plus 4, North Myrtle Beach eyed for rally - The Sun News |
- North Myrtle Beach eyed for rally - The Sun News
- The Worst Day of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks in Haifa, Israel's History - Salem-News.Com
- AUTO RACING: Eriksens relish Baja 1000 win (12/11) - News Enterprise
- Stories of the Week - Davis County Clipper
- Rodeo continues rebranding - Star Community Newspapers
| North Myrtle Beach eyed for rally - The Sun News Posted: 10 Dec 2009 10:05 PM PST Lazarus and Worley said they were looking for thesupport of the chamber and the business owners who would benefit from the events, which could include car shows, concerts and others in addition to the motorcycle event, before deciding whether to go to the City Council to ask for the ordinance changes that would make the events possible. "We don't want to close down streets or go into the neighborhoods for this. There are 10,000 people who come for the shag events, and that works out well for Main Street. It's the same number of people [for the motorcycle event], and they come in and bring business when it's relatively slow," Lazarus said. The chamber board was hesitant to affirm its support for the plan Thursday, but agreed to form a task force to look into the rule changes and to begin gauging the area sentiment. Mayor Marilyn Hatley couldn't be reached for comment Thursday afternoon, nor could city manager John Smithson. "We want to get an understanding of what kinds of permitting are in place right now on Main Street and in that downtown area ... and what would need to change to make it more attractive," said chamber President and Chief Executive Marc Jordan. "We have a lot of options for that area, and April and May are the months we need to look at to expand the season. I think it's probably too soon to give an opinion on [the motorcycle event]. We're going to start sitting down with elected officials and with the public to see how they feel and move from there." Worley and Lazarus said they had walked around the area with Harley-Davidson representatives earlier this week, and they are most interested in the Main Street area of the city. He said the company's corporate group had a tent at the New Bern, N.C., rally but is not the same group that organized that event. The North Myrtle Beach event would be aimed at the 10,000-person Harley Owners Group, which Worley said was much smaller than the traditional Myrtle Beach area rally and a different group of bikers. "You're not going to have Jell-O wrestling or bikini bike washes," Lazarus said. "And this isn't a long-term commitment. We're asking to try it for this one year, and then if you don't like it, if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't have to happen again." Myrtle Beach, which had been the epicenter of the two May rallies, last year enacted regulations to try to gain control over the two events after they grew too large for residents' liking. The move sparked a lot of controversy and anger among rally supporters. Some bikers did still come to the Grand Strand this year, but far fewer, and they mostly avoided Myrtle Beach - a problem, some said, in a year already marred by recession. But city leaders haven't wavered. "Myrtle Beach's position hasn't changed," said city spokesman Mark Kruea when asked about the city's reaction to the North Myrtle Beach proposal. "North Myrtle Beach will have to decide if a rally fits in with its other plans." Worley said the Harley representatives are also looking at New Orleans and Ocean City, Md., but have told them that North Myrtle Beach is their first choice. The event would take place on the site of the O.D. Pavilion and Amusement Park, which Worley and Lazarus worked to open as a pilot project last year at the end of Main Street on Ocean Drive. The two plan to open the amusement park for Memorial Day weekend and asked the Harley group to organize its event the weekend before Memorial Day. If approved, the event would officially open Wednesday, May 19, and run through Sunday, May 23. Lazarus said the pavilion would then set up all its games, rides and other areas during the next five days before opening its season on Friday, May 28. The annual Harley-Davidson Spring Rally, after several ordinances were passed inside Myrtle Beach city limits and in the county, focused its smaller attendance last year in the Murrells Inlet and South Strand areas as well as Barefoot Landing. It is scheduled to start on May 7 and run through May 16. The Memorial Day Bikefest in Atlantic Beach would start a few days after the North Myrtle Beach event. Rally promoter Mike Shank said if the North Myrtle Beach event is going to happen, the city and the organizers are racing the clock. "If it takes an ordinance, and you have to have three readings, the earliest they could start that process is probably January. That would put them into mid-February, which would be a real time crunch for promoting and organizing the event," he said. "Starting a venue from scratch was never easy in the best of times of Bike Week. I think that would be a great venue, and I think with the reduced crowd, they wouldn't have to worry about excessive noise or whatever. We are coming down to an excessive time crunch." fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
