So if many other cities/towns in the US adopt similar facilities, won't all of these facilities compete and one or two will eventually end up putting the rest out of business? Then we will be left with a shuttered warehouse and people out of jobs...but, hey, at least people had a job for 3 - 5 years, right? Hope they save their money wisely. We need sustainable employment, not high paying temporary jobs - like oil and natural gas.
To all of you posting that each individuals actions are worse than one company's actions, think about this. Peeing in the woods or washing the salt off your car at home does have a small impact on the environment. We have learned over years that by improving our physical environment and disposing of our wastes properly, that we can prevent many diseases (bubonic plague) by collectively disposing of and treating our wastes in a sanitary manner. So although us outdoors people pee in the woods, it is small potatoes compared to if the entire population of the country urinated and defecated in their yards in their communities. If you think it is OK for industry to break laws and dump high volumes of potentially toxic materials into waterways or in the ground, "since people drive cars and pee in the woods," then I assume you don't believe industry should be regulated because the same regulators cannot fine individual households for minor infractions. I understand the fallible logic - but individuals collectively contribute less waste than all of the industries generating waste per day. It is understood we all have an impact, and we can control that, but the citizen cannot control the industry without regulatory oversight, and it is not right what this company was witnessed doing.
Certainly D&L and Hardrock are two different companies, legally on paper, but in reality, there is a thread (Lupo) that connects D&L to Hardrock. There is a reason this is done, and this is a perfect example of why companies do such things! $10,000 is a joke of a fine. 6 months in jail is also a joke - think of it as "Administrative Paid Leave" with business as usual. The fine money is already set aside in a special account, so they know how far they can go before it actually disrupts business-as-usual. Even with Federal charges, which are honestly not likely, Mr. Lupo does not care and things will not change. I can guarantee public response will be the same. This will incite the already angry anti-fracking protesters, but the general public will not care much since Mahoning County residents do not utilize the Mahoning River because they think it's already super polluted to begin with. It would be a totally different story if the river was highly used for recreation - swimming, boating, fishing, etc. But the average resident of Mahoning County has no concept of the Mahoning River, other than they just believe it is polluted and unfit for human use. There is the broader ecological concept of the watershed, that impacts our ground water and surrounding area, but again, the majority of people in Mahoning County only have one perception of the river - that is is of no value to them. If it was our drinking water source, it would be a completely different story! So, you all are thinking, why would this company blatantly break the law and knowingly pollute the river with toxic brine? Because they know the majority of Mahoning County residents would never know the difference because we have no connection to our river. Shame on the company, and shame on myself and the other residents of Mahoning County!
First off, I never thought the city of youngstown was advancing with the establishment of more bars and restaurants to accompany the convocation center. The idea is that youngstown will not prosper from the residents of the city using the downtown area, and thus, in order to attract those from the suburbs, you need to develop to their tastes. It was only a matter of time since most of Youngstown's business owners are not able to actually own the building their business is housed in. It's the rich man's game and unfortunately, what Dom is doing is completely legal since it's his cash. His "vision" is making money off of those who have money, not catering to city folk. If you sincerely believe that downtown youngstown will generate such revenue and taxes from local businesses that it will begin to spread out from the center and fix the problems on the North, West, South, and East side you are foolish. It won't happen! We'll just have upgraded, vacant buildings. It's not my vision for a yuppie youngstown, but I will live here, not for the establishments, but for the park. I don't care for cities.
Finally, people will stop feeding the animals!!! It's about time...even if the ducks and geese did not have as much of an impact on the pond itself.
Losers Never Win might have grown up on a farm, but Geese aren't farm animals and neither are ducks...they can be, certainly, but not the ones at the pakr! The last time I checked, the Lily Pond and Mill Creek Park in Youngstown is not a farm, and should never be!
Families that feed animals in the park are basically killing the WILD animals, and that is a very poor lesson to teach young children. It would be best if these feedings just stopped altogether. Scrap the dispenser idea and ban all feeding outright or else people will still continue to feed the animals whatever they like.
Another valuable lesson that some of these families bring to the ponds and lakes in the park through feeding the animals is litter. Sure, feed the ducks and geese, but now that stupid bread bag is floating in the water or other litter is strewn throughout the parking lot or on the trails.
Should we thank these people for using the park, or make sure they never come back? I'd prefer they never come back, but I don't think that resonates with the park administration. I think the MCP administration have turned their heads in most cases so not to discourage attendance and use of the park! Those "No Feeding" signs have been up for decades, but how many times have you seen a park employee or police officer in the lot while hordes of people feed the animals - and no one is told to stop! Maybe it has happened, but it obviously was never enough to discourage anyone from coming back...
Also, the article says nothing about paying the YSU Geology Department to determine the water depth and amount of sediment in the pond. The YSU Geology Department won't be doing the dredging of the pond or anything like that. Likely, you will get FREE consultation by a YSU professor and student that can do a research project based on the proposed work, which is some simple work, but practical experience for the student!
I am very happy to see some action being taken, but as I said before, the dispensers are a horrible idea - BAN all feeding. It's either all or nothing. If you allow some feeding with nutritional pellets, you still get the geese and ducks (which doesn't make sense if the plan is to clean up the area) and people will still bring bread because they won't want to pay for the pellets.
I live in Youngstown, and want to improve the water quality and surroundings in Mill Creek Park for the benefit of the park and the visitors who come to the park and respect the natural surroundings!
Obama names Youngstown as model for new tech development
So if many other cities/towns in the US adopt similar facilities, won't all of these facilities compete and one or two will eventually end up putting the rest out of business? Then we will be left with a shuttered warehouse and people out of jobs...but, hey, at least people had a job for 3 - 5 years, right? Hope they save their money wisely. We need sustainable employment, not high paying temporary jobs - like oil and natural gas.
