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A few changes to The Batavian this afternoon.

The most visible is the "Submit News" button on the upper right of the home page.

While posting to a blog or leaving a comment requires site registration, we recognize that not everybody who might have news to share wants to register with the web site.  This form is a way for you to submit news either as a non-registered user, or when you don't want it to be part of your blog.

News can be anything from a crime you witnessed in your neighborhood to a civic group event announcement.

The "Submit News" also gives you the ability to send in anonymous news tips, if you need to remain anonymous for any reason.

Keep in mind, that if you submit anonymous news, we won't just publish it without verification, and if we can't contact you (leaving off contact information is an option), it may be harder to verify the tip.

The other important change can be found at the bottom of the web site, in what we call the "footer," where we added links to our Creative Commons license, our privacy policy and our terms of service (which include the rules we ask all users to follow when participating in The Batavian).

There are lots more changes coming to The Batavian over the next months, even of the next years.  A good web site is never a finished web site.

GenFireWire.com has a collection of 30 photos from Monday's apartment fire in Byron that claimed four lives.

The photos show both the devestation of the apartment building as well as the efforts of area firefighters to battle the blaze.

What is a blog?  The short and sweet answer is it's nothing more than a piece of personal publishing software.

Another short answer from a different point of view is a blog enables a means of self-expression.

What it is mainly is a way for anybody -- from the professional to the person who just has something to say -- to communicate in a real, personal voice.

Blogging refers both to the technology that makes personal online publishing easy and to an attitude about media.

At The Batavian, we blog.

To some traditionalist, the idea of mixing journalism and blogging is something like mixing holy water and gin.

We ask, why?

Up until the second half of the 20th Century, when journalism finished its full transformation from a trade to a profession, the craft and art of media revolved a lot around personal expression.  Writers could write, and readers generally knew the bias and predilection of either the reporter or the publication where the news appeared.

Blogging allows media to get back to its more uninhibited roots.

Why should you blog? Because blogging give you a chance to add your voice to the media mix.  You know stuff. You have opinions.  When you come into possession of new information, you have just as much right to share it with the public as any journalism-school graduate.

It doesn't matter if you won a seat on the City Council, drive a snow plow, operate your own store, sell insurance, arrest thugs or push paper -- it's highly likely you know things or can share things that others will find useful or interesting.

That's what blogging is all about -- allowing for a form egalitarian communication.

At The Batavian, we make it easy for you to blog. 

First, sign up for an account -- more than 100 people already have.

Second, look for the link on the left rail of the site that says, "Create Content."

Third, click on the "Blog Entry" link of the "Create Content" page.

Fourth, write a title, add some tags (I usually do this after I write my post) and then go to the big text box a little lower on the page and start writing.

Fifth, after you've said all you save to say, click publish.

Once you've written your post, a member of The Batavian staff will see it the next time we log onto the site (contrary to rumor, we do eat and sleep sometimes, so we may not see your post right away), and if we find it of sufficient public interest, we'll "promote" it to the home page.

What should you write about?

Well, you can use your blog on The Batavian for purely personal expression -- stuff about your family, pets, garden, dating life, etc.

Or you can write about issues of current interest, either in Batavia or abroad.

You can also use blog posts to promote things your civic group is doing. 

You can also share other bits of news you happen to learn and believe to be true.

We don't have too many restrictions on what you write about.  We do ask that you avoid being nasty and mean, using foul language and engaging in unfair attacks on other people, either by name or as a group (such as racist rants).  In a few days, we'll publish more on our "official" rules.

BTW:  If blogging for The Batavian isn't your style, go to wordpress.com and start a blog.  If you do, let us know about it, we'll follow it (and when we add a blog roll, we'll link to it), and when you write something we find interesting, we will link to that blog post.  And we hope you'll do the same for us.

So, what are you waiting for? Start blogging.  It's fun, easy and can help make Batavia a better place to live and work.

UPDATE: BTW, for those who don't know ... Blog is short for "web log."  A log being a form of personal journal, or a place to record things.  Some of the first blogs (going back to 1999) were just a collection of favorite links with maybe a comment or two.  Of course, blogs have become much more than that, but link blogging is still popular.

Previous Related Posts:

• Now you can blog on The Batavian
• All about me getting to know you
• Welcome to The Batavian
• Community news encourages civic engagement
• Exploring the complexity of community issues as a community
  

Every once in a while, some person or other stops in at Main Street Coffee asking for me and/or Philip.

We're here today.  Well, I am now.  Philip will be here later. 

