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When Barack Obama recently discovered northwestern Pennsylvania on his way to being soundly defeated in the Keystone State, the national media did its usual best job to paint the incorrect picture of Erie. Apparently some in the media, including David Wright of ABC News stated that Obama visited a “steel mill” and “brewery” in Erie.

Oops, that actually was Erie Bolt Company and a beer distributor. The Washington Post came closer to accuracy, but also reached deep into the ol’ cliche bag by describing “the rusty, abandoned factories that were visible across the tree tops — landmarks of Erie’s long decline.”

You have to be nice to the media, they are trying.

When talking about steel in Erie, the most visible landmark to that industry is the old Erie Forge and Steel mill near West 15th and Greengarden. From my understanding, Erie Forge has been in bankruptcy since 2001 and has sat empty since. I honestly cannot remember ever seeing any activity at that place.

Visitors to Erie (including that national press corps) see that shabby albatross of a mill on the drive from the airport into downtown Erie. Before they see the sparking new convention center or the Flagship Niagara, they are welcomed by an old and dilapidated greeter. At least when that happens at Wal-Mart, you get a smiley sticker.

Could it be that the media based the assumption that Erie is a steel town partly on seeing the old factory on the drive into town? Perhaps Erie Forge and Steel has big plans for the old mill, but if the company doesn’t, it sure would be nice to shed one more Erie eyesore.

Are any of you readers privy to the status or future plans of the Erie Forge and Steel plant? Please do share any information on the past, present and future of the plant.

As for the steel city label? Pittsburgh can keep it.

For at least one day, Erie was the center of the GE world with the shareholders meeting at the Bayfront Convention Center. A quick read of any of the major business news websites such bloomberg.com, cnn.com, or msnbc.com shows a story about the meeting. The neat thing is that they listed Erie as the city line and made a brief mention that GE Transportation is headquartered in Erie.

I see that a display of the GE manufactured products will be available to the public, which I’d certainly enjoy seeing, if not for the fact that I’m hundreds of miles away. GE is such a huge, looming presence in east Erie, as well as somewhat of a mystery to those not employed there. Sure they make trains, but what really goes on in Lawrence Park?

It’s good to see that Jeffrey Immelt has been engaged in the Erie community during this visit, such as with a stop at Harding Elementary. One particular blurb from news reports of his speech today caught my attention. In a paraphrased quote, goerie.com stated: “Immelt said Erie has become a high-tech city with a globalized business because of GE’s presence.”

The story went on to quote Immelt further, stating: “For people in Erie — across Pennsylvania — and hundreds of other towns and states in the U.S. and around the world, GE’s ability to invest and deliver has given millions of investors and employees something important: the confidence that tomorrow will be even better than today.”

What caught my attention was the first part of the quote claiming that Erie has become a high-tech city because of GE’s presence. Now, I can’t imagine Erie without GE Transportation here, and frankly the thought of not having GE in the Gem City should be enough to send shivers up the spines of Erieites. And yes, GE has invested boatloads of money in Lawrence Park.

But, if the text of the quote is correct, I think Immelt is making a slight over statement by taking all of the credit for Erie’s successes. Erie has had many companies that have made national and global impacts while providing a good life for Erieites. I’m willing to bet though that whatever Immelt said was in an effort to enthuse the shareholders about the work that GE does and paint GE as a great corporate citizen.

What is most positive about Immelt’s talk today and the mere presence of a shareholders meeting is GE’s commitment to Erie for the foreseeable future, as he appears to see the value of having GE Transport in Erie. This is not only huge for current employees, but future employees as well.

A number of classmates and friends have held internships or jobs at GE in the finance, marketing and technology departments. Local university engineering students have worked and interned there, getting one of the best hands on experiences in the world. Not only does employment at GE look great on a resume, from what I hear the compensation isn’t half bad either.

The continued growth of GE in Erie is a key issue for young professionals and college students, as they can look to the east side of Erie for a well-paying job opportunity. Have any of you readers had an internship or entry-level job experience at the GE plant? If so, please do share your thoughts on that experience and its value (or even lack thereof) to your future plans or careers.

