Window tax was imposed (by William lll) in 1696 ending in 1851, designed to impose tax relative to the prosperity of the taxpayer. The more windows a property had the higher the taxation.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation bottomless taxpayers money pit managed by one political party

 

I am currently on an distraction series up the Old South St. Vrain Road below the quarry road. The road was shut down above here by a quarry site that left a mess in the hands of the county. How unusual, extract the valuables and dump the remains on taxpayers. What's that, it happens everywhere in America? The old quarry water runoff is actually harmless here as opposed to coal waste deposits. Here's some actual growth in a really tough spot between the road and cliff. A mountain maple seed found a dicey spot in front of a sandstone cliff face enhanced with several contrasting mosses and lichens. Boy, the light's pinched out here and I held the monopod and camera extra steady.

 

I posted a few views near this scene some time ago but those shots were north, up Apple Valley from Lyons instead of here. I just posted the light spilling over the cliff shot. I'm shooting south from the Olde South St. Vrain Road where right eDDie was busy shooting wild flowers next to the road and I am otherwise entirely distracted as usual. These are the cliffs that buttress the Old South St. Vrain Road. The sun may reach down to the road but much later today. Some vegetation has managed to spread below the cliffs. Drive foolishly and this roadside landscape could flatten you. Stand back and drive quietly!

 

These scenes are relief from the mass of Denver Gardens settings I was editing. Pictures are everywhere. I threw this series in for another break. eDDie and I were on another trek to the hills on that Sunday before the enervating fossils heat wave. Ahh, this will be a good day nevertheless. Or else!

 

eDDie is shooting the wildflowers along the old pavement. I found my class of shots at the vertical end to the Colorado plains. It's clear that random life can always manage a foot hold on these cliffs. These are the finger prints of Colorado-tough, rough and tumble plant life. Here, I am once again adding to my massive stash of captures to edit.

 

At least this is a smattering of green and I snapped away. Next? This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek. Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie to the Rockies. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on each mellow day.

  

This is what I think a building in Mega city would look like from Judge Dredd. Dark and Gloomy. It is the Sunlife building in downtown Edmonton.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri

 

Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the most populated municipality and historic core city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line and has a population of 2,392,035. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, with portions spilling into Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.

 

Sitting on Missouri's western boundary with Kansas, with Downtown near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, the city encompasses about 319.03 square miles (826.3 km2), making it the 23rd largest city by total area in the United States. It serves as one of the two county seats of Jackson County, along with the major suburb of Independence. Other major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Blue Springs and Lee's Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, and Kansas City, Kansas.

 

The city is composed of several neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east, and the Country Club Plaza in the south. Celebrated cultural traditions include Kansas City jazz, theater, which was the center of the Vaudevillian Orpheum circuit in the 1920s, the Chiefs and Royals sports franchises, and famous cuisine based on Kansas City-style barbecue, Kansas City strip steak, and craft breweries.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kauffman_Center_for_the_Performing_...

 

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway, near the Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Its construction was a major part of the ongoing redevelopment of downtown Kansas City.

 

The Center was created as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Unlike some other major civic construction projects, no taxpayer funds went into its construction. The City of Kansas City contributed to and operates a parking garage adjacent to the Kauffman Center.

 

It is the performance home to the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Ballet which in the past performed at the Lyric Theatre, eight blocks north of the center. The Kauffman Center houses two unique performance venues: Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall.

 

According to its website, the Kauffman Center's mission is "to enrich the lives of communities throughout the region, country and world by offering extraordinary and diverse performing arts experiences". Not only do notable performances take place almost weekly, but the Center is a place where the KC community comes together and celebrates the city's rich arts culture. The Kauffman Center seeks to fulfill this mission by offering a wide selection of performances, and also by offering specific programs to connect with the youth in the Kansas City area.

Featured Artist at www.flickr.com/photos/berlinkw/

"Crunchy," the ever hungry Credit Crunch Monster (by Ronzo), spotted gorging itself on more taxpayer/renters'/mortgage payers' cash on a rooftop overlooking the Truman Brewery in London's Shoreditch. Ideally it would be great it there was another far larger one placed on top of the HSBC or other high building in Canary Wharf to remind wealthy bankers and investors of where most of their vast dividends and bonuses come from.

Pictured sitting outside the Motor Tax office, taking the sun and with a great big smile on his face, waiting for the office to open.

A reason why the EU & Co. were able to screw the Irish Taxpayers with so little resistance?

Not sure whose gear this is but it's been sitting in this same spot for at least a week.

 

I'm sure with all the people who've walked by or worked near this stuff left behind someone surely would have looked into it. It was covered by the green tarp to the right at some point.. Note the three cigarette butts under the bench. They left themselves there.

 

*********

News from Kentucky:

 

A whole zip code devastated.' | Tornado victim search ends as more severe weather looms - www.whas11.com/article/news/local/kentucky-tornado-victim...

 

On his fourth-ever shift, officer responded to shooting at Louisville bank: www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/on-his-fourth-ever-shift-office...

 

Who is Louisville rookie Officer Nickolas Wilt?

www.newsnationnow.com/crime/louisville-old-bank-shooting/...

 

Five People Died in the Kentucky Shooting. The Full Toll Is Much Higher.: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/04/families-of-mas...

 

Louisville mass shooting suspect's brain will be tested for CTE, family spokesperson says : abcnews.go.com/US/louisville-mass-shooting-suspects-brain...

 

3 Kentucky officers killed, several hurt by gunman who opened fire at his home: abcnews.go.com/US/kentucky-officers-killed-hurt-gunman-op...

 

Kentucky officials call for critical recovery supplies as dozens are found dead in flooding and death toll is expected to rise - www.cnn.com/2022/08/01/weather/kentucky-appalachia-floodi...

 

In one Kentucky town, many tornado survivors are left with just the clothes on their backs (2021):

www.cnn.com/2021/12/14/weather/kentucky-tornadoes-storms-...

 

Massive gas explosion rocks central Kentucky town, 1 killed - www.wlky.com/article/massive-gas-explosion-rocks-central-...

 

Cincinnati shooting: What is Fifth Third Bank? - www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2018/09/06/what-do-we-know...

 

Police release image of truck in hit-and-run that killed bicyclist on Westport Road - www.wdrb.com/story/39014908/police-release-image-of-truck...

 

Louisville-area fire departments burned by staffing shortage - www.wdrb.com/story/39032636/louisville-area-fire-departme...

 

Louisville Metro Corrections officers injured during weekend assaults - www.wdrb.com/story/39011560/louisville-metro-corrections-...

 

IRS TO AUDIT UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE FOUNDATION - wcluradio.com/irs-to-audit-university-of-louisville-found...

 

Louisville man arrested for intentionally crashing moped and setting himself on fire - www.wlky.com/article/louisville-man-arrested-for-intentio...

 

Police search for white truck in hit-and-run that killed cyclist on Westport Road - www.wdrb.com/story/38991931/cyclist-killed-in-hit-and-run...

 

New law brings changes for child marriage in Kentucky - www.wave3.com/news/local/spencer-county/

 

JCPS bus involved in crash, 4 students injured - www.wave3.com/story/38984309/jcps-bus-involved-in-crash-4...

 

Motorcyclist dies after crash with SUV on Bardstown Road - www.wdrb.com/story/38986373/motorcyclist-dies-after-crash...

 

POLICE: Man pulled gun, zip-tied Louisville child and raped her - www.wdrb.com/story/38985328/police-man-pulled-gun-zip-tie...

 

Man shot and killed near University of Louisville campus - www.wdrb.com/story/38960968/man-shot-and-killed-near-univ...

 

1 dead, 1 seriously injured after vehicle strikes pol - www.wlky.com/article/1-dead-1-seriously-injured-after-veh...

 

Elevators not working at senior high rise; ambulance company hired to help residents floor to floor - www.wave3.com/story/38939239/elevators-not-working-at-sen...

 

Tow truck driver hit on the job now fighting for his life - www.wave3.com/story/38952108/tow-truck-driver-hit-on-the-...

 

Amish Man Killed In Lincoln Co. Crash; Woman Charged With DUI - www.lex18.com/story/38939234/amish-man-killed-in-buggy-cr...

 

Semi hauling 40,000 gallons of liquor crashes in Shelby Co; road closed - www.wave3.com/story/38943150/semi-hauling-40000-gallons-o...

 

Man charged with rape of child - www.wave3.com/story/38947765/man-charged-with-rape-of-child

 

2.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Western Kentucky - www.lex18.com/story/38948952/23-magnitude-earthquake-hits...

 

One dead in crash on eastbound I-264 near Bardstown Road -

www.wdrb.com/story/38947534/one-dead-in-crash-on-eastboun...

 

Police tip leads to gruesome discovery behind Kentucky home - www.cbsnews.com/news/police-tip-leads-to-gruesome-discove...

 

Paducah City Commission Seeks Security of Neighborhood Following Inmate Escape - www.wkms.org/post/paducah-city-commission-seeks-security-...

 

Families torn despite charge in 2017 double murder - www.wave3.com/story/38939665/man-charged-in-murder-of-man...

 

Bardstown Police investigating storage unit break-ins - www.whas11.com/article/news/crime/bardstown-police-invest...

 

Southbound lanes of I-71 open after fatal crash - www.whas11.com/article/news/local/southbound-lanes-of-i-7...

 

Joyride ends with crash into Louisville church - www.whas11.com/video/news/joyride-ends-with-crash-into-lo...

 

Elevators at 15-story senior housing building out of order - www.wave3.com/story/38939239/elevators-at-senior-housing-...

 

Traffic Alert: Part of Bluegrass Parkway shut down due to I-64 E crash - www.wave3.com/story/38757256/traffic-alert-part-of-bluegr...

 

Carroll Co man facing several child sexual exploitation charges - www.wave3.com/story/38757403/carroll-co-man-facing-severa...

 

Police arrest boyfriend of woman found dead in sanitation truck in Taylor Berry neighborhood - www.wdrb.com/story/38752141/police-arrest-boyfriend-of-wo...

 

Man accused of pointing gun at Fairdale Fire chief claims he was 'dancing' - www.wdrb.com/story/38739888/louisville-man-accused-of-poi...

 

Man killed in fiery Gene Snyder crash identified - www.wave3.com/story/38602806/man-killed-in-fiery-gene-sny...

 

Louisville Fire trying to recover $600,000 rescue boat sunk in Ohio River - www.wdrb.com/story/38728744/louisville-fire-trying-to-rec...

 

Sewer line cave-in closes portion of East Broadway in downtown Louisville - www.wdrb.com/story/38701966/sewer-line-cave-in-closes-por...

 

Lexington emergency management offers medical assistance to those without electricity - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Lexington-emergency-management-...

 

Van carrying family of 12 overturns on I-64 in Franklin County - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Van-carrying-12-rolls-on-I-64-i...

 

UPDATE | KU: Some may remain without power until Tuesday - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Thousands-remain-without-power-...

 

Sunday Edition | Louisville’s newest landlord: Wall Street - www.wdrb.com/story/38695009/sunday-edition-louisvilles-ne...

 

Belski's Blog - Worst hailstorm in Louisville since 2012 - www.wave3.com/story/38699957/storm-impact-is-one-of-the-b...

 

Consumer vs Crook: Avoiding repair scams after a natural disaster - www.wave3.com/story/38700790/consumer-vs-crook-avoiding-r...

 

Storm impact is one of the biggest LG&E has worked, PRP neighbors “stranded” for most of the day - www.wave3.com/story/38699957/storm-impact-is-one-of-the-b...

 

Ford recalls 550,000 vehicles, including some Louisville-made Escapes - www.whas11.com/article/news/local/ford-recalls-550000-veh...

 

Louisville mother found passed out in car with baby in the backseat - www.wave3.com/story/38688793/louisville-mother-found-pass...

 

LMPD investigating stolen Jeep and vehicle break-ins at Louisville hospital - www.wdrb.com/story/38687472/lmpd-investigating-stolen-jee...

 

Motorcyclist hit and killed on Preston Highway - www.wdrb.com/story/38689264/motorcyclist-hit-and-killed-o...

 

Commercial building catches fire in east Louisville - www.wave3.com/story/38676866/commercial-building-catches-...

 

Arrest made in connection to deadly hit-and-run off Shelbyville Road - www.wave3.com/story/38676293/arrest-made-in-connection-to...

 

Louisville mom arrested after child found in car 'soaking wet' and crying - www.wdrb.com/story/38673145/louisville-mom-arrested-after...

  

Police: Woman found in wooded area off Shelbyville Road killed in hit and run - www.wave3.com/story/38612156/womans-body-found-in-wooded-...

 

Police investigating fatal shooting near Fern Creek - www.wdrb.com/story/38602367/police-investigating-shooting...

 

Crews respond to deadly crash on Gene Snyder - www.wave3.com/story/38602806/crews-respond-to-deadly-cras...

 

Louisville's 'gnome bandit' arrested at Georgia campground - www.wdrb.com/story/38605353/louisvilles-gnome-bandit-arre...

 

So. Indiana man arrested in Mother's Day crash that killed Louisville man - www.wave3.com/story/38602708/so-indiana-man-arrested-in-m...

 

Louisville woman nearly drowns while swimming at southern Indiana lake - www.wdrb.com/story/38591006/louisville-woman-nearly-drown...

 

Man Arrested After Texting Former Sheriff About Meeting For Drug Deal - wkms.org/post/man-arrested-after-texting-former-sheriff-a...

 

Bevin Administration Ordered To Pay For Withholding Records - wkms.org/post/bevin-administration-ordered-pay-withholdin...

  

Former WWE superstar from Louisville dies after second battle with brain cancer -

www.wdrb.com/story/38544798/former-wwe-superstar-from-lou...

 

LMDC inmate found unresponsive, dies - www.wave3.com/story/38542372/lmdc-inmate-found-unresponsi...

 

Bomb threat reported at Louisville Free Public Library - www.wave3.com/story/38542018/bomb-threat-reported-at-loui...

 

Louisville man arrested after child found in home with drugs, animal feces - www.wdrb.com/story/38510518/louisville-man-arrested-after...

