Free Republic

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — The Oakland police officers union said a toddler’s violent death and a mass shooting over the weekend were tragic consequences of defunding the police department. “Oakland’s sad reality has become back-to-back violent tragedies. A mass shooting and murder Friday. An innocent toddler murdered on Saturday. Followed by another murder that evening,” the Oakland Police Officers’ Association wrote. The toddler, who was just shy of his 2nd birthday, was identified by family members as Jasper Wu.

I went to our yearly HOA meeting last night. Some consultant with GBM Associates in Bryant, AR said that he is proposing a "Neighborhood mitigation bank" where we buy "credits" for letting the Corps of Engineers (COE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) get deeded our "wetlands", which are really 2 creeks, and dry tributaries. The consultant was honest. He said, no federal law dictates it, just a 1983 guidance. NO promises of making money, no guarantees that COE/EPA will do anything. Fines are possibe, like if my kid catches crawfish, or throws rocks in the lake/stream. Anyways, my wife and...

hit the link

Ever wanted to simultaneously order food and honor Joe Paterno at 3 a.m., but found yourself without a way to do so? Thanks to 409 Pizza and Win(g)s, you now can! State College’s newest late-night food option opened during Arts Fest where Little Mamma’s Pizza used to be located at 444 E. College Ave. (right next to McDonald’s), and its name is sure to catch some eyes. The store’s co-owner, Tim Prisk, said he’d been interested in opening a pizza store here for a while, and the opportunity at the eastern side of downtown was finally a fit. As for...

It's such a long read - I'm just going to link the article

Penn State’s longtime fencing coach, who was fired last year allegedly for retaliating against a staff member who had reported a player for a drug violation, wants his job back and more than $3 million in damages, according to a federal lawsuit he has filed. Emmanuil Kaidanov, who spent 30 years as Penn State’s fencing coach, is suing the university, athletic director Dave Joyner and athletics integrity officer Julie Del Giorno for wrongful termination, breach of contract and violation of his constitutional and civil rights, among other claims. Philadelphia-based attorney Alvin de Levie alleges the defendants conspired to fire his...

The debate is over how much power an association should have and Harvella Jones, President of the National Homeowners Advocate Group, says associations can serve a purpose, but they've gone too far. “My goal is to stop the foreclosures because they don’t have the right to take our homes for maintenance fees when the Constitution does not give them the authority,” says Jones. Jones adds some associations have been compared to the mafia for how they act. “That is how they operate sometimes and sometimes they use strong arm methods to shut you down when you start complaining,” Jones says....

It's Friday. Life is meant to be lived.

MI6 and the Croatian general       By Nick Thorpe   BBC News, Dubrovnik   European intelligence services have joined forces in the search for Croatian General Ante Gotovina, indicted by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for alleged war crimes against Serbia in 1995. But as Nick Thorpe finds out, tracking him down is proving a difficult task. Croatian General Ante Gotovina was indicted for war crimes in 2001 Franjo Turek suggests we meet in the Dubrovnik cafe in central Zagreb. He is sitting in the corner by the window when I arrive, looking younger, but...

Vice President Cheney to be in Grand Rapids on Friday By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN The Associated Press 6/2/2004, 6:12 p.m. ET LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to speak Friday in Grand Rapids to the Police Officers Association of Michigan and accept the group's endorsement, a Bush campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday. Cheney plans to speak at 1 p.m. EDT during the association's annual convention at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Cheney isn't the only Bush administration member in the state this week. Secretary of Education Rod Paige will be in Michigan Thursday to speak during the...

The global war on terrorism will remain the Defense Department's top priority in the new year, as DoD continues to focus on improving and modernizing its programs, systems and forces to make them more responsive to 21st century requirements. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters today during his first Pentagon briefing in 2004 that the department already has made "remarkable progress" and will continue its work to "strengthen, improve and transform our forces, modernize and restructure programs and commands… and streamline DoD processes and procedures." Rumsfeld laid out an ambitious list of initiatives, many already under way, that he...