MetaFilter posts tagged with pennsylvania

It'll surely come... here it comes again.

mykescipark — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:50:37 -0800

The ballad of Red Buckets. "Richard Mason was a high school kid in Boston when he formed his band Insteps and recorded his first songs sounding much like the early Cure. ... Red Buckets began at University of Pennsylvania around 1982, and eventually brought Richard and the band into the context of Crazy Rhythms-era Feelies, the Hoboken music scene at Maxwell’s, Dream Syndicate passing through, and the proto-Yo La Tengo record machine."

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

tonycpsu — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:55:40 -0800

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett filed a federal anti-trust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association today. Announcing the suit at a press conference this morning, Corbett claimed that the NCAA "seized upon the opportunity for publicity on the backs of the citizens of the Commonwealth". The suit seeks vacation of all of the sanctions levied against Penn State University by the NCAA (previously) after the release of the Freeh Report (previously) on the University's improper handling of allegations of sexual abuse against Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky (previously). Responding to the lawsuit, the NCAA called the lawsuit "an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy". Corbett, who has faced criticism for his slow-moving but ultimately successful investigation of the abuse and his close ties to Sandusky's Second Mile charity, is pursuing the case on behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth rather than the University, which has stated that it is "committed to full compliance" with the sanctions, and is not a party to the lawsuit.

It's time to meet the Mummers

Mchelly — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 12:06:18 -0800

New Year's Eve comes with many widespread traditions. But for those who live in and around Philadelphia, New Year's Day has a tradition all its own: The annual Mummers Parade. Started in 1901, making it possibly the oldest folk festival in the United States, the all day parade features string bands, floats, elaborate dance routines, and fancy brigades - plus about a gazillion feathers. Want to see more? You can watch a live stream of this year's parade here

Vice President Biden on 9/11

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:39:27 -0800

Joe Biden commemorates 9/11 - tear-inducing

Lucky Act 13

gerryblog — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:46:15 -0800

Pennsylvania has adopted what may be the most anti-democratic, anti-environmental law in the country, giving gas companies the right to drill anywhere, overturn local zoning laws, seize private property and muzzle physicians from disclosing specific health impacts from drilling fluids on patients. This American Life on fracking in Pennsylvania. Fracking: Anatomy of a Free Market Failure. Previously in Pennsylvania. Earlier this month: “A dozen earthquakes in northeastern Ohio were almost certainly induced by injection of gas-drilling wastewater into the earth,” Ohio oil and gas regulators said today. From Guernica in December: As a Fortune 500 company’s fracking activities in rural West Virginia leave a polluted and drastically altered landscape, locals are fighting back.

May no act of ours bring shame...

Toekneesan — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:38:44 -0800

Paterno, Joseph Vincent (Joe Pa)
Born: December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York.
Died: January, 22, 2012 in State College, Pennsylvania.
Vocation: Football Coach
Employer: ~~Penn State~~, Retired.*

Ying-Ling? I thought that was Chinese?

furiousxgeorge — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:56:40 -0800

Everyone knows America's Oldest Brewery is D.G. Yuengling & Son (and daughters) of Pottsville, PA (and Tampa, FL) This family owned brewery was established as the "Eagle Brewery" in 1829 by a German immigrant named David Gottlob Jüngling. After the original brewery burned down in 1831 it was relocated to its current location. It was built into a mountain with caves dug into the side, a common practice to preserve beer and to achieve the cool temperatures required to make lager before refrigeration. Yuengling spent most of its history as a small regional brewery and only began to attract national attention years after the launch of Yuengling Traditional Lager in 1987, which went on to become the flagship product of the company and now accounts for 80% of Yuengling's production. On the strength of that growth, and with other brewers being bought out by or outsourcing production to foreign companies, Yuengling has now passed The Boston Beer Company to claim the title of America's largest brewing company as well. In this globalized beer era where giants war for market share, products from America's new largest brewer are only available in 14 states.

