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A dozen sites
I'm diggin'

1. "She's like a moose going after a cabbage." A fun piece watching the Palin speech with locals in Alaska.

2. Track Hannah with these storm tools I created on Ning.

3. Stay on top of Hannah with this site that includes radar, satellite, tracking maps, warnings and more.

4. The coolest storm tracking site I have seen in a while.

5. The site watches TV and Web mentions of candidates. It also monitors Tweets and more.

6. Instead of scheduling meetings by e-mail, everybody can work out a time and date online.

7. Here are tons of GREAT tools that will help you find anything on flickr.

8. Vloggerheads fights back against YouTube chaos.

9. YouTomb is where videos go after they're booted off YouTube.

10. The evolution of voting in America is shown by interactive mapping.

11. I have never seen anything like this amazing "Swan Lake" performance. [Flash]

12. This is my current home page.

All of my Diggin' sites are saved on Poynter's del.icio.us page.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. We will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.

States Cut University Budgets

So many of my journo friends tell me they are considering leaving the newsroom and turning to academia. They'd better think twice. At least eight states, and probably more, are already in the budget cutting mode for state-supported schools.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says:

At least eight states have implemented or proposed cuts to public colleges and universities. For example:

In Florida, university budgets and community-college funding already have been cut, with further cuts expected; schools are anticipating limiting student enrollment, closing satellite campuses, and laying off staff. Florida State University, for example, is considering eliminating 218 faculty and staff positions and has instituted a freeze on hiring and travel.

In Alabama, the governor has proposed cuts to higher education, including zeroing out all workforce funds for community colleges that are used to train students in specific job skills such as welding, and reducing funding for adult basic education by two-thirds.

In Maine, the governor has proposed cuts to higher education (including both universities and community colleges) that the Chancellor of Education has said could lead to tuition hikes of 14 percent, as well as the elimination of hundreds of classes.

In Kentucky, the governor has cut almost all agencies — including universities — by a stunning 12 percent across the board for the current fiscal year.

Virginia has cut universities across the board by 5 percent.

Other states making or proposing cuts in higher education funding include New Jersey, New York, California and Rhode Island. Large tuition increases are likely in some of these states.

Posted by Al Tompkins 1:22 AM March 25, 2008

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