The Other SBY News

Not in Nottingham

2012-01-24T12:16:00.005-05:00

We'd like to dedicate this song to the City of Salisbury, which upon the firing of Paul Wilber has become our own version of the legendary, corrupted Nottingham, through and through.

We Hate To Say It But.........

2012-01-23T14:37:00.001-05:00

We Told You So!

The Other SBYNews Team would like to add that although we foresaw this turn of events we are still very saddened by them. Paul Wilber was a great attorney and a good man- he did not deserve this. Salisbury, as you play the City Council Drinking Game tonight, take a shot for Paul Wilber, Pam Oland, and Brenda Colegrove each of whom served our city with integrity despite the numerous difficulties of their positions.

Lest we forget:

Well Gulls, word on the street is that now that Terry, Tim, and Debbie are in charge of Council, some big changes are in the works. Just what are those changes you ask? According to our sources, the first thing on the agenda is to CLEAN HOUSE. So if you work for the City (and you aren't the Mayor) rumor has it that in the next month or so you will be asked to pack up your shit and scoot because the City of Salisbury will be hiring.

With that possibility in mind, we cordially invite Paul Wilber, Tom Stevenson, Pam Oland, John Pick, and anybody else that might be on the chopping block this month to come on over here to The Other Salisbury News. The pay isn't great-actually there is no pay at all- BUT we will let you live in Headquarters AND we will share our canned food and cereal with you! Additionally you will have the chance to fulfill your dreams of becoming anonymous free-lance writers! Just picture it! A penniless cyber-crusade to save the City of Salisbury (soon to be called Gothem City) from its impending doom!

Don't you remember how bad-ass Captain Planet was? Remember his team of youth activists that all banned together to save their city with Earth! Water! Wind! And Fire! (Insert multi-cultured fist pump here). Well you could be part of that! Just imagine how amazing our joint fist pump would be: Agenda (John)! Budget (Pam)! Projected Legal Impact (Paul)! Code Enforcement (Tom)! and Blog Power (Team of The Other Salisbury News)! Can you even fathom what incredible superhero would be magically conjured by the unstoppable power of our combined efforts?!?! OH. MY. GOD. Bob Caldwell.

Anyway- we just wanted to tell you that there is at least one job opening here for all of you- if anything happens you just contact us and we will teleport you up to Headquarters for a meeting faster than you can say- well, we won't repeat that here. The same offer stands for anybody else that wants to get involved. Gulls- we are expanding at unprecedented speeds. Expect to start seeing us everywhere- if you want in, now's the time to email us. Good luck City Officials. And as always- Godspeed.

THE MOST IMPORTANT VIDEO YOU WILL EVER SEE

2012-01-15T14:23:00.014-05:00

Tom Davenport: That remark is an insult to this entire community.

Henry Drummond: And this community is an insult to the world.

That's right people. Joe's rag isn't the only blog with a video that can be used as a metaphor to help you understand the travesty that is the Salisbury City Council. We've got our own! And guess what? Ours is better. Of course, we don't really think this is the most important video you'll ever see. Nor do we believe that it is going to drastically alter your political opinions. But for the thousands of you who feel that you are being routinely screwed by Joe the Propaganda Boy and the Cult of Camden Ave. this might just make you feel better.

"A Bunch of Names on Paper"

2011-12-06T12:35:00.008-05:00

Why yes, Salisbury voters, that is a direct quote from your elected city official, Tim Spies. And yes, when he says "a bunch of names on paper," he is referring to you. Because thanks to the journalistic prowess of Times reporter Sarah Lake, we now know for sure that when "one-and-a-half times more than the number of people who voted in the last election" signs a petition objecting to council's actions, it means nothing.

Actually, it means less than nothing. We voters are so unimportant to council that they couldn't even be bothered to allow a question on the next ballot that would address our concerns with the amendment. That means they flat out refused a voter survey of their actions. In what world are elected officials openly allowed to reject voter input? Apparently, the world of Salisbury politics. Oh and here's one that'll make ya proud- they accused all 2,325 of us who signed the petition of lying. That's right. Mr. Spies justified sweeping us under the rug by claiming that for all he knew, none of the signatures were verified. We know, we know. It's hard to believe that anybody is really that shameless, but we live in Salisbury. And in Salisbury, pride doesn't come before the fall because it was never there to begin with.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM LAURA MITCHELL

2011-11-28T17:17:00.002-05:00

Trouble viewing this email? Read it online

Monday Night!
6:00pm	11/28/2011

City Council Meeting

Tomorrow night at 6:00pm in the Salisbury City Council Chambers, I will ask the Council to consider a Resolution to put the recent Charter Amendment on the 2013 ballot for a non-binding referendum vote.

More than 2,300 people signed the petition asking that the Council give the decision to determine the structure and operation of their government back to the voters. I heard that message loud and clear and I hope that my colleagues will as well. If you would like to help deliver the message of strength and unity and the desire for an inclusive City government in Salisbury, please join me at the meeting at 6:00pm.

You may speak during public comments if you wish, but there is no requirement to do so. Your presence will speak volumes. Please join me in turning up the volume of our message to a level that demands recognition.

I hope to see you there!

Laura Mitchell
Salisbury City Councilwoman
(410)422-2694
LauraMitchell.org

Government Office Building

The Council meeting will be held in the Council Chambers on the 3rd floor of the

Government Office Building
125 N Division Street
Salisbury MD 21801

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1309 J Middle Neck Drive
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2011-11-02T21:30:00.001-04:00

Press Release From Laura Mitchell

2011-10-29T16:50:00.001-04:00

October 29, 2011

Mitchell Assembles Supporters of Charter Amendment Petition

**Rainout Rescheduled**

On Saturday, November 5, 2011, supporters of the petition drive to force the recent amendment to the City Charter to a referendum vote will assemble at 10:00 am at the Bandstand in the Salisbury City Park, The petition was initiated by Salisbury City Councilwoman Laura Mitchell in response to what she has called hastily passed legislation. “All legislation deserves due diligence and consideration. The threshold for the passage of something as serious as a Charter Amendment that begins to change the structure of our City Government deserves that and more.”

At the gathering, participants will receive a briefing, petitions, and zone designations within the City. Volunteers will then visit residents in their designated zone to share information about the amendment and provide an opportunity to sign the petition to bring the charter amendment to a referendum vote where the citizens of Salisbury can make their voice heard on the issue.

“The citizens of Salisbury deserve to have a voice in this matter. A voice they did not have an opportunity to use in the seven (7) days it took to pass this amendment. A referendum will give Salisbury residents their voice back,” Mitchell said.

There is no requirement for an individual circulator of the petition to be a voter or resident in the City of Salisbury. Anyone interested in helping is invited to attend. Anyone interested in circulating the petition on their own should call (410)422-2694 or visit LauraMitchell.org to find out how.

Does the GOP Pizza Man Deliver?

2011-10-25T15:48:00.006-04:00

Despite being in the race since the first presidential debate (before even Romney had declared), former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Herman Cain, has been leading recent polls. Personally, I predict that this recent rise in popularity will be a short lived burst, but even with that in mind, I don't quite understand the hype. Cain has reduced his campaign to a soundbite, attempting to at least reference his 9-9-9 tax plan in his answers to almost every question asked of him in recent debates. Furthermore, he's also been accused of confusing a song used in the movie Pokemon 2000 with the closing song of the 2000 Olympic Games, after citing its lyrics as inspirational poetic quotes.

However, it wasn't until I saw his recent campaign video that I knew his candidacy was a joke. While watching the following video, keep in mind that it is not a parody:

The first 39 seconds or so seem like a typical, modern (if not a little bland) campaign ad, but then things start to get weird...

The music and cigarette initially seem very out of place; however, the more I think about it, the more it kind of makes sense. Herman Cain's Chief of Staff Mark Block realizes this may be his only time in the spotlight, so he is living it up in a truly hedonistic (or, perhaps, nihilistic) celebration.

After the awkward interlude, the campaign ad shows Cain's face to the audience for the first time in the video. ...But, that's where things go from weird to creepy. Cain's smile not only seems forced, he struggles with it for 6 seconds.

Overall, there's a good chance this video was made in such an odd manner in an attempt by the Cain campaign to utilize viral videos. On one hand, consider I am sharing the video, I suppose their strategy worked. Either way, Cain seems to neglect the fact that the message he is making viral may not help him secure the Republic nomination. If the campaign produced this video to spread awareness of Cain to a young, tech-savvy audience, I think he should just stick with what he does best- pizza. As a member of this target audience, I can attest that his 9-9-9 plan works much better as a pizza deal. A president running on a platform of "9 pizzas, 9 toppings, for $9" is much easier to stomach than Cain's current strategy.

Here Ye! Here Ye! By Order of The Imperial Council...

2011-10-10T19:14:00.008-04:00

If you didn't have the misfortune of watching this evenings horrific marathon city council meeting, The Other SBY News is here to fill you in: Salisbury's City Government is now under the control of what we shall henceforth be referring to as The Imperial Council (T.I.C. for short). Yes peasants, tonight's by-monthly civic disgrace yielded some very interesting results indeed as T.I.C. voted to alter the City Charter in order to give themselves the ability to appoint or dismiss private legal council, among other things. This little amendment which was passed despite the recurring objections of Councilwomen Mitchell and Shields, was voted into existence by Cohen, Campbell, and Spies. Shocker.

Just for clarity, here are some of reasons Shields and Mitchell cited for voting Nay:

The entire amendment was drawn up sloppily within one weeks time and is thus filled with all kinds of grammatical and ethical mistakes.
Legal council is already available to Council by way of phone, email, or at the very least good personal communication skills.
The public has not had time to be made fully aware of the amendment or been given enough information to form their opinion on it.
It tips the balance of power upon which our Strong-Mayor City Government is set up.
Only 2 City Councils in the entire state of Maryland have private authority over legal council.
It is a badly veiled attempt to counter any legal action being taken against Council by Mayor and thus has nothing to do with the taxpayers aside from the fact that it screws us.

Like all political factions climbing the power latter, T.I.C. all put on their best pandering hats to try to slip Resolution 2109 past the citizens radar unnoticed. They should have had a dress rehearsal. Here are just some of the contradictions which cropped up in Cohen, Campbell, and Spies badly choreographed attempts to hijack our city government:

Spies called Mitchell's attempt to make sure that the taxpayers aren't on the hook for increased legal costs "superfluous," insisting that her proposition to hold Council monetarily accountable for incurred fees "just wasn't efficient." Aside from the fact that this logic makes no sense let's take a moment to remember who its coming from: this is the same man who just weeks ago justified councils taking inventory on how many paper plates Urban Salisbury was allowed to purchase, yea and people wonder why they voluntarily disbanded.

Though Cohen impressed the point that she simply wanted Council to be viewed as more than "a legal afterthought, as they have been for many years," she shot that theory to shit when she went on this, shall we say, less than subtle 3rd person diatribe- "When the Council President is contacted by the Mayor as if the Council President is an employee and demands that the Council President write a letter to the state explaining a Council Vote, you better believe that this Council President will be seeking legal council." Yea, cause Cohen should never have to justify anything...especially not to the Mayor of the City...who she is basically boycotting. Silly man, what was he thinking?

Campbell, (who, by the end of the meeting was so desperate to convince us of her martyrdom that she was just seconds away from whipping out some kindling and tying herself to the flagpole) kept insisting that "our system is broken" and "must be fixed." And yet she has been working in this system for over a decade and this is the first that we have heard about it. How is that every other city in Maryland (barring 2) operates just fine with that system but in Salisbury, it is broken? Oh that's right, cause the Mayor is telling the necessary authorities that Campbell's political priorities make her a racist and she wants to retaliate from within the confines of city government... yea, that's what broke it.

The Mayor was absent from the meeting due to PTA...yea....but his letter addressed to the City Council, (which was read by John Pick) did a lovely job of calling T.I.C. out and throwing yet another wrench into this clusterf**k of an equation, "the city will shift from strong mayor to parliamentary" he said, simply so that the Council can fire the present city attorney and hire a new one. Great.

Still for The Other SBY News, the most ironic event of the night had to be the fact that throughout the entire debate about whether T.I.C. should have unfettered access to their own legal council (on the basis that they didn't have any), they were asking City Attorney Paul Wilber for his professional opinion. Makes ya proud, don't it?

2012 Election Update

2011-09-07T13:03:00.005-04:00

Tonight at 8 P.M., MSNBC will be hosting the next GOP debate of the 2012 election cycle. Attending will be Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Michelle Bachmann, Ron Paul, and making his presidential debate debut....Rick Perry. You can watch it streaming online here.

It seems many of the "top tier" candidates have been going through some rough spots in their campaign lately, which should make for an interesting debate tonight. For example, Bachmann had two of her key staffers step down. Also, the wildfires aren't the only thing from Texas putting heat on Gov. Rick Perry- he and fellow Texan Ron Paul have recently been exchanging metaphorical blows in response to Paul's new campaign ad. It's fitting that this conservative battle seemingly over who is more Reagan-esque will take place tonight at the Reagan Library in California. Overall, this should be interesting.

All of these GOP candidates are competing to challenge President Obama, who is currently facing low approval ratings, in the general election next year. While Obama will not be present at the debate tonight, he will address a joint-sessions of Congress and the American people in a televised speech that will be broadcast tomorrow evening.

WE'RE BAAACKKK!!!

2011-09-04T13:25:00.004-04:00

Hey there Gulls!! Welcome back!! We just wanted to pop in on this lovely Labor Day Weekend to wish you the best of luck in your back-to-school shenanigans and announce the Official Fall Revival of The Other Salisbury News- SU's most reliable source for parties, politics, and whatever else we decide is relevant. We'll be kicking off this autumn with a mass give-away of free merchandise (keep your eyes and ears open for the place and time) and a play-by-play review of the drama that you missed this summer- and boy was there drama.

At this time we are recruiting writers to cover SU Sports, College Culture (Music, Entertainment, etc.), the 2012 Elections, and Salisbury Police Reports. If you are interested in joining our team shoot us an email at theothersbynews@gmail.com (with a writing sample attached) and we'll get up with you. Have a great weekend Gulls! Have fun, be safe, and as always- Godspeed. Man, have we missed you!

Hurricane Irene IN DA HOUSEEEEEEE!

2011-08-25T15:20:00.000-04:00

Gulls,

We're obviously gearing up for a very bumpy weekend with the arrival of Irene. Irene is the type of chick that one should regard with caution. She's ferocious, robust, and undiscriminating. If you aren't ready for a girl like Irene, then your shits gonna get jacked up.

Salisbury University has already announced that Monday's classes have been canceled and they are constantly updating their Emergency Closing Webpage.

This website will assist you in weathering Irene's wrath.

So....We Just Had An Earthquake...

2011-08-23T14:00:00.006-04:00

According to the USGS Website, a good portion of the East Coast just experienced a 5.9 Earthquake. Here are FEMA's guidelines on the proper course of action... just in case we have another one:

What to Do During an Earthquake

Stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. Be aware that some earthquakes are actually foreshocks and a larger earthquake might occur. Minimize your movements to a few steps to a nearby safe place and if you are indoors, stay there until the shaking has stopped and you are sure exiting is safe.

If indoors

DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.
Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.
Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.
Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.
Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.
DO NOT use the elevators.

If outdoors

Stay there.
Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.
Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

If in a moving vehicle

Stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, and utility wires.
Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped. Avoid roads, bridges, or ramps that might have been damaged by the earthquake.

If trapped under debris

Do not light a match.
Do not move about or kick up dust.
Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

...We hope everyone is alright. Check on all your loved ones (and your buildings infrastructure) and be safe Delmarva!!

City Council Drinking Game!!!!!

2011-08-22T18:00:00.000-04:00

Here are the rules:

STEP 1: TUNE INTO CHANNEL 14 TONIGHT AT 6:00 PM

STEP 2: TAKE A SHOT (OR DRINK OF CHOICE) EVERY TIME...

TERRY "SHALL WE SAY" COHEN MAKES AN UNNECESSARY SPEECH INVOLVING HER DEDICATION TO THE PUBLIC

TIM LOOKS TO TERRY OR DEBORAH FOR HIS OPINION

LAURA MITCHELL HAS A GOOD IDEA, GETS SHOT DOWN

JIM CRACKS UNDER PRESSURE AND HAS A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, RUNS FROM ROOM

DEBBIE OFFERS A USELESS AMENDMENT/ ASKS FOR CLARIFICATION ABOUT SOMETHING MUNDANE

SHANIE TRIES TO SWAY COUNCIL WITH COMMON SENSE, FAILS

PUBLIC GIVES INPUT, GETS IGNORED

****BONUS SHOT IF TIM IS SPORTING A SWEATER-VEST*****

Have fun and drink responsibly!!! (Just in case somebody has to get their stomach pumped because Salisbury is so screwed up.)

