Friday, May 24 2013 1:42 PM EDT2013-05-24 17:42:57 GMT
My irritation was surpassed only by a sense of sadness this week as I watched a national news network go about its business of covering the news of the day. The anchor went on about two major storiesMore >>
How far have we slid when the devastation of Oklahoma and the Jody Arias trial is given equal billing on national news shows?More >>
Friday, May 24 2013 1:45 PM EDT2013-05-24 17:45:59 GMT
There aren't many of us who think that drinking and driving is a good idea but finding the right place to draw that line is proving to be a tough choice in a country that zealously protects individualMore >>
A new initiative for stricter limits on drinking and driving makes for some tough choices for lawmakers.More >>
Friday, May 17 2013 4:34 PM EDT2013-05-17 20:34:30 GMT
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ended about a dozen legal challenges this week by okaying a revised 10-year plan to redraw the state's political boundaries. The first plan was considered to be too bizarreMore >>
Drawing political boundaries for personal gains makes it hard to say we support free and open elections.More >>
Friday, May 10 2013 5:03 PM EDT2013-05-10 21:03:20 GMT
You hear the word "potential" a lot when talking about the problems facing young people and their decisions of staying on the straight and narrow or veering off into life on the streets. Few lives showMore >>
The man with a once promising career now faces years in jail, raising more questions about how to keep young people focused on achievement.More >>
Friday, May 3 2013 11:47 AM EDT2013-05-03 15:47:51 GMT
A lot of the stories we cover aren't fun. Some days you're slogging through municipal budgets. Others require that we cover a tragedy in the community. But then there are those rare times when you hitMore >>
A story on the frustrations of Erie's red lights proves a unifying experience.More >>
Friday, April 26 2013 12:06 PM EDT2013-04-26 16:06:02 GMT
The chaotic and sad events in Boston this week are once again a reminder of the need to trust your source of information as well as a reminder that those who give out the information must double checkMore >>
The premature announcement of an arrest in Boston is a strict lesson in trusting sources especially over the Internet.More >>
Friday, April 19 2013 2:59 PM EDT2013-04-19 18:59:56 GMT
For Erie's unionized General Electric workers, leverage is something in short supply these days. The latest example of that is the company's announcement that one of its premier locomotive lines willMore >>
Erie has an uphill battle trying to make trains against leaner and newer competition.More >>
Friday, April 12 2013 2:24 PM EDT2013-04-12 18:24:31 GMT
It's becoming clear this week that there are a lot of moving parts as lawmakers try to decide how or if to change how alcohol is sold in Pennsylvania. What will be a boon for some can quickly become aMore >>
Sales for beer distributors could be going flat if the current proposal to change the state's alcohol monopoly is passed.More >>
Friday, April 5 2013 11:32 AM EDT2013-04-05 15:32:00 GMT
The WSEE family lost one of the pillars of its history this week with the passing of legendary investigative reporter Carol Pella. Carol came out of Penn State about the same time Watergate came out inMore >>
We lost a legendary investigative journalist with the passing of Carol Pella, but her lessons in tenacity and accurate reporting live on.More >>
Friday, March 29 2013 2:09 PM EDT2013-03-29 18:09:31 GMT
If there is anything good that can come from the recent loss of an Erie teenager, it's further proof that neighbors here can and do care about each other. I'm talking of course about the death of 17-yearMore >>
The tragic loss of an Erie teenager proves both the power of neighbors caring for each other and the power of the new ways in which we communicate.More >>
Because I was an English major in college, I had to read some obscure stuff. Like the original manuscript for what was to later become Man of La Mancha, a Tony award winning play and later a movie. It was about a nobleman who went mad dreaming of the days of knights, damsels and monsters and would become Don Quixote. He would jump on his horse and head off to fight the giant. Turns out he was only tilting at windmills. His is the enduring image of a good fight misplaced; of a brave but ultimately useless and futile gesture. I can't help but think of that story watching the good people of Wesleyville in their quest to save the Post Office branch there, the branch which closes today. The Postal Service marked the branch for extinction in a round of budget cuts, citing dwindling use and the growing ability of people to pay bills and communicate over the Internet. "People just don't use the Post Office branches anymore," one spokesperson told us. The neighbors answered by holding a series of moderately attended rallies and mailing letters of protest to President Obama and Pennsylvania's U.S. senators. The letters were mailed on Thursday, though, leaving one to wonder if they would even arrive at their destinations in time to do any good. Don't judge too harshly. It seems clear to me that these folks are looking to preserve more than a post office. They look to preserve a small town way of life. Back to a time when a post office was the confluence of a town, a place where people would interact going in and out or stop to shoot the breeze and maybe sneak in a little talk of local politics. Now our bills are paid by automated deductions. We communicate from a distance by Tweet, 140 spaces or less please. Did the neighbors in Wesleyville take on a mission they had no chance of winning? Maybe. But I understand the thinking that sometimes it's better to go tilting at windmills, rather than not getting in the fight at all.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WICU. All Rights Reserved.
