Bangor is nearing the completion of a three month remediation of the Riverfront. The remediation is beneficial to both humans and animals. A PDF of frequently asked question can be found here.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Assignment 17
Old Town High School Chemistry teacher Ed Lindsey has taken a different approach to teaching his students. He is giving them a hands on learning experience, one they are really enjoying.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Assignment 16 Redone For the Web
Mercury levels in some areas of Maine are higher than other areas of the New England region. University of Maine Assistant Research Professor Sarah Nelson says that mercury travels to Maine in the air and is found in the emissions from factories. A large source of the problem comes from factories in Asia whose emissions make their way to our side of the globe.
The levels of mercury found in most people in the U.S are not near dangerous levels. They are usually below one part-per-billion which is not enough to cause any major concern. Women who plan to become pregnant or are pregnant need to be extra careful though. There is concern that the mercury will pass from a mother to her fetus. Mercury research is still fairly new and the side effects are still being studied. Researchers find that high levels of mercury in children can lower their IQ’s.
Seafood lovers have no reason to panic. Everything in moderation is still a good idea. It is still smart to enjoy seafood as a part of your diet. To help people, both the EPA and the state of Maine have guidelines on their websites as to what levels or mercury are deemed safe in humans. The websites also provide the levels of mercury that can be found in different types of fish. Also provided is some information regarding mercury spills and leakage into the environment.
The levels of mercury found in most people in the U.S are not near dangerous levels. They are usually below one part-per-billion which is not enough to cause any major concern. Women who plan to become pregnant or are pregnant need to be extra careful though. There is concern that the mercury will pass from a mother to her fetus. Mercury research is still fairly new and the side effects are still being studied. Researchers find that high levels of mercury in children can lower their IQ’s.
Seafood lovers have no reason to panic. Everything in moderation is still a good idea. It is still smart to enjoy seafood as a part of your diet. To help people, both the EPA and the state of Maine have guidelines on their websites as to what levels or mercury are deemed safe in humans. The websites also provide the levels of mercury that can be found in different types of fish. Also provided is some information regarding mercury spills and leakage into the environment.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Assignment 14: Why I want to be a journalist
Some people wake up every morning, go through their morning routine and know what to expect from their day. It could be a typical boring day in the office, or a job that never changes from day to day. This sounds like an awful way to live life. I don’t want to wake up and know what to expect from my day. I want surprises and changes; I want to learn new things. This is where being a journalist comes in. As a journalist you may be heading to the same “job” each day, but what that job offers you is different everyday. Journalists get to collect, organize and deliver the most important current events and news to the public. This news is new and ever changing. Journalists need to be on the ball at every moment; they never know when something breaking is going to happen. As a result the journalists job offers some sense of excitement. You never know what’s going to happen, therefore you never know what you will get to report on and learn about.
When I first came to college it was for engineering. I quickly learned that just because I didn’t enjoy English classes in high school, this didn’t mean I wouldn’t enjoy communication and journalism classes at the college level. I quickly ran away from engineering and right to the communication and journalism department. I realized that journalistic writing is very different from the writing an English major would do, or the writing I did in high school classes. It’s not studying classic literature, or reading long novels, but being up to date with the world and knowing about important issues that are arising everyday, being up to date with the current politics, the information that journalists study and gather is endless.
Regardless of what happens in the world, there will always be a need for journalists. It is a field that is very competitive and demands potential candidates be the best they can be. This includes having great writing skills, but also an extensive working knowledge of important technologies and equipment. The better rounded a journalist is, the better there chances for success. This means adding new bits of knowledge and information to your brain everyday. With jobs in newspapers on the decline, jobs in newspapers, radio and T.V are doing well. This means that journalists must have an extensive working knowledge of technologies and be able to create packages for various mediums. to This is something that seems like a fun job, a job where you can remain up to date and current with everything going on. There are still job offerings in the field, they just require the best possible candidates. This is why an aspiring journalist must be the best that they can.
Please take a minute to answer the poll on the top right of my page regarding journalism.
Check out this graph. It is a coloration between the jobs in manufacturing and jobs in journalism.
