January 2009 Archives

I'm not a fan of the snow right now. I got splashed by a few cars as I was trying to scrape the icy mess from my car this morning. But a news release from the city reminded me that it could be worse.

I could be trying to collect trash in the snow.

The release says collection crews' jobs are harder during the winter and often result in sprains, frostbite and other injuries. Plus they start early at 6 a.m. and might not get done until 9 p.m.

But we can help make the their jobs a little easier.  Read on for the city's tips.

Well.

I take back all of yesterday's joy over the snow. Today's glop isn't fun snow. The "wintery mix" that fell last night and this morning left an undelightful covering of ice on top of the nice, sweet fluffy snow that had been previously falling.

It took something like 20 minutes to get it off the car. And it broke my ice scrapper. Yes, the ice on my car somehow was stronger than the plastic blade of the scrapper. Go figure.

(Photo is from a google search, and I thought it was funny. We don't have this much snow in York.)

This morning, when I woke up at 6 a.m., I heard cars driving through something that sounded suspiciously like snow.

I doubted it, because the last time we were foretasted snow we only got ice and flurries.

But when I looked out the window, there it was: fluffy white snow, the kind that's a breeze to sweep off the car. It kept coming, and continues to fall as I write this.

When I was walking to the car I noticed a few people out clearing sidewalks, which got me curious about the city's rules about snow removal. If you are curious too, click on the jump and keep reading.

I noticed a new sign hanging outside a restaurant on East Market Street the other day. The Pho Bistro sign says it offers homestyle Vietnamese cuisine. I couldn't quite tell if it was open. Anyone been there?

I'm not sure, (I wasn't paying enough attention to exactly where I was) but I think Pho Bistro might be in the spot that used to be Ya Ya's, the Mexican place fellow blogger Nichole Dobo wrote about a few weeks ago. If so, that seems like some pretty quick turnaround for an empty restaurant.

Someone rang my doorbell at 2 a.m. today.

The front door of my building is locked, and there's a panel with buttons for each of the apartments. Push the button and it makes an obnoxious sound upstairs, and then I can pick up the attached phone in my apartment, see who's out there and buzz them in if I want.

I don't bother picking up the phone unless I know someone is coming over or I'm expecting a package.

More often than not, it's just people walking by and pressing the buttons for no good reason. I'm not sure why the lure of the doorbell is so appealing. And since the most recent incident was at 2 a.m., I'd like to think it's not kids (then again ...).

I suppose I should just be happy that I have a working doorbell. In my old apartment building, my buzzer worked but the one for my upstairs neighbor did not. His solution: having visitors stand outside and yell his name. Sometimes they just had entire yelling conversations from window to sidewalk. Fantastic.

Last month I got some pepper spray as a just-in-case sort of thing.

After reading the instructions, I've often wondered when I should use it. I mean, what if the attacker has a gun? Will the pepper spray only serve to anger the attacker(s), thereby putting me in a more dangerous situation? The instructions say to cover your eyes if it's windy. I'm not sure I'd be able to think that fast.

Today on the city police log I noticed a woman used pepper spray Sunday on the 200 block of Union Street on some people who attempted to rob her. Then the attackers took the pepper spray and used it on her. Sounds awful.

After reading that I've decided I will have to do some more research on when and where to use pepper spray. In the meantime, do you have any advice?

(Photo credit: Max Whittaker for The New York Times)

I read an interesting story Sunday in the New York Times about a program that enlists city garbage collectors to report crime tips to police.

Seems like a great idea in these hard economic times. To read the story click here.

While on the subject, I have to give a kudos to the York trash collectors in the city. There was a day a couple weeks ago when the wind picked up a couple garbage cans overnight. I planned to get out there early to put the stuff back in the cans, but before I could the collectors did a bang-up job cleaning up a mess. Thanks, guys.

Yesterday, I noticed that the city posted a list of streets affected by snow emergencies. I live on one of the streets where cars can't be parked if an emergency is declared, so I should probably pay attention to the list of places where there will be free emergency parking.

I only remember using the free parking once during my almost three years living here. I worked a night police shift on a snowy night, and I parked in the 20-minute zone right in front of City Hall to do the nightly check on the police log. When I returned to my car, it wouldn't go anywhere.

After turning down the kind offer of one nearby woman (who said her friend would help me, just as soon as the police let him out) I sought help inside. Several officers came out to push my car out of the snow. Thanks, officers. And I didn't push my luck. I drove the 100-or-so feet to the King Street parking garage, went in and walked home. It was just easier.

Keep reading for the list of streets and parking sites ...

These just went up.

