United States of America
I am a journalist with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Currently, I am a writer for Land Line Magazine, a trade publication for the trucking industry. I have experience in reporting/writing on a variety of topics, including transportation, politics, lawsuits, local/state/federal laws and regulations, human interest and more. Experience in straight news and blogs alike.
UPDATE (12:00 a.m., Friday, Nov. 11): Someone close to the situation reached out to me and posted the following: This is not the first time I have written about the power of public shaming. Unfortunately, it probably will not be the last. Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) and pseudo-journalists love to publicly shame private citizens to push whatever agenda.
UPDATE - 10:00 p.m. CDT - May 25, 2019: Apologies to Rep. Shamed Dogan. Rep. Dogan voted "Nay" on the final version. The original story incorrectly drew from a vote for a different version of the bill that was not sent to the governor's desk.
Since we were young, we have been told there are two keys to success: work hard and apply yourself. Anyone can be an astronaut/actor/lawyer/etc. if you just apply yourself. This may be true, but what our parents didn't tell us was hard work and grit was just a fraction of the "success pie."
Feature piece highlighting Mack Trucks during a 1,000-mile road trip.
Cover story about fighting wildfires from three different perspectives.
WARNING: Harsh realities ahead. SPOILER ALERT: Stick around. Silver linings are also ahead. Only one city gets to celebrate at the end of a season. Twenty-nine others will be disappointed, jaded, heartbroken. San Francisco is used to victory. Kansas City is used to defeat. That's life.
I read court cases involving truckers all week. It's part of the job. Everything from noncompliant carriers busted by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General to lost wages due to misclassification. Earlier this week I received an email from a lawyer giving me a heads up about a case involving a truck driver who was fired for refusing to accept an overweight load.
The New York State Thruway Authority has filed a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by the American Trucking Associations, which claims that using truck toll revenue to fund New York canals is unconstitutional. In August 2016, a federal judge ruled in favor of ATA, but the Thruway is arguing that Congressional authority to use the toll nullifies the decision.
Recently, we saw posts on Facebook with the image shown on the right. Another truck-friendly city? I called City Administrator Ronald Stock to get details. To call Weed, Calif., "trucker-friendly" may be an understatement.