As a final note, I watched one of the videos on goerie about the convention and noticed that the shareholders all had to pass through metal detectors. I had to wonder: were they that worried that Jack Welch might be serious?

And we have an aftershock. At 1120, the mirrors started shaking again for about 8 seconds.

I knew it wasn’t the wind when my bobbleheads were nodding along. As a friend of mine pointed out, “so that is why bobbleheads were invented.”

No news yet on the magnitude of this aftershock. I predict a 3.9…

I wouldn’t describe myself as a light sleeper, but I had no trouble waking up this morning. That’s easy to do when your alarm clock is an earthquake.

A quake measuring a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter Scale shook a huge portion of the Midwest at 5:37 a.m. The epicenter was located in southeast Illiniois, but the quake was felt from Indianapolis to Louisville to St. Louis, even as far north as Michigan and Milwaukee.

I was awaken by the violent shaking of my bed and the noise of my closet sliding mirror doors rattling. My first thought was simply the wind, so I walked over to the doors and attempted to steady them. This was to no avail, and my mind turned to the possibility of an earthquake. Or maybe my apartment was haunted.

It wasn’t until entering my living room and conferring with my similarly stunned roommates that I realized it had to be a quake. The television news stations quickly lit up with coverage of shaking all over Indiana.

Before the epicenter of the quake was confirmed to be in Illinois, I wondered if what Indianapolis felt was part of a larger, more devastating quake involving the New Madrid Fault. That fault is part the most active earthquake zone in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains. It was also responsible for massive 8.0 earthquakes in 1811-1812 that caused widespread damage in the Central US.

A similar quake in the Mississippi Valley today could cause tremendous devastation across the Midwest, with Memphis, TN having the potential for the worst harm. Luckily no injuries have been reported and damages are been limited in this tremor, which lasted at least 25 seconds.

Today’s events reminds me of the quake that hit Northwestern Pa in September of 1998. That quake hit in the late afternoon and managed to rattle a number of items on the shelves at my home in Erie. But the quake today was much more pronounced and lasted much longer than the Erie quake, which was a 5.3, if I am not mistaken.

No large aftershocks have been reported, but if they do occur, I sure hope its not 5:30 in the morning again.

Goerie.com reports that Barack Obama finally found Erie on a map, and has decided to visit our fair city. Obama will be holding a rally at the Junker Center at Penn State Behrend on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Sure, a candidate visit is honestly nothing that unique come election time, they tend to go everywhere. But it will be nice for Erieites to be able to one day talk about the time that Barack Obama visited Northwestern PA. The visit will also allow people to get a first-hand sense of the electoral campaign and realize that this whole thing isn’t made up by CNN just to boost their ratings.

I’m honestly not completely surprised that it has taken Obama this long to realize that the top corner of PA doesn’t really belong to New York or Ohio. Chances of him winning in PA are slim, so why overspend resources in the Keystone State?

Erie’s location nestled in the top corner of PA, surrounded by two states that have already held primaries as well as a lake, really isolates Erie County. When he goes to Altoona or Harrisburg or Pittsburgh, Obama (or any candidate), he can garner much more attention from the surrounding areas.

People from Johnstown, Somerset and State College might go to an Obama rally in Altoona. Or watch him throw gutterballs for that matter. When Obama comes to Erie, the citizens of Ashtabula, OH and Ripley, NY won’t come to town because for them it doesn’t matter anymore.

Erie is isolated as a media market as well. Obama’s visit will get good press on the Erie network stations, no doubt. It might also get an ambitious news crew from Pittsburgh into town.

But exposure of the Erie visit will be limited to the top little corner of the state. People in Philadelphia, a city that Obama desperately needs for his chances of winning PA, won’t hear about him in Erie. Half of them probably think that Erie actually is a city in New York.

So where will Obama spend his time and money? In Philly, Harrisburg, Reading and those places that have higher regional media exposure.