'Scuse Me. Can I get a Little Privacy?

2011-08-04T23:37:00.005-04:00

So, Congress finally reached a deal on the debt ceiling. While I've heard various complaints from both sides, I personally think they were attempting to relate to college students and trying to get the youth-vote. Like most college students, they finished their group project on the day it was due, it didn't turn out the way that they originally envisioned, and now they're worried it will affect their grad e*.

But, now that they're finished with that, they can go back to doing what they do best...taking away our freedoms and placing its citizens under constant watch. H.R. 1981 requires Internet Service Providers (ISP) to keep a database tracking its users' personal information including names, addresses, and financial information. Personally, I don't like the idea of being watched and tracked by the government- I'm so terrified of Big Brother that my tinfoil hat has its own tinfoil hat. But, even if you buy into the whole, “you have nothing to be afraid of if you have nothing to hide,” argument, forcing ISPs to track all of this data for every one of its users is going to be costly, which we can expect to see manifest in the form of higher prices.

This bill is particularly challenging politically because of its name- Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011. Opponents of this bill run the risk of being labeled a pedophile and offer great material for smear ads come election season. Overall, I don't buy their “Think of the Children!” hysteria. Forcing companies to collect this data and surrender it to law enforcement agencies sets a dangerous precedent. It's easy to pass the law arguing that it will only be used to protect children from internet pornographers, but if the law were to pass it wouldn't surprise me if soon enough it were used in cases of illegally downloading music or movies or track whistleblowers, such as Wikileaks.

This strategy is not new to politics. It's hard to title a bill “The Citizen Surveillance Act”, so they title it something much more American, like “The Patriot Act.” If you don't support it, you are clearly unpatriotic. But, with fear of being banned from parks, school zones, and day cares everywhere, I'll gladly stand under my tinfoil hat and say this bill will not only fail to help children but may causes a lot of unintended consequences.

*Update: Like most projects done during an all-nighter, it seems that this one is going to hurt the country's GPA.

Muir Boda's Comments On The HBAA

2011-07-26T14:55:00.007-04:00

Every government, from the federal level to the municipal level must actively have a balance of power. The executive, legislative and judicial branches are necessary for proper checks and balance on each other. Authority is given to each branch so that it may execute its duties properly and in accordance with its own specific role. This is government 101.

The current situation that we have with talks of reducing the role, discretion and authority of the Housing Board of Adjustments and Appeals is one of great concern. There is even talk of eliminating the board as a whole.

The HBAA provides a vital role as it acts as part of the judicial branch of government. Every branch of enforcement and executive authority must have an equal branch of the judiciary. In this case, the HBAA acts as the judiciary to Neighborhood Services and Code Compliance which is an extension of the executive branch and enforces the housing code. The role fits perfectly in the system we have as it provides an independent entity to settle disputes between NSCC and those they issue citations to.

Removing the HBAA’s authority or eliminating the board would be a blow to due process when dealing with disputes that arise from alleged housing code violations. Every individual who is accused of a housing code violation or murder must be given the opportunity through due process to defend him or herself.

The great misconception is that landlords are the only ones that benefit from the HBAA.This is not true. Every property owner, whether a landlord or homeowner, property manager or a commercial business owner, has a right to appeal their cases to the HBAA.

So the question becomes what happens if we remove the authority or eliminate the HBAA? Several things will happen.

We remove an effective step in the course of due process where issues get resolved quickly and fairly.
We will increase the cost for the city and for those accused of housing infractions. The current board consists of volunteers. If this board is eliminated then the Circuit Court of Wicomico County is where all appeals will go. This will create a greater burden on a court system that is already overloaded. It will also create a greater burden on taxpayers as Circuit Court costs money to run to pay the judges, clerks and bailiffs.
The other cost is the City Attorney or Solicitor will be required to act as a prosecutor and will require additional funds to account for his time prosecuting housing code violations in Circuit Court.

This then puts citizens at a legal disadvantage and they may need to hire attorneys to defend themselves. Certainly great for the legal business but many things will cascade from here such as fines being increased to account for added costs or the other extreme where enforcement is reduced to a point where issues are never addressed.

The HBAA provides a perfect low cost solution to fulfilling our need for a balance of power when certain and specific types of laws or codes, such as housing codes, are being enforced. The HBAA keeps the executive and the legislative branch’s powers in check and they keep the board’s powers in check through appointments and legislation.

HEAT ADVISORY

2011-07-21T08:04:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Weather.com:

HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 AM EDT FRIDAY... ... EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 8 PM EDT SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WAKEFIELD HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 8 PM EDT SATURDAY. THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 AM EDT FRIDAY.

* MAXIMUM FORECAST HEAT INDICES: 105 TO 109 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON. 110 TO 115 DEGREES FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

* TIMING AND IMPACTS: THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY... ESPECIALLY FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH SUNSET... WILL PRODUCE DANGEROUSLY HIGH HEAT INDICES TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THIS WILL CREATE A SIGNIFICANT STRESS ON INDIVIDUALS AND WILL INCREASE THE RISK OF HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES... SUCH AS HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. ANYONE WORKING OUTSIDE... PLAYING SPORTS... WORKING OUT OR JOGGING OUTDOORS... DURING THE LATE MORNING HOURS THROUGH SUNSET... WILL BE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE. PEOPLE LIVING OR WORKING IN NON-AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS WILL ALSO BE MORE PRONE TO HEAT RELATED ILLNESS. LITTLE RELIEF IS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT... WITH NIGHTTIME HEAT INDICES EXPECTED TO FALL ONLY INTO THE LOW 80S... WITH THE WARMEST READINGS IN URBAN AREAS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY IN THE SHADE IF POSSIBLE... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.
TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE... RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK... THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY - CALL 9 1 1.

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY IN THE SHADE IF POSSIBLE... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

Help Find Amanda Travis!!!

2011-07-19T22:07:00.002-04:00

UPDATE: AMANDA HAS BEEN FOUND.

The Pledge...

2011-07-12T14:32:00.002-04:00

Just for clarification, the City Council did not vote to eliminate the Pledge of Allegiance at last night's meeting. Unlike Albero and his hefty minion have been saying, the Pledge will still be present at Council Meetings, its just going to be recited before the gavel goes down to start the meeting, rather than after.... as Terry spent at least 15 minutes droning on about this point, it is beyond us how exactly Joe and G.A. managed to miss it. Anyway, we thought you all ought to be properly informed, so there you go. And God bless America.

Thoughts On Azul

2011-07-12T11:28:00.004-04:00

It is with much regret and disappointed hopes that we report the closing of Azul, Salisbury's only under 21 club.

There have been many responses to the goings on at Azul in the past few months; the club has been the center of a heated though much needed debate over how the people of Salisbury should respond to youth and youth centered businesses. The most popular trains of thought on the shore tend to go as follows:

1. Under 21 clubs never work, especially in Salisbury. On top of the fact that they are a terrible idea, they attract local thugs and gang-bangers. Azul was always going to close, good riddance to it.

2. Azul was just in a bad location. A historic downtown is an inappropriate venue for any nightclub, let alone a club aimed at the under 21 crowd. People with real jobs and real families have to live and work Downtown- its not the place for underage shenanigans. If they had picked a different spot, Azul would have had a better chance of succeeding, otherwise they were doomed to fail.

3. Downtown is a sinking ship. And for that matter, so is Salisbury. Any business that opens around here is going to close. Azul, and anybody else with vision is wasting their time. They never had a chance.

4. Azul was a great idea. They gave kids who are normally bored something to do and brought foot traffic to an otherwise empty part of downtown. Azul had a lot of potential and should have been a success. What went wrong??

On our bad days, The Other SBY News hovers around opinion Number 3; we get worn down by the constant negativity that seems to permeate Salisbury's business climate and dream of moving away to a place that actually likes young people and encourages new ideas. But every other day, cock-eyed optimists that we are, we support opinion Number 4- we liked Azul, and we wanted to see it do well...and we weren't alone. So why did it close after only a few months?

Here at The Other SBY News, we have a theory. Maybe the problems that surrounded Azul were never really about Azul at all, but were indicative of a much bigger, much more deep-rooted issue regarding the way that Salisbury handles its young people... or rather, the way it doesn't.

What upset us in reading the local responses to the going-ons at Azul, was that many of our fellow citizens seem to hold the opinion that providing an outlet for active young people is in itself, a recipe for trouble, while denying them said outlet is somehow a remedy for it. Worse still, was the shared sentiment echoed in so many of the comments on the Grinches site, that the "problem children" who frequented Azul would go away, and leave the City of Salisbury alone, if only Azul were closed. The Other SBY News would like to ask the people who left those comments a question: Where do you think the "gang-bangers" and "thugs" will go now that Azul is gone? Do you really think those kids will be less of a drain on police resources now that they are left to their own devices, than they were when they hung out downtown, making too much noise?

The most alarming revelation to come out of the Azul debate for us, was that as a community, we are more concerned that hoards of at-risk youth are bothering us, than we are about the fact that we literally have hoards of at-risk youth. We have had 4 under 21 clubs close in Salisbury due to gang-related violence, but instead of asking ourselves "why are all of our violent gangs under 21?" we shrug our shoulders and look the other way. We just don't understand how the City of Salisbury can expect to hold it's teenagers responsible for their actions on Saturday night, when Monday through Friday, it pretends not to see them.

CITY COUNCIL DRINKING GAME!!!!

2011-07-11T18:34:00.004-04:00

That's right Delmarva, back by popular demand (and personal necessity) is The City Council Drinking Game!! Grab a friend, a loved one, or the guy next to you at the bar (who has also turned to the drink because of Salisbury politics) and play along!
Here are the rules:

STEP 1: TUNE INTO CHANNEL 14 TONIGHT AT 6:00 PM

STEP 2: TAKE A SHOT (OR DRINK OF CHOICE) EVERY TIME...

TERRY "SHALL WE SAY" COHEN MAKES AN UNNECESSARY SPEECH INVOLVING HER DEDICATION TO THE PUBLIC

TIM LOOKS TO TERRY OR DEBORAH FOR HIS OPINION

LAURA MITCHELL HAS A GOOD IDEA, GETS SHOT DOWN

JIM CRACKS UNDER PRESSURE AND HAS A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, RUNS FROM ROOM

DEBBIE OFFERS A USELESS AMENDMENT/ ASKS FOR CLARIFICATION ABOUT SOMETHING MUNDANE

SHANIE TRIES TO SWAY COUNCIL WITH COMMON SENSE, FAILS

PUBLIC GIVES INPUT, GETS IGNORED

****BONUS SHOT IF TIM IS SPORTING A SWEATER-VEST*****

Have fun and drink responsibly!!! (Just in case somebody has to get their stomach pumped because Salisbury is so screwed up.)

Happy Independence Day!!

2011-07-04T10:51:00.004-04:00

The Other SBY News wishes everybody a great 4th of July and is very proud to bring you the National Anthem, by Tione Johnson, to celebrate it!

Life's For Livin'

2011-06-26T11:37:00.008-04:00

After a few days of drinking and thinking, The Other SBY News has decided not to wait until the fall to start back up again. Post blog-identity-crisis, we've decided to continue to write sporadically throughout the summer. So, instead of stressing about the bizarre and depressing state of Salisbury politics, as has become our habit, we are going to play in the sun and enjoy our youth...because that's what youth is for. If you need us, you have our email, but for now, we'll be on a boat. Peace.

It's Such A Fine Line

2011-06-24T13:25:00.004-04:00

The Other SBY News is closing until further notice. Goodbye, Salisbury.

Hey- Can You Spare A Dollar?

2011-06-22T12:37:00.006-04:00

The Other SBY News is asking for donations to help us purchase a proper Cheer-leading uniform for G.A. Harrison to wear at City Council meetings; that way he can really get the sbynews crowd going later while he does his routine for Debbie, Terry, and Tim. Don't forget to point your toes on those high kicks Harrison!

The Gloves Come Off: Crew Leader Writes For Sbynews

2011-06-22T09:16:00.010-04:00

As further proof that Albero is Debbie Campbell's personal piss-boy (see History of the World Part I for clarification) we present to you the special article she wrote for Sbynews alone (click here to read). Upon checking the Daily Times this morning to see whether Deborah is utilizing all of her media resources in her quest to publicly scourge Mitchell, Shields, and the Mayor, we found that the Op-Ed in question was not there. Yes Delmarva, this means that Sbynews finally got the scoop on something- and the scoop was Debbie Campbell. Of course, it isn't hard to get a scoop when you are pulling from your own bucket, but lets give credit where credit is due: Good job G.A.! You finally convinced Debbie to go public with her relationship to Sbynews! We can't imagine a better time for this career move...

Anyway, Mrs. Campbell's little article is basically just a combination of her normal council lectures put to writing- she brags about her dedication to the public, gives us a play-by-play of all of the things she has refused to support, explains in unnecessary detail why her perspective is better than everyone elses....the usual. Her main point was that she was not simply undoing all of the previous administrations work...she's undoing everybody's equally. At any rate, what Deborah is really attempting to do is clear her name of the cattiness that has recently been associated with it. Unfortunately, her efforts fall a bit short of the mark as phrases like "one council colleague...", "certain people...", "the same council member...", and "some members of council..." crop up over and over again.

But what The Other SBY News found the most interesting about Deborah's article was not the knife she stuck in the Mayors back in the last line or even her detailed selling out of Laura Mitchell- it was the fact that she unabashedly spoke on behalf of Cohen and Spies and explained their decision making as a single unit. This unwise move has thereby affirmed our suspicions that the Camden Crew is stronger than ever and that Debbie is in charge of it.

All in all Delmarva, we are off to a good start today; The leader of the Crew has gone public and we now know for sure that there is a substantial connection between Sbynews and the Salisbury City Council. While these new developments may not help us sleep at night, its at least good to know what we are dealing with.

Have a great day Salisbury! Stay safe...and as always, Godspeed.

Oh No He Din'nt.

2011-06-17T08:49:00.012-04:00

Well Delmarva, today we are blogging from our rooftops where we have been dancing for quite some time. The mysterious spell that Debbie and Terry have had over Mayor Jim Ireton for the last two years has finally been lifted- the people of Salisbury are free! Well, almost free, there is still work to be done...as we speak Jim is suiting up in preparation for battle- don't forget your cup, Jim.

Now, The Other SBY News has been saying that Deb, Tim, and Terry are evil for months; if their plan to rid the city of its less fortunate members by kicking them out of house and home (via the Neighborhood Legislative Package whose use of municipal codes dates back to the 1960s and beyond- can we say hello segregation??) wasn't enough, their most recent plot to starve out Salisbury's poor people by cutting the "Hardship Funds" (money set aside to make sure poor people have water) in conjunction with raising water and sewer rates by 18% while simultaneously refusing to dip into the 5 million dollar surplus in water and sewer to help the city shoulder those costs, ought to be irrefutable proof.

But there's more. Debbie, Terry, and Tim (in addition to their efforts to legislate/ starve out our low-income communities) have categorically refused for years, to support anything that would help those at risk neighborhoods improve. In the past two weeks alone they have refused a state grant to help minority youths, stopped progress on Linens of the week, and halted forward movement on the Bricks project. The latter two items are so dear to the Mayors heart that just like King Arthur before him, Jim took to the streets yesterday with Merlin in tow (that would be Shanie) and before the eyes of his people pulled out a much needed political ex-caliber- the race card.

Like all magical weapons, the race card only works in very special circumstances- you've got to be able to prove that racism is actually effecting someone's political priorities, or it won't operate correctly. So, is racism a factor in Council's decision making process? We think its safe to say that racism not a part of Shanie or Laura's agenda as they were both present at yesterdays rally (with Shanie preparing to lead a march and Laura applauding her for it) but as for the other three....insert non-committal nod while staring at the floor here.

Regardless of what the motives were for Council's policies, the fact is that they were bad ones. Maybe Tim, Terry, and Deb aren't racists at all, maybe they are all just...very partial to their own neighborhood...either way, their decisions have still sucked. The reality is that they aren't representing all of Salisbury- they are representing the parts they feel like representing, and that's not okay. Albero and G.A. can make excuses for this group til they are blue in the face, but public servants should not be explaining to the majority of their constituents what delicate mixture of variables led to the people being ignored- ever. Muir Boda's astute observation that Council held a public hearing on the budget in the same hour that they held a vote on it, is extremely indicative that Council is not only not listening to us, they don't care what we have to say.