| The Worst Day of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks in Haifa, Israel's History - Salem-News.Com Posted: 10 Dec 2009 10:05 PM PST Dec-10-2009 22:29 Some journalists cover wars from hotel balconies while others sometimes get a little too close to the action. (SALEM, Ore.) - Odd dreams -- when your mind is overrun by information and experiences that the brain matter can not seem to absorb at a normal everyday rate. Even though I was extremely tired, the dreams kept on waking me up in a lucid but dreamy state. All I can say is, I'm glad I did not randomly get out of bed in one of those lucid semi-conscious moments, to go to the bathroom. If i did I would have probably been urinating out over the balcony, thinking I was somewhere else -- like some damaged subconscious self-guiding system that had its wires crossed somewhere along the line. I woke up feeling drained, and my body stiff. I felt like I had just done a gigantic triathlon that went on for days. I spent most of the day planning on what to do next, occasionally having a walk around Haifa, in close proximity to the hotel. The area was pretty deserted, with nothing much going on. The heat was extremely high, reflecting off the dry, dusty, concrete streets. Most of the shops were closed, for obvious reasons. To be truthful, I was already getting very tired and jittery, thinking I was missing a great story somewhere in Israel that was war related. I hated walking around doing nothing, when all of this was going on around me. By the time I got back to the hotel, it was early evening. I walked to the lounge on the bottom floor to watch the local news, only to be greeted by a bunch of journalists. Three of them were from Europe, and one from the States. The guy sitting closest to the TV looked the most weathered...well, that was an understatement! This guy looked like he had been dragged through a barbed-wire bush, that had been drenched in cabin fever ointment, if there ever was such a thing. This grouchy looking, war-torn, abused looking guy was a well known American journalist who did dispatches. He was a short, medium-built guy with a rough, unshaven look about him -- he must have been in his early to mid 50's, a guy I could envision meeting in some old dive bar in the woods, that was set in "Deliverance" country... All he needed was a dead raccoon on his head, and an old musket gun, eyeing up the local wildlife in a way that would even make bears want to run and hide. Not by fear of getting shot... more so a fear that no bear would probably want to admit to (I will leave that to your imagination). This guy, as I found out later, was a battle hardened Marine from the Vietnam era, and probably had every reason to look the way he did... No matter how healthy you are, or how well you try to look after yourself, if you decide to spend most of your life in war zones, whether it be in the military, or covering stories, it will catch up with you. So for any vain individuals out there who are thinking about trying out this kind of work: No amount of sun beds, facial treatments, or expensive appointments with top Beverly Hills plastic surgeons will be able to cover up or cure the long lasting, visible side-effects of being stuck in nasty, unstable environments...predominantly the ones that are war-related. The other journalists were all clean shaven young people that looked as if they had just come out of a new showroom of journalistic wannabes. They all appeared far too healthy and too normal, as well as looking too mentally stable, to qualify as battle hardened journalists. Being the way I was, from the way I was brought up, I had always been attracted to the weird and wonderful things in life... so of course I had found myself drifting toward the American journalist, with the extremely inquisitive nature that I have. By now I had realized how costly it would have been for me to keep on paying for a private room, and decided to join the others in the hostel part of the hotel. It worked out far more cheaply -- even though I am a bit of a loner and tend to like my privacy, as well as my own company. It worked out as a good choice in the end, to join all of them. If I stood by my guns and had not done this, the American journalist and I would still not be good friends now. It did not take long for the rockets to come again; someone must have heard my complaining to the owners of the hotel about the lack of excitement and rocket amusement to help me pay for my survival. As things got hotter