mike's blog

Writers Choice: Local Boyz

2010-03-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

For being one of the best local food places in town, it sure does look like a hole in the wall. It’s at the top of a stair case and tucked behind a bar, but this search is more than worth your time.

Their food is second to none, Local Boyz is a Hawaiian style restaurant in Corvallis and it has some of the best Hawaiian food in Oregon.

When you walk in, I will admit, you hardly feel like you’re in a restaurant. The lobby which also doubles as a waiting area and a place to order food is rather small and always crowded with people ordering and waiting for food.

You immediately notice Hawaiian décor with posters and surf boards placed throughout the building. The subtle smell of pineapple and soy sauce lingering around you really adds to the environment and also makes you hungry.

Their menu is simple but delicious. All orders come in three sizes. Menehune (small), regular and Blalah (large). In this restaurant goers’ opinion, a large is more than enough to fill two people. The portion sizes at Local Boyz are a hungry college students dream.

I ordered their specialty, the Sweet Shoyu chicken. This is the chicken that makes people stop at Local Boyz anytime they are even close to Corvallis. A large is just $9.95.

Although the wait for your food is typically short, as I waited I was able to talk with a nice family enjoying lunch.

“We first came here when we brought our son down to OSU, now we always make it a point to go whenever we are in the Corvallis area” said Susan Melksoski a Mother of two.

“It’s a lot more fun than going to other restaurants every time you’re in Corvallis.”

A side from having some of the best Hawaiian food in the state, Local Boyz has another priceless secret, Da sauce. Da sauce is a secret sauce that was made by the owner, Roy.

This stuff is so delicious you really have no problem looking past the fact that they spelled “the” as “Da”. Every time I go to Local Boyz I drowned my chicken and rice in this dark caramel colored sauce.

Fortunately Local Boyz offers bottles of their secret sauce for just $4.50 a bottle.

Local Boyz not only is delicious, but Local Boyz is also environmentally friendly. All plastic cups and Styrofoam containers are made from biodegradable materials. Even right down to their plastic forks, which are made out of corn.

“I always loved Local Boyz but since they started using biodegradable products I have been eating here a lot more to support them.” Jordan Campbell a psychology major at OSU told me.

Although it maybe not be the most elaborate of locations, or the most elaborate of menus, Local Boyz food speaks for itself. Make sure if you ever in the area to stop by and try this gem in the sand.

At a Glance

What: Local Boyz

Theme: Hawaiian

Open: Monday-Friday 11a.m. to 8p.m. Saturday 12p.m. to 7p.m. Closed Sunday

Location: 1425 N.W. Monroe Ave #Hb, Corvallis, OR 97330

Contact: (541) 754-5338

"On Writting" and Writers choice

2010-02-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

3 things I took away from “On Writing”

1.) Write first edit later. I’m always having trouble with writers block, or too many ideas that I’m having trouble organizing. Just getting things downs setting a foundation for me to work on. I can worry about structure and spelling later.

2.) Your “Tool Box” I’m going to continue to work on my tool box and keep adding tools that I learn through my college carrier.

3.) “Write to enrich your life and the lives of others.” Page 275. I think writing can be very therapeutic especially when you can just write out your opinion. I may consider starting a journal

Writers Choice

For my Writers choice I think I want to do a review on the restaurant local boyz. It’s a great place to eat. I’m going to go there this Saturday when it’s busy with students who I can interview.

A Lack of value for human life.

2010-02-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

In the past years there has been a horrific trend of police not valuing the life of others, and now this reoccurring monster has landed itself in our own back yard.

The Fatal shooting of Aaron Campbell by Portland police officer Ronald Frashour has many people both grieving and outraged. As citizens we are all vulnerable to the discretions of the police we empower.

On January 19 Policed were dispatched to an apartment because of a 911 call they received about a man (Aaron Campbell) being suicidal. Officer James Quackenbush was texting with Aaron trying to get a confirmation that he was indeed not going to hurt himself.

The 911 call originated from Aaron Campbell’s girlfriends aunt who said she was worried because she has not talked to her niece all day. You can listen to the 911 call.