 

Jesse Schott: Bullitt County teen loses courageous battle with brain cancer - www.wave3.com/story/38512404/jesse-schott-bullitt-county-...

 

Teacher snorting drugs in class, coach's arrest, student suicides prompt petition - www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article212727454.html

 

Attorney sues to stay in judge race rocked by death of Danny Alvarez - www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/31/da...

 

JCPS principal reassigned following independent review - www.wave3.com/story/38691681/jcps-principal-reassigned-fo...

 

Facing an Uncomfortable Truth: Documentary uncovers the history of African-American Catholics - www.wave3.com/story/38495332/facing-an-uncomfortable-trut...

 

Level 4 sex offender accused of killing Blytheville woman - www.wave3.com/story/38488935/level-4-sex-offender-accused...

 

Kentucky leads nation in child abuse & neglect death rates - www.wave3.com/story/11356703/kentucky-leads-nation-in-chi...

 

Shantel Lanerie, wife of jockey Corey Lanerie, dies at 42 - www.wave3.com/story/38490658/shantel-lanerie-wife-of-jock...

 

Officers find toddler, infant in car after 100-mph chase with suspect - www.wave3.com/story/38482435/triple-murder-suspect-causes...

 

Fern Creek man wonders if remains found this month could be his missing sister - www.wdrb.com/story/38480766/fern-creek-man-wonders-if-rem...

 

Body found behind shopping center identified - www.wave3.com/story/38458686/body-found-behind-shopping-c...

 

12 treated after two vehicle crash in Russell neighborhood - www.wave3.com/story/38486354/12-treated-after-two-vehicle...

 

Building collapse reported at Bardstown distillery - www.wave3.com/story/38487053/building-collapse-reported-a...

 

Triple murder suspect causes Louisville courtroom scuffle - www.wave3.com/story/38482435/triple-murder-suspect-causes...

 

Body discovered behind shopping center near Shively - www.wdrb.com/story/38458632/body-discovered-behind-shoppi...

 

Rescuers save 13 people from Louisville river, now investigating circumstances - www.whas11.com/article/news/local/rescuers-save-13-people...

 

OSHA fines city of Louisville following accidental death of Public Works employee - www.wave3.com/story/38462819/osha-fines-city-of-louisvill...

 

WKU golf coach dies after being hit by vehicle while riding bike - www.wdrb.com/story/38446856/wku-golf-coach-dies-after-bei...

 

Police say Louisville pharmacist created fake profiles to obtain drugs - www.wdrb.com/story/38456651/police-say-louisville-pharmac...

 

Mayor's office withholding key details of LMPD sex abuse investigation - www.wdrb.com/story/38451758/mayors-office-conceals-detail...

 

Ohio man facing more than a dozen charges of seeking sex with a minor in Kentucky - www.wdrb.com/story/38351119/ohio-man-facing-more-than-a-d...

 

Homicide investigation underway in south Louisville - www.wdrb.com/story/38349869/homicide-investigation-underw...

 

Jail overflow highlights LMPD headquarters problems - www.wave3.com/story/38407693/jail-overflow-highlights-lmp...

 

Mom, Grandmother Charged After Child Found Wandering In Laurel Co. www.lex18.com/story/38416815/mom-grandmother-charged-afte...

 

Henry County residents involved in fatal Shelbyville crash - www.hclocal.com/content/henry-county-residents-involved-f...

 

Louisville woman arrested in deadly DUI - www.wave3.com/story/38436252/norton-commons-woman-arreste...

 

Man shot in south Louisville park identified - www.wave3.com/story/38429440/man-shot-in-south-louisville...

 

LMPD investigating shooting scene at 13th & Broadway - www.wave3.com/story/38437262/lmpd-investigating-shooting-...

 

Kentucky high court: Death penalty IQ law unconstitutional - www.wave3.com/story/38436798/kentucky-high-court-death-pe...

  

Person found shot to death near Farnsley Moreman-Landing - www.whas11.com/article/news/crime/person-found-shot-to-de...

 

Agencies search for suspect who fled into Ohio River - www.lex18.com/story/38418410/agencies-search-for-suspect-...

 

Michigan Man Killed In Lexington Crash - www.lex18.com/story/38416997/lex-18-traffic-tracker-cru-c...

 

1 dead after crash at Iron Works Pike near Kentucky Horse Park - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Coroner-on-scene-of-serious-col...

 

Ex-Kentucky Official Testifies in Lobbyist's Bribery Trial - www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kentucky/articles/2018-06...

 

Kentucky dance academy owners accused of having sex with employee, 17 - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Kentucky-dance-academy-owners-a...

 

Kentucky Man Sentenced To 30 Days For Sen. Rand Paul attack - By Associated Press - wfpl.org/kentucky-man-sentenced-to-30-days-for-sen-rand-p...

 

Mayor Fischer’s Derby Party Bill: $109K. The Guest List? Secret - wfpl.org/kycir-louisville-mayor-fischers-derby-party-bill...

  

Second Sexual Assault Investigahttp://wfpl.org/kycir-louisville-police-close-sexual-assault-investigation-rep-dan-johnson/tion Of Rep. Dan Johnson Brought Few New Details -

 

Tractor-trailer fire causes delays on eastbound Interstate 64 - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Tractor-trailer-fire-causes-del...

 

Car crashes into front yard, barely misses Lexington house - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Car-crashes-into-front-yard-bar...

 

2-Year Old Girl Found Alive After 2-Day Search Of Rural Bullitt County: www.wdrb.com/story/38383015/2-year-old-girl-found-alive-a...

 

Police say drunk Louisville dad arrested after child found in tipped-over car seat - www.wdrb.com/story/38395129/police-say-drunk-louisville-d...

 

Vacant home burns frustrating neighbors, first responders - www.wave3.com/story/38431741/vacant-home-burns-frustratin...

 

Man Shot To Death In Parking Lot On Saint Andrews Church Road: www.wdrb.com/story/38382670/man-shot-to-death-in-parking-...

 

Trial begins for lobbyist charged in Kentucky bribery case - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Trial-begins-for-lobbyist-charg...

 

Court records: Neighbor upset over Rand Paul's yard debris - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Court-records-Neighbor-upset-ov...

 

Lexington business evacuated for chemical leak - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Lexington-business-evacuated-fo...

 

Bus driver accused of sexually abusing a student in Bell County - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Bus-driver-accused-of-sexually-...

 

Girl, 17, dead in Pulaski County single-vehicle wreck - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Girl-17-dead-in-Pulaski-County-...

  

Former V.P. Joe Biden discusses his book in Louisville - www.courier-journal.com/picture-gallery/news/politics/201...

 

Inmates flush cloth, flood police chief's office with sewage - www.heraldcourier.com/news/inmates-flush-cloth-flood-poli...

 

Kentucky man charged with murdering his wife on Christmas Day - www.wkyt.com/content/news/Kentucky-man-charged-with-murde...

 

Former EMS worker serving sentence for incest, sodomy sentenced for child porn - www.wave3.com/story/38385758/former-ems-worker-serving-se...

 

LIST: WAVE Country businesses affected by hepatitis A - www.wave3.com/story/38065019/list-wave-country-businesses...

 

Suspect arrested in connection to murder of Louisville man on 39th Street - www.wlky.com/article/suspect-arrested-in-connection-to-mu...

 

Woman convicted in deadly 2006 DUI back in court - www.wave3.com/story/38385226/woman-convicted-in-deadly-20...

 

Washington Post study ranks Louisville above average in homicide arrests - www.wave3.com/story/38377631/washington-post-study-ranks-...

 

Trooper accused of stealing 'two trucks worth' of ammo, guns - www.wave3.com/story/38373230/trooper-accused-of-stealing-...

 

Police: Fire set on purpose that caused deadly Kentucky house explosion - www.wave3.com/story/38367509/police-fire-set-on-purpose-t...

 

Three pedestrians struck near Churchill Downs - www.wave3.com/story/38384658/three-pedestrians-struck-nea...

 

UPDATE: 85-year-old woman dies after being hit by a car on Goldsmith Lane - www.wdrb.com/story/38361703/update-85-year-old-woman-dies...

 

Woman and 2 children hit by car in south Louisville - www.wdrb.com/story/38384482/woman-and-2-children-hit-by-c...

 

Police say Louisville man stabbed 2 people during argument about loud music - www.wdrb.com/story/38341537/police-say-louisville-man-sta...

 

Woman charged for lying about human remains found under trailer in Carroll County - www.wdrb.com/story/38360885/woman-charged-for-lying-about...

 

Former assistant principal accused of voyeurism expected to plead guilty in court - www.wdrb.com/story/38335534/former-assistant-principal-ac...

 

Driver says 'sneezing fit' caused her to roll tanker truck in northern Indiana - www.wdrb.com/story/38344302/driver-says-a-sneezing-fit-ca...

 

Kentucky explores putting armed marshals in classes in wake of latest school shooting - globalnews.ca/news/3989321/kentucky-armed-marshals-school...

 

Louisville man allegedly stabs 2 people under I-65 overpass - www.wave3.com/story/38387074/louisville-man-allegedly-sta...

 

JCPS quietly paying pricey bullying settlements with taxpayer money - www.wdrb.com/story/38321570/jcps-quietly-paying-pricey-bu...

 

Habitual felon Rebecca Johnson avoids prison again - www.wdrb.com/story/38380530/habitual-felon-rebecca-johnso...

 

KSP offering brand new Dodge Chargers to prospective recruits - www.wdrb.com/story/38382832/ksp-offering-brand-new-dodge-...

  

In 13 years at helm, Paul Varga led Brown-Forman back to its roots - www.wdrb.com/story/38383659/in-13-years-at-helm-paul-varg...

 

Boy with terminal brain cancer has his Best Day Ever - www.wave3.com/story/38385491/boy-with-terminal-brain-canc...

 

Okolona Speedway employee diagnosed with hepatitis A - www.wave3.com/story/38383854/okolona-speedway-employee-di...

 

Weekend closures and detours for I-65 in Louisville - www.whas11.com/article/news/local/weekend-closures-and-de...

 

Louisville man found; Golden Alert canceled - www.wave3.com/story/38382572/louisville-man-found-golden-...

 

Fund for the Arts on track to hit biggest fundraising goal in a decade - www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2018/06/08/fund-for-t...

 

Family to donate organs of Louisville teen gravely injured in Florida car crash - www.wdrb.com/story/38372386/family-to-donate-organs-of-lo...

 

Top of The List: These are Louisville's largest chambers of commerce and business associations - www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2018/06/08/top-of-the...

 

TRAFFIC ALERT: Snyder Freeway at Taylorsville Road back open after single vehicle crash - www.wave3.com/story/38380046/traffic-alert-snyder-freeway...

 

5 Things To Do This Weekend In Louisville (6/8) - www.leoweekly.com/2018/06/5-things-weekend-louisville-6-8/

 

Pair charged with murdering 17-month-old boy in 2009 - www.wdrb.com/story/38370980/pair-charged-with-murdering-1...

 

Tru by Hilton's Louisville presence grows with $9M hotel - www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2018/06/08/tru-by-hil...

 

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Downtown restaurant closes, leaving high-profile vacancy - www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2018/06/07/downtown-r...

 

Louisville is littered with abandoned cars, and residents aren't happy - www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/metro-governm...

 

Louisville man arrested after allegedly pointing loaded shotgun at neighbor - www.wave3.com/story/38371140/louisville-man-arrested-afte...

 

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Cyclist killed, KY-61 S closed following collision in Shepherdsville - www.wave3.com/story/38383569/cyclist-killed-ky-61-s-close...

 

Free electric fans for seniors and the disabled in Louisville {{{MUST PICK UP}}} - www.lanereport.com/102058/2018/06/free-electric-fans-for-...

 

Two years as a Chinese company: GE Appliances leaders remain committed to Louisville - insiderlouisville.com/business/two-years-as-a-chinese-com...

   

Anti mask and COVID-19 protest marches are happening in many communities including Vancouver.

 

So the taxpayer has to fund policing services to shepherd the marchers through city streets, pissing off drivers and most sane, sensible people.

 

Here a VPD bicycle posse is marshalling in Creekside Park for another march forming in front of Science World at the east end of False Creek.

 

March organizers fear the province of BC could emulate other jurisdictions, like Toronto, that have passed bylaws requiring people to wear masks in indoor public places and on transit - it is now mandatory on transit in Vancouver.

 

Protesters carried signs equating mask-wearing to fascism, calling COVID-19 a fraud and advocating “hugs over masks.”

 

Some protestors swear a mask causes cancer, an assertion not supported by any scientific evidence.

 

Others claimed information about masks coming from the media and health officials was part of a global conspiracy to create a world government funded by Bill Gates.

 

“We are saying my body, my choice, my immune system, I have the right to choose for myself.”

 

Listen up you COVIDIOTS - medical experts say masks work by capturing droplets people exhale, preventing potentially infectious viral particles from spreading to other people. Put on a mask you shit heads!

 

Some not so tongue in cheek responses to the marches:

1. Anti-mask protesters: I’m recruiting for anti-rubber boots protests to be held in Vancouver. We’ll march on a rainy day in November wearing sandals. Nobody can make us keep our feet dry! Who’s with me?

 

2. I wish anti mask people were able to understand scientific evidence.

 

3. This afternoon in Vancouver the anti-mask march attracted about 50 people. On the good news side that is about 499,950 fewer than attended the Climate Change march. Faith in humanity is now partially restored.

 

4. Unbelievable. Canadians thinking they're f*cking oppressed.

 

On June 14, 2025, Flag Day in America, the 250th Anniversary of the US Army, and President Trump's 79th birthday, at least 1,800 protests were held in every state across the US. This parade came at an estimated cost to the US taxpayers of $40 million dollars, all while indiscriminately cutting critical programs and firing an array of the best and brightest people who have vast experience in the management thereof.

