CONTENTS: From the Editors The only local voice for The future might freak you news, arts, and culture. April 12, 2017 Editors-in-Chief: out, and it probably should. Brian Graham & Adam Welsh erhaps The Amazing Criswell put it best Managing Editor: Nick Warren Just a Thought – 5 in the introduction to Ed Wood’s Plan 9 Copy Editor: Millfair is worth dirtying your PFrom Outer Space, insightfully remark- Katie Chriest ing that “we are all interested in the future, for Contributing Editors: hands. that is where you and I are going to spend the Ben Speggen rest of our lives.” Jim Wertz In her detailed piece, Mary Birdsong warns Contributors: A Candidate’s Future, a Maitham Basha-Agha that our Great Lakes are in danger. Facing Ed Bernik Citizen’s Now – 6 deep budget cuts at the hands of the Trump Mary Birdsong administration, the Environmental Protection Tracy Geibel How what we learn before the Lisa Gensheimer Agency finds itself in dire circumstances. The Gregory Greenleaf-Knepp primary may matter through physical and economic health of our city, along Dan Schank Tommy Shannon 2030 with countless others in the U.S. and Canada, Ryan Smith depends on the health of all the Great Lakes. Ti Sumner Matt Swanseger The stakes are high, and at the moment, the Bryan Toy Sailing on Choppy Waters – 9 outcome looks bleak. Cover Design: Nick Warren Potential devastation in the Photographers: wake of EPA budget cuts Maitham Basha-Agha Ryan Smith The physical and economic health Brad Triana Publisher’s Assistant: News of the Weird – 15 of our city, along with countless Emily Hanisek others in the U.S. and Canada, Intern: Firefighting jetpacks and Angie Jeffery onstage enemas depends on the health of all the Great Lakes. The stakes are high, 1001 State St. Suite 901 Erie, Pa., 16501 and at the moment, the outcome [email protected] Blunt Terms – 18 looks bleak. The condition of cannabis use The Erie Reader is the local voice for news, arts, and culture, and is Erie’s only in Pennsylvania independent, alternative newspaper. Founded in 2010, the Reader has quickly If you’ve been hearing that we’re at a pivotal become the region’s award-winning Spotlight on Erie – 23 moment, that’s because it’s true. As Americans, source for arts coverage, a strong cul- and as Erieites, we stand at a crossroads. Some tural compass, and a dynamic resource Don’t criticize it, and I will for news and opinion. With a dedication good news is that the direction Erie is moving to long-form journalism and a commit- advertise it isn’t just in the hands of our 70-year-old dem- ment to provoking thoughtful discus- agogic commander in chief. Ben Speggen re- sion, the Reader tells the stories of the people and places making and shaping turns with another volume in the growing sto- Erie, while highlighting the events and Portraits of Us – 34 ry of Erie’s mayoral race. Diving into our city’s issues influencing life in northwestern history, he discusses the issues brought on by Pennsylvania. The Erie Reader is pub- Gary Cardot’s take on our rich lished every other week and distributed diversity term limits. He also looks ahead to several de- at over 250 high foot-traffic locations in bates happening prior to the May 16 primary Pennsylvania from North East to Girard election, including one hosted in part by the to Edinboro. In addition to appearing in print, Erie Reader adds new content dai- A Review of Galaxy Love – 36 Erie Reader on Thursday, May 4. ly at ErieReader.com as well social me- If you are freaking out about the future, may- dia sites. All rights reserved. All content The 92-year-old secular rabbi be you can take something to calm down. One © Flagship Multimedia, Inc, 1001 State St., Suite 901, Erie, Pa, 16501. No part of of American poetry, ferocious particular “something” that garners quite a bit this publication may be reproduced and funny as ever. of attention is marijuana. In our cover story without permission. The opinions of examining the illustrious history of the drug, our columnists and contributors are their own and do not always reflect that Matt Swanseger looks at the current state of of the editorial board or organization. The Legend of Zelda: Breath legal marijuana in Pennsylvania and what’s in Direct sales inquiries to 814.314.9364. store for Erie County. Will the state of legaliza- For editorial inquiries, email contact@ of the Wild – 37 ErieReader.com. tion change? Only time will tell. Franchise’s freedom sets open And if you’re still feeling pessimistic about world game apart what lies ahead, remember there’s plenty com- ing up to be excited about. A quick look through our event spotlights and calendar will give you Music Reviews – 38 oodles of things to look forward to this month. Mount Eerie, Richard Edwards, There’s a lot coming up in the future – every- thing, in fact. The Buttertones, Laura As far as who said it best, for now let’s give Marling that one to Mahatma Gandhi: “The future de- pends on what you do today.”
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T Tiny Homes as an Affordable Housing Option The Erie County Human Relations Commission T Updates on PHARE and other Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Products TH T How Tenant Income Relates to Rent Approval for Section 8 11 ANNUAL T Transgender Discrimination in Housing T Energy Efficiency & Green Building Opportunities in FAIR HOUSING SEMINAR Affordable Housing T Creating Win-Win Partneships with Landlords T State of Solar in NW Pennsylvania JOIN US TUESDAY T Criminal History & Expungements 101 T SDHP—Introduction to Services April 25, 2017 9:00am to 4:00pm Participants: (Registration 8:15am) T Joseph Aguglia, Esq., ECHRC T Carla Falkenstein, PHFA Charge – $10 T Rev. Faith Folwer, Cass Community Social Services (include continental breakfast/lunch) T Gale Schwartz, Housing Alliance of PA T Robert Catalde, Erie County Clerk of Courts T Kevin Huwe, Self-Help Determination Project BLASCO LIBRARY T Darrin Kinnader, Housing Authority City of Erie T Amy Clabbatz, Erie County Housing Authority HIRT AUDITORIUM T Guy McUmber, Green Building Alliance T John Purvis, Solar Revolution
RSVP for an Interpreter or other Accommodation by April 20, 2017 Pre-Register by emailing [email protected] Or by phone at (814) 451-7021 | Fax (814) 451-7066 Dietary Restrictions? please let us know For more information: www.eriecountypa.gov/HRC
4 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 NEWS & VIEWS TOWNHOUSE FOR RENT Just a Thought Millfair is worth dirtying your hands.
Lush leaf compost from Millfair Compost and Recycling Center, against a backdrop TANDEM of seedlings it's helping to grow. TOWNHOUSES
Last summer, I came into a cache - Beautiful country setting of gorgeous ornamental grasses that - Located in Fairview PA had been divided from giant mature - Laundry facilities on site plants. That I had nowhere to plant - Rent is $685 plus gas & them didn’t stop me from filling our poor car’s trunk. (Logic has never Electric been my strong suit when faced with - 24 Hour emergency free flora.) maintenance I laid down cardboard boxes to - 2 Bedroom stifle underlying grass in what’s left - 1 Bath of our lawn, then headed to Millfair - No pets permitted
SHELDON PETERSON with a shovel and a couple of gar- bage cans sticking out of the trunk. - Off street parking Shortly thereafter, I’d built up a bed By: Katie Chriest body with a garbage can or bucket of soil and leaf compost for virtu- he urge to “get the dirt on can bring home enough for smaller ally no money. I added composted someone” fuels tabloids and projects – often for around the cost manure I’d acquired from Liz and Twebsites, while focusing on of a cup of coffee – and get a good George Farms on Route 99 (also shov- CALL OUR actual soil seems less titillating. But shoveling workout, to boot. eled into garbage cans in the trunk – OFFICE TODAY it shouldn’t. I learned about the center a few need a ride, anyone?) and the grasses Wendell Berry calls soil “the great years back at one of Environment are thriving today. connector of lives, the source and Erie’s composting workshops. I was We’ve installed several raised beds 814.474.5778 destination of all. … Without proper in the midst of developing what in the last few years, and Millfair’s care for it we can have no communi- can now only be described as an leaf compost has been a key com- ty, because without proper care for it obsession with growing things – es- ponent in all of them, just as it was we can have no life.” pecially food. Of course, the soil’s when our neighbor started a com- Our soil absorbs everything we do, the thing, regardless of what you’re munity garden in her big side yard DOWNLOAD. everything we are, everything we’ll growing. And though compost truly down the street. Leaf compost isn’t ever create or buy or throw out or is the “black gold” it’s often called, it’s as nutrient-packed as kitchen com- dream up or be. post or manure, but it does improve DOWNTOWN. The awful reality that fact entails There are steps we can soil composition and reduce the is a lot to swallow – and swallow it, need for expensive fertilizers with we do, since everything we eat de- take to return our land the potential to contribute to Lake pends on soil, too. But there are steps to better health. And for Erie’s harmful algal blooms. we can take to return our land to Erie County residents, And topping permanent beds with better health. And for Erie County the Millfair Compost and a thick layer of Millfair’s fine bark residents, the Millfair Compost and Recycling Center, located mulch has practically eliminated the Recycling Center, located on Millfair need to weed – or to ever apply ques- Road at the border of Millcreek and on Millfair Road at the tionable synthetic herbicides like Fairview townships, is a good place border of Millcreek and the glyphosate in Roundup, prohibit- to start. Fairview townships, is a ed in some countries. The center, a joint effort of Mill- good place to start. Plus, no plastic bags or containers creek and Fairview townships, offers to discard. naturally beautiful fine and coarse But the best part? Both crews who bark mulches, leaf compost, and oth- hard for a small household to make operate Millfair – one from Millcreek er landscape amendments at prices enough for bigger projects. and one from Fairview – are a joy to that help make healthier soil and Meanwhile, bags of compost or work with, wonderfully helpful and lovelier landscapes accessible. mulch – even on sale – can make with great senses of humor. When Though only Millcreek, Fairview, extensive gardening prohibitive for I visit on windier days, I swallow a and some other West County resi- those of us who are “beg, steal, or lot of mulch because I’m laughing dents or landscapers may discard borrow” gardeners, with the bulk of so hard. But someone’s gotta do the yard waste there, anyone can pur- our plants coming from divisions dirty work. chase their products. If you have a of others’ perennials, garden center pickup or a trailer, you can buy large clearance shelves, or garage sale ta- Katie Chriest can be contacted Developing Plans, quantities at bargain prices. But any- bles. at [email protected]. Programs and Resources for a Better Downtown.
ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 5 April 12, 2017 NEWS & VIEWS A Candidate’s Future, a Citizen’s Now How what we learn before the primary may matter through 2030
One of these people will be Erie’s next the most doom-and-gloom coverage, mayor. All nine candidates, Jay Breneman there’s still hope in Erie, and voters (left to right), Rubye Jenkins-Husband, John Persinger, Bob Merski, Joe Schember, will be looking to the mayor to re- Steve Franklin, Jon Whaley, Lisa Austin, plenish that wellspring. Which means and Almi Clerkin sit down for a forum at that if they sense a dearth or don’t see Mercyhurst’s Mary D’Angelo Performing that hope springing eternal quickly Arts Center on Monday, March 27. enough, an extended stay at City Hall may not be a given, considering the million lake front gambling enterprise fact that voters will want to see signif- that arose prior to 2005’s primary, icant results in the first 100 days. Filippi served just one term in office But to address public health, crime, from 2002 to 2006. Although Filippi education, population decline, and was acquitted of all charges facing more, an executive will need more than 100 days. Problems that didn’t
MAITHAM BASHA-AGHA MAITHAM BASHA-AGHA him, publicity the case drew factored in when voters pulled the lever. percolate overnight won’t be righted Many have wondered ever since overnight. Still, that expectation will By: Ben Speggen since 1961: win the election for Erie’s that had he not been battling a court be there. Which in a primary election mayor as a Republican. Charles Wil- case, would he have secured a second can lead to bold but undefined claims. hat do a former City Coun- liamson served as Erie’s last Repub- – and perhaps even a third – term, giv- Which then leads to the third con- cilwoman, a former City lican mayor in the early sixties, and en the penchant of Erie voters to stick sideration’s three key words: jobs, WCouncilman and retired since then, it’s been all Democrats with what they know until forced to safety, and money. wealth adviser, a university profes- with the city’s demographics having choose from a new lot? On the campaign trail, it’s easy for sor and preservationist, and the Erie shifted to a more than 2-to-1 Demo- Although we’ll never know that, we candidates to say they’ll bring jobs Playhouse executive director have in cratic voter registration edge, making do know that of Erie’s most recent back. That they’ll make the region saf- common with a current City Coun- the path to City Hall a more difficult mayors – Tullio, Savocchio, Filippi, er. That they’ll balance a budget and cilman, a retired police chief, and the one for Republicans. and Sinnott – the majority have seen not raise taxes. current County Council president? Despite recent national media cov- long stays at 626 State Street. That Oftentimes opting for soundbites The same thing an independent erage fixated on how Erie County leads many to consider the odds that over details spells success because businessman shares with an associ- flipped from blue to red to land Don- whoever takes office in 2018 could be details can derail and soundbites are ate of MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Brit- ald Trump at 1600 Pennsylvania Av- looking at a comfortable stay until simple. Plus, time is limited. There’s ton LLP. enue, the city still voted overwhelm- 2030 – if enough muscle is exercised only so much earned media. So many They’re all vying to serve Erie as the ingly for Hillary Clinton, the 2016 in the lead-up to May and then the hours in the day to knock on doors. city’s next mayor. Democratic presidential candidate follow-through to November. With A limited number of seconds to pur- But before voters head to the polls who won the popular vote but lost enough energy spent on getting chase commercial air time. And col- in November to elect their next exec- in the Electoral College. That voting through the door in 2018, a mayor umn space for op-eds is measured in utive, they’ll narrow the field of nine disparity marks just the fifth time in could then have a decade and then inches, not feet. to two on Tuesday, May 16 during the the country’s history such a thing has some to advance his or her vision for But now, as spring gives way to yard primary election. happened, the second time this centu- the region. signs sprouting, Erie is entering its The emerging Republican candidate ry. But if that’s the first consideration, debate-forum phase in the final push has a 50 percent chance of heading Irrespective of party differences, it can be countered by the second: before the primary election. to the general election. The Demo- though, whoever moves into the fifth Erie is perceived as a city in crisis – the Simply put: Debates and forums crat’s chance, on the other hand, slims floor of City Hall has their work cut near-yet-not-so-near. matter because they can push candi- down to 14 percent. out for them, both in the near and One needn’t look farther than the dates beyond the soundbites. They’re Seven Democratic candidates are less-near future. spike in opioid-related overdoses, opportunities to see how candidates looking to follow in the footsteps of First, there’s the term-limit effect – the continued cries of crime, the stack up against each other, how they current Erie Mayor and Democrat Joe the near. shaky foundation of the city’s public respond when mere feet from their Sinnott, who was first elected to -of Before Joyce Savocchio’s tenure as schools, the general population de- opponents – stick to the stump or fice after besting Democratic incum- mayor, there wasn’t a limit. And Erie cline now teetering around 100,000, speak from the heart. bent Rick Filippi in 2005’s primary. didn’t seem to mind, re-electing Lou and more. That’s our near. Although a few forums have already Mayor Sinnott went on to win both Tullio five times after he first took- of But if one does want to look farther, taken place, more are on the horizon of his re-election bids to stay in City fice in 1966. Since then, two of Erie’s one could turn attention to the CBS – starting with one the very day this Hall – and ran unopposed during both three mayors have left office not by News feature “America: Manufactur- issue of the Erie Reader hits stands. elections – and is completing the final the ballot but by the limit. ing Hope” (note: the title is the only The Erie Regional Chamber and year of his third term. Savocchio and Sinnott both won all thing rosy about the film) or the Ya- Growth Partnership, Erie Arts & Cul- Because of Erie’s three-term limit, he three of their election bids. Filippi did hoo! News write-up “Clinging to hope ture, Emerge 2040, Partnership for cannot seek re-election. not. in a fading factory town.” This, too, is Erie’s Public Schools, Bayfront East On the other side, two Republican Battling state prosecutor allegations our near. Side Taskforce (BEST), Our West Bay- candidates are hopeful that they’ll of using his position to broker real es- But, both national stories featured front, League of Women Voters – with do something that hasn’t been done tate deals near the then-proposed $80 “hope” in their headlines. Even in additional partners: All Aboard Erie,
6 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 NEWS & VIEWS GOT CHILDREN’S BOOKS? Help inspire the next generation of readers!
