What a weekend.
First, the weather was all crazy, going from a blizzard on Friday to warm enough I didn’t need a coat on Saturday to crazy rain and ice yesterday. I did it up Erie-style though, hitting up the Oakwood for lunch (I know its not called that, but I call it that) and nommed on some of my wife’s reuben and then we hit up Romolo’s for some chocolate-y goodness. Dark chocolate sponge candy. Seriously.
Second, our fair city got a ton of national exposure this weekend. In case you missed it, and of course you didn’t since you follow us regularly, we got a mention on Saturday Night Live. Ok, it probably wasn’t the best mention (watch the video and you’ll see why), but hey, we’ll take it. VisitErie, you should have been ALL over this on Facebook and Twitter yesterday. Yeah, I know it’s Sunday and all, but welcome to the 24/7 connected world. Seltzer = stunned.
Third, last night was our time to shine as the Erie episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition finally aired. I don’t have cable (traded it for a Mac mini ages ago), so I’ll watch it and post it when its live on Hulu, hopefully tomorrow. ErieBlogs, LLC was glad to donate some local gift certificates to groups working with neighbors and other people in Clara Ward’s neighborhood. We heart Erie.
If you watched the show, what did you think of it? How was Erie portrayed?
Erie County officials are saying a special thank you to local HAZMAT workers by wanting to cut their life insurance policies. Each HAZMAT member gets $250,000 in life insurance coverage. Erie County wants to cut the amount to $50,000. Other county workers like sheriffs have only $50,000 insurance policies.
Erie and Erie-ite Phil Tredway get a mention in this USA Today story about ongoing healthcare negotiations. Tredway is president and CEO of Erie Molded Plastics.
Sports
The Erie BayHawks (2-3) were out gunned by the Maine Red Claws (4-1) 116 – 90 dropping their home opener at the Tullio Arena before a crowd of 5150 on Saturday night.
Five players scored in double-figures, including a career-best 25 points from Heiden Ratner, as the Lakers blew past Washington Adventist, 101-59, in the final game of the Mercyhurst Invitational.
Samantha Blazetic had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds off the bench as Edinboro cruised to a 101-20 victory over Washington Adventist at the Susan G. Komen Shoot for the Cure Classic.
Grace Moore and Caroline Hourihan each had a double-double, while Katie Landy scored a game-high 22 points to lead Fredonia State over Allegheny 68-60 in non-conference women’s basketball action on Sunday afternoon.
I happened to catch last night’s episode of Extreme Makeover completely by chance. One thing is for sure, people in Erie need to wake up and realize that poverty does exist in Erie and last nights episode makes that crystal clear. Small things like a remodeled bedroom can make a difference for our children as it creates pride and self-worth — not to mention a sense of security.
Let’s hope that last night’s show inspires Erieites to do more for our community. Maybe these smaller home improvement projects is something the Erie Community Foundation can help fund.
“Ok, it probably wasn’t the best mention (watch the video and you’ll see why), but hey, we’ll take it.”
If this is what Saturday Night Live has become – I am not missing anything. I am glad that I don’t watch it anymore. This bit was very unfunny. I wonder how they pulled Erie out of a hat though.
Here is the Hulu link.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/114960/extreme-makeover-home-edition-the-ward-family-part-1
Overall I enjoyed the episode. It was good that they drove the bus around a bit and got some of our more scenic views instead of just the neighborhood where the work was done. I’d like to see some people doing things like this (less extremely) with their own houses without it being given to them. Many homes of this sort in the city are paid for, and re-mortgaging them and making a new home out of it would be worth every penny for the homeowner, neighborhood and city as a whole.