The fliers are on telephone poles all along Roosevelt Avenue. The one in the photo is across the street from Turkey Hill near the intersection of Roosevelt and Maryland avenues.

I know very little Spanish, so my colleague Jennifer Vogelsong translated for me. Basically, this person is offering to buy plane tickets, send packages and pay bills for people.

Two questions: Are you allowed to advertise on telephone poles, and can't people with limited English get help with this stuff for free though outreach groups?

This news release arrived in my inbox yesterday:

"York City Police will be conducting a traffic enforcement detail for the next several weeks in the Downtown Business District, starting Thursday, January 15.

York City Police will be targeting the following violations: blocking the intersection; blocking crosswalks; improper turns; red light violations; improper lane changes; and other related moving traffic violations.

Any moving traffic violations during this detail WILL BE cited by the York City Police Department."

My brother came to visit on Sunday. He's a fan of used book sales, and I'd already told him about the York Emporium, so that was our first stop.

I swear, within minutes he had a handful of books. I think he left with four science books. I bought three - a collection of humor writing from The New Yorker, Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air," and "The Reader," which I decided to read after watching the movie.

On the way out, Emporium owner Jim Lewin told us he recently set up a Facebook page for the store. Sign up as a fan.

We left the city for dinner but returned for the 7:30 p.m. showing of Vicky Cristina Barcelona at the Strand-Capitol. The movie didn't get much love at the Golden Globes last night, but I still love Woody Allen.

Despite the frigid walk to and from the movie (which might account for the small crowd?), it was still a good way to spend a Sunday.

This morning on my way to work I was tailgated the whole way down Parkway Boulevard.

Yes, I know, it is difficult not to want to go more than the speed limit on that road. Yes, I know, it's tempting to drive more than 25 mph if you are running late, or whatever. I get it.

But there were little kids out walking to school.

And as the woman in a burgundy SUV kept tailgating me -- even as I slowed slightly near a child standing on a sidewalk -- I thought of the little boy who died after being struck by a car on East Philadelphia Street.

I looked in my rear view mirror at the next stop sign, where a crossing guard stood ready to help children cross the two-way stop. The woman beeped and flashed her lights.

Seriously, I can't imagine what was so important that she kept insisting that I speed and do rolling stops -- especially when kids are out walking to school. 

The city and the York County Solid Waste Authority are holding an E-Cycling event on Saturday.

I have all kinds of old electronics collecting in closets and other various storage spaces. The ones I can think of are: an old photo printer that I think I received in college, an old laptop that I purchased from my brother-in-law for, I think, $75 in about 2001, and the desktop computer I bought in 2002 to replace the dying laptop. The last computer has had various issues through the years, and it went it appeared to be finally kicking the bucket recently, I moved it into the closet. I've been using a loaner since.

(Not the actual graffiti, but the lettering is similar.)

Note: Photo above is from keusta.net.

Someone in desperate need of a dictionary decided to spray paint the building I live near this weekend.

I can't post a picture of it here because the tirade starts with something that appears to be the F word. The second word is spelled b-l-e-c-k-s. Maybe it's someone's name. Maybe it was a failed attempt at racist graffiti. Whatever the case I hope it's gone asap.

I first noticed the red spray paint Sunday after returning from a trip to DC to visit friends and the Newseum. Looking on the bright side, it's on a wood fence so it can be painted over easily -- or at least more easily than trying to remove paint from stone.

I took a walk on Sunday and checked out the advertisements outside the Strand-Capitol as I went by. I was happy to see they'll be showing "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" on Sunday. I love Woody Allen, so I really wanted to see this. But when it came out, I think over the summer, it was nowhere to be found in York. The closest theater I remember seeing it was in Camp Hill, and I just didn't get there in time.

I like being able to count on the Strand-Capitol to pull in some of the smaller films that won't necessarily show up in the other theaters. The schedule includes "I've Loved You So Long," a French film that's on my list, too.

On another Strand-related note, click here to read about the craziness of Elvis' birthday party yesterday.

Last night, in between eating way too much food at El Serrano and ringing in 2009 at a friend's house down the block, my boyfriend and I plopped on the couch for a few moments and switched on White Rose Community Television.

It entertained us for at least the next hour.

Ray Rosario and Lou Torres from the WRCT show "This is Our City" were set up in the square interviewing people who walked by. Maybe I should say trying to interview. Lots of people seemed to be uncooperative and kept walking. (As someone who's done many man-on-the-street interviews, I feel the hosts' pain.) But a few stopped and shared their resolutions, and Rosario and Torres kept the conversation flowing when people weren't.