Together, improving community conditions.
United Way’s Summer Slide Book Drive runs April 1-30 with 35+ drop off locations in Erie County! All books will be donated to local elementary schools. Donated books should be for children ages 5-14 (grades K-8)
MAITHAM BASHA-AGHA MAITHAM BASHA-AGHA Complete Details: UnitedWayErie.org/SummerSlideBookDrive
Preservation Erie, and the Sisters of St. Candidates Looking ahead to the future, Lisa Austin (left to right), Joe Schember, Joseph Neighborhood Network – are Rubye Jenkins-Husband, John Persinger, hosting “Our City. Our Moment. Our and Jay Breneman will all be on Erie’s May HEADACHES SUCK! Choice. Erie’s Mayoral Forum” from 6 16 primary ballot. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12 at the We can help • Tension/Sinus Hirt Auditorium in the Blasco Library. This forum, which is free and open debate will be moderated by C-SPAN to the public, will be moderated by Senior Executive Producer Steve Scul- WJET’s Lou Baxter with panelists ly, who was tapped as a backup to mod- Daria Devlin, Marcus Atkinson, and erate the presidential debates in 2016. Jim Kurre. The focus will be on the On May 8, the Manufacturer & Busi- Your first massage economy, education, and neighbor- ness Association will host a mayor- 1 Coupon, 2 Locations hoods and will include all candidates al forum from 8 to 9:30 a.m. focused $20 OFF Expires 5/10/2017 on the stage at one time. The Young on business in Erie and held in the Erie Professionals will host a candi- MBA Conference Center. The MBA is FRONTIER DOWNTOWN date meet-and-greet immediately fol- charging members $10 admission and 814 Kahkwa Blvd, Erie, PA 16505 1001 State St #201 Erie, PA 16501 lowing the forum. $20 to nonmembers, which marks the SCHEDULE ONLINE TODAY SCHEDULE ONLINE TODAY On Wednesday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m., only event scheduled to date that is Visit www.compassionatehart.com or call Visit monacella.massagetherapy.com or call a joint-effort forum between Keystone open to the public but not free to at- (814) 456-5833 to make an appointment. (814) 838-3622 to make an appointment. Progress Erie, Mental Health Associ- tend. ation of NWPA, and Erie Gay News This list is not exhaustive, and voters will focus on poverty, mental health, should anticipate additional events LGBTQ rights, and other topics, such to be scheduled in the coming weeks. as health care, election reform, and Those will be updated online as our more. The event will feature candi- staff becomes aware of them. dates from a host of races (Erie mayor But for now, it’s safe to say that there included) and will be held at the Hirt are plenty of opportunities to hear Auditorium in the Blasco Library; it is from the mayoral candidates. And free and open to the public. plenty of conversations that should Erie Times-News/GoErie.com, along encourage a deeper dive than one- with Erie News Now and Mercyhurst word promises, like jobs, safety, money, University, will host a debate from 7 and education. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 at the And although the winner of this race Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Cen- will have plenty of work to do in both ter. Questions will be posed to candi- the near and not-so-near future, voters dates from ETN and ENN representa- have their work cut out for them now tives. by educating themselves on the plat- The Jefferson Educational Society is forms and promises of the people who partnering with the Erie Reader and are pledging to build on Erie’s hope. WQLN Public Media to host the Erie’s Next Mayor debate on Thursday, May Ben Speggen can be reached 4. Democratic candidates will debate at bSpeggen@ErieReader. from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and Republicans will com and you can follow him take to the stage from 8 to 9 p.m. The on Twitter @BenSpeggen.
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 7 44 MILLION REASONS TO #SaveGamingRevenue
ECGRA has strategically invested $44 million in 203 community and cultural assets, 700 entrepreneurs and business lenders, job Grants training and educational institutions, and & Loans neighborhoods and municipalities. 6:1 Return
Local share gaming revenue is strengthening the nonprofit ECGRA has invested $6.7 million in business TM organizations and for-profit $ growth through Ignite Erie resulting in $39.6 businesses in the city of Erie that 22mm million in additional capital for local companies. are implementing the city’s in the City comprehensive plan.
$18.1million in gaming revenue is inextricably woven into $ Erie’s cultural, recreational, 18.1mm and human services assets, ECGRA’s investments have resulted QUALITY dramatically improving quality in a cumulative impact of $87.2 OF LIFE of life for residents and quality million, supported and sustained of experience for tourists. 573 573 jobs, and generated $2.9 JOBS million in local and state taxes.
Two Ways to Help
WRITE. CALL. ADVOCATE EDUCATE yourself.
for Erie’s share. Transforming a Region with Local Share Gaming Revenue: An Economic Impact Study
Tell Your Legislators How ECGRA Read and Share ECGRA’s Grant Money Works for You! Economic Impact Study at ECGRA.org/impactstudy
ECGRA.org/calltoaction prepared by:
@ECGRA814 #IgniteErie ECGRA.org/igniteerie /ECGRA
ECGRA_Economic Impact Full Page Ad.indd 1 3/1/17 3:11 PM 44 MILLION REASONS TO NEWS & VIEWS Sailing on Choppy Waters #SaveGamingRevenue Potential devastation in the wake of EPA budget cuts
The Great Lake waters are restless as waves lap the shores of the bay near the North Pier Lighthouse on a cold March day.
ECGRA has strategically invested $44 million in 203 community and cultural assets, of one job is more than $41,000. With 700 entrepreneurs and business lenders, job 25,500 lake-related jobs in Erie Coun- Grants training and educational institutions, and ty, the total annual wages stemming from lake-related employment equals & Loans neighborhoods and municipalities. 6:1 more than $1.04 billion. Return But Things Change n 2016, the GLRI approved budget Iwas $300 million, which, as part of Local share gaming revenue is a Congressional budgetary continu- ECGRA has invested $6.7 million in business ing resolution, extends until April 28, strengthening the nonprofit 2017. This means that because the 2017 TM organizations and for-profit $ growth through Ignite Erie resulting in $39.6 budget was never finalized, funding businesses in the city of Erie that mm million in additional capital for local companies. for 2017 was to remain the same, but 22 would become negotiable after April are implementing the city’s in the City 28. comprehensive plan. DEAN ZELLER In his budget proposal for 2018 sent to Congress on March 16, President Trump requested that the GLRI’s $300 $18.1million in gaming revenue By: Mary Birdsong Where We Are blooms, and the daily water quality million allotment be reduced to $10 is inextricably woven into testing of Presque Isle’s beaches in million. Twelve days later, on March n 1991, Erie Bay was designated an arinas are now flourishing, three the summer. 28, Trump further requested $50 mil- $ mm Erie’s cultural, recreational, official Area of Concern by the U.S. Mhotels have opened, the conven- Besides being regulatory bodies that lion from the current 2017 GLRI bud- 18.1 and human services assets, IEnvironmental Protection Agency tion center and tall ships bring thou- ensure clean water and air, the GLRI get to cover early costs of building the ECGRA’s investments have resulted dramatically improving quality thanks to “excessive nutrients, organ- sands to the bayfront, and anglers and the EPA are economic engines, wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. QUALITY ic compounds, and heavy metals,” per hang off of every open spot. Scott En- especially in the Great Lakes region. To add insult to that injury, in pre- in a cumulative impact of $87.2 OF LIFE of life for residents and quality the official listing document. It goes terprises is breaking ground soon on Since its inception, GLRI has pumped liminary EPA budget documents ob- million, supported and sustained of experience for tourists. on to say, “Point sources of pollution its $150 million Harbor Place project. more than $1.7 billion into projects tained by the Washington Post and 573 573 jobs, and generated $2.9 include steel mills, a foundry, water Between the beaches of Presque Isle and programs in the Great Lakes published on March 31, the GLRI is treatment plants, and other indus- that see approximately four million area. That money funded jobs asso- to be eliminated entirely: “Funding JOBS million in local and state taxes. trial facilities. Combined sewer over- visitors per year and the new bay- ciated with the activities of scien- and FTE (full time equivalent) for the flows and urban runoff contribute to front amenities, the local economy tists, biologists, water quality experts, geographic program are eliminated, nonpoint pollution.” realizes a $74 million boost. and health and safety department returning the responsibility for fund- Fish with tumors were found read- If the waters of Presque Isle Bay officials. Since 2009, our region has ing local environmental efforts and ily, the growths tied to the presence were still laden with heavy metals received $2 million in capacity fund- programs to state and local entities.” of heavy metals such as nickel, lead, and toxic hot spots, none of these ing alone (there is also a competitive The document is labeled “Confiden- and cadmium as well as polycyclic projects would have materialized. grants program). tial and Pre-decisional.” Two Ways to Help aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sed- Most of the money to actualize the The $1.7 billion investment in the No one holds the crystal ball that iment. Being listed as one of 43 AOCs bay cleanup came from the EPA. In Great Lakes was a good one. Accord- foresees where this is going: If on the Great Lakes marked the bay as 2010, when the Great Lakes Resto- ing to a study by Michigan Sea Grant Trump’s proposal will stand and the WRITE. CALL. ADVOCATE one of the most polluted pieces of wa- ration Initiative (GLRI) was in its in 2011, which utilized 2009 Labor GLRI will be eliminated, or if Con- EDUCATE yourself. ter in the region. first full year, and ever since, most Bureau statistics from the Quarter- gress will override his axe and spare Nineteen years after the bay’s list- projects involving water that take ly Census of Employment & Wages, some EPA programming. for Erie’s share. Transforming a Region with Local Share Gaming Revenue: An Economic Impact Study ing, in 2007, the first Bay Swim was place in the Lake Erie watershed are more than 1.5 million jobs generating Worst case scenario: If the agencies held, and in 2013 the bay was delisted funded through the GLRI conduit. $62 billion in wages are directly con- in Erie County would lose all GLRI Tell Your Legislators How ECGRA Read and Share ECGRA’s as an AOC. Millions of dollars were That includes removing or reducing nected to the Great Lakes. funding, what would it mean for you Grant Money Works for You! Economic Impact Study at Just under 25,500 of those jobs are and me? ECGRA.org/impactstudy pumped into the project, the most the presence of invasive plants and ECGRA.org/calltoaction prepared by: going to update the sewer and storm animals, monitoring fish populations, based in Erie County, as the study Tim Bruno, chief of the office of the water runoff systems. No hotspots of improving riparian ecosystems in the included “only jobs in specific indus- Great Lakes for the Pennsylvania toxic chemicals were located, dredg- Lake Erie watershed, and monitoring tries in the counties bordering the Department of Environmental Pro- ing was allowed again, and fewer fish drinking water quality, small flow Great Lakes.” If you average the total tection, says it would reduce public with tumors were found. treatment systems, harmful algal Great Lakes wages, the annual salary health and safety. “As only one ex-
@ECGRA814 #IgniteErie ECGRA.org/igniteerie /ECGRA April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 9
ECGRA_Economic Impact Full Page Ad.indd 1 3/1/17 3:11 PM NEWS & VIEWS
ample, GLRI money recently went toward purchasing and outfitting five new Emergency Spill Response trail- ers and equipping a sixth. It helped us partner with the Erie County Depart- ment of Safety to vastly increase re- sponse coverage and time in the event of a hazardous materials accident, something of great concern with sig- nificant quantities of potentially dan- gerous chemicals traversing rail and highway systems passing through Erie County every day.” And GLRI money can be found in places you may not imagine. Accord- ing to Bruno, a program called PA Vines was developed in conjunction with the Erie County Conservation District that works with local vine- posts advisories to visitors. This gives Lakes National Program Office and who do inspections and review per- yards to improve the environmental park officials the ability, in real time, Sea Grant institutions, Marti Martz, mits has already been reduced by 22 sustainability of agricultural fields, on a daily basis, to keep the public up- senior coastal outreach specialist percent over the last decade. “If peo- thereby increasing profitability for to-date on water safety.” for PA Sea Grant, offers professional ple don’t get permits, they don’t do growers. GLRI money has also been Her office is also responsible for the development opportunities for ed- their projects. If they don’t do their used to work with the Erie County monitoring and regulatory compli- ucators that puts them on research projects, jobs aren’t coming in, facto- Planning Department to further ad- ance of small flow sewage systems vessels, and in laboratories and in the ries aren’t expanding. So it can have a vance storm water management. that occur on private properties. If a field with scientists doing hands-on major economic impact. The depart- These are not small concerns, giv- parcel of land cannot use a septic sys- studies. The CGLL also funds pro- ment has been in triage mode, really, en that we rely on Lake Erie for our tem — typically because it has poor- grams for students of participating for the last decade.” drinking water. In fact, to see the ly-draining soil such as clay — the educators that bring them into labs to Bob Light, director of the Lake Erie larger picture, remember that the small flow systems are used. These spend time with experts. office of PA Sea Grant, was blunt: Great Lakes are joined into one con- systems process wastewater and sew- “This year, CGLL educators are fo- “Cuts would affect staffing projects tinuous waterway. What happens in age directly and discharge into a near- cusing on locally relevant issues by and education.” Projects that could be one affects others — especially Lake by creek. bringing their students to the Region- affected include land acquisition, the Erie, since the water (and pollution) “Erie County currently has 262 of al Science Consortium at the Tom removal and prevention of aquatic of three other lakes flows into ours. these systems that flow into the Lake Ridge Environmental Center,” says invasive species, both plants and ani- According to statistics by the Interna- Erie watershed and 179 that flow Martz. “Through lab and field activi- mals, and training programs. tional Joint Commission, a U.S-Cana- into the Allegheny River watershed ties, students in grades four through Light says that after Presque Isle da collaborative body that regulates through French Creek,” Tobin ex- 12 are learning how science is relevant Bay was delisted, it was an oppor- shared water uses and investigates plains. “We are currently using GLRI to their lives.” tunity to look at other worthwhile trans-boundary issues, more than funding to map every one of these “Relevancy to our lives” is a critical projects. One of them was designing 40 million people in Canada and the systems for a better understanding issue at this point in time. Many peo- a system that standardized how fish United States get their drinking water of how and where the systems out- ple view the EPA as an agency that tumors are evaluated, which is now from the Great Lakes. flow.” They also spend a considerable imposes restrictions on what citizens used across the Great Lakes basin. Karen Tobin, director of environ- amount of time monitoring existing and corporations can do. As a can- “With no GLRI funding in the future, mental health services for the Erie systems and educating landowners didate, Trump called the EPA a “job we would not be able to launch new County Department of Health, han- about proper maintenance. killer” and promised to reduce it to initiatives such as this one. Plus, we dles one part of the healthy water- “If funding is eliminated,” Tobin “tidbits.” would no longer have a seat at the shed puzzle on a local level. Her office warns, “we would not have the time or Unfortunately, for many living on table during regional or national deci- receives approximately $220,000 each resources to monitor for compliance the Great Lakes, eliminating the sion-making.” year to monitor water quality at Pr- or educate landowners who are emit- EPA would be the job killer. Accord- Other areas of the economy would esque Isle State Park and Freeport ting water from their systems directly ing to Bruno, the EPA now delegates suffer in less noticeable ways. Sarah Beach in North East. It also monitors into the lake.” the authority to enforce the law and Whitney, extension leader and as- for harmful algal blooms (HABs) at Though it may not seem like it, pub- implement mandated programs. “If sociate director in the PA Sea Grant the same sites. lic education has been key to improv- funding is eliminated without elimi- Susquehanna office, says that prop- “We do this monitoring in collabora- ing the local environment, and a sig- nating the mandate for enforcement, erty values decline for landowners tion with the PA Department of Con- nificant amount of GLRI funding was we wouldn’t be able to do it as well, if whose waterfront property has a high servation and Natural Resources and directed to education as an important at all.” quantity of invasive plants blocking the Regional Science Consortium,” component of preventing future deg- In an interview with the Allegheny access for fishing and other recre- explains Tobin. “The money pays for radation. Front public radio program, David ation. “Reducing or eliminating aquat- the collection and analysis of water Thanks to the Center for Great Hess, secretary of Pennsylvania’s DEP ic invasive species (AIS) improves fish- samples, and even the electronic sign Lakes Literacy, created by a part- under two Republican governors in ing and boating conditions and raises at the entrance to Presque Isle that nership between the U.S. EPA Great the 1990s, said that the staff of people property values.”
