in New Mexico. According to the Department of Labor, New Mexico could receive $39.3 million in new funding if New Mexico fully enacts the UI modernization incentives that the legislation would provide. Tax Relief for New Mexico Families and Businesses. According to the Senate Committee on Finance, the following are examples of tax provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that will help New Mexico businesses and families, create jobs and get New Mexico's economy moving: Up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples for the Making Work Pay Tax Credit $300 to Social Security beneficiaries, SSI recipients, and disabled veterans $2,500 for the American Opportunity Tax Credit (an increase in the tax credit for higher education and allowing the credit for four full years) Extended and increased Homebuyer Tax Credit to both help aspiring homeowners and stabilize plummeting home prices Extended Bonus Depreciation and Small Business Expensing through 2009, allowing businesses that make capital investments to immediately deduct one-half the cost. Small businesses can immediately deduct 100 percent of the cost of these investments $1.6 billion for grants to schools and hospitals for energy efficiency and combined heat and power system projects The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 would protect over 26 million working families across the nation from the Alternative Minimum Tax, representing thousands of dollars in additional income taxes. According to the Congressional Research Service, 75,000 New Mexicans would be protected from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2009. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families in New Mexico. According to the Congressional Research Service, New Mexico would receive $6.6 million in TANF supplemental grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These supplemental grants provide additional assistance to states with high population growth and/or increased poverty. Seventeen states qualify and currently receive these grants, which would expire in June 2009. The legislation would extend these grants for Fiscal Year 2010. -30-

While College of Santa Fe waits and hopes for the Legislature to approve a measure that would allow it to become part of New Mexico's state university system, the school finds itself in the position of making more staff cuts. This afternoon in a letter sent out to faculty, staff and students by CSF President Stuart Kirk the school laid off another 14 employees. This comes after the pre-Christmas layoffs. According to Kirk's email, "Because we do not yet have an agreement with Highlands, we must proceed through the spring as if we will be shutting down after the semester's end." That means that, if the proposal doesn't go through, May 20 could be it for CSF. A skeleton schedule of summer classes, many online and most at CSF's Albuquerque campus, are listed online, most consisting of business, computer science and psychology courses, but a note that the summer session is tentative looms over the list. While the school tries to keep itself afloat, CSF supporters are gearing up for Advocacy Day at the New Mexico Roundhouse on Tuesday, Feb. 10. From 7 am-5 pm students will display artwork and attend meetings with legislators to discuss the school's future. When the first round of layoffs occurred, the community, current students, alumni and several faculty members came together to make a short video about the problems of the school and what the school means to them and the community of Santa Fe as a whole. Already Home from Joshua Gonzales on Vimeo.

With a debt of more than $30 million, a plea to the state Legislature on the table that would allow another institution to take it over and a recent slashing of jobs, it looks like things couldn't get much worse for the College of Santa Fe. But even the current semester isn't safe. In an hour long discussion with students, staff and faculty, CSF President Dr. Stuart Kirk announced the drastic measures the school is taking just to make it through to May. According to Kirk, in November of 2008 the school secured funding to make it through the spring semester. Much of that funding came from a real estate deal in which Highlands University would acquire a plot of land from CSF. According to Kirk, on Thursday of last week Gov. Richardson blocked the deal feeling that the land acquisition would have a negative impact on the Legislature. On Friday Kirk and Board Chair David Chase met with department Chairs in an emergency meeting to whittle out funds for the remainder of the semester. According to Kirk, at today's meeting, "the only thing left is to look at administration, faculty and staff salaries." The deal is not done but on Wednesday a proposal will go to the board to renew fundraising efforts with the community, board, alumni, etc. as well as a proposal to cut those aforementioned salaries by 20%-40%, with 25% being the average according to Kirk, for the remainder of the semester. As was reported in the Albuquerque Journal and the Santa Fe New Mexican over the weekend, part of the issue that led to CSF's financial downfall is an allegation of fraud that stems from a 2006 bond transaction. According to Kirk, who became CSF's president less than a year after the transaction, "we don't know if it's fraud or misinformation that was given legitimately." Regardless of past actions, the students and faculty at CSF remain optimistic about a Highlands takeover, though realistic about the plan if that falls through. After more than a year and a half of possible takeovers, first Savannah School of Art and Design then Laureate, everyone is a little more cautious about calling a deal done. While Kirk maintains that Gov. Richardson and Mayor David Coss are behind the Highlands/CSF deal the CSF Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies Chair Susan Marcus is currently working on a teach-out plan that would allow students with less than 48 credit hours remaining on a degree to either graduate from a partner school (in this case most likely University of New Mexico) or that would allow CSF to keep its accreditation for one year so that students would attend classes at another school but still graduate with a College of Santa Fe degree. At the meeting with Kirk, students, who have put together a strong face at the Legislature on several occasions, voiced their concerns and sympathies for the staff and faculty who will be most financially affected by the measures, which Kirk describes as "draconian." Many staff asked Kirk if the board would be included in the pay cuts to which he could only respond that he "can't say at this time." Kirk is scheduled to meet with faculty on Tuesday and the Board of Trustees on Wednesday to finalize the pay cut plan. It seems that there is a slight possibility that a few faculty members will be willing to give up their salaries for the remainder of the semester but for most the burden of the pay cut will be hard to handle. According to Kirk staff making less than $20,000 per year will not be affected by the cut and that he and the board are still working to secure donations from the community, alumni and others in hopes that these pay cuts, the school's last resort, may be avoided at the final hour.

