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Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns vs. Lions live …
Akron Zips:
Akron trounces Howard to reach .500
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Robiskie, Harrison inactive
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
At least cancer prevention campaign that irked some is over
By Bob Dyer
Beacon Journal columnist
POSTED: 07:08 a.m. EDT, Sep 05, 2008
The Metro Regional Transit Authority has lost some fans by accepting an advertising campaign that's a little over the top.
Throughout the area, buses have been driving around with big placards reading, ''Prostate Cancer Sucks.''
Among the disgruntled is Green resident David Golkiewicz. Actually, he is more than disgruntled. He is livid.
''How humiliating!'' he says. ''How about 'Breast Cancer Sucks'?
''All cancer is terrible. I've lost friends to prostate cancer.''
Golkiewicz had it, too. His is in remission.
So he knows that prostate cancer is not good. But he believes the S-word is totally inappropriate on a public bus, regardless of the context.
''I chastise my grandson for using 'sucks,' '' he says.
Metro hasn't backed down.
''We have had a few complaints,'' says Metro spokeswoman Molly Becker. ''However, most people realize it is effective in getting an important message across.''
The good news for folks like Golkiewicz is that the campaign ended last weekend. Some signs are still in place, but those will vanish once the space is sold.
EDGE OF DOOM
Speaking of signs, what kind of return on the dollar are we getting from those big orange signs posted in highway construction zones that scream out: ''NO EDGE LINES.''
No edge lines?!?! God help us all!!!
Hey, we can plainly see there are no edge lines. Tell us something we don't know — or just save us some sign money.
CRATER SCHOOL
Bob: I work for the Akron Public School System's Adult Vocational Services, a wonderful program that helps older adults get their GEDs and learn a variety of vocational trades. It's at Park Street and Osage Alley, next to Trinity Church.
The program provides a great opportunity for people — except Osage Alley is quickly crumbling into one big pothole. The birds like to bathe in the water that collects there, but it's a hazard to our students and their cars.
We have tried to alert the city to fix the brick pavement or re-pave, but to no avail. We need intervention from the ''beacon'' of light.Irene Isabella
Cuyahoga Falls
Irene: Because you didn't refer to us as the ''Beacon of Blight,'' I will work my magic.
Ready?
Done.
Joe Asher, the guy in charge of maintaining 900 miles of Akron streets and expressways, says crews are working in that area and will strip-patch your alley early next week.
LATE BUT GOOD
A reader who got his vehicle registration renewal in the mail a few weeks ago wanted to know why the state of Ohio still is putting Social Security numbers on letters that sit around in millions of mailboxes.
Excellent question. In this age of identity theft, the renewal notices have been a thief's bonanza: name, address, license plate number and, in a box at the bottom of the page, the Magic Number.
Well, that changed — finally — 17 days ago.
''We have been working on the process for removing them for a while,'' says Lindsay Kromlanc of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
''It was a lengthy process because it required a lot of programming in how the forms are processed, but we are happy to report that it's complete.''
Tectonic plates move faster.
Bob Dyer's Streets column appears each Friday. He can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com
The Metro Regional Transit Authority has lost some fans by accepting an advertising campaign that's a little over the top.
Throughout the area, buses have been driving around with big placards reading, ''Prostate Cancer Sucks.''
Among the disgruntled is Green resident David Golkiewicz. Actually, he is more than disgruntled. He is livid.
''How humiliating!'' he says. ''How about 'Breast Cancer Sucks'?
''All cancer is terrible. I've lost friends to prostate cancer.''
Golkiewicz had it, too. His is in remission.
So he knows that prostate cancer is not good. But he believes the S-word is totally inappropriate on a public bus, regardless of the context.
''I chastise my grandson for using 'sucks,' '' he says.
Metro hasn't backed down.
''We have had a few complaints,'' says Metro spokeswoman Molly Becker. ''However, most people realize it is effective in getting an important message across.''
The good news for folks like Golkiewicz is that the campaign ended last weekend. Some signs are still in place, but those will vanish once the space is sold.
EDGE OF DOOM
Speaking of signs, what kind of return on the dollar are we getting from those big orange signs posted in highway construction zones that scream out: ''NO EDGE LINES.''
No edge lines?!?! God help us all!!!
Hey, we can plainly see there are no edge lines. Tell us something we don't know — or just save us some sign money.
CRATER SCHOOL
Bob: I work for the Akron Public School System's Adult Vocational Services, a wonderful program that helps older adults get their GEDs and learn a variety of vocational trades. It's at Park Street and Osage Alley, next to Trinity Church.
The program provides a great opportunity for people — except Osage Alley is quickly crumbling into one big pothole. The birds like to bathe in the water that collects there, but it's a hazard to our students and their cars.
We have tried to alert the city to fix the brick pavement or re-pave, but to no avail. We need intervention from the ''beacon'' of light.Irene Isabella
Cuyahoga Falls
Irene: Because you didn't refer to us as the ''Beacon of Blight,'' I will work my magic.
Ready?
Done.
Joe Asher, the guy in charge of maintaining 900 miles of Akron streets and expressways, says crews are working in that area and will strip-patch your alley early next week.
LATE BUT GOOD
A reader who got his vehicle registration renewal in the mail a few weeks ago wanted to know why the state of Ohio still is putting Social Security numbers on letters that sit around in millions of mailboxes.
Excellent question. In this age of identity theft, the renewal notices have been a thief's bonanza: name, address, license plate number and, in a box at the bottom of the page, the Magic Number.
Well, that changed — finally — 17 days ago.
''We have been working on the process for removing them for a while,'' says Lindsay Kromlanc of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
''It was a lengthy process because it required a lot of programming in how the forms are processed, but we are happy to report that it's complete.''
Tectonic plates move faster.
Bob Dyer's Streets column appears each Friday. He can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, OH
Posted 05:39 PM, 09/05/2008
Dyer, no matter how the comment section is changed, y'all will always be an award winnin' traffic reporter to all of y'alls fans.
Posted 10:38 AM, 09/12/2008
Bob what happened to the dyer streets article about white pond. I can't seem to locate it. Looks like it was deleted
Posted 11:24 AM, 09/12/2008
What happened to my question? Where is the article.