I do give the Clintons credit making a better effort than most to visit the Gem City. Bill liked it so much, he’s coming back tomorrow.

This post is not to demean Erie and I certainly believe that the 280,000 citizens in our county deserve an opportunity to get a first-hand glimpse at the candidates. It simply doesn’t surprise me that Erie does tend to be forgotten because of our geographical disability.

Is it disappointing? Sure. Does it make me bitter? Not really.

Peter Panepento recently posted a great idea over on “Outside Erie,” to create a must-see list for a visitor who is spending 36-hours in Erie. I do hope that for the sake of that visitor that he or she decides to dedicate a greater slice time to exploring the great Gem City. But if 36 hours is all that is allotted, the following is my recommended itinerary.

(We’re going to assume that this is a sunny, warm, late-June weekend where the daylight lingers past the 10 o’clock hour. We’re going also assume that rest and sleep will be at a minimal during the 36 hours in Erie.)

Friday, 6 p.m. The Erie region experience has to start with dinner at Freeport Restaurant in North East. Educate yourself on Erie County history by reading the informational placemats while you wait for your Lake Erie perch dinner.

After dinner, stroll down the road to the lake and watch the waves roll in from Canada. Admire the sheer cliffs that line the lake while looking for beach glass. The blue pieces are the best.

Head west on Route 5 towards Erie and roll the windows down to perhaps catch the aroma of grape vines that seem to dance on for miles. Stop and purchase a bottle of Niagara wine.

As you enter suburbia at Lawrence Park, make sure to glance out of your left windows to catch a glimpse of the lifeblood of Erie’s economy: GE Transportation.

Grab a Blue Moon ice cream cone from Dairy Cream on Parade Street, then double back to the Land Lighthouse, hopefully in time to watch the sunset over Erie Harbor.

Enjoy a late horse race at Presque Isle Downs. Don’t bother with the casino, the horses are much more fun. Watch the evening news from your hotel and laugh at the amount of time devoted to the weather forecast.

Saturday, 6 a.m. Start out the day at the Breakfast Place on East 38th Street. The Eastsider will hit the spot. Take an early morning stroll through Wintergreen Gorge on the Behrend campus. Enjoy the gentile waterfalls of Four Mile Creek and the steep, hemlock covered cliffs of the gorge.

Spend the rest of the morning on Erie’s Bayfront. Admire the vista from the top of the Bicentennial Tower. Refuse to give up the ship and visit the Maritime Museum. You’ll learn that Erie was actually a pretty important place in American history. If the Niagara is in port, take a walk on the deck and admire the miles of rigging.

Since the Erie SeaWolves will just so happen to be in town today, catch an afternoon game at Jerry Uht Park. Grab a Smith’s hot dog for lunch and sit in section 204. You are so close to the action that you’ll feel like you can whisper in the pitcher’s ear.

After a Wolves win, walk over to the Warner Theater and hope that it is open for you to sneak in and look at the ornate interior. If you hurry, drive south to Glenwood to make a rounds of the Erie Zoo before closing time. For a smaller city like Erie, it has an amazingly diverse and proudly-maintained collection of animals.

While in Glenwood, make note of the quiet, leafy and safe neighborhoods that help give the Gem City its high standard of comfortable living.

Make time for dinner at the closest Valerio’s. Delicious Italian food, reasonable price, unique Erie family restaurant atmosphere. Stop at a Romolo’s chocolates store and take home a pound or five.

Head out to Presque Isle to whittle away the rest of the evening. First grab an orange sherbet twist cone from Sara’s. Then enter the park and enjoy the nature-filled sand spit. Watch the red-wing blackbirds swoop through the reeds and marshes. Dodge any black bears.

Check out the nifty houseboats on Horseshoe Pond. Stroll the beach near the lighthouse and find a spot to watch the sun color the sky before it punches in for the night.

By this hour, you should still have just enough time to head back up the hill to Waldameer. If you ride nothing else, hop on the Sky Ride, the Whacky Shack and the Scrambler. Though not yet completed, I’m willing to bet the Ravine Flyer II will soon be a can’t miss attraction as well.