I'll be here until heading out for lunch at an undetermined time, and back by 2 or 3 (depending on when I leave for lunch) and here until 5 or 5:30.

Stop by and say hello and I'll buy the coffee.

Here's an interesting video that appeared on YouTube overnight -- of a train pulling out of a roundhouse in Batavia.

The description of the video reads:

S6 1044 emerges from the DLWR Enginehouse in Batavia. The five-stall roundhouse was closed up at or around 1956, when the New York Central moved their mainline south of the city; track was relaid into the building during the past winter (2007) by the hard-working GVT track department. So like the title says, it's no fire, it's just an ALCO.

A local church has also uploaded a "pastor appreciation" video.

Lt. Eugene Jankowski, acting police chief in Batavia, told The Batavian this afternoon that he believes he is no longer a candidate for the vacant police chief's job.

"They've conducted the final four interviews without me," Jankowski said.  "I'd say I'm pretty much out of the running."

Jankowski said when he was told he didn't make the final four, he filed a written appeal, but since he hasn't been interviewed, he believes that appeal was rejected.

"It’s not over yet. Anything is possible. I’ll be in my position for several more weeks yet. I’m going to stay on and continue to work as I have been."

It's possible, he said, that none of the four remaining candidates will receive nor accept an offer, in which case he might still have a shot.

But it doesn't sound like he's holding his breath. 

He said he's sad that he didn't get the job, but he's proud of his 30 years of service to the city and vows to support whomever gets the job.

"I'm still very passionate about my profession, enjoy my job, enjoy helping people and plan to stay on for five or six more years, as long as I’m able, as long as I’m in good health I’d like to stay," Jankowski said.

With the possibility of wind power coming to Genesee County, the Buffalo News account of a new wind farm in Bliss is timely.

Stanley Marsh didn’t answer immediately when asked whether the wind turbine in his backyard was noisy.

“You hear anything?” he asked. Birds chirped and an electrical buzz was coming from a streetlight that wouldn’t shut off, but noise from the turbine, perhaps 1,000 feet away, was undetectable.

The region’s newest wind farm, a collection of 67 turbines perched atop 265-foot-tall towers, officially opened Sunday. More are on the way.

The most entertaining complaint about the turbines -- shadows.

Since the beginning of April, when most of the turbines in Bliss began operation, a handful of complaints have been voiced, according to Eagle Town Supervisor Joseph Kushner.

“We’ve had three or four complaints about noise,” he said. “We had one person complain of shadows.”

That person, Town Board Member Jim Barber, said he saw shadows from the turbines for 20 to 25 minutes early in the morning when the blades first started turning, but that he hasn’t seen any for the past three or four days.

It’s a minor annoyance, he said, adding that Noble Environmental Group has promised to look into possible remedies.

How the hell are shadow's a problem?

As we've noted before, there is some opposition to a wind farm in Perry, but we're still not clear why.

Does Alex's Place have the best ribs?

That's what blogger Josh Hatcher says:

I had the Half Rack Lunch Special - Garlic Ribs with BBQ on the side, coleslaw, fries, and a bowl of Cheesy Pepperoni Soup.

These were by far, the best ribs I've ever tasted in my life, and perhaps the best restaurant I've ever been to in my life.

The establishment looks like an old speak-easy, and it was a little darker inside than I prefer, but again, the food was ABSOLUTELY amazing, and if any of you are in the neighborhood, I highly recommend getting ya' some ribs!

Batavia has an amazing number of good restaurants. I'm on a mission to try them all.  I haven't been to Alex's yet.  I guess it needs to move up on my priority list.

As a Cold War veteran myself, the County's Legislature's proposal to cut property taxes by 10 percent for those who served in the military from 1945 to 1991 is applause worthy.

If approved, the tax break would be effective March 1, 2009, for county tax bills. The property must be a private residence of the veteran or the unmarried spouse of a deceased veteran.

Those who served in the three wars during that period — Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm — are currently eligible for property tax exemptions.

Applications are processed by the county’s Veteran Service Office.

For the Cold War veterans the percentage would apply to residential property values up to $60,000. Those with homes assessed at more would get the same exemption but only to a cap level of $60,000.

I served in the USAF from 1980 to 1994, and I always felt like I did my part to protect the country from the Red Menace, so it's nice to see the Cold War veterans of Genesee get some recognition.

As astonishingly high as taxes are in New York, you would think attending a community college would be free -- as it was in California for many decades, until Prop. 13 (a cap on property taxes passed in 1978) eroded state revenue.

