With regard to the community college issue (yes, I’m still beating that dead horse and waiting for it to get reincarnated), there was an article in the Washington Post this week about one of the many uses of a community college that I don’t think anyone here mentioned. I don’t recall it being mentioned at the forum I attended either.
Your normal college/university is expensive. There’s no getting around it. Unless you can get scholarships and grants, the costs are enormous. So, students are taking summer classes at their community colleges and transferring the credits to their four year college. Not only does it save them a little scratch, but, if they take enough classes, they can actually graduate early.
This isn’t a new phenomenon. A lot of kids did it when I was in college, too. I didn’t. There was no college or university in Erie that offered classes cheaper than the university I was attending.
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One of Erie’s nuisance bars, Lamas, located at 1102 East Avenue, will be closing it doors in the next week or two. To resolve all pending litigation between the PLCB and Tony Lopez, the bar owner, Lopez has agreed to sell his liquor license. The license cannot be sold to a relative or anybody with any interest in the current business and, unless the Erie Police Department gives the okay, the new liquor license may not be used in the area bordered by East 12th Street, the Bayfront Parkway, Franklin Avenue and Lake Erie.
One nuisance bar down… how many more to go? From my days in the Citizens Police Academy, I know there are at least two others that are a problem – 901 Cafe, located at 901 Parade Street, and Sophia’s Tavern, located in the 500 block of Cherry Street. Coincidentally, both properties, 901 Parade and 514-516 Cherry Street, are owned by Lester & Mary Christine Holowienko. I believe Jester’s Pour House at 11th & Parade is also a problem.
Anyone know of any other problem establishments?
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According to Erie’s mayor, there’s a $315,616 gap in the budget. Anyone have any ideas how the City of Erie can make a few bucks and/or save some scratch?
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Okay, people, the last thing I want to do here is bash something I really love about Erie, but my frustration has hit the spontaneous internal combustion level.
What is the deal with the Flagship Niagara League? I posted something earlier this week about voting for the Niagara in a grant contest on Facebook sponsored by Kohl’s. The amount of the grant is nothing to sneeze at – $500,000. A half a million dollars. Kohl’s is giving away 20 of these grants. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve heard/read a time or two about the dire financial straits the Flagship Niagara League is in, so I’m guessing a half a million dollars could really help.
When I was originally looking for the link to the Facebook contest, I went to the Niagara website. Would you believe that there is nothing… zero… zilch… goose freakin’ eggs… on the Niagara website about the contest?
Would you also believe that there have only been two mentions on the Flagship Niagara’s own Facebook page about the contest (both on August 12th – one at 9:34 a.m. and one at 9:35 a.m.)?
And, on another but related matter, would you believe that the Ship’s (b)Log hasn’t been updated since May 20th? The ship has been traveling all over the Great Lakes this summer and no one has bothered to update where they are, what they’ve been doing, how they’ve been doing, etc. since spring?
Although the Flagship Niagara’s website does have a CONTACT page listing the employees, there’s no page listing the current League Board of Directors. Last I knew, two of them were Kim Greene and Jason Owen, but I have no idea if they’re still serving on the Board.
They’ve already got a website, so advertising the contest there is free. They’ve got a Facebook page, which is completely free. Use them. Advertise the contest. Do they want the grant for a HALF A MILLION dollars or not? If they do, they need to start pounding the pavement… or at least the cyberpavement… and, oh, I don’t know, make an effort?
Am I wrong here?
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But, because I really, really, really want the Niagara to stay here and do well, here’s a tidbit about a fundraiser the League is having:
Flagship Niagara Blues Night!
The Erie General Electric Federal Credit Union and the Flagship Niagara League present Flagship Niagara Blues Night, a concert and fundraiser to support Pennsylvania’s flagship, the U.S. Brig Niagara, on August 20, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.
This event will be held on Niagara’s Plaza behind the Erie Maritime Museum. Hard Luck Story will open at 6:30 p.m. for the Duke Sherman Blues Band, who will perform at 7 p.m. This event is open to the public. There will be a $3 cover charge for adults. Kids under six free. Beer will be for sale.
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Speaking of the Brig Niagara,The Brig Niagara will be heading to Chicago for Tall Ships Chicago 2010 which starts on August 24th. More than 20 ships will be on hand at the city’s Navy Pier.
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Last Friday an estimated 150,000 people visited Port Dover, Ontario (population 6,000) for Canada’s largest and most polite motorcycle event. The next Friday the 13th event is May 2011.