Troubled Waters ahead - Bridge Out - 500FT

obscurator — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:01:19 -0800

Thieves steal entire bridge in New Castle [PA]. Motivated by the high premuim for recycled metal, and perhaps an entrepreneurial spirit, brothers Alexander and Benjamin Jones were arrested on charges of deconstructing and selling an entire bridge in rural Pennsylvania for scrap. "This is a national problem," says Trooper Joseph Vascetti, an investigator with the Pennsylvania State Police. "Every police agency in the country is having a problem with it."

Every child had a pretty good shot To get at least as far as their old man got.

Toekneesan — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:35:02 -0800

"I never felt like passing out in a warehouse and I never felt treated like a piece of crap in any other warehouse but this one," Goris said. "They can do that because there aren't any jobs in the area."

The Allentown newspaper The Morning Call investigates life inside of one of Amazon's newest warehouses. "During summer heat waves, Amazon arranged to have paramedics parked in ambulances outside, ready to treat any workers who dehydrated or suffered other forms of heat stress. Those who couldn't quickly cool off and return to work were sent home or taken out in stretchers and wheelchairs and transported to area hospitals. And new applicants were ready to begin work at any time."

in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct

gerryblog — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:15:45 -0800

"Change Proposed for State's Electoral Vote Process." Gov. Tom Corbett and state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi are proposing that Pennsylvania divide up its Electoral College votes according to which candidates carried each Congressional district, plus two votes for the statewide winner. Talking Points Memo says that under the proposed plan Obama would have received only 11 of the state's 20 electors in 2008; Dave Weigel and Nick Baumann say gerrymandering could mean that in 2012 Obama could actually wind up with a minority of the state's electors even if he carries the state. GOP-led legislatures in other states, such as Wisconsin and Michigan, could make similar moves. But could this be a bridge too far for some members of the state's GOP caucus? There is, of course, no Constitutional requirement that any election be held at all.

Is this unidentified man Ray Gricar?

MegoSteve — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:37:15 -0800

On April 15, 2005, Centre County Pennsylvania District Attorney Ray Gricar disappeared under mysterious circumstances. A little over six years later, he was declared legally dead. In early July, 2011, a mysterious man was arrested in Provo City, Utah and refused to give his name, baffling police. One day after he was declared dead, people are asking could Utah's John Doe prisoner be Ray Gricar?

Tragic birthers

whimsicalnymph — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:52:36 -0800

Pennsylvania Outlaws Shackling of Prisoners Giving Birth. Amnesty International has tried to raise awareness of this issue in the past. And the NYTimes did an article several years ago on what is, apparently, a wide spread practice in the United States. But it wasn't until today that the Pennsylvania legislature decided to outlaw it officially. There is currently a grassroots youtube video asking that Schwarzenegger sign a recently passed California law to outlaw this practice as well. (previously)

Retroblogging

mippy — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:01:40 -0800

Retroblog - the web version of one American student's year abroad, 1988-89

Short urban exploration documentaries

Kattullus — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:56:18 -0800

Uneven Terrain is a series of short documentaries about urban exploration, about 10-15 minutes long each. There are six so far, about monumental ruins in New York, Centralia, the Pennsylvania town where an underground coalseam has been on fire since the 1960s, abandoned missile silos in the US and how they're being turned into homes, oil drilling in Los Angeles, the Teufelberg listening station and the abandoned bunkers under Tempelhof Airport in Berlin and pirate radio in London and on the old Redsand sea forts. Each short doc has a different presenter. All have accompanying photo galleries. [These are produced for the bootmaker Palladium, but it's pretty low-key]

Colonel John Patrick "Jack" Murtha, Jr. (D) June 17, 1932 – February 8, 2010

Toekneesan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:20:52 -0800

Earlier today, the first Viet Nam veteran ever elected to congress, died. John Murtha (as of this past Saturday, Pennsylvania’s longest serving congressman) was the 19 term representative of Pennsylvania’s 12th district, most notably the home of Johnstown, and which for most of his service included Shanksville. He was a hawkish, conservative Democrat, infamous for his involvement in the Abscam controversy, and most recently the FBI’s inquiry into the lobbying firm PMA. He could be said to have been very representative, and certainly very supportive of his blue collar district—Pro-gun, anti-abortion, and at first a supporter of the invasion of Iraq, but eventually one of its greatest critics. But that criticism came at a price. John Murtha was 77. His acceptance speech for the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award His last filmed interview His last print interview Wikipedia His obituary in his local paper In the New York Times

