I was born in this hospital, my dad worked there since it opened over 40 years ago, and I could walk there from here... and hell, my mom just spent a few days there -- on the second floor -- last week...!


Elderly man shoots ailing wife in Toms River hospital


When I was recently there, and also previously the past few years post-9/11... it was always so obvious to me how lax the security was there. Any hospital, really, when you think about it. I've always easily walked wherever I wanted and was never bothered, if I looked like I knew where I was going. "Authorized Personnel Only"? No problem, I'd just walk thru the doors if my mom or dad were on the other side, and no one ever bothered me.

How about some metal detectors? Forget it. Somehow hospitals think they're broke, like they don't make enough money. Please. You could get the best suite and service in Atlantic City for less! lol

But what kills me is this: "The gunman, whom authorities have not yet identified, was airlifted to the trauma center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune" -- ummmm... the gunman shot someone IN A HOSPITAL... but had to be airlifted to ANOTHER hospital??? WTF?

I saw that story on the news. Very sad!

I can only suggest that the other hospital (to which the old man was airlifted) had better facilities to treat a head gunshot wound.

5 people murdered in Gary in 2 days.

The old man died yesterday.

Apparently he couldn't face living without his wife.

How sad!! Makes me wanna cry!



TIS

My husband and I read about a traffic accident the other day. They closed the parkway down for several hours, so we figured that there was a death involved. It turns out that it was a guy that my husband went to school with since they were in first grade. My husband hung out with him and his brother all through high school, and then sort of lost touch. He left behind a wife and three kids, too. Really a shame.

That's sad. Difficult for his wife and kids.

Atlantic City casino revenues hit a record low. Blame it on the economy, gas prices and legalized gambling in Pennsylvania.

I heard on the radio that Scorcese is planning a movie or documentary about Atlantic City. That would be cool.

MC, I heard that they want to wait to impose the smoking ban, fearing it would drive away even more business.

The PA casinos have put a dent into the AC gambling revenue. MC, You probably know about the casino in the Poconos, which is/was owned by the infamous Louie DeNaples from my home town of Dunmore. Unfortunately, he is presently charged here in Harrisburg with deliberately lying to the State Police and Gambling Commission about his ties to and friendship with Russell Buffalino. A good friend of mine is prosecuting him and. Louie no longer owns the gambling complex, and may very well be headed to jail.

I believe they put that ban into effect for a week. Now, they're putting a moratorium (sp?) on the ban for one year.

How are the casinos in PA, klyd??

I hope they're better than the ones in CT. I was not impressed with Mohegan Sun (or did I go to Foxwoods? I swear, I don't remember). The rooms are very pricey and the restaurant prices are absurd.

I haven't been to them. I'm not a big casino guy, but I have friends, who go regularly and enjoy it. My wife went with some friends recently, and she had a good time. Apparently, it's mostly slot machines, but it attracts the older folks, who used to pile into buses daily from all over eastern PA and go to AC for the day. A few months ago, our local news did a story about how the bus lines' business has decreased.

The bus trips were a pretty good bargain. Upon arrival people would be given gambling tokens equal to the cost of the bus fare, plus a voucher for a free buffet dinner. I always thought it was worth it even if you didn't gamble.

The city council is voting on it in light of the economic impact. The casinos have reported the lowest % drop in revenue EVER. The smoking ban, gas prices, PA gambling have all contributed. The vote will extend smoking for a year. Stay tuned.

On a different smoke issue, in case you haven't heard the Pine Barrens have been on fire since Tuesday in an area called Wharton State Forest. 2,000 acres have burned so far. One highway was closed for a few days and some residence were evacuated. As of Friday (24th), they have it 70% contained. Tuesday and Wednesday it was very windy and they had a hard time stopping it's progress. Yesterday I could smell and see smoke on my drive to work. I wonder if the fire will chase the Russian out of the woods?

A young boy from our neighbourhood died the day before Halloween. We just found out this morning. He took some sort of fit and choked apparently. How very sad

He was only 13 and was well known around the doors as a nice kid,loved his football!