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April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 11 NEWS & VIEWS
And she says it’s far more expen- been proven that carbon dioxide is Great Lakes. Upcoming Local sive to control AIS than it is to pre- the “control knob” of the climate. “It A spokesperson in Kelly’s office vent their spread in the first place, is beyond disappointing that the also stated that Kelly does not sup- Water Quality making the outreach component of nation’s top environmental officer port House Bill 861, which proposes Presentations the program maybe even more im- would call into question the over- terminating the EPA entirely, and All presentations will take place portant than their control work. whelming scientific consensus and that he is not in favor of using $50 at the Tom Ridge Environmental Whitney adds, “Pennsylvania relies undermine progress on this critical million of the 2017 GLRI budget to Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, at 6:30 heavily on GLRI money because the subject,” McDonnell writes. fund a border wall. p.m. state doesn’t have its own budget for Unhappily, though, McDonnell No response was received to a sim- Presented by the Unitarian Uni- AIS as other Great Lakes states do. ilar request for comments from Rep. versalist Congregation of Erie and If the budget for AIS work is cut or Glenn Thompson (R-5th Dist), who partners: PA Department of Con- eliminated, it would be much harder “Put simply, cuts to the has constituents in the Lake Erie servation and Natural Resources, for us to do the outreach and con- EPA signal the Trump watershed in eastern Erie County. The PA Department of Environ- trol we’d like to do.” administration’s disregard When Presque Isle Bay was delist- mental Protection, and Erie Water for its responsibilities ed as an AOC, it was only the second Works. – MB So What’s To Do? to protect the health one in the U.S. to have successfully made it off of the EPA’s list. This is WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 eople who are dissatisfied with and safety of American testament to the local people who Unconventional Gas Pthe possibility of drastic cuts citizens.” worked diligently to achieve such Development (Fracking) & Water are many. One of them is Patrick an accomplishment; we should all Quality McDonnell, acting secretary of the express to them our undying grati- Craig Lobins, District Oil and Gas PA DEP. In a scathing letter to Scott made no specific mention of GLRI tude. Manager, PA DEP Pruitt, the new administrator of funding, which is funneled to the Twenty-seven U.S. AOCs remain the EPA, McDonnell highlights the states separately from general clean and nine Canadian. Of the 27 in the WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 damage the cuts in funding would air and water protection programs. U.S., six are located in Lake Erie, in- Lake Erie Fishing & Fish do to the commonwealth, including A local supporter of protecting the cluding the Maumee, Black, Raisin, Consumption risking safe water, diminishing local GLRI is Rep. Mike Kelly (R-3rd Dist). Cuyahoga, and Ashtabula rivers in James Grazio, PhD, Great Lakes Bi- water quality, abandoning farmers, As a member of the Congressional Ohio, and the Buffalo River in New ologist, PA DEP stifling job creation, allowing harm- Great Lakes Task Force, a bipartisan York. ful pollutants into our air, exposing working group, he has signed two *** WEDNESDAY, MAY 10 children to radon gas, reducing the letters to President Trump support- This coverage is not comprehen- Algae in Lake Erie safety of coal miners, halting the ing the continuance of the $300 mil- sive, nor is it truly complete. The Erie Tim Bruno, Chief of the Lake Erie redevelopment of contaminated lion GLRI in the 2018 budget. Reader will continue to follow the Office, PA DEP industrial sites, exposing more peo- He also signed on to two letters to fate of the EPA and the GLRI as the Nate Irwin, Aquatic Biologist, PA ple to lead contamination, and sup- the House Appropriations Subcom- 2018 federal budget moves through DEP pressing environmental justice. In mittee on Interior. The first, dated committees and to the floor of Con- summation he states, “Put simply, March 30, requested continued full gress for a final vote in the fall. WEDNESDAY, MAY 17 cuts to the EPA signal the Trump funding of GLRI; the second, more Until then, celebrate what we now Municipal Water Safety and administration’s disregard for its re- pointed letter says that the task have, but prepare to fight to keep it Quality Panel Discussion sponsibilities to protect the health force members are “united in care- that way. Richard Imler, Water Quality Man- and safety of American citizens.” fully monitoring programs that are ager, EWW McDonnell also takes a moment to integral to the Great Lakes environ- Mary Birdsong can be contacted David Motherwell, Manager, Pro- castigate Pruitt for his comments in ment and waterborne commerce.” It at mBirdsong@ErieReader. duction and Water Quality, EWW a March 9 interview, in which Pruitt goes on to detail how losses in each com, and you can follow her on Jason Seifert, Membrane Special- stated that he did not believe it has program of the EPA could affect the Twitter @Mary_Birdsong. ist, EWW
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14 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 NEWS & VIEWS News of the Weird Firefighting jetpacks and onstage enemas
By: Chuck Shepherd n March, star soccer goalkeepr Bru- der). Researchers admit results have illegally.) (2) In March, Ghanian soc- Ino Fernandes de Souza signed a been mixed, that some males have to cer player Mohammed Anas earned two-year contract to play for Brazil's be returned home, and once, a female a "man of the match" award (after World's Coolest City Boa Esporte club while he awaits the handed the iPad with a potential suit- his two goals led the Free State Stars ecently, in Dubai (the largest city outcome of his appealed conviction or showing, merely crushed the tablet. to a 2-2 draw), but botched the accep- Rin the United Arab Emirates), for the 2010 murder of his girlfriend. (Apps are not quite to the point of of- tance speech by thanking both his Dubai Civil Defense started using wa- (He had also fed her body to his dogs.) fering animals the ability to digitally wife and his girlfriend. Reportedly, ter jetpacks that lift firefighters off He had been sentenced to 22 years in smell each other.) [Daily Telegraph Anas "stumbled for a second" until the ground to hover in advantageous prison, but was released by a judge (London), 2-1-2017] he could correct himself. "I'm so sor- positions as they work the hoses. Also, after seven, based on the judge's ex- ry," he attempted to clarify. "My wife! I eacocks are "well known" (so they using jet skis, rescuers can avoid traf- asperation at the years-long delays love you so much from my heart." [Vir- say) to flash their erect, some- fic altogether by using the city's rivers in appeals in Brazil's sluggish legal P ginian-Pilot, 3-6-2017] [Daily Telegraph times-6-foot-high rack of colorful tail to arrive at fires (and, if close enough system. [The Guardian (London), 3-13- (London), 3-18-2017] feathers to attract mating opportuni- to a waterway, can pump water with- 2017] out hydrants). Even more spectacular- ties. However, as researchers in Texas Leading Economic Indicators recently found, the display might not ly, as early as this summer, Dubai will Awesome! t turns out that Layne Hardin's be important. Body cameras placed on authorize already tested one-person, he Cleveland (Ohio) Street Depart- sperm is worth only $1,900 and not peahens at eye level (to learn how they I "Jetsons"-type drones for ordinary ment still had not (at press time) the $870,000 a jury had awarded him T check out strutting males) revealed travel in the city. The Ehang 184 model identified the man, but somehow he, after finding that former girlfriend that the females gazed mostly at the flies about 30 minutes on an electrical dressed as a road worker, had wan- Tobie Devall had, without Hardin's lowest level of feathers (as if attracted charge, carrying up to 220 pounds at dered stealthily along Franklin Boule- permission, obtained a vial of it with- only to certain colors rather than the about 60 mph. [Business Insider, 1-23- vard during March and removed more out authorization and inseminated awesomeness of the towering flour- 2017] [New York Times, 2-15-2017] than 20 standard "35 mph" speed limit herself to produce her son, now age ish). [Austin American-Statesman, signs replacing all with official-look- 6. Initially Hardin tried to gain partial 3-20-2017] Latest Human Rights ing "25 mph" signs that he presumably custody of the boy, but Devall con- onvicted murderer Philip Smith financed himself. Residents along tinually rebuffed him, provoking the C(a veteran criminal serving life those two miles of Franklin have long Spectacular Errors! lawsuit (which also named the sperm for killing the father of a boy Smith complained, but the city kept reject- n March, jurors in Norfolk, Virginia, bank Texas Andrology a defendant) had been sexually abusing) escaped ing pleas for a lowered limit. [WEWS- Ifound Allen Cochran, 49, not guilty and the challenge in Houston's First from prison in New Zealand with TV (Cleveland), 3-23-2017] of attempted shoplifting, but he was Court of Appeal. [Houston Chronicle, the help of a disguise that included a nowhere to be seen when the ver- 1-25-2017] toupee for his bald head before being Mating Strategies dict was announced. Apparently pre- caught. Prison officials confiscated dicting doom (since he had also been he Apenheul primate park in Apel- Most Competent Criminal the toupee, but Smith said a shiny charged with fleeing court during a doorn, Netherlands, is engaged head behind bars made him feel "be- T previous case), he once again skipped n astonished woman unnamed in a four-year experiment, offering littled, degraded and humiliated" and out. The jury then re-retired to the Ain news reports called police in female orangutans an iPad loaded sued for the right to keep the toupee. jury room, found him guilty on the Coleshill, England, in February to re- with photos of male orangutans now (In March, in a rare case in which a earlier count and sentenced him to the port that a car exactly like her silver housed at zoos around the world, with litigant succeeds as his own lawyer, five-year maximum. (Because of time Ford Kuga was parked at Melbicks the females able to express interest or Smith prevailed in Auckland's High already served, he could have walked garden center with the very same disinterest (similar to swiping right Court.) [BBC News, 3-16-2017] away legally if he hadn't walked away license plate as hers. Police figured or left on the human dating app Tin- out that a silver Ford Kuga had been
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 15 NEWS & VIEWS
stolen nearby in 2016, and to disguise performance artist Michael Clem- that it was stolen, the thief had looked mons and a partner, working as the for an identical, not-stolen Ford Kuga act Sonic Rabbit Hole, had the elegant and then replicated its license plate, al- idea that one give the other an enema lowing the thief to drive the stolen car on stage, but there was a "spraying" ac- without suspicion. [Birmingham Mail, cident. Viewers were led to believe the 2-5-2017] procedure was authentic, but the art- ists swore later that the sprayed con- Least Competent Criminals tents were just a protein shake. "What hieves once again attempted a I did is not all that (extreme)," protest- Tfruitless smash-and-grab of an ed Clemmons. "I don't understand ATM at Mike and Reggie's Beverages in why I'm getting the attention for this." Maple Heights, Ohio, in March despite [KPRC-TV (Houston), 2-20-2017] the owner's having left the ATM's door wide open with a sign reading "ATM The Passing Parade emptied nightly." Police are investi- gating. (2) Boca Raton, Florida, jeweler wo convicted murderers impris- "Bobby" Yampolsky said he was suspi- Toned in Nepal married each other cious that the "customer" who asked in February, though it will be at least to examine diamonds worth $6 million 14 years before they can consummate. carried no tools of the examination Dilli Koirala, 33 (serving 20 years for trade. After the lady made several ob- killing his wife), and Mimkosha Bista, vious attempts to distract Yampolsky, 30 (with another four years to go for he ended the charade by locking her in killing her husband), will be allowed to his vault and calling the police, who ar- meet (just to talk) twice a month until rested her after discovering she had a Koirala's term ends. (A lawyer involved package of fake diamonds in her purse in the case said the marriage, though that she likely intended to switch. odd, was perhaps the last chance ei- [WJW-TV (Cleveland), 3-23-2017] [South ther would have to meet a suitable Florida Sun-Sentinel, 3-31-2017] match.) [Republica (Kathmandu), 2-24- 2017] Great Art! t what was billed as part of a COPYRIGHT 2017 CHUCK Acancer fundraising event at the SHEPHERD AvantGarden in Houston in February, Erie's Only Hot Power Yoga Studio
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April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 17 FEATURE Blunt Terms The condition of cannabis use in Pennsylvania
A possible future for than the effective dose of 15 Pennsylvania, marijuana growing milligrams (compared to al- operations like this one in Washington state will harvest cohol, where just 10 times the crops for medicinal use. effective dose can be lethal). Cannabis-related deaths do over 400 unique compounds, occur, not due to the toxicity including 60 or more canna- of the drug itself, but poor binoids, most notably canna- judgment stemming from bidiol (CBD) and cannabinol its side effects – for instance, (CBN). The full extent of their motor vehicle accidents or pharmaceutical properties fatal falls (THC affects work- has yet to be understood, ing and spatial memory in the and research is slowly ongo- short-term). ing. Cannabinoids mimic the action of molecules in the human endocannabinoid sys- “Over the course of tem, which plays a crucial role the nation’s history, in homeostasis, in particular the plant has gone counteracting biochemical from a required imbalances – a sort of inbuilt crop to an accepted “damage control.” Therefore, scientists are excited about medical treatment to a the range of therapeutic pos- government-regulated sibilities the drug might offer. pharmaceutical to Abusing marijuana, as with an illegal drug to any other substance, carries a somewhat legal consequences – long-term medicinal option to heavy use may impact the a locally legal and hippocampus, a portion of the regulated substance.” JDUBSVIDEO brain involved in memory for- mation (particularly verbal By: Matt Swanseger memory). The effect is more its rebounding reputation, as legal medicinal option to a lo- pronounced when chronic f marijuana isn’t massa- ith nicknames rang- well as the forthcoming Penn- cally legal and regulated sub- use begins during adoles- Icring the masses, then how ing from “the Dev- sylvania medical marijuana stance.” cence, when the brain is still did it become such a societal Wil’s lettuce” to “God’s system and the prospect of Marijuana, as it has become developing. Additionally, mar- pariah? The early 20th centu- gift,” cannabis is without full legalization in the future. known, is produced from the ijuana smoke is a respiratory ry marks the turning point. question a polarizing plant. dried flowers of two species, irritant and contains carcino- Following the Spanish-Amer- Where Did Weed Go It has been glorified and Cannabis Sativa and Canna- genic materials. The Nation- ican War of 1898 (ending Wrong? damned, shunned and em- bis Indica. The flowers contain al Institute on Drug Abuse Spanish rule in the Ameri- braced, characterized as both he United States has the heaviest concentration of (NIDA) has yet to directly cas) and subsequent Mexican “scourge” and “miracle.” Over Tblazed an unusual trail the psychoactive compound correlate marijuana smoking Revolution (which peaked in the past two decades, public with its cannabis policies delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol with lung cancer, however. the 1910s), Mexican refugees opinion has gradually shifted thus far, a path that John Hu- (that’s a mouthful even be- The scientific community poured over the border by from outright condemnation dak outlines in his 2016 guide- fore the munchies set in, so almost unanimously agrees the hundreds of thousands. to growing curiosity and opti- book Marijuana: A Short His- it’s usually shortened to THC), that cannabis is less danger- The influx fanned the flames mism. Both ancient accounts tory. Hudak, a senior fellow which is most responsible for ous than tobacco and alcohol, of an imperial rivalry dating and modern research suggest in governance studies and the “high.” Effects vary from which are readily available back to Europe, between the its usefulness in a vast array deputy director of the Center species to species and strain without a prescription and Protestant Anglo-Saxons and of health applications, and for Effective Public Manage- to strain, but generally they implicated in a host of health the Catholic Spaniards. The 28 states (including Penn- ment at Washington’s Brook- include: elevated heart rate, issues – and deaths (480,000 United States’ W.A.S.P. power sylvania) have taken notice, ings Institution, summarizes increased appetite, the re- annually for tobacco and base held a condescending installing medical marijuana it as such: “Over the course of lease of the “feel-good” chemi- 88,000 for alcohol). The Drug attitude toward Latin Ameri- programs despite prohibition the nation’s history, the plant cal dopamine in the brain, and Enforcement Administration cans, viewing them as inferior under federal law. has gone from a required crop altered or heightened percep- has documented zero inci- in all aspects – less motivated, In this overview, we’ll look to an accepted medical treat- tion, especially in higher or dents of cannabis overdose less industrious, and less sta- at the sociopolitical factors ment to a government-reg- more potent doses. – virtually impossible, consid- ble morally and emotionally. that precipitated cannabis’s ulated pharmaceutical to an Together with the stems ering that a fatal THC dose of Propagandists sowed fears historical fall from grace and illegal drug to a somewhat and leaves, the plants contain 15 grams is 1,000 times greater that the Mexicans’ cannabis
18 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 FEATURE cigarettes (“marijuana”) would the film also served as inspi- President Richard Nixon (right) Tinctures of cannabis appeared ration for a tongue-in-cheek would stand to suffer no such saddle “pureblooded” Ameri- in The United States cans with these same deficien- musical soon to be staged at embarrassments as he de- Pharmacopoeia until cies. Dramashop). clared his War on Drugs. Hell- 1942. (below) A few of Bureau of Narcotics Direc- Nonetheless, the social stig- bent on reining in America af- the prominent figures throughout marijuana’s mas established back then ter the turbulent 1960s, Nixon tor Harry J. Anslinger was history, (clockwise from perhaps cannabis’ most out- have been difficult to over- worked with Congress to en- left) Commissioner spoken detractor early on, come, and consequent leg- act the Controlled Substances of the Federal Bureau playing on mainstream Amer- islation only fortified those Act (CSA) of 1970, which has in- of Narcotics, Harry J. Anslinger; drug advocate difficulties. The Marihuana fluenced cannabis policy ever ica’s racist and xenophobic Timothy Leary; creator sentiments. He described [sic] Tax Act of 1937 effectively since. The CSA brought the of the “war on drugs” marijuana as a “scourge” from outlawed cannabis in the Unit- U.S. in compliance with the President Richard Nixon; Mexico, corrupting American ed States, requiring anyone United Nations’ Single Con- originator of the “just say no” campaign, First Lady dealing in the production or vention on Narcotic Drugs, society and endangering its Nancy Reagan. youth. The hysteria of the era transport of marijuana to reg- which classified drugs into is captured perfectly in the in- ister with the government and five “schedules” according to famous 1937 film Reefer Mad- purchase a tax stamp from the their inherent risk. During the consolidated all pre- ness (a.k.a. Tell Your Children), Department of the Treasury. initial classification process, existing drug enforce- wherein marijuana cigarettes The law was later ruled un- Congress filed marijuana as a ment programs into are depicted as instantized constitutional in the 1969 case Schedule I substance, which one under the Depart- degeneracy. Previously up- Leary vs. U.S. Harvard Profes- implies: 1) a high potential for ment of Justice. The standing white schoolchildren sor Timothy Leary was appre- abuse, 2) no currently accept- DEA expanded the are transformed into savages hended at the U.S.-Mexico bor- ed medical use or treatment, War on Drugs beyond with a single puff, helpless der, charged with transporting and 3) a lack of accepted safety U.S. borders, with a to repress violent and sexual marijuana he did not purchase for use under medical super- budget that ballooned impulses. Despite the opening a tax stamp for. Leary (correct- vision. Congress did not con- to $2.882 billion dol- credits’ claim that “no attempt ly) claimed the Tax Act violat- sult the medical or scientific lars in 2014 from $557 was made to equivocate [the] ed his Fifth Amendment right communities in making its million (adjusted for soul-destroying effects” of the against self-incrimination – al- designations and the FDA was inflation) in 1974. The “violent narcotic … more dan- though he had an obligation uninvolved. War on Drugs inten- gerous than heroin,” in 2017, to pay the tax, purchasing the Another lasting legacy of sified in the 1980s un- Reefer Madness’s exaggera- stamp would be admitting pos- the Nixon presidency was the der President Ronald and First raising penalties and manda- tions rate as laughable (in fact, session of an illegal substance. formation of the DEA, which Lady Nancy Reagan, with laws tory minimum prison sentenc- es for offenders as well as allo- cating more resources toward drug education. Reagan’s suc- cessor, President George H.W. Bush, incorporated the Office of National Drug Control Pol- icy (ONDCP), headed by the “drug czar.” Marijuana-related arrests soared to over 700,000 annu- ally by the end of Bill Clin- ton’s presidency, thanks in large part to the 1994 Crime Bill (increasing criminaliza- tion and funding for local law enforcement). Interestingly, the first president to admit to trying marijuana would also be the first to face the nation’s still-evolving medicinal canna- bis conundrum. Don’t Fear the Reefer? rior to the 20th century, Pcannabis was accepted treatment for a variety of mal- adies – it was the third most common active ingredient in patent medicines and was list- ed in the United States Phar-
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 19 FEATURE
Split into six regions, medical marijuana growing operations in Pennsylvania will be closely regulated.
