The Publisher's Page BY HAROLD T. BECK

JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2000

JANUARY 14, 2K

Demanding a retraction

Good morning. Today's headline in The Era is patently false and I demand a retraction.

"Beck and partner want to open nude club on Main Street"

Owning a building and supporting an idea is far from opening a nude club on Main Street! The inference is that I am going to be an active participant. I am not. I will collect rent. That is far from what The Era has said to its readers today.

The morons who control the city should hide their heads in shame. Jon Yale, the Main Street Manager,  is the biggest one of all. He shows his ignorance by being quoted in The Era as saying: "We've pretty much proven family-oriented events downtown are successful," he said, adding that by promoting family actives downtown merchants had "one of the best Christmas shopping seasons in years."

If it was so successful, then why are more businesses closing? The man who was fired at Branson is far from being the answer here in Bradford. Has he opened even one new business since becoming Main Street Manager? Where are all the statistics he promised us last fall? Unfortunately he is just another big bag of wind. And The Error hasn't changed one bit. They are still mis-reporting the news.

In the meantime, one of our readers commented on yesterday's article:

Hmmmmmm.............

I'm not sure I understand exactly what the Nude Bottle Club would be like. I'm not sure it would even be somewhere I would want to
frequent. But, I do know that my town has a "Cafe Erotica" and "Fantasy Lane" and only those who want to frequent those abodes do so. It brings in tax dollars to the rest of us, tourism bucks, and a place to get the rapists off the street.

What I do find amusing, however, is the line of reasoning that the city
presents. It definitely does sound like "political incorrectness". If
they are going to give a reason, then at least make up one that shows
sound reasoning. I have never had trouble finding a place to park in
downtown Bradford when I visit. Are they afraid that this establishment would draw such a crowd that there truly would be no place to park?

When the Byllye Lanes had topless dancing in the 70's, now there was a parking problem there all the time! They even had to expand their lots. So, come on, Bradford, don't use parking as an excuse. Tell it like it is for once. You are selective. Always have been , always will be.

Ghostwriter in the Sky

As for the hypocrisy that is running rampant in Bradford, I am drawn to the words of Paul Newman playing Judge Roy Bean. "There is nothing worse than a reformed whore." And I think that says it all.

Comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.

JANUARY 13, 2K

Jet Lag

Good morning. It is 28.0 degrees at 6 A.M. in the morning.  And yes, I am back.

Just in case you might have noticed a difference since Monday morning, I have been out of town. I had columns prepared and set to be posted.  Not every one gets up early like me. The poster of my columns got around to it about noon. I know that disturbed people like Scott and Pat and Terri and Bob. I am sorry. I intend to change all of that when I get a lap top to travel with me. When that happens I will be writing on the road and just wait and see what you are treated to then.

Where was I?

Las Vegas attending an internet convention.

Why?

To get the latest on e-commerce, billing, and the next generation of movie video, communications and the such that is available on the net. This is the new frontier of business and anyone who wants to let it pass them by is very foolish. I am a whole lot of things, but foolish I am not. And besides, who can pass up Vegas in January while it was snowing back here!

My column Patches of Light in the Night seems to be very appropriate. While I was in Las Vegas the City of Bradford seemed to think that it was proper to turn down a building permit application submitted by a friend of mine. It would have turned one of the many vacant Main Street store fronts into a viable and tax paying business. The only hitch was that the business was a Nude Bottle Club.

Personally, I don't see any problem with such an enterprise on Main Street. However, a whole lot of hypocrites do. That is why you have been noticing stories and legal notices aimed at prohibiting such an endeavor.

The reason for turning down the application?

Pending ordinance and lack of parking.

While the pending ordinance may be a real concern, think about the reason they give as lack of parking. Think about that one long and hard. How many vacant store fronts are there on Main Street? Are there upwards of twenty-five or more? What if someone wants to put a restaurant or a deli that seats thirty or forty people in? What about additional parking for that? What if you want to put in a Sporting Goods store? What about any type of retail business? Where do you get the parking for those businesses? Isn't that reason sounding the obvious death bell for the development of Main Street? Or, is this a selective reason that is given just to keep this business off Main Street in their so called "Hysterical District?"

