This Sunday is National Grandparent's Day. It might be an opportunity to explore the changing role of grandparents these days. Nearly one in 12 children in the United States live with their grandparents. The trend is true in Canada, too.

Get state-by-state grand-parenting facts and data from this AARP site.

Find state-by-state grandparent resources by clicking here.

USA.Gov has a large collection of grandparenting resources.

The Census Bureau offers a peek [PDF] into the new role of grandparents:

5.7 million
The number of grandparents whose grandchildren younger than 18 live with them. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

2.5 million
The number of grandparents responsible for most of the basic needs (i.e., food, shelter, clothing) of one or more of the grandchildren who live with them. These grandparents represent about 43 percent of all grandparents whose grandchildren live with them. Of these caregivers, 1.5 million are grandmothers, and 915,000 are grandfathers. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

1.4 million
The number of grandparents who are in the labor force and also responsible for most of the basic needs of their grandchildren. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

496,000
Number of grandparents whose income is below the poverty level and who are caring for their grandchildren. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

753,000
Number of grandparents with a disability who are caring for their grandchildren. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

28%
Among preschoolers with employed mothers, the percentage regularly cared for by their grandparent during the hours their mom works. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/childcare.html>

5.7 million
The number of children living with a grandparent; these children comprise 8 percent of all children in the United States. The majority of these children, 3.7 million, live in the grandparent�s home. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/009842.html>

Grandparent visitation is a big issue nationwide. Click here for background about whether grandparents should have the legal right to visit their grandchildren even if the parents oppose it.

This week a new Web site dedicated to grandparenting was launched.

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Many Unaware of Rosh Hashanah

My friends who are Jewish told me this week that school systems are scheduling Picture Days, and teachers are planning tests for next week despite the fact that Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown Wednesday. Rosh Hashanah is a High Holy Day on the Jewish Calendar.

Another friend of mine told me about a retail store that planned a big sale next week, apparently not knowing it was a Jewish holiday. The store's customers complained.

Around the country, some school systems close on Rosh Hashanah, while others stay open but do not allow tests, quizzes or papers to be due on that day.

What about college students? Here is a note from a Vanderbilt graduate student who notifies her professors at the beginning of the school year about the High Holy Day schedule conflicts. She offers great advice. 

I wonder if judges take the date into consideration when scheduling trials or hearings. It might be smart for weather forecasters to mention when sundown will begin on Wednesday the 12th.

Another question to consider is: How do businesses or local government handle requests for absences? 

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Al's Morning Multimedia: The Bob Dotson Files

Here is a real treat for any journalist who loves storytelling. MSNBC has finally compiled a bunch of my old friend Bob Dotson's "American Stories," including some of his classic tales.

Newsrooms and college classes will find a lot to talk about watching these pieces. Here is a story I wrote about Dotson's storytelling lessons a couple months ago.

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The End of Washington Post Radio
Hey, it sounded like a great idea: Extend one of America's best print newsrooms to radio in a city that commutes. But Washington Post Radio, which promised to deliver "more to the story," is closing this month.

The Post covered its own funeral:

Listeners had every reason to wonder what had happened to the increased depth they had been promised. Print editors accustomed to a more serious news menu clashed with radio producers who argued that their medium required a more populist and lowbrow selection of stories. In each newsroom, too many people rolled their eyes over the cluelessness of their cross-town partners.

When the radio-side producers one morning invited on the air and lightly questioned some nutball hawking a conspiracy theory about how the U.S. government had arranged for the 9/11 attacks, editors in the Post newsroom went ballistic. Although many attempts would follow to find a happy medium between the two news sensibilities, the basic reservoir of mutual respect had dropped suddenly and permanently to a dangerous low.

Original programming will be replaced by the likes of Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.

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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. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.

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