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From WGBH in Boston this is the Emily Rooney show. It's Thursday April 29 2010 I'm Emily Rooney. On today's show federal authorities are investigating possible anti-competitive behavior in the way that partners the Boston area's most powerful hospital network negotiates with insurers. We'll check in with one of the reporters well break the story. Plus New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen explains her efforts to block airline baggage fees and prevent what she calls Skyway robbery. I think consumers air travelers really are tired of seeing their client die. Then I look back at the life of etiquette. Then Elizabeth post and the legacy of the entire post clan. And finally the only entertaining J squared Jan Sarah Gani and Jared Bowen. That and more today on the Emily Rooney show. But first the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying that oil spill off

the Louisiana coast could be a much bigger threat to sensitive habitats and fisheries and officials first thought. They're warning the slick may reach wildlife along the gulf coast by tomorrow night after finding a third substantial leak in the damage oil well that exploded burned and sank last week. Geologist Barry Cole says the crisis management team is considering something never before used in the Gulf. A bell shaped underwater oil catcher. The oil is coming up in a stream. And if they can catch it before it comes to the surface with sort of like an umbrella device where the oil comes up underneath and it's caught and then it's pumped out. The Obama administration has offered military assistance. One of the giants of the civil rights movement is being remembered today. NPR's John Snyder reports on President Obama's salute to the late Dorothy Height during funeral services for her this morning. Hundreds of mourners filled Washington National Cathedral to say goodbye to height. Poet Maya

Angelou was among them she offered a reading and educator Camille Cosby paid tribute to her. President Obama delivered the eulogy. There are giants feel our history books. Well Dr. Dorothy Height deserves a place in this pantheon. She too deserves a place in our history books. Dorothy Height was a voice for women in the civil rights movement. She led the National Council of Negro Women for many years and marched with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.. She died last week at age 90 8. Giles Snyder NPR News Washington. Iraq's election commission says a controversial recount of votes from Baghdad province will begin Monday and is likely to take two to three weeks From Baghdad NPR's Peter Kenyon has more on the aftermath of Iraq's March 7th parliamentary elections. The election commission oversaw a surprising result that saw a secular slate headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi edging out the current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki by just two seats. Maliki has been pressing for a limited recount ever since. Analysts

say limiting the recount to Baghdad would seem to work in Maliki favor and recently allow he and his supporters have been calling for an entirely new election. Part of the reason for that is Iraq's Betha cation Commission which has been successful in disqualifying scores of Sunni candidates because of their former connections with Saddam Hussein's regime. The Sunni's largely backed a law in the March balloting So analysts say the post-election maneuvering is likely to hurt their chances. And some fear a return to sectarian violence could result. Peter Kenyon NPR News Baghdad. Positive economic news out today are bolstering U.S. stocks to last check the Dow is up one hundred twenty five points at eleven thousand one hundred seventy. This is NPR. The job market is improving. Progress is still slow. The Labor Department reports new unemployment claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 440000 last week after seeing 11000 fewer applicants in the week before but analysts were expecting a bigger drop. Yesterday the Federal Reserve acknowledged companies are still skittish about

hiring but employers are beginning to come around. The second round of the National Hockey League playoffs is underway the identities of half the participants are somewhat surprising as NPR's Mike Pesca reports. The three highest seeded teams in the Eastern Conference are out victims of the tween hockey adage is that the playoffs are a different game and nothing beats a hot goalie. The most shocking victories are the Montreal Canadiens a team that barely made the playoffs. They beat the Washington Capitals who had by far the best regular season record in the NHL but lost three straight games to end their series against the Canadiens. The second seeded team the New Jersey Devils barely put up a fight against the Philadelphia Flyers who now face Boston in the conference semifinals. The Canadians skate against the defending champion penguins the favorites advanced in the Western Conference with the exception of the Phoenix coyote's who fell to the more experienced Detroit. The Red Wings faceoff against the top seeded San Jose Sharks tonight. Mike Pesca NPR News.

China says it is pained by ruling to strip the women's gymnastics team of its bronze medal from the 2000 Games but respects the International Olympic Committee's decision. The IOC asked for the medal back yesterday after discovering that one of the athletes at the Sydney Games was too young to compete. China is pledging to prevent that from ever happening again. The bronze medal now belongs to the U.S. I'm Lakshmi Singh NPR News. Support for NPR comes from sit for less. Selling all colors of the Herman Miller air on chair online including sit for a last true black on line that sit for last. Dot com. It's live and it's local. Coming up next two hours of local talk the Emily Rooney show and the Kelly Crossley Show. Only on WGBH. Good afternoon you're listening to the Emily Rooney show on Emily Ronie back in 2000. The Boston Globe Spotlight team took a hard look at Partners

Healthcare. That's the umbrella agency overseeing most of the prominent hospitals in the region including G.H. Brigham and Women's spot in the clay Newton Wellesley Spalding Dana-Farber. Essentially what the glove found back then was that partner's charges up to 30 percent more than competing hospitals and that insurers are forced to pay those heart those higher rates. Why. Simply because they have market clout. But now something else is happening. It turns out according to The Globe that the United States Department of Justice is opening up a civil investigation to possible. Anti-competitive behavior by partners health care specifically they're looking to see how partners negotiates contracts with health insurance companies and how much those hospitals reimburse compared to others. Joining me now is one of the reporters on that story is Liz Coel chick who's covering the story for The Boston Globe and is also part of the Globe Spotlight Team welcome was. Hi Amalie Thanks for having me.