in Haifa, so did our intense viewing of TV in the living room. We all started to huddle up and be glued to the TV as if it were some addictive drug that we needed, to keep our brains and adrenaline alive. Before we knew it, the rockets were starting to rain down around the area we were staying in. All of us were running out of the house and disappearing for hours on end, except for one other journalist -- the American guy, who always seemed to be muttering... "I need a drink, where is the f**king bar," and just walking around with his laptop looking for wireless signals to send his dispatches through, while all this chaos was going on. The other journalists were running off to what I had thought was where the rocket attacks were taking place...instead, to my surprise they were taking cover with the hotel occupants (most of the time) in their underground air-raid shelter. I do remember the hotel owners trying to talk me into taking shelter with them, but I thought "no way!!!...I'm here to make money, and I got to find a way to pay for your over-priced rooms anyway." There was one exceptionally bad day where the rockets did come extremely close to us; when they seemed to be landing over and over again. This time the explosions were extremely loud and sounded very nasty. I noticed again that everyone had disappeared -- so I raced out of the hotel with my camera and flash. I could see huge, dark grey smoke clouds blooming over the building about half a mile away. People screaming and shouting in a panicky way. Sirens from Police, ambulances, and fire trucks racing around all over this area. My adrenaline was now going through the roof; it was chaos down here...and I loved it! I must have been the only guy here right now that had the biggest smile on his face. I really needed to get to the areas that were being bombed as quickly as possible, so I decided to grab the only taxi driver here. I asked him how much it would cost, to drive me up to what he must have perceived to be his own doom..looking at me as if I was a raving lunatic. He was now shouting and grabbing hold of me, to take me to the nearest shelter. Just as he was doing this, a rocket hit a building behind us. The explosion was deafening . You could hear the windows smash, as the shock wave and little metal ball pellets shot through people's windows. My ears were ringing from that last explosion... hearing the irate taxi driver screaming at me while grabbing on to me like he was drowning. He stumbled over his wobbly-panicky legs, and in doing so pushed me up against a large shop window. As he did this, another rocket landed on the same road as us. As this happened I remembered seeing the whole shop window bow outwards (and thought to myself, "wow, I had no idea windows were that flexible!") Then the windows bowed back in until the whole unit of windows smashed into little pieces. I grabbed hold of him and twisted hard as he fell, landing on him instead of the glass, as we fell through the broken shop window. I recall seeing his eyes staring up at me like a mad cow's eyes on stalks. His whole body froze stiff in rigid fear. I quickly got up, feeling a bit odd myself, my adrenaline pumping through my veins like some nitrous oxide being pumped through me. My heart was beating so hard, it felt like it was actually skipping a beat. I managed to help my driver up off his feet. His arms were bleeding a little after landing on the broken glass. I shouted at him to get in the car and just take me to the large plume of smoke -- "I'll pay you good American dollars if you get my ass up there NOW!" By now he was speeding up towards the area, occasionally stopping by panic stricken people, asking them questions about what is happening up there. This kind of thing annoyed me a little, in my business and experience, every wasted second or minute counts, when you want to get that perfect shot. Then there is the competition to worry about, as well. In places like this, you can guarantee most of the local news teams will be racing their way to get there, to see who can get the story out first. Why do I say local news teams? Well, most of the large news teams like CNN, or FOX news, for example, tend to keep a safe distance from all this drama and chaos...due to their companies' insurance policies, I suspect. Most of the big international news teams were all stationed in the biggest, most expensive hotel in Haifa, living and enjoying there stay as comfortably as possible while draining their company coffers. All of them sat up on a large balcony walkway, looking down at the city with all their cameras and wires laid out, with their little tents keeping them cool, happy and content in the high heat of Haifa. I thought to myself: "You lot are way overpaid. It's extremely frustrating; when you have us hard-working freelance photographers, or photojournalists out there taking all the risks, and