IntenseDebate - adambelz

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Letter sent to Prairie... · 9 replies · -3 points

I have to say I agree with hawk159. The school district is trying to figure out what happened, and to level a groundless accusation that the principal is trying to cover something up is not a responsible, constructive use of the Internet. However, the school district's commitment to student privacy will have little impact on the flow of information about this case. Police are also investigating what happened, and what they discover will be made public.

Adam Belz
The Gazette

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Linn County auditor su... · 0 replies · +2 points

All right guys, no problem.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Linn County auditor su... · 3 replies · +1 points

Caveman, I'm grateful for the insight you provide in your comments, but don't you think it would be appropriate for you to identify yourself? It would give people a better idea of where you're coming from, and I don't see how it would hurt anything.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Want First Avenue expa... · 0 replies · +1 points

Yeah, gotta get 'em in here somehow. Guess it didn't work too well. :)

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - A Connecticut model fo... · 0 replies · +1 points

Good point, Elias. It is a wealthy community.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Longtime First Avenue ... · 2 replies · +2 points

Have you ever been to Brewed Awakenings, Mr. Commonsenseguy? A cup of coffee costs $1.55, and it's good coffee. They also serve an excellent lunch that runs about $6. Sure, many people in Cedar Rapids would rather go through the drive thru at Arby's and buy a gallon of Pepsi and bucket of curly fries. That's free enterprise. But calling out Brewed for pushing $5 cups of "flavored coffee" doesn't quite cut it.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Looking ahead: What ki... · 0 replies · +1 points

One more link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/nyregion/nyregi...

I just got off the phone with Bob Pasicznyuk, and he mentioned the Darien, CT, library. It sounds like this library, described pretty well in the above 2007 news story, is a good forecast of what the Cedar Rapids library will be like.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Looking ahead: What ki... · 0 replies · +1 points

Thanks jschnip. I'm working on trying to figure out what the 21st century library does look like. Some people argue that librarians, or information guides, are more necessary now than ever: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php...

Some argue that the shift from old-fashioned research library to information/entertainment center is a bad thing: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704...

Your point about how fast technology is changing today is a good one. How many of us got e-mail on handheld devices five years ago? Now it seems like everyone does. iPods almost seem old-fashioned, and who wants to spend time buying and storing DVDs.

I wonder what you and others think about the question of literacy, and how important it is to sit down with a book (electronic or physical) now and then, and grapple with the contents. Dana Gioia, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, wrote and said a few years ago that everyone should worry that the specific intellectual skill of advanced reading is declining. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinio...

I wonder sometimes if the people who argue we don't need a library full of books aren't sometimes the same people who never read books in any form, and who don't understand how important it is for our society that people be able to read and understand complicated texts. It's just one piece of the discussion, I realize, but worth mentioning.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Library director expla... · 0 replies · 0 points

Yeah, Pasicznyuk's case -- considering the FEMA mandatory relocation -- is difficult to refute.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Analysis: TrueNorth li... · 0 replies · +1 points

What you say has merit, 23streets. Thanks to MrsNicole for pointing that out. I certainly agree that the federal government shouldn't subsidize unnecessary risk. I'm just pointing out that in the eyes of FEMA and the law, building up out of the flood plain can constitute adequate flood mitigation. That's what plans for a library at the TrueNorth site call for. While it doesn't mean the TrueNorth site is the answer, it's worth mentioning in this discussion.

Hope you got all your comments posted, 23streets. Sorry for the hassle.

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