Well just for a second talk about the significance of this because if if the Justice Department by the way since is subpoenaing all this material it looks like they're going to go ahead with some kind of a probe. I mean what could it mean for partners. Well it definitely the fact that they are subpoenaing this material means that they're on a fact finding mission. So they are doing a probe an investigation to see if there have been violated in the law. Just because they've asked for the information doesn't mean there have been by lation of the law but this is the case that these are the documents they need to see if if that indeed has happened. I mean yeah I mean they are not a monopoly. They control a large portion of the health care system but you could go elsewhere if you wanted if you anywhere you could go and those doctors would not be reimbursed as mich as much how does this qualify as anti-trust. Well. Trust violation have to

do with whether in this case a provider and or a provider and sure made agreements or negotiated contracts that suppress competition in the rest of the market. So that's the issue. It's not really about whether a patient can go elsewhere. Yes patients can go anywhere they want but it's about whether partners did something that brought competition in the market. So one way they could do that is if they have they have clauses in their contract that prevent insurers from the day entering into contracts with other hospitals or if their contracts have other provisions that suppress competition. That's that's really the issue. One of the things I've never understood as I was if I'm tops health care or Blue Cross Blue Shield and partners is charging 30 percent more for the same procedure the same materials as another hospital when I say you know what I'm not going to pay you that much more going to pay you the same rate I pay the other hospitals.

Right riposted tried to do that back in the early 2000s I can remember I think it was 2000 and one or two thousand two. And they did that. And what happened is a partner said well we're not going to. Contract with you we're pulling out of your network. And when they did that employers there was an uproar because so many people want to access those hospitals. So it was not a game of chicken because if I'm a doctor in that group and you know partners who say well we're going to pull out of your group but wouldn't you want all of those people that that could represent you know a lot of people who would want the services of doctor's orders so sated with Brigham or you know I don't see how that that if they had it if they had stuck to that how that would have played out. It's not but it's down to it. Yes. Well I don't know how it would have played out I mean it probably was afraid of what could have happened is that employers could have switched to

either Harvard or Blue Cross you know a church that didn't have partners hospitals in their network InTouch could have lost a lot of business. You know that's what the US is afraid of. I mean you know nobody knows. I mean they blinked before. Before I got to that point. But that was definitely the possibility that they were looking at. You've done a lot of research into this. How does it go. How does it amount to so much more they charge these extra fees in addition to the rates for various procedures and stuff. How does it end up being so much more for partners. Well it just comes down to how much above the base rate. The partners is able to negotiate for the services they provide. I mean you know it's both about volume and price. So partners is able to negotiate and other houses not just partners their hospitals have a lot of power because they're geographically isolated you know where they're the only game in town.

So I mean partners in some of these other hospitals they're just able to negotiate more about the base rate because they are who they are and then in partner's case they also do a tremendous amount of volume. They treat a tremendous number of patients more patients than anyone else. So but those higher prices are often applied you know by a by thousands and thousands of procedures. A title is COBOL check who's covering the story of partner's health care for the Boston Globe. Are their services so much better than the others that people don't mind. They say well that's that's who my that's who my doctor is in my insurers are going to have to just pay more because they're better. Well I mean that's the whole argument and you know people disagree on you know I think that what the Spotlight team and it just incidentally I'm I'm not a member of that team now I did I did. I was on that team temporarily for the partner series

but I think what this. Team found that for you know for average procedures every day procedures. You don't need sort of the expertise you know as a major teaching hospital that you probably wouldn't get just as good care it many other hospital. But you know if you're talking about something very unusual it's very unusual to see that very unusual condition. You know then you might be finding better care the general or the Brigham or you know at a non-partner teaching hospital like the Beth Israel or Tufts Medical Center. But yeah I mean I think for the every day every day care you're probably going to find just as good care you know in many other places. But Liz one of the reasons why people even care about this is because of the skyrocketing cost of health care not just Massachusetts but across the country in this report the attorney general Martha Coakley released about a month ago. Did it did it signal did it point

to this as one of the big issues partners health care and it's increased its you know premium costs is one of the primary reasons health care is going up in Massachusetts. Well yes I mean the attorney general did point to the market power of influential providers as a major reason for increasing health care costs. You know she didn't point to just partners although you know they do account for the biggest portion of. Because because of their size. But she pointed to them as well as some other hospitals that also have a lot of market clout usually because they're the only hospital in a you know in a city or in an area so they can demand more money to you. But yes she feels that you know market clout the ability to demand higher prices by some of these and he is a major reason for isolating health care costs. Well there's definitely outrage factor there right Liz. Kolchak Thanks a lot for coming. Joining now you're welcome and thank you to take care.