 

"The No Kings protests (also known as No Kings Day or No Dictators Day/protests) were a series of demonstrations that took place on June 14, 2025, the day of the US Army 250th Anniversary Parade and the 79th birthday of US president Donald Trump, in protest of Trump's policies and actions during his second presidency. It is estimated that millions of people participated in over 2,000 events nationwide in the largest coordinated protests since the start of the second Trump administration.

 

"The No Kings protests were aimed at opposing the US Army 250th Anniversary Parade organized by the Donald Trump administration. Due to the parade coinciding with President Trump's 79th birthday, anti-Trump activists have interpreted the event as an example of Trump using the US Armed Forces to conduct an authoritarian or king-like celebration of himself. The protests followed several days of demonstrations against ICE raids across the US, including in Los Angeles, where Trump deployed both the California National Guard and the US Marine Corps.

 

"The American Federation of Teachers and Communications Workers of America organized the protests. The "No Kings" theme was created by the 50501 movement and derives its name from the perceived authoritarian or tyrannical behavior of Trump and his administration. Critics and activists have compared Trump to an absolute monarch due to his defiance of court orders, extralegal deportations, and perceived disregard for civil rights. Democrats Abroad organized solidarity protests internationally with the term of "No Tyrants", as many countries have monarchs as heads of state. Its message was, "We reject authoritarianism. We reject fear. We reject tyrants.

 

"Trump publicly opposed the demonstrations and stated that protestors interfering with the parade itself would be "met with heavy force." (Wikipedia)

 

Read more here: www.fastcompany.com/91348664/no-kings-day-june-14-protest...

 

www.yahoo.com/news/more-1-200-people-join-204500654.html

 

tagensbo church and kindergarten, landsdommervej 35, copenhagen NV.

architect: hans chr. hansen 1901-1978 (working in his own name).

 

link to full size image.

 

tagensbo is a box full of surprises, one of them being that it may not be with us for much longer. let me make a case for it while it is still here.

 

in some ways the church is as cool and abstract as hans chr. hansen's other late works, but in the interior his values become apparent by how he dealt with the conventions of church building. what we meet is hansen's critical humanism, his historical awareness, and a certain warmth expressed in how he brought people together.

 

these could really only be guessed at from his many technical facilities, but were evident in his earlier institutions with their restless sections and general eventfulness. there is nothing remotely eventful about hansen's final buildings. in tagensbo, a rectangular section meets a rectangular plan and a shoebox is born. knowing the mischief hansen was capable of when working in the section makes you wonder if his extreme economy of means was not the result of an extreme economy to begin with.

 

a 1966 reform which had taxpayers foot the bill of new churches must have come too late by only a few months, making tagensbo one of the last projects to be financed by donations through the independent copenhagen church fund. the tax reform was later to provide spreckelsen and utzon with sufficient means for their great churches, but perhaps the people of tagensbo would rather have their freedom. I have been told there was controversy in the christian press at the time, but I am not sure what controversy in the christian press counts for.

 

they got a box and our study is what hansen did with it. interestingly, in the light of so much of current architectural thinking, he did not employ the manipulation of form; his box stayed a box. rather, we should look at his work as the manipulation of type.

 

the easy and traditional answer would have been for hansen to organise the church lengthwise. this tried and tested plan dates from the early christian adaption of the roman basilica as their house of worship. you know you are winning when you are able to reinterpret the meaning of one of the main building types of the roman empire, but its past was not easily overcome, perhaps because the past was part of its allure.

 

the basilica had been a throne room and a courthouse, with roman dignitaries positioned in the apse. I imagine it made perfect sense during those final chaotic years of the western empire when christianity had become the state religion and the country was falling apart. there is a fifth century church in rome in which christ is depicted in the half-dome of the apse as a roman senator, carrying the law in his hands, passing judgement on the believers. a throne room and a courthouse - a fitting choice for the romans, but a troubled choice for christianity.

 

in fairness to the catholics, they did well by it for centuries, but the catholic church had become a repository for roman culture since the crisis of the fifth century had coincided with the christening of the roman nobility. men wearing dresses, hoarding wealth, art and knowledge in their stone basilicas, speaking latin long after the rest of the world had ceased to, keeping women at a distance and buggering their choirboys instead – it was all very classical, but except for the suppression of women it had little to do with scripture.

 

catholicism also preserved roman hierarchies that were effectively mirrored in their symbolic throne rooms and courthouses. when the reaction came, a fanatical return to scripture instigated in northern europe, the buildings had to change too. there is every reason to be cynical about money in construction as in any other aspect of life, and there can be no doubt that the new, improved and impoverished church of protestantism also needed a cheaper way to build its houses. german protestants came up with a remarkably simple solution, a single-room church on a rectangular plan, no aisles and a flat ceiling. architecturally speaking, it had very little going for it but for one brilliant move: the preacher and his congregation faced each other across the short length of the space, bringing the spatial experience of going to church closer to that of the study group, if you'll allow the anachronism, and deflating the position of the priesthood.

 

the inherent critique of the roman basilica and what it brought to christianity has had a long afterlife in the 20th century – around copenhagen it can be seen in the more neutral square plans applied by the exners, von spreckelsen, utzon and in lewerentz' final church in klippan. hansen did not follow their lead but went straight to its protestant roots and developed his design from there.

 

the measurements of his church were tied to the geometry of the surrounding housing blocks and their shallow depth made for an even greater intimacy and intensity, but rather than compensating for this hansen emphasised it by adding two open U-shaped galleries that hug the space and bring about some of the qualities of a shakespearean theatre, not least that of the crowd witnessing its own reactions. the galleries are likely to be empty except for the greatest events of the church year, christmas and easter, and for weddings, funerals and baptisms, but those are exactly the occasions when hansen's touch of theatre makes the most sense.

 

the protestants had originally kept the central processional route towards the altar in their new churches , but it was short, and too short processions have since been a problem of the various modern churches on a square plan. we remain sentimental of walking our young and our dead down the aisle and rightly blame the architect when the possibility is taken from us. hansen's finest idea, to my mind, was to keep the processional route and to place it perpendicular to the line of sight. you carry your babies, your bride and your parents in front of the congregation, your friends and family, and sit them down not at the top of the room but at its centre.

 

and there it is, the warmth and humanity of this otherwise cool and somewhat abstract building - the ability to see and shape its rituals from the point of view of the man or woman walking through the door rather than the institution that happens to pay for the electricity. it was a lesson learned from that great father figure of nordic architecture, erik gunnar asplund, who was as important to hansen as he was to anyone who had begun their career during the 1920's, the height of asplundian classicism in scandinavia. we are best served by sticking to classicism, hansen is quoted as saying. we are best served by sticking to asplund was likely what he meant.

 

hansen's sensitivity is also seen in the surprisingly small windows. anything larger would have created glare, he correctly judged, once people were facing the long facades. the impressionist forest floor of sun spots was no doubt a welcome effect as well.

 

the many lightbulbs are a recent addition, borrowed from the 'starry skies' of exners' churches. they are not without charm. part of me sees a connection with the sun spots from the small windows and likes it, part of me finds that some of hansen's analytical clarity is lost. what it adds, though, is an invitation; an invitation to the laity, the general user, reader, listener, that all of modern art needs, but so little of modern art offers.

 

the relationship between frame and cladding, skin and bones, as it is unfolded inside the church is of particular interest. hansen offers a playful, almost light-hearted weave of cheap industrial materials: painted plywood in quaint colours, white calcium silicate bricks and dark floor tiles are set against neutral, almost silent frames of concrete and steel. patterns related to textiles and weaving are found in the floor, the ceiling, the balcony fronts and the infill brickwork of the northern wall. even the antependium, the altar cloth, is replaced with a ceramic representation of a woven fabric, making it the primary motif of the interior.

 

as most of you will know, the theme of frame and cladding is central to many of hansen's mature buildings, often developed in very different ways, with his staccato rhythm of densely spaced verticals as a uniting trait. the recurring reference to textiles in tagensbo, even down to their representation in ceramics, suggests that hansen was studying the first and most important theoretician on the question of cladding or bekleidung as he would have called it. gottfried semper, a 19th century german architect and art historian, advanced the idea that the true origin of architecture, its urkunst, was found in the rich woven textiles that still make up the temporary dwellings of nomad peoples.

 

I don't know who reads semper these days, but you'll recognise his influence in the writings and interiors of adolf loos who once said, I believe, that he began a particular room with carpets on all surfaces and only then looked for a structure to support them.

 

semper, though long dead, played an important part in early modernist architecture, his book der stil even lending its name to a dutch avantgarde movement, but we haven't seen or heard much of him in Danish architecture. tagensbo could be viewed as the exceptional example of semperian tectonics in copenhagen, worthy of academic study on this account alone.

 

apart from the antependium, the altar itself is a study in modesty, brickwork supporting a black plywood table top. this is for the jesus who was born into the construction business, the carpenter's son. it is not conventionally beautiful, but very assured nevertheless.

 

now, some of you are thinking, why have you not shown us this house before? admittedly, its grim facade made me hesitant when I did the first run-through of hansen's works. I wanted you to like him as much as I did. but others have worked tiredlessly to bring attention to tagensbo church, if not the kind of attention it deserves.

 

in 2012, it was placed on a list of sixteen copenhagen churches to be deconsecrated and sold. the list came with a review from our architect to the crown, jens bertelsen of bertelsen & scheving. his ruling was as heartbreaking as it was wrongheaded: a decommissioned tagensbo church was not worth protecting, and you could easily fit an extra floor in its central space without compromising any qualities it might contain.

 

are you now feeling what I felt when I read this? am I alone?

 

the question was temporarily resolved when tagensbo announced that the parish alone held the authority to close its church, and that they weren't going anywhere. I so like the fighting spirit of their response, but I also remember when one member of staff quietly told me that they were down to twenty old ladies and that they even failed to show up at the same time. one way or the other tagensbo is on borrowed time.

 

this is what I mean when I say that hansen's buildings are under threat: it is not a lack of christians that will do them in, it is a lack of recognition. only when we see them for what they are worth, will people want to keep them even after they lose their original purpose. if it survives, perhaps tagensbo could one day be a mosque, who knows; its working class neighbourhood has changed its faith long ago.

 

I called the good people at our national museum to hear what they thought of the house, as they will no doubt have a say in its future when the twenty old ladies holding it up give in. thankfully, they know it well and see it as unique and worthy of protection. there is hope still.

 

the hans chr. hansen set.

New Street, across from the New York Stock Exchange, Lower Manhattan, New York..

Explore #124, June 28, 2012

Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

©2012 Patrick J Bayens

Australian Post Hi-Vis jacket, courtesy of the Aussie taxpayer, and a definite necessity when fishing in dangerous zones ..

 

Hopefully he has a return address printed on his jacket if washed overboard ..

 

We were in the park the other day and witnessed a tragedy of sorts. I played in this place as a kid and now, my daughter and I go there to do the same.

 

She loves the playground, as I did when I was her age. Especially the swings and the slides. The place hasn't changed much in 30 odd years but when we arrived on this particular day, the area was fenced off and the bulldozers had destroyed it.

 

Ripped it up and smashed it down. When she asked why, I said they're building a new one, a better one, a modern one.

 

The fact that she protested the old one was perfectly OK didn't matter. When the local council decide to destroy a perfectly good facility, who can stop them?

 

So, we decided to sit and watch.

 

Silently, sadly.

 

What else can you do?

A visit to BR Swindon Works on 5th August 1970 found pilot scheme BR 'Warship' Class 42 diesel-hydraulics Nos. D801 'Vanguard', in maroon livery and D802 'Formidable', in blue livery being cannibalised for spares. Rated at 2,000 horsepower (instead of the standard 2,200 hp for the remainder of the class), the first three 'Warships' D800 - D802 were early candidates for withdrawal. Indeed, it is remarkable that D802 should have even received the standard BR blue livery, which it couldn't have carried for long. These were the first two of the class to be despatched at Swindon Works, during the October of that year following retrieval of any useful spare parts. 'Warship' Class progenitor D800 had been dealt with at Cashmore's, Newport during the previous year. These two pilot scheme locomotives, D801 and D802, had a working life of no more than 10 years, having been withdrawn in August and October 1968 respectively. What a waste of the taxpayer's money!

 

© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Wäschetockner der anderen Art

In Deutschland gibt es leider viel zu wenig Parkplätze für Trucker, in welche dunklen Kanäle verschwinden wohl unser aller Steuergelder ?

Notwehr eines Truckers !!!

 

In Germany, unfortunately, there are far too few parking spaces for truckers, in which dark channels will our taxpayers disappear?

According the first calculations before 2007 the building should cost about 77 million €. By 2013 the cost for the taxpayer amounted to 789 million €. The project should have been finshed years ago, but it still is under construction.

 

www.hafencity.com/en/home.html

One final shot to wrap up this streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) series.

 

This alley wall graffiti poses a valid question, "how do we end the drug crisis"?

 

A more pertinent question, “how did we get here”?

 

Vancouver, B.C. is consistently ranked at the top of the list for the world’s most liveable cities - but not for many in the DTES.

 

The city has a dirty little secret that it has been trying to suppress for decades. The historic four-block area near East Hastings and Main Street — the DTES — known as one of the “poorest postal codes” in Canada, has a combination of drug use, HIV, homelessness, prostitution, mental illness, and crime all making up this poor off neighbourhood.

 

To be successful as a drug lord you need a steady, reliable, cheap supply of product, a location where you can operate relatively free from prosecution and away you go. The prime location ingredients Vancouver offers is the DTES.

 

Over the decades continuing city administrations have built a community of “customers with no cash” by loading the DTES with blocks of not for profit social housing. Along with the myriad of Single Room Occupancy hotels (SRO's) the area is prime territory for the drug trade.

 

Social housing should be spread throughout the city to provide a society of different financial means for common support - IMO.

 

Administrations over the years have been loath to attempt social housing in the rich city enclaves due to onerous push back. It was and still is more expedient to keep adding more social housing in the DTES where there is minimal opposition.

 

***** Today there are at least 6 City of Vancouver development permit applications on file for more social housing in the DTES.

 

The process is welcomed by the myriad of DTES support service groups who like their clientele close at hand and the clientele are fine with it as services are nearby.