Nope.

In fact, Genesee students will get to pay another $50 per-semester, making total semester costs $1,700.

Ouch.

The increase, part of a $30.8 million GCC budget for 2008-09, was adopted during the monthly meeting of the board of trustees Monday.

The budget proposes a $50,000 increase in support from Genesee County, sponsor of the college. Last year, the college was granted a $100,000 increase from county funds, raising taxpayers’ support to $1.8 million, about 6 percent of the total college budget. Officials have maintained that the county’s share is the second lowest among county-sponsored two-year colleges in the state.

The increase must yet be approved by the County Legislature.  The rubber stamps are probably already inked.

Area author Bill Kauffman gets a favorable review of his new book, Look Homeward, America, in Reason Magazine.

Writer John McClaughry compares him to East Aurora's writer, thinker and quote machine, Elbert Hubbard.

In many respects—not including the creation of a 300-employee publishing house—Bill Kauffman of tiny Elba, New York, has become today’s Elbert Hubbard. But unlike Hubbard, whose essays glorified the lives and works of famous people, Kauffman’s literary journey seeks out “the America of holy fools and backyard radicals, the America whose eccentric voice is seldom heard anymore…the [voice of] third parties, of Greenbackers and Libertarians and village atheists and the ‘conservative Christian anarchist’ party whose founder and only member was Henry Adams.”

Kauffman’s earlier books mined interesting veins of localism and hostility to modernity. America First! celebrated America’s forgotten isolationist activists, from Hamlin Garland to Alice Roosevelt, plus other assorted individualists, including Edward Abbey, Gore Vidal, Sinclair Lewis, and this writer, included because he considered me, not altogether inaccurately, the last lonely true-believing Jeffersonian. His Dispatches From the Muckdog Gazette celebrated the lives of the common people of Kauffman’s Genesee County, home of the minor league Batavia Muckdogs baseball team.

Batavia's public schools are helping to drive local economic growth, according to observations by Ann Flynn, director of education technology programs for the National School Board Association.

Flynn was recently in Batavia and made these observations:

In driving around the community, I noticed that new commercial development was underway and after meeting the students, teachers, district staff, and board members, it was clear how the quality of the district's schools must surely contribute to that growth. Sixty-seven educators from 10 states joined me last week to gain a deeper understanding about how Batavia developed its vision and found the funding to create student-centered classrooms. A great example was seen during the visit to a middle school social studies class that had students working in three areas of the room: one group completing work sheets by listening to pre-assigned segments of campaign speeches on iPods; another group using an interactive white board with the instructor; and the remaining students working in pairs on a WebQuest with computers located in the rear of the room.

Throughout the visit, we saw excited, engaged students focused on their assigned tasks that encouraged them to think rather than simply recite facts. Although many factors impact an area's economic well being, the visit to Batavia, reminded me how critical it is for school board members to understand the role public schools play in a community's long-term economic health. It is evident that the city of Batavia is now reaping the benefits from years of thoughtful planning by school leaders.

One of the things that excited us about launching The Batavian in Batavia is the strong sense of economic vitality.  If the schools are helping to drive that, all the better for the community's long-term economic health. 

We certainly believe in education.  Education not only helps create entrepreneurs and a talented work force, but it also leads to a better engaged citizenry.  These are the things that make a community strong.

I've only read a few open record laws in my journalism career, so I can't say the state of New York has the prettiest Freedom of Information preamble, but it is a nice, inspiring bit of prose:

§84. Legislative declaration. The legislature hereby finds that a free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The more open a government is with its citizenry, the greater the understanding and participation of the public in government.

As state and local government services increase and public problems become more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and with the resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it is incumbent upon the state and its localities to extend public accountability wherever and whenever feasible.

The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality. The legislature therefore declares that government is the public's business and that the public, individually and collectively and represented by a free press, should have access to the records of government in accordance with the provisions of this article.

That phrase on public problems becoming more sophisticated and complex reminds me of the post I did Saturday about the importance of freely sharing information, discussing issues and exploring different perspectives -- a key mission of The Batavian.

In order to give Batavia the kind of online forum it deserves to discuss and explore all issues, we certainly intend to seek out, retrieve and examine public records -- not in the "gotcha" spirit of much of traditional media, but in a spirit of openness, frankness and with a goal toward creating a better Batavia.

The Genesee County Animal Shelter has posted another video to YouTube advertising its cats available for adoption.