The battle lines have been drawn, Delmarva. This is your money, your vote (well for about 4,000 of you it's your vote), and if you are ready, it's your time. Will you settle for the logic of the 1960's that's been the status quo for the last twenty years or will you help move our city into the future? It's up to you. Either way, Salisbury's bout to get rowdy.

Help lead the charge! Contact Councilwomen Campbell and Cohen, and Councilmen Spies to let them know your thoughts on how they are running the city...into the ground.

Terry E. Cohen
Council President
536 Druid Hill Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Home: 410-845-0296
Email: Terry@TerryCohen.com

Deborah S. Campbell
Councilwoman
809 Camden Ave
Salisbury, MD 21801
Home: 410-860-0893
Email: debbiescampbell@comcast.net

Tim Spies
Councilman
414 Virginia Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Email: tspies@cavtel.net

Dedication

2011-06-13T13:16:00.008-04:00

This song goes out to Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen...and Tim Spies cause we don't want him to feel left out. Enjoy, ladies.

One Of These Things Is Just Like The Other...

2011-06-13T11:15:00.012-04:00

Guess which Downtown is NOT under the thumb of the Salisbury City Council?

We'll give you a hint: it's the ones with lights on the trees, a plaza walkway, and historic brick buildings.

A Sign Of The Times

2011-06-12T17:29:00.003-04:00

Well Delmarva, it looks like the Daily Times is on the ball...finally. In today's editorial on Salisbury's budget crisis, The Times successfully summed up this weeks events and presented a solid critique of the Council's decision to effectively screw over Salisbury. Of course, we had to teeter on the brink of irreparable disaster for a few days in order for them to take action and speak up, but better late than never! Well done Times! Now that our media is starting to get their priorities straight, there might be hope for Salisbury after all! Keep up the good work Daily Times! Ya did us proud.

You can read the Times budget editorial here.

Our buddy Muir Boda also wrote a kick-ass letter highlighting some specifics that show how the Council was even more out of order than we originally thought. You can read that letter here. Great job Muir!

Little Salisbury

2011-06-10T12:51:00.013-04:00

Move over Crips-there's a new gang in town and they mean business. The Camden Crew, headed by Boss Cohen, has recently made a major grab for power and now they are out to settle old scores. First on their hit list is the Mayor of Salisbury, Jim Ireton.

Like most political gestapos, The Camden Crew is a cold, calculating group that stay on top by silencing any and all dissenters; word on the street is that hit-man Joseph Albero is standing by to take out anybody they classify as a target. Here's what you need to know to protect yourself:

The Camden Crew is run by the Big 3- Cohen, Campbell, and Spies. Boss Cohen, a "business owner" and "career woman," handles the PR for the group. Meticulous as she is cunning, Cohen is best known for smiling crookedly at her political opponents while she sinks their proposals. But while Cohen is the face of the organization, most of their movement is orchestrated by Campbell. On the inside, Campbell is known as The Capo dei Capi- or The Boss of Bosses; this is the person you do not want to piss off. Slight Campbell, and Albero will be on you before you can say, "wait a minute, why am I the sole source of budget cuts?" This woman has spent years clawing her way to the top- starting off in Neighborhood Services, Campbell now sits in the Vice Presidents Chair of City Council where she can pull the strings for the Crew without attracting attention- she is not to be trifled with. If you look carefully, you can see both Cohen and Spies checking with her before they take a vote. While Timmy Spies is not as dangerous as he used to be, he should still be regarded with caution. A retired military man, male nurse, and recent eunuch, Tim exists solely to provide extra muscle for Cohen and Campbell when things heat up (the two C's had his balls removed once he got elected to Council to make sure he would never vote against them). Witnesses say he reports everything he sees and hears directly to Campbell so if you see him on the street, its best to switch to the other side and keep your head down.

It's sort of funny that the City Council of Salisbury Md, which just months ago received thousands of dollars in state-funding to help local law enforcement tackle our gang problem, has itself been taken over by a gang...nonetheless, we ask the public to give support and aid to the following list of people who will now be facing cyber-retaliation (via Albero) as a result of their actions:

Laura Mitchell

Shanie Shields

Jim Ireton

...stay tuned for updates on the Crew's movement as well as additions to the list of possible targets. Have a great day everybody....and be safe.

Can We Get A "Hell Yea" For Shanie Shields??

2011-06-09T19:54:00.008-04:00

Delmarva, the shit is officially hitting the fan. And It. Is. Awesome. Stuff that would have never aired publicly is coming out now thanks to Vice President Campbell's intimate relationship with local blogger Joe Albero (his in-laws are her next door neighbors, in case you didn't know) and their timing couldn't be better. As Mayor Jim Ireton wages war on the 3-2 dominated Council (led by Boss Cohen) class, civility, and discretion (sorry Laura, you tried) have gone completely out the window. The games have definitely begun.

The drama all started two days ago when Mayor Ireton (and his giant cajones) publicly shamed Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen by rebuking their characters as he announced his mayoral veto of their Council budget. Then yesterday afternoon, Debbie and Terry struck back by overriding his veto. This morning Jim countered their 4-1 vote by withholding city attorney Paul Wilber from the Council's meeting. And then it happened.

Terry Cohen (with the help of Debbie Campbell who we imagine called Joe as soon as the meeting was over to fill him in on the plan) released the tape of the discussion that took place in the aftermath of the Council's spanking with the intent of painting her and Debbie as the eternal victims of Fate and Human Malice yet again. Unfortunately her plan backfired. In the course of the heated debate which took place on the tape (4 minutes in to be exact) Shanie Shields lets loose and delivers the best telling off the Eastern Shore has seen since Roberta Weschler stood up and verbally bitch-slapped Albero on live television. Though we have recorded it below, we encourage you to hear it for yourself (listen closely for the smack-down given by Laura Mitchell as well). It's definitely worth it. Shanie, you go girl! You are a true servant of Salisbury. We thank you for your amazing dedication and for your righteous tude. Cheers to you Shanie! Well done!

Shanie: I think that for anything as serious as these "pending litigations," the Mayor should have been consulted. He is the Mayor of the City of Salisbury. There are going to be some legal problems if the Administration and the President of the Council cannot get along. What's happening out in the public world is that this Council is becoming a disgrace to the City of Salisbury. I'm ashamed to be a part of it and I wish my term was almost up. Because you are not getting along. Before, you two were getting along peachy keen. All of the sudden, you are in that seat and now you and the Mayor are having problems. He used to be your ally and now you are becoming enemies. And its not good for the staff, its not good for the citizens of Salisbury. I'm not going to be a partaker of this stuff and if you can't talk to the Mayor like you used to talk to him in private you need to start doing it and airing out y'alls differences.

Terry: Well for the public record I have made those attempts-

Shanie: I don't believe it-

Debbie: Ms. Shields will you wait a moment?

Shanie: No.

Business Of The Week

2011-06-08T19:40:00.005-04:00

The Deli- Casual Gourmet

The best thing about The Deli, besides the kick-ass food, is their awesome staff. Somehow, the entire staff has a great sense of humor, is extremely welcoming, and does their best to make sure that every single customer has a memorable experience. The owners, Ryan and Mitch, personally serve many of their guests; they are ambitious, hard working entrepreneurs with a lot of vision- exactly what Salisbury needs.

The Deli has recently opened a liquor store, Last Call Liquors, which borders the restaurant. We are thrilled to announce that Last Call Liquors is open until midnight 6 days a week...we encourage all liquor stores on Delmarva to follow their example.

The Deli is just the kind of business Salisbury requires to grow and flourish; the food is extremely high quality, their liquor store has great hours, their bar has really good prices, and their staff is very friendly. It's run by positive, smart young people who could invest a lot in this community- so lets help them stick around.

Here is a link to The Deli's Website or you can check out their Facebook page where you will find pictures of their food (which we can't stress enough, is fantastic) that will definitely make your mouth water.

The Deli is located at the University Square Shopping Center. Stop by from 11 am til 9 pm and enjoy happy hour from 4-7 pm. It'll be your new favorite joint in no time.

Time For A Trip Down Memory Lane

2011-06-07T23:31:00.012-04:00

"Along comes a wonderful man named Jim Ireton. A man who absolutely loves the City of Salisbury and reminds me a lot of Jim Mathias, charismatic about the town he loved so well. A new light to shine brighter than any other light this City has ever seen. The Daily Times ragged on him from day one and it only until the bitter end that they finally came to realize the message coming from Salisbury News was more powerful than they had ever dreamed of. The message was, "Help Is On The Way" from a man who truly meant it. From a man that was not just gaining momentum, a man that said full steam ahead and never looked back. A man who was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel that until today no one ever expected to see the end. "

The glowing review above was written by Joe Albero himself on April 8, 2009, the day after Jim Ireton got elected Mayor. In another post the same day, Joe writes:

"Thank You Citizens. We backed this man because we believe in this man. He won't let you down. Enjoy this day in history. The winner of this race was the Citizens of Salisbury!"

We don't think that we need to go into too much detail about why these statements prove that sbynews is full of back-stabbing hypocrites- if you google any one of the recent articles they've written about Jim, you can see it for yourselves. We simply request that G.A. and Joe shut up and stop being a-holes to Jim when they were the ones who, only a few years ago, took full credit for getting him elected in the first place. Thanks.

Ready? CHHHARRRGGEE!!!!

2011-06-07T11:24:00.010-04:00

Well Delmarva, it looks like the clouds may finally be parting after all. Last nights delightful expose of the Council's true nature via the public hearing on their proposed budget left many in Salisbury scratching their heads and asking the following questions:

Why is Urban Salisbury getting a $27,000 budget cut when they are one of the only organizations in our town that actually does anything?

Why are the broken streetlights on Loiuse Smiths road getting the ax while "nuisance trees and shrubs" are getting the go-ahead?

Why was a .2% decrease in the 18.6% increase of the proposed water/sewer rate considered a financial victory when most of the lower income people in Salisbury will now only get to flush their toilets once a day? Moreover- why is an 18% increase considered an option at all?

Why was the Mayor- who openly disagrees with the budget-so quiet?

And lastly- why does Tim Spies espouse such an obvious disdain for veterans when his entire campaign was based on the fact that he is one? What kind of military man tells a WWII vet. that he cannot lead the pledge in uniform...ON D-DAY?

Last night's marathon meeting was nearly 3 hours long, thus The Other SBY News decided not to post our minutes because we gave up writing them halfway through the second hour. Still, despite the meetings ridiculous length, it can still be considered a success for all those in Salisbury who want political accountability and forward movement. From the first speaker who condemned the City for attempting to shrug off its financial mistakes on the backs of the taxpayers (for the third time), to the President of Urban Salisbury who highlighted the City's absurd micro-managing of funds (of amounts as low as $300), to the resident of Canal Park Dr. who, without skipping a beat, named the vindictive bias that dictates the Councils agenda, last night was nothing short of a victory.

Sort of. In a vote of 4-1 the Councils budget was passed with Mitchell, Spies, Cohen, and Campbell voting for the budget, and only Shanie voting against it (whom it should be noted, was punished for her descent by Council President Cohen. Shortly after brave Shanie explained her reasons for voting nay on the budget, Terry- all smiles- threw her under the bus by highlighting her participation in the slashing process- nice, Terry). So, what is our next move in the war to bring back personal accountability to our elected officials?

As of now, its looking like the nearest battle will be waged by the most unlikely of warriors; Mayor Jim Ireton is vetoing the budget. Why the change in Jims attitude toward the Council? We can't say for sure, but we think it has to do with the blockade that Terry, Deb, and Tim have launched against every single one of Jim's ideas for the last few months. Whatever the reasons for Jims sudden change of tune, we are thrilled by it. Slow clap for you Jim. We never thought we'd say this, but...you...have...our...support. The people of Salisbury need a white knight to save them from Council... while we didn't necessarily expect that knight to come wearing a pink polo and flapping his hands like a crazy person while discussing his open hatred of...special interests, if thats what our option is, we'll take it. Because what Salisbury needs right now is somebody to start the charge. You're already on the horse Jim, lead the way.

PLAY THE CITY COUNCIL DRINKING GAME!!

2011-06-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

Here are the rules:

STEP 1: TUNE INTO CHANNEL 14 TONIGHT AT 6:00 PM

STEP 2: TAKE A SHOT (OR DRINK OF CHOICE) EVERY TIME...

TERRY "SHALL WE SAY" COHEN MAKES AN UNNECESSARY SPEECH INVOLVING HER DEDICATION TO THE PUBLIC

TIM LOOKS TO TERRY COHEN OR DEBBIE CAMPBELL FOR HIS OPINION

LAURA MITCHELL HAS A GOOD IDEA, GETS SHOT DOWN

JIM CRACKS UNDER PRESSURE AND HAS A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, RUNS FROM ROOM

DEBBIE OFFERS A USELESS AMENDMENT/ ASKS FOR CLARIFICATION ABOUT SOMETHING MUNDANE

SHANIE TRIES TO SWAY COUNCIL WITH COMMON SENSE, FAILS

PUBLIC GIVES INPUT, GETS IGNORED

****BONUS SHOT IF TIM IS SPORTING A SWEATER-VEST!!

Have fun and drink responsibly!!! (Just in case somebody has to get their stomach pumped because Salisbury is so screwed up.)

By The Way...

2011-06-04T17:27:00.005-04:00

We'd just like everybody to know that while sbynews proudly moderates/ignores your comments (and then writes ridiculously arrogant posts about it), we do not. In fact, last week we took down bloggers moderation device to make commenting even easier for our readers because, unlike sbynews, we actually care what you have to say. That's all. Have a great weekend everybody!

Hey! Get Drunk And Support PAC 14!

2011-06-04T17:10:00.008-04:00

On Monday, June 6th there will be a Salisbury City Council Meeting. The Other Salisbury News will be posting the new rules for our City Council Drinking Game on Monday afternoon as well as our usual minutes as soon as the meeting is over. We encourage everyone to tune-in to PAC 14 (Channel 14) at 6:00 p.m. and drink along with us as our elected officials put the City of Salisbury to shame. Since Debbie and her minions want to redirect all of the CDBG funds the Mayor wants to use for Linens to other projects and also raise our water and sewer rates by 18 % the meeting will definitely be...entertaining. We'll see you there.

Well, Well, Well- The Axis Of Evil Is Turning.

2011-06-01T11:03:00.011-04:00

Well Delmarva, it's finally happened. Like the coward he is, Joe Albero has turned tail and run for it, throwing his BFF and PIC, G.A. Harrison under the bus on his way out. Why now, you ask? We think its because he got wind of the fact that the entire Eastern Shore hates him and is working together to mount an epic lawsuit against sbynews that will finally hold him accountable for his many crimes against humanity; he's scared shitless...we couldn't be happier.

Of course, Joe attributes this shirking of responsibility to his sudden desire to expand the "business and philanthropic" pursuits of sbynews, to which we say, bullshit. Joe wants to watch from the sidelines as G.A. goes down with his ship and then collect insurance on the sucker once its out of sight. Joe never does anything without trying to get something out of it; whether its exploiting the sick, the dying, the deceased, befriending the wealthy, or pretending to give a crap about the children, one can always count on Joe to change face as soon as the spotlight is gone.

Don't be fooled people, Albero is just another Peter Pettigrew; a little man who turns into a rat whenever its convenient for him, only reverting back to his man-self when he can personally profit off of evil. He'll be back and up to his old tricks in no time- so keep an eye out. In the meantime, we'll be watching G.A. to see what his next move will be; will he be able to channel his personal vendettas and habitual nastiness into a successful revival of his failed journalistic career? Probably not, but it will be fun to watch him try.

Our advice to G.A.? Remember that you are a tool. Joe is manipulating you so that he can save his own ass. And now, because of your alliance with him, nobody likes you. Your options?

1. You can keep up the hate that Joe has become famous for and go down in flames with sbynews when the courts finally come for it.

2. You can stay true to yourself and keep criticizing everyone...and go down in flames with sbynews when the courts finally come for it.

3. You can knock off the childish rants that you call journalism and try to salvage whats left of your reputation and your blog by making a concerted effort to be a good person... just be nice.

We recommend you take Option 3- not only is it your only hope for a social life, but its your best bet for compassion once you are up on the witness stand; people judge less harshly when they see some humility. Good luck to you G.A.. You're gonna need it.

Where Is The Love? It Got Cut From The Budget

2011-05-24T12:17:00.013-04:00

The Grinch has been kind enough to relay an article (featured in the Daily Times) by former Councilman Gary Comegys which highlights just how much Tim, Terry, and Deb despise the less fortunate members of our community. For months The Other Salisbury News has been telling the people of Delmarva that together those three would form an impenetrable trifecta of pre-planned partisanship and unchecked bias. As usual, we were right.