 

DTES government and service support groups along with poverty pimp lawyers who have a hissy fit if anyone tries to change the dial, while also making money off the situation, has resulted in the perfect condition for drug dealers to flourish.

 

Social housing residents, many older, Asian and often mentally challenged are living in a hell hole neighbourhood with little individual voice.

 

In recent years, the area is seeing an east creeping gentrification. This is causing the DTES street population to be squeezed into a smaller footprint resulting in more confrontation and the appearance of a worsening situation even though overall the numbers of street people remains fairly constant.

 

The amount of taxpayer dollars spent in the area is staggering with little to show for the investment.

 

Vancouver has always had a drug problem. The opioids of choice — and the increasingly staggering death toll — have changed over the years.

 

In 2017 Fentanyl killed so many Canadians it caused the average life expectancy in B.C. to drop for the first time in decades. But for crime kingpins, it became a source of such astonishing wealth it disrupted the Vancouver-area real estate market.

 

SOME BACKGROUND:

Excerpt from the Province Newspaper by reporter Randy Shore 18 March, 2017.

 

When members of the Royal Commission to Investigate Chinese and Japanese Immigration came to Vancouver in 1901, they got an eyeful.

“There were whole rooms of Chinese lying stretched out on beds with the opium apparatus laid out before them — all unmindful that their attitudes and surrounding conditions are being taken note of to assist in keeping the remainder of their countrymen entirely out of Canada,” reported the Vancouver World newspaper.

 

The fringes of Vancouver’s Chinatown have always been the centre of Canada’s opiate trade. Ever more potent and easily smuggled versions emerged through the decades, culminating in the scourge of synthetic opiates — fentanyl and carfentanil — thousands of times more powerful and many times more deadly than opium.

 

Opium was a source of revenue for governments of the day. A federal duty imposed on importers fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars between 1874 and 1899. In B.C. ports, and cities charged hundreds of dollars to purveyors in the form of business licences.

 

Between 1923 and 1932, more than 700 Chinese men were deported for drug-related violations.

 

Under constant pressure from the police, opium users began to inject their hit, as the technique created no smoke or aroma and used smaller equipment, which could be easily hidden. In the 1920s and 1930s, white users tended to be young criminals, “racetrack hands, and circus and show people” who smoked opium or sniffed heroin.

 

By the mid-1930s, heroin was one of the most common drugs in circulation and white users were increasingly taking the drug intravenously, especially as prices rose due to scarcity brought about by vigorous law enforcement.

 

The outbreak of the Second World War put opiate addicts into a state of crisis, as opiate drugs were required in great quantities for the war wounded. The street price of a hit — whether heroin, morphine or codeine — shot up and crime along with it.

 

In the post-war period, right through to the mid-’60s, Vancouver was ground zero for Canada’s intravenous drug scene, made up mainly of petty criminals, troubled youths fed by drug lords.

 

Before the ’40s were over, highly refined white heroin had appeared and it was coming from overseas to satisfy a hungry market in Vancouver, home to half of the country’s drug users.

 

Heroin use remained a constant undercurrent in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside during the ’70s and ’80s, even as alcohol was the neighbourhood’s real drug of choice.

 

But a flood of a new and even more potent “China White” heroin arriving into the city reignited public outrage in the early ’90s. A spate of 331 overdose deaths in 1993 spurred B.C. coroner Vince Cain to call for the decriminalization of heroin and addicts be prescribed the drug to legally maintain their habit.

 

It would be nearly 15 years before the Study to Assess Long-term Opioid Maintenance Effectiveness (SALOME) began in Vancouver, just about the time a new threat emerged.

 

Up to 80 times as powerful as heroin, fentanyl hit the streets and reduced the risk for traffickers as it was so concentrated, transportation was easier.

 

The carnage wrought by fentanyl has been without precedent.

 

Heroin seized in drug busts is routinely cut with fentanyl and in recent months the presence of carfentanil.

 

SUMMARY:

 

Where will this go next, who knows ?

 

The richest of societies should be especially judged by how they treat their least fortunate, and Vancouver has its challenge set out for the foreseeable future.

 

UPDATE 23 May 2020 - VANCOUVER SUN

John Mackie:

The Downtown Eastside is a war zone disaster — stop ghettoizing it.

John Mackie, Vancouver Sun 23 May 2020

 

Twenty years ago local musician Kuba Oms was recording at the Miller Block, a now defunct Hastings Street recording studio near Save-On-Meats.

 

He jaywalked and was stopped by a cop, who handed him a ticket.

 

“I said ‘Are you kidding me?’” Oms recounts. “You know there’s a guy shooting up over there, and a crack dealer over there. And the cop said ‘That’s a health issue.’”

 

That story pretty much sums up the city’s attitude toward the Downtown Eastside over the past few decades.

 

In some ways the cop was right — it is a Vancouver health issue. But letting people openly do drugs in public and turn Hastings and the wider Downtown Eastside into a ghetto is political correctness gone mad.

 

Drive down Hastings Street between Abbott and Gore and you’ll see dozens, even hundreds of people hanging out on the street, in various states of sobriety. They are definitely not social distancing. It’s a miracle that COVID-19 hasn’t swept the entire area.

 

The height of this madness was the recent occupation of Oppenheimer Park. Vancouver has real issues of homelessness, but to some degree Oppenheimer was about a fringe group of politicos manipulating the homeless.

 

Many police resources were diverted to the park and there was a crime wave in nearby Chinatown — one business closed because they were being robbed a dozen times a day.

 

The province recently made hotel rooms available for the homeless people occupying Oppenheimer Park, so things have calmed down somewhat. But the big question is what happens in a few months? Is government going to find permanent homes for them?

 

Odds are if they do, it will be in highrises in the Downtown Eastside. For decades that’s where the city and province have been concentrating social housing, especially for the mentally ill and drug addicted.

 

Their argument is these residents feel comfortable there. But the reality is the more poverty is concentrated, the worse the area seems to become.

 

Maybe it’s time for the city of Vancouver to give its head a shake and realize that its much-ballyhooed Downtown Eastside Plan is actually part of the problem, not the solution.

 

Part of the plan decrees you can’t build condos on Hastings between Carrall Street in Gastown and Heatley Avenue in Strathcona, or in historic Japantown around Oppenheimer Park.

 

Development in those areas has to be rental only, with at least 60 per cent social housing. This pretty much ensures that no market housing is built in the poorest area of the city.

 

When the plan was unveiled in 2014, Vancouver’s former head planner Brian Jackson said the aim was to ensure that low-income people in the Downtown Eastside weren’t displaced.

 

“The plan is attempting to achieve balance,” he explained then.

 

In fact, the plan does the exact opposite. There is no balance in the Downtown Eastside: It’s been turned into a ghetto. A friend who’s worked there for two decades calls it a war zone.

 

The city desperately need some market housing, co-ops and development on Hastings and around Oppenheimer. The anti-poverty activists will scream blue murder that it’s gentrification, but it’s actually normalization. You don’t have to displace anybody, you just have add a different mix to make it safer.

 

I live in Strathcona, where about 6,500 people live in social housing and about 3,500 in market homes. It’s a close-knit neighbourhood that has the balance Brian Jackson was taking about — it’s diverse and features a variety of incomes.

 

Japantown and the Downtown Eastside could be a real neighbourhood again if the city retained its stock of handsome historic buildings but allowed some development of its many non-descript structures.

 

It could be like Strathcona, even the West End. But I fear it could get even worse, if the planners and politicians continue to concentrate all the Lower Mainland’s poverty and social ills in one small area.

 

jmackie@postmedia.com

 

John Mackie is a veteran Postmedia reporter who has written several stories about Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Plan.

 

UPDATE: 12 JUNE, 2020

 

When the encampment in Oppenheimer park was cleared out, another one to replace it sorung up on Port of Vancouver lands.

 

FROM THE VANCOUVER SUN:

 

A judge on Wednesday granted an injunction to shut down an encampment of largely homeless people near CRAB Park on Vancouver’s waterfront.

 

11 June, 2020 Vancouver Sun reporter Keith Fraser

 

The order of B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson came following an injunction application filed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the federal agency that operates the parking lot where the camp was set up in May. The camp has grown to upwards of 130 to 150 people living in dozens of tents and other structures.

 

A judge on Wednesday granted an injunction to shut down an encampment of largely homeless people near CRAB Park on Vancouver’s waterfront.

 

The order of B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson came following an injunction application filed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the federal agency that operates the parking lot where the camp was set up in May. The camp has grown to upwards of 130 to 150 people living in dozens of tents and other structures.

 

The judge gave the encampment three days in which to cease occupation of the parking lot, removing all tents, shelters, personal items, rubbish and other things on the site.

 

He said the injunction was good for 15 days, meaning that the port will have to come back to court in 15 days if everyone in the encampment is not gone and police haven’t dealt with it.

 

The port had sought an enforcement order giving police the power to arrest and remove anyone remaining on the site but the judge, noting that the police had agreed to carry out the injunction without an enforcement order frequently granted in such injunction cases, declined to make that order.

 

During two days of submissions in court, the port argued that the same COVID-19 concerns that had closed down a tent city at nearby Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside following an order issued by the B.C. government also applied to the homeless at CRAB Park.

 

Lawyers for the port also cited complaints from nearby residents about lack of social distancing within the encampment, near continuous burning of an open-flame bonfire and smoke entering apartments, trash within the encampment and an increase in garbage and needles in the area.

 

People were seen urinating and defecating in the bushes and ocean and loud music and noise was heard, according to the port, which also argued that there was housing available to accommodate the homeless.

 

Lawyers for the homeless questioned whether there was in fact alternative accommodation available and argued that their clients felt safer being in the tents at CRAB Park than on the streets.

 

They claimed that the liberty rights of their clients would be violated if they were made to close down the encampment.

 

But the judge sided with the port, concluding that there would be irreparable harm to the port should the encampment remain in place and the balance of convenience favoured the injunction being granted.

 

Outside court, Doug Ehret, a homeless man who has been staying at the site, said he was “greatly disappointed” in the judge’s decision.

 

“He has a home to go to tonight. I don’t. He’ll sit in a million-dollar home in a sauna. I’ll sit beside a fire, but you know what — I’ll be better off because I have people who love me and actually give a crap.”

 

Michael Costley, a Gastown resident who has had concerns about the site, said as excited as he is about the ruling seemingly going in their favour, he’s hopeful the campers will respect the decision just as residents in the area have respected the campers’ right to protest.

 

“Our fear as a local resident is that they’re just going to move over into CRAB Park. That’s what I would do if I was them, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”

 

Fiona York, who identified herself as an advocate for the encampment, said there would be a meeting on Wednesday night to decide what their next steps are.

 

“It’s going to be up to the residents. Everybody is well aware about what’s been happening, how they feel about it.”

 

kfraser@postmedia.com

 

twitter.com/keithrfraser

 

UPDATE: 13 JULY, 2020

Vancouver can’t catch up to its housing crisis

 

ADRIENNE TANNER

SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

PUBLISHED 13 JULY 2020

 

It is obvious now the cheers that erupted when Vancouver’s longest running tent city was dismantled were wildly premature. Fearing a COVID-19 outbreak would take hold in the overcrowded inner-city camp, the provincial government in April acquired emergency housing in hotels for homeless people living there and cleared the site.

 

Many camp residents embraced the offer of a clean room. Some refused and relocated outdoors. The camp shifted, first to some empty Port of Vancouver land, and when a court order quickly shut it down, finally landed in Strathcona Park. With each move, it grew.

 

Today there are about 150 tents Strathcona Park, roughly double the number there were in Oppenheimer Park. How many inhabitants are truly homeless is anyone’s guess. Some of the tents were erected by activists with homes. Others belong to people living in single room occupancy hotels, the worst of which are noisy, bug-infested and so hot that some residents prefer to spend summer outside.

 

There is already an air of permanence to the camp; the city has installed porta-potties, fresh drinking water and handwashing stations. Park rangers drop by a few times daily. The area is reasonably clean, but these are early days.

 

Strathcona residents are largely sympathetic to homeless people, but are understandably unhappy about losing a large chunk of park space. They fear the same violence and social disorder that cropped up at Oppenheimer is inevitable; there has already been a small fire and there appears to be a bike chop shop on site. There are cries for the city to sanction a permanent tent city location – elsewhere, of course.

 

So how exactly did the province’s efforts to shut down a tent city and house homeless people backfire so badly? The city and provincial officials have been out-manoeuvered and out-organized by anti-poverty activists who seized a COVID-19 opportunity when they saw it.

 

The pandemic raised fears the Oppenheimer tent city would turn into a reservoir of disease that could overwhelm the health system. The activists know that’s why the government cleared the camp and purchased hotels for social housing. They understand this is the moment to highlight society’s failure to solve homelessness, even if their end goals seem to differ. Some are calling for permanent housing – others prefer the idea of a permanent, free-wheeling tent city.

 

The sorry truth is, even with the addition of 600 units of temporary modular housing and, more recently, the purchase of three downtown hotels, there are still more homeless people than homes. Successions of governments at all levels have allowed this crisis to grow. They’ve failed to build enough social housing. Failed to provide adequate mental health services. Failed to fund enough drug rehabilitation programs for those who want to quit and provide a safe drug supply for those who can’t.

 

So, now here we are with the largest homeless camp the city has ever seen and another stressed-out neighbourhood. Legally, the new tent city may prove more difficult to dismantle – it’s a large park and the tents are well spaced so the pandemic may not wash as a valid reason. And unless housing is available for everyone who is homeless, it is unlikely the courts would grant an injunction.

 

Solving problems associated with homelessness is a huge challenge. We can start with housing, but that alone is not nearly enough. Many of the people living in the hotels and park are drug users. Many are mentally ill. Some are both. It takes money – and lots of it – to provide decent housing and supports for this segment of society.

 

But to cave to demands for a permanent tent city is an American-style admission of defeat. The park board seems resigned to tent cities in parks and is considering a bylaw seeking to control locations. City council has resisted sanctioning a permanent spot, instead offering up land for new social housing. The province has stepped up with money for temporary modular housing and purchases of hotels.

