Just before the start of 2009, Lee Enterprises filed its long-delayed annual report originally due out in early December. Lee's fiscal 2008 year ended Sept. 28.

The report paints a bleak financial picture for the fourth largest newspaper chain in the country (owner of the Quad City Times) and raises questions about its long-term survival.

After Lee's stock meltdown from nearly $15 a share in January 2008 to 41 cents as of Friday (1/2/09), the firm wrote down the value of its goodwill by $909 million, and reported a net operating loss of $888 million for the year, or $19.83 per share.

The 10K report discusses the restructuring of the firm's $1.4 billion debt, and the company's accounting firm reported it is uncertain of the chain's ability to weather the financial storm from declining revenues and accelerating debt payments.

Balzac wrote: “Behind every great fortune lies a forgotten crime.” Combine that thought with Buffet’s" only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked” and you a great take of the current financial landscape.

Even before Monday's (12/22) designation of Scott, Rock Island and Muscatine counties as "non-attainment" for fine particulate pollution, Iowa and Illinois environmental agencies were hard at work analyzing 2008 air quality data to challenge the decision.

A loophole in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) non-attainment filing allows states to submit "complete, quality assured, certified 2008 data" prior to the effective date of the EPA rulemaking, Feb. 20, 2009, to obtain a reversal of the designation. Normally, states don't submit annual data until April, and certification of the data isn't required until July of the following year.

Air quality officials in Iowa have argued in earlier EPA submissions the 2005-2007 monitoring data used to determine non-attainment was skewed because of unusually hot weather, which affects formation of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday (12/22) designated most of Scott, Rock Island and Muscatine counties as "non-attainment" areas for fine particulate pollution, rejecting last ditch efforts by local industry lobbyists to avoid the broad designation.

EPA narrowed its "non-attainment" area somewhat, but far less than sought by Quad City Development Group lobbyists and an ad hoc task force funded by several local governments and companies facing emission clean up requirements under the designation.

The EPA's initial designation included all of Scott, Muscatine and Rock Island Counties. In its final designations the non-attainment area includes most of those three counties, but excludes mainly outlying rural areas.

With the growing popularity of Apple's iPhone and other internet-capable phones, Google has rolled out a mobile version of its popular AdWords program for search.

Nearly 70 percent of internet-capable phone users utilize their "phone" for searches (i.e. movies, restaurants, gas stations, Starbucks) while on the go. Feeding AdWords (paid text or image ads) along with the search results (just like Google on your desktop/laptop) was a no-brainer.

On the other end, advertisers will have the ability to choose whether to feed their "sponsored" ad words to mobile devices. For some advertisers, mobile ads won't make sense and they can opt out of mobile searches in their AdSense account preferences.

Economy advances 'tipping point' for print newspapers

By bgierke

Several days ago I listened to the husband/wife team of Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth discuss their book Baboon Metaphysics on National Public Radio's 'Fresh Air.' (Terry Gross is the interviewer nonpareil!) It was a fascinating discussion of the incredibly complex fabric of baboon society.

The title was taken from words of Charles Darwin: “Origin of man now proved. Metaphysic must flourish. He who understands baboon would do more toward metaphysics than Locke.” Darwin therewith asserts a greater complexity to the mind than Locke’s (and later BF Skinner et al’s) tabla rasa.

From the book: “Darwin disagreed - both with the conclusion that animals’ thoughts and behavior are entirely based on instinct and with the view that human thought and behavior are governed entirely by reason.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should not back off of its plan to designate Scott, Rock Island and Muscatine counties as non-attainment for fine particulate pollution.

The non-attainment action will force the state of Iowa and Illinois to begin the long-term, and long overdue, process to reduce PM 2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers) in the entire bi-state area.

