Saturday around the blogs, and how you can help

On behalf of the In The Yo management, I want to say that while we have been going gangbusters on our individual blogs, this aggregate blog, despite our best intentions, has suffered from neglect over the past couple of months. If you can volunteer to sponsor a day of the week, please let us know; we may be able to use your help.

As you can tell from reading past posts, the format is one of basically three options: (a) significant bits of news, (b) best of the blogs or (c) a bit o' both. Original content, of course, is also welcomed. It only takes maybe 15-30 minutes to put up a post, which is why we aren't offering any lame excuses for the crickets you hear chirping around here.

One post of significant interest to Valley residents young and old comes from MVHS, about the famed Idora Park carousel:

In 1984 Jane Walentas purchased the 1922 Idora Park Carousel at an auction. She has spent the past 22 years painstakingly restoring this beautiful ornament to its original beauty. The carousel resides in Brooklyn, New York and Ms. Walentas is looking forward to the day when a Carousel Pavilion will be in the Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the Idora Park Carousel will have a permanent home.

A bus trip is being organized to see (and ride) the Carousel

Check out the post for more details, and be sure to report back if you take the trip!

Steel Valley Outdoors speculates on how the Vindicator comes up with story ideas and provides a poll to verify its hypothesis:

This is one of those stories that was assigned before any research was done. The poor reporter was told to go out and find out how gas was “forcing” people to cut back.

Well, they were. If they’re boaters or drag racers. D’uh. But most outdoor sports don’t take that much gas. Especially if you stay in your own back yard.

Meanwhile, Cleveburgh Disapora visited Youngstown recently and came away very impressed and waxing about liminal spaces:

I would characterize Rust Belt urban liminal space as the landscape beyond the purview of the inert politics crippling the economic development of the mega-region. This is where we Rust Belt Bloggers can have the greatest impact in terms of improving our cities. One of my goals for the trip back to Cleveburgh was to explore the in-between neighborhoods and business districts, what I believe to be a geography of innovation.

On that count, Youngstown delivers and exceeded my own expectations.

A follow-up post builds on the enthusiasm:

I want to proclaim Y-Town as the official cultural capital of Rust Belt Chic. The model I have in mind is the migration of Slackers to Austin with Dallas-Ft. Worth being the actual global economic engine and ascendant world city. Youngstown and Pittsburgh have that kind of potential.

The way the rest of country knows so little about Pittsburgh, the entire Rust Belt lacks an appreciation of Youngstown. After touring Youngstown, I'm anxious to visit other Rust Belt cities and see the hidden gems residing there. Cincinnati tops my list. But in my mind, the "Y" in Generation Y stands for Youngstown.

This excitement stems from a recent blogger summit in Buffalo and the Youngstown hospitality and tour-guide prowess of Shout Youngstown's Janko. More coverage of the summit from Pittsburgh City Paper.

Good Humor, in multiple senses

Shout Youngstown highlights a hopeful bit of news today:

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society (MVHS) will be expanding its operations to create a new History Center downtown. The 132 year old organization recently purchased the 22,000 sq. ft. Burt Building (continuously occupied since 1935 by Ross Radio) for renovation. It was at this location that Harry Burt first produced his patented invention in the early 1920s: the “Good Humor” ice cream bar on a stick, now famous all over the world.

The History Center will include:
- permanent space for exhibits and education
- climate controlled storage and conservation facilites
- exhibition space for traveling history shows
- downtown space for community activites and group events

And if you missed out on the good humor of April 1, The Vindicator compiled a round up of some April Foolery:

John Conti, a Boardman Rotary member, said fellow members used the jokester’s day to have fun with Lou Young, a longtime club member who has since died. Young was known for his perfect Rotary attendance.

One year at the annual Maple Syrup and Pancake Festival, practical jokers including Conti placed a piece of cardboard in between cakes in Young’s pancake stack.

“He was trying to cut and trying to cut through his pancakes, and he couldn’t get through,” he said.

I think the pancake joke is alright, but the stolen car jokes seem a bit too far for me. In fact, I thought the Vindicator came up a bit short in their search for April Fool's jokes. Anybody want to top them? Post yours in the comments here. If you missed the Pavlik joke, check it here.

If you missed your New Year's resolutions, well, spring's here, so you've got another excuse to start anew, and Jaci Clark's posted a thought on how you can think positive in your personal finances.

Finally, if you're not listening to Lincoln Avenue Wednesday nights on WYSU, you're missing out on some of the most thought-provoking talk in the valley. You can catch it on podcast if you miss it live at 7:30pm. This week's topic is building global solidarity:

This week’s Lincoln Avenue interview might be a bit tough for listeners in the Mahoning Valley, because it focuses on the problems faced by Chinese workers – the very people who are doing some jobs that used to be done here. So the first thing I asked my guest, Katie Quan, is why Americans should care about the situation of Chinese workers.

The answer isn’t revolutionary, but it does matter: it’s not just about human rights but of fair economic competition and the broader interests of workers around the world. Chinese labor is cheap because it’s so exploitative. Workers are regularly not paid; have almost no rights to object to their hours (she describes how some people work 17 hours days, 7 days a week), working conditions, or treatment; and don’t have the knowledge or skills to organize to stand up for themselves. Quan argues that the American labor movement can help Chinese workers fight for better conditions and better pay, largely through outreach that brings workers together across global divides.