 

It will be tough to keep neighbourhoods onside if more parks are rendered unusable for recreation. There is only one palatable solution; the provincial government must stay the course and keep adding decent, affordable housing. It won’t be cheap or easy. Catchup never is.

 

UPDATE: 17 July 2020 - BC Coroners Service:

 

This report summarizes all unintentional illicit drug toxicity deaths in British Columbia (accidental and undetermined) that occurred between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2020, inclusive. It includes confirmed and suspected illicit toxicity deaths (inclusion criteria below).

 

Illicit Drug Toxicity Deaths in BC January 1, 2010 – June 30, 2020

• In June 2020, there were 175 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths. This represent a 130% increase over the number of deaths seen in June 2019 (76) and a 2% increase over the number of deaths in May 2020 (171).

• The June 2020 total represents the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths ever recorded in a month in B.C to date.

• The number of deaths in each health authority is at or near the highest monthly total ever recorded.

• The number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in June 2020 equates to about 5.8 deaths per day. The number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2020 equates to 4 deaths per day for the year.

• In 2020, 68% of those dying were aged 19 to 49. In 2019 and 2018, 67% were in this age range. Males accounted for 80% of deaths in 2020 to date, slightly higher than in 2019 (76%) and consistent with 2018 (80%).

• The townships experiencing the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2020 are Vancouver, Surrey, and Victoria.

• Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority have had the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths (228 and 205 deaths, respectively) in 2020, making up 59% of all such deaths during this period.

 

No deaths have been reported at supervised consumption or drug overdose prevention (2) sites.

 

UPDATE: 07 August 2020:

 

Ian Mulgrew: Vancouver Sun 07 August, 2020

Drug decriminalization a half-baked proposal

 

Opinion: ‘We have to find a different paradigm here,’ says Dr. Richard Mathias of the University of B.C. faculty of medicine. ‘The paradigm we have is killing Canadians’.

 

Four years after the authorities declared opioid deaths a public health emergency in B.C., the crisis rolls along like a Monty Python plague skit: Bring out your dead!

 

While there are daily briefings about COVID-19, which has killed fewer than 200 people in B.C., overdoses that have killed more than 700 so far this year receive little more than a monthly mortality update.

 

The number of drug deaths in each health authority is at or near the highest on record, without a cure, vaccine or solution in sight.

 

Instead of truly confronting the crisis, governments seem to be continually finding reasons to stall and shy away from discussing what is needed.

 

There is little evidence our political leaders want to talk about the issue beyond wringing their hands and mouthing anodyne concern.

 

The B.C. government won’t even provide the costs associated with the more than 30,000 people weaned off illegal drugs and now on Big Pharma substitutes.

 

“As this matter is before the courts (because users have launched a class-action lawsuit) it is not appropriate for us to share any information that is not publicly available at this time,” said Tracey Robertson, senior public affairs officer.

 

“This includes the costing associated with Methadone, Methadose and Metadol-D treatment. That said, we are able to provide you with the number of patients on Methadone (15,459), Methadose (12,026), and Metadol-D (3,589), as of April 2020.”

 

Believe it or not, it was 15 years ago that B.C.’s public health officers demanded the government decriminalize drug offences.

 

In a strident, progressive paper, they said it was time to address the harmful effects of the criminal prohibition against substances such as heroin and (at the time) marijuana.

 

They emphasized that anti-drug laws were based on racism and cultural biases, not evidence of harm, and the prohibition was causing far more damage to health and to society.

 

Titled “A Public Health Approach To Drug Control in Canada”, that 38-page paper recommended reform of federal and provincial laws and international agreements that deal with illegal drugs, development of national public health strategies to manage all psychoactive drugs, including alcohol and prescription drugs, improved monitoring, and more education.

 

Governments ignored it, and the echoes that followed over the years.

 

By 2019, even before her fame, Dr. Bonnie Henry was still trying to get that 2005 message heard.

 

In May, federal Minister of Health Patty Hajdu was asked to introduce a nationwide exemption for drug possession so no one would have to fear arrest and jail, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Now, even the nation’s chiefs of police — who fought drug reform to protect their budgets — have joined the bandwagon, saying we should decriminalize drug possession.

 

The chiefs say it would improve the health and safety outcomes for drug users while reducing property crime, repeat offences and the demand for drugs in communities.

 

Really? After all these years of filling our jails with drug users while gangs prospered and proliferated, the cops have finally figured that out?

 

Heck, even Premier John Horgan, who recently sounded like he didn’t have a clue about addiction, is apparently all for decriminalization.

 

It’s about time.

 

Banning opiates, cocaine and other substances has proven to be as stupid as trying to ban alcohol.

 

Our drug laws are an abject failure. Still, decriminalization is not the answer to the opioid crisis any more than it was for marijuana.

 

It’s a halfway house of pain. Which is why we need a discussion.

 

Decriminalization allows the user to consume without risk of arrest, but does nothing to address the illegal black market, with its tainted products, violence and indiscriminate sales to kids.

 

Criminal drug laws protect traffickers from taxation, regulation and quality control. They maintain artificially high prices for drugs that cost pennies, and they produce an underground economy where disputes get settled not in court, but with guns.

 

There are better ways to control drug use.

 

It’s time to adopt a new legal regime to regulate drugs — their potency, retail sales, warning labels, age limits and other restrictions such as prescriptions.

 

Decriminalization won’t do that. Legalization will.

 

We need an integrated strategy of prevention, research, education and social programs to address poverty and the homelessness that has far too many people sleeping in parks.

 

We have to start discussing that aid package and dealing with addiction as seriously as we have attacked the coronavirus.

 

Legalization is not a panacea. It does not end drug use or violence.

 

But it will stop people with a medical issue being turned into criminals, and help us reduce the overdose deaths, the black market and the violence.

 

The 2005 anti-drug strategy called for a national dialogue, and Dr. Richard Mathias, of the University of B.C. faculty of medicine, emphasized: “We have to find a different paradigm here. The paradigm we have is killing Canadians.”

 

It didn’t happen.

 

Today, more than ever are dying. That 15 years have passed isn’t a joke, it’s an indictment.

 

imulgrew@postmedia.com

 

twitter.com/ianmulgrew

 

The taxpayer purchases lands to be set aside for wildlife.

The government puts up signs and then treats it as vacant land, essentially ignoring what goes on there.

Selfish idiots destroy it.

Wildlife loses.

Revelation 17:12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.”

 

The Wall Street Journal: Scientists Resort to Once-Unthinkable Solutions to Cool the Planet

 

www.wsj.com/science/environment/geoengineering-projects-c...

 

“Dumping chemicals in the ocean? Spraying saltwater into clouds? Injecting reflective particles into the sky? Scientists are resorting to once unthinkable techniques to cool the planet because global efforts to check greenhouse gas emissions are failing.” “These geoengineering approaches were once considered taboo by scientists and regulators who feared that tinkering with the environment could have unintended consequences, but now researchers are receiving taxpayer funds and private investments to get out of the lab and test these methods outdoors.”

 

What could go wrong? They reject God, yet they want to play god.

 

“This month, researchers aboard a ship off the northeastern coast of Australia near the Whitsunday Islands are spraying a briny mixture through high-pressure nozzles into the air in an attempt to brighten low-altitude clouds that form over the ocean. Scientists hope bigger, brighter clouds will reflect sunlight away from the Earth, shade the ocean surface and cool the waters around the Great Barrier Reef, where warming ocean temperatures have contributed to massive coral die-offs.”

 

Luke 21:25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.”

 

The imagery of the sea in this verse is a picture of great distress. Calamities will come on the world like a storm. Calamity will crash on the nations of the earth, wave after wave. The nations of the earth will be agitated by these surging waves. In the midst of this storm, a beast will come out of the sea (Revelation 13:1). No one will escape this storm: “For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth (Luke 21:35).” This time of tribulation will happen just before Christ returns. When Christ returns, He will calm the sea: “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm (Mark 4:39).”

 

“When we start interfering with nature, we risk it also having many very negative consequences that we cannot control and that we cannot foresee.” Cooling the planet carries unknown risks, “such as depleting the protective ozone layer, harming marine life, damaging crops or altering rainfall patterns.”

 

Revelation 11:18 “The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

 

Patents for weather control or modification:

 

patents.justia.com/patents-by-us-classification/239/2.1

   

Mounted hunt after deer and boar in forest, with rustic shrine and divine couple (Flora and Vertumnus?). Meleager and the Caledonian boar? Fresco wall-painting. Roman. Pompeii. 3rd Styte. 1st Century AD. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers. Inventory number 111479

Actaeon surprising Diana and her nymphs bathing in a landscape with ruined column, mountains and trees. This painting looks as if it could have been the source for half of the lanscapes of Italian paintings of the 1500s. Fresco wall-painting. Roman. Pompeii. 4th Styte. 1st Century AD. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers.

The British taxpayer finally ceased paying compensation

to the prior owners of slaves for the abolition of slavery (£17 billion in today's money) via our taxes, in 2015. For a sense of time, my late father was born less than 100 years from the abolition of slavery in Britain.

After over 15 years of construction, extensions, issues, and taxpayer dollars, Long Island Rail Road's "East Side Access" project finally opened to customers on January 25th, 2023.

 

No expense was spared on advertisement or fanfare either, as the first train bound for the new Grand Central Madison enters Jamaica Station.

 

This 12 car train of M9s brought the first railbuffs and politicians into the new terminal, commencing a new era of communting in the State of New York.

Here's another unedited Golden Ponds shot while I pray for any cool evening in the valley of the furnace and swamps. I'm virtually back at Golden Ponds again and raiding unedited swamp snaps instead of taking a chance at Don "Tweets" Corona's (mob bagman) storm troop super spreaders at Longmont parks. Did "Tweets:" create this swamp near the river too? At least limit one alligator per swamp please!

 

With luck, the Trumpandemic will spare the world's more intelligent and target the rest at Sturgis. Isn't there a house party near you this evening? Corona is still far from finishing it's job. Second wave in the US? There is supposed to be a second wave in the US? This summer brought new growths of blue green algae but this is a shot pointed onto the river bottom. We used to have artesian water wells in the valley before the sand and gravel scourge left potholes everywhere. Golden Ponds? Shred the land and donate it to taxpayers for all future upkeep from then on. Golden Scams?

 

Woo hoo. Redefine swamp for the only man who ever bankrupted multiple casinos. Doesn't the house always win? NY Times enumerated his dealings and disastrous wheelings dumped onto anyone else in a long article.

 

I am praying for deVIDed ponds in the coming September cool if we manage herd immunity when they really mean herd stupidity. Why take advice from scientist or doctors warning of severe consequences. "We have met the enemy and he is us!" Pogo.

 

The streams in the Rockies are perfect for wading (and fly fishing) especially now that the heat is still boring into the valley. I was ready to jump in a stream but I am cowering inside lately. Historic Longmonters bailed for mountain cabins for much of the early day summers. So much for my sitting inside with a fan behind uninsulted brick walls and beneath uninsulated attics.

  

Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Stadium

  

Yankee Stadium is a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It serves as the home ballpark for the New York Yankees, replacing the previous Yankee Stadium, built in 1923. The new ballpark was constructed across the street, north-northeast of the 1923 Yankee Stadium, on the former site of Macombs Dam Park. The ballpark opened April 2, 2009, when the Yankees hosted a workout day in front of fans from the Bronx community. The first game at the new Yankee Stadium was a pre-season exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs played on April 3, 2009, which the Yankees won 7–4.[4] The first regular season game was played on April 16, a 10–2 Yankee loss to the Cleveland Indians.[5][6]

 

Much of the stadium incorporates design elements from the previous Yankee Stadium, paying homage to the Yankees' history. Although stadium construction began in August 2006, the project of building a new stadium for the Yankees is one that spanned many years and faced many controversies. The stadium was built on what had been 24 acres (97,000 m2) of public parkland. Replacement ballfields, slated to open when the new stadium did, have not been completed. Also controversial was the price tag of $2.3 billion, including $1.2 billion in taxpayer subsidies.[7] It was the third most expensive stadium[citation needed] after Wembley Stadium in London and New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[citation needed]

 

Contents [hide]

1 History

1.1 Planning

1.2 Construction

1.3 Financing

2 Features

2.1 Design and layout

2.2 Field dimensions and playing surface

2.2.1 Comparison with the 1923 Stadium

2.3 Amenities and facilities

3 Accessibility and transportation

4 Public opinion

4.1 Opening and public perception

5 Yankee Stadium firsts

6 Other events

7 See also

8 References

9 External links

  

[edit] History

[edit] Planning

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner began campaigning for the building of a new stadium in the 1980s, even alleging unsafe conditions around the original Yankee Stadium despite the possibility that such statements could discourage attendance at his own team's games. Yankees ownership allegedly planned to move the team across the Hudson River to New Jersey. The Yankees also considered moving to the West Side of Manhattan, which was where the proposed West Side Stadium would later be considered for the New York Jets.[8][9]

 

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had already been instrumental in the construction of taxpayer-funded minor league baseball facilities MCU Park for the Mets' minor league Brooklyn Cyclones and Richmond County Bank Ballpark for the Staten Island Yankees. Shortly before leaving office in December 2001, he announced "tentative agreements" for both the New York Yankees and New York Mets to build new stadiums. Of $1.5 billion sought for the stadiums, city and state taxpayers would pick up half the tab for construction, $800 million, along with $390 million on extra transportation.[10] The plan also said that the teams would be allowed to keep all parking revenues, which state officials had already said they wanted to keep to compensate the state for building new garages for the teams.[11] The teams would keep 96% of ticket revenues and 100% of all other revenues, not pay sales tax or property tax on the stadium, and would get low-cost electricity from the state of New York.[11] Business officials criticized the plan as giving too much money to successful teams with little reason to move to a different city.[11]

 

Michael Bloomberg, who succeeded Giuliani as mayor in 2002, called the former mayor's agreements "corporate welfare" and exercised the escape clause in the agreements to back out of both deals, saying that the city could not afford to build new stadiums for the Yankees and Mets. Bloomberg said that unbeknownst to him, Giuliani had inserted a clause in this deal which loosened the teams' leases with the city and would allow the Yankees and Mets to leave the city on 60 days' notice to find a new home elsewhere if the city backed out of the agreement.[10][11] At the time, Bloomberg said that publicly funded stadiums were a poor investment. Under Bloomberg, the New York City government would only offer public financing for infrastructure improvements; the teams would have to pay for the stadium themselves.

