BellSouth Update

BellSouth is Still Recovering from Hurricanes says the Duane Ackerman, CEO of the dominant local telephone provider in nine southeastern states including Louisiana and Mississippi. BST has estimated that the total cost of rebuilding its infrastructure and other related expenses will be about $700 million to $900 million (give or take a $100M. BST spends that in a month in DC lobbying and litigating to get its way). Eight months ago, Hurricane Katrina destroyed 11 BellSouth central offices, downed 18,000 telephone poles and caused 140,000 people to remain away from their homes. BST's recovery effort continues. Meanwhile AT&T plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs if the merger with BST goes through, mostly through normal turnover. "This a great deal for customers and employees, especially me as I pocket upwards of $20M! Wahoo!" Ackerman said. ‘‘It is market based, and that’s the bottom line,’’ Ackerman said of his compensation. "A shareholder proposal seeking more disclosure by the company of its political contributions was rejected. A similar proposal also was rejected at last year’s annual meeting." In other news, BellSouth Finally Gets off Lafayette's Back!!!