In case you missed it, here’s text and video of President Obama’s Inaugural Address from yesterday. Moments after the speech was complete and the President and Vice-President were sworn in, they launched their new Whitehouse.gov website. That, folks, is how you do a website. XHTML transitional compliant, designed with accessibility in mind, CSS sprites, it makes this web developer a little misty.
A number of government officials and Erie County citizens attended the inauguration yesterday. If you attended the inauguration, we’d like to hear from you in the comment section below.
Scary scene at last night’s unfinished basketball game between East and Harbor Creek. A girl was shot in the hip and was quickly attended to by Emergycare paramedics. No suspects have been arrested, though witnesses saw several men run out a back door in the gym after the shots were fired. There have been a ton of problems at East High over the last few months. Maybe a metal detector should be used for all events at the school – but the better answer would be for people to not bring weapons to a high school basketball game.
Waldablog, Waldameer’s official weblog, has some behind the scene photos of the amusement park in the winter. Definitely a contrast to the Waldameer we’re all used to seeing in the summer time.
The Youngstown State University is announcing reduced tuition fees for certain Pa. residence, calling the program the Western Pennsylvania Advantage. The WPA program will offer reduced tuition to residents in these eight western Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango. Although tuition will drop about $3k per academic year, we don’t know why YSU just doesn’t give a full tuition reduction to be truly competitive, much like the University of Toledo does for south eastern Michigan residents. A press conference is planned for tomorrow so it is possible YSU will drop tuition even further than what is posted on its website. The university sits just across the Pa. border in Youngstown, Oh., along the I-80 corridor.
Erie would like to send a welcome the former mayor of Rio Rancho, Kevin Jackson, who is visiting Erie this week. Monday, Jackson was held at the Erie County Prison for violating a protection order when he visited his wife packing a semiautomatic pistol. He’s out on a $20k bond but Jackson will appear before the court for a hearing tomorrow.
Dale Farr, formerly of North East, was sentenced yesterday for cashing over $200k in counterfeit checks and — of all things — faking military honors by claiming he fought in Afghanistan. The former car salesman will see the inside of a jail for 2 years and 9 months.
Erie advertising agency route 1a recently enlisted Mike Hermann, copywriter, and Jamie Potosnak, account executive, to join its veteran core of creative professionals. Founded in 2002, route 1a is a full-service marketing and advertising resource located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Clients encompass a wide range of industries that include health care, manufacturing, business-to-business and consumer packaged goods.
Sports
The BayHawks return to Erie for three games beginning this Thursday against the Sioux Falls Wizards. Get your tickets here.
The Erie Otters will be away for four games and won’t return until next weekend. Here’s the away schedule: Friday the 23rd against host Kingston Frontenacs; Saturday the 24th against host Belleville Bulls; Sunday the 25th host Ottawa 67s, and; Thursday the 29th against host Niagara IceDogs.
The Gannon men’s basketball team dropped two spots after splitting two games last week and is ranked eighth in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Division II Top 25 poll released Tuesday afternoon, extending the streak of consecutive polls in the top 10 to a school-record eight.
Events
The 2009 Erie Microbrew Festival will be held April 18, 2009 at the Brewerie in the Union Station. There will be two sessions: 1 – 4:00 p.m., and 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets will be $25 in advance and $30 at the door. h/t eriebrewed.com.
Upcoming Erie Concerts and Shows:
Feb. 3: Harlem Globetrotters (tickets)
Feb. 19: Jerry Seinfeld (tickets – use presale code HCFUNNY or JERRYSEINFELD)
March 7: Motley Crue w/ Hinder, Last Vegas, Theory of a Deadman (tickets)
March 22: New Kids on the Block (tickets on sale 1/24)
The Ophelia Project will present the first of four installments of “Mind, Body and Spirit: Turning Aggression into Hope,” today from 3:00-4:30 p.m. at the McGarvey Learning Center at St. Vincent Health System in Erie, PA. The panel presentation is sponsored by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and is free of charge and open to the public. The community forums, “Mind, Body and Spirit: Turning Aggression into Hope” will be a mechanism for providing parents, educators and youth leaders with necessary information and resources to help youth address bullying and relational aggression. It will bring together experts from a variety of fields in order to discuss ways in which developmental assets, values, normative beliefs, self-image and physical health contribute to relational aggression and develop strategies for combating this national epidemic. For more information contact The Ophelia Project at 814-456-5437. St. Vincent Health System is located at 232 W. 25th Street, Erie, PA.
The American Cancer Society is pleased to kickoff the 36th Daffodil Days campaign on January 22, 2009 at Bel Aire Hotel at 12 p.m. The American Cancer Society invites anyone interested in being a pre-sale coordinator to get information to start their campaign at their company, school or organization. The fundraiser, which historically coincides with the coming of spring, is expected to raise $89,000 locally and more than four million dollars in the state of Pennsylvania. For more information call the American Cancer Society office at 814-866-5174. Over 200 Erie residents will volunteer to help distribute and sell flowers during Daffodil Days. Colleen Moore Mezler and Carolyn Bauman serve as co-chairpersons for the event. Pre-orders start now until Monday, February 23; daffodils will be delivered the week of March 16-22, 2009.
Mayor Joe Sinnott will address the direction of the City of Erie, during a legislative luncheon with area business and community executives at noon Wednesday, January 28, at the Manufacturer and Business Association’s Conference Center, 2171 West 38th Street. Registration begins at 11:45 a.m. All media are invited to attend. Mayor Sinnott will highlight his administration’s accomplishments, as well as the state of the Erie economy. Following his presentation, the mayor will take part in a question-and -answer session. Cost is $30 for members; $60 for nonmembers; and includes lunch.
View this past Sunday’s comprehensive events list to see a list of events for the week and months ahead. If you would like your event posted here, please contact us via our online form.
