Northeast Non-Development Discussion

[xzmattzx]

I was going to church yesterday at St. Peter's Cathedral in the Quaker Hill section of Wilmington, and as I was driving towards the church, I noticed large billows of smoke. The billows of smoke were larger than any leaf pile fire or anything, and this is a city, so people don't have leaves to burn in the first place, so I figured it was a fire. Sure enough, a house on 5th Street, just a block from St. Peter's, had just caught fire only minutes earlier. Someone said that the fire was electrical, but in the newspaper today it was stated that the fire was caused by "smoking materials". The fire had grown considerably in the few minutes that I was there before the firefighters arrived, and the firefighters had the fire out within 5 minutes of arriving.

The fire was growing when I first got there.



Firefighters had made their way to the second floor and had just started spraying the fire.



As the crews continue putting out the fire, more and more smoke came out of the house.





After church, I walked back over to see how things were going. Crews were putting out smoldering areas of the roof.











The blaze was contained in time, so that it did not spread to the neighboring Tabernacle Full Gospel Baptist Church.

[Xusein]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Why do such little places in New York like Pavilion and Rushford have bird's eye views on maps.live.com, but there are no bird's eye views for Wilmington?

At least Wilmington had decent Google Earth coverage for a long time...until recently Hartford (and most of CT) had crappy zooms for a long time, and still kind of does...compared to other cites.

I think Microsoft's biggest crime, until recently, was no bird's eye coverage for Chicago, now it does and it looks great.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Sad but ironic story of a Cornell Vet


Vet school director dies from injuries in cycle crash
By Topher Sanders
Journal Staff

ITHACA — Renowned cat veterinarian and beloved Cornell University professor James Richards died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident that occurred on Sunday.

Richards, the director of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's Feline Health Center, was thrown from his motorcycle while traveling west along Route 221 in Willet, southeastern Cortland County, when he attempted to avoid a cat in the road, police records state.


A former president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and author of the “ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats,” Richards was an authority on vaccination protocols for cats.

Christine Bellezza, a feline consultant who worked with Richards since 1999, said Richards had a defining feature that many will miss.
“His smile,” said Bellezza while fighting back tears. “He was a very happy, easy-to-talk-to man that everybody loved. He was always full of advice, you know, he was the fatherly type.”

Richards not only enjoyed working with his colleagues and cats, but riding his bikes.

“He loved his motorcycles,” Bellezza said. “All you had to say was ‘it was a nice day for a ride' and he would get a big smile on his face.”

Richards joined the Cornell veterinary college in 1991 as assistant director of the Feline Health Center, and was named director in 1997.

“He was the most competent feline expert, perhaps in the country, but even more than that he was just a wonderful caring person and a very dear friend to many, many people,” said Donald Smith, dean of Cornell's vet school. “Dr. Richards has probably touched more lives of individuals in the College of Veterinary Medicine than we could ever imagine.”

In particular, Richards was concerned about the students he taught and mentored, Smith said.

“He was a student adviser in several areas that had a deep impact on veterinary students in all four years of our curriculum,” he said.

Paul Maza, a feline consultant who worked with Richards for five years, agreed with Smith.

“Dr. Richards was a very charismatic man,” Maza said. “He was very outgoing, and he was very giving of his time to students and colleagues. He always had a kind word for everybody, and he was very encouraging. I very much enjoyed working with him.”

Richards' colleagues weren't surprised that a man who dedicated a good portion of his life to improving the lives of cats put such effort into avoiding a cat in the road.

“That just goes to show his level of compassion and appreciation, not just for cats, but for all living animals,” Maza said.

Richards is survived by his wife, Anita Fox Richards of Dryden, and two sons, Jesse and Seth.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28 at the Bethel Grove Bible Church, 1763 Slaterville Road, Ithaca.


cbsanders@ithacajournal.com




Originally published April 25, 2007

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

Sad but ironic story of a Cornell Vet

That certainly is a sad twist of fate.

[xzmattzx]

Seeing that I've done plenty of photo threads of Phillies games in the past couple of years, I figured this might be the best place to put just a few pictures I took from last night's game. Some time, I'm going to go really early to a game and do a good phototour of the stadium.

Last night was my first Phils game of the season.

[xzmattzx]

Proposed Law Will Force Teams Playing in New Jersey to Take 'New York' Out of Names


HACKENSACK, N.J. — Normally it is Jersey fans who gripe that they don't get any respect from pro sports teams that play at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford but have "New York" in their names.