Like i said,very,very sad....

Very sad, indeed.

Christine Beatty, the former chief of staff for (and mistress of) disgraced former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick decided to take a plea deal on the perjury and obstruction of justice charges. She'll get the same time in jail (4 months) that the former mayor received. She might even get an adjacent cell...


Tearful Beatty apologizes in text message scandal
George Hunter / The Detroit News

SOUTHFIELD -- She famously rolled her eyes and struck a defiant pose throughout the whistle-blower lawsuit against her and her former boss. But Christine Beatty broke into tears and spoke of contrition today during a press conference at her attorney's office.

"I am extremely sorry for all the people who were harmed in this ordeal," said Beatty, former chief of staff for ex-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, as she read a prepared statement. Beatty spoke at attorney Mayer Morganroth's Southfield office.

Beatty pleaded guilty earlier today to two counts of obstructing justice for lying on the witness stand during a police whistle-blower lawsuit in the text message scandal. As part of the plea deal with Wayne County Prosecutors, Beatty will serve a 120-day jail sentence; remain on probation for five years; and pay $100,000 restitution to the city.

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She explained why she took the deal, saying, "After many long months, I decided to end this ordeal. I decided not to go through that, and not take a chance ... of being there for my daughters."

Beatty said she wanted to "especially apologize to the people of the great city of Detroit. I am truly sorry. Detroit is my home, and I hope one day the work that was accomplished will eventually show through."

To her supporters, Beatty said, "Please continue to pray for me and my family," and she gave a special thanks "to my mother, my family, my church family and my friends. You have stuck by me at every turn and I could not have made it through a single day without you. I thank God you were with me during that time.

"This has been a very trying time but also a very spiritual one."

I have never liked the government taking property in civil cases where there was no criminal conviction so this news was sort of grimly humorous to me. The local real estate market , with very few exceptions, is almost dead right now.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081204/ap_on_re_us/meltdown_selling_assets

Feds nix plan to sell Detroit houses tied to drugs
By ED WHITE, Associated Press Writer Ed White, Associated Press Writer

DETROIT – Federal prosecutors twice pursued a former autoworker suspected of running a multimillion-dollar drug operation.

The first attempt fizzled when Clarence Carson died shortly after an indictment. The second? Blame it on the collapse of Detroit's real-estate market.

The government recently abandoned a plan to sell nearly three dozen properties — land, houses and strip malls — believed to have been acquired by Carson through heroin, marijuana and cocaine sales.

"The market tanked," Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ziedas said. "If we were able to effectively market these and come up with some kind of return, we would have done it."

Like any seller, the U.S. Marshals Service, which is in charge of getting rid of assets grabbed by the Justice Department, is finding that location is the key to real estate these days.

"We are dealing with markets that have either declined slightly or tanked in different regions," said Dave Turner, a Marshals Service spokesman in Washington.

"Clearly the market in Los Angeles comes to mind, the market in southern Florida and Las Vegas," he said. "It's really unfortunate when we find a neighborhood or a city facing that situation."

Michigan is in the top 10 states for home foreclosures; a recent list of Wayne County properties inserted in the Sunday newspaper was as thick as the paper. The state's unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent in October, well above the national figure, as the auto industry sheds jobs.

Against this gloomy background, the government tried to dismantle Carson's real-estate holdings, mostly rentals, a miniature empire alleged to have been the tainted fruit of two decades of drug trafficking. Investigators claim his commercial buildings were large enough to conceal truckloads of marijuana from Mexico.

Carson died of cancer at age 54 in January 2004, two months after he was charged with financial crimes. His demise, however, did not stop federal authorities from returning in 2007 with a civil lawsuit to seize his properties.

Carson "drove an associate around the city of Detroit on several occasions and showed the associate all of the properties he owned," the government alleged. "Carson bragged about the fact that he had purchased the ... properties with narcotics proceeds."

Defense lawyer David DuMouchel said his client denied any involvement in drugs.

"Seemed like a nice guy who worked hard," DuMouchel said. "The government apparently had a different view."