just about breaking even (without any insurance!) on the money we might make. While overpriced large news team cameramen and journalists sit around taking advantage of the news companies' huge budgets, complaining about being treated unfairly, or not getting paid enough for the environment they're stuck in... and that includes large international newspapers as well! By now I had arrived at the worst area in Haifa; people were running all down to this one building. I shouted at the taxi driver to stop, and asked "how much?" He told me he would come with me, and I replied that I could not afford to have him sitting around waiting for me. He then insisted that this place is very dangerous for me to be, as it is the Arab quarter, and they are very aggressive towards journalists or photographers. He then insisted he would not charge me any more, so I reluctantly let him come along with me. As I came to the main area of destruction, I noticed a whole house was burning and now collapsing. All the Arabs (as per normal) were all screaming at each other and running around panicking. No one seemed to have noticed me while I was taking pictures, but as the light started to fade, I had to revert to using flash (reluctantly)...not a good idea amongst this crowd! I was the first photographer to arrive, and for 35 minutes I had the whole scene to myself. I was running back and forth trying to barge my way through the hot, sweaty human wall of people. I found the best view to get at this burning house, now crumbling down upon its household occupants, which was in the next door neighbor's garden. Hundreds of Arabs were now jumping over the wall trying to grab the people out of their burning house. As I started to use my flash more often, I heard some people having a huge argument with the poor taxi guy, and pointing at me. The taxi driver was then waving me to come over in an aggressive way, like his life depended on it. As I ran back to him he shouted for me to leave right now, or I would be "stabbed" by the owners of this house. As he was explaining this to me, a large group of very irate Arab people came up to me and were screaming and shouting at me, pushing me back and flailing their arms around. The taxi driver pulled my arm and shouted to me to leave NOW! As we left the entrance to the house, I could see that the ambulance had arrived and the doors were open. The police had blocked the road off in two sections; now I was trapped inside this little zone of confusion. I ran to the ambulance and waited for the bodies to be brought out. By now a local news camera man had arrived with a rather sadistic smile on his face, probably knowing he is going to get a pay raise for his exclusive video coverage of all of this. I saw a camera flash on the roof top of someone's house; it was another local newspaper photographer, that I used to see riding around on his off-road motorcycle all over Haifa like a maniac everywhere he'd go, to cover the rocket attacks. This guy must have been one of the luckiest news photographers here, as he seemed to be getting all the action work in this city. But apparently he did not have the balls to be down here in the ringside seat in the middle of all this, he must have thought I was a raving maniac when he saw me flashing my camera off continuously, while they finally brought one badly burnt body out that was strapped in on an ambulance stretcher. He was probably zooming on me at the same time hoping to get another story out of this -- "photographer beaten or stabbed to death by annoyed Arab locals". Well, I thought, at least the ambulance is close to me. As they pulled out the burnt body, I saw that the person was still barely alive. All the locals decided to try to push the stretcher into the ambulance, thinking they were helping in the process, but instead being more of a hindrance to the ambulance medics, who had to constantly push the locals back, while at the same time teetering and trying to push this poor guy into the ambulance. The ambulance soon drove off, and I was still standing there going through my photos to make sure there were some good shots, ignoring the sounds and panic that was engulfing me -- thinking to myself "should I wire (sending through ftp) these pics off now?" But if I did that, I might miss something else while in the process. =============================================
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| AUTO RACING: Eriksens relish Baja 1000 win (12/11) - News Enterprise Posted: 10 Dec 2009 08:40 PM PST Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. The News-Enterprise is a Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc. publication. About Us • Contact Us • Advertise • Subscribe • Terms of Use • Privacy policy • NIE • Submit: Birthday Engagement Wedding Anniversary Birth The News-Enterprise is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Elizabethtown, KY, Hardin County and the surrounding area. fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
