Saturday coffee.

I left behind the first full week of school yesterday at 3:30. Mad Labor Day weekend traffic meant that it took an hour to get home.

Anne and I loaded the Mini. We got Ulysses in the back seat. A stop at Starbucks on Armitage for a couple of coffees to go.

By 7:30 PM we were pulling up to the cottage in Lakeside, Michigan. That’s an hour longer than usual. But no sweat.

Anne and I sat on the screened porch with some crackers and cheese. The Rule: No Campari after Labor Day. So, a glass of Campari and soda. Then a refill. I could feel the week slide away.

I love that there’s Labor Day barely two weeks after the start of school.  A sweet, short rerun of summer to give me a boost.

What happens when you incentivize potty training? You get more than you planned on.

There’s a not too hard to figure out lesson here in an NPR story by economist Joshua Gans.

So when the time came to potty train his daughter, B., he designed what seemed like an economically rational incentive: B. would receive a jelly bean every time she went to the toilet.

Once the new policy was in place, B. suddenly had to go to the toilet really, really often.

We were all pushing for East Side Community High to win some much needed money.

The retailer Kohl’s ran a contest where 20 schools could get half a million bucks if you voted on Kohl’s web site. NY’s East Side Community High School was the only public high school to get close to winning and it ended up #32.

As usual, the odds were stacked against a public high school.

East Side’s Principal, who camped in a tent for most of the contest, writes on Facebook:

Disturbingly, there are no urban public schools or schools serving a diverse population in the top 30. We hope that Kohl’s recognizes the unfortunate reality and inequity of the competition and reaches out to support some more deserving schools on the list.

We know and take great pride that we made it to # 32!!! (up from #99 2 weeks ago.) We received more votes and support than any other urban public school in the entire country!!! Unfortunately, the majority of the schools in front of us have advantages and resources we just don’t have.  They were able to raffle off IPods in exchange for votes, tap into international online religious networks and utilize additional resources afforded to wealthier communities.

He suggests letting Kohl’s know if you are concerned about this.
Kevin Mansell – Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer: Kevin.mansell@kohls.com
Donald A. Brennan – Senior Executive Vice President: Donald.a.brennan@kohls.com
John B. Worthington – Senior Executive Vice President: john.b.worthington@kohls.com
Julie Gardner – EVP and Chief Marketing Officer: Julie.gardner@kohls.com
Vicki Shamion, Vice President, Public Relations: (262) 703-1464 investor.relations@kohls.com
Kohl’s Board of Directors or Lead Director Steven Burd: directors@kohls.com
Brian F. Miller Senior VP – Corporate Governance (262)703-1723: brian.f.miller@kohls.com
Media Relations -  (262) 703-1335
Community Relations – (262) 703-7000
Wes McDonald – Chief Financial Officer (262) 703-1893

DC’s Michelle Rhee is out the door if Mayor Fenty loses the Mayor’s race. Looks like he will.

DC school boss is acting pretty desperate these days. If Fenty loses, she will be printing up her resume. The polls show him going down.

Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee was planning to team up with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Saturday morning at a reelection rally in Chevy Chase as Fenty tries to fire up his base for an uphill fight against D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray.