Hometown Sprint Gets Trashed

And they get trashed nationally and internationally, it seems. This from the New York Times today:

No Takeover, but Plenty of Taunts

Since becoming the chief executive of T-Mobile US, John J. Legere has been known for being outspoken. Still, as his company held merger talks with Sprint for much of this year, he was noticeably restrained in criticizing his rival.

But when Sprint officially announced on Wednesday that it had abandoned its plans to buy T-Mobile, Mr. Legere took the gloves off on Twitter.

“Is Sprint a melting ice cube? Looks like it to me. Join the cool brand now!” he taunted in one post.

“Join T-Mobile now and jump off the Sprint bus before it crashes,” he wrote in another.

Pretty fascinating stuff, really, since Sprint also just announced it's finally getting rid of what will likely, fortunately be the last Hesse family member to run the company.

Can you imagine talking to people and a company FOR A YEAR, just to have it all thrown away by that other side?

Anyway, the article goes on to explain how there aren't any other possible partner/suitors for Sprint and how they have  "had to grapple with steady customer losses as it spends billions of dollars to upgrade its network."  

Ouch.

All the while, the article goes on, it seems T-Mobile may still have suitors.

The article finishes describing Sprint's current situation (it's a good, comprehensive article and worth reading to know about Sprint and the larger markets, nationally. It finishes describing Sprint's current situation, with a new leader:

“The incoming C.E.O. is really going to have to resurrect the brand and come up with some new ideas.”

It could happen.

Links:  Sprint Goes Off Beaten Track for CEO

Sprint names Brightstar CEO as new chief

Sprint prominent in NYT today

Confidence From Chief of SoftBank in Sprint Bid

Seems crazy they'd let a national communications company be purchased by a company outside the States, security and all.

Good news for Google and Kansas City, likely bad for Sprint?

News out yesterday on the ever-changing technology and communications markets:

Phone cos. lose broadband subscribers for 1st time

NEW YORK (AP) — Phone companies are losing the high-speed Internet game. In the second quarter, the landline phone industry lost broadband subscribers for the first time, as cable companies continued to pile on new household and small business customers, thanks to the higher speeds they offer in most areas.

Good news for Google with their Google Fiber, sure. And good for Kansas City, since we're getting Google Fiber first in the nation.

But how about Sprint?

Are they part of the old-line phone companies, using the old utility poles and that more limited transmission capability?

It would seem so.

Sure, Sprint has the cell towers but they don't have the capabilities they write of here, in this article, that the cable companies have, it doesn't seem.

Anyway, the article then goes on to present some potentially bad news for us in time to come:

"The flow of subscribers from phone companies to cable providers could lead to a de facto monopoly on broadband in many areas of the U.S., say industry watchers. That could mean a lack of choice and higher prices."

So who really knows?

Things change and things are changing with such speed, it's difficult to say.

Just from right here, right now, and this vantage point, it doesn't look or sound good for Sprint.

Hopefully they think of something brilliant.

And quickly.

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/phone-cos-lose-broadband-subscribers-1st-time-205430306--finance.html

KCMO: One of "10 best cities for new graduates"

Well, in spite of all the naysayers and negative bloggers, our own Kansas City, Missouri hit yet another big, national list of good things about us.

We are, in fact, listed as one of the best cities in the nation for new graduates by CNBC. It's also being blared out on Yahoo! right now, too.

Their stats on us:

Unemployment rate: 7.6%

Cost of living index: 97.8

Mean annual income: $45,050

Top industries: business, agriculture

Followed by this little blurb about us:

"K.C. is well known for its contributions in the categories of barbecue, jazz, and blues, but it continues to evolve. 'Healthy living and an eco-friendly lifestyle are just one part of the booming downtown of Kansas City,' says Christina Aragon, director of strategy and customer insights at Rent.com.

So there you go. Yet one more feather in our cap, so to speak.

Fact is, there are a lot worse places to live in the world and country, folks, by a long shot.

Enjoy.

Links: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/10-best-cities-for-new-graduates.html; http://www.cnbc.com/id/47376598?__source=yahoorealestate%7Ccitiesforgraduates%7C&par=yahoorealestate

Didn't Aretha look great the other night?

See more of her here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/08/3602131/aretha-franklin-performs-at-the.html#slide-1

Welcome to the Queen of Soul

Welcome to Kansas City, Sister Aretha. Rock 'em.

