Journal Entry

The number of homeless in Times Square has dropped from 55 (in 2005) to 7 this past summer. But now, there is only one; his name is Heavy and he refuses to leave the streets. He has politely declined housing offers and claims he is a protector of the streets. Social workers continue to offer him housing and they hope that one day he will accept their offer.

Original article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/nyregion/30heavy.html?ref=todayspaper

Story 6

Hours in airports, days of travel and living out of a suitcase—the life of an airplane pilot. Tim Mesjak of Woodland, Wash. knows the sacrifice and at the end of the day says it is all worth it.

Mesjak, 37, has had an interest in airplanes since his sophomore year in high school. He grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minn. and it was there that he found his love for flying. “I took an aviation class (in high school) and really found airplanes interesting,” he said. Mesjak decided to further his education and interest in airplanes at University of North Dakota (UND), where he received his Bachelor of Science in airway science: air craft systems management in 1996. A Bachelor of Science in airway science: air craft systems management “is basically designed to make you a professional pilot, an aviation inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), or an accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSP),” stated Mesjak.

Tim has been a pilot since graduating, first working for Horizon and is currently flying for Alaska Airlines. He has been with Alaska Airlines for five years now and is ranked First Officer for flying a Boeing 737 jet. The next step in ranks for Tim is Captain, “The difference between a Captain and First Officer is the Captain calls all the shots and deals with other issues,” said Mesjak, “but as far as actually flying the plane goes, there is no difference.” The First Officer sits to the right of the Captain in the cockpit. He has flown all around the U.S. and said his favorite place he’s flown into was Kauai, Hawaii.

Being a pilot, Mesjak spends a lot of time in airports and away from home. “The only downside to being a pilot is the four or five day trips where you bounce from airport to airport and hotel to hotel,” he said. Through all the travel and the time being spent away from home Tim still maintains a relationship with his wife of four years, Carly Mesjak. He met her through a mutual friend in aviation. She works as an air traffic controller for the Portland Airport, so she understands the aviation and/or traveling lifestyle. Tim and Carly recently built a house on five acres of land in Woodland, Wash. “It’s nice to be in small town and get some peace and quiet. It really is relaxing being surrounded by woods after a long week on the road in big cities such as New York,” said Tim.

When he is not on the road traveling, Tim enjoys playing golf, water-skiing, going on nature walks with his wife and watching sports and relaxing. Being a pilot is what he always wanted to do and he says it is very rewarding. “It gets stressful at times,” he said, “but there isn’t a better feeling than flying an airplane and there is nothing I’d rather be doing.” Tim plans to keep flying for Alaska Airlines and hopes that in the years to come he will be a Captain.

Journal Entry

A man from Crystal, Minn. was found dead in the street due to blunt force trauma. Michael John Rymer was pronounced dead by Hennepin County medical examiners yesterday. Witnesses say they saw an SUV drive by, strike the man, and keep going. Police are still investigating the death.

Original article:

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14730074

Anoka-Ramsey Community College Introduces Softball

Despite a rough start to the season the Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) Golden Rams women’s fast pitch softball team shows promise for the future. Although losing by significant numbers in their first 5 games, Coach Dave Alto said, “It’s been a tough start, but I’m not asking for wins right now, all I’m asking is that the girls show improvement every day.” The team held a media event March 9, 2010, where reporters could watch practice and interview the coaches and the team.

Alto has been coaching fast pitch softball for 19 years throughout different high schools in Minn. This is his first year coaching at the collegiate level and he is hoping things can progressively begin to improve. “I enjoy watching and helping student-athletes mature into adults,” he said, “I have a passion for the game and this is what I love to do.”

The players for the softball team all signed up this fall and were not recruited. The Golden Rams held a 14-practice tryout last fall for all the girls that signed up. The team consists of all freshmen hailing from the high schools: Anoka, Coon Rapids, Cambridge, North Branch, Mora, Princeton, Spring Lake Park (2), St. Francis (3) and Turtle Lake High. Coach Alto plans to start recruiting for the team next year.

The team practices in the Armed Forces Reserve Community Center gym, located in Cambridge, Minn. Before the practice started, the girls joked around and got their pictures taken while sporting their new white, purple and yellow jerseys that said Anoka-Ramsey on the front. Once the practice began, though, they got to work and things became more serious. The general theme of the practice seemed to be hard-work and getting better every day.

The team started by doing warm-up activities including lunges, jogging and stretching. After the girls were all warmed up, they began playing catch with the softball and their gloves. The girls chose partners to throw with and started tossing the ball from a sitting position, but then progressed to their knees and eventually standing throws. The next drill they did was called “soft hands” in which one partner rolled the ball to the other partner, who would caress the ball, then throw it back. The practice continued for just over an hour and the team was tired after. “It’s tough, but we all enjoy the game,” said outfielder Erin Cahoon, slightly out of breath after the long practice.

Coach Alto was very involved in the practice. He pointed out bad technique and constructively helped the girls correct the issue. Alto never once yelled, but when he spoke, the team listened. Alto seemed to be a great motivating coach because he included competitions in the practice, allowing the team to work hard and have fun.

By the beginning of next year the team hopes to have an on-campus field to use for home games and practices. The Golden Rams currently have a 0-5 record, but they are keeping their hopes up and have another 42 games left this year.

