Amanda's Blog: Journ 61

Final Leads

2008-05-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Who: A 24-year-old Mountain View man was beaten and robbed in his apartment complex yesterday morning.

What: A violent robbery rocked the residents of a Mountain View apartment complex yesterday morning.

Where: An apartment complex in Mountain View is on high alert following the assault and robbery of one of its residents yesterday morning.

How: A benign toilet lid became a vicious weapon in the hands of two robbers when they attacked a resident of a Mountain View apartment complex.

I think the what and how leads are both good choices. The what lead gets the important parts of the story across quickly. But if I were the editor I would choose the how lead because it grabs attention and gets the point across quickly. Also, news like this will likely make the front page and be accompanied by a picture and a big headline which leaves a little room for starting with fun facts like toilet lids.

Sports Broadcast

2008-03-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

The SaberCats beat the Arizona Rattlers 63-43 on Saturday night, but the game was incidental compared to the opening ceremony which included fog machines and pyrotechnics making it feel more like a Prince concert than arena football. Arizona scored early in the first quarter but was trailing the defending ArenaBowl champs 27-7 by halftime. San Jose’s defense was strong in the first half but faltered in the second, allowing Arizona to score 36 points. Quarterback Mark Grieb threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions, The real player of the game however, was kicker A.J. Haglund who scored four field goals, tying the franchise record. The win was welcome but the game didn’t quite compare to the pre-game ceremony.

Sports Feature

2008-03-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Between the fog machines and the pyrotechnics, the opening ceremony of the SaberCats first home game felt more like a concert than an arena football game. One almost expected Prince to pop up amongst the glittering cheerleaders.

The excitement of the crowd was tangible as defending ArenaBowl champions, the SaberCats, took to the field and came to a peak when the trophy itself was paraded around by two guards.

By the end of the first quarter the SaberCats had almost justified all the pomp and circumstance of the pre-game ceremony and they continued to dominate, ending in a resounding defeat of the Arizona Rattlers with a final score of 63-43.

Arizona scored their only points of the first half early in the first quarter. By halftime they were trailing 27-7.

It was San Jose's defense that gave the SaberCats such a big lead. They stopped the Rattlers at every turn in the first half.

The SaberCats offensive line was not as effective as their defensive line and their high, fast scoring might be due more to Arizona's poor defense than any skill they exhibited on Saturday night.

Arizona came out strong in the third and fourth quarters but was unable to keep up with San Jose.

Quarterback Mark Grieb did not perform at his best but still threw three touchdown passes.

The real player of the night was SaberCats kicker A.J. Haglund who scored four field goals, tying the franchise record.

"Kickers get a lot of work in this game, but usually not field goals," said Haglund. "Four of them was crazy."

Fans were thrilled to see the SaberCats win but in the end, the pre-game ceremony was more entertaining than the game itself.

Column

2008-03-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

The trouble with relationships is that people base them on what they see on television. Guys see beautiful women who are smart, funny, and have a few endearing flaws that don’t generally cause any major hang ups. Girls see handsome, successful, charismatic men who are sweet and set up elaborate and thoughtful surprises. They are the perfect couple and someday maybe someone just like that will come along for me. . .

But television is just for entertainment, we all know that right? We can tell the difference between TV and reality.

I think if we take a look at our culture we will find that we cannot accurately separate the two. What we see on our screen becomes what we act out in life. What we spend our time watching becomes what we spend our time thinking about, and what we think about becomes our worldview, and our worldview shapes our expectations. The characters we see on TV are beautiful, funny, sweet, thoughtful, and generally lacking in all but one major flaw that in the end, doesn’t seem to matter much.

We act like these characters are real and if we look long enough and hard enough we will come across our version of McDreamy. If only we don’t settle.

Now people shouldn’t settle for someone who won’t love them or make them a priority, but to toss a good relationship because it doesn’t seem like the fairy tale we thought it would be is selfish and somewhat sad. Life isn’t television. In life there is compromise and disappointment and lots more hard work and less heat than we see on the screen. We hold onto our dreams of the perfect relationship and miss the chances we get to make a relationship happen. The point is people need to relinquish their movie-shaped expectations and take a look around them. Their real life love story might be waiting.

Story Idea

2008-02-27T12:33:00.001-08:00

Who: SJSU Students
What: Spring Break
Where: Here, there, everywhere, but mostly here
When: March 24-28, 2008
Why: Students get a break, they ought to do something with it
How: Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program offered by the university, volunteer opportunities, art, concerts, sporting events, physical activities, there's lots to do in the Bay area for those of us not traveling.

Leads 5: Pipefitter/Car Crash

2008-02-22T23:31:00.000-08:00

Immediate ID Leads
Duane La Chance, 55, was hospitalized for third degree burns after accidentally touching a power line carrying 15,000 volts with a piece of angle iron.

