Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

It’s that time of year again, and some of us have been furiously working over the past couple of months on the New Year’s Eve show.. As I’m sure you’ve read in Jack Gray’s posts, this year we are bringing back our favorite red head to help co-host. Also, the show is back to being 2 hours, airing from 11pm until 1am East Coast time, with a replay for those of you on the West Coast who want to toast in the New Year with Anderson and Kathy.

We’ll have reporters all over the world contribute, as well as our own Erica Hill and Richard Quest in Times Square, Gary Tuchman on the Central Park run, and Brooke Anderson coming to us from Club CNN at Lavo in the Palazzo in Las Vegas. I’m still in the process of finalizing our musical acts, but here’s a hint. One of them will take us all on a “Fantastic Voyage”. More to come, but as in years past, I promise to try and bring in a little something for everyone.

We also want to know about your plans. What do you do that is unique on the New Year? Do you have great photos or videos? Be sure to go to the IReport section of CNN.com on New Year’s Eve and upload your favorite moments. You may see Anderson and Kathy talk about your submission during the show. Points for snarky remarks from our hosts.

2008 has been such an up and down year. We’ve had a historic election, a recession and many other things happen in between. It’s time to look forward, and hope that 2009 brings better times for all of us.

See you on 360 tonight, and be sure to set a reminder for 11pm ET/PT on CNN for New Year’s Eve, with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin

Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

Travel on Christmas Eve has, for me, never really been a problem. I’ve had great luck in years past with flights being on time, pleasant people on the flight, and no crying babies (big bonus). Enter the 2008 holiday season, and it all went downhill.

LaGuardia airport was as crowded as I’ve ever seen it in the Delta/Northwest terminal. As a frequent flier, I fly out of this terminal a lot. I have only waited a maximun of 10 minutes to get through security there. Today, it was 25 minutes. Still not bad compared to most airports, but there are only 2 airlines operating out of this terminal.

After boarding the flight and being disappointed with my lack of a complimentary upgrade, we pushed back from the gate on time. Whoo hoo! A week with the family, here I come!

Wait. Why are we just sitting on the tarmac? There are other planes taking off. What’s the deal?

About 10 minutes later, cue the captain, “We are too heavy to take off.” Then he goes on to explain how it has something to do with the rain. I think it has something to do with the people checking 3 and 4 bags. Oh, the full flight with 4 babies, 5 dogs and no empty seats probably didn’t help either.

So here I am, an hour and 15 minutes after pushing back from the gate, breathing in some awful cologne as the dude in front of me is snoring. Will I make it to Memphis today? Let’s hope.

Ahh, there’s the captain! Eek. Another 5 minutes of waiting. I hope they comp me some skymiles for this!

Happy Holidays!!

Editor’s note: Hear the full story of a football player kids can truly look up to — tonight on AC360 at 11pm ET.

Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

Professional and college athletes normally make the headlines or a feature on CNN for something negative: Michael Vick’s dog fighting charges, Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones’ numerous run- ins with the law, various college football players getting suspended for cheating, not making their grades, etc. So it is refreshing to see an amazing college athlete be featured for doing something positive.

Meet Myron Rolle, a Florida State University student athlete who is as good on the football field as he is in the classroom, and I mean that in the most positive way. Rolle graduated in 2-1/2 years, is now working on his masters degree with an eye on med school to be a neurosurgeon. He has dreams of opening a clinic in the Bahamas, where his parents are from. He also dreams of playing in the NFL.

Oh, and another dream of his? To study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Myron Rolle may just do all of the above, after being one of just 32 students to win the Rhodes Scholarship less than two weeks ago. The Rhodes Scholarship is generally a two-year expense-paid graduate study program at Oxford University in England, and it is one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.

Keep reading

Kay Jones
AC360° Senior editorial producer

In Southaven, Mississippi, lines were 30-45 minutes long. In 15 years of voting in that area, my dad had never had to wait in line. This was the first time he remembers ever having to wait.

Also, students had the day off, but public school teachers had to report to work anyway. And they were only allowed short times to go vote. With lines even just 30 minutes long, my dad said, many teachers haven’t had time to vote and make it back to work on time.

Kay Jones
AC360° Senior Editorial Producer

A few months ago, I blogged about the grassroots voter registration efforts of a group called HeadCount. The group is headed up by longtime journalist Andy Bernstein and Disco Biscuits’ bass player Marc Brownstein. Headcount started in 2004, and Andy and Marc have really seen it take off this year.

They have had booths at concerts and festivals across the country, with artists such as Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam working with the group by encouraging their fans to register to vote as well.

HeadCount’s goal for this year was to register 100,000 people to vote. At Monday night’s election eve concert, Brownstein announced that they had reached that goal. The concert featured artists such as the Disco Biscuits, ?uestlove from The Roots, Phil Lesh, Robert Randolph and British singer Joss Stone. Although, Stone can’t vote in the U.S., she has been at shows such as this to encourage the youth of America, as well as around the world, to get involved in the political process.

A couple thousand people, young and old, were at the show Monday night at the Highline Ballroom in New York. The show wasn’t about who to vote for. It was more about getting out to vote.

It remains to be seen if the youth of America will come out in record numbers, but if the efforts of organizations like HeadCount are any indication, we will be talking for years to come about just how important the youth vote was in the 2008 election.