Link To Gary's Letter

If someone were to fly a helicopter round the head of Lady Liberty, there's a good chance they'd catch her shedding a tear for the little town of Salisbury, MD. All American City, Mayor? Hard to pull off when our Council is about as un-American as they come; who cuts out the money set aside to make sure the poor have water? If Salisbury had an epigraph Delmarva, what would it read? Here is our guess:

We don't want your tired, your poor, or your huddled masses.

Because statistics show that they degrade property value and lead to crime.

Salisbury is for picket fences and yards with greener grasses

Anyone "less fortunate" costs the city money and takes up too much time.

Please tell all of the wretched to stop knocking at our doors

We may be a town on the water, but these are home-owner occupied shores!

We aren't the only city to legislate out the causes of blight and slum and sin

And we have the data to prove it....so leave!

There's no room for you at Salisbury's Inn.

5/23 City Council Meeting Minutes/ Our Drinking Game Results

2011-05-23T18:04:00.006-04:00

And we're off!

We offer our apologies for not posting the drinking game rules earlier today. Since the rules are being amended to accommodate the new Council, we leave it to your discretion to decide when to drink this evening.

6:00- Thanks for coming out Jim. All of Council is here as well.

6:01- Awkward moment of silence and pledge. We'll spend it drinking.

6:02- True to form, Debbie already wants to amend something. She wants to send a grant from the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention back to work session. DRINK.

6:03- Shanie says she asked her questions earlier today and is ready to pass it.

6:04- Laura wants to hear what the public has to say- thank you Laura.

6:05- Tim agrees with Debbie, no surprise there.

6:06- The Mayor wants to move forward with the grant.

6:07- Debbie stands by her motion to not make any decisions in public.

6:08- Tim agrees with Debbie again.

6:09- The Mayor acknowledges the audience who has come a long way to hear the Councils decision.

6:10- Shanie says, "I do not need to see every single piece of paper that comes through this city. I am confident in the city heads abilities... I looked at this package already and would like it to move forward."

6:10- Once again Laura acknowledges the citizens of Salisbury and beyond who have a vested interest in this decision.

6:11- Debbie says she doesn't care about the people who came to hear the decision...basically.

6:12- The Mayor says Debbie recieved 98% of the paperwork, "what didn't you get Council?"

6:12- Terry "I only remember recieving a few emails-"

6:12- Mayor "You didn't get all those letters that I put in your mailbox....I didn't send you the whole binder, but I sent you everything that matters of what we had." LOL!! Good for you Jimmy!!

6:13- Laura-28 pages of what we got was blank...

6:13- Terry "I apologize to those of you who came down. What happened last week was that I asked the Mayor to come to our budget meeting...last week was the first time we heard about this grant...lets vote.." DRINK.

6:15- Debbie, Terry, and Tim vote Aye to send the bill back to work session (shocker), Shanie and Laura vote Nay (and who said Council would be dominated by more 3-2 partisanship?). At any rate, the bill is going back to work session where will likely ne'er see it again.

6:16- The Mayor says we are an All America City and one of the best cities for young people to grow up in...DRINK.

6:19- Rob Mulford gets an award...so does Herb Geary...so does the James M. Bennett Drumline- WOOT- GO CLIPPERS!!!

6:20- An educated individual who knows what he is talking about is speaking- a nice change for Council. He's advertising Delmarvacade...we like this. Well done Bennett.

6:24- Pastor Rodriguez is speaking...

6:24- Dan's Dance Studio is speaking...

6:26- Something about City Insurance...we're drinking. Oh that's nice, there's a check involved.

6:32- Here's Pam with the Award of Bids. Oh Lord, she has to ask Council for something. (We think) The bonding company is agreeing to finish the work on Waverly if the City rescinds its Declaration of Default. Second, Internal Services...there's a surplus of vehicles in the Fire Dept., they just need to be declared as such so that they can be disposed of or auctioned off. Next is a request from the Police Dept. to award (we think) a bid on a speed enforcement program...they are willing to share the revenue with the City...internal services wants to go with option 1, where the private instillation company would receive 35% of the $40 tickets... we missed an item due to personal convo- sorry... last, Beaver Dam Drive Pedestrian Bridge...there are sufficient funds in different contract amounts to be able to do this project...

6:39- Debbie has "a few questions"...Mr. Wilber are you sure that this is the approach we need to take?

6:40-Paul "Yes." Lol, nice one Paul.

6:40- Laura, "Do we have any other experiences with Somerset Marine(a)?" Good question.

6:40- Pam "The reviews were glowing."

6:41- Debbie gives Pam another job. Drink for Pam.

6:42- Terry has "a few questions"...drink.

6:43- Tim asks a decent question about wording of the contract concerning "additional work"...Pam explains to him how bids work.

6:44- Our favorite part, Public Hearing. No one made any comments though. Drink for Delmarva's civic apathy.

6:45- Unfortunately Salisbury, we have a house guest who has just arrived. We'll check back in tomorrow.

It's Flip Flop Weather.

2011-05-22T10:28:00.005-04:00

Here's the deal people. It's summer. We are young. We are going to take a break from blogging every single day to go outside and enjoy ourselves. We encourage everyone else to do the same.

Wait! HOLD THE EFFING PHONE!!!!

2011-05-19T17:21:00.004-04:00

We strongly encourage you to sit down with a bottle of asprin because this news is surely going to result bodily shock. Are you ready for it? It's coming-

THEY PAVED ONE LANE OF RT. 13.

Now we haven't received any information as to whether they intend on repaving the entire road (it would be nice) but this is progress, Salisbury. The current state of Rt. 13 is shameful. With potholes large enough to swallow a small car and canyons as opposed to curbs, Rt. 13 is in quite the quagmire (heh heh). Lets just pray that they'll overhaul the whole damn thing and put an actual road in rather than the wagon trail that we've been driving on for the past 10 years.

URGENT GULLSHIT ALERT!!! WARNING TO GRADUATING SENIORS

2011-05-18T14:22:00.003-04:00

Seniors- The Other Salisbury News has received word that the SU Administration will be HOLDING DIPLOMAS of anyone who has a run-in with the law this week!!! We have already been made aware of at least two cases of fellow Seniors who will have to go before a board to plead their case for graduation- one of these seniors got arrested for a noise violation.

A NOISE VIOLATION CAN KEEP YOU FROM GRADUATING. THE COPS ARE OUT IN DROVES LOOKING FOR CELEBRATORY GATHERINGS TO BREAK UP!!! DO NOT GET CAUGHT WITH POSSESSION OR DISTRIBUTION!!! AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT MAKE NOISE!!!

They are looking for Gulls to make examples of- don't let that Gull be you! We have to work together!!! Spread the word that the City is making their quotas off of graduating seniors and tell your friends keep their heads down!!

As always, we wish you Good luck Gulls. And Godspeed.

...and Congratulations to our graduating seniors. The City of Salisbury and SU Administration may not give a crap about your 4 years of hard work and dedication, but we do, and we are proud of you. Well done.

ATTN GULLS: Here's What The City Of Salisbury Doesn't Want You To Know

2011-05-18T13:17:00.008-04:00

Well Gulls, summer is here at last. Now, if you are departing into the working world for good we wish you the best of luck; thanks for reading, go with God, the force be with you...all that. However if you are only leaving for the summer and plan to return to college in the fall, The Other Salisbury News has an urgent message for you:

The City Council (with the exception of 2 members) believes in a "Zero Tolerance Policy" which means that if they had it their way, there would be no drinking, no smoking (of anything), and no parties on or off campus, ever. Here is the important part- while you are all gone this summer, the City Council will try to write and pass as much legislation as possible to bring their "Zero Tolerance Policy" into effect.

They are waiting for your absence to strike. For years Councils have counted on our ignorance (reinforced in many ways by our seasonal presence here) of City affairs to slowly whittle our rights down to the tiny nub we are currently working with; you think it is an accident that almost every city cop gives all of us a hard time? Think again my friends- orders are coming straight from the top. A system is in place (and the more we learn about it, the more disgusted we become) which enables Salisbury's finest to round us up like fish in a f****n barrel and theres not a thing we can do to defend ourselves. Well guess what Gulls? It's about to get a whole lot worse.

In the coming months we expect to see a lot of back-room proposals on the table. Our guess is that, like the Noise Ordinance and the Crime Free Lease Addendum, these bills will shave away our rights by expanding the conditional jurisdiction of law enforcement and the scope of city power through the limitation of housing authority;they hate landlords and they hate students so they are really hitting 2 birds with one legislative stone.

Remember Gulls- when the City screws over your landlord they are screwing you too: in Salisbury, property rights are the equivalent of privacy rights; students don't own property but the City still wants to eliminate our rights to privacy so what do they do? They cut out the middle man- literally. Think about it, under your lease you are legally accountable to your landlord right? Well what do you think the City is doing when they mandate laws which over-ride your lease? They are removing your (and your landlords) legal entitlements by basically legislating them out. We know. Its f****d up. But this is Salisbury.

Every year the city gives the cops more fodder to legally target us. And guess when they do it? Summertime. Last year, the housing component of the Neighborhood Legislative Package (Safe Streets back then) surfaced in August. So keep your guards up Gulls, and keep checking the Daily Times and The Other Salisbury News for updates this summer. Don't let them get another one over on you. We will do our best to keep you informed, but we can't be everywhere- you've got to speak up and make the city hear you or by next fall, you may not be allowed to speak at all. Word up. Have a great summer everybody!!

Just a Reminder: You Have Rights!

2011-05-16T17:17:00.005-04:00

As the semester comes to an end this week, many of us are already planning trips to the beach, road-trips with friends, and exciting concerts and music festivals during the freedom provided by summer vacation.

During this time, it's important to remember other freedoms we have. Though college students may associate authority figures with "the man" and claim certain laws to be unjust, we must remember that certain laws, such as the 4th and 5th Amendments, exist to protect our rights and liberties.

So, if you're planning on doing anything "sketchy" this summer which your local police department may frown upon, remember that they are doing their jobs. This job does not just involve locking up students for underage drinking or possession of marijuana; it also involves protecting our rights. Next time you're in a risky situation with a police officer, protect your liberty using the law with the advice offered in this video.

Stay safe, Gulls. Don't do anything I wouldn't do (whatever that is), and have fun.

Business of The Week!

2011-05-16T15:14:00.001-04:00

This week's business is Robinson's Family of Businesses. We met John Robinson a couple of months ago and the guy has been a pleasure to work with. He offered to make us shirts for an awesome price and we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Robinson's Family of Businesses includes:

Salisbury Pewter - Pewter and Sterling Silver Products
Hour Hand SK8 - Skate Boards, Parts/Accessories, and Clothing
Engrave-It-All - Custom Engraving
Personalize-It - Custom Shirts, Signs, ect. (a personal favorite)
Gold Buying
Jewelry & Clocks - Buys and Sells, Repairs, ect.

So here's the deal, Gulls. John Robinson hooked us up with some badass shirts and we want to see you decked out in The Other SBY New's attire. You want a shirt? Hit us up and we'll make it happen!

Gullshit Alert! Use Caution Gulls!

2011-05-14T01:40:00.000-04:00

Gulls,

The semester is over and this time of year is always bitter-sweet. Although most of us will be returning in the fall, for many, this is their last weekend in Salisbury. Yes, the senior class will trade-in homework and exams for a cramped cubicle next to the copier where they will spend the next 30 years of their lives climbing the corporate ladder in hopes of receiving an office with a window some day. But enough of this sappy gullshit. We've got problems to deal with....

Seeing as this is the last weekend in Salisbury, many of us are going out with a bang. While we're totally down for one last raging weekend, we are also down for a weekend free of police drama. The City is crawling with cops, Gulls. We have seen an unusually high number of cop cars roaming the college neighborhoods presumably looking for college parties to bust. We suggest that you keep your parties as inconspicuous as possible and keep the rowdiness to a minimum. The cops are already on code red so don't entice them. During our time at SU, we've noticed that the police tend to beef up their force on this particular weekend every year. Perhaps we're just paranoid but isn't it interesting that the last weekend of the semester always seems to grab the attention of the cops? I suppose busting college parties is more important than addressing the drug deals and prostitution that are taking place on church street right now. Be safe, Gulls.

Business Of The Week

2011-05-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's because school is almost over, maybe its because summer is almost here, but lately Holierthanthou and myself have found that we really want to turn Salisbury's frown upside down by focusing on the positives. With that in mind, we are happy to introduce you to a new tradition we are starting here on The Other Salisbury News: From now on, once a week, we will be giving good press to a local business that is doing an awesome job. This weeks business is....

THIRSTY'S!!!

Probably the best thing about Thirsty's besides its kick ass position on the corner of 13 and College, is its owner Vino (we apologize Vino, if we are spelling your name wrong). Vino is always happy, friendly, and accommodating. He is very nice to college students and anybody else who frequents his store. Seldom have Holierthanthou and myself gone in when he hasn't remembered almost every customer by face or name. He creates a delightful, student-friendly environment simply by being personable. Business community: take a note.

Gulls- if you need beer, wine, gas or cigar wraps (oh close your mouth, Deb) Thirsty's is the place to go! Vino, keep it up buddy. We appreciate you!! You are doing Salisbury a great service by running such a good business. So thanks. We salute you.

Could It Be? HUCK-A-BEE

2011-05-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

For the record- We're not endorsing Huckabee or any other candidate right now but these guys have a good message and they are frickin funny. They are a true testament that young people can participate in politics and have fun while doing it. Mike Huckabee even invited them to tour South Carolina during his campaigning in 2008. Go them!

Let's Hear It ForThe Fire Dept!!

2011-05-11T11:10:00.000-04:00

Dear Gulls and People of Delmarva, The Other Salisbury News invites you to join us in thanking our local fire-fighters for all of their hard work and dedication to keeping us safe. Screw the Eastern Shore drama- anybody who can save our asses from a burning building, a firey wreck, or God knows what other crisis is just fine in our book! Fire-fighters, The Other Salisbury News appreciates your bravery as well as the daily sacrifices you make. You are doing an amazing job and we want to personally thank you for keeping our community safe and fire-less. Cheers to you! Keep up the great work!

The End Is In Sight!

2011-05-11T06:23:00.008-04:00

Well Gulls, the end is just one week away. Its been a crazy semester for all of us and thank God that it's coming to an end. SU Graduates- Good luck and best wishes! Our grim future depends on you. And lets face it; the work force and government needs some young innovation and influence to politely kick it in the ass.

Our generation is unique in that we were raised to have opinions, voices, and backbones. At an early age, we learned the importance of standing up for our rights. Guaranteed rights that were established to protect us against too much government, exploitation, discrimination, ect. Still, it offends some local governments (*coughSalisburycough*) when the citizens express their discontent with the local government and the manner in which they choose to address the mulitude of problems surrounding this city (the nerve, right?). Contrary to the vivid imaginations of several elected officials, we are not waging war against Salisbury. We're simply stating our two cents which we do out of love for this troubled city.

We kinda feel like Salisbury is our drug addict mother. We tried to send her to rehab when she started snorting coke but the court (City Government) didn't take us seriously. Now she's 70 lbs, constipated, and on house arrest for robbing a 7-Eleven so that she could afford her hourly heroine fixes. We love Salisbury, but it's time for an intervention. It's time for Salisbury to get clean. We want a pristine (or at least bio-hazard free) river, a thriving downtown, more industry (that means encouraging business; not eradicating it like the black plague), and student-friendly establishments. When (not 'if') this is achieved, Salisbury will enjoy a better economy, a higher standard of living, higher average income per household, and our declining neighborhoods will be restored to their former glory. We need to invite, entice, and encourage people to live, rent, and conduct business in the City. Currently, we're doing the exact opposite. These are hard times and twice-monthly discussions are not enough. We need team work and we need action.

This is our way of extending the olive branch to any individual, organization, or establishment interested in improving our city. Salisbury is in a bad way people...we need a comprehensive action plan and the allocation on funds designated for the revitalization of Salisbury. Huddle formation, people! Can I hear a pressure cooker?

Item 2- What To Do About The River

2011-05-10T09:26:00.003-04:00

Ok Delmarva, so here is what we know: Barrie Tilghman's administration started the Waste Water Treatment Plant but the company who designed and engineered it did a shoddy job so it broke to the tune of....lots and lots of money. Now the plant is useless, a lawsuit is pending against the contractors, and in the meantime the river is getting progressively worse.

