With all the recent shootings in recent years/months/weeks/days, you would hope that people would be more mature about what they post on message boards. Apparently, not everyone has gotten the message, as 21-year-old LMU student Carlos Huerta was arrested for posting an anonymous message on a website threatening to shoot up the campus the next morning.
Huerta made the comment on the anonymous campus gossip site, juicygossip.com.
Police apparently thought the threat was legitimate enough to take action, and I certainly do not blame them. Though it still is too early to know if the post was in jest or not, it certainly was not funny if it was and things like that have to be taken seriously in today's world.
Anonymous gossip blogs seem to be springing up everywhere these days, and provide a scary outlet for people with vandettas or people who have no sense of humor to do things like Mr. Huerta did yesterday.
With the shootings in Omaha last week and the Virginia Tech massace last April, this is an extremely sensitive topic and not one that people are going to be quick to forgive. It will be interesting to see how LMU responds, especially since they are a private school and have the more freedom in terms of punishment whether it be suspension or expulsion.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Coliseum Commission - Incompetent
It's rivalry week here in Los Angeles. Earlier today, the USC Trojans battled the UCLA Bruins in the annual Battle for the Victory Bell, with USC coming out ahead for the eighth time in nine years. This week is special for Los Angeles and unique among all cities in the country. In a city without any professional football, all eyes are on the two teams. There are many other rivalries in the country which may get more hype, but NOWHERE else are the rivals located in the SAME CITY, with most rivalries existing in two entirely different states!
That being said, what should have been a week dedicated to the two teams turned ugly when USC announced they have begun negotiations with the Rose Bowl to play next season at the venue, leaving the L.A. Memorial Coliseum after 80+ years.
As I aluded to earlier here, the Coliseum is run by an incompetent group of members who are notoriously the most difficult group to deal with in politics. It is consisted of a nine person committee, with three members representing the city, three representing the county, and three representing the state. That, coupled along with the Coliseum's stature as a historical monument, make dealings with the venue extremely troublesome.
Fellow blogger Nate at The Stuge already wrote a great piece on this story, but I thought I had to express my thoughts as well. Seeing how frustrated I already was with the Commission with my earlier post, I was not surprised in the least when this news came out.
Fortunately, USC is combating the Coliseum extremely effectively. Once the story broke that they were negotiating with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, USC sent out a huge press release to get the public on their side. They presented all the relevant information in simple and reasonable language (as can be seen here on their website). USC proposal included a $100 million pledge for rennovations with the terms being they be made the master tenant with control over any potential naming rights and power over individual events.
This, of course, would pretty much make the Commission irrelavent, which is something I am very much in favor of.
It also would shut the door on any plans for the NFL to play at the Coliseum, which I also am in favor of - and so is the NFL. The Commission is holding onto some ridiculous notion that the NFL may one day return there and would be willing to put in up to $800 million worth of renovations, which the NFL has flatly said will never happen anyway.
Thankfully, the Mayor (finally doing something I agree with) and the Governor have already pledged to do all they can to keep USC in the Coliseum and prevent them from fleeing to Pasadena. All parties involved say they want to continue the relationship, but are very far apart on the terms. USC plays an amazing home schedule next year, including visits from Ohio State and Notre Dame among others, and on a selfish note it would be a shame to not be able to see the games in LA where they belong. The Rose Bowl, while a beautiful venue and setting, is an absolute terror to go to. Parking is non-existant, traffic is beyond horrific, and sightlines in the stadium are abysmal. The Rose Bowl is perfect for hosting the ROSE BOWL GAME - but not the regular season.
That being said, what should have been a week dedicated to the two teams turned ugly when USC announced they have begun negotiations with the Rose Bowl to play next season at the venue, leaving the L.A. Memorial Coliseum after 80+ years.
As I aluded to earlier here, the Coliseum is run by an incompetent group of members who are notoriously the most difficult group to deal with in politics. It is consisted of a nine person committee, with three members representing the city, three representing the county, and three representing the state. That, coupled along with the Coliseum's stature as a historical monument, make dealings with the venue extremely troublesome.
Fellow blogger Nate at The Stuge already wrote a great piece on this story, but I thought I had to express my thoughts as well. Seeing how frustrated I already was with the Commission with my earlier post, I was not surprised in the least when this news came out.
Fortunately, USC is combating the Coliseum extremely effectively. Once the story broke that they were negotiating with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, USC sent out a huge press release to get the public on their side. They presented all the relevant information in simple and reasonable language (as can be seen here on their website). USC proposal included a $100 million pledge for rennovations with the terms being they be made the master tenant with control over any potential naming rights and power over individual events.
This, of course, would pretty much make the Commission irrelavent, which is something I am very much in favor of.
It also would shut the door on any plans for the NFL to play at the Coliseum, which I also am in favor of - and so is the NFL. The Commission is holding onto some ridiculous notion that the NFL may one day return there and would be willing to put in up to $800 million worth of renovations, which the NFL has flatly said will never happen anyway.
Thankfully, the Mayor (finally doing something I agree with) and the Governor have already pledged to do all they can to keep USC in the Coliseum and prevent them from fleeing to Pasadena. All parties involved say they want to continue the relationship, but are very far apart on the terms. USC plays an amazing home schedule next year, including visits from Ohio State and Notre Dame among others, and on a selfish note it would be a shame to not be able to see the games in LA where they belong. The Rose Bowl, while a beautiful venue and setting, is an absolute terror to go to. Parking is non-existant, traffic is beyond horrific, and sightlines in the stadium are abysmal. The Rose Bowl is perfect for hosting the ROSE BOWL GAME - but not the regular season.
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