Program Note: 3 out of 4 young people know someone who is currently serving or has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Anderson helps MTV shine a light on issues facing young veterans… Check out MTV.com for how to get involved.
____________________________________________________________________________________

AC360° Producers Chuck Hadad and Kay Jones enjoy the show.

Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

Four years ago, I had the privilege to produce CNN’s coverage of a party that Ft. Hood threw for the soldiers returning from Iraq. It was an all day affair on the grounds of Ft. Hood, starting with a ceremony for those who had just arrived home from Iraq and moving on to musical acts such as Ludacris, Jessica Simpson and my all time favorite Lynryd Skynyrd performing on a makeshift stage in the middle of the base.

I will never forget how much fun these soldiers and their families were having, just knowing that they were home and being celebrated. So when I was asked to help out with CNN’s portion of MTV’s Concert for the BRAVE, I jumped at the chance.

We started our night with Anderson doing a live shot for the Situation Room in the middle of Times Square. Just a few steps away, the line of the military vets waiting to get into the Nokia Theatre went all the way up 7th Avenue. When they realized who was standing that close, many pulled out their cell phones and cameras to get a shot. Now, normally I wouldn’t blog about such fandom, but the smiles on the faces of those who got pictures of Anderson were priceless.

Transitioning inside, the excitement for the show was building. Right before the “official” show began, MTV news correspondent Sway introduced an aspiring rapper named Lorenzo Zarate, who also happens to be a veteran of the war in Iraq. The crowd loved what he did and I have a feeling it was all the more special for him, performing in front of those who he can relate to.

The entire night was fantastic. Not only were the performances great, but the stories told by the MTV correspondents and our own Anderson Cooper, Michael Ware and Dr. Sanjay Gupta really highlighted the issues that are facing these new veterans upon their return home from Iraq or Afghanistan, or in some cases, both countries.

Be sure to tune in to MTV tonight to see the concert, and Saturday and Sunday at 8pm on CNN to see a special edition of AC360°. I promise you, it is well worth your time. The stories you’ll see will touch you, and remind you about the ongoing problems these men and women of the US military dealing with after the battle.

Kay Jones
AC360° Editorial Producer

A few weeks ago, I blogged about stopping by Mr. Herbert Gettridge’s house to check on him after Hurricane Gustav passed through New Orleans. Well, I finally got through to him today, and he said he made it through with little to no damage. He had evacuated to Baton Rouge and said he should’ve stayed home since it was worse up there.

In the years since Katrina, he’s been able to have his wife move home, as well as having children and grandchildren come and stay in their home. He told me that he’s finally getting neighbors again and he looks forward to having more.

He also wanted to let you all know that he appreciates your prayers and thoughts of concern. He is New Orleans, and plans to be there for a long time to come.

Back in January, we talked to New Orleans resident Herbert Gettridge about the struggle to rebuild a city.

Editor’s Note:
We are devoting many posts today to the anniversary of 9/11, with first-hand accounts, insight, and commentary dedicated to that day seven years ago that changed our world.
_____________________________________________________

Kay Jones booking guests in CNN's Atlanta control room on September 11, 2001.

Kay Jones
AC360° Editorial Producer

At 8am on Sept. 11, 2001, various people from CNN, including myself, were in our daily morning meeting, discussing how to cover Michael Jordan’s 2nd return from retirement, which looked to be the big story of the day.

At some point in the conversation, the NY bureau’s managing editor broke in on the phone: “Guys, it’s New York here. A plane has just hit one of the World Trade Center towers. You can see it on router 22”. We immediately turned the TV in the conference room, saw the hole in the side of the tower and started running to the newsroom to start our coverage.

I was one of the morning show bookers at the time. I had only been on the job for a few months when the planes hit, and this was really the first major story I would work on in this new job. I ran downstairs and got my colleague, Erin DeLoach, to jump in on calls. We split up various businesses and hotels to try and get information, as well as “beepers”, also known as phone interviews on air.

Keep reading

Plaquemines Parish's Coastal Management Director PJ Hahn cleaning the distressed bird.

Kay Jones
AC360° Editorial Producer

I went about and hour and a half south of New Orleans to check out a potentially serious levee breech in Plaquemines Parish. Photographer Leon Jobe and I got on an air boat with a local guy, Jimmy, and the parish’s Coastal Management Director PJ Hahn. What we saw was a major collapse of the levee, but fortunately no homes in immediate danger.

On our way back to the car, Jimmy spotted a bird in distress. The cormorant, which looks a lot like a seagull, was desperately trying to stay afloat. It was wrapped up in debris from the water, and being eaten up by fire ants. PJ reached in and helped free the bird of the debris, and washed the fire ants off. He then tried to check and see if its wings were broken. Luckily, it looked as if the poor thing was just exhausted more than anything.

We took the boat back to the levee and dropped off the bird. Hopefully, the poor thing had time to rest and get back on his way.

Here’s one more picture: me and “local guy” Jimmy on an air boat south of New Orleans.

Kay Jones
AC360° Editorial Producer

A lot of you have been asking how Mr. Herbert Gettridge is.

I stopped by his house on Monday afternoon, and nobody was home, understandably. But the house was there with no water around it.

Also, cell phone service was down most of the day, and my calls to him still aren’t getting through.
Our entire staff is wondering how he is, so I have made it my mission to find out. Will let you know when I do.