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Erie PA News and Events for Tuesday December 27, 2005
Posted by Dennis on December 27, 2005
The Marxist-Leninist socialists on Erie City Council obviously agree that raising taxes is easier than cutting spending. They are raising every tax and fee that they can. With this move, businesses and residents will continue in even greater numbers to move beyond the city limits. Council finally agreed on a balanced budget by raising property taxes 1/2 mill to generate $1,250,000 and making $250,000 in job cuts. Exactly where those supposed job cuts will come from isn’t clear. They also created an amusement tax, a 3 percent fee on tickets for sports events, concerts, plays and shows. Council did give up on the idea of a $40 tax on rental properties. They previously announced that the city income tax, Emergency and Municipal Services tax, garbage fee and sewer fee will all rise. Rick Filippi said he would veto any budget that includes a property tax increase. Council has enough votes to override a veto by the mayor but it would make for a good symbolic gesture.
Lake Shore Towing divers will be taking a look at the The Landsdowne, the 300 foot barge that sunk to the bottom of Presque Isle Bay. They’ll measure the hole or holes for patches because Specialty Restaurants Corporation of California wants it re-floated. Plans to turn the ship into a floating restaurant never materialized. It did operate as a restaurant on the Detroit River from 1983-91 but it was a hunk of junk by the time it reached Erie and was docked at the Sassafras Street pier in 2001.
Danny Mudd’s decision at home in Hull, England, caught up to him in Erie, Pa, took him to Pittsburgh, and ultimately offered life and hope to a person in Germany. Mudd is a 21-year-old freshman at Mercyhurst College who has been giving blood since he became old enough to do so four years ago. The first time he filled out the forms in Hull, he checked the box agreeing to be screened for potential bone marrow transplants. That led to the discovery he matched a person in need in Germany. Ultimately, that sent him from Erie to Pittsburgh where his stem cells were harvested for the unknown German. From Mudd’s point of view, that decision to help was the only one he could make. “I saw it as a duty,” Mudd said. “If I was in the same situation, I would want someone to do it for me.” Mudd’s decision to give blood in the first place was urged on him by his mother, Jayne Mudd. She had been a regular blood donor most of her life until she had surgery a few years ago. Her son explained that she received a blood transfusion during the surgery that now makes her ineligible to be a donor. Where the mother left off, the son took over. Danny Mudd has given blood regularly since he was 17, the minimum age to donate blood in England. When he signed up to give blood, Mudd also agreed to have a small portion of his blood tested to see if he was compatible with anyone in need of bone marrow transplants. Such transplants are used to treat diseases like leukemia. About a week before he was to go to the United States to begin his career as a Mercyhurst college freshman and goalkeeper of the Mercyhurst Lakers soccer team, Mudd received a letter saying he was a possible match for a patient in need in Germany. More tests were performed. Two months later, the caseworker in Hull e-mailed with word that he was a definite match. Now he could make a choice: Donate bone marrow by having the marrow withdrawn by a large needle inserted into his thigh bone, donate stem cells separated out of his blood after a series of injections, or don’t donate at all. Mudd chose the less invasive stem cell approach. The English caseworker found West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh willing to perform the procedure. To make it work, West Penn contacted Chris Dimperio, the nurse at Mercyhurst College’s health center. She would give Mudd injections for five days before he went to West Penn. The injections stirred his bone marrow into producing a glut of stem cells. Dimperio had never had a request like this before. “This was new. But what really impressed me was this young man being willing to do something like this. I thought more college students need to do this,” she said. With the injections done, Mudd went to Pittsburgh for a two-day stay in late November. For nearly four hours each day he was “plugged in.” Blood flowed through a tube in his right arm to a processor that separated the stem cells, then the blood flowed back into him through a needle in his left arm. Two days work, and one unit – not even a quart – of stem cells. But that was all that was needed. The precious plastic bag of stem cells was dispatched to Germany. “I’d like to meet the person,” he said, “but each country has different policies on meeting the person who receives the cells.” He hopes to receive the patient’s e-mail address in about a year. For now, Mudd can concentrate on his career as a student athlete at Mercyhurst. While undecided on his major, Mudd knows that whatever degree he gets at Mercyhurst will take him on a better path than the job he had at the waterfront city of Hull. He found Mercyhurst after an acquaintance mentioned that his skills as a goalkeeper would work well here. And they did. He was named to the second all-GLIAC team for 2005, making 76 saves versus allowing 24 goals, for a save percentage of 76 percent. He recorded six shutouts for the season.