To view video footage follow the link.

http://www.youtube.com/user/gmoola89?feature=mhw4#p/u/1/qKtMtUB65QQ

Journal Entry

Eric J.Orloske of St. Paul shot and killed his brother, Brian Orloske last Saturday. When the police arrived at Eric J. Orloske's home, they found him next to his brother holding a rag or towel against the man's head-wound saying, "Kill me too, kill me too." Eric J. Orloske was charged yesterday with second-degree murder without intent.

Original article:

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14634919?nclick_check=1

Interview Story

In the age of technology and mass numbers of opinions, Josh Gloe, a high school student, has the perfect answer.

Among volunteering at the local church and Feed My Starving Children, Gloe has found time to create the next hit website; Project:Informed. Gloe grew up in St. Francis, Minn. and played baseball for most of his childhood. But even then, he saw a bigger picture.

Gloe created a website called Project:Informed in late December of last year. It is a discussion forum in which members can chat, talk about or debate any topic they please. The goal of the site is to get people involved in current issues and for the members to freely discuss their side of the argument. The forum includes discussions on anything ranging from videogames to religion.

“I hope to turn the board into a thriving community to debate and share thoughts,” says the 17-year-old Gloe. Even after just being launched a few months ago, the site already has 30 members and continues to grow. “We have members as young as 13 and as old as 50,” says Gloe, “so certainly everyone is welcome.”

The forum has a section for general thoughts as well as an opinion section. The opinion section is moderated by Gloe, so that the debates don’t become offensive or derogatory, making the site safe for young members.

Armed with a new site and goals attend a four-year university to double-major in mass communications and marketing; Gloe is just scratching the surface of his potential. He encourages people to check out the site stating, “It has a laid-back and welcoming feeling with plenty of areas for fun, but also a professional and controlled area for members to debate and discuss more serious issues.”

Interview

Hey Josh, I’m writing a story about you for Media Writing, so I'd like to learn a little more about you..hobbies, unique qualities and general information.

Well I'm a PSEO student (obviously at Anoka-Ramsey Community College). I've done PSEO here since my junior year in high school. I'm going to transfer to a four-year college (not sure which one yet) after I graduate from high school this year. At the four-year college I'll double major in Marketing and Mass Communications. I've always liked web design, writing, graphic design, etc. I've never really been good at many sports. I'm definitely an indoor guy.

Q:What activities were you involved with growing up as a kid? Sports, clubs, other activities.

A: I did baseball for probably 5 years when I was younger, and one fall during high school. Other than baseball I was never really in any sports. I volunteered at the St. Francis library for 3 years, volunteered at the organization Feed My Starving Children where I packaged food for dying people, particularly children, in other countries such as Haiti. I was involved in several bible studies and religious groups through my church.\

Q:What activities are you currently involved with in high school?

A: Since high school, and currently, I still volunteer at Feed My Starving Children occasionally. I volunteer at our parish doing graphic design work. I'm involved in a religious organization through our church called Schoenstatt. A few weeks ago I went on my first TEC (Together Encountering Christ) retreat and I will most likely continue staying involved with that. Of course, I have my website which I have mentioned. I also just love meeting new people and hanging out with my friends whenever I can.

I read on your blog that you have created your own website. Could you tell me about that? What is it about/for? Why you created it? When it was created?

I made my website Project:Informed for discussion, basically. Members can discuss different issues and just hang out and chat. They can talk about politics, religion, and debate anything in a moderated environment. I created it last December. I'm hoping it will grow into a thriving community to debate and share thoughts, talents, etc.

Q:What is your website called?

A: Project:Informed

Q:When did you create the site? And did you create it with anyone else?

A: I created Project:Informed in late December. It was a solo project that I decided to launch in my free time. It also allows me to develop my skills in graphic design as well as my administrative skills, which I will need in my future major of Mass Communications.

Q:What is the purpose of the website? And how did you think of the idea?

A: The purpose of Project:Informed is to provide for its members a controlled environment to discuss, debate, and share. It is a discussion forum with boards to talk about whatever members want. There are laid-back chat areas where members can talk about whatever random topics they want, as well as controlled debate boards on all issues from politics to religion or science.

Q:What age groups and type of people are you trying to target with the website?

A: Project:Informed is for all age groups, but is specifically targeted for high school and college students. We have members as young as thirteen and as old as their fifties. All age-groups are welcome, but if a primary age group would have to be chosen, it would be the generations that are the future of America and the world, particularly students in high school and college.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish as users of your site continue to grow? And how many users are there currently?

A: I hope that Project:Informed continues to develop into an active and lively community. I want it to have a laid-back and welcoming feeling with plenty of area for fun, but also a professional and controlled area for members to debate and discuss more serious issues. Currently Project:Informed has just over thirty members, but I am hoping that the site continues to grow into a thriving online community.

Thanks Josh

Journal Entry

Minnesota's projected $1.2 billion deficit has been trimmed and is now at $994 million. A state economist declared the recession all but over as he predicted a steady climb back to financial stability. Although the state's unemployment rate stands at 7.3 percent, that is lower than the national average at 9.7 percent.

Original article:

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14497680?nclick_check=1