Back in the Groove After the Storm- Natalie Newman

After hurricane Sandy, people and their daily routines were left a little shaken up. It was a slow proccess for clubs to get back to normal. According to a  New York Times article, clubs with jazz bands and live music are slowly reaching their normal reoutines and performances. Many musicians were left without gigs due to Sandy. At a local bar, Blue Note, the audience was aching for the normality of the music and the club environment after a long wait for the huricane to end. According to a source in the magazine, the club seemed surprisngly normal. Of course, it was a slow proccess of reaching the normality. Things started out a little rough, but smoothed out pretty quickly after things started going. Some people were more worried about the "public appetite" rather than the flooding that had appeared. There was that feeling of whether it was proper decorum to go right on back to the daily routines of ones life, or whether one should wait it out a little while the shock of the hurricane died down.
I felt that the public did a great job of being prepared for the hurricane, as well as being prepared for the healing proccess. Clubs and restraunts did a great job at reaching their normal routines in a humane way and a reasonable amount of time as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/arts/music/the-blue-note-and-other-jazz-spots-weather-hurricane-sandy.html?ref=arts&_r=0

New York Ban on Soda- Taiina Ayala

Okay so this isn't really all that recent, but it's not ancient either! This summer for my controversial issues packet for AP English III one of my articles was about a New York soda ban proposal. This article was posted on July 24, 2012. Well now, the ban was passed in September and will go into effect on March 12, 2013. Basically, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City proposed a ban on large amounts of soda being sold in restaurants and gas stations such as the 7/11 "Big Gulp." Bloomberg and health oficials say that soda is toxic and a large contributor to obesity. "More people will die this year of obesity than of starvation," Mayor Bloomberg said. America is in fact known for our obese population. Is that due to our immense amount of freedom, something we are also known for? Is there such thing as too much freedom? Those who oppose the ban say there is no such thing. 60% of New Yorkers say that ban is a bad idea. Daniel Halloran, a New Yorker, says the ban is just another way for the government to crack down on us and slowly take away our freedom. Eliot Hoff, a spokesman for New Yorkers for Beverage Choices wrote, “By imposing this ban, the board has shown no regard for public opinion or the consequences to businesses in the city." However, the ban was passed with a vote of eight to zero!
I think this ban was a smart choice. However, I do see where Mr. Eliot Hoff is coming from. There will be many upset people and many badly affected businesses and I'm sure Mr. Bloomberg is ver yaware. But it seems Americans health is more important to him, which is good! If we don't watch our health, no one will even be alive to run these businesses!

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/nyregion/health-board-approves-bloombergs-soda-ban.html
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/09/13/nyc-board-of-health-passes-soda-ban/
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0724/New-York-soda-ban-proposal-Public-hearing-gets-impassioned

Navajo code talker from World War II dies by Jonathan landeros

Navajo code talkers transmitted messages only known to them to help the U.S. military be victorious against the Japanese. Most of them served during WW2.The president of the Navajo nation announced this week that George Smith, one of the Navajo code talkers died this past Tuesday.He even posted the reasons for being sad since these honorable men served big roles in they're day and we're heroes to generations of the Navajo people.

This is very sad because the real heroes and people who witnessed actual events back then are slowly disappearing.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/us/navajo-code-talker-dies/index.html

Amanda Bynes experiencing yellow journalism *Wink Wink*

Beloved child star amanda bynes has been accused of wandering around beach bum tanning salon completely naked! several eyewitnesses were quoted by abc news saying they saw the star walk throughout the salon, calmly and in what seemed like a stroll. The reported saying that shed seemed our of it and in a drug induced state. Upon finding out about this, Bynes was outraged, threatning to sue everyone involved in the scandal, placing emphasis on the alleged "eye witnesses". To back the up her defense she told reporters that she's been doing amazing and uponher recent retiring of her acting career she plans to go to the big apple to pursue her fashion line! Personally, i feel that the star doesnt havd good enough reason to sue the instigators. Its truly just media hype and that type of flat out putrages slander only gets more and more excitable when you pay it even the slightest attention. She did what she shouldve by denying the slander and giving insight about what shes reallt been doing. If she was really strolling in a public place bare bottom naked, there'd be pictures of that floating all over the internet!
Am i wrong?


Source: http://abcnews.go.com/m/blogEntry?id=17627704&sid=75&cid=75

Mayor "Eggs" On by Clara McLain

The article was originally written by Maqsood Hussain: http://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/11/03/bridgeport-utility-workers-pelted-with-eggs-by-angry-residents/

Hurricane Sandy has brought a large amount of destruction to the Northeast.  In Bridgeport, Connecticut utility workers attempt to restore power to the city, but are pelted with eggs and other items by local residents around the time a comment was made by Mayor Finch saying that the local power company "shortchanged" the city.  The company decided to withdraw the workers from their work for concern of their safety.  The company made the statement that the utility workers will not be working unless local police are present to keep the workers safe from the dangerous eggs.
So, why are the residents punishing the utility workers? Seriously, even if the company is "shortchanging" the city, it isn't the fault of the company's onsite workers.

Verizon Customers Could Wait 2 Weeks For Cellular Service Following Storm Damage by Carlos Walcott

Due to Hurricane Sandy, a lot of Verizon customers, and other cellular companies aren't working. Hurricane Sandy disrupted the networks with it's high winds and heavy flooding. A lot of these customers that have been effected by this will have to wait at least two weeks until this is fixed, maybe even more. Verizon said that it's progress restoring system was being slowed down, due to downed power lines, trees and debris, flooding, and also several feet of snow. Without power in some areas of the Northeast, particularly New York and New Jersey, Verizon has been using generators to deliver Internet access and voice and data service. Unfortunately, the amount of fuel to keep those generators running is a concern. Before the storm, telecom providers had said they were prepared with batteries, generators, and mobile equipment to keep networks running. But Hurricane Sandy’s heavy winds and flooding nevertheless caused widespread damage to their network equipment. Some experts say that regulators may come up with new rules that require wireless providers to make their networks more resilient during major storms. In my opinion, this situation is terrible. Hurricane Sandy has cause a lot of problems. The event also caused 16 deaths, which is very tragic. I am also one of the people who has no television or internet service due to the storm.Hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/verizon-hurricane-sandy-service_n_2066913.html?utm_hp_ref=hurricane-sandy-2012

Technology in the Field of Education- Taiina Ayala

Two surveys have been done recently, coincidentally at the same time, on the effect of technology on students. The researchers and runners of these surveys aimed their questions at teachers since they figured that they are the ones who spend most of their time observing students in the classroom. Many teachers believe that the overall effect of technology on students has been negative. They say that technology is a major distraction that contributes to the shortening of our attentino spans. These surveys are not to be seen as proof that technology affects a student's ability to focus.

I believe that although technology such as cell phones and computers can indeed serve as deistractions but they also have proven, in what I've seen in my 11 years of education, to be extremely beneficial as well! I honestly don't know how people did it in school back in the day without technology. I mean I can;t imagine sitting through hours of boring classes listening to teachers blabbing on and on. They needed to spice it up! But Hope Molina- Porter says that when teachers "adjust their lessons to accomodate [our] shorter attention spans," it might just be contributing to the problem of how we learn. I think technology is fan-freaking-tastic and that's that! It has proved to be an incredible educational tool AND has made us better self-researchers!





Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/education/technology-is-changing-how-students-learn-teachers-say.html?ref=us&_r=0