 

The proposal for the current stadium was unveiled by the Yankees in 2004. The team scrapped plans to build a retractable roof, saving $200 million in construction costs.[12]

 

[edit] Construction

 

The stadium under construction in 2007 (top), and the completed venue next to the remains of the former facility in 2010 (bottom)Groundbreaking ceremonies for the stadium took place on August 16, 2006, the 58th anniversary of Babe Ruth's death, with Steinbrenner, Bloomberg and then-Governor of New York George Pataki among the notables donning Yankees hard hats and wielding ceremonial shovels to mark the occasion.[13][14] The Yankees continued to play in the previous Yankee Stadium during the 2007 and 2008 seasons while their new home stadium was built across the street.

 

During construction of the stadium, a construction worker and avid Boston Red Sox fan, buried a replica jersey of Red Sox player David Ortiz underneath the visitors' dugout with the objective of placing a "hex" on the Yankees, much like the "Curse of the Bambino" that had plagued the Red Sox long after trading Ruth to the Yankees. After the worker was exposed by co-workers, he was forced to help exhume the jersey.[15] The Yankees organization then donated the retrieved jersey to the Jimmy Fund, a charity started in 1948 by the Red Sox' National League rivals, the Boston Braves, but long championed by the Red Sox and particularly associated with Ted Williams.[16][17] The worker has since claimed to have buried a 2004 American League Championship Series program/scorecard, but has not said where he placed it.[18] These attempts did not work; the Yankees won the World Series in their first year in the new stadium.[19]

 

[edit] Financing

$1.5 million of New York state tax revenue will be used to build parking garages (as authorized by the State Legislature). The parking garage project would cost $320 million. City and state taxpayers will forgo up to $7.5 million annually in lost taxes resulting from the sale of $225 million in tax-exempt bonds authorized on October 9, 2007, by the New York City Industrial Development Agency (administered by the New York City Economic Development Corporation) to finance construction and renovation of the parking garages.[20][21] However, if the parking revenues are not enough to pay a reported $3.2 million land lease to the city, the entity that will operate the parking garages and collect revenue will be able to defer that payment.[22]

 

[edit] Features

The new stadium is meant to be very similar in design to the original Yankee Stadium, both in its original 1923 state and its post-renovation state in 1976. The exterior resembles the original look of the 1923 Yankee Stadium. The interior, a modern ballpark with greater space and increased amenities, features a playing field that closely resembles the previous ballpark before its closing. The stadium features 4,300 club seats and 68 luxury suites.

 

[edit] Design and layout

 

The Indiana limestone exterior, shown at Gate 4, mirrors the exterior of the original Yankee Stadium in 1923.The stadium was designed by the architect firm Populous (formerly HOK Sport). The exterior was made from 11,000 pieces of Indiana limestone, along with granite and pre-cast concrete.[23] The design closely mirrors the exterior of the original Yankee Stadium when it first opened in 1923.[23] The exterior features the building's name V-cut and gold-leaf lettered above each gate.[23] The interior of the stadium is adorned with hundreds of photographs capturing the history of the Yankees. The New York Daily News newspaper partnered with the Yankees for the exhibition "The Glory of the Yankees Photo Collection", which was selected from the Daily News' collection of over 2,000 photographs.[24] Sports & The Arts was hired by the Yankees to curate the nearly 1,300 photographs that adorn the building from sources including the Daily News, Getty Images, the Baseball Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball.

 

The seats are laid out similar to the original stadium's stands, with grandstand seating that stretches beyond the foul poles, as well as bleacher seats beyond the outfield fences. The Field Level and Main Level comprise the lower bowl, with suites on the H&R Block Level, and the Upper Level and Grandstand Level comprising the upper bowl.[25] Approximately two-thirds of the stadium's seating is in the lower bowl, the inverse from the original Yankee Stadium.[25] Approximately 51,000 fans can be seated, with a standing room capacity of 52,325.[26] The new stadium's seating is spaced outward in a bowl, unlike the stacked-tiers design at the old stadium. This design places most fans farther back but lower to the field, by about an average of 30 feet (9.1 m). Over 56 suites are located within the ballpark, triple the amount from the previous stadium.[23] Seats are 19–24 inches (48–61 cm) wide, up from the previous stadium's 18–22-inch (46–56 cm) wide seats, while there is 33–39 inches (84–99 cm) of leg room, up from 29.5 inches (75 cm) of leg room in the previous stadium.[25] Many lower level seats are cushioned, while all seats are equipped with cupholders.[25] To allow for the extra seating space, the stadium's capacity is reduced by more than 4,000 seats in comparison to the previous stadium.[25]

  

The frieze that lined the roof of the original Yankee Stadium from 1923-1973 is replicated in its original location.Many design elements of the ballpark's interior are inspired by the original Yankee Stadium. The roof of the new facility features a replica of the frieze that was a trademark of the previous ballpark.[25] In the original Yankee Stadium, a copper frieze originally lined the roof of the upper deck stands, but it was torn down during the 1974–75 renovations and replicated atop the wall beyond the bleachers.[25] The new stadium replicates the frieze in its original location along the upper deck stands.[25] Made of steel coated with zinc for rust protection, it is part of the support system for the cantilevers holding up the top deck and the lighting on the roof.[27] The wall beyond the bleacher seats is "cut out" to reveal the subway trains as they pass by, like they were in the original facility. A manually-operated auxiliary scoreboard is built into the left and right field fences, in the same locations it existed in the pre-renovation iteration of the original Yankee Stadium.[25]

  

The Great Hall is situated along the southern front of the stadium.Between the exterior perimeter wall and interior of the stadium is the "Great Hall", a large concourse that runs between Gates 4 and 6.[28] With seven-story ceilings, the Great Hall features more than 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2) of retail space and is lined with 20 banners of past and present Yankees superstars.[28] The Great Hall features a 5-by-383-foot (1.5 by 117 m) LED (light-emitting diode) ribbon display as well as a 25' by 36' LED video display above the entrance to the ballpark from Daktronics, a company in ‹See Tfd›Brookings, South Dakota.[28] [28]

 

Monument Park, which features the Yankees' retired numbers, as well as monuments and plaques dedicated to distinguished Yankees, has been moved from its location beyond the left field fences in the original Yankee Stadium to its new location beyond the center field fences at the new facility. The newly relocated Monument Park is now situated under the sports bar, this choice of location has drawn criticism as the many monuments are underneath the sports bar and not as in the open as in the previous Yankee Stadium. Fueling this criticism has been the advent of black shades that cover monuments on the back wall during games to prevent interference with the vision of the batter.[29] The new location of the monuments is meant to mirror their original placement in center field at the original pre-renovation Yankee Stadium, albeit when they were on the playing field. The transfer of Monument Park from the old stadium to the new stadium began on November 10, 2008.[30] The first monuments were put in place on February 23, 2009.[31] Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera requested that the Yankees reposition the team's bullpen, as well as add a door to connect the Yankees' bullpen to Monument Park, in order to allow access to it by Yankee relievers. The organization complied with his request.[23][32]

 

[edit] Field dimensions and playing surface

 

The view from the Grandstand Level (400 Level).The field dimensions for the outfield fences have the same distance markers as the original facility prior to closing yet the dimensions are not identical.[33] Due to the design of the right-field stands and the inclusion of an embedded manual scoreboard, the right-field wall is an average of 5 feet (1.5 m) closer to home plate.[34] Overall, the fences measure 318 feet (97 m) to left field, 399 feet (122 m) to left-center field, 408 feet (124 m) to center field, 385 feet (117 m) to right-center field, and 314 to right field.[25][26] At the old Yankee Stadium, the right field wall curved from the right-field corner to straightaway center, while at the new ballpark the fence takes a sharp, almost entirely straight angle.[34] This results in a difference at certain points between the right field markers of as much as 9 feet (2.7 m).[34] The dimensions in left field are substantially the same despite the presence of an embedded auxiliary scoreboard there as well.[34]

 

The outfield fences measure 8 feet 5 inches (2.57 m) high from the left-field foul pole until the Yankees' bullpen, when the fences begin to gradually descend in height until the right field foul pole, where they are only 8 feet (2.4 m) tall.[25] This also marks a decrease from the previous Yankee Stadium, where the outfield walls stood at a height of approximately 10 feet (3.0 m).[33] The distance from home plate to the backstop is 52 feet 4 inches (15.95 m), a reduction of 20 feet (6.1 m) from the previous facility.[26] The field is made up of Kentucky bluegrass, the same surface as the previous stadium, which is grown on a 1,300 acres (530 ha) farm in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The grass is equipped with a drainage system (featuring over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) of pipe) that makes the field playable an hour after taking 2 inches (51 mm) of rain.[25]

 

[edit] Comparison with the 1923 Stadium

Characteristic Old Stadium [as of 2008] New Stadium

Opening Day April 18, 1923 April 16, 2009

Capacity 56,866 52,325 [35](including standing room)

Seat width 18 inches (46 cm)–22 inches (56 cm) 19 inches (48 cm)–24 inches (61 cm)

Legroom 29.5 inches (75 cm) 33 inches (84 cm)–39 inches (99 cm)

Concourse width (average) 17 feet (5.2 m) 32 feet (9.8 m)

Cup holders Select Field Level Seating For every seat in General Seating

Luxury suites 19 56

Club Seats N/A 4,300

Team stores 6,800 square feet (630 m2) 11,560 square feet (1,074 m2)

Restroom fixture ratio 1 per 89 fans 1 per 60 fans

Public elevators

(passenger lifts) 3

(Otis Traction) 16

(KONE Traction)

Video scoreboard 25 feet (7.6 m) by 33 feet (10 m)

(Standard Definition LED) 59 feet (18 m) by 101 feet (31 m)

(High Definition LED)

Distance from Home Plate to:

Backstop 72 feet 4 inches (22 m) 52 feet 4 inches (16 m)

Left Field 318 feet (97 m)

Left Center 399 feet (122 m)

Center Field 408 feet (124 m)

Right Center 385 feet (117 m)

Right Field 314 feet (96 m)

Sources: The New York Yankees [26] and Andrew Clem [36]

 

[edit] Amenities and facilities

 

A signature by Babe Ruth is one of many autographs in the "ball wall", the centerpiece of the Yankee Museum.Yankee Stadium features a wide array of amenities. It contains 63 percent more space, 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) more in total, than the previous stadium, with wider concourses and open sight lines on concourses.[23] Along with 227 miles (365 km) of wired Ethernet cable, the building has sufficient fiber-optic cable wiring that Cisco Vice President and Treasurer David Holland calls the building "future proof".[23] Over 1,100 high-definition video monitors are placed within the stadium and approximately $10 million worth of baseball merchandise is housed within the ballpark.[23]

 

The center field scoreboard, which measures 59 x 101 feet (31 m) and offers 5,925 square feet (550.5 m2) of viewing area, was the third-largest high definition scoreboard in the world when it opened (behind the 8,736-square-foot (811.6 m2) board at newly renovated Kauffman Stadium and the new 8,066-square-foot (749.4 m2) board at the renovated Tokyo Racecourse).[37] Since then, it has also been surpassed by the world's largest scoreboard at the new Cowboys Stadium.[38] Displaying 5,925 ft (1,806 m)² of video, the scoreboard can display four 1080p high definition images simultaneously.[25]

 

The Yankees clubhouse features 30,000 ft (9,100 m)² of space, over 2.5 times the space of the clubhouse from the previous facility.[39] The dressing area alone features 3,344 ft (1,019 m)² of space, with each locker equipped with a safety deposit box and touch-screen computer.[39] The Yankees clubhouse features a weight room, training room, video room, and lounge area, while both teams' clubhouses have their own indoor batting cages.[39] The Yankees' therapy room features a hydrotherapy pool with an underwater treadmill.[39] The Yankees are believed to be the first team to chemically treat their uniforms, as well as the showering surfaces with an anti-bacterial agent that reduces the risk of infection.[39]

 

The Yankees Museum, located on the lower level at Gate 6, displays a wide range of Yankees' memorabilia.[40] A "Ball Wall" features hundreds of balls autographed by past and present Yankees, and there are plans to eventually add autographs for every living player who has played for the Yankees.[40] The centerpiece of the museum is a tribute to Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, with a commemorative home plate in the floor and statues of Larsen pitching to Yogi Berra.[40] Along with a facsimile of a current locker from the Yankees' clubhouse, fans can view the locker of the late Thurman Munson, which sat unoccupied in the previous stadium's Yankee clubhouse in honor of Munson.[40]

 

The ballpark offers a wide choice of restaurants. There are 25 fixed concessions stands, along with 112 moveable ones.[28] A Hard Rock Cafe is located within the ballpark, but it is open to anyone at the 161 St. and River Ave. entrance year round.[28] The Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium officially opened on March 30, 2009, and an opening ceremony took place on April 2, 2009.[41] A steakhouse called NYY Steak is located beyond right field.[28] Celebrity chefs will occasionally make appearances at the ballpark's restaurants and help prepare food for fans in premium seating over the course of the season.[28] Above Monument Park in center field is the Mohegan Sun sports bar, whose tinted black glass acts as the ballpark's batter's eye. The sports bar obstructs the view of approximately 600 bleacher seats in the right and left field bleachers, preventing fans from seeing the action occurring deep in the opposite side of the outfield. In response, the Yankees installed TV monitors on the sides of the sports bar's outer walls, and have reduced the price of these obstructed-view seats from $12 to $5.[42][43]

 

[edit] Accessibility and transportation

 

The stadium is serviced via subway by the 161st Street station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line (top) (as well as the IND Concourse Line; not shown) and via railroad by the East 153rd Street Metro North station (bottom)The stadium is reachable via the 161st Street – Yankee Stadium station complex, the same that served the old Yankee Stadium, by the 4 B D trains of the New York City Subway. It is also served by the Yankees - East 153rd Street (Metro-North station), which opened on May 23, 2009,[44] which routinely features Hudson Line train service, but on game days, Harlem Line and New Haven Line trains as well as shuttle trains from Grand Central Terminal also platform there. The stadium is also served by multiple bus lines. On game days, NY Waterway operates the "Yankee Clipper" ferry route stopping at Port Imperial (Weehawken) and Hoboken in New Jersey and West 38th Street, the Wall Street Ferry Pier, and East 34th Street in Manhattan, and New York Water Taxi operates a free ferry to the stadium from the Wall Street Ferry Pier before every game only. For selected games, SeaStreak provides high-speed ferry service to Highlands, New Jersey.