| Stories of the Week - Davis County Clipper Posted: 10 Dec 2009 03:32 PM PST Agents bust chop shop in W. Bountiful WEST BOUNTIFUL — State law enforcement officers raided a major chop shop ring Tuesday, operating out of storage units in West Bountiful and West Jordan. Utah State Tax Commission spokesperson Charlie Roberts said the bust came after a 10-month investigation by officers of the Utah Insurance Fraud Division. Officers with the state Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division and the Utah State Tax Commission recovered seven vehicles in West Bountiful and 12 in West Jordan. Parts to numerous other stolen automobiles and motorcycles were also recovered, Roberts said. Vehicles recovered included high-performance street-racing cars, high-end motorcycles, all terrain vehicles and a front-end loader and trailer. Police say they have six suspects in the operation, including one man who was arrested earlier this year for a similar crime. The six could face second-degree felony charges, including auto theft, possession of stolen vehicles, possession of stolen parts, removal and switching of vehicle identification numbers and insurance fraud. Anyone with information on the operation should contact the Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division tip line at 801-297-2600. Quintana pleads not guilty FARMINGTON — The man accused of entering Hill Air Force Base illegally on Aug. 19 has pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing a stolen vehicle. Teofilo Frankie Quintana, 40, was in 2nd District Court on Monday where he entered the plea to second-degree theft of the vehicle. He will again appear in court on Feb. 22. Quintana allegedly crashed the stolen vehicle into a Hill Air Force Base gate on Aug. 19.When guards asked for identification, they say Quintana told them he didn't have any. A federal complaint indicates that when the officer told Quintana to remain in the vehicle, Quintana accelerated through the checkpoint. Electronic barrier pillars were activated and Quintana crashed into them. Authorities say Quintana then took off running and was on base for about six hours before being arrested. In addition to the stolen vehicle charge, Quintana is facing a number of federal charges in connection with entering the base illegally. A trial has been set in February on the federal charges. Local seniors need holiday gifts, too FARMINGTON —It's not just disadvantaged children who miss out on Christmas. Some senior citizens do too. To help make the holidays a little brighter for them, the Davis County Health Department's Senior Services is holding a gift drive for senior citizens who may be isolated or not have the financial resources to celebrate this year. And the public is asked to help. The deadline to turn in gifts is Friday, Dec. 18, by 5 p.m., to the Davis County Health Department or one of the county's three senior activity centers: Autumn Glow Senior Activity Center, 81 E. Center Street, Kaysville; Golden Years Senior Activity Center, 726 S 100 E., Bountiful; Heritage Senior Activity Center, 140 E. Center Street, Clearfield. No gift request will exceed $50. For more details or to receive your gift request, contact Jessica Hardcastle at 801-451-3335 or e-mail jhardcastle@daviscountyutah.gov.
fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
| Rodeo continues rebranding - Star Community Newspapers Posted: 10 Dec 2009 06:24 PM PST The Mesquite Championship Rodeo (MCR) has unveiled a new logo, a user-friendly Web site and an exclusive partnership with Bohlin Co. for creating custom trophy belt buckles. These updates are part of the ongoing effort by the ownership team to revitalize the brand. The rodeo was purchased by Camelot Sports and Entertainment LLC in May 2009 and has since undergone extensive changes, including arena renovations, remodeled suites, a new Eight-Second Club and partnership with Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). These changes have enhanced the Rodeo experience for both attendees and participants. The rodeo has exclusively partnered with Dallas-based Bohlin Co. to create fine handcrafted trophy buckles. Known as the saddle maker and silversmith to the stars, Bohlin has outfitted several well-known movie stars and celebrities including Will Rogers, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, John Wayne and Hank Williams. Each sterling silver buckle is meticulously built one at a time in the Bohlin custom shop. The buckles are awarded on a monthly and yearly basis in the following events: bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, tie down roping, steer wrestling, team roping header and heeler and barrel racing fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
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