NEWS

Have you seen any mayflies around here?  Apparently, they’re all over the shores of Lake Erie to our west in Ohio, where they’re so abundant that some locales are using front end loaders and leaf blowers to clear them off streets and sidewalks.  The good news is that the magnitude of mayflies is an indicator that Lake Erie is healthy.  And, hey, at least they’re not those annoying biting flies we get around here every year.

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Erie County Hazmat Team responded to a small chemical spill on I-90 in West Springfield, PA.  The television news report I saw indicated the chemical was caustic and ate the paint off of what it touched.  The bulk of the spill was contained inside the semi trailer and the Hazmat Team cleaned up what leaked out.

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Brace yourself… in approximately six months the amount Penelec charges consumers for electricity will become unregulated and the utility will be free to raise prices.  I wonder if that will finally get my father to shut the television off when he leaves the room.

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Erie may come in fourth in Pennsylvania population, but, hey, we come in third for unemployment.  The only Pennsylvania metro areas with higher unemployment rates are currently Johnstown and Scranton.  I guess it could be worse… we could be #1.  Sigh.

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Check it out… it’s not just the City of Erie proper that gets reports of shots fired.  Sunday night, Millcreek police were called to a home in the 3100 block of West 26th Street for a report of a domestic disturbance that included a man firing a gun at his girlfriend as she fled the home with her child.  Fortunately, he missed.  Even better, the alleged shooter, Jywaun Williams, is now in jail.

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WICU-12 has a story about the City of Erie Police cracking down on excessively loud motorcycles.  Amen.  Sweet cracker sandwich, those things are obnoxious and I have no idea how someone can stand to be right on top of that noise for a ten seconds, much less long enough to get from Point A to Point B.  And enjoy it.  But, hey, I guess it’s probably good for the hearing aid business.

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Both Millcreek and Erie Police are reporting that there has been a spike in thefts from autos.  Protect your belongings… don’t leave valuables like money, GPS systems, cameras, MP3 players, or even CDs in plain sight in your car.  And, as my uncle always used to tell me, “lock it or lose it.”

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Erie isn’t the only city crying brain drain….larger cities like Milwaukee can’t seem to attract young college grads. But is that really the answer? Short but interesting discussion in Next American City.

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Good.is is asking people all over the world to submit new logos for their cities. You can check them out here: http://www.citid.net/.

If you are a graphic designer, send one in. It don’t cost nothing. Just make sure you include pepperoni balls, Smith’s hotdogs, and the Niagara.

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Happy Canada Day this July 1st to our friends north of the border. Did you know Moosehead is now the largest Canadian owned brewer since Molson was bought by Coors and some Belgian company took over Labatt’s? I always thought is was Elsinore Brewery, eh.

Canadians will celebrate by descending upon the Millcreek Mall and buying all the decent clothes at TJ Maxx.

WORLD CUPDATE

Despite a valiant effort (ok, it was largely confined to the second half), the USA did not advance to the round of 8 in World Cup soccer play. Ghana, which defeated powerhouse Germany in the first round of the WC, edged the US team in overtime by a score of 2-1. Might have been different had the referee awarded the US at least one other penalty kick for a foul that happened inside the penalty box…I’m just sayin’…. Other than that, the US just didn’t seem to have the
fight Ghana had.

In other games, Germany spanked the donkey bottom biters from England 4-1. Mexico was charbroiled by Argentina, 3-1. Brazil cooled off Chile 3-0.

Spain won the battle of Iberia by edging Portugal 1-0. The game featured one of the worst dives ever. David Brenner look alike Joan Capdevila’s antics got Ricardo Costa of Portugal a red card. Capdevlia looked like he was shot in the back of the head by an elephant gun, but after pouring some bottled holy water on his ear, he made a dramatic recovery. Some say it was a miracle – Costa’s knocking over Capdevila without touching him that is.

Oh, and they were going crazy in Asuncion yesterday as Paraguay eliminated Japan 1-0 on penalty kicks. Yes, Paraguay is in SouthAmerica. It’s kind of like the liver of the continent. Or maybe the gall bladder. Anyway, it’s somewheres in the middle and they’re still alive. Breaking news……the Japanese player that missed his penalty
kick committed hara-kiri with a vuvuzela.

Best World Cup dives according to Jeff Hoard:  http://trueslant.com/jeffhoard/2010/06/29/worst-2010-world-cup-dives/

And what’s with the babies wearing winter coats at the World Cup? It’s maybe in the fifties.

OTHER SPORTS

The Toronto Maple Leafs have selected 18 year old Erie Otter forward Greg McKegg 62nd overall in the NHL draft. McKegg’s teammate Andrew Yogan became the first Florida raised player to get drafted by an NHL team after the New York Rangers drafted him number 100 overall.

Congratulations to them both.

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A whopping 279 people took part in third BaySwim this year. BaySwim is a celebration of a cleaner Presque Isle Bay. There will be a GulfSwim to mark a clean Gulf of Mexico. Organizers are looking at the year 2525….if man is still alive.

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Check out the video of 3-time Horseshoe World Champion Dan Kuchcinski of Erie on the Johnny Carson Show in 1968. It’s wild.