those under a physician’s care for a serious medical condition (to see what qual- ifies, visit health.pa.gov) are eligible to access marijuana through designated state dispensaries. Patients may appoint a caregiver who can pick up the medication on their behalf (up to five pa- tients can appoint the same caregiver). Ineligible persons in possession of cannabis would still be subject to fines and incarceration, as it has not been decriminalized. Once the program is fully implemented (the target is April 2018), the state will issue up to 25 grower/processor and 50 dispensary permits (with fees of $210,000 and $35,000 apiece, respectively). Dispensary applicants must provide proof of $150,000 in capital. For growers, that fig- ure is a whopping $2 million ($500,000 of which must be on deposit with a financial institution). Applications macopeia in 1854 (i.e., it was 1963 Advisory Commission of relief in cannabis, which to enforce. Clinton-era drug for the first wave of permits legit). During the country’s on Narcotic and Drug Abuse stimulated the appetite in czar Barry McCaffrey threat- were due March 20, and ap- colonial period, land-owning (under President John F. the later wasting stages of ened to revoke doctors’ rights provals for up to 12 growers/ Virginia and Massachusetts Kennedy), and the 1972 Sha- the disease and came with- to prescribe if they recom- processors and 27 dispen- farmers were mandated to fer Report (under former out the horrible side effects mended marijuana, but one saries will be announced in set aside a parcel for hemp: Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond of many prescription medi- Dr. Marcus Conant took the late June. The Department non-psychoactive cannabis Shafer). These investigations cations. Businessmen, activ- issue to court and prevailed. of Health has dictated where spun into cloth, rope, textiles, all arrived at similar conclu- ists, and organizers banded The Supreme Court upheld these will be located geo- and other materials. The CSA sions: Marijuana was not so together to push for Propo- the 2002 Court of Appeals graphically, dividing the state passed under Nixon, how- much of a grave threat to sition 215 (a.k.a., the Compas- ruling that the government into six regions. Each region ever, makes no distinctions public health or society as sionate Care Act of 1996) to could not punish doctors for will initially accommodate – cannabis is a Schedule I to warrant such severe legal legalize cannabis for medical merely recommending medi- two growers, while the dis- substance, and resolutely il- repercussions. Either by in- use in the state of California. cal marijuana. pensaries will be allocated legal with no accepted use. tention or circumstance (JFK It passed with 55.6 percent according to earlier popula- The CSA would become the was assassinated just days af- of the vote, with 5,382,915 in ith that, the floodgates tion studies. centerpiece of the battle be - ter the report was delivered favor. Wopened. To date, 28 Erie falls within Region 6, tween federal and state law to him), none of these reports Other Western states quick- states possess either an op- which includes Erie, Craw- as medical (and later recre- affected change. ly followed suit, with Oregon, erational or pending medical ford, Warren, Mercer, Venan- ational) marijuana programs The devastation wrought Washington, and Colorado marijuana program. One year go, Lawrence, Clarion, Jeffer- began sprouting up nation- by the AIDS epidemic in the establishing their own large- ago, Senate Bill 3 was passed son, Clearfield, Forest, Elk, wide. late ’80s and early ’90s, how- ly unregulated programs, by the Pennsylvania House Cameron, and McKean Coun- Numerous appeals for can- ever, would. The crisis shook leading to a region derided of Representatives and de- ties. One dispensary permit nabis policy reform were the city of San Francisco like as the “Wild West of Weed.” creed law. Gov. Tom Wolf each will be awarded to Erie made throughout the pre- no earthquake ever had, and Federal raids were frequent, proclaimed, “I am proud to County and McKean Coun- vious century, including its beleaguered gay popu- but medical marijuana sup- sign this bill that will provide ty. The permit holder will the 1944 La Guardia Report lation desperately sought porters were undeterred, medical relief to patients and be allowed to open a total of (under New York City may- reprieve. Many of those af- and with such widespread families who could benefit three dispensaries, so long as or Fiorelli La Guardia), the flicted found some measure use, the CSA proved difficult from this treatment.” Only the first is located within the
20 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 FEATURE
Speaking at the Jefferson if the commonwealth is really Educational Society, Brookings ready.” senior fellow and author of That is not to mention the Marijuana: A Short History, Dr. John Hudak details the tenuous coexistence of con- outlook of legalized marijuana in tradicting state and federal Pennsylvania. laws. The biggest obstacles on that level are the CSA, are skewed against blacks, cannabis-averse Attorney although use amongst whites General Jeff Sessions, and is nearly equal), displacement conservative majorities in of the illegal market, product both the House of Represen- safety and regulation, and economics (cutting enforce- ment/judicial/corrections It may be a while costs, tax revenue, and em- before the smoke ployment and innovations that would come with the in- clears on a definitive dustry). cannabis policy. However, Hudak says, it has
NICK WARREN to make sense for the state: “You really need the right tatives and the Senate. Re- alignment of stars. You need a scheduling cannabis would county assigned by the state. operating hours. Secondary a poll of almost anything. If public that supports the mea- greatly disencumber and ac- The exact locations of both dispensaries (satellites to the you’d ask people if you want sure, the right combination of celerate research efforts – as grow operations and dispen- state-assigned location) may to be eaten by wolverines, less legislators – liberals and liber- a Schedule I substance, the saries have yet to be deter- substitute these personnel than 88 percent would say tarians, in particular. It is not clearances and background mined. with a physician’s assistant or no.” enough to agree with it; legis- checks required of handlers Every aspect of the program certified nurse practitioner. The prospect of legal adult lators need to see a purpose is exhaustive. However, the will be closely monitored Transportation of product recreational use is far more for it, because it is a political rescheduling process is a bu- and strictly regulated by the may only occur between the contentious, however. In challenge and a risk. It will reaucratic labyrinth worthy state. Thorough background hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Any January, Leach introduced happen in some states sooner of Crete – moreover, it moves checks will be conducted for product that goes missing Senate Bill 213, which would than others.” through the Attorney Gen- both growers/processors and must be documented and any allow purchase of cannabis in Colorado, Washington, Alas- eral’s office, where Sessions dispensaries, and anyone in- that causes adverse effects is state stores (similar to liquor) ka, Oregon, and D.C. have is the proverbial Minotaur. volved in the supply chain subject to recall. and home-grows of up to six already legalized. California, Among other things, Sessions must enroll in a two-hour “It is a very tightly-con- plants, of which three may be Nevada, Massachusetts, and has said: “Good people do not training course dealing with trolled process,” says Laura flowering/mature at any giv- Maine will launch recreation- smoke marijuana.” handling, record keeping, Guncheon, public relations en time. Public consumption al programs within the next It may be a while before security and safety, and di- director for former state Sen. would be disallowed and driv- year. Pennsylvania, mean- the smoke clears on a defini- version prevention (that is, Sean Wiley, who collaborated ing under the influence would while, seems to have adopted tive cannabis policy. For now, distribution to non-patients). in a uniquely bipartisan ef- be penalized (as with alcohol). a “wait-and-see” approach. though, Wiley and others are Quarterly reports will be fort to push the law through. Two others – Sharif Street Given the socially conserva- pleased with Pennsylvania’s collected on marijuana sold “This is medicine and will be (D-Philadelphia County) and tive rural areas that comprise impending ability to offer (growers), purchased (by dis- treated as such. It is engi- Auditor General Eugene De- the bulk of the state, it is not treatment to those in need. pensaries), and dispensed (to neered within very specific Pasquale have endorsed the likely to happen anytime Clinical research may be patients/caregivers), and that parameters for a consistent, bill thus far. DePasquale esti- soon. Says Gov. Wolf: “We scarce, but the testimonials data will be aggregated to es- high quality product.” mates legalization would gen- want to learn from the expe- have been plenty – and for tablish fair standards on per- erate $200 million in addition- riences of other states that many state lawmakers, that This Bud’s Not for You – dose price. al revenue, which would go have full legalization and I was motivation enough. Yet At the grow facility, every toward an estimated deficit welcome discussion on this “There is no stronger lob- seed and plant must be logged y and large, the over- of $600-700 million, according issue with the legislature.” by than a mother with a sick into an electronic tracking Bwhelming majority of to an article on PennLive.com. Pennsylvania will observe child,” says Wiley. “When that system and daily records of American adults support The tepid response con- their successes and their mis- child goes from suffering growing conditions must be medical marijuana – in fact, trasts national trends – per steps, and try to formulate a hundreds of seizures each maintained. Concentrations nearly nine out of 10 (86 per- the 2016 Gallup poll, 60 per- set of “best practices” from day, every day, to just a hand- of THC and CBD between cent, according to a 2014 CBS cent of adults favored legal- there. ful, that is enough research specimens must remain con- poll). A 2015 poll by Quinnip- ization, most overwhelmingly “The discussion can’t simply for me.” sistent and their percentages iac University revealed that younger Americans (Millen- just be about tax revenue,” clearly marked on the pack- 88 percent of Pennsylvanians nials – 77 percent, Gen X – 61 says Guncheon. “That would Matt Swanseger can be aging of product dispensed. were in favor. To this, state percent). Advocates make be irresponsible as there are reached at mswanseger@ Primary dispensaries must Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Mont- several arguments for reform public health implications, eriereader.com. You can have a licensed physician or gomery County) remarked, – personal rights and free- workplace safety questions, follow him on Twitter pharmacist on duty during all “You can’t get 88 percent in dom, racial justice (arrests and the overarching question @SwazzySwagga.