Here is what we would like to know: Numbers. How much did it cost to build the plant? How much will it cost to fix it? Got any details on the case? We are also curious as to what exactly broke and when it is expected to be repaired.

As always all input is appreciated and will be put towards Operation S.S.F.I.. God bless and Godspeed.

To Pray or Not To Pray? That Is The Question??

2011-05-08T13:05:00.012-04:00

Ok Gulls, here is the issue that has got the people of Delmarva all worked up: whether or not the City Council will replace their traditional Lord's Prayer with a Moment of Silence at the beginning of each Council Meeting.

Now, because The Other Salisbury News is a student-run blog (and is therefore staffed by....you know, young people), we tend to be a little less religious and a little more... "bipartisan" when it comes to matters of church and state. That said, we support the Council's initiative to replace the Lord's Prayer with a Moment of Silence. We realize that this position may get us in hot water with some of the locals (many of whom are vehemently against the switch-up) but our logic is that while Salisbury definitely needs prayer (from every denomination), the City Government Building is not the best place to conduct it. We refer all dissenters (on our personal opinion...) to the First Amendment for the further clarification on the matter.

Ok, so. Heres the part that rubs our fur backwards. Salisbury is in an economic crisis. Our historic downtown is dying, crime is out of control, the river is a cesspool of mutated bacteria, and irresponsible urban-sprawl (because nobody in their right mind wants to live in the city) is routinely degrading the infrastructure and resources we all depend on to coexist efficiently. Yet with the mile-high list of problems the city has on it's plate, nobody on the Council had the common-sense to say "Hey, lets set the Lord's Prayer debate aside until we fix (insert any one of the issues above here)."

We ask you Gulls- where are the priorities? Can't Salisbury find anything more important to spend its energy on besides this crap? Yes Delmarva, we think its crap. It's trivial and distracting and divisive. People wonder why our city is struggling to stay afloat yet they willingly spend their time arguing about how to dedicate 30 seconds of each Council Meeting to religion or the lack of it. You want our honest opinion Salisbury? We would rather the Council scratch the entire process all together and spend that 30 seconds talking about the Waste Water Treatment Plant or the Neighborhood Legislative Package (and the $10,000 of taxpayer dollars that went into it) or why we don't have businesses downtown or why Route 13 is a deathtrap or why the University has a horrible retention rate and the prison has a ridiculously high re-incarceration rate.

These are the issues worth discussing because they are the hurtles that are holding our city back- not Shanie's Christianity or Terry's Judaism. It's just like Ruby Thewes said in Cold Mountain: "Every piece of this is man's bullshit. They call this war a cloud over the land, but they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say, 'Shit! It's rainin'!"

Well Gulls, Salisbury's bullshit has created a leak in the ceiling of the City Government Building and Council is putting all of their energy into fixing it. Now, we get that that leak seems awful important, but Council, if you stick your head out the window and take a look around you will notice that the whole damn town is flooded. So we ask you- readjust your priorities please.

In the meantime, we will be blogging from a little red Lincoln canoe.

Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-08T00:49:00.002-04:00

To all the specials moms out there- we wouldn't be anything without you!

Review Of The First Republican Primary Debate

2011-05-06T14:19:00.006-04:00

Well Gulls, campaign season is here at last! It kicked off last night in Greenville, South Carolina, where five of the GOP's “B-List” celebrities participated in the first debate for the Republican Primaries. The candidates included former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, businessman Herman Cain, former New Mexican Governor Gary Johnson, and Congressman Ron Paul.

Oddly enough, the GOP candidates who are currently receiving the most media buzz( Romney, Huckabee, Palin, Gringrich, and everyone's favorite walking comb-over, Trump) were not in attendance. Their absence is partially because it's still early in the election season (several of the “A-listers” have yet to declare whether or not they will run) and partially due to the fact that they could easily get run-off the road to the White House by their smarter, more competent, less wealthy, "B-list" competitors. Additionally, the longer they wait to formally declare they are running, the more FOX and other news networks will build up the suspense/ring every dollar out of it they can. To keep us interested, these political celebrities will divide their time between taking pot-shots at Democrats and popping up randomly on news-casts to share their strategically generic points of view.

That being said, I liked the debate! Honestly, I have nothing against these little guys. If anything, they have bigger balls than the “A-listers.” Everyone continually tells them “You don't have a chance!” but they sacrifice their time and money to give it a shot anyway. Unfortunately not everyone shares my sentiments; the debate ended with the moderators asking the candidates their opinion on the big named Republicans. “Well thanks for building support and trying to get your name known. Now, want to tell your supporters who they should really vote for once you're out?"

The big topic of the night was of course, foreign policy. Makes sense. After all, considering the news that we received late Sunday night, the GOP will have to work awfully hard to convince Americans that foreign policy is still their specialty. The other main issue was the economy. There was lots of talk about the free-market, businesses creating jobs, and less regulation...I enjoyed it.

Overall, it was difficult to say who “won.” It really depends on who you personally agreed with the most. There weren't any major embarrassments, and these guys simply aren't big enough to encourage political opponents to dig up dirt on them. However, if you were going to choose a winner based on the reaction of those in attendance, Ron Paul had, by far, the most vocal supporters. At one point, he had the audience cheering in agreement when he suggested the legalization of all drugs, including heroine. Mind you, it's not often you hear a room full of South Carolina conservatives applauding heroine. However, the support isn't too surprising considering that “Dr. No” collected over one million dollars in donations yesterday. Paul used a technique called the “money bomb” (where you ask for your supporters to all contribute on a single day) and apparently, it blew up in his favor. Say what you will about Paul, but in America you need money to run a serious campaign...Paul is rackin up the Benjamins mighty quick.

Uh oh, my bias is showing-I'll put that away. Regardless of who you choose to root for after last night (if you root for Republicans at all), these candidates are just the opening act for the main event in the months down the road. In the meantime, you can catch up on the political scene by watching re-runs of Trumps reality show... just think-the next season of Celebrity Apprentice could be airing in the White House. Watch out American Idol.

A Week of Much Substance!

2011-05-05T18:00:00.004-04:00

Gulls-

This has certainly been a week of change and it's definitely a week of celebration. At the beginning of the week, we were informed that Osama had been squirted with some metal (Osama can't clux with us) and the ball is still rolling! Today is special for two reasons: First, it's Cinco de Mayo and we will be celebrating. Second, the Bricks Project is starting to look up.

To clarify what The Bricks Project is- it is a city-owned brick complex that was intended to provide affordable housing for renters. There has been a lot of controversy over this project, but The Daily Times reports that the project is likely to receive a loan from the Community Development's Partnership Rental Housing Program. Though things were looking grim for The Bricks Project, this loan means that it's making some much needed headway. Things are getting done, Gulls and we like it when shit gets done!

Thomas Leggs Gets Jacked.

2011-05-05T17:16:00.005-04:00

As reported by The Salisbury Grinch, Thomas Leggs was stabbed in jail. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, Leggs is the man responsible for the horrific death of 11 yr. old Sarah Foxwell. Out of respect for the family, we will not repeat the gruesome details of this little girl's murder (enough stories have been spewed across the internet already) but we will tell you that Leggs is a piece of shit asshole and we have no sympathy for him. Leggs was sentenced to life without parol nearly 2 months ago. Though many were upset that he escaped the death penalty, life in prison is starting to look a lot like death row... to which we say "oh well." Leggs' condition is unavailable at this time. We will keep you posted.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

2011-05-05T09:36:00.005-04:00

Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Well Gulls, it's here. The 5th of May has come at last. Today we celebrate the unlikely victory of the Mexican people over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 (betcha didn't know that did ya? thanks Wikapedia). Have a great night everybody and be safe! Don't forget the coppers will probably be out looking for Mexican flavored shenanigans this evening so keep your fiestas on the down low!

Item 1- The Curious Crisis Of Downtown

2011-05-04T14:20:00.003-04:00

Why, we ask you, why is Downtown Salisbury so lame? On a basic level we understand that the lack of business, predominance of law offices and antique shops, and high number of vacancies are to blame for the stigma that seems to waft along Main St., but there's got to be more to it than that. So saying, in the name of Operation S.S.F.I. The Other Salisbury News has our first official assignment for anybody who wants to help:

What is really driving businesses away from downtown? What fees, taxes, maintenance issues are standing in the way of its improvement? What exactly needs to change for this to be fixed?

...We anxiously await your answers. God bless and Godspeed.

Operation S.S.F.I. ...Ready? Clear!!

2011-05-04T13:02:00.008-04:00

Here at The Other Salisbury News, we believe that some serious innovation is necessary to bring our city back to life. We are confident that the good ideas and creativity imperative to Salisbury's survival are out there (we've heard plenty of them at Public Input and Council Meetings), they've just been ignored because they were wasted on people who weren't really listening. Well guess what Delmarva? WE ARE LISTENING!! We have decided that this will be a website that is used for the improvement of our town, not the division of it, and we plan- with your help- to make big things happen on the Eastern Shore. With that in mind we hereby begin Operation S.S.F.I. (Save Salisbury From Itself). Here's how its gonna go down.

Phase 1- Outreach. Email everyone you know about our website. If you work for the city this will be especially important. We will need all the eyes and ears we can get (cough, cough Greater Salisbury) if we are going to make a difference. So spread the word about us! The Other Salisbury News needs your help to get the ball rolling!

Phase 2- Dialogue. We need your help to keep the ball rolling too. We are going to start some discussion threads about a) the areas that need improvement in Salisbury and b) how we can improve them. Here's the catch: We want real solutions from people who actually know what they are talking about. That means that if you work for or with the city on a daily basis then we want your ideas. Do we still want input from the rest of you? Of course we do! We encourage everyone to share! But if we are going to make anything good happen, we will require some concrete solutions to complex problems.

Phase 3- More Dialogue. One of the surest gateways to success is effective communication. That said, we want the architects, accountants, lawyers, engineers, and public relations specialists to start talking to each other. Our website will provide the forum for open discussion. There is no point in discussing the mechanics of why Route 13 is terrible if we can't talk about the financial limitations of fixing it. Information is the key to understanding, and we want all of Salisbury to understand what the problems are so that we can start to address them.

Phase 4- Awareness. As our pool of ideas and readers begins to grow, the website will gain the reputation it needs to really get noticed (the merchandise line we are about to launch will help with that as well). When solutions to the problems are out there and everybody knows about them, they become very hard for the higher ups to ignore. Before long, they will have to acknowledge the problems and take action.

Phase 5- Secret. We are tentative about putting phase 5 up just yet. We don't want the City to send a bunch of teamsters after us because we revealed our genius masterplan too quickly. But trust us, once we get people talking, we'll clue you guys in to what the last phase is! A little mystery never hurts.

Now Delmarva, the hardest hump to get over will be getting people to actually participate. Lots of people read our site, only a few take the time to comment. However, we are confident that if we keep at it, eventually more people will respond. We just have to persevere is all. Remember: you can always comment as anonymous and you can also email us with questions. Get ready Delmarva- it's gonna be a wild summer! We's about to turn this motha out.

We Have A Dream!!!

2011-05-03T14:11:00.005-04:00

People of Delmarva, do you ever stop and wonder- why does Salisbury suck? It's a simple enough question....and yet, the people who should be asking it-Terry, Deb, Tim, and the Mayor-don't seem to care. Could it be because these elected officials are laboring under the delusion that Salisbury does not suck...that in fact, Salisbury is great? All signs point to yes.

Unfortunately for those of us who have managed to load up our horse and buggies to make the perilous voyage across the Chesapeake to the New World, it is glaringly apparent that in many arenas Salisbury is coming up disastrously short; night life, cultural diversity, job availability, and basic sense of community are just a few of the categories in which our little town- to put it delicately- fails.

But why are we failing? What's holding us back? The Other Salisbury News is of the opinion that Salisbury is suffering more from a lack of leadership and vision than from a lack of ability or resources. Thus, in an effort to alleviate this problem, we are going to introduce you to our Dream for Salisbury:

First of all, the river is clean. There are boats in it (their passengers are all smiling and waving to one another) and fish (without tumors) are jumping in the light of the setting sun. As children leap out of their crafts for a swim, a nearby heron takes flight and glides over the reflection of Downtown Salisbury floating on the water. Music fills the warm night air as college students and homeowners (who all live in the Camden Neighborhood and coexist peacefully) walk across the bridge toward Main St...

Main St. is all a bustle. Delis, ice-cream parlors, coffee shops, art galleries, record stores, and even a local butcher open their doors to the public. Families (who vary in background and ethnicity) stop to chat with friends and neighbors who are dining outside at their favorite restaurants, while the college crowds mingle and socialize in the doorways of bars (there's an irish pub, a sports bar, a cocktail lounge, and even a grown up arcade- the clubs don't open til 10). People set up blankets and lawn chairs in the parking lot outside Sperry Van Ness where an outdoor film is about to begin. Others make their way towards the front of the City Government Building where a Chalk-Art competition is underway (lots of famous artists from over the bridge have come to participate). Meanwhile, a Bordeleau wine tasting is going on at the Old Synagogue (which was sold to a young couple who converted it into an organic grocer) while children lick lollipops outside the corner candy-store.
...Did we mention this was a normal Wednesday night of no particular importance? Ah, well it is.

Delmarva, Salisbury has amazing potential, but it isn't going to fix itself. We need businesses. We need community outreach. We need market creativity. We need a stronger police force. We need to stop focusing on what fiscally divides us so we can start focusing on what socially unites us. But we can't do any of it if the people in charge of our money and our city continue to do what they've always done. The close-mindedness and lack of sympathy and imaginative scope that plagues Salisbury is literally killing it. If we do not see a change in the budgetary priorities and political perspectives that have become characteristic of our Mayor and Council then the vision of Salisbury that we all share will soon be lost. We'd all love for Salisbury to be a home we can be proud of...let's stop letting the pride of a few stand in our way.

Crowds Gather At White House

2011-05-02T01:30:00.003-04:00

Following Bin Laden's death, massive crowds gathered outside of the White House and at Ground Zero in NYC! Check out this footage:

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead.

2011-05-01T22:55:00.006-04:00

Update: According to CNN and Fox News, the man responsible for over 3,000 American deaths on September 11, 2001 has been killed in Pakistan. For nearly 10 years, we have been searching for this asshole with no success but today it looks like we got him. His death brings closure to the families of the 9/11 victims and assurance to the American people that he will never orchestrate another attack against our nation.

And so Gulls, with the Team America Theme Song playing in the background, we ask that you raise your glasses-

Drink for the the victims of 9/11 and their families.
Drink for the troops that protect us.
Drink for your fellow Americans.
And drink for your fellow man.

God bless America (and all of the international victims of terrorism too)! Have a good night.

Salisbury Festival!!!!

2011-04-29T19:38:00.003-04:00

Gulls,

If you haven't been down to the Salisbury Festival yet, there is still time! Talk about fun. They have awesome food, drinks, games, music, and rides galore. There will also be BEER TASTING SATURDAY FROM 3:00-7:00 p.m. BlackSheba and myself will be taking full advantage of what it has to offer tomorrow afternoon! Head downtown tomorrow to the Salisbury Festival for a kick ass good time!

City Council Agenda...And Our Thoughts On It

2011-04-29T10:05:00.013-04:00

MAY 2, 2011

COUNCIL CHAMBERS (ROOM 301)

GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDING

3:00 p.m. - Closed Session

Pending litigation/consult with legal counsel as permitted under the Annotated Code of Maryland Sections 10-508(7)(8)

Work Session (following conclusion of closed session)

Proposed easement abandonment and relocation (Walgreen Company - 917 Mt. Hermon Rd.) – Teresa Gardner
Lord’s Prayer issue – Paul Wilber
Manufacturing exemption request

Mandatory vs. discretionary treatment of requests
Spartech Polycom
DiCarlo Precision Instrument

Tenants Bill of Rights

Individuals or organizational representatives may come prepared to give or submit brief comments.

Financial results quarterly report – Pam Oland
U.S. 50E/Moore Annexation – Chris Jakubiak
Items for reconsideration:

“The Bricks”
Linens of the Week property (CDBG funding)
Onley Road/Bateman Street/S. Division Street project
Health care for elected officials
Other

City Council Rules of Order
General discussion/upcoming agendas

The astute Gull will notice that some interesting things will be happening in the City Government Building this Monday. For one, the Tenants Bill of Rights is on the table. Now aside from the redundancy of this Bill, (there is already a Maryland Tenants Bill of Rights available online- all you have to do is Google it) the Council is attempting to use it to hoodwink the good renters of Delmarva into thinking that they actually care about us and don't want us out of their neighborhoods like the Neighborhood Legislative Package (which they sweated over for months) would suggest. Deborah- if you really want to show me you care, how about mowing that strip of grass in front of my house that is not technically my yard but is somehow my responsibility; I know my legal entitlements, but those weeds aren't goin anywhere.