The aunt’s name is Sherry Stewart, and her number is listed in the 911 call if you want to ask her, her side of this story. In my opinion this lady acted irrationally and set the police up to believe the situation was much more dangerous than it really was.

The police both contact Aaron and surround his apartment. The police officer who is contacting Aaron is James Quackenbush. Quackenbush states that he was texting with Campbell and doing so only because he had poor cell reception.

Police: "Aaron, we need to know if you intend on hurting yourself,"

Aaron: "Never. Wow you guys text too. You get kudos."

Police: "Thanks Aaron, I appreciate your help. I'm truly sorry about your brother, can you promise me you won't hurt yourself?

Aaron said that he felt the texting and not calling was somewhat strange. I don’t think this is unreasonable, after all I’m sure every reader raised an eye brow when they heard that the police texted Campbell.

The police officer felt this was not unreasonable and gave Aaron a call.

After talking, the police officer asked Aaron if he would come out.

Aaron went outside with his hands behind his head.

It is the testimony of the five officers who surrounded Aaron’s apartment that they did not know James Quackenbush told Aaron Campbell to come out side, and they did not know they had made progress with him according to a 700 page police report released on February 16 2010.

Aaron Campbell came out and kept his hand on his head. His hands stayed on his head until Officer Ryan Lewton who felt he was being incompliant shot him with a bean bag gun. Aaron took what police called "half stutter step forward," after being hit by the first bean bag. Office Ryan Lewton then unload all the bean bags in his gun, a total of six

Aaron Campbell started to run in the direction of a Volvo.

Then according to the police report k9 officer Jeff Ellias released his dog to pursue Campbell, simultaneously Officer Ronald Frashour who claims he did not know “why” the bean bags had been fired shot Aaron Campbell with his military grade weapon.

"I remember thinking, 'I cannot let him get to hard cover 'cause he's going to shoot at us, and he's protected if he shoots at us from there [the Volvo].' ... I knew there was a gun coming out of back of his waistband and before he got to the corner of the Volvo, I shot him.”

Those are the words of the officer who shot Aaron Campbell. According to the police report, Campbell was not shot because the officer thought someone might be in danger in the apartment complex Campbell lived in.

Officer Ronald Frashour claims he saw Aaron reaching for a gun

“I mean he just dove his hand straight down the middle of his back, and I instantly thought, 'He is pulling a gun out,'".

His testimony does not match up with Officer Jeff Elias who was also on scene that night and claims Aaron’s hands were

” just in front of him”

Aaron Campbell was later found to be unarmed.

This can be a very emotional subject for some people who want to believe that all police are good but it’s time we face facts. Some police don’t really value the lives of others and act accordingly.

The police officer who shot Aaron Campbell should go to jail. He killed a man with a military grade weapon because according to him he thought he had a gun.

There was a police dog on the scene who they could have had go after him. But no, Aaron Campbell’s life was not worth the waiting for to officer Frashour.

This officer was not even fully aware why the bean bags had been fired. Was this police office even paying attention before he killed this man?

Why do we as a society give a police officer’s imagination a license to kill?

It is so devastatingly important that we hold our law enforcement accountable and limit their power. History has taught us this time and time again. Names like the Gestapo, the KGB, and the SS have names that will forever echo in time with an association of terror and fear. Let’s not allow the American police to be added to this list.

This incident is not isolated either. Many have seen the Bart video of the police officer who kills a man for no apparent reason at all. Although this video may not be graphic I warn you this is disturbing.

The Police officer claims he believed he was holding a tazer. One could argue that a tazer and a gun neither look nor feel similar but look at it from a different angle.

How atrocious is it that a police officer cares so little about the damage he inflicts on a human life he is not sure if he is about to shoot or taze someone. That he cares so little about what he is doing to check.

Luckily with the invention of cell phone cameras police are held more accountable. Who knows what story the police would have told if they were not on camera.

But technology is not always being there to hold the police accountable and with our current technology there is no reason it can’t be as citizens we are all vulnerable.

All Aaron Campbell was guilty of was running behind a car after being shot by a bean bag gun but that police officer gave him the death sentence. We give police officers, some who are only high school graduates, the privilege of carrying a gun while working and they abuse it for the judicial power of judge and juror.