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 21 Active Aging Fitness Day
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22 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 Spotlight on Erie April 12 – 25, 2017
Wednesday, April 12 es sounds like, it’s an excursion well the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. 6 to 8 p.m . // H.O. Hirt Auditorium, 160 E. worth taking. – Ryan Smith It reached number three on the Bill- Front St. // Free and open to the public Erie Mayoral Forum: Our City, board Top 100 and has garnered near- 8 to 11 p.m. // 1202 W. 18th St. // facebook. Our Movement, Our Choice Thursday, April 13 ly 684 million views on YouTube and com/electroflux.music more than 691 million streams on Spo- tify. Sonic Explorations Friday, April 14 Courtesy of electroFLUX Additionally, Daya was chosen as Daya to Perform at one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists Edinboro University You Need to Know” and InStyle’s “Six Indie Artists You Should Be Listening to in 2016.” – Tracy Geibel
7 p.m. // Edinboro University’s McComb Fieldhouse, 455 Scotland Rd., Edinboro // $25, Students $20 // 732.2177 // edinboro. universitytickets.com rie Refocused: A Comprehen- Esive Plan and Community Deci- Saturday, April 15 sion-making Guide was published last spring at the behest of outgoing May- The Abruptors Pick or Joseph E. Sinnott. With a city “short It Up at Scotty’s on resources, long on challenges, and covering nearly 20 square miles,” the journey. An exploration. A bold onus will be on the incoming mayor to “Atest. … The ongoing-on-occasion choose where to focus first. electroFLUX Experimental Music Ten candidates – seven Democrats, Series, curated by Erie-based sonic two Republicans, and one third-party space-traveler Adam Holquist (one- (Michael Bush of the Disability Party) wayness), is always all of those things, Grammy-winning artist is coming – are in the running for what prom- and never the same thing twice.” to Edinboro University’s McComb ises to be a pivotal election. The Erie A I wrote those words about the exclu- Fieldhouse. Mayoral Forum at the Blasco Memori- sive-to-Erie sonic series in early spring Singer and songwriter Daya will per- al Library will serve as a foreword to of 2015. And in the two-plus years form at the university’s annual spring the May 16 primary, facilitating a more concert and as part of her first head- fter you submit your taxes, you’ll informed decision at the polling cen- lining tour. need something a little more up- ter. The public is invited and strongly A For anyone interested in “I’m so excited to have Daya coming,” beat in your life. It’s easy to forget the encouraged to join in the discussion hearing what music from new said student Rebecca Bortnick. “Her world of audits and receipts when and meet-and-greet with the candi- song ‘Sit Still, Look Pretty’ is one of you’re listening to ska. Have no fear, dates after the event. Panelists Daria places and headspaces sounds my favorites.” rude boys and girls, because Buffalo’s Devlin, Marcus Atkinson, and Jim like, it’s an excursion well Grace Martine Tandon, better seven-piece band, the Abruptors, will Kurre will moderate. worth taking. known as Daya, is a Pittsburgh na- return to Scotty’s Martini Lounge tive, raised more specifically in Mount just in time. The band made quite an Lebanon. The singer and songwriter, impact when they were in town last The Erie Mayoral Forum at the since then, electroFLUX has contin- whose stage name is the Hindi word October, their high energy winning Blasco Memorial Library will ued to be … well, everything (and any- for grace, found a passion for music at over many a fan. Carrying the torch thing) it always has been. serve as a foreword to the May a young age. At only three years old, lit by countless bands of earlier gen- This time around – on Thursday, she took piano lessons. Later, at age erations, The Abruptors wear the ska 16 primary. April 13, from 8 to 11 p.m. – electro- 10, she began voice lessons, giving her mantle proudly. Originating in Jamai- FLUX is being presented as a 21-and- a jump start toward her career in the ca in the early 1960s, ska music rose over event at Bobby’s Place, and is music industry. to prominence, and laid the founda- featuring some serious soundbenders She signed with Z-Entertainment in tions for rocksteady, as well as reggae. On the Democratic ticket are Edin- and shakers. 2014, and the young artist hadn’t even The genre saw a healthy resurgence boro University professor Lisa Austin, The evening’s music roster includes graduated high school yet when her thanks to British 2-Tone bands of the County Councilman Jay Breneman, the new-industrial trip-hop vibes of songs were making the charts. “Hide early 1980s. The 1990s gave birth to Erie Playhouse Executive Director Elephant Pill (local experimentalist Away” and “Sit Still, Look Pretty” the “third wave” of ska, often blend- Almitra Clerkin, retired Erie Bureau Alex Wilson); onewayness’ own heady have both reached the Top 50 on the ing elements of punk, finding wide of Police Chief Steve Franklin, former blend of post-ambient texturing; ST- Billboard Hot 100. The latter spent 24 mainstream popularity. Recent years City Councilwoman Rubye-Jenkins CLVR – Jamestown-based “harsh noise weeks on the chart. have not been kind to ska, but if the Husband, City Councilman Robert and power electronics”; the trancey Daya was also featured on the The genre’s history tells us anything, it’s Merski, and former City Councilman chiptune tones of Marsh Sound, from Chainsmokers’ single “Don’t Let Me that this is a resilient sound. The and retired PNC Bank Vice President New Jersey; and, to top it all off, the Down,” which won her a first Grammy Abruptors blend the 2-Tone sound of Joe Schember. abrasive electro-hip-hop of WRISTS. Award (Best Dance Recording) in 2016. traditional upbeat strumming, major Lawyer John Persinger and Jon That’s a lot of sound travel. And for The song was nominated for Best Col- tonality, and healthy horn sections Whaley, a businessman and former anyone interested in hearing what laboration at the 2016 American Music with a hearty mix of soulful singa- aide to Mayor Sinnott, comprise the music from new places and headspac- Awards and Best Electronic Video at longs. With vocal duties shared by Ka- Republican ticket. – Matt Swanseger
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 23 CALENDAR
ley Lynch and guitarist Mike Geraci, be’s father. Since graduating from Col- known as Anne in the play (played Saturday, April 22 they exude a tone reminiscent of The legiate Academy and Ithaca College, by Jess Pierce), begins to realize that Dance Hall Crashers and early Pie- Abbe, 29, has resided in New York City the world she lives in was massively Oddities, Absurdities, tasters, respectively. Evan Kaminski’s for seven years, finding success as an shaped by women like Roberta. “It’s and Prom Dates baritone saxophone adds that growly, actress. But she never had aspirations really about Anne’s journey of waking low rumble that works perfectly with to be a playwright. Through her side up to the realities of being a woman in the group’s danceable feel. The band job, however, Abbe found herself in a America and today’s society, and that has a true love for the music that remarkable situation. Working with a she has a responsibility to keep mov- shines through. Opening up the show client, a story began to emerge. “That’s ing the movement forward. To build will be the Steve Trohoske Trio, with actually what started the whole on what’s already been started.” a set filled with dub grooves and vir- thing,” she explains. “I’m a personal or- The letters come to life, with differ- tuoso fusion sounds. If last October’s ganizer. I was helping her and we were ent actors standing in for the orig- performance was any indication, this finding all these letters.” inal authors (Brit Soule, Jennifer show will be packed to the brim with At first glance, Abbe suggested that Perry, Leslie Gordon Ford, and Amy skanking fans. – Nick Warren the papers be thrown out. What use Eisert Brotz all play multiple roles). were a couple dozen handwritten let- Abbe explains that “in the beginning, 9 p.m to 1 a.m. // 301 German St. // ters from the 1970s? The owner of the when they start finding the letters, facebook.com/Scottys.Martini letters, known in the play as Rober- the younger woman doesn’t hear the PRESS JOSH ARLINGTON/CAPTAIN’S ta, balked at this completely and re- women who come out and recite their Friday, April 21 oes the strange and unusual call vealed what they were. Between 1970 letters, and as the play progresses, the to you? Do you feel out of place and 1973, Roberta (portrayed by Betsy older woman helps her start ques- D Committed Citizen among “the norm?” Then Basement Butoryak) received handwritten per- tioning the status quo, essentially. She Debuts at PACA Transmissions has the show for you. sonal accounts thanking her for her starts to hear them. She starts to wake BT is pulling out all the stops for this nspired by real events and experi- work in an underground New York up.” year’s fourth annual Toxic Prom, with ences, the new play Committed Cit- City abortion clinic. In the years prior Using the actual letters as source I a “Freak Show & Oddities” theme. izen grapples with the issue of abor- to Roe v. Wade, things were markedly material, the play tells these true, Bring a friend, bring a creepy cous- tion from several unique perspectives. different. The risks for women were personal stories in the author’s own in, unpack your favorite outfit from Written by Erie native Abbe Tanen- much greater, and the social stigma words. Abbe admitted that “this was your goth phase, and get ready for the baum, the play is making its world that these women carried was near- not something I set out to do, but the dance-tastic, emo line-up you wish debut at Erie’s Performing Artists Col- ly unthinkable. It’s been more than story was so compelling that someone you had at your real prom. Maddock, lective Alliance (PACA) this April. The 44 years since the landmark court had to do it.” – Nick Warren The Standby, Mallory Run, Jivån, one-act play will be directed by Kar- case, and the issue of abortion still Joose, and Time Cat won’t disappoint en Schelinski and Mark Tanenbaum. garners some of the most powerful 8 p.m. on April 21, 22, 28, 29; 2 p.m. on with all their psychedelic, bitter, post- Mark is the artistic director and driv- reactions from groups on both sides. April 30 // 1505 State St., 2nd Floor // pop-punk, grooving tunes that will ing force behind PACA, as well as Ab- The stand-in for Abbe’s character, $12.50 // 434.0687, paca1505.com, or facebook.com/CommittedCitizen
Bobby’s Place, 1202 W. Apr. 14 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Celtic Woman PA Music Educators Event Hwy. presqueisledowns.com. 18th St. facebook.com/ MUSIC Kings Rook Club, 1921 Peach St. Apr. 19 — 7 p.m. Apr. 21 — 7:30 p.m. & Big City Hangover and electroflux.music. facebook.com/kingsrookclub. Apr. 22 — 11 a.m. SAS Acoustics featuring Warner Theatre, 811 State The Ice Cream Socialists Kayti Stadler Dave VanAmburg St. erieevents.com. Warner Theatre, 811 State Senior Bagpipe Recital: St. erieevents.com. Apr. 22 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Apr. 14, 21 — 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Apr. 12 — 6 to 9 p.m. Allyson Crowley-Duncan Smoke Signals 2017 Part 1 Kings Rook Club, 1921 Peach St. Colony Pub and Grille, Dickey’s, 3716 Liberty Apr. 15 — 6 p.m. Apr. 20 — 4 to 8 p.m. The Real Soul Band facebook.com/kingsrookclub. St. jazzerie.com. 2670 W. 8th St. facebook. Louis C. Cole Auditorium in Apr. 21 — 9 p.m. com/SASAcousticDuo. PACA, 1505 State St. facebook. I-90’s Linda Lewis Memorial Hall at Edinboro com/gimpguyunderground. Presque Isle Downs, 8199 Perry University, 205 Meadville Hwy. presqueisledowns.com. Apr. 22 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Gem City Revival Apr. 14 — 6 to 9 p.m. St. events.edinboro.edu. Gem City Jazz Ensemble Sherlocks, 508 State Apr. 12 — 6 to 9 p.m. The Cork 1794, 17 W. Main Apr. 20 — 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Mister F St. facebook.com/ The Back Deck, 4646 Buffalo Rd. St. cork1794.com. The Abruptors, Ska Apr. 21 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. sherlocksparkplace. facebook.com/gemcityrevival. Show, Tax Relief Party Bayfront Convention Center, 1 Sassafras Pier jazzerie.com. Kings Rook Club, 1921 Peach St. Album Release Party Apr. 15 — 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Pink Cadillac Dave VanAmburg for Echoes of Ethos facebook.com/kingsrookclub. Scotty’s Martini Lounge, Smoke Signals 2017 Part 2 Apr. 23 — 1 to 4 p.m. & Friends Apr. 14 — 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. 301 German St. facebook. Apr. 20 — 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Mala Sangre, Synaptic Arundel Cellars, 11727 E. Main Apr. 12, 19, 26 — 6 to 9 p.m. Bobby’s Place, 1202 W. com/Scottys.Martini. Rage, Joe Nameless and Rd. arundelcellars.com. Bobby’s Place, 1202 W. Maxi’s Restaurant in the 18th St. facebook.com/pg/ Narwhal Bloodbath 18th St. facebook.com/ Bel Aire Clarion Hotel, 2800 basement.transmissions. This American Song, Rebel Erie Composers gimpguyunderground. Apr. 21 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. W. 8th Rd. jazzerie.com. Souls and Paolello & Gone Apr. 24 — 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Daya Sherlocks, 508 State Apr. 15 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Celebrating Swing Cathedral of St. Paul, 134 Rock Star Crazy St. facebook.com/ Apr. 14 — 7 p.m. W. 7th St. facebook.com/ Tour with K Camp Kings Rook Club, 1921 Peach St. Apr. 21 — 6 to 9 p.m. sherlocksparkplace. McComb Fieldhouse at Edinboro facebook.com/kingsrookclub. eriechamberorchestra. Apr. 13 — 6 to 11 p.m. University, 455 Scotland Bel Aire Clarion Conference The Chillbilly’s Rd. events.edinboro.edu. Theory of Evolution Center, 2800 W. 8th Symphonic WInd Basement Transmissions, 145 Rd. jazzerie.com. Apr. 22 — 1 to 4 p.m. W. 11th St. facebook.com/pg/ Apr. 15 — 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Ensemble/Jazz Arundel Cellars, 11727 E. Main basement.transmissions. Chris Higbee Ensemble Concert Sherlocks, 508 State Rick & the Roadhouse Rd. arundelcellars.com. Apr. 14, 15 — 9 p.m. Rockers Apr. 25 — 7 p.m. Colony Pub Trio St. facebook.com/ Presque Isle Downs, 8199 Perry sherlocksparkplace. Apr. 21 — 6 to 9 p.m. Toxic Prom Louis C. Cole Auditorium in Apr. 13, 20 — 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Hwy. presqueisledowns.com. Memorial Hall at Edinboro Sherlocks, 508 State Apr. 22 — 5 to 11 p.m. Colony Pub and Grille, 2670 Cultural Series: The University, 205 Meadville St. facebook.com/ Basement Transmissions, 145 W. 8th St. jazzerie.com. The Box Presents Celtic Hooligans St. events.edinboro.edu. Apr. 14 — 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. sherlocksparkplace. W. 11th St. facebook.com/pg/ Apr. 19 — 7 p.m. basement.transmissions. Wrists, Marsh Sound, Sherlocks, 508 State Gem City Revival Gem City Concert Band STCLVR, Onewayness Mercyhurst North East Alex Spring Concert St. facebook.com/ Theatre, 16 W. Division St. Apr. 21 — 6 to 9 p.m. Whiskey Road and Elephant Pill sherlocksparkplace. northeast.mercyhurst.edu. Apr. 22 — 9 p.m. Apr. 25 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. Apr. 13 — 8 to 11 p.m. The Cork 1794, 17 W. Main Goose St. cork1794.com. Presque Isle Downs, 8199 Perry St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2216
24 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 Invest in a Vibrant Future
LONG’S SCHOOL OF DANCE PRESENTS
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Photo Credit: A local student tie-dyes at Erie Arts & Culture’s booth during JUMP! Back to School Expo 2016
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 25
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26 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 CALENDAR rock your fishnets off. Trio. When Pierce moved to Austin, Aidan Sloppy, lead guitarist for Texas, he took his idea along, creating Jivån, and one of the many visionar- the St. Edward’s University Players, ies behind this event, eagerly admits, also known as the American Tambu- “Toxic is my favorite event of the year ritza String Orchestra. at BT, so ‘excited’ would be an under- A few years later, in 1937, Pierce set- statement!” Sloppy has been involved tled in Pittsburgh, where he formed and playing at BT for nearly five years. the Slavonic Tamburitza Orches- “This is Jivan’s third year on the Tox- tra, probably best known as the ic Prom ticket,” says Sloppy, and “it’s Duquesne University Tamburitzans, going to be the best year yet. The even though the group is no longer lineup is very solid, and each year the affiliated with the university. bands draw more people to the event international cultures, and which is The performers, who are also full- … turnout will be high, and the Toxic comprised of college students – in- time students, hold shows across the Prom Committee is putting togeth- cluding Erie native and Mercyhurst United States throughout the aca- er some really great stuff to do aside Preparatory School (MPS) alumna, demic year. – Tracy Geibel working within a 250-mile radius of from hearing the bands. I can’t wait!” Kaeli Stolar – will perform later this the city are judged, with a collective Don’t miss out on all the dancing, fun month at the MPS Performing Arts 7 p.m. // Mercyhurst Preparatory total of 300 submissions, less than a times, and the chance to be crowned Center as part of its 80th season. School Performing Arts Center, 538 E. third of which make the final cut for the freakiest King and Queen in Erie. “I’m excited to perform for my home- Grandview Blvd. // Adults $20, Students exhibition. – Ella Julian town so that they may enjoy this $10 // 866.967.8167 // mpslakers.com/ Following a private preview for EAM unique experience,” said Stolar, who tamburitzans members and the show’s featured Doors 5 p.m., Show starts 6 p.m. // graduated from MPS in 2014. artists on Saturday, April 22, the 2017 Sunday, April 23 Basement Transmissions, 145 W. 11th St. This year’s show, titled “Jubilee,” in- Spring Show opens to the public at a // $15 at door, $12 in advance // 520.8328 cludes music, songs, and dances that 94th Annual Spring free reception on Sunday, April 23. are featured at cultural celebrations Serving as this year’s juror was cel- Saturday, April 22 Show Opens like weddings, anniversaries, and rites ebrated photographer/videographer/ Multicultural Dance of passages. ike it has for nearly 100 spring sea- multimedia artist William Wegman, Troupe to Perform The Tamburitzans, also known as Lsons, the work of some of the Erie best known for his now-ubiquitous the “Tammies,” officially began in 1937, area’s finest artists will come into full (think everything from Sesame Street or the first time in eight years, but the idea began in the early 1930s at bloom later this month at the Erie Art to Saturday Night Live) compositions FAmerica’s longest running dance St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minne- Museum. featuring dogs – lovably deadpan troupe will make a stop in Erie. sota, where A. Lester Pierce formed a EAM’s annual Spring Show – now in Weimaraners, mostly – in intriguing, The Tamburitzans, a unique troupe group of three talented musicians, lat- its 94th year – is the end product of memorable mixes of costumes, poses, that performs songs and dances of er dubbed the St. Thomas Tamburitza a yearly competition. Artists living/ and situations.
