February 22, 2021

Groups rescued after ignoring warnings to stay off lake erie ice

Five members of the group are pictured standing on the ice floe as the rescue gets underway



This photograph gives a sense of just how far away the group became stranded from the shore




Ten people including three children are rescued from an ice floe on Lake Erie after they ignored warnings not to venture out onto the water
Coast Guard and fire department personnel rescued 10 people who were stranded on ice floes in Lake Erie in Cleveland
The seven adults and three children became stranded on two separate ice floes near Edgewater Park
Coast Guard said six people were rescued via an ice skiff while the fire department rescuers escorted the other four people off the ice
The two ice floes had been connected to land but had broken off
Earlier in the day the National Weather Service issued warnings of dangerous ice conditions for the lake, urging people not to venture onto the ice
Officials said 'areas of ice could break off from the shore' and 'if you are on the ice and it breaks away from shore, you will become stranded'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9285139/Cleveland-Coast-Guard-rescues-10-people-ignored-warnings-icy-Lake-Erie-Edgewater-Park.html

February 22, 2021

Misconception

February 22, 2021

protestors gather outside Ted Cruz's home

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9284827/Protesters-gather-outside-Ted-Cruzs-2million-Houston-home.html

February 21, 2021

A freshman congressman from Texas is giving conflicting reasons for jetting off to sunny Florida

A freshman congressman from Texas is facing criticism over reports he took a private flight to sunny Florida during last week's winter storm and widespread power outages.

While his home state dealt with historic chills and no electricity in millions of homes statewide, the Houston Chronicle reports that Rep. Gary Gates flew to Orlando on Wednesday night. The Fort Bend County Republican and business owner acknowledged his trip, but said it was out of concern for his wife, who's recovering from an illness, and his mentally handicapped adult daughter who still lives at home. Gates said he made the decision after 30% of their home flooded due to burst pipes.


Per a reporter for the Fort Bend Star, that was one of two conflicting reasons given for Gates' departure from his shivering district.

Stefan Modrich tweeted Thursday that Gates' chief of staff said the trip was so that Gates, whose business manages several apartment buildings in Houston, could meet with a "major vendor" whose office is in the Florida city.

Gates split the difference when asked about the inconsistencies, telling the Chronicle he used the opportunity of the family trip to Florida to also conduct some business. Gates stressed that he remained in phone contact with his district throughout the trip, which was due to end Friday.

https://www.newser.com/story/302792/another-lawmaker-slammed-for-trip-during-texas-storm.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top

February 21, 2021

97 yr old Bob Dole has stage 4 lung cancer

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9282365/Biden-pays-visit-ailing-former-GOP-Sen-Bob-Dole.html

Biden visited Dole on Saturday afternoon before attending mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Dole, who served in the Senate with Biden for more than two decades, was described by the White House as a 'close friend'
Former Sen. Bob Dole announced on Twitter Thursday that he has Stage 4 lung cancer and would begin treatment Monday. Dole is 97
Dole, a Republican, represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate from 1969 until 1996, rising to the position of majority leader

February 19, 2021

staff requirements for serving Trump diet coke... 7 steps illustrated with 4 photos

https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/02/19/trump-hotel-employees-tell-all-what-it-was-really-like-serving-right-wing-elite/

Donald Trump needed his Diet Coke opened in front of his eyes and had to hear the pop of the new ketchup bottle being unsealed reveal his hotel staff as they lift the lid on life serving the MAGA elite

Trump's requirements, as outlined by the magazine:

As soon as Trump was seated, the server was to 'discreetly present' a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer - even pre-COVID. Trump is a known germaphobe.

Then, the server had to say: 'Good (time of day) Mr. President. Would you like your Diet Coke with or without ice?'

The details on pouring the soda were seven steps long and illustrated with four photos.

The diet coke had to be opened in front of Trump and 'never beforehand.'

The server was to hold a longneck-bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and the Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other.

The drink was to be placed at Trump's right-hand side: 'Repeat until POTUS departs.'

Trump always had the same thing to eat: shrimp cocktail, well-done steak, and fries (plus sometimes apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert).

Popovers - a double serving - had to be served within two minutes and the crustaceans 'immediately.'

The server had to open mini glass bottles of Heinz ketchup in front of Trump, taking care to ensure he could hear the seal make the 'pop' sound.