Some tips from an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nigel Jaquiss
Just to prove the journalists are regular people, here are some comical bloopers:
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Assignment 12
Average market values of the fourth generation Legacy are below. Models have a price range based upon the options that are equipped, mileage, condition and location. For
2005
2.5i- $9,800-$12,00
2.5GT- $12,000-$14,000
2006
2.5i- $11,700-$13,600
2.5GT- $15,700-$17,400
2.5GT Spec.B (Only 500 were made in 2006, each individually numbered)- $18,600
2007
2.5i- $14,000-$16,300
2.5GT- $19,000-$21,500
2.5GT Spec.B- $23,000
2008
2.5i- $16,700-$19,800
2.5GT- $23,00-$25,600
2.5GT Spec.B- $27,700
2009
2.5i- $20,800-$25,000
2.5GT- $28,800-$32,000
2.5 GT Spec.B- $34,600
If your are considering purchasing a used vehicle, it is important to do your research. Below are some helpful links when considering a vehicle purchase.
Edmunds
Kelly Blue Book
For 2010 the Legacy was completely redesigned. Unfortunately I will not be going into detail about the new model in this blog. It can be found on Subaru's website here:
The 2010 Legacy
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Residents are uninformed and unclear about new law
Maine has passed a new law that seems to have many of its residents confused. Many people are referring to the new failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle law as the distracted driver law. This is incorrect wording. Maine has passed no such law to prohibit the driver from being distracted, but rather to help discourage distractions and raise awareness.
The new law, which will be added to the books shortly, is article 2117. The law says, if a driver is stopped for a traffic violation, or gets into an accident while distracted, they can be assigned an additional $50 fine for failure to control their motor vehicle.
Many residents are under the impression that they are no longer able to be distracted at all while driving. Word of mouth has many people thinking it now is illegal to do such things like applying make up, talking on the phone, texting or being distracted in any way. While police feel that driving requires ones full attention, they do understand that some people may be able to keep their vehicle in control even while talking on their cell phone, or texting. This law was enacted to help raise awareness about how distracted driving does cause accidents.
Many people feel that the media could have done a better job reporting and explaining what the law really states. Residents said that most of what they heard about the law came from word of mouth rather than from an actual news source. Most people said they didn’t even hear about the new law in the news and if they did, there wasn’t a clear explanation of what it really states.
Please take a second to respond to the interactive poll on the top right of the page.
The new law, which will be added to the books shortly, is article 2117. The law says, if a driver is stopped for a traffic violation, or gets into an accident while distracted, they can be assigned an additional $50 fine for failure to control their motor vehicle.
Many residents are under the impression that they are no longer able to be distracted at all while driving. Word of mouth has many people thinking it now is illegal to do such things like applying make up, talking on the phone, texting or being distracted in any way. While police feel that driving requires ones full attention, they do understand that some people may be able to keep their vehicle in control even while talking on their cell phone, or texting. This law was enacted to help raise awareness about how distracted driving does cause accidents.
Many people feel that the media could have done a better job reporting and explaining what the law really states. Residents said that most of what they heard about the law came from word of mouth rather than from an actual news source. Most people said they didn’t even hear about the new law in the news and if they did, there wasn’t a clear explanation of what it really states.
Please take a second to respond to the interactive poll on the top right of the page.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Maine's New Law
Bangor is a city of about 32,000 residents. This total soars to over 80,000 during the weekday work hours. With so many people traveling into the city for their days, there are constantly accidents caused by drives who simply weren’t paying attention to what they were doing. Distracted drivers cause the majority of accidents in the Bangor area. The 57 officers of the Bangor Police Department work hard everyday to keep the streets safe for everyone.
Maine has recently passed a law that allows law enforcement officers to fine people for being distracted while at the wheel. What many people don’t understand is what the law actually says. Many people are under the impression that they can no longer talk on their cell phones or text while driving. This is not the case. People can continue to talk and text as well as other tasks while driving, but if they commit a traffic violation or get into an accident while doing so, they can also be charged with an additional charge of failure to maintain control of their vehicle. If a driver runs through a stop sign, while trying to dial their cell phone, they can be charged with the failure to stop charge and a charge for failure to control the motor vehicle.
