Need I say more?
Merry X-Mas
Everyone!
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Sunday, December 24, 2006
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It's Time To Go Shopping!!!!!
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As you can clearly see, there's no one out shopping today! I just returned home after the quickest shopping spree I've ever done this time of year. I pulled into Kohl's and I had the choice of several front row parking spaces. Then I went over to the Mall just to see how things were looking and you could park anywhere. I then strolled over to Home Depot and Target and the lots were again pretty much empty. Then I headed to my favorite place, Sam's Club. Although the parking lot was busier than everyone else, there were no lines to purchase anything!WalMart had a pretty busy parking lot but I'm not dumb enough to walk in and see what's going on inside. Instead, my wife just headed up there for last minute grocery shopping. I'll keep my mouth shut.
IMO, there's no real deals out there like there have been in past years. I like that because then I don't spend money on things just because they're a great deal. Well, anyhow, if you want to get out there and do some shopping, now is the time.
Two Stories In One
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Here we go again, another Sr. Housing Project. Since when did Wicomico County become a residential community in Florida?It looks like the Developers have figured out a way around all the loopholes and get tax breaks and everything while they're at it and guess what, the County and City Council never saw it coming, NOT!
While I was taking these pictures I noticed the Hard Hat Sign and then the lack thereof. Only one person on this entire project was wearing the required Hard Hat! Where's OSHA? Where's the County Inspectors?
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What Will They Do Now?
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This Dentist has had a problem for years, an extreme lack of parking for their business. As you can see by these photos, they completely depend on the Old Mall parking lot for their employees, (for starters).This is yet another example of how Wicomico County has allowed the placement of a business near/in a residential neighborhood whereas they closed their eyes to the parking situation, similar to the Civic Center.
Once this parking lot comes down, imaging all the parking for employees and customers this Dentist Office will take up! Plans need to be set immediately for these people to relocate because they simply cannot survive here and they know it.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Linda, Terry, Kate & Dave Need To Quit Their Biotching About The Old Mall!
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My version of a Daily Times Editorial.Can't you people clearly see they are working extremely hard to meet the January deadline to tear down the old Mall? Why just yesterday I saw even more evidence of them tearing down an exterior structure, or was that the wind? Well, I never claimed to be an expert but you pesky old people need to give these people a break. They are in fact fulfilling their obligation and it's very obvious.
This message is sponsored by the Salisbury City Council and the Mayor of Salisbury. LOL, NOT!
Welcome To 408 College Ave.!
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Sorry I missed the Party!!!!! But thanks for leaving out the trash for the Holidays!I Smiled :-) Then I Waved Back, (You're #1) THEN I THREW A BRICK AT THE SOB!
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As if Traffic wasn't bad enough yesterday on Rt. 13! .jpg)
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An Eternity For An Oasis
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May I offer a small tip to the owner of this Car Wash? FIRE the General Contractor! It sure makes me wonder how long these local Banks will put up with just how long it takes to construct certain buildings at interest only construction loans?
Color Blind
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If you'll notice, (laugh) the gray paint on a tan colored concrete wall to cover up graffiti. You have to wonder, what's more desirable? Perhaps the artwork should be left up after all?
The Mayor's Sporting Around In Another New Volvo???
Let's see, the other day she was driving a new white Volvo. Now she's driving this new Volvo. Being a car enthusiast myself and owner of 14 cars, is the Mayor trying to compete with me? If so, where's she getting the money????? Did she make an investment into, (let's say) a development I wasn't aware of?
Tom Ruark Makes The News Again
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It turns out, Ruark is about to expand yet another development, (Nutters Crossing) by some 2,000 homes. This is quite an undertaking! All I want to know is, where is all this money coming from?Do keep in mind that Ruark is once again playing the game of how to get away with not paying the normal impact fees and so forth. You see, 2/3 of the project is designed for people over 55 years of age. Sound familiar Folks? What rhymes with ass and ends with one too? That's right, Sassafras.
Wind Turbines Part II
Part II
Impacts on wildlife, livestock, and humans during construction.
Impacts to wildlife, livestock, and humans have a few areas to consider. These will probably be unique for the type of area the wind plant is to be situated upon. I am most familiar with the siting of a particular wind plant as it has direct impact upon land I own in Pendleton County, West VA. The land consists of limestone and sandstone formations. In the area of the site, Jack Mountain, most people rely upon springs for their water supply. Drilling wells is expensive and has a high rate of failed attempts due to the type of area. There are also extensive cave systems in the area, some are critical habitat for endangered and rare bat species.