 

Yankee Stadium is accessible by car via the Major Deegan Expressway (Interstate 87), with connections to Interstate 95, Interstate 278 and other major thoroughfares. Aside from existing parking lots and garages serving the stadium, construction for additional parking garages is planned. The New York State Legislature agreed to $70 million in subsidies for a $320 million parking garage project. On October 9, 2007, the New York City Industrial Development Agency approved $225 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance construction of three new parking garages that will have 3,600 new parking spaces, and renovation of the existing 5,569 parking spaces nearby.[45] Plans initially called for a fourth new garage, but this was eliminated before the final approval. The garages will be built (and renovated) by the Community Initiatives Development Corporation of Hudson, N.Y., a nonprofit entity that will use the parking revenue to repay the bonds and pay a $3 million yearly land lease to the City of New York. Parking is expected to cost $25 per game.[45]

 

[edit] Public opinion

[edit] Opening and public perception

 

Four F-16C Fighting Falcons from the 174th Fighter Wing fly over the "New" Yankee Stadium on Opening DayAlthough Yankee Stadium has been praised for its amenities and its usage of "classic" design elements from the original facility, the new stadium has been widely criticized for fan-unfriendly practices.[46][47] Seats within the first eight rows in the lower bowl, called the "Legends Suite", rank among the highest priced tickets in professional sports, with the average ticket in the section selling for $510 and the most expensive single game-day ticket costing $2,600.[46] Legends Suite Seats have been regularly empty, with many ticket holders in this section having given up their tickets, and others remaining unsold, despite most other seats in the ballpark selling out. This has created an "embarrassing" image on television of the seats behind home plate being almost completely vacant.[46] Consequently, a surplus of tickets for Legends Seats have emerged in the secondary market, and with supply exceeding demand, resale prices have dropped. Empty seats in the Legends Suite could even be seen during the 2009 playoffs, including World Series games. Even though all playoff games have been sellouts, Legends Suite ticket holders are in the lounges and the restaurant underneath instead of their seats.[48][49]

 

Legends Suite seats are also separate from the other lower bowl seating and are vigorously patrolled by stadium security, with the divider being described as a "concrete moat".[46][47] Fans that do not have tickets within this premium section in the front rows are not allowed to access it or stand behind the dugouts during batting practice to watch players hit and request autographs.[46][47]

 

The Yankee Stadium staff was also criticized for an incident during a May 4, 2009 game, which was interrupted by a rain delay.[50] Fans were told by some staff members that the game was unlikely to resume and consequently, many fans exited the stadium, only for the game to eventually resume play.[50] The fans that left the ballpark were not permitted to re-enter, per the stadium's re-entry policy, and many subsequently got into arguments with stadium personnel.[50] In response to the backlash the Yankees received for the incident, the staff members were required to sign a gag order preventing them from speaking to media, but they did indicate that communication for rain delays would be improved.[50]

 

After less than a season, cracks have appeared on the concrete ramps of the Stadium. The Yankees are trying to determine whether there was something wrong with the cement, or the ramps' installation or design. The company involved in designing the concrete mix were indicted on charges that they either faked or failed to perform some required tests and falsified the results of others.[51]

    

This article's factual accuracy may be compromised because of out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (September 2010)

 

In 2009, the stadium was criticized for its propensity for allowing home runs. In its opening season, 237 home runs were hit.Yankee Stadium has quickly acquired a reputation as a "bandbox" and a "launching pad" due to the high number of home runs hit at the new ballpark.[52][53][54][55][56][57] Through its first 23 games, 87 home runs were hit at the venue, easily besting Enron Field's (now called Minute Maid Park) previous record set in 2000.[58] Early in the season, Yankee Stadium was on pace to break Coors Field's 1999 single-season record of 303 home runs allowed, and the hometown New York Daily News newspaper started publishing a daily graphic comparing each stadium's home run totals through a similar number of games.

 

ESPN commentator Peter Gammons has denounced the new facility as "one of the biggest jokes in baseball" and concludes that "[it] was not a very well-planned ballpark."[54] Likewise, Gammons' ESPN colleague Buster Olney has described the stadium as being "on steroids" and likened it to his childhood Wiffle-ball park.[52][59] Newsday columnist Wallace Matthews joined in the criticism, labeling the stadium "ridiculous" and decrying its cheapening of the home run.[53] Former Yankee Reggie Jackson termed the park "too small" to contain current player Alex Rodriguez and suggested it might enable the third baseman to hit 75 home runs in a season.[53]

 

A variety of theories have been posited to account for the dramatic increase in home runs at the new Yankee Stadium over the original stadium, foremost among these the sharper angles of the outfield walls[34] and the speculated presence of a wind tunnel.[52] During construction of the new ballpark, engineers commissioned a wind study, the results of which indicated there would be no noticeable difference between the two stadiums.[60] The franchise is planning to conduct a second study, but Major League rules prohibit it from making any changes to the playing field until the off-season.[60]

 

An independent study by the weather service provider AccuWeather in June 2009 concluded that the shape and height of the right field wall, rather than the wind, is responsible for the proliferation of home runs at the stadium.[61] AccuWeather's analysis found that roughly 20% of the home runs hit at the new ballpark would not have been home runs at the old ballpark due to the gentle curve of its right field corner, and its 10-foot (3.0 m) wall height.[61] Nothing was observed in wind speeds and patterns that would account for the increase.[61]

 

The number of home runs hit at the new stadium slowed significantly as the season progressed,[62] but a new single-season record for most home runs hit at a Yankee home ballpark was nonetheless set in the Yankees' 73rd home game of 2009 when Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hit the 216th home run of the season at the venue, surpassing the previous record of 215 set at the original Yankee Stadium in 2005.[63]

 

In 2010, the rate of home runs were markedly less as of May 15, 2010, with 35 home runs hit in 14 games for 2.5 per game (a projection of 205 - in 2009, the stadium was at 2.93 per game for a total of 237.) Several reasons were given for the sudden dropoff in home runs, including a lower April 2010 temperature (56 degrees in comparison with 63 the previous year), slower winds, poor pitching, a change in direction in winds,[64] as well as removal of the original Yankee Stadium and the effect this has had on wind currents.[citation needed] ESPN suggested the prolific home run totals of 2009 were a fluke.[64]

 

[edit] Yankee Stadium firsts

 

Logo for the inaugural season at the Stadium.Before the official Opening Day against the Cleveland Indians April 16, 2009, the Yankees hosted a two-game exhibition series at the Stadium in early April against the Chicago Cubs.[5] Grady Sizemore of the Indians was the first player to hit a grand slam off of Yankee pitcher Dámaso Marte. The Indians and 2008 Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, spoiled the opening of the new stadium by winning 10-2. Before the Yankees went to bat for the first time, the bat that Babe Ruth used to hit his first home run at the old Yankee Stadium in 1923 was placed momentarily on home plate.[65] Jorge Posada hit the first Yankee home run in the new ballpark hitting his off Lee in the same game. Russell Branyan, while playing for the Seattle Mariners, was the first player to hit a home run off of the Mohegan Sun Restaurant in center field. Like its predecessor, the new Yankee Stadium hosted the World Series in its very first season; in the 2009 World Series, the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 2. It also became the latest stadium to host a World Series-clinching victory by its home team in the venue's first season (after the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series at Busch Stadium in 2006), when, on November 4, 2009, the Yankees won their 27th World Series championship against the Phillies. The Yankees are the only team to inaugurate two stadiums with World Series wins and also appeared in the 1976 World Series following the refurbishment of the original Yankee Stadium.

 

Statistic Exhibition Regular season Postseason

First game April 3, 2009

Yankees 7, Cubs 4 April 16, 2009

Indians 10, Yankees 2 October 7, 2009

Yankees 7, Twins 2

Ceremonial First Pitch Reggie Jackson Yogi Berra Eric T. Olson

First Pitch Chien-Ming Wang CC Sabathia CC Sabathia

First Batter Aaron Miles (Cubs) Grady Sizemore (Indians) Denard Span (Twins)

First Hit Aaron Miles (Cubs) Johnny Damon Denard Span (Twins)

First Yankees Hit Derek Jeter Johnny Damon Derek Jeter

First Home Run Robinson Cano Jorge Posada Derek Jeter

First Win Chien-Ming Wang Cliff Lee (Indians) CC Sabathia

First Save Jonathan Albaladejo Mariano Rivera (4/17) Mariano Rivera

 

[edit] Other events

 

Football configuration for new Yankee Stadium.The first ever non-baseball event at the Stadium took place on April 25, 2009, with pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen holding a “Historic Night of Hope” prayer service.[66]

 

A New York University graduation ceremony took place on May 13, 2009 with the address being delivered by U.S. Secretary of State and former New York Senator Hillary Clinton. The 2010 NYU ceremony featured alumnus Alec Baldwin as a speaker.[67]

 

The promotional tour for the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight began with an event at Yankee Stadium on September 10, 2009.

 

On June 5, 2010, Yuri Foreman fought Cotto in the first boxing match in The Bronx since 1976. The fight was referred to as the "Stadium Slugfest." Cotto defeated Foreman with a TKO in the ninth round.[68]

 

The Army Black Knights will play a college football game at Yankee Stadium against The Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 20, 2010. This will mark the two teams' first meeting in the Bronx since 1969.[69] Also, Army will play Air Force, Rutgers, and Boston College in 2011, 2012, and 2014 respectively at Yankee Stadium.

 

Yankee Stadium will also host the newly-created Pinstripe Bowl, an annual college football bowl game that will pit the third-place team from the Big East against the seventh-place team from the Big 12. Organizers plan to hold the inaugural game December 30, 2010.[70]

 

The Yankees were in discussions with the National Hockey League to have Yankee Stadium host the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. However, the NHL chose Heinz Field as the host. The stadium was a candidate to host the 2010 NHL Winter Classic before it was awarded to Boston's Fenway Park.[71]

 

Rappers Jay-Z and Eminem performed the first concert at Yankee Stadium on September 13, 2010.[72]

 

[edit] See also

Citi Field, a new baseball stadium for the New York Mets (National League) also opened in 2009, replacing the Mets' previous home Shea Stadium in northern Queens (New York City).

Barclays Center, an arena for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association to be built by and over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Atlantic Avenue railyards in northwestern Brooklyn (New York City) currently under construction.

New Meadowlands Stadium, a new football stadium for the New York Giants and the New York Jets of the National Football League which replaced Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey that opened in 2010.

Red Bull Arena, a new stadium for the Major League Soccer team New York Red Bulls that opened in 2010, replacing the team's previous home, Giants Stadium.

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^ Hoch, Bryan (July 20, 2009). "Yanks to host Notre Dame-Army game". MLB.com. mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090720&content_id=.... Retrieved 2010-01-16.

^ "First Pinstripe Bowl to Be Held Dec. 30". ESPN.com. March 9, 2010. sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4978803. Retrieved 2010-05-20.

^ "Yankee Stadium to host NHL game in 2011?". Newsday. July 20, 2009. www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankee-stadium-to-host-nh.... Retrieved 2010-01-16.

^ "Jay-Z, Eminem to play local ballparks". MLB.com. May 13, 2010. mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100512&content_id=.... Retrieved 2010-05-13.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yankee Stadium

Official Site

Virtual tour of new Yankee Stadium

Newsday.com New Yankee Stadium

Ballparks of Baseball

Ballparks.com overview of proposed stadium

Photographic Updates of the Construction of the New Yankee Stadium

Demolition of Yankee Stadium

Metro-North Railroad station at Yankee Stadium

  

Noble sentiment, won’t happen as long as defense industry lobbyists exist

Ariadne abandoned on Naxos watching the departing ship of Theseus. Fresco wall-painting. Roman. Pompeii. 3rd Styte. 1st Century AD. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers.

Mounted hunt after deer and boar in forest, with rustic shrine and divine couple (Flora and Vertumnus?). Meleager and the Caledonian boar? Fresco wall-painting. Roman. Pompeii. 3rd Styte. 1st Century AD. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers. Inventory number 111479

Purchased by the Ingham County Taxpayers for your Pleasure

This Memorial in Honor of the Baldwin Pioneers, who settled on this Indian Camping Ground, September 1836

 

Place here September 1936 to Perpetuate Their Memory by The Baldwin Clan

Marble relief from altar of lamb suckling with ewe and bull escaping from temple? building. Late Republican or early Imperial Roman, 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD. Praeneste (Palestrina). We saw the remaining panels of this altar on 7/22/16 in the Museum in Praeneste. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers.

Another from the Canary Wharf buildings photos.

 

This image has been used on this website - neweconomics.org/press/entry/37-7bn-taxpayer-reward-for-t...

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Thanks for your Views & Fave & your comments are always welcome.

