News from The Roanoke Times -Harris supports two new stadiums
Of all the stupid, jackassian things to do.
No I don't mean supporting the two stadiums. I mean supporting them NOW, months (possibly years) after the 2 stadium theory was tossed.
And this is the #1 most rediculous thing in the article: "City Manager Darlene Burcham sent out an e-mail to inform the council of the situation Friday. Councilman Sherman Lea, a Wishneff ally and Victory Stadium supporter, sent a one sentence response back: "I do not trust anything you and the mayor put together."
If thats the case Shermy, get some hard facts to present to voters, or get the hell of the council.
A bit more stupidity: Wishneff said he believes the high school stadiums option was thrown back on the table because some council members couldn't accept voting in support of the renovation he and Lea advocated.
"We were right, and they can't stand that," he said.
Did he add "neener neener neener" to that but left it off the record?
People - as of right now not a single one of these people deserve the positions YOU voted them to.
Do I have an answer? Maybe you can be granted an annulment on grounds of fraud.
Maybe not.
But remember - elections are coming next year. Choose wisely.
11/4/05
1st and Kirk
I know most people don't wander this far off market without good reason. This is the Military Famlies Center at 1st and Kirk. It opened quietly, no fanfare. It provides a place for the families to go and be together. Kids can play, parents can chat. It gives them a place to go to be with the other families.I know its not a national elections cycle, just local. But this is, to me, far more important than a local election. And I don't recall seeing any of the current canidates near/in/around this place.
It's not just the national canidates who should be kissing the feet of the military and their families, local ones would do well to stop by and say hi.
That's just me though.
11/3/05
Pardon me..
But do you have any Grey Poupon?
Forgive the late posting folks - I've got projects working like crazy here. Very few of which will have any impact online. Most of it personal, professional, whatnot.
But you never know. You just never know....
Victory stadium, the beat goes on...
This obsession with inactivity and consultants. You would almost think there is no one in Roanoke smart enough to decide whats best for Roanoke. But then again, that seems to be true with most decisions that come before the City Council. Why not just hire a consultant and stop electing mayors?
Any contractor could have told you how much Victory Stadium would cost to repair - go check with the Chamber of Commerce - they have several as members.
I still don't get this issue with building Stadiums at the High Schools. Perma-bleachers, some lights, a scoreboard, and nice grass and youre done. You seriously don't need an entire stadium. That, more than anything else, would strike me as ludicrous. This is high school, not Notre Dame, VT, heck - even Hofstra University, this is HIGH SCHOOL.
Stadiums should take a backseat to classrooms. Thats like talking about building Yankee Stadium for little league use.
I think what needs to happen is Victory Stadium needs corportate sponsorship. Let Wachovia (or someone else) buy the rights to the name - call it Wachovia Victory Stadium, or Capt. Paul's Victory Stadium for all it matters, but corportate sponsorship will cut the citys costs down. Give the company guidelines to work with, but let them bring in the heavy hitters. If Wachovia has a stadium here, and a stadium there - well, the band that plays the stadium there might just be persuaded to play the stadium here.
If you fill it with the highest-tech, top of the line stuff, your still not assured it will be worth it. But once you land that first big fish, and word spreads to the other fishies, they'll be jumping in the boat.
You think Red Rocks is all that attractive? It's not exactly a convienent spot for a show, but - slowly word had spread that it is a great spot to play, you get a few big name acts who draw crowds - and boom - suddenly your a natural landmark, world renown venue for a concert.
It's either that, or give the Zoo a ton of money to finish that re-design they want to do, and have it include an Ampitheatre somewhere up there. Not many places can boast of an ampitheatre which includes a birds eye view of downtown.
Of course, you'll have to ask them to be quiet - lest the noise roll off the mountains and echo into the valley.
Folks out by 81 might be complaining of the noise.
Then we would need another tribunal of geniuses to tell us what to do.
Forgive the late posting folks - I've got projects working like crazy here. Very few of which will have any impact online. Most of it personal, professional, whatnot.
But you never know. You just never know....
Victory stadium, the beat goes on...