Linens of the Week is also up for discussion- we'll spare you the details of linens for now because the minutia of that debacle is no way to start off the day, but the long and short of it is that some nice person tried to donate a property to the city so that the city could turn it into a community center for a struggling neighborhood. Debbie and Terry didn't want to accept it because they didn't want to have to be responsible for fixing it up and maintaining it. Here's where it gets good- Debbie Campbell's Crime Task Force (which she references every 5 seconds) was dedicated to breaking down how community relations and neighborhood unity were imperative to stopping youth-based crime... as a matter of fact, her biggest justification for trying to kick renters out of the city was that single family neighborhoods have a stronger sense of community involvement...yet now she has the opportunity to improve a bad part of town with a community center and she's the first in line to say no. How interesting.

The City Health Insurance issue has become a soap opera. It's really not worth mentioning except that Debbie and Terry want Health Insurance when they are part-time city employees. Obviously, we think that's crap.

The sheer length of this agenda is crap too! At first glance, it's not all that intimidating. Ten items = No biggie right? WRONG! A quick visit to the Briefing Book is enough to make any sane person want to curl up and have themselves a good cry. Talk about delusional; This is the same City Council (plus our fine mayor) that spent nearly an entire hour "discussing" (aka screaming, storming out of the room, asking irrelevant questions, breaking into a monotone speech with no real purpose, throwing their hands up in the air, and coming to the City Council meeting unprepared) the maintenance of a piece of property that was given to them in Harbor Pointe! Hope is fading...quickly. As we have taken these factors into account, if the Council is to cover every item on the agenda, we speculate that the work session will disperse roughly around 1 AM at the earliest.

So who's responsible for this heinous monstrosity? In accordance with the Council Rules of Order, it is the Council President's (Terry Cohen) responsibility to set the agenda. Wait a minute! The City Council Rules of Order is on the table. Why? We aren't sure, maybe this is protocol? Or maybe they're amending the rules so that Deborah gets to set the agenda (*goosebumps*) and the public gets even less input. We'll just have to wait and see.

Hey! What Do You Think?

2011-04-29T09:33:00.004-04:00

Salisburians, Seagulls- We have a question for you!

The Other Salisbury News would like to know what changes you would like to see happen in Salisbury. What do you think needs to take place to make our City better? It can be a whole list or you can focus on just one area that you think needs improvement. Either way we would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks Delmarva and have a great day!

Uhh Can We Get A Flare Please?

2011-04-26T13:53:00.009-04:00

Some people are meant for leadership-Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., Jim Perdue... Others- not so much- but they lead us anyway. Such is the plight of Terry Cohen, Salisbury's newest City Council president. Terry's recent election reminds us of a story we once heard about a man named Edward J. Smith. Smith was a captain for the Royal Navy. He spent his whole life working his way up the line of British command, until finally he was one of the best captains the crown had to offer...or so he thought. Actually Smiths career was peppered with all kinds of dangerous mishaps, but he was always able to explain them, so he just kept getting promoted. One weekend as his cruise ship was chugging its way through some particularly perilous waters, Smith received a warning that he and his crew were in iceberg territory and ought to slow down. He ignored it. Smith got two more warnings of a similar nature all suggesting that he either reduce his speed or change his course due to inclement water conditions- he disregarded those as well. At 11:40 p.m. his ship crashed into an iceberg. Two hours and 1,500 lives later, the Titanic was gone.

Now, running with this little metaphor for a minute, we see that Jim Ireton is at Salisbury's helm, with Terry by his side as first mate. In the past few months, the passengers of the R.M.S. Salisbury have been screaming at these two people that there is an iceberg ahead (crime-based ruin of our local economy) and for months, we have been ignored. Why is that? What could they possibly be doing that is more important than avoiding an iceberg???

Apparently trimming a hedge. That's right Delmarva, the new City Council's first order of business was to approve Ordinance 2147 which addresses NUISANCE TREES AND SHRUBS!!! At this point there is really nothing that Terry, Tim, or Debbie can say to redeem themselves. We never liked them to begin with, but at this point it is clear that they are a downright liability. Terry can try to lecture us til she's blue in the face on why rosebushes are Priority #1 but it won't make much difference to a constituency that's clinging to a wardrobe in the middle of the Atlantic trying to make sure we don't die from gang violence. Send up a flare Delmarva, cause Salisbury is going down.

It's Here! It's Here!

2011-04-26T09:58:00.004-04:00

Well Gulls, Springtime has officially started! And because the writers of this blog are active college students (and not obsessive psycho-stalker bloggers with no lives...) we plan to make the most of the warm weather just like everybody else.

So saying, if you check this blog more than once a day, we recommend tuning in only in the evenings for the next few weeks; our mornings will now be dedicated to frolicking, having adventures, and doing our homework. We ask our older readers to remember how stressful the end of semester is (especially when combined with the temptations of spring) and be patient with us... (except for Tim, Terry, and Deb who by our calculations got in a time machine and purposely skipped years 16-25 so that they could enforce a "zero tolerance policy" on the students of SU without ever having to stop and remember what it was like to be young).

Anyway- as a general rule, we will now post after 3:00 p.m. so check us out when you get off work or out of class. Chow.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T06:00:00.001-04:00

The Other SBY News would like to wish everybody a very happy, healthy, and blessed Easter. If you are not religious, you can still appreciate the lessons that Jesus brought with him.

Alas, we are proud to introduce our Easter Values for 2011

Empathy

Acceptance

Selflessness

Thankfulness

Excellence

Respect

We encourage everyone to make an effort to raise the bar this Easter Sunday! Thanks for reading and Happy Easter!

Jump Joey!! Jump!! Good Boy.

2011-04-22T12:35:00.002-04:00

Gulls, if there's one good thing about Joe Albero it's that he is the most predictable man on the planet. You know how they say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" Well Albero is the oldest dog on the shore- all we have to do is say "fetch" and there he goes- off like a rocket. The funny thing is, the easiest way to get Albero just where you want him, is to let him think he got there all by himself-like small children and animals (his two favorite things) his thought process is based mostly on sensory stimulation, so moving him here and there isn't very hard.

A few months ago, we let it leak that the SAPOA President's daughter may or may not be one of our writers and before we could say Go get it! Joey had disappeared into the blogosphere chasing after that line. Then, right on cue, like the reliable dog that he is, he brought our story home for us yesterday by putting up a link to our site. Just as we planned, our hits have doubled...hang on Joey- I know I have a biscuit for you here somewhere...

At any rate, we just wanted to tell you not to worry Gulls. Joe is behaving just as he normally does- running around in circles trying to get out of his pen. But he can't. Because he has no idea whose actually behind this site (we've told him over and over that there are 5 of us but he just can't grasp it). Our blog is acting like an electric fence for Joe- he doesn't really understand what's containing him, he just knows it stings and he doesn't like it. So like every other dog he's gonna bark til we let him out. Sorry Joe, but no can do. You've bitten too many people. Just be glad we didn't put you to sleep.

COMMENT OF THE DAY

2011-04-21T18:20:00.002-04:00

Anonymous said...

Be scared be very scared..its about time we have a council that will look out for the community!! SU, Gulls, wanna bees, slum lords ..you should beg your grand master O Mally for more cash so you can build more campus housing. Then put your efforts were they will be better suited to your goals ...petition to allow drinking on campus again..

April 21, 2011 6:17 PM

Gulls- this should give you a picture of the kind of people we are dealing with- when we tell you that they hate students and want us out of their neighborhoods- we aren't kidding.

WELCOME SBYNEWS READERS!!

2011-04-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

Please feel free to take a look around our blog, read our mission statement, and leave comments. We know that some of you like Joe and although we disagree with that sentiment (to the very cores of our beings) we want to say THAT'S OK. Because on our blog everybody has a voice. So go ahead and poke around a little, take your time. We're in no hurry- we've got the next ten years to get to know you. Either way we are sure that in the coming months you will get to know us. So relax. Enjoy. And welcome- to The Other Salisbury News.

P.S. -Thanks for the shout out G.A.!! We've been waiting.

Check Us Out On Facebook!!!

Shout Out To The Flyer! (Followed By Constructive Criticism)

2011-04-21T11:12:00.006-04:00

Well Gulls, it looks like The Flyer is finally catching on. In this weeks issue they managed to interview Police Chief Duncan (Diana Dwyer) and report on the controversial housing law 4-2 (Kristina Letcher). Flyer, all of us hear at The Other Salisbury News would just like to say Bravo! (Slow clap). Well done you!

While we are thrilled that members of The Flyer are reading our blog everyday and are finally reporting on important issues, we still have a few...suggestions.

Firstly- why does the Chapstick article make it on page 1, but the 4-2 article get listed as an Editorial? Yea, we know it was written as an Editorial but seeing as its actual housing policy, it really should have been approached as news. (...It's ok-we get it-you are still learning. But how will you know it's wrong if we don't tell you?)

Secondly- you all need to do some serious research into the new city council. Terry Cohen (our new Council President) and Deborah Campbell (the new Vice President) were both instrumental in the drafting of 4-2. Did you know that? No, probably not. But you would have known it if you did your homework. Additionally, Tim Spies has been an extremely vocal advocate of chucking out college students and replacing them with single families for years- if you guys want to be considered news, you need to get on that- stat. Reputable news sources like yourselves are supposed to be the watchdogs for governments from the federal to the local level- so get out your binoculars and park it people! You've got work to do!

...Again though, we were very impressed by this weeks improvements- keep it up. Go Gulls!!

Happy 4/20 Gulls!!

2011-04-20T11:39:00.003-04:00

Is There An Extra Gnome In Your Yard?

2011-04-20T10:02:00.000-04:00

Do you see a portly little man with a poorly groomed goatee and hoofed feet hiding in your bushes? Does he have a cigar and a camera? If so, that's no gnome- that's Joe Albero!

Gulls, please be on the lookout for this man. In the past he has taken to photographing and harassing anyone he thinks is connected to an anti-Albero blog, and since he doesn't know which 5 of the 8,000 of us are to blame for The Other Salisbury News, you can expect him to be stalking us all. If he comes up to you, takes your picture, and begins to ask questions, promptly tell him to fuck off or you will call the police to have him removed. We repeat- this man is not to be trusted. DO NOT LET HIM TAKE YOUR PICTURE. Here is a list of the lives he has ruined which collaborates our story. Be safe gulls, and Godspeed.

Student Loans Turn To Student Groans- Tuition Rates To Outpace Inflation

2011-04-20T09:04:00.007-04:00

This post may be a little long, so for those of you who learn better from pretty pictures than the written word, here's a flowchart with lots of words!

Student loans have become a necessary evil in today's society. On one hand, we're told that finding a job in the current economy is difficult for everyone, on the other, going to college increases one's opportunity for both employment and salaries. However, because of the rising cost of higher education, the only way many students (myself included) are able to afford attending college, even state schools like SU, involves taking out a student loan or two.

The good news is Uncle Sam is more than happy to lend his nieces and nephews the money they need to continue their education; the bad news is, despite what parents, teachers, and guidance councilors tell you in high school, the chances of being able to pay back Uncle Sam (with interest) aren't great.

According to this article from The Pelican Post and The Economist, "college tuition has risen twice the rate of inflation and four times the rate of wage growth." In the United States, student loans increased 30% between 2004 and 2005. This alone would not be so frightening if 45% of college grads only earn less than $15,000 a year despite owing, on average, $20,000 in loans. If these statistics are giving you the chills, here are the percentages from The Pelican Post of students who are forced to default on their loans:

25% of all government loans default
30% of community college loans default
40% of two year college loans default
43% of loans from for-profit [private] schools default

Economists now worry that the cost of education may lead to the next economic crisis, something we literally cannot afford right now. When a large number of people invest a lot of money in something which ends up being worth less than their investments, these people become burdened with debt, and the economy begins to slow. The education market is starting to sound a lot like the housing market not too long ago, and we see where that got us!

So, what are we to do, Gulls? A high school diploma does not open many doors and has become the minimum requirement to pursue most respectable careers; however, even graduating from college does not assure many students to actually make money. Instead, it becomes a contract in which students agree to become indentured servants to the government. We are paying for the hope that we can realize the American Dream, pay off our loans with our amazing new jobs, and have plenty of extra left over cash to start a family and buy a house in the suburbs.

The government readily lends money to students to invest in their education; recognizing more funds are available, schools begin to raise tuition. They know that if they raise their cost by, for example, $200 per student for a semester, students can easily continue attending the school...they just need to take out a bigger loan. However, when tuition rises at a rate faster than inflation, paying back these loans in any sort of timely manner becomes virtually impossible. But, don't worry...the school already received their money, and the government knows you'll be good for it...eventually. In the meantime, don't mind the interest; you'll have plenty of time to worry about that later while you're holding your cardboard sign outside of Walmart.

Survey Results

2011-04-20T06:58:00.000-04:00

In our most recent survey we asked the question "Do you feel represented by the new City Council?" and received the following 39 responses:

Hell Yea! - 2 Votes (5%)
Hell No! - 30 Votes (77%)
IDGAF! - 7 Votes (17%)
Huh? - 0 Votes (0%)

Analysis:

5% of voters (aka the Camden Neighborhood Assoc.) do feel represented by the new City Council.
77% of voters (aka the overwhelming majority of Salisbury) feel misrepresented and are now finding themselves neck deep in gullshit....perhaps because they didn't vote?
17% of voters are still convinced that local politics will have little to no affect on them and thus feel no obligation to participate. Perhaps they'll reconsider when the gullshit hits the fan.
Finally (much to our surprise), there were zero votes for "Huh?" Could this actually mean that college kids are taking interest in local issues and educating themselves? Me thinks Debbie just broke out in hives. We'll send you some Aveeno Deb.

Gulls-
Our chance to make a difference was not lost on this election. We still have two decent Council Members (Laura Mitchell and Shanie Shields). Laura is very involved with Salisbury University (her husband is a professor) and Shanie has been an advocate for the 90% of Salisbury that does not reside in the Camden Neighborhood. These are our people. While they may not agree with everything we stand for (and are in no way affiliated with our blog), they are honest, informed, and fair people. Rest assured that they will consider your concerns and work towards a common goal rather than imposing legislation on you that was drafted without the participation of the entire Council and caters to their own set of beliefs. Though we hold these two individuals in high regard, we also encourage you to contact all City Officials (Mayor included) and demonstrate a genuine concern for our community.

The time to sit idly while a select group of individuals calls the shots needs to end (unless your down with that in which case we would appreciate the memo so we can stop while we're ahead). We students are 8,000 strong. It is time that we demonstrate our overwhelming potential to make Salisbury a better place for all. We encourage you to reach out to locals, extend a helping hand to your neighbor, and express a desire to make Salisbury both student-friendly and resident-friendly. This is our only option Gulls. Otherwise, I will be stacking POD storage units on the 4th floor of the parking garage and renting them out for cheap.

Gullshit Fest

2011-04-19T18:21:00.000-04:00

For 2011, Gullfest was deemed a sober event; We're talking dry, as even 21 year olds were being turned away for drinking beforehand. Multiple eye witnesses report almost every other student being breathalized at the door, with numerous arrests taking place (because we don't have bigger problems in Salisbury). Sounds like the kind ideal college student enviroment: Sober and filled with police and arrests. Seeing as many of us are 21 and liquor is readily available ON CAMPUS during oktoberfest, then why the hell is SU crying foul? Why the sudden crackdown on student events? Students may thank the Campbell (sorry...Camden) Neighborhood Association and Salisbury's city government (as if there's a difference) for pressuring the University to harass us.

There is one specific occurance which calls for special attention. Although, they wish to remain anonymous, two Monster (the energy drink) representivies, who are students at Salisbury University, have reached out to The Other Sby News to share their story of being knee deep in gullshit without a paddle. The two promoters were on the sidewalk across from the athletic fields, on Powers St, handing out free Monster Energy Drinks. Keep in mind that this area is not considered school property, but city owned. Well, the representivies were ripped a new asshole by the event coordinator, as well as being harassed by the door staff about 4-5 times. Moreover, the University tried to pull some James Bond shit (fail), by having a Saferide van pull up, and the employees leap out like some ghetto ninjas and try to forecefully grab the Monster....subtle. Their excuse was that the Monster representivies were littering, since they were 3 feet away from where their Monster was placed on the sidewalk. However, the shit just keeps exploding. The fact that one of the representivies was smoking a cigarette on the sidewalk seemed enough of a meritable offence for them to claim the Monster. So, first the University tried to revive prohibition and control the smoking age as well (just for kicks)- once again this was not on school grounds.