The Sprint Company and Insanity

Did you see the article yesterday in The Star?: Spring increased CEO Hesse's compensation 31% last year Is that a sweet, sweet deal or what? Here's why it's lousy for Sprint, their employees and their shareholders, however and why it MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE: "Sprint Nextel Corp boosted Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse's compensation 31 percent last year even as the Overland Park wireless carrier reported its fifth straight annual loss." Ain't 'dat a beauty? The company you're running, the company you're responsible for, the company you're supposed to either make or keep--or both--profitable actually LOSES MONEY FOR THE 5TH STRAIGHT YEAR but your buddies, the ones you appointed to the Board of Directors VOTE YOU A PAY RAISE. And forget about, oh, I don't know, a 3% or 5% or 7 or 10% raise! They give you a whopping 31% raise in pay. And at what you were making before, this ain't chicken feed. And people wonder why there is an "Occupy" movement or why stockholders get angry. Sheesh. You'd think Mr. Hesse and all these CEOs would be embarrassed. Wait. What am I saying? Who am I kidding? Besides, it seems like EVERY Sprint CEO takes gross advantage of that organization when they're at the top of it, starting with Bill Esrey, at least, to Gary Forsee and now this. It's just more of the same. Sure, it's ugliness but they just keep on doing it-fleecing the company, the employees and the stockholders. Shameful. Link to original story: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/27/3518998/sprint-increased-ceo-hesses-compensation.html

This needed more exposure here, locally

Jen, over at her "Plaza Jen" blog mentioned this briefly in her blog last week and that was great but it seems it got somewhat overlooked, I think. Kansas City and our Sprint Center got some great national (at least) coverage on NPR. Yet more great coverage and some kudos to the city from another nationwide media outlet--and it was done by our own Laura Spencer, too, from KCUR 89.3 FM. Do we have problems? Certainly. What city doesn't? Do we have some things to be proud of and enjoy? You bet. Links: http://plazajen.com/blog/?p=2420&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kansas-city-a-love-letter; http://www.npr.org/2011/11/23/142683097/kansas-city-cashes-in-on-a-big-time-sports-bet

Sprint can't seem to get a break

Lately, it seems anything and everything Sprint does just gets them in worse stock market/business trouble. They announced they were going to get the iPhone, at long last but what happens? They say they're going to buy 30 million of the things, investors think it's too much, a bad idea so the stock falls 10%, right off the bat. The fact is, Apple more recently reported that pre-orders for the new iPhone 4S hit 1 million, surpassing the previous model so it looks like it might be good for Sprint. But who knows? The latest bad news for Sprint is that Standard and Poors says they may downgrade their stock. These guys just can't get a break, can they? Links: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/10/03/3183886/closing-bell-sprint-stock-falls.html; http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20111010-708117.html

Not a good sign for sports at the Sprint Center

Plog (The Pitch Magazine blog) reports that the "NBA cancels preseason game at Sprint Center". Not good news, not good news at all. Between the national and international economy and possible strike in the NBA looming, it doesn't look as though our Sprint Center will have a national sport team in there any time too soon, if ever, no matter how beautiful a facility it is. Link: http://www.pitch.com/plog/archives/2011/09/23/lebron-james-wont-be-coming-back-to-kansas-city-nba-cancels-preseason-game-at-sprint-center

Sprint joins in the AT & T/T-Mobile merger

From The Huffington Post today: Sprint Sues To Stop AT&T, T-Mobile Deal To which I say, good on you, Sprint. It may be self-serving, of course, as all things corporate are but this deal just shouldn't go through. It's patently against competition and cell phone customers will suffer if it goes through, without doubt. Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/sprint-suit-att-tmobile_n_950688.html

Disgusting, shallow and transparent election year politics

Two stories in the Star today stuck out, too, about, as I said above, disgusting election year politics.

Ugh. Too bad we have to go through this.

First up is Mayor Funkhouser's little exercise in futility this week at the Sprint Center I wrote about earlier.

Man am I naive.

I thought that was just about pushing his "School's First" initiative.

What a dolt I am.

Naturally, what that was actually about was him pushing HIMSELF as a positive leader for the mayoral election this Fall.

I should have seen that a mile away.

I need to remember to be more cynical when it comes to these people and their election runs.

Next up is Roy Blunt's election run.

This one I can see completely through.

Since it's an election year for Roy and he's running for state senator, he's put forward a bill "that would raise the liability cap for an offshore, deep-water oil rig spill to $150 million or an amount equal to the last four quarters of the company's profits, whichever is greater. The bill also raises liability caps for other types of oil spills."