Drive back to downtown Erie along West Sixth Street and marvel at the architecture of the old mansions. Make a loop around Perry Square and enjoy the changing of colors in the fountain.

Sunday, 6 a.m. Your 36 hours in Erie, PA has unfortunately lapsed. But for one last hurrah, get to the South Pier early and watch the sun rise over the lake and the small city with a big heart.

Congratulations, you’ve discovered the essence of Erie.

Ove two years ago, I stood on State Street in the numbing cold to watch the old Koehler Brewery smokestack implosion. Unfortunately, a phoenix did not arise from the Koehler ashes as was promised and the site of the massive brewery is now a grassy knoll.

I just have to wonder: what happened with the old Koehler clock that adorned the northeast corner of the brewery? That huge iron clock was a very recognizable symbol of the brewery.

On a recent jaunt to Louisville, Kentucky, I noticed a massive “Colgate” sign on the plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana. That huge iron sign is visible across the Ohio River while in downtown Louisville, and is lit up at night. It appears to be a rather recognizable landmark, and popular too. Post cards with an image of the clock were for sale in a nearby gift shop.

The Koehler clock had (has, if it hasn’t been recycled yet), the potential to be a similarly visible landmark in Erie. It could have been perched atop one of the empty factories on 12th Street, or on a platform at the empty State Street site.

Who knows what condition it was in after years of neglect, but it it sure would have been nice to at least try and save it. It’s one more thing that made Erie unique.

Maybe it is still hanging around a warehouse somewhere. Any of you readers have a clue?

The news of the past two days has contained positive news for the redevelopment of downtown Erie. And that news has the potential to be very exciting for young adults in Erie.

On Monday, the Erie Times-News ran a story on the revamping of the old “Downtown Improvement District” into the “Erie Downtown Partnership.” The restructered group will focus on economic initiatives in downtown Erie as well as improving the streetscape.

Mentioned as an aim of the Partnership will be to attract more retail to downtown, which now has an unfortunate dearth of such. Anyone who lives or works in downtown can join the Partnership for a $10 fee, and therefore get involved in the committees and initiatives.

I hope that Gannon University students can and would get involved in the Partnership. I know from my days at GU that the students actually are very interested in the vitality of downtown Erie. For many students, it is their home away from home. I would hope that efforts are taken to see to it that Gannon students have the opportunity to work with the Partnership.

The second encouraging news story came across the news on Tuesday with the announcment of the state grant to aid with the Griswold Park project. New townhouses will be built on Peach Street and the old Merchantile Building will awaken from years of plywood-covered slumber to host more living space.

Apparently, this project should be up and going very soon, and dramatically change the look of the Griswold Plaza/Union Station area.

After taking a look at the drawings provided by the Redevelopment Authority, it seems that the plans should make downtown Erie look both pretty trendy and classy.

So this leads me to ask the first of many important questions about life for young adults in Erie, PA:

Would you like to live in a downtown setting like the one that is in the works for Griswold Plaza? Does the idea of living, working, and playing all in the same area appeal to you? What would it take to convince you, as a recent college graduate or young professional, to take up residence in downtown Erie? Do you have any concerns that might hold you back from living in downtown?

Bringing a consistent core group of people to the downtown is obviously one of the keys to a vibrant downtown. Feel free to weigh in on any of these issues and leave your ideas. Even if you no longer qualify as a “young adult,” please weigh in too with ideas and concerns.

The Erie SeaWolves kicked off their regular season on Friday, albeit a day late due to rain, with a 8-3 win over the Bowie Baysox. The Wolves sure didn’t make it easy on themselves by surrendering a three-run lead and waiting until the top of the 11th inning for a five run outburst to clinch the win.

The Wolves play a pair of road series before heading back to the Gem City for the home opener on Thursday, April 10. The 2008 campaign marks the 10th season of Class AA baseball in Erie.