Peach St. gemcitybands.org. Easter Buffet HouseofMercyErie. Impact (1949) Mary D’Angelo Performing St. erieartmuseum.org. Apr. 16 — 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Apr. 14 — 8 to 10 p.m. Arts Center, 501 E. 38th St. SAS Acoustics featuring Mind, Body, Beer miac.mercyhurst.edu. Photographs by Kayti Stadler Riverside Inn, 1 Fountain Apr. 25 — 7:30 p.m. Erie Movie House, 3424 Gary Cardot Ave. facebook.com W. Lake Rd. facebook. Invisible Hand Apr. 26 — 6 to 9 p.m. Erie Ale Works, 416 W. 12th St. Ongoing through June 24 com/ErieMovieHouse. Apr. 26 — 7 p.m. Colony Pub and Grille, Pizza Party facebook.com/ErieAleWorks. Erie Art Museum, 411 State 2670 W. 8th St. facebook. Apr. 20 — 5 to 8 p.m. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk Erie Art Museum, 411 State St. erieartmuseum.org. com/SASAcousticDuo. FILM With Me (1992) St. erieartmuseum.org. Erie Ale Works, 416 W. 12th St. Tin Plated Dreams: Apr. 19 — 7 p.m. D’Angelo Department facebook.com/ErieAleWorks. Extreme Weather Sculptures by Erie Art Museum, 411 State VISUAL ARTS of Music: Faculty Guest Bartending Ongoing — 11 a.m. & 1 & 3 p.m. William Brady, Jr. Recital Series St. erieartmuseum.org. Annual Student Show Apr. 20 — 6 to 9 p.m. Tom Ridge Environmental Juried by John Vanco Ongoing through Apr. 26 — 8 p.m. Center, 301 Peninsula Dr. Rogue One: A Star January 7, 2018 The Brewerie at Union Station, Ongoing through Apr. 16 biggreenscreen.com. Erie Art Museum, 411 State Walker Recital Hall, 501 E. 38th 123 W. 14th St. hopeforeaw.com. Wars Story Allegheny College Doane St. erieartmuseum.org. St. miac.mercyhurst.edu. Lewis & Clark: Great Apr. 19 — 8 to 10 p.m. Wine & Cheese Weekend Hall of Art, 520 N. Main Journey West Edinboro University St. allegheny.edu. Far From Home: Recent DANCE Apr. 21 — noon to 6 p.m. & Ongoing — noon & 4 p.m. Frank G. Pogue Student Painting from Tom Ferraro Apr. 22 — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. & Center, 405 Scotland Rd. Nathan Sulecki Dance Performance Apr. 23 — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Apr. 21 through May 16 Tom Ridge Environmental events.edinboro.edu. Photographs Apr. 19 — 12:30 p.m. Center, 301 Peninsula Dr. (Reception Apr. 22 — 6 to 9 p.m.) Various Locations, Ongoing through Apr. 18 LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach lakeeriewinecountry.org. biggreenscreen.com. It’s Alive (1969) Glass Growers Gallery, 10 E. 5th St. lifeworkserie.org. Apr. 20 — 8 to 10 p.m. Glass Growers Gallery, 10 E. 5th St. glassgrowersgallery.com. Cast Iron Cooking Prehistoric Planet St. glassgrowersgallery.com. Erie Movie House, 3424 The Tamburitzans Apr. 21 — 3 to 5 p.m. Ongoing — 2 & 5 p.m. 94th Annual Spring Show W. Lake Rd. facebook. Adjusting the Ballast: The Apr. 22 — 7 p.m. Tom Ridge Environmental April 22 through July Shelter 2 behind West com/ErieMovieHouse. Work of Michael Radar 9 (Opening Reception Mercyhurst Prep Performing Basin Pond in Presque Isle Center, 301 Peninsula Dr. Ongoing through Apr. 22 Apr. 23 — 1 to 3 p.m.) Arts Center, 538 E. Grandview State Park, 301 Peninsula biggreenscreen.com. Film & Her Showcase Erie Art Museum, 411 State Blvd. mpslakers.com. Dr. events.dcnr.pa.gov. Apr. 21 — 7:30 to 9 p.m. Bruce Gallery in Doucette David Lynch: The Hall, 215 Meadville St. St. erieartmuseum.org. Erie Food Tours Art of Life Erie Art Museum, 411 State brucegallery.info. FOOD & DRINK St. filmandher.com. Senior Projects Apr. 22 & May 13, 27 & Apr. 12 — 7 p.m. Adult Easter Egg Hunt June 2, 3, 9 , 16, 17, 23, 24, Senior Art Thesis Apr. 25 through May 7 (Opening Erie Art Museum, 411 State Why Change Your Reception Apr. 25 — 7 to 8 p.m.) Apr. 13, 14, 15 — 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 30 — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. erieartmuseum.org. Exhibition Wife? (1920) Allegheny College Doane Shops at the Colony, 2580 W. Like My Thai, 827 State Ongoing through May 5 Apr. 21 — 8 to 10 p.m. Hall of Art, 520 N. Main 8th St. facebook.com/piwine. St. eriefoodtours.com. M Mercyhurst University St. allegheny.edu. Apr. 13 — 8:30 to 10 p.m. Erie Movie House, 3424 Cummings Gallery, 501 E. 38th Easter Brunch House of Mercy Spring Tea W. Lake Rd. facebook. St. miac.mercyhurst.edu. Edinboro University Frank com/ErieMovieHouse. Apr. 16 — 10 a.m. Apr. 23 — 1 to 3 p.m. G. Pogue Student Center, THEATRE Earth Stories The Cork 1794, 17 W. Main St. Our Lady of Mount Carmel 405 Scotland Rd. facebook. The Met Live in HD: The Illusionists facebook.com/TheCork1794. School, 1531 E. Grandview com/edinborofilmseries. Eugene Onegin Ongoing through June 11 Apr. 17 — 5:30 & 8:30 p.m. Blvd. facebook.com/ Apr. 22 — 12:55 p.m. Erie Art Museum, 411 State Warner Theatre, 811 State
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 27 • Criminal CALENDAR Wegman, whose well-loved work compose yourself with dignity. • DUI is part of permanent collections at The Erie Composers concert will fea- • Divorce such prestigious places as the Muse- ture the original works of Erie-based um of Modern Art, the Smithsonian composers Christina Brice Dolanc and • Custody American Art Museum, and Centre Stephen Colantti, performed by the Pompidou, also gave a free lecture at ECO’s talented assembly of musicians. • Personal Injury Edinboro University on the evening of “The Songsmith Collective,” a string April 6. quartet piece based on selected motifs Kenneth A. Bickel, Esq. He “is exposed to a lot of art and dab- from Perseus House Charter School Bickel Law Office 557 bles with many different expressions,” of Excellence students, will also debut West 8th Street EAM Director John Vanco said of Weg- this evening. man in a recent news release. “Anyone Even St. Paul Cathedral’s vaulted ceil- Erie, PA 16502 who has posted a cat video on YouTube ings will be hard-pressed to contain is following in his footsteps. the immensity of Dolanc’s awe-inspir- • FREE CONSULTATIONS • It should be most interesting, then, to ing “Stars Alone,” an eerily gorgeous see just where Wegman’s feet stopped ode to the breadth of the universe. and stayed awhile in the field of this Incredibly rich and textured choral year’s entries from around the region. harmonies float over haunting string – Ryan Smith sustains, creating a sense of being sur- rounded by the cosmos – it’s surpris- Opening reception: Sunday, April 23, 1 to ingly soothing and reassuring, even if 3 p.m. (exhibit open through July 9) // 20 we are all just specks on a grain of dust % E. Fifth St. // erieartmuseum.org in the grand scheme of things. Dolanc, also a violinist and singer, has com- Monday, April 24 OFF posed over 100 works for string quar- tet and arranged for numerous other Running & Walking 15Min. $50 purchase of any reg. priced item. Not valid with any other offers or Erie Chamber Orchestra specials. Expires 4/26/2017 is Well Composed ensemble settings. SPECIALTIES Stephen Colantti is no stranger to Our free gait analysis will help you nd the shoe that’s right for you! enormity himself, having written the 932 W. Erie Plaza Dr. opera “The Selfish Giant,” based on Erie, PA 16505 the ultimate medical & technical running & walking shop Oscar Wilde’s poetic short story of the 814-871-6320 Running & Walking Shoes • Apparel • Accessories same name. He began his career in www.achillesrunning.us the Big Apple as a dramatic tenor in We actually t you for shoes! the city’s thriving opera scene before teaching himself to compose. He spe- cializes in songs for chorus, guitar, pi- ano, and strings in addition to playing classic guitar and viola himself. ECO principal cellist Ruth Ann Scanzillo marvels at “how surely his melodic obody wants to start their week line [carries] over such serious har- Noff on a sour note, but seeing as monic complexity.” Podiatry Associates of Erie, Inc. Monday is just one semitone removed Sigh, Mondays – they’re complicated. from “last weekend,” a sense of fore- – Matt Swanseger FOOT & ANKLE boding and menace is not unheard of. Let the Erie Chamber Orchestra stand 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. // 134 W. 7th St. // free CENTER as resounding proof that you, too, can and open to the public Richard D. DiBacco, D.P.M., F.A.C.F.A.S. Board Certified: ABPS, ABQAURP Furniture • Decor • Jewelry
THE MOST St. erieevents.com. Apr. 21 — 8 p.m. & EXPERIENCED Distinctive Decor Apr. 23 — 2 p.m. COMMUNITY Don’t Dress for Dinner Walker Recital Hall, 501 E. 38th OFFICE IN THE Apr. 19 & May 2, 3 — noon St. miac.mercyhurst.edu. Tai Chi for Inspired Homes & Apr. 22, 29 — 5:30 p.m. & Apr. 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 & TRI-STATE Apr. 23, 30 — 2:30 p.m. Committed Citizen May 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24 -- 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. AREA Station Dinner Theatre, 4940 Apr. 21, 22, 28, 29 — 8 p.m. Peach St. canterburyfeast.com. & Apr. 30 — 2 p.m. LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach St. lifeworkserie.org. The Trojan Women PACA, 1505 State St. paca1505.com. Apr. 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 — 7:30 30 MyPlate Steps to Erie, PA p.m. & Apr. 23, 30 — 2:30 p.m. Ape and Essence a Healthier You 4402 Peach St. Mon through Fri: 10am-6pm Edinboro University’s Diebold Apr. 21 — 8 p.m. Apr. 22 — 2 Apr. 12 — 10:30 a.m. (814) 864-4874 Center for the Performing & 8 p.m. & Apr. 23 — 2 p.m. & LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Arts, 217 Meadville St. Apr. 28 — 8 p.m. & Apr. 29 — 2 St. lifeworkserie.org. Sat: 10am-5pm events.edinboro.edu. & 8 p.m. & Apr. 30 — 2 p.m. Meadville, PA Gannon University’s Erie SeaWolves vs. 105 Mead Ave. Baby with the Bathwater Schuster Theatre, 620 Bowie Baysox Apr. 20, 21, 22 — 8 p.m. & Sassafras St. gannon.edu. Apr. 12 — noon (814) 337-0404 814 0 80 Apr. 23 — 2:30 p.m. UPMC Park, 110 E. 10th 2208 West 8th St. Erie, PA 16505 Allegheny College Vukovich An Evening of St. erieevents.com. Conneaut, OH Center for Communication Art, Jerome Kern 167-B W. Main St. 520 N. Main St. allegheny.edu. Apr. 22 — 7 p.m. Apr. 23 — 2 p.m. Bike Trek Across America D’Angelo Opera Erie Playhouse, 13 W. 10 Apr. 12 — 2 p.m. (440) 593-6476 St. erie playhouse.org. Theatre: Carmen LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach www.eriefootdoctors.com www.claudinesconsignment.com
28 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 EVERY Wednesday Half Price Everything Celebrate halfway through (814) 453-6454 1109 State St, Erie, PA 16501 the week with HALF OFF most every liquid libation in house from 9-11 PM Shellfish Spectacular Peel & eat shrimp, snow crabs clusters, & the best mussels in town. Beginning at 5 PM
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April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 29 **NO COVER FOR MEMBERS k EXCEPT SPECIAL EVENTS** Album Release Party s Roo THURS 04/13 King PAINT & ROCK FRI 04/14 Club GOOSE at SAT 04/15 FRI THIS AMERICAN SONG **APR 29 + REBEL SOULS R + PAOLELLO & GONE FRI 04/21 AQUEOUS MISTER F UPSTAIRS LOUNGE ZACK ORR DJ SET SAT 04/22 BIG CITY HANGOVER ate pri 14, SAT & THE ICECREAM SOCIALIST THURS 04/27 oor pen at PM **MAY 06 PAINT & ROCK FRI 04/28 TK BLUES CO. JIM DONOVAN SAT 04/29 H H R AQUEOUS & SUN KING WARRIORS [DOWNSTAIRS] ZACK ORR DJ SET PLUS [UPSTAIRS] SMACKDAB FRI 05/05 D OORS 8PM | MUSIC 10PM MATTY WAVE TRAILS B’S + NEW MORNING SUNRISE EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT! + ONE IF Grab your gear and get here! • 10PM BY LAND No Cover • Drink Specials • Open 8 PM [Sign up before 10 PM & rst drink is on us] best **NO COVER FOR MEMBERS EXCEPT SPECIAL EVENTS** oF Music at 10pm•Fri & Sat Happy Hour Specials: $2 Wells & select beers 8pm-12am•Free pool, shuffleboard & games always!!!•1921 Peach St. • Members & guests only 2015 Find us on Facebook : www.facebook.com/kingsrookclub
Monday, April 17th Erie’s Largest Music Store! www.t ecro .cc 6:30 PM at World of Music 1355 West 26th Street, Erie 814-459-2585 t t rie FREE Event - Call to RSVP www.worldofmusicerie.com
30 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 CALENDAR Life Doesn’t Make Sense David Lynch: The Art Life and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me come to the Erie Art Museum
Velvet, one big-budget sci-fi them with even more ques- epic with Dune, and sever- tions. al independently produced If you haven’t yet expe- arthouse films like Lost rienced the strange and Highway, Mulholland Drive, surreal worlds that Lynch and Inland Empire. creates with his films, may- The Art Life is a fascinat- be now is the time to check $ ing look into the mind of them out. Fans and detrac- 50 one of the most interest- tors alike have expressed ing and enigmatic figures frustration with Lynch be- pulled in American cinema, but cause he steadfastly refus- it doesn’t stop there. The es to explain the meanings 3 very next week, the Art Mu- of his films, instead letting WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12 & seum is showing Lynch’s the imagery speak for itself. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19 Montana and eventual Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with I think Lynch expressed it pork inema doesn’t get move to the mean streets Me, the prequel/sequel to best when he said, “it’s bet- Cmuch weirder than the of Philadelphia. We learn his much-loved cult TV se- ter not to know so much sandwiches works of David Lynch. For about the events that in- ries, Twin Peaks. The show, about what things mean,” 40 years, he has helped spired his art, music, and about the investigation of a adding that he doesn’t push surrealism into the – most importantly – his teen girl’s murder as well as understand why people mainstream with his films challenging, provoca- a glimpse into the bizarre always want art to make combining dreamlike im- tive films. After winning a and sometimes horrifying sense when, as he says, “life agery, bizarre, otherworldly $5,000 grant from the pres- activities of the residents doesn’t make sense.” – For- performances, and an over- tigious American Film Insti- of Twin Peaks, Washington, est Taylor all atmosphere of ominous tute, Lynch made his debut helped usher in a new style David Lynch: The Art of supernatural and char- dread. Now a new docu- with the nightmarish mid- Life will be shown at mentary, David Lynch: The night-movie cult hit Eras- acter-based serial drama, the Erie Art Museum on Art Life, is coming to the erhead, which brought his inspiring such shows as Wednesday, April 12, and Erie Art Museum. surreal style of filmmaking The X-Files and Lost. Fans Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with The film is a one-on-one into the public conscious- of the show were intrigued Me runs on April 19. Both discussion with the direc- ness. From there, he went and frustrated in equal shows: Doors at 6 p.m., tor as he discusses his on to make award-winning, measure as the film – which film at 7 p.m. // Erie Art early years, including his critically-praised films like sought to give them all the Museum, 20 E. Fifth St. // $5 // erieartmuseum. valid all april long to upbringing in suburban The Elephant Man and Blue answers – ended up leaving org/events-film celebrate our st St. lifeworkserie.org. Weightlifting & Jefferson Educational Memorial Library, 160 E. lakeeriegroup.webs.com. 1 anniversary! Cardio Fitness Class Society, 3207 State Front St. erielibrary.org. Oriental Painting St. jeserie.org. Paint and Rock Apr. 13, 20, 27 & May 4, Music of the World, Apr. 12, 19 — 5 to 7 p.m. 11, 18, 25 -- 9:30 a.m. Apr. 13 — 8 to 10 p.m. New Horizons A Creative Arts LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Kings Rook Club, 1921 LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Music Project: Residency St. lifeworkserie.org. St. lifeworkserie.org. Peach St. facebook. Strings and Folk Apr. 13, 20, 27 & May com/kingsrookclub. Erie’s Mayoral Gender Conference Apr. 13, 20, 27 & May 4, 4 — 6:30 to 8 p.m. 11, 18, 25 — 4 to 6 p.m. Tai Chi Forum: Our City, Our Apr. 13 — noon to 6 p.m. & LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Moment, Our Choice Apr. 14 — 5 to 9 p.m & Apr. LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach St. lifeworkserie.org. Apr. 14, 21, 28 & May 5, 12, Happy Hour Apr. 12 — 6 to 8 p.m. 15 — 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. St. lifeworkserie.org. 19, 26 -- 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Following the Reed Building at Penn Regency at South Shore, H.O. Hirt Auditorium Innovation Commons Reformation Trail Mon - Fri 4-6 pm at Blasco Memorial State Behrend, 4701 College 322 Washington Pl. Dr. behrend.psu.edu. Open House for in Germany & lifeworkserie.org. $1.25 SLIDERS Library, 160 E. Front St. Entrepreneurs facebook.com/besterie. Switzerland $1.25 DRAFTS Living Well with Apr. 13 — 5 to 7:30 p.m. Apr. 13 — 7 p.m. Edinboro’s Got Talent Hearing Loss Apr. 14 — 6 to 8 p.m. The Power of the Room 109 in Buke Center Erie Maennerchor Club, Present Moment Apr. 13 — 1 p.m. at Penn State Behrend, 1607 State St. gcsoe.org. Edinboro University Course LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach 5101 Jordan Rd. facebook. Frank G. Pogue Student Kids eat free* Apr. 12 — 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. St. lifeworkserie.org. com/InnovateBehrend. Nick Di Paolo Center, 405 Scotland Rd. events.edinboro.edu. Whole Foods Co-op Apr. 13 — 7 p.m. & Apr. sunday Library Explorers Creative Writers 14, 15 — 6:45 & 9:30 p.m. Community Center, 1341 W. Reading Series, Mecca First Day of Trout FREE BALLOONS & ICE CREAM 26th St. bhaktaschool.org. Apr. 13, 18, 27 — 4 Jr’s Last Laugh Comedy to 4:45 p.m. Jamilah Sullivan Club, 1402 State St. Apr. 15 — 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. KIDS COLORING CONTEST Planetarium Children’s Storytime Apr. 13 — 6 to 7 p.m. jrslastlaugh.net. East Water Works Pond *see store for details Show: Legends of Room at Blasco Memorial Penn State Behrend, in Presque Isle State the Night Sky Library, 160 E. Front 4701 College Dr. Mourning for Park, 301 Peninsula Dr. the Environment events.dcnr.pa.gov. Apr. 12 — 7 to 9 p.m. St. erielibrary.org. behrend.psu.edu. on Earth Day Cooper Science Center Easter Egg Hunt Remarkable Women: Monoprints Class Apr. 13 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. LIBERTY PLAZA at Edinboro University, Patricia Schroeder Apr. 13 — 6 to 8 p.m. Apr. 15 — 11 a.m. 230 Scotland Rd. events. Tom Ridge Environmental Apr. 13 — 4 to 5:30 p.m. Lake Shore Railway 3716 LIBERTY ST. | ERIE edinboro.edu. Peninsula Room at Blasco Center, 301 Peninsula Dr. Museum, 31 Wall St. 814-868-4227