All right we're going to take a short break and when we return New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen says charging for carry on bags is Skyway robbery. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Emily Rooney show when the discount airline Spirit announced a few weeks ago that it would start charging for carry on luggage this coming August. That prompted a number of legislators to say enough is enough. New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen along with several of her Senate colleagues are proposing new legislation that would nip the new practice before other airlines follow suit. BLOCK airlines gratuitous act or bag fees Act addresses several loopholes regarding carry on bags. And Senator Jeanne Shaheen is here welcome. Senator Shaheen.

Thank you it's nice to be with you Emily. I'm curious whether you felt that other airlines were going to follow suit on this. You know the concern was that they might follow suit. And I think consumers air travelers really are tired of being nickel and dimed and. We wanted to make sure that other airlines looking at this knew that it's a problem if they're thinking about charging for carry on bags and I'm very pleased that five of the six biggest airlines have pledged that they don't intend to follow suit. So I thought that was very good news for consumers and hopefully spirit and others will reconsider their decision. You know one thing I was unaware of and that is the reason that airlines are now charging for checked baggage separately from the ticket is the tax structure is going to say why don't you just charge for bags on the ticket

because you don't have to pay the tax on that correct. That's right and and part of the issue here is that. Consumers don't know what they're being charged for. I have a constituent who was booking a ticket roundtrip between Manchester and Washington. She went on line. She booked what she thought was the cheapest ticket got to the airport and discovered she had to pay to check her bag both ways and had she booked the other ticket. It would have actually been cheaper. So part of the goal here is to try and move to more transparency for air travelers so that when they book their ticket online they know what they're paying for. The other issue is that as you point out airlines currently pay a seven and a half percent tax on Waller seven and a half cents for every dollar that the government collects. And they are. And those.

Charges go to help with our aviation infrastructure and that's important and we want to make sure that we're leveling the playing field that not only do consumers know what they're paying for but that one airline isn't getting a break over another airline because they're going to round the charge and taxing people for their bags. You know Senator Sheen This may surprise you but when I when I first heard this I actually cheered them because I thought you know yes it's about time somebody tried to discourage people from bringing what I would call double wides on these airlines are bringing these enormous bags down the aisle you know hitting people or thing trying to cram them into the overheads or under the seats they don't fit. I thought well this is a way to discourage people if you charge people for carry ons and not for checked luggage. That would seem to make sense to me. Well but the fact is that people are charging not just for carry ons but also for checked luggage. And as you point out I'm sure you travel a lot as to why and

sometimes it gets frustrating when people have those oversized bags. But I also appreciate that there are a lot of people weekend travelers people going for the day families with kids who need those carry on bags and you know it affects their travel time in and out of airports and for families. It's a huge issue to. Traveling with kids. They need to have that bag so they've got the things that the kids need. So I think the important thing is that we try and move in a direction that helps consumers people traveling on our airplanes talking to New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen has filed legislation that would block airlines from bag fees is what is called blocking them from charging for a carry on I'm glad you brought up the issue of families and children though because I really feel as though the airlines don't take responsibility for what people do carry on the. They have those little measurement bags you know the thing that you supposed to put the bag into. Nobody

uses that. I got on a flight the other day with a young family and the girl the young child like 4 or 5 years old had a baby carriage with a baby doll in it that she was reeling down the aisle. That is a no. First of all the mother should have said no. Before they got took the trip but the airline didn't say anything like that's junk and you can't bring it onboard. Well as you point out sometimes you can't legislate common sense true. And that's always a challenge but I think as I said what we're trying to do is we're trying to help consumers who are facing difficult times already or trying to make sure they know what they're paying for in advance and are able to compare apples to apples as they're looking at what the charges are going to be from the airlines. And and again really trying to address the nickel and diming that's going on on the part of so many airlines.

Well what about the checked baggage fees themselves. Could this legislation potentially sweep that in it too because as you point out when you book a flight you have no idea that an airline's going to charge you anywhere from 25 to $50 a bag and also sometimes they weigh it if it's more than whatever the limit is they charge extra for that. Why not just say rule everything into the ticket. Well I think that makes a lot of sense. And I think that's something we need to continue to look at. You know Senator Sheehan while I have you I've got to ask you since you sit on the one of the energy committees in the Senate what what your reaction is was yesterday to the Cape Wind announcement. You know I know that people feel very strongly both ways about this issue. But I believe we've got to transition to a new energy economy. We've got to invest and allow when and solar and new technologies develop because if we don't we're going to

be left behind by the rest of the world that is working on these projects. And as we've seen with the recent oil spill in the Gulf there are a lot of hazards with fossil fuel that we need to continue to look at and we need to stop spending so much money overseas often to countries that would like to undermine us I think we've got to take control of our energy future. And so while I appreciate the strong feelings I think this is the kind of project that we've got to be willing to support if we're going to do that. Well the narrative from the opponents is largely based on cost at this point they're arguing that it's going to going to cost more than the current fossil fuels that the expense of building this in is in the profitability is going to go to individuals and private outfits as opposed to any of the consumers. But the larger issue is about clean energy and starting and being the first in the country but.