Each turbine will be situated upon a massive foundation that will have to be blasted into the mountain peak. There will be 44 of these - actually the number is an approximation as a siting permit in West Va doesn't reflect my experiences on building a house in Maryland as far as structural details required are concerned. The blasting will propagate shock waves for miles in all directions. There is more than a reasonable chance this will collapse caves and springs, forever altering or destroying them. That will mean a loss of water supply for our cattle and our houses. We aren't the only ones potentially affected by this. The area produces a fair bit of beef and is home to a number of farm folk. It also means a loss of habitat and potential extinction of bat colonies. That in turn will wipe out a natural source of insect control. Which in turn can lead to an increase in the spread of insect borne diseases.
The site will have in addition to the turbines, access roadways, and miles of power lines to connect it to the electrical grid. This will serve to break large forested areas into smaller ones and create fragmented ecosystems where there was once a very large one. This serves to displace individuals and alter cover for prey species. Most ecosystems have been the result of millions of years of progress and sudden alterations such as this have potentially grave consequences.
Mountain forests absorb an astonishing quantity of rainfall preventing it from washing abruptly and violently into local rivers and streams which would subsequently wash into more distant waterways potentially causing serious flooding. Jack Mountain would serve to impact the Potomac River. This type of runoff and the blasting impacts mentioned above can serve to increase sediment in delicate ecosystems where various species of fish survive. More species at risk of elimination.
The loss of those fish has a potential secondary impact to the region. There are folks there that make a living off the tourism that fishing draws. There is a potential for the loss of jobs and income that will offset the jobs developers claim will arise due to the turbines.
A relatively minor point about the construction phase concerns the amount of CO2 emissions that will bring about on its own. Materials have to be sourced and shipped as well as altered from raw to finish product ready to be hauled to the site. Each turbine blade is 135 feet in length and the towers are 265 feet tall. Towers consist of 4 or 5 sections that look like huge pipes when on the back of the trucks. There are three blades for turbines. That means 7 or 8 oversized load trucks per turbine. A minimum of 308 big rigs just to deliver the goods. Each truck will also be leaving to go back home. Then there are the cranes and other heavy equipment involved in construction. The steel reinforced concrete foundations are also a source of CO2 as the manufacture of concrete releases CO2. BEFORE all this material gets hauled in the roads coming in need some looking at. Anyone familiar with the area understands the term switch back. There are a lot of switch backs on the roads leading to Jack Mountain. The rigs hauling 135 foot long turbine blades are going to be at least 150 feet long considering a tractor has to be attached to the trailer to actually pull it. The roads will have to be modified to allow trucks this size to haul in. Then the roads will have to be repaired after the job is done. More CO2.
The carbon debt generated by construction isn't a very strong argument. It does have some merit to the topic at hand though and as such I've covered it in perhaps a little more detail than it deserves. I'm attempting to stick to the outline I created in the first post on the matter.
Industry claims that this carbon deficit will be handled in the first year of operation. I've seen figures as short as three months. Details other than the above accounting of construction phase leave me wondering how accurate these claims are. This will have to wait for concepts to come in later parts of the discussion.
The above comments apply to the mentioned construction site. Offshore turbine construction poses serious threats to marine life when compared to operation of offshore turbines. Other onshore sites may have more or less severe impacts from construction based upon location.
Written By Dr. Jimmy Tragle
Impacts on wildlife, livestock, and humans during construction.
Impacts to wildlife, livestock, and humans have a few areas to consider. These will probably be unique for the type of area the wind plant is to be situated upon. I am most familiar with the siting of a particular wind plant as it has direct impact upon land I own in Pendleton County, West VA. The land consists of limestone and sandstone formations. In the area of the site, Jack Mountain, most people rely upon springs for their water supply. Drilling wells is expensive and has a high rate of failed attempts due to the type of area. There are also extensive cave systems in the area, some are critical habitat for endangered and rare bat species.
Each turbine will be situated upon a massive foundation that will have to be blasted into the mountain peak. There will be 44 of these - actually the number is an approximation as a siting permit in West Va doesn't reflect my experiences on building a house in Maryland as far as structural details required are concerned. The blasting will propagate shock waves for miles in all directions. There is more than a reasonable chance this will collapse caves and springs, forever altering or destroying them. That will mean a loss of water supply for our cattle and our houses. We aren't the only ones potentially affected by this. The area produces a fair bit of beef and is home to a number of farm folk. It also means a loss of habitat and potential extinction of bat colonies. That in turn will wipe out a natural source of insect control. Which in turn can lead to an increase in the spread of insect borne diseases.
The site will have in addition to the turbines, access roadways, and miles of power lines to connect it to the electrical grid. This will serve to break large forested areas into smaller ones and create fragmented ecosystems where there was once a very large one. This serves to displace individuals and alter cover for prey species. Most ecosystems have been the result of millions of years of progress and sudden alterations such as this have potentially grave consequences.