As for the business being a Nude Bottle Club, what's wrong with that? There are businesses serving alcohol on Main Street. And as for nudity, one business sells Hustler Magazine, just to mention one. And ironically, this month's issues has a man and woman engaged in pictorial sex with nothing left to the imagination, even the moment of finish, and two women having sex, also. That is for sale currently on Main Street even as I write this column.

For those reasons, along with the fact that I am one of the owners of the building where the place is going to go, and stand to make money on rent, I am in favor of such an operation.

No, I have never been to Busty Hearts, a similar business located in Turtle Point. And, I have no intention of going in the near future to Busty Hearts or this establishment, if it ever opens. That is not my thing, but it is for other people. To each his own.

That is more than some of the people on Council can say for themselves and their relatives. They have been to Busty's place and they have been there more than once. And won't it be a big shame when this gets personal and I start giving away those facts along with some of the secrets that those in opposition to this have to hide? Won't it be interesting then?

In particular, Lawyers, Liars, and Lovers can re-debut and then the affairs and indiscressions will be out there for everyone to read and know about.

Like one of my heroes, Larry Flynt, I am totally prepared to expose the hypocrites who want to put out the holier than thou appearance. I can feature on of them every day for several weeks and I will certainly enjoy doing just that. And you will certainly enjoy reading about them and so will the rest of the area when the printed version of this makes it debut in year 2K.

Like most things I write about, this is just the beginning. I am interested in the line of thinking that eliminates any kind of business from an otherwise depressed and dying area. I am interested in how the City Council can lend money to bars to expand and then say no to this that will cost them nothing.

I am interested in the line of thinking that lends money to a business that is well known as a drug outlet and dealing point so that they can expand. Why weren't the outraged citizens polling the business owners then? Aren't drugs more of a danger than the human body?

All of this needs to be examined. All of this has to be answered. I may be fuzzy this morning from Jet Lag and the change in time zones, but the people opposing this have far greater problems. Their thinking leaves a bit to be desired and explained.

Your comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.

JANUARY 12, 2K

Patches of Light in the Night

Leaving Greater Pittsburgh International Airport at night and flying west, especially is you have a clear night as I did, it doesn't take long to realize how many small to medium towns there are in our nation. Looking down from 38,000 feet unknown towns and small cities come into view.

The lights of the homes and businesses outline the streets. Shopping centers and malls stand out, as do stadiums, event centers, and churches. To the interested observer it is relatively simple to classify the size of town that is passing beneath them.

I suppose that after an hour or so of passive observation it was then that my imagination began to take over. It was when I identified an area that looked to me to be a hospital. That happened because I could faintly distinguish the lights of an arriving emergency vehicle.

"I wonder how many employees work there?" I asked myself. Then I froze the town in my mind and began to make mental comparisons.

There was a mall on the edge of town. I found the high school. Main Street was clearly outlined and took a northward turn when it appeared to cross some railroad tracks. Did they call it Main Street? After the turn did it become East Main Street?

Then I got personal. Did they have a newspaper? What about a radio station? What was their major source of employment? Were the employees at the hospital paid a living and fair wage? Were they like so many who took what the could get because they were at the mercy of the few who decided what they would earn?

I wondered about their Main Street, was it commercially active? If it was why? Or, were they like so many other towns? Had the central retail district fallen into ruin and were there dozens of vacant store fronts? If there were, what was really being done about it?

I wondered if the town had singled itself out, declared itself something more than special, and decided to go out of its way to attract more marginal business to go with what it already had. As I asked that question my focus left the town that had long since gone out of my sight. I looked at a new one and then another. After that there were seven, eight, eleven, twenty, and even fifty more. What of them? Wouldn't they have the same problems?

I knew the answer to the obvious question that they all were asking. I knew the answer to my question and as I answered:" Yes!" I couldn't hold back the smile. I couldn't help but wonder and ask the question.

Was someone else in an airliner at that very moment looking down on a patch of light in the night? Were they able to make out Bradford Mall, Bradford Regional Medical Center, and could they see Main Street? Were they wondering, like I was, about what was really happening? If they were, had they drawn the same conclusions?

I laughed. I knew they had. I knew that at that very moment the other me was thinking exactly the same thing. He couldn't help himself. "How ridiculous!" I said aloud. "What?" the man in the seat asked.