I'm not sure the Obama administration really has control of that right now the narrative on it seems that the opponents are winning on the issue of of even though they've lost the case but the argument that it's going to cost too much or more. Well again I don't know the details of the Cape Wind Project. But I think the issue of are we going to move to a new energy economy are we going to invest in solar and wind and new technologies. Carbon capture and sequestration. I think we have got to do that. I think it's a national security imperative as I've said if I think we've got to stop sending money overseas to countries that would like to destroy us we've got to take charge of our energy future I think it's an environmental imperative. We're going to address climate change. And finally I think it's an economic imperative. You know we we're losing so many of those jobs to

China and India. Many Germany is the leader in the world and the use of solar energy. You know that's a northern country if Germany can do it the US can do it and we've got to be smarter about how we're supporting these new energy technologies. And I don't think it's a question at this point of are we going to build a wind farm as we have we just opened our first one farm last year in New Hampshire and use solar energy. Or are we going to continue to use fossil fuels clearly we're going to do both. But the question is how can we incentivize and get investment in those new energy technologies in a way that allows us to get those jobs here in the U.S. and allows us to take control of our future energy use targeted at Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen Well as you know this been nine years in the making we're still nowhere near you know digging into the first hole in

the ocean floor there. I mean it will be a resistance do you think. Block progress of this almost making it not worth it in a couple of years. Maybe there isn't the else on the horizon. Well. Again as I said I haven't followed the capon project closely enough to be able to answer that question but I have been working on a number of projects in New Hampshire and following those very very closely and I think we've got to figure out how to move some of these projects forward in a way that protects our environment and keeps the jobs here at home because that's where our future lies. Like New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Jeanne finally before I let you go I got to ask you about this. The Senate finance reform bill what you think is going to happen there. Well we're going to have a couple of weeks at least of debate. I think it's important for us to move a bill that reigns in the abuses

that we've seen on Wall Street that led to the financial meltdown that we experienced and make sure we can protect consumers and protect from those kinds of abuses I think if anybody had any question about the need to do something and do it quickly. They all they had to be with watch the testimony from Goldman Sachs employees who were totally out apologetic for the havoc that was wrecked by their practices on so many people around the country. Republicans seem to be a little more sensitive to that issue now it seems like some of the revamped proposals are meant to mitigate you know sort of the whole process here and something will eventually probably eventually pass. I do believe that we will ultimately have a bipartisan bill and I think I certainly hope there is a recognition that we've got to address what happened because we can't again let taxpayers bail out

big companies on Wall Street. All right. Senator Jeanne Shaheen thanks so much for being with us today. Thank you. Great to talk to you. All righty. And we'd like to hear from you what do you think about airline baggage fees or frankly the Senate finance bill. E-mail us. Emily Rooney show at WGBH or visit us on the Web at work slash Emily Rooney where you can link to our Facebook and Twitter pages. We're going to take a short break. The Emily Rooney. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Eastern Mountain Sports celebrating the grand opening of its newest store at Hingham shipyard from April 30th through May

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whole new line up of public radio's favorite weekend voices. Hello and welcome to Weekend This American Life IRA guys. This is NPR's ON THE MEDIA. I'm glad St.. And a Celtic sojourn at a new time. Saturday afternoons at 3. Weekends are a whole new flavor. Along with the staples you've always loved was going to quote We can like what we're going to hear on the new eighty nine point seven. WGBH. I'm Kelli Crossley coming up on the Calla Crossley Show politics from Beacon Hill to The Rock Obama today and one after the Emily Rooney show. One eighty nine point seven. WGBH. You're listening to the Emily Rooney show talk about a lack of civility just a few minutes ago state representative David to resee of North Andover issued an apology over a coarse language he used in responding to an email from w t k ks Michael Graham. Graham wanted to reseat to appear on his show to

explain his no vote on an amendment barring state benefits for illegal immigrants. Teresa responded to Michael Graham's email with this. Michael Graham is a blank hole. He can go blank himself for all I care. I actually e-mailed to reseed just a short while ago to ask whether indeed he did write that didn't hear back from him. But I noticed on my computer here in the studio that he issued an apology and joined me on the telephone. The state has two services Jim O'Sullivan who talked to both Representative Tory C and Michael Graham. Welcome Jim. So he blasted this thing off from his BlackBerry or something where was he when he when he did that. I believe it was in the state house when I was communicating. With him this morning he was in a meeting and I spoke with him shortly after I got out of the meeting. So it was last night after he had a few pops at the local But there was this it was this morning. You know I think