Great Lakes to be filter-fed to carp

anthill — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:57:21 -0800

Asian Carp update: since 2003(previously), the inexorable advance of Asian Carp up the Mississippi delta has brought them to within 6 miles of Lake Michigan. These invasive "100-pound Zebra Mussels" suck rivers clean and starve native fish. Asian Carp are now 97% of the fish biomass in the Mississippi delta. The "electric fence" across the canal didn't stop them. The poisoning of the canal won't stop them. Closing the Chicago sewage canal locks is the only way to be sure. But the Army Corps of Engineers have the jurisdiction. Feel safe? If you are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania or New York, take a minute to write your Federal representative. If the Asian Carp get into the Great Lakes, it's bye-bye Trout, Bass, Coho, Steelhead, and every fish in the $7 billion fishing industry. Now or never.

Nitroglycerin in the Pennsylvania oil fields

tss — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:51:01 -0800

From The Titusville Morning Herald of June 17, 1866, "Our attention has been called to a series of experiments that have been made in the wells of various localities by Col. Roberts, with his newly patented torpedo. ... The torpedo... is lowered into the well, down to the spot, as near as can be ascertained, where it is necessary to explode it. ... The object of the torpedo is to clean out all the deposits at the bottom of the well."
In the western Pennsylvania oilfields of the second half of the 1800s, "shooters" were men who set off nitroglycerin charges in wells to get the oil flowing again. Tales of Destruction relates stories and legends of this absurdly hazardous job. Additional notes here, in Samuel Pees's Oil History. (Previously)

The Town That Won't Stop Burning

filthy light thief — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:49:58 -0800

The small, unassuming town of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, has suffered 50 fires in 15 months, making it the site of the country's worst arson epidemic in decades, and providing a frightening case study in how the crime of fire-setting can turn self-perpetuating. [via mefi projects] Less than 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) in size, Coatesville is the only city in Chester County. As of a news article from March 9th, federal authorities say 67 fires have been set since February 2008 in Coatesville and the surrounding area. What has arson experts most horrified, and intrigued: the sheer number of suspects, most with apparently no connection to one another; the long stretch of time over which the crimes have occurred; the mysterious lack of a pattern. A state of emergency was declared by the city manager in January of this year, and residents were told to remove items that could be used to start a fire from the outside of their homes or face possible fines. A curfew was in place in early February, prohibiting people under the age of 18 to be on the streets after 8pm. More details on the 2008-2009 arsons in Coatesville, Pennsylvania wikipedia page, and extra coverage on The Daily Beast article, as reported by The Straightener.

Here Come 'Da Judge.

ericb — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:48:41 -0800

On January 26^th. two Pennsylvania judges were charged with taking $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to youth detention centers run by PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care. The judges are scheduled to plead guilty to fraud tomorrow in federal court."Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses." The judges are also accussed of helping the two firms "attain nearly $30 million in county contracts." A preliminary audit [PDF] of the companies has also turned up questionable expenses billed to the state. College basketball tickets, fishing trips and a $3,500 suit are among $1.26 million in expenses under scrutiny.

"Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it. Many appeared without lawyers, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1967 ruling [In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1] that children have a constitutional right to counsel."

Oh, and the owner of the detention centers is now claiming he was the victim of an extortion scheme perpetrated by the judges.

15104

kittens for breakfast — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 07:06:10 -0800

Braddock, Pennsylvania has been classified as a "distressed municipality." This may be an understatement: From a high of around 20,000, its population has dwindled to below 3000, many of those people unemployed. Braddock's is a landscape so grim ("a mix of boarded-up storefronts, houses in advanced stages of collapse and vacant lots") that it was selected to serve as a backdrop for the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel, The Road. Its mayor, John Fetterman, considers Braddock “a laboratory for solutions to all these maladies starting to knock on the door of every community.” Fetterman -- a Harvard grad, and non-native, who became mayor in 2005 -- hopes to draw new residents with the promise of inexpensive real estate, and to this end has established a promotional website (NYT: "...if you can call pictures of buildings destroyed by neglect and vandals a form of promotion"). Direct links to these in case they fall off the NYT article (both open with commercials): Short video version of the main story with much additional info Fetterman on CNBC, pleading his town's case for stimulus money