The Howlers affiliated with the Anaheim Angels from 1999-2000 before signing the current player-development contract with the Detroit Tigers in 2001.

The move up in classification from short-season A ball to AA has bestowed many benefits on Erie sports fans. One example is the fact that the Angels and Tigers both played exhibition games in Erie. Anyone who attended the Angels exhibition will have a hard time forgetting the display that Anaheim third-baseman Troy Glaus put on during home-run derby when he ripped a couple of dozen home run balls off of the Tullio Arena. Three years later, Glaus was named the MVP of the 2002 World Series.

In over seven years of affiliation with the Tigers, the Wolves have fielded three playoff teams and dozens of future major league players. The 2006 American League Rookie of the Year, Justin Verlander, was a 2005 Erie Seawolf. Just a prediction here, but look for JV to win the Cy Young Award for best pitcher in the AL this season.

The Eastern League as a whole is known for fielding the best crop of young prospects in baseball year in and year out. Any fellow Indians fans out there catch the Akron Aeros at the Uht last summer? If you did, you had the opportunity to see Asdrubal Cabrera flash his skills less than a month before he was called up to Cleveland. Without Drubie in the lineup, the Indians would have never made the playoffs last year.

The SeaWolves are one of the things that makes living in the Erie area special, just like Presque Isle or the Brig Niagara. AA baseball raises the profile of Erie in the eyes of outsiders, making Erie seem more of a big-time place.

Many cities would love to host a AA baseball team. Take Grand Rapids, Michigan for instance. The city is nearly double the size of Erie, yet their minor league team, the West Michigan Whitecaps, plays in the low-class A Midwest League. The lower affiliation inherently brings a lower caliber of play and most of those players will never sip their cup of major league coffee.

On a recent trip to Grand Rapids, I made sure to check out the Whitecaps’ home, Fifth Third Field, and found the stadium to be astonishingly nice. The grandstand is nearly the same size as the Uht’s, but what really sets Fifth Third apart from many minor league parks are the picnic areas around the stadium.

I counted at least ten different picnic decks, including an all wooden outdoor patio and an indoor restaurant overlooking the outfield. That park was built for AA baseball and you can bet the people of Grand Rapids would jump at the opportunity to move up in levels.

Having the opportunity to watch the top young baseball players in the world in a fun but relaxing atmosphere is a great way to spend a summer’s night in Erie. In the past decade or so, the Wolves have become an institution in the Erie community and a rebuttal to the claim “There’s NOTHING to do in Erie.”

Even if you aren’t a baseball fan, isn’t spending a warm evening at Jerry Uht Park much better than sitting in your basement and watching re-runs of Wheel of Fortune all summer?

Go Wolves!

When I wrote my first post for globalerie a few months ago, I stated that I wanted to create a discussion on what to do to make a Erie a better place for college students and young adults. I have been sidetracked from that focus so far, but I now want to start that discussion in earnest.

I plan to share a few of my personal experiences and ideas that I took from my four years at Gannon University. I would also like to get input from current college students who are interested in Erie’s future. What do you like and do not like about Erie? (As tempting as it is to say change the cold weather, I think we know that isn’t going to happen … unless we keep burning those fossil fuels.)

How has your experience been in Erie? Is it a liveable place in which you feel safe? How have you been treated by Erie residents? And most importantly: what would it take to make you stay in Erie after you graduate? What types of jobs are you looking for?

I also would like to see recent and even not-so recent graduates to weigh in. Why did you stay in Erie or why did you leave? What was the job search like right after graduation?

These are just some general questions to ponder right now; I’ll be throwing more questions out there as we go along.

I will also be talking to friends and classmates about their experiences and sharing a snippet of their profiles. They just don’t know it yet. If you would like to share your stories in a feature on 4280, please email me and let me know.

Look for various other Erie topics as they come up, as well as some Erie history stories. I minored in History at Gannon, and yes, I am a history nerd.

Please keep on reading and sharing your ideas so that we can make Erie a livable place for young adults.