that the time was a little bit after 9 o'clock maybe. I mean what did he say about that. He basically you know he backed off the diction a little bit but he really defended the sentiment and he said it remains unchanged he called it dead on. He called you know the debate and the rhetoric behind representative Kerry's moment and use the word moronic to describe you know the effort behind that. So he's critical of kind of the hot noise that has been surrounding the debate on whether illegal immigrants should be receiving state benefits. But I mean how did it come to that. You know does did he think that no one first of all that Michael Graham wouldn't pick up on that and quote him. And this gives fuel to the fire in case. Representative to resee doesn't realize it. Michael Graham's post and he posted the e-mail verbatim and he says this is how real liberals respond when asked to participate

in public debate. Right. Then that's what he said to us. He says you know the 3C engage in name calling and insults rather than enlighten debate. So three CNN responding to efforts to you know raised the blood. Sure as he put it of people you know on his own is raising blood pressure so I think just kind of on both sides just underscores sort of the emotional element in the you know in immigration policy now but it's just so not just the immigration policy. It's it's the health care bill it's the finance reform bill. I mean Katie Couric last night on her blog called for civility in comments that viewers and listeners are leaving to anything that she says in the news or anything. It's just it's just it's just off the reservation. And I really believe I don't know if you back me on this but anything that you can do through a personal device like an iPhone or a BlackBerry it just makes it easier as to how you think it's not going to go anywhere. Right. The the more limited the line certainly holds true about never reading when you can

speak of these things you know they get forwarded and disseminated you know we've had a couple instances here where it's it's not offensive rhetoric but fundraising emails they get sent to government you know addresses that's a no no. It's a different world you know electronic media and communication subjects people to these things. But if you know it had been said over the phone and he had been being recorded it's not a big deal at all. But I mean a state representative should know that all emails in and out of his office are a matter of public record and a huge second of language. I mean I have no problem with that with him blowing off Michael Graham that's that's fine if that's what he wants to do but in a way that lets him know why he didn't want to participate in a debate with Michael Graham rather than sort of reducing it to a schoolyard. You know profanity. Well I'm not going to take a position on profanity I'm like but I think you know I think you your point is that these things can so easily get into the public realm. And it just sort of ratchets up the

you know the heat around the debate. And just to be clear he did intentionally send it correct. Yes he did. Yes you did and then you know afterwards I think he thought about it a little bit and said it was the best idea to use those words. All right well John also and thanks for joining us. Thank you say enough. I'm going to segue into a piece about Elizabeth post Doyin of you know just programming right there etiquette and civility. Who died this week right. Joe Sullivan thanks for joining us. Thanks. And as I said the Emily Rooney show continues in a minute and we will be looking back at the inspiration of the life of Elizabeth post with Robin Abrahams aka Miss Conduct. We'll be right back. So me.

You're listening to the Emily Rooney show Elizabeth Post who wrote. For more than a dozen more than a dozen books on etiquette and was the spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute in Vermont has died she was the granddaughter in law of the country's foremost etiquette expert Emily Post. Elizabeth post revives revive the manual. Emily Post's Etiquette five times hoping to keep it current as social norms have changed since its original printing in 1900 in 1900 to just listen to this corrected and. Then cut.

I am right now people don't even know what those various utensils are or all about what Therefore there is a place setting of 6 or 7 pieces to know what to use for what right joining me now to talk about the life of a Lizabeth post and the inspiration she has left is Robin Abrams aka Miss Conduct from Boston. Dot com welcome. Robin how do you do I believe it's good to be on this show now. Honestly did you know you just heard that said Representative he was not really so it's just what has happened what has happened well the longer we. Know the original Emily Posts they're absolutely wonderful I have a copy of the 1944 EDITION. And what's particularly fun about them is there are some situations that have always been difficult the people have always struggled with. And then there are some things where you do feel like you having this window into another world my favorite being. We dine on damask and lunch on lace

and in the world are we lunch at our desks and eat over the sink that does sound rather civilized doesn't it as well so it's interesting about Elizabeth post because she recognized that some of these yes peculiarities that were norms back in the eighteen hundred had to had to move and Jessamy that women working for and you know she really oversaw a huge period of social change I think she took over in the 1960s mid-1960s and then she retired in 1995 and Peggy Post took over but if you look at you know how the world changed around that time it's really quite remarkable. And the original Emily Posts were updated fairly frequently as well. The 1944 one that I have has a lot of references to wartime concessions and how to how to treat military personnel what to do if you can't have as long as and and engagement as you like because your fiance is going off to war etc.. The original Emily Post. Etiquette will