We need the police to be more closely monitored. Because if we don’t they will keep operating with the same idiocy they have displayed.

At a Glance:

Who: Aaron Campbell

What: Fatally shot

By : Portland police

When: January 29

Update: Important UpdatePortland police department found to be negligent

The Lunch Lady.

2010-02-10T08:58:00.000-08:00

Everyone has met that unfamiliar person who acts like your best friend. I’m talking about that out going stranger who gets to know everybody. They will just come right up to you and ask you how you are doing no matter how you may look.

When I went to Fowler Middle School that person was my cafeteria lunch lady.

Gale Sims didn’t care how loud she was when talked with you either. It could be eight in the morning and if you were not awake, you would be, after Gale’s chipper but thunderous greeting.

Sims has been working in schools for over a decade and has positively impacted the lives of countless students. Students who will grow up to be the adults of tomorrow, an impact that is positive and will affect our greater society.

I remember Sims would always make an effort to connect with you whenever she could and when I went to see her again it was no different. The cafeteria smelled strongly of slightly old cheese burgers, typical school cafeteria food. Sims was sweating while preparing some French fries.

You really forget that the nice lady who is happy to see you no matter what she is doing, is also working to get hundreds of student’s lunch.

When she finally had a moment in between lunches I was able to talk with her. I know she didn’t remember me but she never acted like it. Once she knew I was a past student she treated me like I was family coming home for a brief visit.

“I connect with some kids more than others, but I enjoy all students equally, middle school can be tough time for some kids so it doesn’t hurt to give them a smile every once in awhile”

I asked her what her home life was like?

“I have two kids who have gone off to college and a husband who does all the cooking in case you were wondering”

She has been working in the Tigard Tualatin school district for over 15 years

She enjoys working in the school not only for the kids but because she has made many great friendships among staff.

“I love being surrounded by teachers and faculty because we all have one thing in common, helping the youth of tomorrow”.

Sims told me that she had been fortunate enough to be here long enough to watch young middle schoolers grow into students, and new teachers becoming faculty.

“I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

I talked with the school gym teacher Frank Sanders, the only person who had worked at the school as long as Sims and was soon transferring to teach at Tigard high school. He had many things to say about Sims but one thing stuck with me.

“She has not missed a graduation ceremony since she has worked here”

At a Glance

Who: Gale Sims

What: Favorite lunch lady

Family: Mother of two

Where: Tigard Tualatin school district

How long: for 15 years

RumpSpankers review

2010-01-25T00:48:00.001-08:00

For being such a place of extreme controversy you really expect there to be more. In fact you could probably walk by it and not even realize you were walking by America’s first cannabis café . Rumpspankers, a former gentlemen’s club, now cannabis cafe (they kept the name of the former gentlemen’s club) opened its doors Nov. 13.

Rumpspankers is the first café in America to allow medical marijuana patients, who have been told by the state they may use marijuana for medical purposes, a place to medicate This will be a major test of the Obama administration's and their claims to respect state's medical marijuana laws and not prosecute people are abiding by the states medical marijuana rules

When you walk inside you are greeted by quite a shock, an unexpected long list of fees to inter. You have to pay a $25 monthly club membership fee, a $5 entrance fee, and purchase a year’s membership to Oregon NORML at the price of $40.

I later found out that the owner of the café, Madeline Martinez, is also the executive director of Oregon NORML

After you have paid your fees you receive an unnecessarily large pot leaf stamp on your hand and a man who sounds a lot like Eeyore from "Winnie the pooh" directs you down some stairs.

As you inter the downstairs you are greeted by an overwhelming skunky smell that will linger on you for quite some time. The room is set up much like a café but with a small bar inside. The room is covered in Oregon NORML logos and marijuana memorabilia.

I took a seat and asked for a menu. It took them quite some time to retrieve me one. I got the feeling that people don’t often go there for food or coffee. The drinks were overpriced and all they had to eat were a few unappetizing sounding pastries.

By the time you have paid all your fees to get inside you’re hardly in the mood to waste any money on food.

