Re: QED & Marshall McLuhan

Hi All,

I'm the sort who prefers specifics as opposed to abstract discussions.  I
visited the Peepo site with sighted assistance but the person describing
the site to me said it made no sense to them so couldn't really explain how
it was supposed to work.

1. I'd really appreciate it if someone could explain what's happening on
that site and how it is supposed to work.  I'm trying to gain an
understanding of what folks are wanting with that site.

2. Below is a basic news article I happened to read this morning.  To
assist my understanding of the needs of those represented by folks
advocating for images and such please explain:

A. how this story should be conveyed accurately in images or the symbol
system you are talking about.  Suppose this story were to be put online at
the Peepo site.

B. How this story should be written or encoded for folks with cognitive
disorders or learning disabilities.



Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/jun99/packers08060799.asp 


Cash reserves are low, Packers say
By D. Orlando Ledbetter
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: June 7, 1999
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers sent their annual financial report - a
report that clearly states the franchise has some serious cash flow
problems - to their shareholders on Monday.

The franchise has been focusing on replenishing its cash reserves over the
last four to five years.

"What happened this year is we had a really dramatic economic reality
check," said John R. Underwood, the Packers' treasurer and executive
committee member. "The reality is that signing bonuses have become a bigger
part of this business. During the fiscal year, this organization paid out
$32.6 million in signing bonuses."

The Packers had a negative cash flow of $154,000 for their 1998-'99 fiscal
year, which ended on March 31. The sum would have been substantially higher
had not the franchise received a one-time franchise fee payment from the
Cleveland Browns of $16.78 million.

After paying the taxes on the Cleveland payment, the Packers pocketed $10.6
million. If they didn't receive the payment, they would have had a $10.754
million negative cash flow and may have had to use their line of credit or
dip into their reserves.

The Packers have cash reserves of $52.4 million, but $20.6 million of that
is restricted for facilities from their recent stock sale.

"The real challenge is that we are going to find other sources of revenues
where we can continue to build our cash reserves," Underwood said. "That's
really our challenge. We intend to continue to win and we will.

"But in order to do that, we still have to keep building our cash reserves
so that we've got the cash and we can use it to pay the players, to build a
team and continue to win."

Among the initiatives to create more revenue streams, the Packers - who
have already announced ticket and parking increases for next season - plan
to have some reserve seating for their training camp practices, rent out
the Don Hutson Center for pre-game parties and sell tickets to their Aug. 7
practice inside of Lambeau Field.

"If you purchase a Lambeau Field tour or a Hall of Fame tour, you can as
part of your tour package get a reserve seat," said John Jones, the
Packers' senior vice president of administration. "A family of four driving
in from anywhere in the state or from outside the state, any fan coming
from a long distance can purchase in advance his tour of Lambeau and then
know that he'd have a place for him and his family to sit and watch
practice for that morning or afternoon."

The Packers also plan to restructure the pricing of their boxes and luxury
suites for the 2001 season.

In existing stadiums around the league, the average price for boxes/suites
is $60,000. In the new stadiums,it's $76,000. The Packers average price is
$30,000.

"That's going to be an area that's going to get a lot of analysis," Jones
said. "We'll look at it and try to move us closer to the league averages."

The Packers say they'll take extreme care as to not price their fans out of
the stadium.

"We have to be cognizant of who our customers are," Underwood said. "At the
same time we have to be competitive."

Over the last three years, the Packers ranked 11th, ninth and 15th in
overall revenue in the National Football League.

"That's probably where we are going to settle in, somewhere in the middle
of the pack or even lower," Underwood said.

The Packers are basically trying to fill the economic void until they make
a decision about how to settle their stadium situation. Since 1990, 21 of
the 31 teams have either built a new stadium, renovated their stadium or
have plans in place to build a stadium.

"If we don't do anything, our rank within the league is going to continue
to erode," Underwood said. "We can't permit that to happen. We have to
continue to do everything that we can to have the financial resources to
get the players signed so that we can continue to win."

Jones points to the AFC Central, where Jacksonville's four-year old stadium
will be the oldest in that division in three years after Pittsburgh and
Cincinnati complete their stadiums. Cleveland and Tennessee open new
stadiums this season.

In the NFC Central, Lambeau Field and Soldier Field are the oldest
stadiums. Tampa Bay opened its new stadium last season and Detroit has its
stadium plan approved.

The Packers, when it became clear that public funding would not be
available, put their $75 million plan to renovate Lambeau Field on the
back-burner.

Stadium projects for Philadelphia, Denver and New England were approved at
the last owner's meeting. Kansas City, reportedly, is also looking at
renovating Arrowhead Stadium.

Received on Tuesday, 8 June 1999 13:07:01 UTC