Many people say they did not hear much about the new law in the media and that their misconceptions about it all come from word of mouth. Residents feel a better job could have been done on covering the law and explaining what it actually says. While the new law is not currently in the books yet, it is article 2217 and will be added shortly.
The City of Bangor really hopes to see people starting to pay better attention while they driving. “The big goal right now is to educate people,” says Officer Jason McAmbley of the Bangor Police Department. In hopes that people will become less distracted at the wheel and focus more on driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 80% of accidents are caused by drivers who are distracted three seconds before the accident. Law enforcement hopes that the law will help stop people from being distracted as they drive. The initial fine for a first time offender will be under $50, for each subsequent offence, the fine will increase.
The state does have a law that prevents minors from talking or texting while driving. It is a primary offense to be under 18 and talking or texting while at the wheel. A primary offense is an offense that you can be pulled over for, whereas a secondary offense you cannot be stopped for.
A list of every state's cell phone laws can be found here.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Bangor Schools Combat the H1N1 Virus
Bangor, Maine – The Bangor School district has teamed up with the Maine CDC to try and stop the spread of the flu virus amongst school aged children. “We are doing the education and cleaning that has been recommended by the Maine CDC,” says Superintendent Betsy Webb of Bangor Schools. She says that the CDC has been very helpful and doing a good job of keeping her informed and up to date. The Maine CDC is also offering a blog, featuring weekly updates on the issue.
There will be a flu vaccination made available to students. Participation in the vaccination program is optional. They will be administered free of charge on September 25th in the Bangor High School Gymnasium. “Once an H1N1 virus vaccination is available, which we have been told is sometime late October, those will be available to students as well,” says Webb.
There will also be a flu clinic available to faculty members funded by insurance money and a $25 flu shot charge. This clinic will be held early in the morning on September 25th. There is no word whether or not an H1N1 vaccine will be made available to faculty yet.
Parents of Bangor school children have been informed on the issue. “We had papers come home from the superintended offering a free flu clinic at the end of this month,” says mother Marie Dagle Thompson whose daughter attends the Abraham Lincoln School. Parents are still remaining calm about the issue.
Mother Sarah McKay has a daughter attending the Abraham Lincoln School in Bangor. She says that she is not worried about the flu. “I don’t have too many concerns about the H1N1 flu. I think it’s been blown slightly out of proportion,” says McKay. She says that she is very happy with what the district is doing to keep people aware and it’s efforts to combat the issue.
Students are being educated on the proper ways to keep themselves clean. They are taught to frequently and thoroughly wash their hands and to make sure they sneeze and couch into a tissue or their sleeve. Student Cassie McKay shows us the proper way to wash our hands.
There will be a flu vaccination made available to students. Participation in the vaccination program is optional. They will be administered free of charge on September 25th in the Bangor High School Gymnasium. “Once an H1N1 virus vaccination is available, which we have been told is sometime late October, those will be available to students as well,” says Webb.
There will also be a flu clinic available to faculty members funded by insurance money and a $25 flu shot charge. This clinic will be held early in the morning on September 25th. There is no word whether or not an H1N1 vaccine will be made available to faculty yet.
Parents of Bangor school children have been informed on the issue. “We had papers come home from the superintended offering a free flu clinic at the end of this month,” says mother Marie Dagle Thompson whose daughter attends the Abraham Lincoln School. Parents are still remaining calm about the issue.
Mother Sarah McKay has a daughter attending the Abraham Lincoln School in Bangor. She says that she is not worried about the flu. “I don’t have too many concerns about the H1N1 flu. I think it’s been blown slightly out of proportion,” says McKay. She says that she is very happy with what the district is doing to keep people aware and it’s efforts to combat the issue.
Students are being educated on the proper ways to keep themselves clean. They are taught to frequently and thoroughly wash their hands and to make sure they sneeze and couch into a tissue or their sleeve. Student Cassie McKay shows us the proper way to wash our hands.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)