The second Tweet below caught my eye this morning; it references a standoff on Pershing Avenue. ApartmentsRent4 seems to imply that the Twitter account hypes apartments available for rent. If that’s the case, the user needs to update the settings on their Twitter bot.
The California Highway Patrol said this morning that there is no Amber Alert in Stockton, despite several Tweets to the contrary.
Tweets began appearing Thursday or Friday alleging that a 3-year-old boy was taken by a man in a BMW. Thy give a license plate number and close with “Keep it going. U would if he were yours.”
The fake Amber Alert continued to spread over the weekend and on Monday. Today nearly 60 Tweets carried the hoax between 7-9 a.m. Another dozen or so have appeared while I’ve been writing this blog post.
According to About.com’s Urban Legend’s page, fake Amber Alert Tweets have been appearing across the country since at least February. Some news organizations have reported that police departments have been bogged down with calls after the hoax Tweets appear.
UPDATE 9:48 a.m.: The Stockton Amber Alert hoax has been re-Tweeted by the Grammy-winning Gospel duo Mary Mary, who have more than 50,000 followers on their Twitter account. Several of those followers have re-Tweeted the hoax from Mary Mary.
Moderating a live chat requires you to react to dozens of questions from an online audience while ensuring that the conversation keeps a brisk pace. You have to be able to think on your feet.
Unfortunately, in some chats I trip up.
During today’s Recordnet.com chat with Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston we received nearly 150 questions and comments from community members. One of the questions came from an online user registered as a Guest:
“In light of the cities current fiscal status has the city council considered closing some of the facilities that are a drain on the general fund for example the marina.”
I posed the question to the mayor as… “for example the arena.”
The mayor’s answer was enlightening, and I’m leaving it in the chat. In fairness to the community member who asked the original question, however, I also wanted to get the mayor’s comment on possibly closing the marina.
I sent an email to City Hall requesting an answer from the mayor; here’s what I received:
“Our waterfront location is one of our greatest assets. It took over 15 years to work through the issues and permitting and to put together the funding for the marina, nearly all of which was funded by grants and loans, that could not be used for any other purpose. If we were to close the marina, we would have to pay back millions in grant funding and loans. We deserve to have a nice waterfront at the heart of our city, and we anticipate that the boating community will continue to help support this wonderful resource, even during tough times. Maintaining our city to the best of our ability and leveraging our assets will encourage economic development and attract investment and visitors to our city.”
To the community member who asked the original question, my apologies. I hope this provides an answer.
Can’t wait until November to cast your vote?
No worries, Recordnet.com has you covered.
There are currently two chances to cast your vote for a contest and for ratings.
The Fun in the Sun summer photo contest is displaying the work of talented individuals from around the area. There are 13 photos to pick from. The winner receives a $100 gift certificate toward processing at Gluskin’s Photo in Stockton. Another winner receives the “Judge’s Choice” award and another $100 gift certificate.
And then there’s our Rate the Comics poll. We’re asking readers to sift through both current and new comics and tell us which ones they think are funny as we make plans for the future of our comics page.
Rate the Comics has been particularly successful. The comments keep rolling in from readers – both positive and negative.
Here’s a sampling of some from recent days:
On Family Tree: “realistic but funny. nice”
On Pickles: “I love this one and I hope it never goes this is a comic I would like to read for many more years to come. Very Very Funny!!!!!!!! lol”
On Mother Goose & Grimm: “Better when he focuses on Grimm and his pals. This comic entered into this “slice of life” format around when “The Far Side” retired. The Grimm cows are suspiciously drawn very similar to the iconic “Far Side” cows. Take a look for yourself.”
On Baby Blues: “good stuff. One of the few comics today worthy of my refrigerator door.”
On Dilbert: “One of the BEST written comics of all time (oh, and it’s FUNNY). The writing is so good, one forgives the paltry drawing.”
Agree? Disagree? We’d love to hear your two cents.
The favorite part about my job is being able to experience breaking news first hand.
On Saturday, I wasn’t able to do so, but Record photographer Michael McCollum was. He watched a powered parachute take off without a pilot during a rally for the vessels at Tracy Municipal Airport.
It looked a little something like this, taking off. We have more photos in our Week in Photos gallery and a story ran with information about the unmanned takeoff on Sunday.
TracyIslandOnline.com was also out at the site and captured manned powered parachutes and interviewed some of the participants.
Photo Editor Craig Sanders was the one to call me Saturday morning and tell me something was up at the Tracy Airport. He reported out to me some information and later updated the information. We had a web post up near immediately.
