Hey everyone, Yourboro here- I was recently asked to report on local happenings around the Edinboro area for Erie Blogs,  I’d just like to thank Erie Blogs for giving us the opportunity to post here as well. On with the news-

Gold Star changes locations

One thing students and residents might notice returning to Edinboro from spring break is that there’s a new store on the left hand side of 6N beside the gaudy Steelers mural.. Goldstar anime store, which was previously located right next to Johns pizzeria has changed locations to 6N, right down the block from Walmart in Edinboro. The new location gives them much more space for their magazines, mangas and DVDs.

They’re currently going through some troubles with LED signs outside of their building- apparently they’re only allowed to have a new message once every minute or so- no flashing colors or changing colors- just one or two colors is allowed and NO blinking or scrolling. I personally think that’s a bit insane and overprotective- while the law is in place to protect drivers from being distracted from driving, it’s still pretty lame.

Even non-anime fans should be able to find SOMETHING they like inside the store. They have Japanese snacks like Pocky, and some classic American comic book compilations like Archie and Peanuts. You’ll even find some John K stuff while you’re in there, and Duff Beer, Flaming Moe, and Slurm energy drinks.

One last thing about GoldStar.. Don’t steal ANYTHING. The owner is a very friendly man, and I’d assume his wife is friendly also. But they’ve been having trouble with theft since their original location in Erie beside Gamestop next to the Millcreek mall. They’re currently in the process of getting cameras all over the store and the owner is very protective over his material- don’t leaf through the books for more than a few seconds and don’t take anything out of the packaging.

Edinboro’s rising “Graffiti Problem”

Another thing becoming more prevalent around Downtown Edinboro is the graffiti artist “Yak” or “Yak1″ I believe. I’ve seen this tag scrawled on public and private property around town- and while it’s not necessarily a big problem, I know the town is getting aggravated from it..

Graffiti can be done very well, and be eye-candy if the artist really intends to do so. Here’s something that disappoints me about the graffiti in Edinboro. They’re all just chicken-scratch tags, they’re all toys (graffiti slang for inexperienced morons just out for fame, but will never really get it).  Edinboro University is practically an art school and the best graffiti that has been done around the area are poor caricatures of  foxes on the sides of banks and laundry-mats? If you really feel inclined to throw up some graffiti on something- take your time, and step up Edinboro’s “game”.

Another thing most long-time graffiti artists tend to do is stick to public property- it’s sort of taboo to do graffiti on private property.. But that’s just another sign that this problem isn’t going to really grow. It’s most likely going to die out fairly soon- and “Yak1″ will never see the publicity he doesn’t deserve.