NEWS

B. F. Fields, the local Erie agent for North American Van Lines, recently received two awards from North American for 2009 – one for Overall Quality and Top Hauling Agent.

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A Madison, Ohio chemistry teacher has resigned his position in light of the fact that he’s admitted to sexually propositioning what he thought was a 13-year-old girl (but was actually an undercover cop) via the internet.  What does this have to do with Erie?  Apparently, the chemistry teacher was trying to arrange to meet the supposed 13-year-old at a hotel in Erie, where he would provide her with wine coolers in exchange for sexual favors.

Anyone remember any other weird court case/Erie event involving a chemistry teacher?

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Rabbi George Schlesinger of the Congregation Beth Ami in Santa Rosa, California is embarking on a 52-day, 3,800 mile bicycle trip that will take him from California to New Hampshire… by way of Erie, PA.  The article in JWeekly.com doesn’t give the Rabbi’s itinerary, but, according to the America by Bicycle website, Schlesinger and his group will not only be passing through Erie, but will be overnighting here on Day 43 of the tour.

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The American Society of Civil Engineers gave Pennsylvania’s roads a barely passing grade. These know-it-alls also gave the state’s drinking water a D minus. Maybe they never enjoyed a Lake Erie cocktail.

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Former Carnegie-Mellon faculty member and “Creative Class” author comes up with a list of 25 of the best places for recent college graduates. Most are college towns. State College was the only Pennsylvania city on the list coming in at #19. What do Iowa City, Iowa and Ithaca, NY (on the list) have over Erie (not on the list)?

SPORTS

This past Sunday, the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires repeated as Memorial Cup champions.

In the NHL, the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks are set to start the Stanley Cup Finals (yes, they’re still playing and yes, I know it’s almost June) at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be on NBC. If you tune in check out Chicago’s Jonathan Toews. He has the worst playoff beard ever. He looks Amish. Sorry, but if you want to look mean you shouldn’t look Amish or like the Notre Dame leprechaun for that matter.

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You still have time to drive to Indianapolis to watch the Indy 500 in person. Jack Nicholson will wave the green flag to start the race. Although there are people on the East Side’s “Bayfront Connector” with some pretty darn good speeds, none of them qualified for the race this year. The tradition continues Sunday at 1 p.m. In case you were wondering, the Cutters DID win the Little 500 bicycle race this year down, in Bloomington.