This obsession with inactivity and consultants. You would almost think there is no one in Roanoke smart enough to decide whats best for Roanoke. But then again, that seems to be true with most decisions that come before the City Council. Why not just hire a consultant and stop electing mayors?
Any contractor could have told you how much Victory Stadium would cost to repair - go check with the Chamber of Commerce - they have several as members.
I still don't get this issue with building Stadiums at the High Schools. Perma-bleachers, some lights, a scoreboard, and nice grass and youre done. You seriously don't need an entire stadium. That, more than anything else, would strike me as ludicrous. This is high school, not Notre Dame, VT, heck - even Hofstra University, this is HIGH SCHOOL.
Stadiums should take a backseat to classrooms. Thats like talking about building Yankee Stadium for little league use.
I think what needs to happen is Victory Stadium needs corportate sponsorship. Let Wachovia (or someone else) buy the rights to the name - call it Wachovia Victory Stadium, or Capt. Paul's Victory Stadium for all it matters, but corportate sponsorship will cut the citys costs down. Give the company guidelines to work with, but let them bring in the heavy hitters. If Wachovia has a stadium here, and a stadium there - well, the band that plays the stadium there might just be persuaded to play the stadium here.
If you fill it with the highest-tech, top of the line stuff, your still not assured it will be worth it. But once you land that first big fish, and word spreads to the other fishies, they'll be jumping in the boat.
You think Red Rocks is all that attractive? It's not exactly a convienent spot for a show, but - slowly word had spread that it is a great spot to play, you get a few big name acts who draw crowds - and boom - suddenly your a natural landmark, world renown venue for a concert.
It's either that, or give the Zoo a ton of money to finish that re-design they want to do, and have it include an Ampitheatre somewhere up there. Not many places can boast of an ampitheatre which includes a birds eye view of downtown.
Of course, you'll have to ask them to be quiet - lest the noise roll off the mountains and echo into the valley.
Folks out by 81 might be complaining of the noise.
Then we would need another tribunal of geniuses to tell us what to do.
11/2/05
Video: The Bloom Store
Video: The Bloom Store
Allright - this thing runs about oh.. I'll say 8 minutes. But damned if its not the coolest 8 minutes Ive seen in a while. We need to start leaning on Food Lion to open one of these suckers here. Like pronto.
Ya hear me Food Lion???
NOW
Technorati tags: food lion, brilliant, technology, supermarket, shopping, roanoke, bloom
Allright - this thing runs about oh.. I'll say 8 minutes. But damned if its not the coolest 8 minutes Ive seen in a while. We need to start leaning on Food Lion to open one of these suckers here. Like pronto.
Ya hear me Food Lion???
NOW
Technorati tags: food lion, brilliant, technology, supermarket, shopping, roanoke, bloom
Don't mind me, Im just a wee bit groggy this morning
All the running around yesterday done tuckered me out.
Remember this?
Straight Street's HQ. on Luck.
From the back, even more interesting... (behind and to the left of the Texas Tavern)
Well, as you probably read - Straight Street was torn down, to make way for a new building... s'cool. Good program and they needed more space as it was.
But..... I happened to be there yesterday with my camera. Sometimes what they uncover is twice as interesting as the building itself was.
This is the wall formerly hidden by the building. You can see the 2-toned concrete slab they poured (rather quickly I might add), and you can see windows. A door. Obviously that funky Straight Street building was a late addition.
Around 1907 (and previously) there was nothing more than a livery stretching between Church and Luck, fronting on 1st. It was not very big, just long.
But around the time the Texas Tavern opened its doors, the large parking lot behind it was a bowling alley (musta been nice, bowling and a bowl with right there.)
The livery was gone, replaced by The Bank of Virginia on Church and 1st, and a Tire Sales shop on Luck and 1st. (of course the GIS is down so I can't verify my findings based on Tax records.)
The back of the Tire Sales shop held a storage building, and an Electrical Supply shop. With what appears to be 8 foot alleyway between the storage and the main building.
So at some point things were connected, causing the windows and door to be bricked over. What point, I cannot say right now.
Thats your Forgotten-Roanoke moment. Go in peace and wonder.