I smiled and apologized for disturbing him, but I couldn't hold back the smile. What was it for and what was it about? I thought of the array of self important saviors who believed, or at least led others to believe , that they had an answer, they didn't and they knew that they didn't!

The laughter returned. "Just another patch of light in the night," I said, then I asked the stewardess for a drink.

JANUARY 11, 2K

Let's Move On

BY TOM CLARK

The New Years Eve hangovers have subsided and the paranoid people have come out of their bomb shelters. The Y2K farce was just that, a non-event that had otherwise normal folks fearing the worst. Like squirrels in autumn, they stockpiled supplies and hid in their basements. All for naught

Not unlike every other change of years, we are always inundated with Top Ten lists of news, sports and other events that occurred in the previous year. Since this new year was a biggie, it seemed like everyone had some sort of list recapping the last 100 years.

No, I'm not going to bore you with anything like that. This article contains things that I feel we should leave behind in the 90's. They've served their purpose, in some peoples' eyes, but have no social significance in the 00's.

It would be too easy to say we should end all wars, disease and poverty. That's a given. The following list is stuff that I can do without. Perhaps you won't agree, but you aren't the one writing this column. Ah, the power of the printed word!

Without further ado, I present to you my "Things To Leave Behind in the 90's" list:

Women Smoking Cigars - I don't know what the Hell they are trying to prove with this. When I see a woman puffing on one of these, I get the same thoughts that I get when I see one eating a banana.

Rap Sneaking Into Rock - What's up with this? Some of the newer stuff is a little too close to rap for me. I thought we were making progress with the rappers killing each other.

Karaoke - She can't sing. He can't sing. And you can't sing. The other people in the bar are clapping because they are too drunk to realize that you suck as a singer. Grab a pool cue or learn to throw darts. Just quit singing, dammit!

Country Music and NASCAR - While we are on the subject of bad music, I had to throw this in. Neither of these will go away, of course, but can't we send these back to the inbreds in the South, where they belong?

Cell Phones In Public Places - "Look at Me! I'm really cool with my cell phone!" You are annoying, not cool. I don't need to hear your conversations while I'm having lunch. Nor should I have to swerve away from you when you are trying to drive and talk at the same time.

Waving - OK, Bradford is a small town. We all know each other. I don't think it would be so impolite to not wave every time I pass you in traffic. By the end of the day, my arm is tired from all that waving. Whattaya say that, if I wave to you on Monday, that should hold me over for the rest of the week?

"Been There, Done That" - Heard it, hate it.

"Don't Go There" - To the people who use this idiotic phrase, I have a perfect place for you to go.

Tanning Beds - It's the middle of January, 30 below zero, we have snow up to our gazingas and you are walking around with a tan. Who are you trying to fool? Although people may enjoy seeing you now with a tan, I don't think we want to look at your blemishes that will soon follow when the Big C takes over your hide.

Political Correctness - Screw it. Say what's on your mind.

"Mosh Tequila" - Up here in the hill country, we are limited to what radio stations we pick up. Unfortunately, the one in Salamanca is the only rock station that comes in. Even more unfortunately, they play "Mosh Tequila" at least 16,743 times a day. Damn glad I have a CD player in my vehicle.

Cablecomm - Bradford's answer to television in the 70's. Who is responsible for what channels we are offered? Bradford is the only place I know of that does not get Comedy Central. Cablecomm gives us a great reason to get a satellite dish.

I'm sure there are more things that should be left behind in the old century, but time, space and apathy have limited me to just a few. Whether you agree or not with my list, please do your share to help make this a better world for all of us. Don't litter, open doors for little old ladies and lift the seat before you tinkle. Oh yeah, and use deodorant when in public.

