“Inside Pitch” takes a whimsical look at the future of flying in the not- so-friendly skies of America. What will we be required to pay for next?

Additional fees are the lifeblood
of commercial aviation in the U.S.

A WHIMSICAL VIEW OF THE FUTURE OF
FLYING IN NOT-SO-FRIENDLY SKIES
 
By David Maril
 
Don’t be surprised if you start hearing these kinds of announcements from many of the major airlines in coming months:

  “In order to combat the rising fuel costs, we will no longer provide free magazines on flights. Travelers who want to read magazines can purchase in-flight subscriptions. There will be opportunities to earn points through subscriptions on deals like time-sharing properties.”

  “To cut down on weight and wind drag, we will not offer seating on flights under 500 miles. Travelers will remain standing and have a rail to hold on to if turbulence occurs. The airline figures the absence of seats will save $9 million in fuel costs per month.

“Without rows and rows of seats, the airplanes will be thousands of pounds lighter,” a company insider reveals.

“We’ll save a fortune on fuel and we’ll also be able to fit at least 40 more people on each flight. And when people are holding on to rails, they will not have time to think about the snack and refreshment service they are missing.” 

  “In another airplane weight-reduction plan, we will limit beer selections to lite beer only and play only light music on our in-flight sound system. We want to be known more as the ‘lightweights of the industry’ to stretch how far our planes can go,” one company vice president says.

  Another airline announces it will start making customers weigh in when they buy tickets, selling seating by the pound. Anyone weighing in over 150 lbs. pays an extra $10 for each pound.

“You buy food by the pound and trucks have to weigh in on highways, so why not be fair about airline tickets and have passengers pay according to their weight?” an airline spokesperson says.

Read more »

 
NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Friday Aug. 8

[Scroll down for full week’s compendia]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
 
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond.   Your weekday morning look  (with links)  at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Friday:

Bill Cole was named Thursday to head the Baltimore Development Corp., the quasi-public agency charged with revitalizing the city.

•  COUNCILMAN COLE NAMED TO HEAD BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT CORP.

The two-term city councilman succeeds BDC President and CEO Brenda McKenzie, who is resigning for “personal” and “family” reasons less than two years after replacing iconic BDC head Jay Brodie in November 2012.

At $190,000 annually, Cole’s salary will be $18,000 a year less than McKenzie’s.

Read More at:  Maryland Daily Record
| Baltimore Sun

•  BALTIMORE’S TOUGH NEW CURFEW
SET TO BEGIN FRIDAY

It’s one of the strictest in the country and updates a law that’s been on the books for 20 years requiring children younger than 14 to be indoors by 9 p.m.

Kids between the ages of 14-16 can stay out until 10 p.m. on school nights and 11 p.m. on weekends and during the summer.

Read More at:  WBAL-Radio (1090AM)

•  THREE-DAY ANIME CONVENTION ‘OTAKON’ OPENS FRIDAY IN BALTIMORE

To be held again at the Baltimore Convention Center, the annual Japanese-themed “Otakon” is one of the largest conventions of its kind in the country, with more than 20,000 visitors a day last year.

Read More at:  The (Annapolis) Capital

•  TOWSON UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT’S MANSION GOES ON SALE FOR $1.08M

The Guilford mansion that cost former Towson University President Mark L. Perkins his job is expected to be sold to IT professional Hugh Bethell and his family for $1.08 million. The university paid $850,000 for the property in 2001 and then invested nearly $1 million in repairs and upgrades, including an elevator.

Read More at:  Baltimore Sun

•  MONTANA SENATOR WITHDRAWS FOLLOWING ACCUSATIONS OF PLAGIARISM

Sen. John Walsh, a former lieutenant governor of Montana, dropped out of the state’s U.S. Senate race Thursday, following a July report by the New York Times that he lifted large passages — without attribution — from other authors for a masters thesis he submitted to the Army War College in 2007.

Read More at:  CBS News
 

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Zenith 1950s-era black & white “porthole” TV broadcasts the “Amos ’n’ Andy” show, which ran on CBS from 1951-1953 and then in syndicated reruns from 1954-1966. Back in that day, Zenith was arguably the premier American television brand, albeit in heavy competition with RCA and Philco.

HOW MANY PEOPLE TODAY EVEN KNOW
WHAT COMPANY MAKES THEIR TV SET?

Which automobile is better? — Ford or Chevrolet?
Which computer is the best? — Apple or PC?

MOST PRODUCTS NO LONGER
HAVE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES
OR FAMILIAR CHARACTERISTICS
 
By David Maril
 
Whatever happened to brand loyalty?

Remember not too long ago when so many American buyers were loyal to a particular company or product?

For many years, any time I purchased a television, the only type I’d consider was a Zenith. Through marketing and years of carefully crafted advertising, Zenith delivered a convincing message that “The quality goes in before the name goes on.”