Black Gold

hoppytoad — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:48:29 -0800

When the modern oil industry began 150 years ago, many speculators moved into Northwestern Pennsylvania. Among them was John Wilkes Booth, who walked off the stage and onto the oil fields in an attempt to increase his fortunes with the Dramatic Oil Company. Their well, the Wilhelmina, began producing oil at a rate of about 25 barrels a day (pdf, pg 11) during the summer of 1864. Looking for more return, Booth invested in the Boston Oil Well Company, but in a few months, he left his oil ventures with a dry well and a wallet emptied of over $6000. Had Booth's business lasted into 1865, his well might have been saved by Roberts Torpedo, a more reliable method of shooting wells to resume oil flow after a build-up of debris and parrafin, and his investment would have yielded return on the 500 barrels a day produced by the Homestead well.

The Lackawanna Cut-Off

parudox — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:35:36 -0800

A glance will show / Why Phoebe Snow / Prefers this route / To Buffalo.
And Phoebe's right / No route is quite / As short as Road / of Anthracite.

In 1908 the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad began work on the New Jersey Cut-Off to make its New York to Buffalo mainline (the Road of Anthracite so liked by Phoebe Snow) even shorter and faster. It was to have no grade crossings, and was to be as straight and level as possible — through hilly terrain. The 28-mile Lackawanna Cut-Off, as it is now known, was built over three years, cost $11 million, and was an engineering marvel of massive reinforced concrete bridges, enormous cuts, and the largest railroad embankment in the world. All of this has been abandoned for years, though there are plans afoot to restore the Cut-Off for commuter rail. All 73 bridges and culverts on the Lackawanna Cut-Off were made entirely of concrete. The route shaved 11 miles off the New York City to Buffalo trip, with a maximum grade of 0.6% and total height fluctuation of only 11 feet. The two big bridges: Delaware Viaduct and Paulin's Kill Viaduct. Can you spot the Cut-Off on a terrain map? (That's Pequest Fill.) The DL&W followed up with the Summit Cut-Off in Pennsylvania, building two more huge concrete bridges — the Martin's Creek Viaduct and the rather more impressive Tunkhannock Viaduct, which is possibly the largest one to date. The New York Times ran stories on the completions of the two cut-offs. There is some more information about the construction here. You can also read a bit about working on the Lackawanna Railroad. The beginning of the end for the DL&W was the destruction unleashed by Hurricane Diane in 1955. The rails on the Lackawanna Cut-Off were removed in the 1980s; the Summit Cut-Off still survives with one track in service. Naturally people explore the abandoned Paulin's Kill Viaduct and other portions. If you're ever in northwest New Jersey, you can tour the Lackawanna Cut-Off. As for the Summit Cut-Off, you can see much of it from U.S. 11 north of Scranton, which follows the old alignment. See also Steamtown in Scranton.

"I feel very fortunate to have it eat my flowers..."

chuckdarwin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:50:07 -0800

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Fluorescent Pink Katydid "Every year in Pennsylvania mountains a few people are fortunate enough to see an amazing thing, a normally green katydid that is brilliant pink, eyes, antennae, legs, everything. This unusual insects is actually a rare variety of one of our common katydids that are normally green all over. The bright pink condition is beautiful and startling to behold, and is caused by a genetically determined condition called erythrism. The pink katydids act just like green ones, and if we are lucky, they will continue to prosper as a special Pennsylvania oddity that most of us will never see alive!"

Wharton felony trifecta in play

supercres — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:13:12 -0800

Penn econ professor pleads guilty to killing wife. With last year's child porn and now murder, it looks like the Wharton professor felony hat trick is two-thirds complete. (It's there if we expand it to the whole University.)

Go G-Hog, Go G-Hog, Go Go G-Hog.

beaucoupkevin — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:12:21 -0800

You know what will help young people in Pennsylvania embrace a career in health care? A video featuring a rapping groundhog that cost $4157 in taxpayer money.