legacies now. People took it fairly seriously. Maybe through the 900 series not that they necessarily followed them Collette a lot but it almost became a joke or something of a satire rather than something that serious and that's. Not that these things are totally legit now the post family has can oh yes this wonderful man updated things but people don't look at it the way they used to. No they don't they don't I mean there's definitely the sense that etiquette is something fusty and it's of the past and there's not the understanding that no it's ethics. And I I like to describe my calling as being ethics etiquette and engineering. I mean sometimes it's simply a matter of you set up a space so that people can behave well. I get so many comments and questions about people who work in cubicle farms and you know this person eats their lunch too loudly and this person talks on the phone. The problem is with the engineering it's a badly designed environment where there's a lot of things

like that though that I was so curious to see so many things said have just changed since Emily Post Emily's doggy bags were degrading Elizabeth said and saw there are starving people in the world go ahead and take your break. Right. Absolutely. No there's been more of a sense of I think since the 60s. Basing basing advocate on ethics and common sense and simply water most people going to do. I mean you can hold people to a certain kind of high standard but if they're simply not going to behave that way it's a really interesting one question I get asked a lot is how do you feel about hand written about handwritten thank you notes on the importance of these. Well it's a different matter now that we don't teach handwriting in the school. I mean I'll do a handwritten thank you note but I won't do a handwritten Even letter of condolence because my handwriting is simply not legible. But what would you know. So you send an e-mail instead. No no no I would type something I said and then you know write out the. Yeah you know dear so and so and and all my love and that

kind of thing but you print things you don't have to do script to. I know I should be a doctor I mean when I say I'm legible and I got really ill and I had to Robin Abrahams aka Miss Conduct from Boston dot com. There's a couple of other issues that have the post-arrest I mean this one is always a nice of perennial hot button is breast feeding in public I mean I know how I feel about this. I mean is this like it's something that you should do discreetly it should be a private matter and this whole thing that people get into the hold it is just it's so obvious to me but it's not as you see it when they're doing it you know it's obvious that it should be done in private. Yes in private when possible discreetly. But I would say that's one where yes whatever I say I get a huge amount of response and in fact my the last time I addressed the question of breast milk in this case storing it all in the office refrigerator

you know my editor wrote to me and said You're getting a tsunami of mail about you know this breast milk issue and I wrote back to him and said please don't ever use the word tsunami and breast milk in the sun. Again one I have. It's an area where cultural norms are starting to change if you go to Europe it's very common no one thinks nothing of it. A nursing baby is not a screaming baby and it used to bother me a lot until I realized that about half the time women were breast feeding their kids. I didn't even notice. Yeah they wanted me to find a swirl of Baby and blanket and cardigan down there and I didn't notice what they were doing. And it's a biological need and they have it so I go to the bathroom you know and yeah you know it was that I would have places for that and if you're going to say that the mothers who are nursing their babies shouldn't do i log into email should I do it in public then you're really saying they need to be confined to the not they just discreetly I don't even want to keep discussing it. Yes

that's one of the lines. I'd rather get back to you know I don't know like women are you know trying to target you I know in the room tighter Robin Abrahams aka Miss Conduct from the Boston Globe. The e-mail that e-mail people that I would not say in person. Apparently they do. But you know that I'm sure you get it in your comments you get it elsewhere. As I was just saying Katie Couric tried to address this last night on her blog. It's just it's so ugly it's gotten to be so nasty. Yes. Whenever you give people that kind of lack of accountability you're going to get that. And there is that and I mean it will this was again I mean there's any data receipt that was not an anonymous you know it wasn't it wasn't at all I don't know what was going on there it seemed like an extraordinarily. Bad move not just in the point of etiquette but from the sense of any kind of self-preservation or cold you know to think that the post family how could you even address this it's so off the

right's right and you know just sort of the thing is don't ever write anything that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of The New York Times. And and just being very careful about that kind of thing I mean that just struck me as a immense lack of judgment. Going back to the post family here for yes just really I didn't really realize how many of them I want to solve. Always it's I mean I think that Emily Post was referring to her so her name was price and she married a post and then the post had really kept the name going but Peter who's actually local and people I mean Emily Post is one of those rare names that's become a brand or almost a philosophy you know. Oh she's all Emily Post about this or something I mean it's really. As I said there it's always been really reduced to something that's a little bit more sarcastic than it is. Siri right. Because I think people don't realize how much the post legacy has continued to update and I think Peggy Post's book on etiquette is the BIG is just the single

best general resource out there. Yeah. I think about it about a dozen times a day. People just don't pay attention to you know like don't stop in a doorway you know you want through a door and they stop right there. Yes these are all the kinds of things that are just common sense etiquette. They are but they also you know have to do with mindfulness. And I think when people are thinking about you know a half a dozen different things listening to an iPhone checking their e-mails it's very easy to get out of your environment and say get out of. I would get a very wonderful without their phones or you come through a doorway and stand there people standing in stupid place as well as what it might have with me as well as like I know Boston is hard to navigate but when you're getting off the subway. Exactly don't just stand there in front of the open door trying to figure out where you need to go next. All right Robin Abrahams misconduct. Thanks so much for being here this was great fun. All right we're going to take a short break and when we return Jay squared Jan ceremony and Jared Allen. Thanks. That's right.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Eastern Mountain Sports celebrating the grand opening of its newest store at Hingham shipyard from April 30th through May 2nd Eastern Mountain Sports. Sharing their passion for the outdoors with adventure minded New Englanders. Since 1967 and from Somerset Subaru and the love spring