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 31 CALENDAR We Need Penn State Behrend’s Annual Gender Conference More than Ever
THURSDAY, APRIL 13 & lives, and the need for diverse voices to FRIDAY, APRIL 14 be heard in response to the problems that affect us. The conference features an array of free events on Behrend’s campus de- signed to encourage dialogue among women, LGBTQ folks, their allies, and interested people in the community. Invited guests include author Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, an associate editor for The Feminist Wire, and Pearl Gluck, whose recent film The Turn Out ex- plores the role of human trafficking in West Virginia. The conference also provides Behrend students with an opportunity to offer insights about the opportunities and obstacles they face rincess culture. Eco-feminism. Re- on campus. Pproductive rights in Ireland. Cy- The Penn State Behrend Gender Con- ber-culture in China. Gender biases in ference feels especially urgent this STEM fields. Human trafficking. Trans- year, in the wake of a political season gender children. The 2016 election. scarred by “locker room talk” and at- These are a few of the topics you can tempts to legislate the bathroom hab- expect from the 2017 Penn State Beh- its of trans people. If you’ve been horri- rend Gender Conference, a multifacet- fied by the rhetoric of the election – or ed collaboration between faculty, stu- inspired by the Women’s Marches that dents, and national scholars dedicated followed – you won’t want to miss this to generating awareness about issues conference. – Dan Schank of agency, identity, and sexuality. This April 13 & 14 // Penn State Erie, The community year’s theme is – the social Behrend College, 4701 College Dr. // Think big norms we encounter in our everyday genderconference.wordpress.com/ lakeshorerailway.com. The Architecture Apr. 19 — 7:30 p.m. & of the Universe Apr. 21 — 7 & 9:30 p.m. T-Shirt Printing Class & Apr. 26 — 7:30 p.m. Apr. 18 — 1:30 p.m. at our small Apr. 15 — 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Brewerie at Union Station, LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach 123 W. 14th St. brewerie.com. Edinboro Branch Library, 412 St. lifeworkserie.org. W. Plum St. erielibrary.org. Relaxation for school! Porreco College Productivity and Trump Tax Day Open House Rally in Erie Happiness Erie Day School students come to class excited to learn and imagine. Apr. 18 — 3 to 6 p.m. Apr. 15 — noon. to 1:30 p.m. Apr. 20 — 12:30 p.m. Our faculty inspire and engage while Barn Classroom Complex at Griswold Park, 150 W. LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach moving beyond the traditional curriculum including the International Porreco College, 2951 W. 38th St. lifeworkserie.org. 14th St. facebook.com/ St. events.edinboro.edu. keystoneprogresserie. Baccalaureate Programme and local to international field trips. Adult Art Classes Great Books: Standing The extracurricular activities advance academic and athletic pursuits. Creativing an Urban Down, From Warrior Apr. 20 — 1 to 3 p.m. Agrihood: An Inclusive to Civilian LEAF Education Center, 1501 Model for Sustainable W. 6th St. leaferie.org. That’s why our students are learning today, leading tomorrow! Apr. 18, 25 & May 2, 9, 16, 23, Urban Renewal 30 & June 6 — 4 to 5:30 p.m. Apr. 17 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. Know the 10 Signs of Jefferson Educational Society, Alzheimer’s Disease Jefferson Educational Society, 3207 State St. jeserie.org. Learn more at Erie Day School’s 3207 State St. jeserie.org. Apr. 20 -- 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Mary D’Angelo Westlake Woods Assisted Fit for Life Fitness Class Performing Arts Tour Living, 3301 W. Lake Apr. 18, 25 & May 2, 9, 16, Apr. 18 — 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Rd. facebook.com/ 23 -- 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. westlakewoodsassistedliving. LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach St. lifeworkserie.org. You’ve Still Got It: St. lifeworkserie.org. Open House Sexualtity and the A Citizen’s Action Keeping Your Computer Aging Process Guide to Blight Secure and Healthy Apr. 20 — 4 p.m. Apr. 19 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 30th 1—3 p.m. Apr. 18, 25 & May 2, 9 — LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach 10:30 a.m. to noon Jefferson Educational Society, St. lifeworkserie.org. 3207 State St. jeserie.org. LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach American Short Stories St. lifeworkserie.org. Halfway to Halloween Apr. 20, 27 & May 4, 11, 18, 25 & Sacred Geometry: Haunted History Tours June 1, 8, 15, 22 — 4 to 5:30 p.m. 1372 West Sixth Street 814 452 4273 www.eriedayschool.com
32 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 CALENDAR This Earth Day, Celebrate Our Planet Like It’s The Only One We Have
of peninsula jutting into Lake Erie right here in our own backyards. This year, Earth Day Network and the March for Science have partnered to raise awareness of our depen- dence on scientific research to understand earth’s changing ecosystems. The main Earth Day march and “teach-in” will SATURDAY, APRIL 22 take place in Washington, D.C., with a satellite “sister” rally and march may well go down as the scheduled at Perry Square here in Erie. 2017year of the march. We have “Science is a process, not a product – a marched on Washington, in our home- tool of discovery that allows us to con- towns, and on each other’s Main Streets. stantly expand and revise our knowl- We have protested, raised awareness, edge of the universe,” states the March and rallied. Each of these actions has for Science website. In other words, the shown why we love this country and more we know, the greater power we want to keep it great. But here’s the possess to make viably symbiotic deci- thing – no matter how we view religion, sions for Earth/human cohabitation. politics, our kids’ educations, or public Make 2017 the year that you celebrate restroom policies, we all share one in- Earth Day the same as any other holiday. disputable fact: We can achieve nothing Set the day aside and ask your neighbor without clean air to breathe, pure water what she’s doing for the Earth on April to drink, and sustainable agricultural 22nd. – Ti Sumner practices to grow food. On April 22, for the 48th time, we will 10 a.m. speakers and demonstrations celebrate Earth’s vivid coral reefs, lush begin; 3 p.m. march // Perry Square, rain forests, desert sands of Nevada downtown Erie // free admission Dr. nwpa-asa.org. LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Arts Center, 501 E. 38th and Africa, and the more than 14 miles // More info on Facebook.com St. lifeworkserie.org. St. mercyhurst.edu. The First Spiritualist Church of Erie’s Erie SeaWolves vs. The State of Erie Spring 2017 Expo Altoona Curve County Poverty Apr. 22 — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Apr. 24, 25 — 6:30 p.m. Apr. 25 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. & Apr. 26 — noon Jefferson Educational Society, June 1 — 7 to 9 p.m. Theme of Line, Zem Zem Shrine Club, 2525 Jefferson Educational Society, UPMC Park, 110 E. 10th 3207 State St. jeserie.org. 3207 State St. jeserie.org. Unitarian Universalist Book Release W. 38th St. facebook.com/ firstspiritualistchurch. St. erieevents.com. Creative Writers Reading Congregation, 7180 Perry Apr. 21 — 7:30 p.m. Pennsylvania State Police Hwy. uuerie.org. Series, Mary Biddinger Avalon Hotel, 16 W. 10th March for Science Erie PA Sister Maura Smith Earth ‘Come Get to Know Us Day’ Day Lecture: Tara Houska Apr. 20 — 6 to 7 p.m. Astronomy Open House: St. chuckjoy.com. Apr. 22 — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Apr. 26 — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Apr. 24 — 7 p.m. Penn State Behrend, 4701 Great American Eclipse EPIC Volleyball Perry Square, 568 State Mercyhurst University, 501 Mercyhurst University College Dr. behrend.psu.edu. Apr. 20 — 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tournament St. facebook.com/ E. 38th St. mercyhurst.edu. marchforscienceeriepa. Taylor Little Theatre, 501 E. Poster/Portrait Print Class Penn State Behrend, 4701 Apr. 22 — 8:30 a.m. 38th St. mercyhurst.edu. LifeWorks Erie Open House College Dr. behrend.psu.edu. Apr. 20 — 6 to 8 p.m. Fort LeBouf High School, Poster Printing Class Apr. 26 — 4 to 6 p.m. 931 North High St. Apr. 22 — 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From Planning to Peninsula Room in the Blasco Mercyhurst Literary LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach eriesportscommission.com. Action: An Inside Look Memorial Library, 160 E. Festival: Lumen Reception Iroquois Branch Library, 4212 at Erie’s “War Room” St. lifeworkserie.org. Front St. erielibrary.org. Apr. 20 — 8 p.m. Iroquois Ave. erielibrary.org. Spring Open House Apr. 24 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. Local Quality of Water Mercyhurst University Apr. 22 — 9 a.m. to noon Greg Warren Annual Greene Township Jefferson Educational Society, Apr. 26 & May 3, 10, Taylor Little Theatre, 501 E. Frank G. Pogue Student Lioness Card Party 3207 State St. jeserie.org. 17 — 6:30 p.m. Apr. 20 — 7 p.m. & Apr. 21, 38th St. mercyhurst.edu. 22 — 6:45 & 9:30 p.m. Center at Edinboro Apr. 23 — 1 p.m. Tom Ridge Environmental University, 405 Scotland Planetarium Show: Jr’s Last Laugh Comedy Club, Trivia Night at St. Boniface Coleman Center, 301 Peninsula Rd. events.edinboro.edu. What’s Up 1402 State St. jrslastlaugh.net. LifeWorks Erie Center, 9637 Wattsburg Dr. uuerie.org. Rd. facebook.com/ Apr. 24 — 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Apr. 21 — 6 p.m. Day in World Languages Candidate Forum Extreme Event Game Night greenetownshiplionessclub. Cooper Science Center LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Apr. 22 — 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Apr. 20 — 7 to 8 p.m. at Edinboro University, Apr. 26 — 6:30 to 9 p.m. St. lifeworkserie.org. Dig into Erie’s Past Tom Ridge Environmental Mercyhurst University, 501 230 Scotland Rd. events. H.O. Hirt Auditorium at E. 38th St. mercyhurst.edu. Center, 301 Peninsula Dr. Colorful Birch Trees Apr. 23 — 2 to 4 p.m. edinboro.edu. Blasco Memorial Library, 160 events.dcnr.pa.gov. E. Front St. facebook.com/ Canvas Class Day of Caring Lobby of Mary D’Angelo Antarctica or Bust Performing Arts Center, 501 keystoneprogresserie. Apr. 21 — 6 to 8 p.m. Apr. 22 — 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. City of Asylum: How E. 38th St. mercyhurst.edu. Apr. 25 — 1 p.m. Cultural Series: Facts, Providing Sanctuary to an Claytopia, 924 W. Erie Plaza Asbury Woods Nature LifeWorks Erie, 406 Peach Exiles Writer Transformed Dr. heathercash.com. Center, 4105 Asbury Rd. The Price is Right Live St. lifeworkserie.org. Alt-Facts and Anything Our Community asburywoods.org. Apr. 23 — 7:30 p.m. But the Facts: Politics Erie SeaWolves vs. Joan D. Chittister, OSB in the Digital Age Apr. 20 — 7 to 8:30 p.m. Binghamton Mets 16th Annual Walk Erie Insurance Arena, 809 French St. erieevents.com. and Cokie Roberts Apr. 26 — 7 p.m. Jefferson Educational Society, Apr. 21 — 6:30 p.m. & Apr. 22 — for Autism ‘In Conversation’ Mercyhurst North East Alex 3207 State St. jeserie.org. 4 p.m. & Apr. 23 — 1:30 p.m. Apr. 22 — 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Know the Ten Signs Apr. 25 — 7 p.m. Theatre, 16 W. Division St. The New Jim Crow UPMC Park, 110 E. 10th Rotary Pavilion in Presque Apr. 24 — 10:30 a.m. northeast.mercyhurst.edu. St. erieevents.com. Mary D’Angelo Performing Apr. 20 & May 4, 18 & Isle State Park, 301 Peninsula
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 33 CALENDAR Portraits of Us Gary Cardot’s take on our rich diversity
A rich blur of color and texture, Gary insular as that of a Hare Krishna event. Cardot’s Hare Krishna Temple creates a “We often use quick, visual observation shimmering artistic narrative. to form perceptions of people different from us. A Krishna would feel just as window reflections, hash pipes, video out of place in a porn shop or a county screens, a glowing chandelier, a hoo- fair as someone from the fair would feel kah, and strings of twinkle lights. The in the Krishna temple. Yet, we all see composition keeps your eyes moving the ‘other’ as unusual.” from one place to the next, finding new things, experiencing the busyness, and feeling the rush of color. All of the com- Cardot’s work provides the ponents serve its centerpiece, though, narrative of diversity our which is a sculpture of a shirtless male country has always embraced, tattoo artist tucked between a woman’s at least on a superficial level. spread legs, working his machine above her breast. Her head is flung back, her orange hair streams down. For Cardot, this approach is an ex- Cardot’s work provides the narrative perimental and formal exercise in light, of diversity our country has always shadow, substance, and transparency. embraced, at least on a superficial lev- The results, in many ways, have the el. Drag queens, bikers, psychics, and feeling of cubism. We are seeing ob- brides, Easter parades, religious altars, By: Mary Birdsong and nightclubs. To him, these subcul- jects from more than angle and point and the endless kitsch of Times Square ery few artists do saturated color as tures are rife with the nuances of this in time, with ATMs eliding into manne- all rub elbows. He advocates for learn- Vwell as Gary Cardot, who has new country; the back places where people quins and then into stairwells. Manip- ing to incorporate and celebrate that works at the Erie Art Museum’s Hol- find spiritual homes, work, and satisfac- ulating images this way, he says, feels splendid variety, and left me with a Neil stein Gallery through June 24. tion. But they’ve also represented how like “painting” with photographs. Simon quote: “Never underestimate His photographs have historically we have separated ourselves from one But he adds that by layering related the stimulation of eccentricity.” Cardot, been rich in imagery depicting diver- another into different tribes. images he can more completely instill however, would replace “stimulation” gent settings and ways of life from coun- Unlike earlier work showing us Fer- in them “the memory of the shoot or with “contribution,” suggesting that it ty fairs to Hare Krishna temples. He ris wheels and curious storefronts in a [his] impressions of an event.” There- is exactly our differences that make us has always gravitated to communities straightforward singular way, Cardot is fore, the artificial and lushly detailed strong and give us life. I think he’s right. and gatherings outside of mainstream now deconstructing the images, build- worlds Cardot explores become larger America, such as gay pride parades and ing them back up into abstract con- symbols of how we divide people. Mary Birdsong can be contacted Catholic processions, and places such structions, and imbuing them with an The subculture of the county fair, at mBirdsong@ErieReader. as religious shrines, amusement parks, even richer palette than in the past. which is predominantly white, rural, com, and you can follow her on pawnshops, cemeteries, porn shops, For example, “Tainted Love” mingles and Christian, is just as self-limiting or Twitter @Mary_Birdsong.