Rodney Carson, 35, said the family was stunned by the government's decision to pursue the real estate after his father's death.

"I'm not going to say I spent 24/7 with my father, but I never knew of a drug investigation," he said.

Unlike a criminal case, where guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, the threshold in a forfeiture case is much lower. The government must show a "substantial" connection between certain assets and a crime, not necessarily a direct link.

Carson's widow, Ida, "screamed at the top of her lungs, `This is not true!' She's denied it completely," Rodney Carson said of the government's allegation. "But our lawyer told us to settle or they'll bottle you up. I believe we were bullied. That's the only polite way to classify it."

By November 2007, the U.S. attorney's office reached an agreement with the Carson family: Thirty-one properties, most in Detroit, would be sold, with the government keeping 55 percent of the money after debts were paid.

But nearly a year later, a judge threw out the deal at the request of both sides. Some properties had thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes, and many were in poor condition even for people willing to bet on a fixer-upper. Nothing had moved.

A low-rise apartment complex next to a Roman Catholic seminary has no tenants. Front doors are missing or damaged, and the alley has become a drive-by dump for mattresses and trash. A notice for more than $50,000 in back taxes and penalties is nailed to a window frame.

"The Marshals said this is not doable," said Ziedas, the government lawyer. "Should we have understood a year-and-a-half ago that it wasn't doable? I don't know how to answer that. There was supposedly value."

Rodney Carson blames the government. He said the properties withered because tenants fled when authorities claimed the homes were tied to drugs.

"Rental income dried up. Plumbing was getting stolen," Carson said. "We got them back now, but unless we can sell them in these horrible conditions — it's just more debt."

Any hope? "Not at all," he replied.

Real-estate agents elsewhere also say the market has forced sellers, including the government, to lower expectations.

Robert Cusmano of Miami said he's close to selling a duplex in the Liberty City area for $175,000, more than a year after the Marshals Service got the property. Earlier listing prices exceeded $250,000, which he called "ridiculous."

"Vandalism is a big problem," Cusmano said. "This needs a new kitchen, new bathroom, new floor, paint inside and out."

But he's grateful for a deal.

"When I go to conferences," Cusmano said, "they say inner-city stuff can't be given away."

A local man,who is disabled and only gets around with the help of crutches was sitting in his house waiting for his grandkids to arrive. So imagine his surprise when a scruffy stranger burst into his front room and started pinching bottles of booze out of his cabinet?
The burglar tried to get back out of the house but the hopalong hero caught him (somehow),wedged him in the front door and bashed him up with his crutch.

Good on him. He deserves a medal

The miscreant got a suspended jail sentence. No surprise there either!

It's one thing to break in to steal cash, jewels or furs -- but booze??! Don't you have the death penalty there??

Hey Yogi, I'm surprised that under British law the man wasn't sued for bashing the thief. All of us Brits know that we face punishment for hitting burglars that enter our homes.

We should have it for booze stealers. The lowest of the low

Some Texas peanut plant is suspected to be contaminated with Salmonella.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090210/ap_on_bi_ge/salmonella_outbreak_plant

Admittedly I have never heard of Chris Brown and vaguely have heard of his girlfriend Rhiannon. This guy is a real ass.

While not necessarily news in my area, I heard the L.A. radio station talk about it today. This girl had two black eyes several concussions including two on her face and bite marks. WTF What's sad is, according to the news story she is refusing to press charges (probably scared to death of the MFer. Yet her parents, from another country (can't remember where) want her to come home (obviously).

Anyway, what a scum of the earth, lowlife, cowardly piece of shit asshole this guy is.

Thanks for letting me vent. This pisses me off.

TIS


Chris Brown & Rhiannon

Every year the RSPCA (Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) publishes its reports of how many people prosecuted and the like. Every year unfortuneatley,the north East of England where i come from is top of the list for offences committed. This year one of the worst cases caught my eye.

A young thug forced 2 chickens to drink whiskey and smoke cannabis before he snapped their necks

Where do these people come from?

Scum doesn't even begin to describe them!!!