It happens every year, right about now.

Summer sets in and it gets hot in places like, oh, New York and Washington, D.C. Then the media, realizing that it’s hot in their neighborhood, report it with the kind of zeal reserved normally for really big stories, such as the Gulf oil spill.

As someone who lives in an area of the country that knows summer time heat, I have to ask: What’s the big deal? The cable networks are all over the heat. Why? Well, my guess is that it’s because the networks are based in NYC and DC. Thus, a local story becomes a national story because the media hounds and talking heads must deal with what the rest of us out here in places like the Texas Panhandle deal with every year at this time.

Yes, a couple of people reportedly have died from the heat. That’s tragic, for sure. But is the casualty list mounting rapidly? Well, no.

If the heat wave was happening in, say, February or March, then I’d understand the enthusiasm over this event.

But it’s summer, man. It gets hot in the Big Apple and inside the Beltway every single year.

If the media pack wants to chase a story, I can think of other events that deserve at least as much attention as the weather is getting this week.

Last time I checked, the oil was still spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.