Additionally, a tray of junk food needed to be available for every Trump visit.

It was to contain: Lay's potato chips (specifically, sour cream and onion), Milky Way, Snickers, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Tic Tacs, gummy bears, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, Nutter Butters, Tootsie Rolls, chocolate-covered raisins, and Pop-Secret.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9279757/Donald-Trump-needed-Diet-Coke-opened-DC-hotel-staff-reveal-expose.html

February 19, 2021

"doorbell ditch" game results in former cop threatening to put a bullet in the head of 11 year old.

A Marin high school coach and former San Francisco police officer faces multiple felony charges after allegedly grabbing an 11-year-old boy by the neck, forcing him into his car and threatening to put a bullet in his head after a game of doorbell ditch gone wrong in a San Rafael neighborhood.

Dean Taylor, 63, was charged Tuesday with kidnapping, criminal threats, false imprisonment, battery and child endangerment by the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, according to the Marin Independent Journal. He was arraigned in Marin County Superior Court on Thursday and pled not guilty.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Retired-SF-cop-threatens-to-put-bullet-in-15963032.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight

February 19, 2021

CA homeowners learn that what they believed was part of their backyard belongs to water district

Saratoga Creek restoration project removes more than trees: Some residents lose their backyards

Phil Livengood, a retired U.S. Navy pilot and 50-year Saratoga Creek resident, stands in the Saratoga Creek bed next to his backyard. Part of what he believed was his property will be reclaimed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District for the restoration project.



For example, according to a map from the district delineating the parts of Livengood’s backyard that it owns, one area of his current backyard is approximately 31 feet beyond the real property line. Other residents' real property lines show even greater space discrepancies, within which most people had built additions that they now must destroy to accommodate the project.

The district has technically always owned this property, but according to Livengood, a handshake between the county and subdivision developers over 50 years ago signified an unwritten agreement that homeowners could develop on the district’s easement as long as they provided access to the company for creek maintenance when needed. Livengood said that original homeowners knew about the agreement, but newer buyers did not.

Teresa Cappiello is one of those buyers whose property is affected by the project. In 2015, she and her husband received a letter from the water district announcing that the couple was encroaching on the district’s property and they needed to remove all hardscape within 90 days, Cappiello said in an interview.

“It was shocking, because for the 21 years that we had lived here, the water district had been through my yard a number of times and no one ever mentioned that we were on their property,” said Cappiello.



https://www.sfgate.com/local/editorspicks/article/This-Bay-Area-restoration-project-is-claiming-15957384.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight

February 19, 2021

the Cleveland Balloon Disaster of 1986

A rectangular structure the size of a city block, measuring 250 feet (76 m) by 150 feet (46 m) and rising three stories high, covered with a one-piece net of woven mesh material, was set up to hold the balloons, on the southwest quadrant of Public Square in Cleveland.











https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/cleveland-balloons-1986/

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A number of the balloons landed on a pasture in Medina County, Ohio, which spooked some Arabian horses owned by a woman, Louise Nowakowski and reportedly led to injuries to the horses. Nowakowski subsequently sued United Way for $100,000 worth of damages, and the matter was settled under undisclosed terms.

In the worst consequence to come from the disaster, though, was when the balloons inadvertently impeded a search and rescue of two vanished fishermen. The missing men, Raymond Broderick, and Bernard Sulzer had been reported missing the day the event had taken place. Although their 16-foot boat was located anchored west of the Edgewater Park break wall, the Coast Guard search and rescue crews were not able to find them. Since there were so many balloons scattered around, rescuers couldn’t distinguish between a balloon or a person.

On September 29, the Coast Guard suspended its search, and the bodies of both men subsequently washed ashore days later. The wife of one of the men later sued United Way of Cleveland and the company that organized the event, a suit that was settled on undisclosed terms. In the end, the event did lead to a new world record being broken, but it didn’t go off without a hitch. If there’s one thing this tragic event proved, was that even the most harmless of actions, and the best of intentions could lead to a disastrous outcome.

The event was intended to be a harmless fundraising publicity stunt, but the balloons drifted back over the city, Lake Erie, and landed in the surrounding area, and caused problems for traffic and a nearby airport.


https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/cleveland-balloons-1986/

February 19, 2021

tweet of the hour

https://twitter.com/jobinpnews/status/1362555894995820544