Though planned weeks ago, Dana Levin's Tuesday night reading at O'Shaughnessey Performance Space captured the emotional hue that hangs over the College of Santa Fe with the poignancy that can only come from poetry. Levin's work, written while on sabbatical after receiving a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship for poetry, is difficult, filled with esoteric references to the events and dreams that have shaped the author. She is as likely to reference the mountains of New Mexico as the Egyptian sun god Ra. But Levin, always the teacher, writes her poems to inform as well as entertain. She describes an art opening in Los Angeles in such vivid detail that the listener is transformed into viewer, exploring the visual world with Levin and she comes into contact with new ideas herself. Surprisingly, what brought Levin's work into the present moment was a single word she repeated and explained: ukiyo. The Japanese term, coined in the Edo Period when the leisure class produced massive amounts of art and literature, is rife with contradiction. Phonetically the term has a single pronunciation but when written can mean either "floating world" or "sorrowful world." That it is both says something about the life of leisure and the perceived life of the academic. As it has been reported in SFR, the New Mexican and the Journal, staff and faculty at CSF face pay cuts of, on average, 25%, though for some those cuts could be as much as 40%. These cuts come at a time when CSF has already laid off numerous employees, those left often doing double duty and taking over responsibilities that were never theirs before. For the faculty the cuts may be even more devastating. While jobs are hard to come by these days for everyone, for a teacher there aren't many options within their field mid-semester. Meanwhile many of the faculty has expressed to SFR their concerns about the ability to pay mortgages and groceries for their families or their ability to remain in Santa Fe if the college were to close. Though may believe that academics live lives of leisure the harsh reality is that many CSF staff and faculty live paycheck to paycheck. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education at Eastern New Mexico University and Highlands University average faculty salaries ranged from $39,100 to $66,800 for the 2007-2008 school year. On the low end a 25% reduction is equal to approximately $9,775 per year or $814 per month. On the high end a 25% reduction in salary is equal to approximately $16,700 per year or $1,392 per month. Big numbers, and that's only the average. It's also right in line with the US Census Bureau's median household income for 2004, the last year it was available, of $44,318. During her reading Levin gave a short introduction to the tantric Buddhist deity Yamantaka, the destroyer of death. This deity appears frightening because his job is to scare death away, certainly a deity that many of CSF's staff and faculty may be calling on in the next few days. (Disclaimer: As an adjunct faculty member at CSF my own pay, and all faculty/staff making under $20,000 per year, is not affected by the proposed cuts.)

"The Best Job in the World" has just come up for grabs in Australia. The Islands of the Great Barrier Reef need a caretaker and you too can turn those budget woes into gold. The catch, for the AUD$150,000 salary (a little over $100K US) you've got to live in paradise, maintain a blog about the experience and feed the fish. Sounds pretty sweet. And the site even has a social networking-esque section where applicants can check out the competition and rate their online applications. With all the photos and You Tube videos I've got to be a little skeptical. This is a trap right? Some Lost-like reality show where you think you're going to live on a tropical island but really you're stuck with some looney named after a dead philosopher, polar bears and a boat load of ammunition. Speaking of Lost, I'm starting to wonder how I missed this for the last five years. I watched the first season, though not religiously, and a bit of the second. Then my TV broke and I never followed through. Heard something about polar bears. Maybe it's because the season premier is coming up in the next few weeks, but in the last two days this show has come up with three totally separate people. People who I don't think even know each other. I guess I've got to find out about all the hype now. By the way, you've got 38 days to put your island app together. Better get to it or Chuck from Minnesota is going to be living in paradise while you're stuck on the bus looking more homeless than Dave Maass.