When televisions adopted the printed circuit technology, we were assured that Zenith was the lone TV that was still hand-wired and therefore more reliable and easier to repair. For years, after mergers seemed to make the familiar competition like RCA and Philco disappear, we were under the impression Zenith was the only American-made option that was still around.

After Zenith was merged into extinction, Sony had the great reputation and many Zenith-type diehards made the switch to this impressive TV import.

Today, however, few people can even tell you what brand television they purchase or own.

The focus is more on the level of the screen’s high-definition, the sound system and technological options that enable you to watch a dozen football games at the same time.

The lone survivor in the world of old-fashioned brand-loyalty wars seems to be Apple vs. Microsoft in the computer world.

Most Apple technicians and users act as if they will dirty their hands if they type on the keyboard of a PC. The majority of PC people, on the other hand, laugh at Apple fanatics and believe they are strangely out of touch with reality.

Lost in the decade-long discussion about what American car companies need to survive, regaining a more dominant market share, is the loss of consumer brand-loyalty. In the 1980s, according to a recent article in the New York Times, four out of five car buyers returned to the same brand. Today, that figure has fallen to 20 percent.

Read more »

 
NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Friday Aug. 1

[Scroll down for full week’s compendia]
 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
 
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond.   Your weekday morning look  (with links)  at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Friday:

Maryland’s fifth gambling spot, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, which is sched- uled to open August 26th, has added Charm City Cakes to its dining lineup.

•  CHARM CITY CAKES ADDED TO HORSHOE CASINO DINING LINEUP

The $442 million gambling complex set to open in late August added Remington-based bakery Charm City Cakes to its dining lineup Thursday.

Read More at:  WBAL-TV (Ch. 11)

•  ISRAEL, HAMAS AGREE TO 72-HOUR CEASE-FIRE

Brokered by the U.S. and the U.N., the surprise humanitarian cease-fire is set to begin Friday morning. However, Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned there were “no guarantees” the lull in violence would bring an end to the 24-day-old Gaza war.

Read More at:  WBAL-Radio (1090AM)

•  UNDER ARMOUR TARGETS WOMEN IN MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR CAMPAIGN

The Baltimore-based sports apparel giant is launching a $15 million campaign to win over women with a series of commercials, all featuring female athletes.

Read More at:  WJZ-TV (Channel 13)

•  THREE U.S. SENATORS CRITICIZE THE NFL FOR ‘INADEQUATE’ PUNISHMENT OF RAY RICE

In letters to the National Football League, Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin implored the league and the Baltimore Ravens to revisit their sanctions against Rice and to create a program to deal with domestic violence in a way similar to the treatment of drug offenses by players.

Read More at:  Baltimore Sun

•  NAACP CONVENTION MAY NOT BE HELD IN CHARM CITY AFTER ALL

Read more »

Ravens’ running back Ray Rice meets the media at the team’s Owings Mills training complex to try to explain why he knocked out his then-fiancée, now wife (seated next to him, at left), in an Atlantic City casino elevator last February. The NFL suspended Rice earlier this week for the first two games of the 2014 season.

WHY DO WE HOLD RAVENS PLAYERS
TO LOWER PERSONAL STANDARDS
THAN ORIOLES BASEBALL STARS?

Running back Ray Rice’s 2-game suspension
for assaulting his then-fiancée, now wife,
is criticized nationwide for leniency

ORIOLES’ 1-DIMENSIONAL OFFENSE,
NOT THE PITCHING, SHOULD BE
TEAM’S PRIMARY CONCERN

5 Ravens arrested during off-season
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering why fans of all professional sports are so quick to put athletes on a pedestal without knowing more about their stature as responsible human beings, it’s interesting to note the following:

 While the news that five players on the Baltimore Ravens were arrested for various offenses during the off-season has been greeted with yawns, and at the most some mild public indignation, what would the reaction have been if even just one Baltimore Oriole was picked up by the police? Media reaction and response from the fans would have been severe and a lot less forgiving.

Maybe it’s the dehumanizing violent nature of football and the perception that serious injuries, going back decades and afflicting players through their lifetimes, are shrugged off and swept under the rug.

While pro football coaches give lip-service to the responsibility of players to display character and serve as role models, their main course of action after an incident is to focus quickly on “moving on” to do what’s best for the team, and “learning” from the mistake.

If five Orioles had been arrested in the off-season, how many would have still been with the team in spring training? And one can only imagine the serious sermonizing that O’s manager Buck Showalter would have publicly unleashed about the importance of responsibility in life.

In baseball, players are not shielded by football-style helmets, with their faces covered. In addition, baseball players, who are not as bulked up for specialized positions, are more recognizable as regular people both on the field and out of uniform.

The sport is slower paced and while games can become intense and competitive, the pace is much more disciplined and under control.

Character and what the players do off the field seems of a higher importance than in football.

Read more »