What's that you say? Isn't this usually "Mr. Corporate Supporter" Roy Blunt, the guy who ALWAYS does what the big money wants him to, while letting the "little guy"--you and I, the voters--go to heck in a handbasket?

Why, yes, that is exactly who we're talking about.

But it's an election year.

Besides, this is safe territory for good ol' boy Roy, for two reasons.

First, there are no big oil companies located with headquarters in Missouri, of course, and second, who's the biggest "bad guy" in the country right now?

I mean, besides Jay Leno.

Why, "Big Oil", of course.

We can kick them right now because of the whole Gulf oil spill down there that BP kicked up.

So the bad thing is, it's an election year and we have to put up with it, the advertising--which will soon be driving us crazy--and moves like these, from people like the Funk and good ol' boy Roy "where's the cash?" Blunt.

The good thing is that, in the case of Roy Blunt, he's sponsoring legislation that is more for us, the people, and for protecting us, which is foreign to him.

At least we have that.

That and the fact that time flies so it will soon be Christmas and the election will be over.

Another Funkhouser Fail

Seriously, I'm not just writing this to "dog-pile", in effect, on the Mayor.

This morning, I went to the Star, expecting a front page article--with pictures--of the Mayor's self-promotional giveaway party last evening that cost us all $6300.00.

No pic.

No story.

No nothing.

On further searching, buried on A4 of the local section was a picture, for sure, and a short 9 paragraph story on his "town hall meeting" he threw for us last evening.

Man, is this guy out of touch. Whew.

First things first, though. The Star's picture was unfair to us, the public, and pretty distorted of the event and its attendees.

If you saw the picture as I did, it looked like the Sprint Center was packed.

But it wasn't.

Check this out--go to the Pitch website and see their pictures of the same event: http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2010/05/mayor_mark_funkhousers_sparsely_attended_carnivaltown_hall_meeting_at_sprint_center_slideshow.php

Not packed at all.

So, Star, you've upped your game concerning local coverage and it's much better and I salute that and you now for it but this was badly represented to us, your readers. You need to give us a good, representational picture of public events like these and this was off the mark.

Now, back to the Mayor.

Don't you know he's got to be feeling a bit like Jay Leno right now?

I mean, nobody likes him. Nobody wants him. Nobody thinks he's a success. But the show keeps going on. Ouch. It's gotta hurt.

I love the fact that the story was covered and written by Dave Helling and that's all in got in the paper. If Dave gave it little note, you know it's not important.

And what is important?

How about the fact that Kansas City, Missouri is up to 39 homicides this year?

Sure, it's not Chicago, with their record-breaking killings but it's not even Summer and hot weather and we keep getting senseless, needless shootings and killings in town and still, THE MAYOR AND HIS OFFICE HAVE DONE NOTHING--ZIP, NADA--TO ADDRESS IT.

I had to attend my daughter's graduation last night or I was going to attend this thing. Had I gone, I wanted to ask him what, if anything, he EVER intended to do about the murder rate in town.

I've said, here, time and again that he should announce that he is going to align with church and community leaders, neighborhood groups, etc., to address this problem in the city.

I was going to ask him last night if he could/would do that and if he didn't think it was long overdue.

No, instead he wants to borrow "$100 million to fix sidewalks, streets and curbs near schools..." as well as get "a renewed quarter-cent sales tax to provide more police officers near school buildings."

Terrific. His answers are--both--to raise taxes. Great idea.

Is there anyone out there who thinks getting new sidewalks, streets and curbs near public schools is going to improve the learning that's going on in the schools?

Let's ask Superintendent Covington. And the teachers, let's ask the teachers.

And why hasn't the city--already--been taking care of the streets, curbs and sidewalks anyway, as they're supposed to be doing, instead of trying to come up with yet another tax and program to do all this?

But the Mayor doesn't get all this. He thinks it's a great idea and wants us to join him.

Not gonna' happen. Sorry, there, Funk. It just isn't going to happen.

Besides being a poor and poorly thought program--THAT ALSO RAISES 2 TAXES, in effect--he doesn't have enough time to get this through, who is he kidding, besides the Squirt and himself?

So if it were a grade, Mayor, you'd get an "F" for that assignment you turned in last night.

Could you forget about this now, stop embarassing yourself and maybe address the murders and murder rate in town?

You probably have time enough for that.