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14 night cruise aboard the M.V. odyssey with stops in Greece and Italy including the Sicilian coast. Enjoy private tours of historic sites local cuisine and incredible accommodations. Space is limited. Learn more at WGBH dot org slash learning tours. This is eighty nine point seven WGBH Boston's NPR station for trusted voices and local conversation with FRESH AIR and the Emily Rooney show. The new eighty nine point seven WGBH. You're listening to the Emily Rooney show Jay squared with Jann Sarah Goni and Jared bone. We're going to talk about arts food stuff we like and don't like. I'm going to get going right now. Jared I can't wait to go see Mary Poppins. You know you always called me out on the water so yeah. Well Broadway Across America just did their big season announce this week why do you always you always do that to me as I'm

going to try to get you to do something I don't know what it is that I'm going to get you later in the segment. But you have Broadway Across America just did their season announcement and they have their the people who bring the shows into the opera house in the colonial ever great series of shows for next season including wicked Mary Poppins which actually I did every time in New York at that I didn't want to see that just because the staging is supposed to be so phenomenal. But they have hair West Side Story Jersey Boys Rock of Ages coming back Rock of Ages all the 80s music so everything that I listened to when I was at the skate palace in Milford Massachusetts you know trying to court girls before the eighth grade semi-formal So it's a really eclectic group. A great lineup they have. Still thank you. What do you journey. Yeah yeah. Fun job. So that's why you got the umbrella here with you. Oh yeah you have played Origin you know. Yeah and I love musicals and I'm happy that I saw was I had to go see Jersey Boys then because if you don't think you like musicals you will be jumping out of your seat because it will like that you will love that. So my last

musical about 10 years ago it was the red maybe's 20 The Red Shoes in New York I said that's it done off my mother I've never heard of it so it probably wasn't good but the Pacific you know the fact that you know I just wrote your you so dirty did I say I didn't like that either. And you saw that I didn't like that either. You know she was you know Mamma Mia I was just jumping on her way to now actually you know the one you might like that was hair which is the impulse of the air to direct it I saw it in New York really it's really well done and it's your time anyway. Thanks. I think I might have seen that for years or years ago. Well go see Jersey Boys that sounds fun. Charity is fun. What do you got. Well you know what it is usual I'm thinking mostly about food art and the garden. Yeah so you know it's a good combination and starting with actually art which combines art and clothes. You've got to get over to the child's gallery on Newbury Street to see an exhibit that runs through May 8th called Clothes make the man 169

Newbury Street Richard Bianco the president of the gallery reached out to William Stover who used to be curator at Boston Museum of Fine Arts and they put together a show that really juxtaposed the significant period works from the 16th the 20th century with selections by more innovative contemporary artists and the sort of looks at how people dress throughout the years and how that ascribes you know their station in life and their of their social position and all that it's fascinating. One of my favorite pieces in the exhibit is Frank Hill Smith's gone the liers that is painted in 1873 a painting once owned by Isabella Stewart Gardner. It has this courtly beautifully dressed gondolier you know bringing a lovely. You know conscious of it seems along along with water running it's a great show. Richard Bianco I gotta watch by the way he's taking the child to a whole different level than he himself would have I think Boston's best dressed

man. So go see the right you're going to go with Jay squared here Janissary Goni and Jerry Brown you know one of my favorite things is coming up actually next weekend but there's a preview next Wednesday May 5th. That's the coast so the capias society galleries the fresh paint all the artists go out in the community I saw them all over Boston last week and they paint something in a day. They come back put it in the gallery I was literally there when they were paying them and the paint was fresh and wet and the thing the things are gorgeous. You know when they're in a bit on the you know Simon and then there's a big next Saturday and I can get a lot of artists they're fantastic they are fantastic and talk about bringing the garden into a gallery it's the 22nd year for that Exhibit 150 8 Newbury Street the Coso Copley society of art and you're right these artists affordable affordable all have been all over the city. Arnold Arboretum emerald necklace the Esplanade to make upon the Rose Kennedy Greenway the. Well later on. But you're right just an amazing amazing show. What about food Jared what's been what's hot there.