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And while we’re on the topic of our friends across the lake, Simcoe, Ontario parents claim school wi-fi is making kids sick.
Not likely, says Scott Stinson.
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As if you needed a reminder that the once competitive Pittsburgh Pirates are toast again this season, there’s a toaster that will burn the Pirates’ logo onto yinz favorite bread, english muffin, or waffle.
Of course, you could just go with the Pirate doormat.
All this talk of Pirates reminds me, matey… ye have 30 days to prepare ye selves for the annual Talk Like a Pirate Day. Argh.
I think you would find that a number of students at 4 year colleges who are taking summer classes at a community college are doing so to avoid taking a particular class at their primary institution. The main reasons being that the feel a class they just failed will be easier at the community college or to avoid a professor they dislike. I think the key stat would be what percentage of those students who take summer community college classes actually graduate in less than four years. The rest are actually spending more money.
Clearly the people running the Niagara are of touch with today’s technology and marketing platforms. Much like the rest of Erie.
Here is another example of people being in positions of power that unable to think outside-the-box. Celebrate Erie doesn’t have a schedule available via a mobile device?
A little off topic but along the same lines. I remember a few years ago I set up a demonstration where anyone could pay a parking ticket by simply text messaging the parking ticket ID number to them. The ticket would be paid instantly and charged to the persons mobile phone bill. The powers-that-be looked at me as if I had seven heads.
It’s this sort of refusal to adapt to mainstream technology that holds this city back. These are simple things that are a necessary part of a city’s infrastructure if Erie wants to be lucrative to outside businesses moving into the area.
They also need to fight for broadband expansion and get rid of the monopolies. Verizon FIOS service is available almost everywhere around us, but not in Erie. With no plans to ever bring it to Erie. Time Warner internet is awful. The customer service is nonexistent. Large corporations should not have a government protected monopoly if they are unable to service the market properly.
The Niagara has been in it’s own world for many years. There was an unspoken policy that the sails were not deployed close to shore so average folks could not take photos of her under sail, so they had to buy the “Official” photos sold by the league.
The tax payers of Erie paid for this albatross and it spends most of it’s time away at other ports. Given the shortness of the season you would think it would spent more time at home for the people who paid for it.
I think it was better when on display landlocked. At least the costs were reasonable. Besides, the real one is still in the bay. There is no real proof that I have even heard that they raised to correct keel.
If the city wants to raise a few bucks – sell the stupid golf courses.
A city should be in no other business than the business of running a city. The costs have gone up for years and the users statistics have gone down for years. (at least when I lived there).
Then you have all sorts of cash from not having to mow, landscape, and otherwise maintain a golf course.
Ways to cut costs in the city:
1 – Private garbage collection; maybe if Waste Management had the contract we wouldn’t see all the darn couches, etc. next to the curbs all year long because they would pick them up. It would be nice to have a clean city.
2 – Get rid of the street cleaners who do absolutely nothing, except of course in the Frontier area of the city. I am sick and tired of having this behemoth come down my street twice in the summer (note: I said TWICE; not weekly like it’s supposed to) spewing dirt all over the cars, sidewalks, etc. This is simply a money-maker for the Parking Authority with their “no parking” rules.
3 – Clean house in City Hall of all the employees who do nothing – and yes, there are still some there. I know that a lot of them go above and beyond, but take a close look at all the ones who barely even do their jobs. Someone in HR there has to grow a pair and start cutting these people free.
4 – Spend the money saved from getting rid of garbage collectors to put someone back on the switchboard to at least give the impression that SOMEONE is at City Hall answering a phone.
5 – Instead of maintaining a gym for the police, why not give them discounts to the Y, Nautilus, etc.
6 – Change the shifts of half the personnal at City Hall to make it user friendly so that there is someone in each office until at least 6:30 pm nightly so people can take care of business.
As a volunteer crew member, I have sailed on Niagara over 30 times. We raise and set sails as soon as we navigate the channel. Often times we set the two topsails and sail without power on the bay and through the channel. Your baseless conspiracy theory that it is Niagara policy to not set sails to force people to buy “official” photographs should earn you a promotion in the tin foil hat brigade. Sailing ships are rarely at full sail anyway. While it is quite a sight, it is usually reserved for tall ship festivals, photo ops, and Hollywood productions.
Although it has been repeated enough times in the media, let me repeat. The Niagara derives vital income from visiting other ports. If the ship did not sail, the Commonwealth would not have the funds to maintain the ship and the ship would be left to rot. Hardly a way to treat one of the most popular and impressive tall ships in the world.