Remember this?
Straight Street's HQ. on Luck.
From the back, even more interesting... (behind and to the left of the Texas Tavern)
Well, as you probably read - Straight Street was torn down, to make way for a new building... s'cool. Good program and they needed more space as it was.
But..... I happened to be there yesterday with my camera. Sometimes what they uncover is twice as interesting as the building itself was.
This is the wall formerly hidden by the building. You can see the 2-toned concrete slab they poured (rather quickly I might add), and you can see windows. A door. Obviously that funky Straight Street building was a late addition.Around 1907 (and previously) there was nothing more than a livery stretching between Church and Luck, fronting on 1st. It was not very big, just long.
But around the time the Texas Tavern opened its doors, the large parking lot behind it was a bowling alley (musta been nice, bowling and a bowl with right there.)
The livery was gone, replaced by The Bank of Virginia on Church and 1st, and a Tire Sales shop on Luck and 1st. (of course the GIS is down so I can't verify my findings based on Tax records.)
The back of the Tire Sales shop held a storage building, and an Electrical Supply shop. With what appears to be 8 foot alleyway between the storage and the main building.
So at some point things were connected, causing the windows and door to be bricked over. What point, I cannot say right now.
Thats your Forgotten-Roanoke moment. Go in peace and wonder.
11/1/05
Still bewildered.
I can't find ANYTHING on why the Star was off last night.
Im not the kind to put in a call to SLS or DBJ and let them do the hunting for me, Im thinking of heading downtown and finding an answer myself.
This will delay the Kirk Ave. finale for a few days.
Well, not just the Star, but a few things Im in the middle of.
But rest assured gentle reader, things progress. Swimmingly at that!
Im not the kind to put in a call to SLS or DBJ and let them do the hunting for me, Im thinking of heading downtown and finding an answer myself.
This will delay the Kirk Ave. finale for a few days.
Well, not just the Star, but a few things Im in the middle of.
But rest assured gentle reader, things progress. Swimmingly at that!
10/31/05
Its out.
the star is not on tonight.
rather unnerving if you ask me.
I'd take pictures, but somehow I dont want to.
rather unnerving if you ask me.
I'd take pictures, but somehow I dont want to.
Haunted Roanoke
Allright, so you folks have not been exactly forthcoming with information on Roanoke's hauntings. What little information I've been able to gather shows me that ya'll don't like to talk much about it.
Curious, especially given that its Halloween, and usually I can't get ya'll to hush when talking about history.
But you know its there. You know with downtowns history of saloons and flea-bag hotels, you know there was bloodshed. You know the Hotel Roanoke has its myths, as does the Patrick Henry and Ponce De Leon.
But you don't want to talk about how saturated Roanoke is with such things.
581 itself displaced countless graves, especially around that horrible Orange Ave. interchange. The excavation for the Wachovia Tower unearthed buffalo bones, as it was once part of a salt lick, in a marsh. Victory Stadium itself is built on the ground of the old Roanoke Fairgrounds, which were also used as staging areas for military use. It very well could have been the last happy place some troops saw before going off to war. The image of Mill Mountain might have carried them through battles, the view of the mountains around.
Mill Mountain itself is alleged to have quite a few, not to mention the small cemetary rumored to be hidden back deep in the woods at the top. Or the Witches House.
In the coming years Forgotten-Roanoke will occasionally be touching upon some of these things. You certainly did not think this was going to be a short term project did you? I have spent countless hours in some of the most haunted spots in all of NYC & Long Island. I have collected evidence, gathered opinions, and put myself into some odd situations to find hauntings.
Im going to be doing the same here in Roanoke.
From time to time you will the the Haunted Roanoke headline, and you can expect objective reporting of situations, as much of the history of the location as possible, and maybe some photos.
But for now, Im being haunted by the BlogDogs.. which means its time to go out..
Happy Halloween.
Curious, especially given that its Halloween, and usually I can't get ya'll to hush when talking about history.
But you know its there. You know with downtowns history of saloons and flea-bag hotels, you know there was bloodshed. You know the Hotel Roanoke has its myths, as does the Patrick Henry and Ponce De Leon.