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34 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 Funny Photo Contest
#CHQlaughs ARE YOU A TECH SAVVY GIRL? You will be after a day of hands-on fun with science, technology, April 3–28, 2017 engineering, and mathematics! ARE YOU READY? In partnership with the National Comedy Center Who: Girls in grades 6-9 Where: Edinboro University Date: Saturday, May 6, 2017 REGISTRATION IS Time: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm TO REGISTER: Show us what makes you laugh OPEN NOW! AAUWERIE.ORG and win a weeklong all-inclusive Cost: $5 per girl, $7 with adult vacation for two at Chautauqua! Submit your funny photos with #chqlaughs on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, or our website. Enter today: ciweb.org/contest *Exclusions apply. See contest for details. CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
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Join us as we transform our gigantic garage into a vibrant streetscape. Enjoy performers, live music, fresh local fare from food trucks, drinks and more! Garage Gala proceeds help drive EmergyCare’s life-saving mission. Friday, April 28, 2017 7 until 10 p.m. $50 per person “Garage Chic” Attire RSVP by April 21
Contact Jennifer Farrar at [email protected] or call 814-870-1066 for reservations
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 35 BOOK REVIEW A Review of Galaxy Love The 92-year-old secular rabbi of American poetry, ferocious and funny as ever.
By: John Repp marks, giving his people exactly what arguing with every prophet you can ot only does it beggar belief that a he’s taught them to expect, the poet fi- name. His work here feeds the imagina- Nwriter Gerald Stern’s age remains nally easing into his La-Z-Boy after one tion as surely as the potatoes feed the both prolific and vital, but the Pitts- of the last half-century’s great runs of speaker of “Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, burgh native’s strongest poems’ can- excellence. 1939”: tankerous refusal to tame rage into an- Like all his best work, Galaxy Love The one thing that kept me going noyance or exaltation into enjoyment once more gives us Stern in all his above all else stands as a rebuke to anyone who pre- sprawling, polymathic, harshly com- were the potatoes we roasted in fers art to behave itself – if such can passionate contrariness. In poems that the burning ash rightly be called “art.” I know devoted range from tender lyrics like the title and for their sake I made one trip readers of poetry who have long disap- poem (in which the speaker turns “the too many proved of Stern’s devil-may-care tone, light off with the right/hand and gath- on the three-bladed sled. sometime lack of rhetorical coher- er[s]” the loved one “in close with the For me, Gerald Stern is one of a dozen ence, relentless name-dropping, and wrong”) to self-lacerating elegies like or so writers absolutely necessary to liv- obsessional subject matter – black lo- “Bastards” to “Ecstasy,” a poem whose ing. His work has long since convinced custs, dead insects, long-gone political gravitational field holds Hedy Lamarr, me to forgive ahead of time whatever movements, and what he called in “The “Toyotas and Chevys,” “the reason bro- failures or flaws may come. Stern’s po- Dancing,” one of his best-known po- ken glass wouldn’t do,” and “a bound- ems could not have been made by any- ems, “beautiful filthy Pittsburgh, home/ less absorption of the world” in nested one else, and very few practitioners of chapbook (Music Over the Water, Alice of the evil Mellons.” orbits, to how “Poverty” in line after line any art can say that. Greene & Co., 2013) are set in or near The thing is, they’re correct, these yields paradoxical riches, Stern proves Galaxy Love, by Gerald Stern, W.W. Presque Isle State Park. He coordinates once again he’s a consummate trick- readers, correct as far as correctness Norton & Co., 2017, 124pp., $25.95 the Writing Concentration at Edinboro goes. Too often in Stern’s recent collec- ster, our latter-day Walt Whitman, and a University and teaches courses in tions, the poems hit their Stern-esque contemporary Isaiah, even as he keeps The poems in John Repp’s most recent every genre the Concentration offers.
36 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 GAME REVIEW The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild FUN FOR THE Franchise’s freedom sets open world game apart WHOLE PACK! Double-A Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers FRI, APRIL 21 • 6:35 PM MON, APRIL 24 • 6:35 PM WINTER CAP GIVEAWAY GATES OPEN @ 5:30 PM FIRST 1,000 FANS PRESENTED BY $1 SMITH'S HOT DOGS, POPCORN, 12 oz. PEPSI & DOMESTIC DRAFTS PRESENTED BY BUDWEISER + ROCKET 101
PEPSI_H1_NB_SMFRI,_4C (FOR USE .25” 1.5" ) MAY 5 • 5:05 PM SAT, MAY 6 • 6:35 PM CMYK CINCO de MAYO DOUBLEHEADER PINT GLASS volumes toward this concept. Wood By: Paul Schillinger GIVEAWAY burns. Metal swords and shields con- FIRST 1,000 FANS SET TO A SOUNDTRACK Minor story location spoilers ahead duct electricity. Rain makes climbing (21 & OLDER) OF MOTOWN GREATS PEPSI_H1_NB_MEDIUM_4C (FOR USE 1.5" TO 4") PRESENTED BY almost impossible. You can freeze to CMYK could have taken the main road to “Zo- death in cold climates; burn to death in Ira’s Domain” – only to be ambushed hot climates. If you think it’s a possibility, by 12 Lizalfos (recurring lizard-like ene- it almost always is. Try to block a fire ar- mies) equipped with lightning arrows. I row with a wooden shield? It won’t work. could have set up my own ambush on Adventuring during a lightning storm? GET TICKETS AT an unexpecting camp of monsters half- Better holster your metal weapon and way up the trail. I could have fought that shield or get zapped. Have a mountain PEPSI_H1_NB_LARGE_4C (4" AND LARGER) CMYK lone mini-boss on the bridge heading to climb in the rain? Time to find anoth- into town. Instead, I ate some “cooked endura carrots,” popped a “stamina elix- ir,” and climbed the nearest mountain, It’s this freedom to explore, to bypassing the main road and heading play this game how you want straight to “Zora’s Domain.” It’s mo- to, that sets it apart from every ments like these that set Breath of the other open world game before. Wild (BOTW) apart from just about every open world game that preceded it. BOTW opens with your character, “Link,” awakening in a tomb after a 100- er way around. Monitor how hot or cold year sleep. Not knowing how or why you you are or suffer the consequences. got there, you emerge in the center of I’ve spent 120 hours combing the land Hyrule, one of the most expansive open of Hyrule, unlocking 90 of the game’s world games I have ever seen. Continu- 120 shrines (bite-sized dungeons). I ing down the trail, you meet a lone trav- beat the main dungeons and killed the eler who gives you a couple of simple final boss. Killing end game bosses, tasks in order to get a paraglider, allow- tying up unfinished quests, and seek- ing access to the whole map. ing out more shrines is still pulling me In the first area you learn combat me- through. The first quest given was to kill chanics. You learn that all weapons – the main boss, Ganon. And you totally swords, bows, and shields – are durable can! Speedrunners are conquering this and break (often). You learn that making game in under an hour – without cheats food and elixirs is a necessity. Also, you or glitches. It’s this freedom to explore, learn new abilities such as “magnesis” to play this game how you want to, that and “stasis” that are crucial on your sets it apart from every other open journey. But most importantly, you learn world game before. Open world? I’ll take BOTW is a game overflowing with emer- open air. gent gameplay. Nintendo markets BOTW as an “open Paul Schillinger can be contacted air” game – and the gameplay speaks at [email protected].
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 37 MUSIC REVIEWS
Mount Eerie Richard Edwards The Buttertones Laura Marling A Crow Looked At Me Lemon Cotton Candy Sunset Gravedigging Semper Femina P. W. Elverum & Sun Joyful Noise Recordings Innovative Leisure More Alarming Records
shockingly ichard Ed- ull of 60s aura Mar- Aopen por- Rwards’ first Fthrowback Lling’s sixth trait of a person solo album is a madness, the album, Semper in mourning, lusciously beau- junior release Femina, trans- Mount Eerie’s tiful work full from The But- lates to “always Think eighth studio al- of pain and re- tertones is a a woman.” It’s a bum is a striking demption. The frenetic and shortened ver- one. Phil Elverum pours out his feel- former frontman of Margot & the Nucle- twisted party playlist for any decade. sion of a Virgil quote she has tattooed ings in an unadorned, spartan acoustic ar So and So’s, Edwards was diagnosed Like a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack on her leg, the full meaning of which recording similar to Sun Kil Moon, a with a Clostridium difficile infection, the in hyperdrive, the band delivers a roughly translates to “a woman is an style glimpsed at on a handful of tracks devastating stomach disease known as nonstop barrage of evocative scenes. ever fickle and changeable thing.” from Elverum’s previous band, The Mi- C. diff. Causing the singer to abandon his Building on the time-tested template Marling has crafted an intricate al- sp ng crophones. Lyrically, Elverum provides previous band, the disease left Edwards of garage rock and surf tones, the Los bum filled with lush explorations of incredibly specific details regarding scarred yet standing. To make matters Angeles quintet creates a mysterious womanhood. Beginning with the hyp- his personal experience following the heartbreakingly worse, last year has also and inviting aura. Singer and guitar- notic fretless bass riff of “Soothing,” death of his wife, musician/cartoonist seen the dissolution of his marriage. ist Richard Araiza has the chaotic Marling broods and flutters, showing Geneviève Castrée. Passing away in Without the context and on a purely theatricality of James Chance with her range as a vocalist and song- July of 2016, Castrée fell victim to pan- superficial level, Lemon Cotton Candy just a drop of Jello Biafra thrown in, writer. Notes of “The Valley” softly creatic cancer at the age of 35. Death Sunset simply sounds like a gorgeous perhaps if he somehow wound up cascade in a mist of passionate folk is a difficult subject in all instances, work of acoustic-leaning indie rock. The singing for the Ventures. The album sounds, replete with swelling strings and songwriting is no exception. A album begins with a swell, not unlike an starts off with the same downbeat and the first use of female pronouns, death in the family consumes your orchestra tuning up before transitioning pattern that made “London Calling” a consistent motif throughout the entire existence for a time. An honest to the melodic, glowing shimmer of “Lil famous, marches in time and moves rest of the album. Easily the poppiest and cathartic documentation of this Dead Eye-d,” gradually adding more and on. Immediately, you hear the growl- track comes in the form of “Wild Fire,” critical time can be helpful for not only more instrumentation. Tracks such as ing saxophone of London Guzmån, with the lyrical twang of a country the documentarian, but also the au- “Disappeared Planets” and “Rollin’, Rol- who proves to be a vital secret in- balladeer. Convincingly reinventing dience. Everyone goes through grief, lin’, Rollin’” stand out as early favorites in gredient that sets this album apart. sounds in the American folk tradition, and many people don’t have the first- the latter half of the record. Served with The real beatnik dance party starts the Hampshire songwriter’s British hand experience required to deal with a softer hand than many of Margot’s with “Sadie’s a Sadist,” its tongue- accent comes out for a bit in “Wild such a shattering event. This album tracks, the sound is perfect for fans of in-cheek title connoting the darkly Once.” Marling’s catalog has been has the ability to help others who’ve The War on Drugs, Phosphorescent, or playful nature of the album. Tracks appropriately celebrated by critics grappled with loss. The raw, quivering Cass McCombs. It’s softly cooed notes like “Two Headed Shark” and the al- and fans alike, and Semper Femina open nerve that is A Crow Looked at amidst a rich atmosphere. Lyrically, it most-titular “Gravediggin’” offer some shows no signs of that praise halting. Find Your Place at Edinboro University Me won’t be for everyone, but it might offers a welcome depth and insight, of the most swinging tracks with It’s a dense, literate work from a ge- EU Open House just be the perfect thing for someone. similar to Edwards’ previous works. their psychedelic, groovy shuffles. nius musician, full of complex ideas. Spring Open House – Nick Warren – Nick Warren – Nick Warren – Nick Warren Tour our beautiful 585-acre campus Saturday, April 22, 2017 Get answers to your questions from faculty, 9 am - 12 pm Admissions and Financial Aid staff , and more Frank G. Pogue Student Center Explore our undergraduate and graduate degree programs To register or for Take advantage of application fee waivers full event details, visit available at the event openhouse.edinboro.edu
B 814-732-2761 • edinboro.edu
38 | Erie Reader | ErieReader.com April 12, 2017 Think sp ng
Find Your Place at Edinboro University EU Open House Spring Open House Tour our beautiful 585-acre campus Saturday, April 22, 2017 Get answers to your questions from faculty, 9 am - 12 pm Admissions and Financial Aid staff , and more Frank G. Pogue Student Center Explore our undergraduate and graduate degree programs To register or for Take advantage of application fee waivers full event details, visit available at the event openhouse.edinboro.edu
B 814-732-2761 • edinboro.edu
April 12, 2017 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 39