Eventually, the Salisbury Police were sent over...yea, we know. After a quick consideration, the cops recognized that the Monster representives were not doing anything wrong (much to the constipated event staff's conflicting opinion), and therefore could not be arrested. So basically the University event staff was harassing the Monster Representives for no reason. When asked however, those affiliated claim that they did not want Monster to interfear with the proformers sponsorships. Yes...because Mike Posner is really concerned that he'll lose his sponsorships. Regardless, there are two massive problems with this...
A. Monster is owned by Pepsi, which Salisbury University is sponsored by.
B. It was on public property, not on concert grounds which means that the University can't do shit.

On top of drinking and smoking, the University appears to be trying to regulate energy drink intake as well. Thank you Salisbury, but students are not looking for another paternal figure. We've got two and they're doin' just fine. We want out rights to be respected not encroached upon. This is an excellent example of students being informed of their rights and not being afraid to stand up for them. The city and apparently parts of the University think students are ignorant politically; therefore, they can order us around as they please. The time this stops needs to be NOW. Gullfest is the ONE BIG student event this year, and lets be honest, it sucked dick only as expertly as Albero can. You need some ice for that burn?

Did Anybody Else Just See That?!?!

2011-04-18T21:58:00.007-04:00

Here's what Gulls. The whole thing was a set up...a cheap, dark alley set up. Watching tonight's City Council meeting was like being forced to sit through a really bad ballet- you know you're supposed to support the arts, but you kind of want to kill yourself because the dancing f*****g sucks.

Everything was choreographed. That shit was planned down to the very last "aye." Terry didn't get "elected" president of anything; she knew it was coming- you could tell by the way she was smiling down at the floor. And Tim- a little quick on the uptake weren't ya? Before Jimmy had even finished asking for nominations, Tim was busting in with "I nominate Debbie Campbell!" Then, before poor Jim could ask for a vote on it, Deb cuts in, "As flattered as I am by this nomination I must decline it." She gave no explanation. She then follows up by nominating Cohen for president instead; Terry bats her eyelashes and pretends to be shocked. Spies seconds Debbie. Within a matter of 30 seconds Terry Cohen is President of City Council, Jim is cracking bad jokes to ease the tension, and Laura Mitchell is about to burst into tears while the rest of us look on in horror.

It was bad Gulls, real bad. We hate to say we told you so Delmarva... but we are, because we did. We told you these people would run Salisbury into the ground but you voted for them anyway (or didn't vote at all) and now look where we are- dangling by our balls over a shark tank of over-regulation and back door corruption. Don't take our word for it though-watch the re-runs for yourselves tomorrow morning at 10 am on channel 14. You won't be disappointed...actually you probably will be, but at least it won't be a surprise. As for us, we've got some hard alcohol and Sinatra waiting up in headquarters...it's going to be a long summer.

Yea, We're F****d.

2011-04-18T19:12:00.005-04:00

Here it is Gulls...the people that are going to run the next four years of your lives:

Terry Cohen - Council President (gag)

Debbie Cambell - Council Vice-President (barf)

Laura Mitchell - Council

Shanie Shields - Council

Tim Spies - Council (projectile vomiting, diarea, and Tim-induced tourettes)

Well we're just hoping that the people that are not student friendly will follow through with their promise to move forward with the common goal of community....as Terry would say: "We shall see...."

And can we take a moment to rub it in Douche Lord's face (aka Monster) that we reported on this before him. Dropping the ball Joey?

City Council Drinking Game (Because It's Necessary)

2011-04-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

There will be a City Council Re-organization tonight at 6 p.m. It's in the City Government building downtown (on the 3rd floor if you feel inclined to go) or you can watch it LIVE on Pac 14 (thats channel 14). We know its boring as hell but plan to tune in! We are hoping certain individuals will give us a shout out ($10 says that if they mention us they will accuse us of working for "special interests," running a smear campaign, and/or trying to "deceive voters") and you just can't pay for coverage like that! Send in your comments and if you have any questions and we will try to answer them. Have fun!

Due to the changing times (and Council Members), we've done a rough modification for the new members.

CITY COUNCIL DRINKING GAME:

STEP 1: TUNE INTO CHANNEL 14 TONIGHT AT 6:00

STEP 2: TAKE A SHOT (OR DRINK OF CHOICE) EVERY TIME...

TERRY, DEBBIE, TIM, OR JIM MENTIONS "SLUM, "BLIGHT," OR "SPECIAL INTERESTS."

DEBBIE CLEARS HER THROAT AND/OR ASKS FOR CLARIFICATION ABOUT SOMETHING MUNDANE.

TERRY MAKES AN UNNECESSARY SPEECH.

TIM SPIES LOOKS TO TERRY COHEN FOR HIS OPINION.

...WE GUARANTEE YOU'LL BE SLOSHED.

BONUS SHOT IF TIM IS SPORTING A SWEATER-VEST.

*** have fun and drink responsibly!!! (Just in case somebody has to get their stomach pumped because the meeting was so biased.)

A Chance To Get Informed

2011-04-18T17:05:00.000-04:00

We know...we're reaching on this one but we would like to encourage student involvement so attend the meeting tonight at the government building downtown. You can also tune-in to PAC-14 and watch as the new City Council members take their newly appointed or reappointed positions on the Council.

If it's anything like last week's City Council meeting (God willing), it's sure to make a lasting impression. We think this is a kick-ass opportunity to get involved with the City. Then you can go home and recover over a beer....or two...or an entire keg. Whatever verdict you determine is fine by us. So go to the liquor store, head to the government building, and prepare to imbibe afterwards. Just for the record- we wouldn't advise hitting the bottle during the meeting (we agree; it'll be a struggle).

My Fortune Cookie Says We're Screwed.

2011-04-18T10:47:00.007-04:00

Well Gulls, today is the day. Tonight at 6 pm, Terry Cohen, Tim Spies, and Laura Mitchell will officially be made part of the City Council (tune into pac 14). While we don't mind the election of Laura Mitchell, I must say that I will be keeping a bucket handy for the swearing in of the other two.

Now, Gulls- this next part is very important: At tonight's meeting a new council president will be elected by the new group. Council president has a variety of special powers including the ability to keep certain initiatives on or off the table (as in- they can delay or speed up the process by which certain ordinances and bills get written into law). The Other Salisbury News predicts that within five minutes of Cohen and Spies being sworn into office, Debbie Campbell will be voted the new council president.

Here is why that's bad:

Deborah was instrumental in drafting a little law called 4-2. Maybe you've heard of it? It says no more than two unrelated people shall occupy certain residences at a time (even 4 bedroom residences- hence the 4 to 2). Yea, so that's a big part of why housing is so damn difficult to find in this city. The thing is- that law was geared specifically at college students (one of the top demographics of renters in Deborah's neighborhood), arguably because she didn't want to live next to us.

Now perhaps you are thinking, "Wait a minute, I thought Debbie was pro-students. After all, she went out of her way to participate in the We Love Salisbury campaign a few years ago...why would she do that if she didn't actually like us?" Well, Gulls, if you want the answer to that question you'll have to hit up Pat Gotham, our last SGA Pres. who got some grant money thanks to Debbie, what was it Pat, 2 years ago? We are confident he can answer any questions you may have for him personally.

As for The Other Salisbury News, we'll be drinking (no worries Duncan- we're all twenty one) because Salisbury is about to go downhill- fast.

Pork In The Park

2011-04-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

There's still a chance to attend all the festivities that Pork In The Park has to offer. Grab your roommate and head on over to Winterplace Park for some awesome pork BBQ. For more information, visit their website: Pork In The Park

Reflections of A Civil Servant

2011-04-17T10:37:00.002-04:00

Gulls,

Let us begin by saying that we are also college students and we totally understand the mental and physical agony that one experiences at the mere mention of local politics. That's why we're here; to take away the sting.

Louise Smith, retiring City Council President, has issued a statement in which she reflects on her past 4 years as a civil servant to the City of Salisbury. Though we would typically sift through and extract the key points of such publications, we feel as though our traditional approach would butcher Louise's ultimate message. At this point, we are proud to provide a copy of Louise's message:

COMMENTARY - April 17, 2011

COUNCIL PRESIDENT SMITH RETIRES WITH APPRECIATION

It’s been an honor and privilege to serve these 4 years as City Council President.

I’ve worked with some of the finest leaders in the area. I’ve made numerous speeches, attended innumerable events and meetings; however, I have been inspired and uplifted by the goodness of so many people. Recapping my journey, I am reminded of some great moments as I stayed in touch with the ordinary folks.

Weekly I drove around the City; reporting to administration needed improvements. Badly deteriorated railroad crossings resulted in tracks removed or repaired. A building eyesore on Healthway Drive is removed. Hazardous sidewalks are replaced and other areas without sidewalks are under review for grant funding. The unkempt appearance of the City Park grounds, rain garden and fountain are beautifully refurbished. My extensive street sweeping analysis for 2008 is under review for improvements.

I implemented 12 fall and spring cleanup efforts in the Church Street/Doverdale neighborhoods. More than 20 volunteers dedicated over 9,030 hours collecting over 20.11 tons of trash and 1,515 pounds of recyclables.

Participating in “Women Build Day” for Habitat for Humanity was a humbling experience. I was touched by the many unsung heroes who look after our most vulnerable as I’ve visited Grace Church during the feeding of the homeless, Christian Shelter, Village of Hope, Atria Assisted Living, Lower Shore Enterprises, Anchorage Nursing Home, Holly Center’s Christmas gift giving to their residents and so many others.

I pledged to have the City’s audit completed without months of delay. Each year it improved. The 2010 audit report, a milestone was reached; it was received December 8^th, the earliest since 2003, with no instances of noncompliance in the financial statements and no material weaknesses in federal programs.

Three years I hosted Issues and Answers on PAC 14, a monthly program designed to expand the transparency of city government’s functioning.

I’ve had a good journey and now this leg of my own improbable journey comes to an end and I look forward to the title of citizen of Salisbury.

I thank the many people who have been my most trusted and valuable advisors for helping me to identify not only challenges, but solutions to those challenges. I thank my political adversaries for keeping me nimble and the media for keeping me humble. And, I thank my family and friends for their undying support.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve.

God bless you.

Louise Smith

Salisbury City Council President

Gulls,

Louise has helped us out countless times over the past 4 years. She has been one of the most student-friendly members to serve on the City Council while maintaining her promise to represent local residents as well; a platform not easily attainted. As a gesture of appreciation for all sacrifices that she has made for us, we ask you to GIVE IT UP FOR LOUISE FOR BEING A BOSS!!!

Hey Salisbury- Call Sheriff Lewis!

2011-04-15T11:18:00.004-04:00

Well Delmarva, the Eastern Shore's very own Voldemort has asked his gang of devoted followers to call the Sheriff and harass him into doing what he wants. Joe commanded his "lemmings" (as Roberta so cleverly put it) to call Mike Lewis and demand that he continue to let his staff leak crime-related info. to sbynews.

Here at The Other Salisbury News we say f*** that. Joe is an asshole (in our opinion) and shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. We ask that you call Sheriff Lewis to tell him he is doing a great job and thank him and his team for all of their hard work keeping us safe. Joe is trying to ruin Mike's day today, so lets brighten it instead; let's make sure he gets more support from the community than condemnation from Joe's Death-Eaters. The number is 410-548-4891. Mike- The Other Salisbury News salutes you. You're doing a good job. Stay strong.

UPDATE: We just got off the phone with the Sheriff's Secretary who happily informed us that ours was just one out of many supportive calls their office has received today! Keep up the great work Delmarva! You are really making a difference!

GET READY GULLS- IT'S THIRD FRIDAY!!

2011-04-15T10:47:00.010-04:00

Gulls- Are you tired of spending your weekends waiting in line in somebody's dingy basement for a foam filled solo-cup? Yea, so are we. That's why you should join us at Downtown Salisbury's Third Friday!! Once a month, Salisbury's historic downtown takes a break from dying its slow, painful death to treat the community to live music, local artists, open door sales, and at least one kiosk selling beer (if it's the same as last month). There will also be jewelry stands from Eastern shore artisans and discounts in the thrift shops (if you are like us and like to shop second-hand smart). It's going to be a beautiful evening and lots of the local residents will be there- what better way to change their minds about students than to mingle with them at tonight's community-based celebration? The Mayor will also be there, manning his post at Flavors, and since this whole shindig was his idea (one of exactly five good ideas he has had since his election) we encourage you to take the opportunity to tell him what you, as students, would like to see happen in Salisbury. Seeing as his biggest campaign promise was to bring the community together, he should be thrilled to hear your input. So take a break from your favorite frat party tonight Gulls, and get to know Salisbury... or better yet, give Salisbury the chance to know you.

Gullshit Advisory!

2011-04-15T02:10:00.001-04:00

Gulls,

The Mayor presented his budget today....a far cry from being frugal. We're talking about some serious dough here gulls. So what's he spending it all on? We're gonna tell you:

$5000.00 towards a neighborhood service center. Brief explanation as to why this is gullshit: according to the City Website, a service center is basically a location where law enforcement can pow-wow and pinch a loaf before hitting the road again. Furthermore, a recent work session revealed that the service center had logged 83 people on it's sign-in sheet, 34 of which spent 5 minutes OR LESS at the center. Note to readers: crime went down in that neighborhood when vehicle patrol checks increased substantially; not when cops were hanging out in this service station. Wasting money on service stations is not going to reduce crime any more than cutting your grass and trimming your rose bushes.

As if that isn't enough, they're also bumping the rental and landlord licensing fee up by $7.50. Don't be fooled into thinking that your landlord will waive that fee. They've got people to feed and shit to pay for too. This is the City's way of trying to pit tenants against their landlords when in actuality, it is the city imposing these charges upon renters. Jim's gotta pay for his 50 million dollar budget somehow.

Oh wait....this one is good. Because there isn't enough parking drama on campus, we now have to hear about the city raising the cost of parking permits. The last time I opened my wallet, moths flew out. Thats how broke we are Jim. You stated that you're "not afraid of spending money" at the State of The City Address. Well you better get scared or else I'm showing up on your front stoop in the grim reaper costume this weekend.

And for the real kicker- Ol Jimbo got us a little thing called the Cops Grant. Here's the rub. We were allotted 4 officers under the COPS grant who began service in 2009. The grant pays for them for 3 years but then we are required to keep them one more year on our nickel. So....we will need to pay their full salary (including benefits) starting December 2012. Any ideas how much this gullshit is going to cost? Approx. $330,000 but here's where it gets really good. Between this year's budget and last year's budget, only $50,000/year has been allocated ($100,000) total. Wait...that leaves $230,000 still unaccounted for.....guess where it's coming from. Bend over gulls....here comes Jimmy (with Terry, Timmy, and Deborah in hot pursuit).

Hooray For Sheriff Lewis!!

2011-04-14T15:36:00.005-04:00

It's a beautiful day Delmarva! Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis has officially cut off the Monster from all contact with his personnel! For Salisbury, this is the moral equivalent of Leonidas standing up to Xerxes- Mike knew damn well Joe was gonna turn around and trash him because of his decision, but he stuck to his guns (pun intended) and did the right thing. Good for you Mike Lewis! We applaud your chutzpa and encourage the rest of Salisbury law enforcement officials to reach down yonder for a reminder that you too have balls. Raise your glasses Gulls- for Mike Lewis- honorable Sheriff of Wicomico County and example to us all. Cheers Mike! Ya did good.

Local Grandmother Needs Your Help!!

2011-04-14T09:36:00.008-04:00

GULLS THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE: There is a coalition of Anti-Albero citizens growing and we want you to be a part of it. This coalition is led by Roberta Wechsler. Roberta's granddaughter was found brutally murdered on Christmas Day two years ago and since then Albero has been using his blog to slander her family at every opportunity. Here are just a few examples of his crimes against the Foxwell family:

**While it pains us to give Albero any hits, we think it is important for the students of SU to see exactly what kind of a person we are dealing with here. Sorry.**

1. After one of the court hearings, Albero posted that Jennifer Foxwell (Sarah's mother) was basically a pregnant slut. That's right- he cut down the pregnant mother of a murdered child. Don't believe us? Go here to read it.

2. Against the wishes of the family, Albero posted the graphic details of Sarah's murder because he thought that it was "public information." We will not repost any of it on our site but you can go here to read it. Gulls, when you are reading it I want you to imagine your little brothers and sisters or your nieces and nephews and imagine how you would feel if he released that information about them.