But you don't want to talk about how saturated Roanoke is with such things.
581 itself displaced countless graves, especially around that horrible Orange Ave. interchange. The excavation for the Wachovia Tower unearthed buffalo bones, as it was once part of a salt lick, in a marsh. Victory Stadium itself is built on the ground of the old Roanoke Fairgrounds, which were also used as staging areas for military use. It very well could have been the last happy place some troops saw before going off to war. The image of Mill Mountain might have carried them through battles, the view of the mountains around.
Mill Mountain itself is alleged to have quite a few, not to mention the small cemetary rumored to be hidden back deep in the woods at the top. Or the Witches House.
In the coming years Forgotten-Roanoke will occasionally be touching upon some of these things. You certainly did not think this was going to be a short term project did you? I have spent countless hours in some of the most haunted spots in all of NYC & Long Island. I have collected evidence, gathered opinions, and put myself into some odd situations to find hauntings.
Im going to be doing the same here in Roanoke.
From time to time you will the the Haunted Roanoke headline, and you can expect objective reporting of situations, as much of the history of the location as possible, and maybe some photos.
But for now, Im being haunted by the BlogDogs.. which means its time to go out..
Happy Halloween.
10/30/05
Hey look! Someone ruined our view!
Ok, so ya gotta look reeeal carefully - but this is the view from Mill Mountain towards downtown. Get your bearings, thats St. Andrews in the back, Hotel Roanoke in the middle, and good god someone dropped a sheet of Mylar. Oh no - thats the AMWV.
The Globe and Mail: A Gehry knock-off, but still needed
The Globe and Mail: A Gehry knock-off, but still needed:
Boy what a lucky find this was today. I think you folks should read the article and ponder the fact that you got scammed by a well-praticed con-man. This all sounds eerilie familiar.
Note: There are still cars parking on the museums future location, and thats probably the way it will stay for a while.
Technorati tags: roanoke, amwv, randall stout, scammed
Among the competitors for the Art Gallery of Alberta, it was Stout who took the time to hang out in the city and learn its geography as if he were a long-time resident. The plan for the Alberta gallery is solid with an exterior sculpture court that extends the museum into the streets. As well, Stout integrated the city's light-rail transit into the gallery design.
What is unforgivable, however, is Stout's overworked use of the metaphor. Daniel Libeskind, the ROM's design architect, labours under the same pretension. Newly arrived in Edmonton from the hot Californian sun, Stout described his design not in terms of architecture and structure but of finding inspiration in the stacked rock compositions of inukshuks. Nice. The ribbons of stainless steel -- or whatever material they might become -- are inspired from the aurora borealis. Uh-huh. Not even the North Saskatchewan River was left alone -- it helps to explain the need for the building's undulations.
Boy what a lucky find this was today. I think you folks should read the article and ponder the fact that you got scammed by a well-praticed con-man. This all sounds eerilie familiar.
Note: There are still cars parking on the museums future location, and thats probably the way it will stay for a while.
Technorati tags: roanoke, amwv, randall stout, scammed
So much time and so little to do...
Strike that. Reverse it.
Expect delays in the update to F-R.com as I pick and choose my projects carefully now. I have all day Tuesday to get things done, but precious little time in between then and now.
What does this mean to the home viewer? Well, in short, something interesting will appear today, something interesting will appear tomorrow, and something interesting will appear Tuesday. How interesting? Thats for you to determine. Specifically where? I cannot say yet, just keep watching this space.
Of course, this could be it couldn't it? It for today I mean.
Well, it could be. But that hardly seems like my style now does it?
Expect delays in the update to F-R.com as I pick and choose my projects carefully now. I have all day Tuesday to get things done, but precious little time in between then and now.
What does this mean to the home viewer? Well, in short, something interesting will appear today, something interesting will appear tomorrow, and something interesting will appear Tuesday. How interesting? Thats for you to determine. Specifically where? I cannot say yet, just keep watching this space.
Of course, this could be it couldn't it? It for today I mean.
Well, it could be. But that hardly seems like my style now does it?
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