Here's the shelter's web site.

Walter Lippmann (1889 to 1974) did damage to American journalism, and possibly to American democracy.

Why does that matter to Batavia? Because one of the philosophies behind The Batavian is to get as far away as possible from Lippmann's brand of journalism.

Lippmann was an influential thinker and writer in the early part of the 20th Century.  He wrote a number of books on the press, politics, society and government.

Lippman was an elitist. He believed that the modern world was too complex for the average citizen to grasp, and that Joe Public probably didn't care anyway. Modern democracy worked best, he argued, if the governing class was comprised of experts and professionals who set the policy and then manufactured public consent. The role of the press in this model was to merely transmit the decisions and actions of the elites  in simple terms, with little questioning or interpretation, aiming to maximize emotional impact.

Eric Alterman put it this way in a recent piece in Atlantic magazine:

Journalism works well, Lippmann wrote, when “it can report the score of a game or a transatlantic flight, or the death of a monarch.” But where the situation is more complicated, “as for example, in the matter of the success of a policy, or the social conditions among a foreign people—that is to say, where the real answer is neither yes or no, but subtle, and a matter of balanced evidence,” journalism “causes no end of derangement, misunderstanding, and even misrepresentation.”

Lippmann likened the average American—or “outsider,” as he tellingly named him—to a “deaf spectator in the back row” at a sporting event: “He does not know what is happening, why it is happening, what ought to happen,” and “he lives in a world which he cannot see, does not understand and is unable to direct.” In a description that may strike a familiar chord with anyone who watches cable news or listens to talk radio today, Lippmann assumed a public that “is slow to be aroused and quickly diverted . . . and is interested only when events have been melodramatized as a conflict.” A committed élitist, Lippmann did not see why anyone should find these conclusions shocking. Average citizens are hardly expected to master particle physics or post-structuralism. Why should we expect them to understand the politics of Congress, much less that of the Middle East?

While the whole of modern American journalism is not all Lippmann, it is too often beset by Lippmann's approach -- the tendency to take what governing officials tell us at face value; the tendency to sensational complex and weighty issues; the tendency to avoid reporting issues in their complexity and nuance.

How is that approach good for democracy?

One of Lippmann's contemporaries was John Dewey (1859 to 1952).  In The Public and its Problems, Dewey argued against Lippmann's approach to journalism and democracy.  Dewey believed that on the whole, the public could grasp complex issues, discuss them, grapple with them and achieve balanced solutions.

Dewey correctly recognized that facts only have meaning within perception, and perception is always subjective. 

While this was a problem for Lippmann, and why reporters should strive to be scientifically objective, Dewey embraced the notion that a conversation around differing perceptions could actually enhance decision-making.

Wikipedia puts it this way:

Dewey also revisioned journalism to fit this model by taking the focus from actions or happenings and changing the structure to focus on choices, consequences, and conditions, in order to foster conversation and improve the generation of knowledge in the community. Journalism would not just produce a static product that told of what had already happened, but the news would be in a constant state of evolution as the community added value by generating knowledge. The audience would disappear, to be replaced by citizens and collaborators who would essentially be users, doing more with the news than simply reading it.

The Web actually makes Dewey's conversational form of journalism much easier. Digital communication allows all members of the public -- the press, the politicians, the government agents and the citizens -- to discuss choices, consequences and conditions as equals.  Reporters need no longer be bound by the limitations of print and present just the so-called objective report, but rather explore, examine, raise and answer questions, and start conversations.

We saw an example of this style of journalism played out last week in The Batavian.  Editor Philip Anselmo interviewed Councilman Bob Bialkowski.  Mr. Bialkowski said that one of the problems facing Batavia is declining neighborhoods.

He says that "entire neighborhoods are a problem — trash all over, abandoned cars in the back yard." Head over to the southside of the city, to Jackson Street, over near Watson and Thorpe streets, State Street, and you'll see what he's talking about.

So, Philip took his advice, drove around those neighborhoods and didn't find a lot of evidence of decline.  Philip, who is well traveled and has covered such small cities as Canandaigua, where there are some pretty sub par neighborhoods, did a follow up post saying he couldn't find the decline.

This prompted a rejoinder post from Council President Charlie Mallow, who wrote:

There have been a few postings about the state of our neighborhoods and people’s opinions of the rate of decline. From someone new to the area or familiar with big city living, some missing paint and a little litter are not anything to be concerned about. People in big cities have had to live with falling property values, absentee landlords and drug activity for years. The obvious question is, why wouldn’t the people of Batavia point to the precursors of decline and pull together to keep the quality of life we have always enjoyed?