But three New York assemblymen recently sponsored a bill to stop football's Giants and Jets and soccer's Red Bulls from using the Empire State's name or abbreviation because they don't play their home games in New York.

"At the very least, the location of the place where a team plays should be accurate, and reflect where they actually play their home games," Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette, of Queens, writes in the bill, as reported by The Record of Bergen County in Saturday newspapers.

The legislation wasn't started here, but it seems to have some supporters in the Garden State.

"That bill does sound like a Jersey thing, which is ironic considering that over here we basically seem to have given up on this," George Zoffinger, head of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority told the newspaper. "But I think with all the money we give these teams, they should be called 'New Jersey."'

So far the bill — co-sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz of the Bronx and Felix Ortiz of Brooklyn — only applies to sports teams.

Officials from the three teams have adamantly said that they aren't going to change their names.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269136,00.html

[xzmattzx]

Have any of you people living anywhere else ever seen county police anywhere? Down here, the New Castle County Police patrol New Castle County; we don't have boroughs, townships, or the like, so most of the county is unincorporated. Wilmington, Newark, Elsmere, and a couple smaller places have town police forces, but places like Brandywine Hundred, Pike Creek, Hockessin, Bear, etc are all unincorporated, and so they are patrolled by the county police.

I've never seen a county police force anywhere, even in the other two Delaware counties of Kent and Sussex. I have not heard of a county police force so big as the NCCo police force. Most places I go to, the state troopers patrol where the town or city police don't really cover, like Interstates or country roads or whatnot.

Has anyone ever heard of a county police force like New Castle County's police force?

[Sabretooth]

Around here, there's the County Sheriff; they have basic police jurisdiction in towns which don't have their own police departments. For instance in my job, they're who I have to go to to get accident records when I need them. I'm not sure which role or powers they have in the towns with PDs, though.

In NH you'd occasionally see a County Sheriff as well. Don't really know what purpose they serve because over there, counties almost only exist on maps - virtually no government. Maybe it's the same as here, for the smaller towns.

[xzmattzx]

There are no county sherriffs here though. The NCCo police force is like any town or city police force. The NCCo force seems to be a little different than sherriff's deputies or whatnot.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Have any of you people living anywhere else ever seen county police anywhere? Down here, the New Castle County Police patrol New Castle County; we don't have boroughs, townships, or the like, so most of the county is unincorporated. Wilmington, Newark, Elsmere, and a couple smaller places have town police forces, but places like Brandywine Hundred, Pike Creek, Hockessin, Bear, etc are all unincorporated, and so they are patrolled by the county police.

I've never seen a county police force anywhere, even in the other two Delaware counties of Kent and Sussex. I have not heard of a county police force so big as the NCCo police force. Most places I go to, the state troopers patrol where the town or city police don't really cover, like Interstates or country roads or whatnot.

Has anyone ever heard of a county police force like New Castle County's police force?

In Prince George county, MD there is a police force as well as a Sheriff's department. The county police have a large number of officers (around 1,200 I believe). Of course there are some smaller municipal police forces in some of the incorporated cities/towns within the county, but the PG Police are the major law enforcement entity in the county. There are over 800,000 people in PG, and most live in unincorporated areas or small towns that don't have their own force.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

In Prince George county, MD there is a police force as well as a Sheriff's department. The county police have a large number of officers (around 1,200 I believe). Of course there are some smaller municipal police forces in some of the incorporated cities/towns within the county, but the PG Police are the major law enforcement entity in the county. There are over 800,000 people in PG, and most live in unincorporated areas or small towns that don't have their own force.

So it sounds like New Castle County isn't the only place that is like this. Prince George County seems like a logical place for this, as it is heavily populated but all suburban. A county force would be more effective than little township forces.

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ Somewhat, PG faces many crime issues which are more closely related to big city problems than suburban. High violent crime rate, and a lot of the neighborhoods have the "Don't Snitch" policy.

[xzmattzx]

Two Delaware horses are running in the Preakness tomorrow: Xchanger from Gate 2, and Hard Spun from Gate 7. I have money on both horses.

[xzmattzx]

The University of Delaware made the Final Four for NCAA Lacrosse for the first time ever. The Final Four is being held in Baltimore this weekend, with the semifinal games on Saturday and the championship game in Monday.

I'll be going down on Saturday, and on Monday if Delaware advances. It will be my first lacrosse Final Four. I'm excited about seeing my alma mater on the national stage.