February 13, 2013 at 9:03 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Documents: CEO Lupo directed illegal dump of brine
To all of you posting that each individuals actions are worse than one company's actions, think about this. Peeing in the woods or washing the salt off your car at home does have a small impact on the environment. We have learned over years that by improving our physical environment and disposing of our wastes properly, that we can prevent many diseases (bubonic plague) by collectively disposing of and treating our wastes in a sanitary manner. So although us outdoors people pee in the woods, it is small potatoes compared to if the entire population of the country urinated and defecated in their yards in their communities. If you think it is OK for industry to break laws and dump high volumes of potentially toxic materials into waterways or in the ground, "since people drive cars and pee in the woods," then I assume you don't believe industry should be regulated because the same regulators cannot fine individual households for minor infractions. I understand the fallible logic - but individuals collectively contribute less waste than all of the industries generating waste per day. It is understood we all have an impact, and we can control that, but the citizen cannot control the industry without regulatory oversight, and it is not right what this company was witnessed doing.
February 6, 2013 at 9:56 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Documents: CEO Lupo directed illegal dump of brine
Certainly D&L and Hardrock are two different companies, legally on paper, but in reality, there is a thread (Lupo) that connects D&L to Hardrock. There is a reason this is done, and this is a perfect example of why companies do such things! $10,000 is a joke of a fine. 6 months in jail is also a joke - think of it as "Administrative Paid Leave" with business as usual. The fine money is already set aside in a special account, so they know how far they can go before it actually disrupts business-as-usual. Even with Federal charges, which are honestly not likely, Mr. Lupo does not care and things will not change. I can guarantee public response will be the same. This will incite the already angry anti-fracking protesters, but the general public will not care much since Mahoning County residents do not utilize the Mahoning River because they think it's already super polluted to begin with. It would be a totally different story if the river was highly used for recreation - swimming, boating, fishing, etc. But the average resident of Mahoning County has no concept of the Mahoning River, other than they just believe it is polluted and unfit for human use. There is the broader ecological concept of the watershed, that impacts our ground water and surrounding area, but again, the majority of people in Mahoning County only have one perception of the river - that is is of no value to them. If it was our drinking water source, it would be a completely different story! So, you all are thinking, why would this company blatantly break the law and knowingly pollute the river with toxic brine? Because they know the majority of Mahoning County residents would never know the difference because we have no connection to our river. Shame on the company, and shame on myself and the other residents of Mahoning County!
February 6, 2013 at 9:40 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Cedars Lounge to close; new building owner is forcing the issue
First off, I never thought the city of youngstown was advancing with the establishment of more bars and restaurants to accompany the convocation center. The idea is that youngstown will not prosper from the residents of the city using the downtown area, and thus, in order to attract those from the suburbs, you need to develop to their tastes. It was only a matter of time since most of Youngstown's business owners are not able to actually own the building their business is housed in. It's the rich man's game and unfortunately, what Dom is doing is completely legal since it's his cash. His "vision" is making money off of those who have money, not catering to city folk. If you sincerely believe that downtown youngstown will generate such revenue and taxes from local businesses that it will begin to spread out from the center and fix the problems on the North, West, South, and East side you are foolish. It won't happen! We'll just have upgraded, vacant buildings. It's not my vision for a yuppie youngstown, but I will live here, not for the establishments, but for the park. I don't care for cities.
December 8, 2012 at 5:05 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Feeding fouls fowls
Finally, people will stop feeding the animals!!! It's about time...even if the ducks and geese did not have as much of an impact on the pond itself.
Losers Never Win might have grown up on a farm, but Geese aren't farm animals and neither are ducks...they can be, certainly, but not the ones at the pakr! The last time I checked, the Lily Pond and Mill Creek Park in Youngstown is not a farm, and should never be!
Families that feed animals in the park are basically killing the WILD animals, and that is a very poor lesson to teach young children. It would be best if these feedings just stopped altogether. Scrap the dispenser idea and ban all feeding outright or else people will still continue to feed the animals whatever they like.
Another valuable lesson that some of these families bring to the ponds and lakes in the park through feeding the animals is litter. Sure, feed the ducks and geese, but now that stupid bread bag is floating in the water or other litter is strewn throughout the parking lot or on the trails.
Should we thank these people for using the park, or make sure they never come back? I'd prefer they never come back, but I don't think that resonates with the park administration. I think the MCP administration have turned their heads in most cases so not to discourage attendance and use of the park! Those "No Feeding" signs have been up for decades, but how many times have you seen a park employee or police officer in the lot while hordes of people feed the animals - and no one is told to stop! Maybe it has happened, but it obviously was never enough to discourage anyone from coming back...
Also, the article says nothing about paying the YSU Geology Department to determine the water depth and amount of sediment in the pond. The YSU Geology Department won't be doing the dredging of the pond or anything like that. Likely, you will get FREE consultation by a YSU professor and student that can do a research project based on the proposed work, which is some simple work, but practical experience for the student!
I am very happy to see some action being taken, but as I said before, the dispensers are a horrible idea - BAN all feeding. It's either all or nothing. If you allow some feeding with nutritional pellets, you still get the geese and ducks (which doesn't make sense if the plan is to clean up the area) and people will still bring bread because they won't want to pay for the pellets.
I live in Youngstown, and want to improve the water quality and surroundings in Mill Creek Park for the benefit of the park and the visitors who come to the park and respect the natural surroundings!
September 7, 2011 at 4:09 p.m. permalink suggest removal