Notice a trend here? Same set of facts, different perceptions.  And if you follow the conversation in the comments as well as the related blog posts, a clearer picture emerges of the goals and aspiration of the City Council to clean up the city before things get too far gone.

Traditional, print journalism could never achieve this depth of coverage of a single issue.

By offering a method and manner to discuss choices, consequences and conditions in Batavia, The Batavian hopes to help make Batavia a stronger community.

As the site grows, as more people sign on and get involved, the more meaningful the conversations will become, the more benefitial to all of Batavia.

We hope you will participate often yourself, tell your friends and neighbors about The Batavian and help us reach our goal of enabling a better-informed, more involved community.

Previous Related Posts:

• Now you can blog on The Batavian
• All about me getting to know you
• Welcome to The Batavian
• Community news encourages civic engagement

It looks like the local Jaycees swept up quite a few awards on Saturday, according to Scott's JCI Blog.

Scott Kinglsey of Saratoga Springs doesn't give any details on the awards banquet, but he runs down a complete list of honorees.

For Batavia, this included:

• Jaycee Debate Batavia Area Jaycees (Pam Warren, Amy Robinson, Catherine Colby)
• Master's Speak Up, Mel Robinson - President Batavia Area Jaycees
• Stan Malkinsk Memorial Speak Up, Amy Robinson - Batavia Area Jaycees
• Outstanding Local President, Mel Robinson - Batavia Area Jaycees
• Outstanding Local Publication, The IMPACT - Batavia Area Jaycees
• Outstanding Local Project, 55th Annual Home, Garden, and Trade Show - Batavia Area Jaycees
• Blue Chip Parade of Chapters: Batavia Area Jaycees (tie)
  JCI Saratoga Springs (tie)
• Outstanding Local Organization, Batavia Area Jaycees - led by President Mel Robinson

Congratulations to all the winners.  It sounds like Batavia is fortunate to have a strong Jaycee chapter.

Batavia-based Brothers International Food Corp. has hit the national wires today because of a new potato chip that is supposedly tasty, addictive and fat-free.

The chips are made by peeling, slicing and cooking the potatoes, then freezedrying them.

The latter half of the process removes the moisture from the potato, leaving it crispy, light and satisfying.

More information available on BrothersAllNatural.com.

It sounds like a taste-test is in order.

Genesee Community College is hosting a conference on instructional technology.

“It is with great pleasure that Genesee welcomes CIT 2008 attendees,” said Dr. Stuart Steiner, President of Genesee Community College. “We are honored to be the first community college ever to host this event and are looking forward to the wealth of ideas and information that are sure to come out of the experience.”

Notre Dame High School holds its annual 500 Club Dinner and Roast on May 29 at the Holiday in.  More information on this PDF.

From the City Schools Web site:

Coffee With The New Principal @BHS
Saturday, May 10th @ 9:00 a.m. - Cafeteria Stop by to Meet & Chat with our new high school principal, Mr. Christopher Dailey. All parents are welcome and there is no special agenda.

While looking for school news, this picture of the 1925-26 Batavia High School basketball team popped up in Google search.

This morning, breakfast at the Pok-A-Dot.

True greasy spoons are treasured finds these days. The Pok-A-Dot is a classic.

From the moment I walked in, I could see the crowded counter was full of local residents who probably had been coming there for years.

As I saddled up on an empty stool, I quickly observed -- no printed menus. Speedy decision, go for the safe, sure-to-serve choice to save fumbling over options and giving myself away as a first-timer (as if that wasn't obvious from the get-go), so I went for coffee, eggs, sausage, hash browns and toast.

A word about the coffee: It will wake you up in the early morning. 

The young ladies cooking and serving the food were friendly and knew everybody in the joint but me. The conversation was personal and never touched on anything more weighty than whether to pick the chocolate or glazed donut. It made for a relaxing meal.

As I've written before, Batavia benefits from an abundance of dining establishments.  My goal: To try them all.  Any suggestions for lunch today?

Meanwhile, Philip and I will be spending the better part of today hanging out at Main Street Coffee (our permanent office is near ready).  If you stop by, please be sure to say hello, and the coffee will be on us.

UPDATE: Using Google Image search to see if there were any pictures of the Pok-A-Dot floating around on the Web, I found "The Cyber Pok-A-Dot," a large collection of photos of Pok-A-Dot customers.  Very cool.