3. Albero has claimed since the very first days that Sarah went missing, that he was intimately involved in the case. While the Sheriff's Department and the States Attorney have both asked him not to release any more details out of respect for the family, Albero has recently threatened to write a book about Sarah's murder and the Foxwell family if they don't comply with his wishes. You can read that post here.

Gulls, by now it should be obvious that the man is unhinged. Recently, Roberta Wechsler, in response to her family's outright abuse at the hands of Albero, has turned to the blogging community for help (read it here). We ask that each and every one of you rise to the occasion by responding to Roberta's request. Over the next few weeks, Roberta will be asking for public support as well as other kinds of back-up in her quest to stop Albero, please be on standby to come to her aid.

In case you would like to hear all of this from Roberta herself, we've included the video of her original plea to the public after the hearing of Thomas Leggs (Sarah's murderer).

Thank you.

The Other Salisbury News

Keep Your Eyes Open Gulls!!!

2011-04-13T21:36:00.000-04:00

Gulls,

We have received a notice that some pretty gnarly info is going to surface tomorrow morning. Be sure to check the blog for this shit.

-The Other SBY News

Banning Books....That Warn About Banning Books.

2011-04-13T17:26:00.010-04:00

Here at The Other Salisbury News, we believe everyone should have a voice and oppose almost any form of censorship. However, not everyone in the country shares our view. Earlier this week, the American Library Association (ALA) published a list of the “Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010.” This list is composed of the books for which the ALA received a written request from a school or library asking that a particular title be banned due to its content or level of appropriateness.

The list includes titles students may recognize such as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Personally, the frequent request for censorship I find most alarming (and a bit ironic) is Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World set in a dystopian future in which all books are banned...clearly, some people missed it's point.

Fortunately, the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom believe that exposing individuals to diverse points of views contributes to society as a whole; they are committed to protecting the fundamental right to read.

What we want to know is- who are the schools and libraries that wrote to the ALA demanding those changes? Educational establishments and public libraries should be the upholders of freedom of expression and information...not the suppressors of it. Furthermore, who was the square that decided that he would draw the line with the Twilight series? I mean really, you couldn't find a better place to put your foot down? We can see the headlines now, "Constitution In Jeopardy Over Vampire Erotica" .... that'll say loads about us in the history books.

For the complete list of the books most frequently requested to be taken off the shelves, visit the ALA's official press release.

The Other Salisbury News Is Always Hiring

2011-04-13T10:38:00.011-04:00

Well Gulls, word on the street is that now that Terry, Tim, and Debbie are in charge of Council, some big changes are in the works. Just what are those changes you ask? According to our sources, the first thing on the agenda is to CLEAN HOUSE. So if you work for the City (and you aren't the Mayor) rumor has it that in the next month or so you will be asked to pack up your shit and scoot because the City of Salisbury will be hiring.

With that possibility in mind, we cordially invite Paul Wilber, Tom Stevenson, Pam Oland, John Pick, and anybody else that might be on the chopping block this month to come on over here to The Other Salisbury News. The pay isn't great-actually there is no pay at all- BUT we will let you live in Headquarters AND we will share our canned food and cereal with you! Additionally you will have the chance to fulfill your dreams of becoming anonymous free-lance writers! Just picture it! A penniless cyber-crusade to save the City of Salisbury (soon to be called Gothem City) from its impending doom!

Don't you remember how bad-ass Captain Planet was? Remember his team of youth activists that all banned together to save their city with Earth! Water! Wind! And Fire! (Insert multi-cultured fist pump here). Well you could be part of that! Just imagine how amazing our joint fist pump would be: Agenda (John)! Budget (Pam)! Projected Legal Impact (Paul)! Code Enforcement (Tom)! and Blog Power (Team of The Other Salisbury News)! Can you even fathom what incredible superhero would be magically conjured by the unstoppable power of our combined efforts?!?! OH. MY. GOD. Bob Caldwell.

Shout Out To Claggett And Krock

2011-04-12T15:15:00.005-04:00

Well Gulls, its obvious that the Flyer has been reading our blog, since this week's addition of their paper caters to two of our biggest concerns. Writer Scott Claggett discusses the propensity for abuse inherent in the Crime Free Lease Addendum on page 2, and in a kick-ass Letter to the Editor, Jordan Krock talks about the notorious "Camden Elite"- enemy to students and renters alike for the past 20 years.

We are glad to see the paper is finally catching on to whats really up in Salisbury and encourage them to help us spread the word about the f-d up shit that goes down behind the closed doors of the Camden Neighborhood Association in the months to come. Good job Flyer- you're definitely making progress. This week, we salute you. Go Gulls!

Monster Attacks President Of SU

2011-04-12T09:44:00.007-04:00

That's right Gulls. Not even Janet Dudley can escape the erratic wrath of Albero. It's true. He hunted down her campaign contributions (see here). Why you ask? No one knows why. The man is unstable. At this very moment, he is probably perched on top of the downtown parking garage, clicking away with his high-def camera, trying to get an aerial shot of Headquarters (for those of you who don't know, Headquarters is where we keep all of our top secret material on all of Salisbury's scandals.... lol, Tim & Terry- don't even bother- you'll never find it).

Anyway, we don't know why Joe went after Dudders, but that's f-ed up. We certainly have our issues with J.D. and the way SU is run, but that doesn't make it ok to make personal attacks on her character. She's important...really important. Have you seen the Purdue school of business lately Joe? Yea, zoom in on that magnificent plastic clock with your camera and then tell me you want to mess with Dudley- she knows people. Rich people. So leave her alone! She also knows us too (though she doesn't know it) and we have her back. So lay off her before we and the rest of our Teamster Gulls steal into your home, toss you in a burlap sack, drive you to SU, and tie you to the new Purdue clock covered in gold and maroon body paint as a lesson to all of the Eastern Shore to what happens when you F*** with SU!!!!

....Lol, just kidding! ($10 says Joe's having his lawyer meet him on top of the garage at noon to analyze that statement.)

City Council Minutes 4/11

2011-04-11T18:08:00.003-04:00

Oy- We made it!

6:00- We apologize for missing the first couple minutes- we were out on official blog business :D

6:08- Kay Gibson is whining about the sidewalks...already? Whatever. Drink.

6:09- Paul Wilber is reading an Amendment...probably for the last time.

6:12- Tom Stevenson is whispering something to Paul Wilber...probly telling him which classifieds he's going to pursue.

6:15- Debbie expects people to tell her whats happening...Drink.

6:14- Resolution 2045. John Pick is reading... something about a housing plan. Shocker. I wonder if Paul's going to retire...

6:15- PTA must've been canceled. His highness has deigned to attend the meeting.

6:16- Cohen is asking a useless question. Drink.

6:17- Jim says the Daily Times was lying about soil samples. He managed to stay in his chair while talking. Well done Jim.

6:18- Cohen is speaking...Drink.

6:19- Jim is answering Terry. He really doesn't need to talk, his hands are more than capable of doing the talking. Anyway he's been harassing the EPA and wants credit.

6:20-OOOHHH Shanie is calling Jim out.

6:21- Debbie...come on Debbie...get it out. Lol she's still mad the city bought the property. Drink.

6:22- Debbie is still talking..."what are we thinking?" Lol, we are thinking that is a dumb question to spend tax money asking. Drink!

6:23- Jim's gettin heiffy!!! "Councilwoman Campbell, where did you get that information? That info is actually quite damning and I need to find out if someone has lied to you."

6:24- Cohen calls the Times liars...Drink for the Times. Everyone shits on them.

6:25- Terry is still talking...she's annoyed about mud puddles. Drink.

6:25- Shanie says she hasn't heard about this demolition. She takes one out of Debbie and Terry's book "we see people doing this all over the country..." Drink for Shanie who will be stuck on the new council.

6:28- Resolution something 46? It's about accepting 3 parcels of land...ownership of parcels...county agrees to accept these parcels. Lol, drink every time Pick says Parcels!

6:32- Pick is still talking about the property parcels...

6:33- Debbie is asking another frivolous question. Drink. She doesn't want to spend the money. Shocker.

6:35-"It just came to me..." Debbie. You are a public servant. This thought should have come to you earlier today- that way you would have showed up to the meeting prepared. You are a bigger waste of tax dollars than this stupid transfer of parcels.

6:36- Debbie-"What if there are insufficient funds?"

6:37- Someone who knows what he's talking about is telling Debbie her question is a dead issue.

6:37- Jim is yelling at Debbie! "Mrs Smith, I would like to know if Councilwoman has a point."

6:37- "Uh, Mayor before you were elected..." OMG. Jim is going to kill her. "...the taxpayers are being taken advantage of...no offense to you..." ROTFLMFAO

6:38- Jim-"I appreciate that your interpretation of the situation...when I hear the word quagmire....staff has been working....I believe we are helping the Neighborhood Association... there are times when things have to get done...I will say publicly that that is your opinion and that may not always be correct." Wow. I never thought I'd say this but slow clap for Jim!

6:40- Debbie "If I could just finish. This reminds me of a couple of parcels on West Main St...."

6:42- John Pick "there is nothing we can do that I know of that can force Empire Mortgage to give the properties to the Community Association...the work would be done by the time the properties transfered...The Community Association wants these properties."

6:43- Debbie "They would be just as responsible for the upkeep of the property as anybody else in our city... you don't know how we would force the mortgage company to negotiate with the home-owners association...that is not a city role. I understand we are trying to assist the homeowners association....but other than taking this deal, we have no authority to force them to deal with anybody they ought to..." She's beating a dead horse. Drink.

6:45- Get em Gary! "I've been sitting at this table for the last few years listening to Ms. Campbell say the same thing over and over again...We have to deal with the facts....We are supposed to be helping the people of Harbor Point...it would become a community asset...a win-win is when everybody gets what they need- I think we've done a good job of creating a win-win here...I think this is the best way to mitigate this situation and I look forward to voting an affirmative to it."

6:48- Terry has "a few" questions. Here we go. Drink. "Good intentions are a wonderful thing but they get us into all sorts of trouble...I recognize that we are trying to help the neighborhood out...but insinuating ourselves into something... and have another company come to this city and use us as a conduit for a tax break....every time we have those tax breaks, thats less revenue...if we wanted to do something like tax incentives for our local small businesses we can't because we are making deals with companies like Empire Mortgage..." Wow. Now she's asking if "'provided that' the same thing as 'contingent upon'"? Terry, if you had looked at the bill you would already know that.

6:52- Jim is going to flip a shit. "It's difficult to sit here and be told, as the Mayor...I'm not sure what I've been accused of by the two councilwomen here but it's coming fast and furious...it's important we move forward in situations like this especially as we try to revitalize our urban core. Either we are a conduit to help the neighborhood or we are deal-makers. "

6:54-Debbie "Mr. Mayor we aren't accusing you of anything...things happened before you got here...urban decay...we are talking about mismanagement-I'm sorry you've taken offense but..."

6:55- Gary "Mayor, I hope this administration continues to work with Neighborhood association, property owners, and whoever else it takes to rid the city of problem properties...we can bring up things like what the responsibility is of certain people...we cannot write a policy for every situation we come across. I hope everybody works in a creative way to solve problems. It takes a willingness to work together. That's what happened here, we worked together and it worked out, and I'm glad it did." .

6:58- Shanie-$12,000 TO CUT THE GRASS???? Drink. "We need to move on to something else." Amen to that.

6:59- But Debbie's not going to move on is she? No. No she isn't. Drink. "Memorandum of Understanding..."

7:02- Terry "As I look at this particular paragraph..." Lord help us. Drink. "I'm concerned about this dragging on..." Lol, are you really Terry? It doesn't seem like it.

7:06- Debbie has a question. Drink. "What kind of mechanism is in place to make sure we bring it proper condition?" Paul Wilber must want to blow his brains out.

7:08- Debbie again. "The city is holding the bag...I don't know what else there is to a storm water pond other than the clay and the trees...Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I know nobody did it on purpose." My God. What is she talking about? Drink.

7:09- Debbie. "Is there a possibility..." Drink.

7:10- Jim-"There is a possibility that a martian could land on the property Mrs. Campbell! ...every time somebody takes a breath there is another complication...I don't know what else I could have done to get you to vote for this!"

7:11- Debbie "Here is what I worry about...he says this is not our scope of work...isn't there some simple language that can be put in here that says that whatever it takes to bring that up to proper condition is what we're signing up for?"

7:12- The Mayor got up and walked out.

7:13- Gary is trying to keep the peace. "This dead horse is about to start stinking. We need to vote and move on."

7:14- Louise tries to move on.

7:15- Debbie won't let her. "The Mayor has left to call Mrs. Gardener..."

7:16- Get her Gary! "Mrs. Campbell had all week to ask these questions she got this information last Wednesday! Now I don't care if I'm not going to be here I am a taxpaying citizen and I'm going to follow-"

7:16- Louise "Order!"

7:17- The Mayor has in fact returned. "Differing site conditions" apparently solve this problem. Dear Lord, he is cracking up- that's not good.

7:17- Louise says they should vote on it. They are about to vote-

7:18- Terry has a question. "I don't have a question, I have a comment...I hope that in the future all people at this table will be more respectful." My God. Drink.

7:19- They vote. It's unanimous. So basically the last hour and 15 minutes was a waste of our time.

7:20- Meeting is adjourned.

We would just like to say that Louise and Gary have done a great job in Council. We appreciate their hard work and wish them luck in all their future endeavors. Until next time Salisbury!

GET READY!! IT'S TIME FOR THE CITY COUNCIL DRINKING GAME!!!!

2011-04-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

There will be a City Council meeting tonight at 6 p.m. It's in the City Government building downtown (on the 3rd floor if you feel inclined to go) or you can watch it LIVE on Pac 14 (thats channel 14). We know its boring as hell but plan to tune in! We are hoping certain individuals will give us a shout out ($10 says that if they mention us they will accuse us of working for "special interests," running a smear campaign, and/or trying to "deceive voters") and you just can't pay for coverage like that! Send in your comments and if you have any questions and we will try to answer them. Have fun!

CITY COUNCIL DRINKING GAME:

STEP 1: TUNE INTO CHANNEL 14 TONIGHT AT 6:00

STEP 2: TAKE A SHOT (OR DRINK OF CHOICE) EVERY TIME...

TERRY, DEBBIE, OR JIM MENTIONS "SLUM, "BLIGHT," OR "SPECIAL INTERESTS."

DEBBIE CLEARS HER THROAT AND/OR ASKS FOR CLARIFICATION ABOUT SOMETHING MUNDANE.

TERRY MAKES AN UNNECESSARY SPEECH.

LOUISE SMITH (COUNCIL PRESIDENT) GETS INTERRUPTED.

...WE GUARANTEE YOU'LL BE SLOSHED.

*** have fun and drink responsibly!!! (Just in case somebody has to get their stomach pumped because the meeting was so biased.)

Presidential Candidate Miller Hires Monster As Press Secretary

2011-04-11T10:29:00.006-04:00

Republican Party- You just lost 5 potential votes in the election of 2012. You are about to lose thousands more. Our blog will be encouraging every college kid in the State of Maryland to vote Democrat (not a hard task, really) until you drop Tom Miller from the campaign line up. He has employed a thief, a slanderer, and a bully as his Press Secretary which not only makes him a terrible judge of character but an unsatisfactory candidate for the presidency. The longer you wait, the more votes you will lose. It's up to you.

Gulls- The List of Joe Albero's Victims now has over 125 people on it. We ask you to multiply that number by 50,000. That is the projected scope of victims for the year 2013 alone if Joe Albero becomes National Press Secretary. It is your duty as Americans to keep that Monster as far away from the White House as possible...tell everyone you know about Tom Miller and his crime against humanity- start talking.

Tom Miller- F@#% You.

Monster Attacks SU Professor

2011-04-11T10:00:00.001-04:00

I tell ya Gulls, the list goes on and on. Accomplished Lawyer, Volunteer Firefighter, and SU Professor of Political Science Michael Farlow has been added to the ever expanding group of people targeted by the Monster's blog. Since we technically can't copy and paste any material from that foul site, we ask that you go here to view the entire story.

Now, Holierthanthou and myself have both had classes with Farlow and have found him to be funny, reasonable, and an exceedingly nice person. The story in the link is actually pretty hilarious because it makes Joe look like a vertically challenged Neanderthal and Farlow look like the smart, comical person that he is. Professor Farlow- The Other Salisbury News supports and defends you (although based on Joe's account of events you hardly need it) and will be drinking quite a few beers tonight in honor of your little victory against Joe (aka all that is evil). Cheers :)