Before that I just want to mention that you dominate which is at the Boston Lyric Opera which is really fantastic it's a Mozart piece rarely done inside the United States and even outside the United States in fact I was talking to somebody in the audience who does tours in Europe and he hasn't seen this piece in 25 years it's the first time Boston Lyric Opera has done its fantastic Mozart opera Mozart opera and going with what else. Esther Nelson the artistic director is doing now she's bringing in people from not only this country but all over the world these fantastic artists including the soprano who's fantastic who just came from the Met and that place through Tuesday so it's fantastic. But food I just finally ate at Copa. Yeah night which is the hotspot restaurant in the south and there is that it's sort of a hot spot it's on the corner of Shawmut and I can remember the other corner that just walk shopping you know but it's sort of a hotspot it's kind oranges place but it's very very small so you have to leave your name in a couple hours later they call you to go backwards but it's great Italian food and just a fun New York feel because it's you know right amid all the brownstones and sort of exclusive it's

cool that like parking. No one hopes I know what to do for two hours though that's the problem. But I guess if you're in the south like a family that has a lot going on there's a lot of fun galleries and you have to listen to what you stated well. Well it really also the other night but I want to talk a bit which is always fabulous want to talk a bit about God and the new chef Roca. I'm just not enough plays and a great place right is one of my favorites is that fabulous in the heart of so a great area which by the lavender Harrison I think 500 Harrisson next Friday is the first Friday for the SO art galleries again a great place for affordable art but Tiffany Faisal who you may remember as the Top Chef runner up from season one is cooking at rock up making the most delicious creative dishes. One of my favorites is the squid ink pasta. I know you're a slave. You're a sort of a crinkling you're not. If I heard it without tasting it I might have done the same thing but outside of Venice I've never had anything so delicious. Of course the cauliflower always my favorite. Rocha and the crispy artichokes with garlic picker you know

to Tiffany get into that on the menu. I'm getting hungry. I've always had a good meal and Roko you know I was just incredible. The altar was great too because speaking of Top Chef I was actually at realtor last night and Jody Adams is on Top Chef right now and in fact last night in last night's show on Bravo she advanced to the next round and she had sort of a viewing party there it was great fun because she had all these people in Cambridge who just came to celebrate with her and she's such a lovely woman she was so nice and sweet and the food is still spectacular. So it was sort of fun to be part of that so it's Top Chef but frankly I have to say it's show I hadn't seen but it's actually it's pretty new there it's a great show it's fun it's engaging. All right talking to Jared Bowen and Jan Sara Goni Jae Square we only got a couple minutes left I said we get into some things we like and dislike. We're talking about the vibrancy of the Waterfront I contend it's not vibrant at all it's still impossible to get to. There's no even once you're there you've got to walk or you have to get a cafe place. I was over there the other night. There was 50 people standing in line there were no cabs going there that's because there's no reason to go there. That is not true. I can't disagree with you more because I sort of live near that area I do a lot of

running there and I love first of all I love the green way which is what Greenway there is like there is no reason why there is no great way to have a reason to see. Thank you I am only coming there is no I mean while we suffer through years and years and years of you know you have to roll down your tinted windows in your Leno obviously not a great way that's your problem. Well I guess if we can look forward to armies of skateboarders don't think that what I did see it was all time to create it all right there was a North India night in tiny little patches of grass here and there no there are but there are beautiful guards. It definitely needs to be sculpted and maybe even literally I think there is a great opportunity for public art there but there are great gardens in the summer you go down there where carousel for families from. From cell station all the way up almost to the north and you know a beautiful neighborhood that was demolished to make room for the elevated highway way back in the 50s. Apartment buildings restaurants businesses a vibrant neighborhood level to the ground the highway was there the highway came down its underground and what do we have in its place. Just a concrete concrete yeah it's a it's a it's a concrete you know ground you know it feels like a

park you can even smell the flowers no honestly sincerely you can smell right now in a How about a November Amalie. Yeah that will be saying you know whether you like or hate entre farro and his vision for I like what I did there. I think it makes a lot of sense I didn't bring some vibrancy down there but it has potential but I'm saying it Lisa we have we have a starting point and we need to do actually a Robert Campbell in the Globe wrote about a while ago we need to model ourselves after Chicago in their Millennium Park bring in this great public are like a new ship or a sculpture in the really nice video art that they have that's so different you don't see in any city. Then it'll really develop but if we're at a good starting point. All right. Jared Genser Goni Jay squared We'll see you guys back here in a couple weeks and that's when we can talk about your picture in The Globe yesterday. I didn't like it you know I thought it looked fantastic a movie star in his shoes. Thanks guys. All right that's going to do it for us this afternoon will be back tomorrow at noon with our usual weekly news round up. In the meantime tune into Greater Boston tonight at 7:00. The Emily Rooney show is a production of 9.7 WGBH Boston NPR station

or news and culture on the web at WGBH dot org slash Emily Rooney. The callee crossing show is coming up next on Emily Rooney. Have a great. Afternoon.