Mountain forests absorb an astonishing quantity of rainfall preventing it from washing abruptly and violently into local rivers and streams which would subsequently wash into more distant waterways potentially causing serious flooding. Jack Mountain would serve to impact the Potomac River. This type of runoff and the blasting impacts mentioned above can serve to increase sediment in delicate ecosystems where various species of fish survive. More species at risk of elimination.
The loss of those fish has a potential secondary impact to the region. There are folks there that make a living off the tourism that fishing draws. There is a potential for the loss of jobs and income that will offset the jobs developers claim will arise due to the turbines.
A relatively minor point about the construction phase concerns the amount of CO2 emissions that will bring about on its own. Materials have to be sourced and shipped as well as altered from raw to finish product ready to be hauled to the site. Each turbine blade is 135 feet in length and the towers are 265 feet tall. Towers consist of 4 or 5 sections that look like huge pipes when on the back of the trucks. There are three blades for turbines. That means 7 or 8 oversized load trucks per turbine. A minimum of 308 big rigs just to deliver the goods. Each truck will also be leaving to go back home. Then there are the cranes and other heavy equipment involved in construction. The steel reinforced concrete foundations are also a source of CO2 as the manufacture of concrete releases CO2. BEFORE all this material gets hauled in the roads coming in need some looking at. Anyone familiar with the area understands the term switch back. There are a lot of switch backs on the roads leading to Jack Mountain. The rigs hauling 135 foot long turbine blades are going to be at least 150 feet long considering a tractor has to be attached to the trailer to actually pull it. The roads will have to be modified to allow trucks this size to haul in. Then the roads will have to be repaired after the job is done. More CO2.
The carbon debt generated by construction isn't a very strong argument. It does have some merit to the topic at hand though and as such I've covered it in perhaps a little more detail than it deserves. I'm attempting to stick to the outline I created in the first post on the matter.
Industry claims that this carbon deficit will be handled in the first year of operation. I've seen figures as short as three months. Details other than the above accounting of construction phase leave me wondering how accurate these claims are. This will have to wait for concepts to come in later parts of the discussion.
The above comments apply to the mentioned construction site. Offshore turbine construction poses serious threats to marine life when compared to operation of offshore turbines. Other onshore sites may have more or less severe impacts from construction based upon location.
Written By Dr. Jimmy Tragle
Friday, December 22, 2006
A Kind Message From Tim Chaney, (nosweat)
I'm hoping this coming new year, brings changes that can make people want to stay living in Salisbury. Unity, civility and people that are willing to compromise to make our city worth staying here. I want to see an end to the venom.
I don't have anything against "come here's," I'm one myself 37 years ago. I just don't want to see my friends and neighbors get fed up, and all move somewhere else either.
If these developers can't make money off that property without the taxpayers funding it, they need to find a job that they are suited for, because the one they have isn't it.
For this new year, I myself want to try to see some good in all people, but I refuse to lay down and play dead either.
Whether we agree or not, I wish everyone reading this, a most joyous Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanzaa/Happy Hanukkah. And lets turn this old red wagon around in 2007, carry the load and get past this dreaded ordeal that has taken up far too much city administration time and money.
God Bless us One and ALL.......Tim
I don't have anything against "come here's," I'm one myself 37 years ago. I just don't want to see my friends and neighbors get fed up, and all move somewhere else either.
If these developers can't make money off that property without the taxpayers funding it, they need to find a job that they are suited for, because the one they have isn't it.
For this new year, I myself want to try to see some good in all people, but I refuse to lay down and play dead either.
Whether we agree or not, I wish everyone reading this, a most joyous Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanzaa/Happy Hanukkah. And lets turn this old red wagon around in 2007, carry the load and get past this dreaded ordeal that has taken up far too much city administration time and money.
God Bless us One and ALL.......Tim
Let Me Show You Where Your TIF Money Was Actually Going!
You just can't make this stuff up!Since when does "growth pay for growth," (Mr. Dunn) when the TIF money is going to pay everything a "developer" is supposed to and required to do? You know what, Dunn is just so full of crap it isn't funny. Dunn wanted the TAXPAYERS to pay for all of this! His games and lies have brought me personally to a boiling point and how anyone else can't see through his BS any more is beyond me. Enough is enough!!
Dee, Dee, Deeeee!!!!!!!
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Get This!Someone just paid $1,875,000.00 for one of these homes. Now look a little closer. See the SLUDGE PIT at the top right corner of this photo? I wonder if the Builder disclosed this information? IMO, sh*t rolls down hill in this case. (click on photo to enlarge)
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