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ Who knows, with any luck they may be going up against Cornell in the championship game. I guess you know who I'll be rooting for.

[xzmattzx]

I highly doubt UD will win on Saturday, but who knows. Unseeded UMass made it to the championship game last year or the year before, so it's possible. UD has arguably the best face-off man in NCAA history in Alex Smith, so they have some talent to stay in the game with Johns Hopkins at least.

Cornell seems to have their work cut out for them as well. Duke is clearly the best team in the NCAA this year, and it won't be easy bringing them down.

[xzmattzx]

I was down in Dewey Beach this past weekend to celebrate my younger sister's birthday and her recent engagement. Here are a few pictures.


I had breakfast on Sunday morning at Sharky's Grill on Read Street at Route 1. I got the crab meat omelette wrap, a good deal for a foot-long wrap for $6.75.



We boozed on Saturday night at the Rusty Rudder, a nationally-known bar on Dickinson Street, and just across Route 1 from our hotel.



The beach.







There are some other great restaurants on Dickinson Street. You'll also find a few shops and stores on Dickinson Street as well.



The Bottle & Cork, the self-proclaimed "Best Rock N Roll Bar in the World", is an even more famous bar in Dewey Beach. Hundreds of famous musicians and bands have done concerts here, some even for free. The bar is at the corner of Route 1 and Bellevue Street.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I think this editorial speaks to one of the big problems in upstate NY. And the single comment at the bottom is a none too subtle shot at some of the goofy issues in Ithaca.



Upstate's image: Graduate survey shows work needed

By the time Cornell University finishes its commencement ceremonies on Sunday, the two four-year colleges in Tompkins County will have conferred close to 7,000 undergraduate degrees.

But if a recent online survey conducted by The Business Council of New York State Inc. is correct, those graduates expect “great difficulty” in finding a job that will allow them to live in Upstate New York though they and their fellow graduates view the area in a favorable light and prefer to live here.

The Business Council's survey, which included 1,006 responses — 760 from Upstate New York graduating seniors — showed that graduates believe there aren't enough good jobs available for their chosen careers and taxes are too high. Conversely, those same seniors think there are good recreational and cultural opportunities in Upstate communities and our communities are safe. Most promising was the survey result that showed the Upstate region was the No. 1 choice to locate in if there were equally good job opportunities in all parts of the country.

The survey was released the same day Gov. Eliot Spitzer and first lady Silda Wall Spitzer announced their “I Live New York” initiative, where they hope to create new job and business opportunities for college graduates so they won't follow the demographic trend and move elsewhere. On Sept. 18, she'll conduct a summit on the topic with a host of players at the State University College at Cortland.
The problem isn't landing that first job, according to The Business Council survey. About 74 percent of respondents said they expect to live in Upstate New York after graduation this year. But the long-term forecast is quite bleak. Only 28 percent of respondents said they expect to be living here in 10 years, a far more important number to focus on.

If we don't change how our newly-minted college graduates think about Upstate New York soon, they'll be long gone when we need them to carry their weight as leaders when it is their generation's turn. The way to do that is to change the climate in New York, political and otherwise. It may not be possible to lower taxes, but our taxing entities don't have to raise taxes higher than inflation every year. And supporting current businesses and investing in new industries should be a no-brainer approach for economic development, though sometimes those approaches seem to take forever to get off the ground.

Albany and elsewhere needs to focus on accomplishing those tasks, instead of getting sidetracked by petty politics. Our future is at stake.






Originally published May 24, 2007

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Let's focus on the real issues facing our region...the dog park, renaming of streets and creative ways to raise taxes without anyone knowing about it.

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 7:40 am

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[Ex-Ithacan]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I highly doubt UD will win on Saturday, but who knows. Unseeded UMass made it to the championship game last year or the year before, so it's possible. UD has arguably the best face-off man in NCAA history in Alex Smith, so they have some talent to stay in the game with Johns Hopkins at least.

Cornell seems to have their work cut out for them as well. Duke is clearly the best team in the NCAA this year, and it won't be easy bringing them down.

Well, looks like we both lost out today. Cornell nearly did it, but I think Duke has karma on their side after the legal fiascos of the last year.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

Well, looks like we both lost out today. Cornell nearly did it, but I think Duke has karma on their side after the legal fiascos of the last year.

The end of the Duke/Cornell game was insane. Cornell had a good crowd there; I would say they had the biggest group of the four schools, at least on the side of the stadium I was on. Delaware had a very good crowd as well. I didn't see much of a Duke crowd.