I purchased a hot chocolate which was good, but not $74.50 good. Most of the people in the café were there for a specific reason and wanted to be left to themselves but I did have a chance to talk with one friendly man named Aaron Clark

“How often have you been coming here?” I asked him

“Well I try to get my money’s worth so as much as I can”

I mentioned how I was rather shocked myself at the price to simply set a foot in the door.

“This entire thing is about money, sure it’s cool that a place allows pot heads to smoke pot but they are going to charge you to do it”

Shortly after I finished my hot chocolate. I left feeling as if I had wasted a bunch of money for a membership that I’m probably never going to use.

In this writers opinion don’t waste your time at this media hype.

At a Glance

Name : Rumpspankers

What is it: Portland's cannabis cafe

Where is it : 700 N.E. Dekum St Portland, OR 97211

When is it open: Monday Saturday 10a.m.-10p.m. Sunday 8a.m.-2p.m.

The owner: Madeline Martinez

More Information http://www.ornorml.org/

Pay to Print

2010-01-10T23:33:00.000-08:00

So the morning rolls around and your printer is out of ink. The paper is due within an hour.

Now some of you may be thinking “No problem I will just print at LB”

WRONG!

Linn-Benton has recently changed its printing policy (you may have noticed the warning on every computer desktop around campus) to “Pay-to-Print”

A lot of you are probably asking yourself “why was I wrong earlier? I can still print at LB, I just have to pay”

Linn-Benton’s new pay to print policy operates on an “electronic money” only policy. You cannot use cash or change you find laying around your car.

Instead you have to pay money with a debit card online, or to the registration. And can you print once you have paid? No. You have to wait hours for the system to update and your funds to be available.

This matters because, there will be no more emergency printing at Linn-Benton for Students who have a printer at home, and no more free printing for the Students who cant afford to print.

I spoke with Ann L. Adams, Director Information Services at Linn-Benton Community College to ask her a few questions about the school’s new policy. Most importantly “Why?”

She was very polite and explained to me that;

“Asking Students to check how many pages they are printing helps them take responsibility for printing costs and waste. In the first week that the system has been used, paper usage has gone down by one third.

"We are also asking faculty to be aware of how much printing they ask Students to do.”

She also pointed to the fact that, “all the colleges around us were asking Students to pay for printing. As a result, some Students were coming to LB to print free which did not seem fair”

we can only speculate as to what school she is referring to but as a former OSU student I think I know what she is talking about.

Linn-Benton Students all can admit to at least knowing someone who has been wasteful when it comes to printing for free but is this really the only way to evoke change?

Yes it is successful at stopping paper waste but what do Students think about it?

I talked with student Paul Macotti, who is business major, at the Benton Learning Center to get his opinion on it.

“Isn’t that was our tuition is for?”

Tuition is expensive, however if does not seem that Linn-Benton is changing its policy because of the price of paper but because of Students level of waste.

I had to ask Ann Adams.

“How much does paper and ink cost in terms of dollars at Linn-Benton per term?”

I found her reply to be somewhat shocking

“For black and white printing, each page costs 3 cents for supplies. For color, the cost is 11 cents. This works out to about $8000 for supplies alone each term.”

$8000 a term is a lot of money to a college student, or any middle class family really, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s not a lot of money to a college.

According to the Linn-Benton website Linn-Benton has what it calls “the general fund budget”. For 2007-2008 it was set at $47.3 million.

If you also look at how much Linn-Benton is charging for “pay to print” you will notice that although they only charge for the cost of supplies for color paper they do make money every time we print on black and white paper.

Although student and teachers alike may debate whether pay to print was put into action to stop paper waste, or for Linn-Benton to make more money one thing is clear, it is going to accomplish both. Students can no longer waste paper at the expense of Linn-Benton, whether they can afford it or not.

if you have any questions in regards to pay to print feel free to e-mail or call Linn-Benton staff

At a Glance:

What’s important?: Students having to pay to print

Who’s affected: Students who print at LBCC

Where: Printers all over campus

Why: student waste and the cost of paper

Questions: contact Ann Adams 5419174357