The Dr and Mrs Arthur William Phillips Charitable Trust of Oil City has donated $100,000 to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, to establish the Dr and Mrs Arthur William Phillips Charitable Trust Matching Trustee Scholarship. “The Matching Trustee Scholarship program was created by Penn State’s Board of Trustees to encourage creation of new scholarship endowments to support our most academically talented students who demonstrate financial need,” said Jack Burke, chancellor. “Recognizing this great need for scholarship support, the University will make annual additions to the aid generated by the scholarship equal to 5 percent of the principal, in perpetuity. In this way, we are doubling the aid available to students.”
The Highmark Quad Cross County Ski and Snowshoe race will be held January 8, 2006 at 1 pm on the Upper Golf Course of Peek ‘n Peak. The cross country ski race is 5 miles and the snowshoe race is 2.5 miles. This is the final event of the 23rd Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Quad Games season.
Michael Blunden of the Erie Otters putting a crushing check to Erkka Leppanen in the opening minutes as Canada beat Finland 5-1 in the opening game of the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship. Ryan O’Marra of the Otters had an assist in the game.
Kevin Scott (Washington, DC/Theodore Roosevelt) of Gannon University has been named to the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-Northwest Region first team. Scott was earlier named to the Daktronics All-Northwest Region first team, the All-ECAC first team, and All-GLIAC second team.
The Gannon women’s lacrosse team is ranked ninth in NCAA Division II, according to Lacrosse magazine’s annual preseason college rankings. Defending NCAA Division II champion Stonehill was ranked Number 1. Adelphi (14-2), CW Post (13-4), West Chester (17-2), and Limestone (10-6) completed the top five. Queens (11-6), Lock Haven (14-5), Pfeiffer (11-4), Gannon (10-4), and Philadelphia (10-6) rounded out the top 10. Gannon has never recorded a losing season.
Posted by Dennis at December 27, 2005 7:09 AM
Comments
Yay! Now first time homebuyers looking for a house in Erie can have an even better time. Because, you know, nothing jumps up your mortgage payment more than an increase in taxes! It's not the principal that gets you in your monthly payment, it's the taxes. And the businesses who are already taxed heavily on their property will probably move to Millcreek or outlying areas, where the taxes may be higher, but at least you're getting your money's worth.
Posted by: Ron at December 27, 2005 8:40 AM
One just knew that as soon as Filippi threatened to veto a property tax increase that was exactly what council would do. Makes one wonder what reason a Millcreek resident would have to sign a petition to even study merging government with the city under such conditions.
Posted by: Jim at December 27, 2005 8:48 AM
How pathetic it was to see Pat Capabianca trying to lobby for an even 'bigger' tax increase yesterday to save the jobs of 12 police officers who are scheduled to be laid off in January.
The police union (along with the other Unions), told City Council and the residents of Erie to screw off this past weekend, as they refused to even pay 15 percent of their OWN health care or take a one year wage freeze.
That's why it was even more appalling to see Pandering Pat working harder for the police officers than for the rest of the 100,000 residents of Erie.
Posted by: Matt at December 27, 2005 9:27 AM
Why was Jim Thompson on television saying that "everyone loses" thru this budget? Isn't he forgetting something?? Certainly not 'everyone' loses at all.
We will still be having hundreds of city employees getting a PAY RAISE in 2006, along with these same people not paying a DIME for their own health care. I'd say these city employees 'win' if anything.
Posted by: Matt at December 27, 2005 9:29 AM
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