Despite an aggressive campaign promoting the availability of discounted cab rides during Fiesta to prevent drunken driving accidents, less than a third of the available $20 vouchers were used, an official said Thursday. The reason could be that cab drivers, who work as independent contractors, were discouraged from participating because they had trouble getting reimbursed for the vouchers last year, said Sam Aguirre, traffic safety specialist with the Texas Department of Transportation San Antonio district. The vouchers could be used only for the 12 events that typically register the highest alcohol sales during Fiesta. In 2011, the vouchers could be used at any Fiesta event. This year, Yellow Cab distributed 1,875 vouchers to its drivers, but only 931 were submitted for reimbursement, meaning they were ... Continue reading →
Despite an aggressive campaign promoting the availability of discounted cab rides during Fiesta to prevent drunken driving accidents, less than a third of the available $20 vouchers were used, an official said Thursday. The reason may be that cab drivers — who work as independent contractors — were discouraged from participating in the program because they had trouble getting reimbursed for the vouchers last year, said Sam Aguirre, traffic safety specialist with the Texas Department of Transportation San Antonio district. Yellow Cab and San Antonio Taxis participated in the program. Yellow Cab distributed 1,875 vouchers to its drivers, but only 931 were submitted for reimbursement, meaning they were used. San Antonio Taxis distributed 1,600 vouchers, with just 153 used. Overall, $19,287 was paid in reimbursements ... Continue reading →
This evening, the New Yorker Fiction Department (@NYerFiction) will start tweeting Jennifer Egan’s new story “Black Box,” which will appear in its entirety in the Science Fiction Issue, out on Monday. We asked Egan what inspired her to structure her story in paragraphs of a hundred and forty characters or fewer. Several of my long-standing fictional interests converged in the writing of “Black Box.” One involves fiction that takes the form of lists; stories that appear to be told inadvertently, using a narrator’s notes to him or herself. My working title for this story was “Lessons Learned,” and my hope was to tell a story whose shape would emerge from the lessons the narrator derived from each step in the action, rather than from descriptions ... Continue reading →
Cheryl Gerber for The New York TimesThe Times-Picayune newspaper overflow library in 2006.The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans confirmed on Thursday that it would cut back its print publishing schedule to three days a week and lay off an unknown number of staff members.Earlier Coverage of Times-PicayuneIn an article posted on its Web site, Nola.com, Thursday morning, the paper reported that a new company would be formed called the NOLA Media Group, which would include the paper and the Web site. The newspaper will be home delivered and available in stores on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays only. The Web site, meanwhile, will increase its online news-gathering efforts “24 hours a day.”This memorandum from the publisher was sent out Thursday morning, following a New York Times ... Continue reading →
Steve Myers May 24, 2012 9:41 am MediaWire memo | The Times-Picayune Times-Picayune publisher Ashton Phelps Jr. has confirmed that the newspaper will cease daily publication, moving to three days a week in the fall: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. He also confirmed staff cuts, though he didn't say how large they will be. The New York Times' David Carr reported Wednesday night that the paper likely would cease daily publication and that the two managing editors would leave. This would make New Orleans the largest U.S. city without a daily newspaper. The Times-Picayune, with a circulation of about 155,000 on Sundays and 134,000 weekdays, would be the largest paper in the U.S. to shift to non-daily publication. Its circulation in March 2005, before Hurricane Katrina ... Continue reading →