PM 2.5 emissions are harmful to all residents, but especially the very young and elderly, susceptible to the development of asthma and serious lung ailments. Only through implementation of a broad regional approach to PM 2.5 emissions will people of all ages be able to enjoy the basic right to breathe clean air.

by Budge Gierke

I started taking all of my children rock-climbing at a very early age and have enjoyed the experiences more than I ever could have imagined. Usually. Upon a few occasions, terror and/or minor injury was/were unwelcome companions. Matter of fact, I probably did visit both upon each repeatedly. Has made me realize that child abuse is not as easy to define as I’d thought. And that, perhaps, it is sometimes inflicted without intent.

Early one morning many, many years ago, son Andrew and I made our way to the base of a cliff overlooking the river. As we hiked beneath its lush deciduous canopy that was yet spring green, Andrew gestured toward a broad soaring bird that we could only sporadically glimpse.

“Look at the hawk!” he exclaimed.

“Vulture,” I corrected without really looking.

Amid the ruin from Wall Street's decline, an astonishing re-shuffling has occurred in local stocks: the Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. ($3.40 per share; $104 million market cap as of 12/3/08) is now worth more than Lee Enterprises ($.67 per share; $30.2 million market cap as of 12/3/08).

Lee (parent of the Quad City Times) has continued its steady decline falling from $15 a share a year ago to well below $1 a share this week. Isle has been on a steep fall-off from $18 a share a year ago, but at this writing is three times the value of the fourth largest owner of daily newspapers (7th largest in daily circulation) in the country. Lee owns 49 daily newspapers and 300 weekly newspapers, but is carrying the burden of more than $1.3 billion in debt, principally from the purchase of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in June 2005.

Lee recently reported fourth quarter financial results (ended Sept. 28) of 12 cents per share, down from 43 cents per share for the same quarter last year. For the year ended Sept. 28, Lee lost $15.23 per share, compared with earnings of $1.77 per share for the same period in 2007.

Total advertising revenue for the 52-week period ended Sept. 28 totaled $865 million, down 9.4 percent compared with the 12-months ended Sept. 30, 2007. The decline in daily newspaper revenues included a 5 percent drop in retail display advertising, a 17 percent drop in classified advertising, a 20 percent decline in national display ads and a 2 percent decline in online advertising revenues.

Even Republican stronghold Bettendorf voted for Democrat President-Elect Barack Obama, but just barely – 9,753 (50.3 percent) to 9,631 (49.7 percent).

The narrow loss for the Republican presidential ticket came despite an overwhelming advantage in Bettendorf's two most populous and wealthiest precincts, 4th Ward 1st Precinct (4-1) and 5th Ward 2nd Precinct (5-2).

In those two precincts, which include the newest northern areas of the community, the Republican McCain-Palin ticket was the easy winner by a 60-40 margin. The Republican margin was 1,153 to 801 in 4-1 and 1,784 to 1,211 in 5-2.

Only a better showing by the Democratic ticket in 4-2 (1,080 to 1,053 votes for Obama) and 5-1 (927 to 684 votes for Obama) made the overall ward results less of a Republican majority in the 4th and 5th Wards.

Each of the other three city wards voted for the President-Elect to give the majority to Obama by a slim 122 votes city-wide.

Indicative of the Republican leanings in 4-1 and 5-2 were the number of "straight party" ballots - voters casting their vote for all Republicans candidates on the ballot.

Nearly 70 percent of the ballots in 4-1 were "straight party," while 65 percent of the ballots cast in 5-2 were by straight party vote.

In the other Republican-Democrat face off among Bettendorf voters, Democratic incumbent U.S. Congressman Bruce Braley narrowly defeated Republican David Hartsuch 9,552 (51 percent) to 9,155 (49 percent).

Hartsuch won handily by nearly 600 votes in 5-2 and 300 votes in 4-1. He also carried 3-1 and 4-2 by narrow margins.

In the overall congressional voting results, Braley defeated Hartsuch (a Bettendorf resident now serving as a state senator) 60 percent (49,732 votes) to 40 percent (32,766 votes).

And, in keeping with the trend seen nationally, record numbers of Bettendorf voters cast their ballots early. "Absentee" ballots in eight of the 11 city precincts outnumbered votes cast on election day.