 

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

 

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The city of Toronto as seen from Toronto Islands on Friday afternoon. Looks idyllic, doesn't it? Saturday ......the first day of the G20 summit....destroyed that illusion. Toronto's citizens had been riled for quite some time...ever since they learned that security for the summit & its pampered world leaders was costing the taxpayers $1.2 billion. Ever since the downtown core was turned into a police state with the erection of a massive steel & concrete fence around the "Red Zone" perimeter, creating extraordinary traffic inconvenience, unprovoked inquisition from security forces & economic loss to downtown businesses that were forced to close. But this is a democracy....to assemble & protest is a right. And so they did. Saturday morning. 10,000 or more gathered to voice their concerns on everything from homelessness & poverty to capitalism to AIDS to the war in Afganistan, as well as the incomprehensible cost of the summit. But what started as a very large & noisy but peaceful protest march turned ugly when the so called Black Bloc anarchist group splintered off & perpetrated senseless violence and malicious vandalism in the streets of Toronto, setting fire to police cruisers, smashing windows, destroying businesses & private property, throwing feces & bottles of urine. It looked like a war zone! This 'group', who hide their faces behind black scarves & bandanas, are not legitimate protesters. Not even Torontonians, it seems. They gather wherever the summits are held & act out, violently. The backlash of this episode was that every protester was now deemed a threat to G20 security & treated accordingly. And every protester now saw the police as the enemy. It was not a pretty sight. Over 900 people were arrested throughout the weekend, & locked up in a temporary detention centre. Many were officially charged today (Monday) with unlawful assembly!! What happened to democracy? Ah, but the world leaders were kept safe behind their fence. They had their meetings without incident. They talked the talk & made their big decisions. And that's what counts isn't it? Calculating the number of hours they were here, it breaks down to a cost to the taxpayers of one million dollars per minute!!! How can anybody make sense of that? Especially when media coverage shows a bunch of those leaders sitting around watching the England / Germany socccer game on Sunday !!

 

Corruption in Action

Or is it a waste of Taxpayers Money.?. Seen in Hull City Centre,

It was a sad day indeed yesterday when Tata Steel announced it would be closing down its two blast furnaces at Port Talbot. Up to 2,800 jobs will be axed under a taxpayer-funded shift in favour of greener steel made from an electric arc-furnace. This decision, together with British Steel’s decision in Scunthorpe to go the same way last November, means the UK will no longer have the ability to produce virgin steel from smelted iron ore often used in the manufacture of vehicles. No other G20 country has taken this radical step.

 

The decision prompted me to look at some of my RAW images. This is one of them with a London Paddington Swansea bound FGW-HST heading west through Port Talbot in the backdrop of the steel works and its two blast furnaces.

 

The town hall is not much to write home about, but there are plans to build a new one at the taxpayers expense. Important to have a good car since she carries a lot of paperwork and clothes change during a workday,

Clipped from - The Interior News newspaper - Smithers, British Columbia, Canada - 19 October 1988 - WALCOTT is a small community in British Columbia along the CN railway halfway between Telkwa (18 miles southeast of Telkwa) and Houston. It got its first official school in 1931 when a 16x20-foot log structure was built for this purpose. Local people donated all the labour for the construction of this building. R. Low was the first secretary-treasurer and Betty Murdock the first teacher. In the spring of 1936, the building burned down. A new frame building was erected about halfway between the highway and the Walcott bridge. The building was constructed by F. Cook, using taxpayers' money for labour and materials. The heavy stringers used for the floor were donated by local residents as they used the school for dances, etc. While the new building was being constructed, classes were held in a cabin owned by H. Beck. Later, a piano was purchased for the school with funds raised by holding dances and basket socials. The teachers boarded with some of the local residents. In later years, some of them lived in a small log cabin and later in a two-storey frame house across the river. For a short time, around 1953, one of the teachers, Mr. Dahl, also ran the WALCOTT Post Office from there. Around 1947 the school building was moved to a location closer to the Walcott bridge. Here it still sits on a two-acre lot on the corner of Walcott Road and Grouse Road. In 1959 the school had only a few students. When a family of five moved away the next spring, the school was forced to close. The building was sold and is still in use as a private residence. The population of WALCOTT in 1932 was 28.

 

The WALCOTT Post Office was established - 1 October 1925 and closed - 2 October 1966. The Post Office permanently closed due to the establishment of Telkwa RR No. 1.

 

LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the WALCOTT Post Office - central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=posoffposmas&id=6...

 

Clipped from - The Interior News newspaper - Smithers, British Columbia, Canada - 23 February 1966 - Authority has been granted for the establishment of a rural route at Telkwa, to serve four times a week the Quick Post Office and approximately ninety patrons residing on Highway 16, Round Lake Road and Woodmere Road. R.R. No. 1 Telkwa will also serve the five patrons of the WALCOTT Post Office which will be closed. Tenders are to be called shortly for an operator of this rural delivery service.

 

When this letter was posted at WALCOTT, British Columbia the Postmistresswas was Mary Adelaide Hemstreet. She served from - 1 October 1925 to - 14 May 1947.

 

Mary Adelaide (nee Sloan) Hemstreet was born on 22 January 1901, in Waynetown, Wayne Township, Montgomery, Indiana, United States, her father, Claude Albert Sloan, was 24 and her mother, Mary Elizabeth Huckery, was 23. She married Albert Kenzie Hemstreet in 1917, in Alberta, Canada. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 1 daughter. She lived in Wayne Township, Montgomery, Indiana, United States in 1910 and Alberta, Canada in 1916. She died on 15 August 1987, in Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, at the age of 86. LINK to her newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/clip/107498619/the-interior-news/ - LINK to her death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/34...

 

Her husband - Albert "Bert" Kenzie Hemstreet

(b. 6 October 1890 in Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario, Canada – d. 15 November 1972 at age 82 in Victoria, Capital, British Columbia, Canada) - he owned the General Store in Walcott, B.C. and was also the towns blacksmith. LINK to his newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/clip/107498674/obituary-for-albert-k-h... - LINK to his death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/d8...

 

- sent from - / WALCOTT / MR 2 / 33 / B.C / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-1) was proofed - 26 September 1925 - (RF C).

 

Addressed to: Campana Corporation / 2503 Lincoln Highway, / Batavia, Illinois / USA

 

CAMPANA CORPORATION LIMITED is a federal corporation entity registered with Corporations Canada. The incorporation date is January 14, 1927. Its first product was Italian Balm, a hand lotion. The formula was purchased from a Dr. Campana, from where the company derives its name. It also produced facial and pore cleaners.

 

Some time prior to the year 1885 a druggist in Toronto, Canada, began to manufacture and sell a hand lotion which he called Campana's Italian Balm. Some sales were made in the United States. The lotion continued to be sold under that name by him and his successors in a comparatively small way until 1926, when the plaintiff acquired the formula and all rights to the trade-mark, trade-name, or goodwill, and began to manufacture the product at Batavia, Ill.

On June 14, 2025, Flag Day in America, the 250th Anniversary of the US Army, and President Trump's 79th birthday, at least 1,800 protests were held in every state across the US. This parade came at an estimated cost to the US taxpayers of $40 million dollars, all while indiscriminately cutting critical programs and firing an array of the best and brightest people who have vast experience in the management thereof.

 

"The No Kings protests (also known as No Kings Day or No Dictators Day/protests) were a series of demonstrations that took place on June 14, 2025, the day of the US Army 250th Anniversary Parade and the 79th birthday of US president Donald Trump, in protest of Trump's policies and actions during his second presidency. It is estimated that millions of people participated in over 2,000 events nationwide in the largest coordinated protests since the start of the second Trump administration.

 

"The No Kings protests were aimed at opposing the US Army 250th Anniversary Parade organized by the Donald Trump administration. Due to the parade coinciding with President Trump's 79th birthday, anti-Trump activists have interpreted the event as an example of Trump using the US Armed Forces to conduct an authoritarian or king-like celebration of himself. The protests followed several days of demonstrations against ICE raids across the US, including in Los Angeles, where Trump deployed both the California National Guard and the US Marine Corps.

 

"The American Federation of Teachers and Communications Workers of America organized the protests. The "No Kings" theme was created by the 50501 movement and derives its name from the perceived authoritarian or tyrannical behavior of Trump and his administration. Critics and activists have compared Trump to an absolute monarch due to his defiance of court orders, extralegal deportations, and perceived disregard for civil rights. Democrats Abroad organized solidarity protests internationally with the term of "No Tyrants", as many countries have monarchs as heads of state. Its message was, "We reject authoritarianism. We reject fear. We reject tyrants.

 

"Trump publicly opposed the demonstrations and stated that protestors interfering with the parade itself would be "met with heavy force." (Wikipedia)

 

Read more here: www.fastcompany.com/91348664/no-kings-day-june-14-protest...

 

www.yahoo.com/news/more-1-200-people-join-204500654.html

 

www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/photos-hundreds-rally-at-no-kin...

 

*See the same person below at the beginning of the day. below.

but doesn't have to take the civil service examination :-) Ronald Reagan

HPPT!! (Happy pretty pink twosday :-))

 

Japanese camellia, 'Tama Peacock', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina

Covered coal conveyors extend out of one of the sorting towers at LAXT, a former state of the art facility for transporting coal to awaiting ships bound for the Orient.

 

The site was abandoned only a few years after opening, when coal sources in Australia and Asia became viable. LAXT is currently bound up in numerous law suits and conflict of interest battles, partially because the city of LA spent millions in taxpayer's money to complete the project.

 

Nighttime, full moon peeking over the conveyor tube.

What we at Hummingbird use in an entire year to keep each of our kids off the streets, the government uses each week to incarcerate kids who are in conflict with the law, locked away in public reform centers, better known as criminal high schools. We actually use a great deal of our taxpayer’s money to train hardened criminals in Brazil, certainly not to recuperate them!

 

Just take a look at our photos and tell me who’s losing out in this game! If you think we’re worth the small investment needed to keep a kid off the streets instead of in and out of the state sponsored criminal high schools, then simply go ahead and do your little bit, your concrete little action! We need you and so do our kids, because if we are to wait for government reforms to do the job, we too will end up joining the ranks of our kids on the losing end!

 

Please join Marília (MYLENS) in her initiative to reach for the stars and help the children that can still be rescued if we wish so, if you wish so!

 

Taken with Canon Powershot S300

A closed grocery store. The taxpayers of Peoria are still paying for this development project.

 

Portra 400.

City Hall is a building in Southwark, London which previously served as the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA) between July 2002 and December 2021. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge. In June 2020, the Greater London Authority started a consultation on proposals to vacate City Hall and move to The Crystal, a GLA-owned property in Newham, at the end of 2021.[2] The decision was confirmed on 3 November 2020 and the GLA vacated City Hall on 2 December 2021.[3] The Southwark location is ultimately owned by the government of Kuwait.[4]

 

History

City Hall was designed by Norman Foster and was constructed at a cost of £43 million[5] on a site formerly occupied by wharves serving the Pool of London. It opened in July 2002, two years after the Greater London Authority was created, and was leased rather than owned by the Greater London Authority.[6] Despite its name, City Hall is not in and does not serve a city (according to UK law), often adding to the confusion of Greater London with the City of London, which has its headquarters at Guildhall. In June 2011, Mayor Boris Johnson announced that for the duration of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the building would be called London House.[7]

 

In November 2020, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced plans to vacate City Hall at the end of 2021 and relocate to The Crystal in the Royal Victoria Docks area of East London.[8][9][2] Khan cited the high cost of rent as reasoning for relocating the Greater London Authority headquarters, stating that vacating the City Hall in favour of a property owned by the authority would save it £55 million over the course of five years.[10]

 

Design

The building has an unusual, bulbous shape, purportedly intended to reduce its surface area and thus improve energy efficiency, although the excess energy consumption caused by the exclusive use of glass (in a double facade) overwhelms the benefit of shape. Despite claiming the building "demonstrates the potential for a sustainable, virtually non-polluting public building",[11] energy use measurements have shown this building to be fairly inefficient in terms of energy use (375 kWh/m2/yr), with a 2012 Display Energy Performance Certificate rating of "E".[12] It has been compared variously to a helmet (either Darth Vader's or simply a motorcyclist's), a misshapen egg, and a woodlouse. Former mayor Ken Livingstone referred to it as a "glass testicle",[13][14] while his successor, Boris Johnson, made the same comparison using a different word, "The Glass Gonad"[15] and more politely as "The Onion".[16]

 

A 500-metre (1,640 ft) helical walkway ascends the full ten storeys. At the top is an exhibition and meeting space with an open viewing deck that was occasionally open to the public. The walkway provides views of the interior of the building, and is intended to symbolise transparency; a similar device was used by Foster in his design for the rebuilt Reichstag (parliament), when Germany's capital was moved back to Berlin. In 2006 it was announced that photovoltaic cells would be fitted to the building by the London Climate Change Agency.[17]

 

The debating chamber was located at the bottom of the helical stairway. The seats and desks for Assembly Members were arranged in a circular form.[18]

 

Location

The building is located on the River Thames in the London Borough of Southwark, as part of the extended pedestrianised South Bank. It forms part of a larger development called More London, including offices and shops. The nearest London Underground and National Rail station is London Bridge. Wikipedia

Mounted hunt after deer and boar in forest, with rustic shrine and divine couple (Flora and Vertumnus?). Meleager and the Caledonian boar? Fresco wall-painting. Roman. Pompeii. 3rd Styte. 1st Century AD. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers. Inventory number 111479

The $24.5 million Peace Bridge was opened in March, 2012. There have been quite a few overpasses and bridges over the Bow River, which are more than enough for pedestrians and automobiles to commute. This pretty much useless infrastructure represents a more tourist attraction rather than its functionality. The money could be spent on other most needed projects, such as public health, schools and those bumpy roads.

Actaeon surprising Diana and her nymphs bathing in a landscape with ruined column, mountains and trees. This painting looks as if it could have been the source for half of the lanscapes of Italian paintings of the 1500s. Fresco wall-painting. Roman. Pompeii. 4th Styte. 1st Century AD. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Napoli, Campania, Italy. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier. Special exhibit on landscapes in ancient art. So poorly mounted and displayed, you wondered why they bothered to hold it. A pity, because it contained some lovely pieces. Clear example of the contempt the Italian Archaeological Services have for their audience and taxpayers.

Waste of taxpayers money.

It'll warm up soon - maybe