I didn’t know until the next day that McCollum had captured the powered parachute actually taking off.
I thought it was a nice catch.
My freeway exit to get to my parent’s home is Monte Diablo Avenue. They’ve lived in that neighborhood my entire life.
I know well the bumps and humps and lumps of Interstate 5, including the area Record Photo Editor Craig Sanders shot for today’s newspaper cover.
In fact, he captured video of the exact spot in the pavement where my car bottoms out every time I drive over it. I try to avoid it, going southbound toward the exit, as much as I can. Sometimes I can’t.
Believe me, that bumpy patch is much worse than it looks.
Do you think The Record’s print comics are hilariously over the top? Or maybe not so funny?
We want you to tell us. Beginning Monday, readers have a chance to voice their views on 18 new comic strips and the 23 that currently appear in the newspaper daily. Why? We’re considering a remodel of our current comics page.
For you, that means some new strips to look at and laugh – or, if you really hate them, cry.
For us, it means feedback from our readers on one of our regular features.
We’ve already received quite a few responses.
Some are “not funny at all,” say online readers who have cast their votes. Others are “fantastic and clever.”
So tell us what YOU think, by picking up a newspaper and submitting a “Rate the Comics” ballot or visiting our online ballot at recordnet.com/comics.
Voting ends Aug. 23.
The Associated Press is reporting that Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has reached a decision as to whether the court will uphold Prop. 8, the ballot measure approved by voters in 2008 defining marriage in California as being a union between a man and a woman.
We’ve done much reporting in the past on the issue.
You can find many of the articles and related videos, including protests on the steps of Stockton City Hall, through a site search.
I’ve been following the trial online thanks to blogging from U.C. Berkeley law students Amanda Beck and Sarah Ruby. The duo writes Prop 8 on Trial and they have been since January.
Full disclosure: Beck and I attended UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism at the same time, both graduating in 2007. I was first led to the blog by one of her Facebook posts.
I tend to look outside of mainstream journalism for more information about the bigger stories being followed nationally. This is a great example of a place for content, particularly since it’s from law students.
With all that’s going on today regarding Prop. 8, I urge you to check it out.
Today’s A3 center package on Tracy Island Online barely scratches the surface of what the site has to offer.
It mentions groups and calendars, but it’s also a place where you can really gauge the pulse of the community. Consider the fact that right now there are more than 179 discussion threads, some about entertainment – the Jacob vs. Edward feud in the Twilight book and movie series – and some about social and civic activities happening in the city limits.
There’s a lot here. Also consider that the site is updated throughout the day by it’s members. I once logged on – as a Tracy resident – to find out about some police activity I saw that day. Sure enough, someone else mentioned it on Tracy Island Online.
The best part, though, are the contributions that really showcase the south county city of nearly 80,000, including videos.
Here are some recent ones.
Not only does Tracy Island Online provide a place for community members to exchange ideas. It also provides a place for those who have moved away to check out their hometown.
But don’t take my word for it. Check out the site and peruse the conversations. Even if you aren’t from Tracy you can appreciate the community-based conversations happening in Tracy’s own piece of cyberspace.
Countdown to kickoff, and a Marcus McDade update
Recordnet.com/football also will include a schedule for Recordnet.com’s live High School Football Scoreboard, which has become one of our most popular features. At 7:30 p.m. every Friday night beginning Sept. 3 The Record’s sports staff will be live online from stadiums throughout the area. They’ll give you the latest scores and highlights from the biggest games. We’ll also take your comments on area teams and players, and you can provide scores and highlights through the live chat or by Tweeting #sjfb or @Recordnet.
Speaking of football, when we last saw Marcus McDade on the field this spring he was a St. Mary’s High School senior leading the North team to victory in the 37th Lions Club All-Star Football Classic. The QB has now decided to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatum, Virginia, according to a press release that was submitted to myRecord, The Record’s reader-submitted content feature.
The press release came from HealthFit Chiropractic Center in Oakland, which awarded McDade a $500 scholarship to continue his education.
“Once at the top of college recruiters’ lists for a full-ride football scholarship, Marcus let his grades fall below the required level expected for college his senior year,” the press release states. “As a result he was disqualified for scholarship status. Marcus acknowledged that he did not dedicate enough time to his studies, but is now ready to do whatever it takes to be a success in school.”
HealthFit Chiropractic Center also submitted this photo of McDade accepting the scholarship award.