Man, things are crazy ’round here. It’s back to school time, not only for my kids, but for me. The first few weeks of school on a college campus are generally crazy, so needless to say I’m swamped. My wife would argue, if I’m so busy, why was I up late playing Modern Warfare 2 instead of doing this blog post like a good boy? Well, I need to unwind a little, that’s why.

Our second issue of the Erie Observer email newsletter went out yesterday. In case you haven’t yet subscribed to it (and seriously, why haven’t you…), you can read it here. Still need to subscribe? Do it here.

Highmark has pledged $200,000 towards the on again off again community college. The Erie Community Foundation will steward the money, which will be giving in two installments.

Congrats to Joel at the Press and Tower on his 2nd blogiversary. He’s taken the torch from Jack Tirak and is doing an admirable job.

Kudos to Darlene Newara of North East who managed to tazer not only herself but her brother as the two were drunkenly fighting. A little bleach needs thrown in that gene pool.

FirstEnergy Corp. has announced that John E. Skory – currently director of Operations Support for the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company – has been promoted to regional president, Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), headquartered in Erie, Pa. Penelec serves approximately 590,000 customers within a 17,600-square-mile area of western and central Pennsylvania. Skory replaces James R. Napier, Jr., who will join the leadership team for the company’s Utility Support group in Akron.

MotivePower has signed a contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to supply 20 next-generation HSP46 passenger locomotives to be delivered in 2012-2013. The EPA Tier 3-compliant locomotives will be manufactured in Boise, Idaho with major components supplied by GE Transportation of Erie.

Sports

The Seawolves are home tonight.

Tonight is the final preseason game for the Browns, who take on the Bears, and the Steelers, who host the Carolina Panthers. Ohio State plays tonight, as does Pitt. High school football ramps up this weekend. Even though it doesn’t feel like it, fall is almost here.

Events

It all occurred on just one tense and foreboding day, September 10, 1813, but the conflict proved to be one of the major battles of the War of 1812 that would see Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and his sailors defeat the British Navy to secure the Great Lakes region for the U.S. once and for all. Two hundred years later The Perry Group, a registered charity organization dedicated to supporting Perry’s International Peace Memorial, is planning a massive tribute to that historic day. The victory led to Detroit and environs being returned to the U.S. as well as the securing of states such as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the coastal areas of Western New York. The celebration will begin on September 7, 2013, the exact week of the bicentennial of the battle, sometimes also called the “Battle of Put-In-Bay,” the coastal and island area of Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio, and about ninety miles west of Cleveland.