 

JANUARY 10, 2K

Comments by John....and not John Gates

EDITOR'S COMMENT: This is a new feature writer - "Just John." I hope you enjoy his comments. I do. Bud

Bud, Today in the Era, there is an article ( I'm going to "paraphrase" as I often do to "bottom line"it ) "Bragging" about how many families the ELF / Salvation Army has helped this year. The number is UP from 1004 ( 4 years ago, or maybe last year, I couldn't get a clear understanding of that) to 1126 this year. Now, being the "Bleeding heart" liberal type that I am, I am not against helping people who really need it. However I feel ( and I REALLY HOPE, many people agree with me) that the number going UP is a BAD thing. Not bad that they are helping people, but the fact that MORE and MORE people in this area needs (or qualifies for ) the help. That is the more important issue. Ideally the number should drop from 1004 to 0! Then instead of "Bragging" about the number, and since it shows that we ( as a community) are "Loosing ground"........not gaining.......shouldn't we (or perhaps the Era) hide the numbers or just not report them? Wouldn't it be better for ALL involved for something like this to not be talked about. Think of the people receiving the help.......don't you think THEY would prefer not seeing it (as a grim reminder) on the front page of the paper? I hope you will agree with me that the number that they (Elf, Salvation Army, Soup Kitchens, and etc.) should be falling........ not rising at an alarming rate! And also, if you are going to help people, consider their pride, and do it discreetly!.............

And, John said this about our State Senator:

I just read the article on Bill Slocum in the Era. I can't Bellevue that not only did they (the Era) miss it, but you did too! Shame on YOU! There was a much bigger story that they, and you missed. Much bigger and more important than a bunch of "crap in a creek".. That is, the state chairman of the Northwest Caucus of the Republican Party, Ashe Khare ( is this REALLY his name? ) claimed that the US government slaps "frivolous" lawsuits against "Honest, Hardworking, citizens. FRIVOLOUS?...... A federal grand jury indicted him (Bill Slocum) on seven counts! Does this guy (Ashe Khare) have any idea what a "frivolous lawsuit" is.......( Isn't it a crime to bring a "frivolous" lawsuit against someone?) .....or what is involved to convene (help me with my spelling!) a grand jury? And doesn't a federal grand jury have to be convinced that they have enough evidence to get a guilty verdict BEFORE...they are allowed to go forward with an indictment? (the era spelled "indicted" this way) .....a short lesson in law here....
Ashe Khare ....( Wouldn't this be a great name for a proctologist? ) (Ass Care!)....... said in the article in the Era (Badly written and reported by Sandra Rhodes) ...and I quote, "The lawsuit is frivolous. I would not happen if he was not a state senator" ( I'm not sure if this was bad reporting by Ms. Rhodes, or Mr. Khare speaking like a "drunk" or just a typo) ...but...I think the second sentence is supposed to say: "It would not have happened if he was not a state senator".................WHAT?.....WHAT DID I JUST HEAR? ( Is this a national story or what!) ......A state regional chairman of the republican party claiming that the federal government (Democratic administration) singles out "honest, hardworking", state republican senators and slaps them with "frivolous" lawsuits?.................Wow! and THAT.....is not the bigger story?........A National story?.........And Sandra Rhodes let that go in one ear......and out the other?..........
Not me!.......I'd grabbed him by the collar with one hand.....and shoved my reporter mike down his throat with the other.......and said..........Now wait a minute....Mr Khare.....You, being a representative of the republican party in the state of PA......are you calling a federal grand jury, seven count INCITEMENT....... a "frivolous" lawsuit? ...........Or ......are claiming that the Federal government singled him ( Bill Slocum ) out because he is a republican state senator?.........
.AND then......I would have written the article with the headline....."State Republican leader claims : federal government singles out state republican senator with "frivolous" lawsuit.".......(or how about " crap in creek, just a bunch of crap " )........
NO, this is serious.....how ...or why is it, that the reporter (Sandra Rhodes) and the Era, let this republican guy get away with saying this like it was nothing? (Where is this reporters "balls"? figure of speach!)
How can WE, as "honest, hardworking" citizens sleep at night knowing ( thanks to the Bradford Era and this Khare guy) that the US Federal Government can indicate us with a "frivolous" lawsuit?..........
For being a hardworker...?....honest...?.....a republican....?
Well, here's my prediction ( and I'm always right!)... that this guy , Slocum ( is this HIS real name or a nickname he picked up in high school ? ) .......that BECAUSE he IS a republican state senator, he will beat the (very serious) charges (of re-routing poop) and not even spend any (well disserved) time in jail ! ( isn't it a slang term from the fifties to call jail... the crapper?).

Comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.

JANUARY 8 & 9, 2K

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