James W. Cunning, 20, is in satisfactory condition after a head on collision with Wayne Clay, 19, on U.S. 63.

Delayed Leads
The power plant was getting a new roof and all was going according to plan until Duane La Chance, 55, one of the pipe fitters on the job, touched a live power wire carrying 15,000 volts.

Two young men were in a head on accident on U.S. 63 one-tenth of a mile north of Blue Ridge Road. Wayne Clay, 19, crossed the center line and struck the Ford Focus carrying James W. Cunning, 20, according to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Department.

Fairy Tale

2008-02-20T12:52:00.000-08:00

Direct Lead
Simba, son of the late Mufasa, has taken his rightful place as king of the pride after overthrowing his uncle in a violent and lengthy showdown.

Delayed Lead
Mufasa's legacy was reduced to a memory, carefully stored away in the minds of his subjects to be brought out in secrecy as a source of comfort during the darkest hours of his tyrant brother's reign. Hope was nowhere to be found, but hope took physical form when Simba, the long lost prince, returned and staged a coup, overthrowing Scar and taking his rightful place as king of the pride.

Inverted Pyramid

2008-02-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Crews begin tearing down Terminal C at San Jose airport
By Leslie GriffyMercury News
Article Launched: 02/06/2008 09:16:29 AM PST

You might not notice the changes, but parts of Mineta San Jose International Airport's terminal C are disappearing.
To make room for a new terminal, crews began Tuesday night tearing down the north end of terminal C, spokesman David Vossbrink said. The new terminal B, which abuts where terminal C is now, will open in 2010, as part of a $1.3 billion upgrade program at the airport.
Officials have prepared for the teardown for months.
In December, airport officials moved check-in counters and security checkpoints for terminal C's north end. The rest of the building will remain standing and open until the new terminal is ready.

Who: San Jose Intnt'l Aiport
What: Demolition of terminal C
Where: Terminal C at the airport
When: Tuesday night
Why: To make room for a new terminal
How: Crews began demolition

Trio arrested in rash of burglaries at Stanford dorms
By Lisa KriegerMercury News
Article Launched: 02/05/2008 02:57:32 PM PST

Three suspects were arrested following burglaries in dormitory rooms at Stanford University - and the stolen items were returned to worried students.
Two men and a woman - Delarian Lee, 20, of San Francisco; Kethen Hubbard, 26, of San Francisco and Rashima Barnett, 19, of Novato - were stopped by Stanford police at mid-afternoon of Jan. 31 outside of Granada dormitory, on the west side of campus.
Police said they recovered electronic devices such as cameras, iPods and laptops.
"A lot of students were very happy," said Lt. Larry St. Denis of the Stanford police. "Those laptops had a lot of stored work on them."
Similar burglaries have been reported from other dorms on campus in recent weeks but they have not been linked to these suspects, St. Denis said.
According to the Stanford Daily, about 20 students have reported thefts. Teresa Riseborough, a university housing manager, told the Daily that the alleged burglars had been staking out residences on campus the previous day and had drawn suspicion from residents in several dorms.
Dormitories are locked but students apparently opened the door for the suspects. One student had seen a group of people attempting to break into a residence on Wednesday but did not call authorities, according to Riseborough.

Who: Three suspects
What: Arrested for dorm robberies
Where: Stanford University
When: Jan. 31
Why: They had drawn suspicion from residents of several dorms.
How: Recovered electronic devices from the arrest

Smoking Wheels/Missing Boy

2008-02-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

Smoking Wheels Lead

Forty passengers were evacuated from their plane Wednesday after a landing tower employee spotted smoke by the wheels.

Northwest Airlines Flight 428 was grounded at the La Crosse, Wis., Municipal Airport following a flight from Minneapolis

Missing Boy Lead

A 7-year old boy was found in Brick Township, N.J. Monday night after missing for three years.

He was recognized by a neighbor who had seen his picture, leading police to arrest his mother, Ellen Lyn Connor, 27, on charges of kidnapping and interference with a custody warrant.

Chevy Chase

2008-02-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

Chevy Chase, actor and comedian, was appointed to the Bard College Board of Trustees yesterday in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Air Crash

2008-02-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

A US Air airplane plowed into the ground Sunday while preparing to land, killing all 131 passengers aboard, the worst air disaster in the U.S. in three years.

2008-01-30T12:48:00.000-08:00

Brevity is the order of the day.

I went to Leigh High School and then to West Valley where I earned an AA degree in Spanish and Liberal Arts. This is my first semester at SJSU and I am a photography major. My minor is photojournalism. One day I hope to work for a magazine or paper that will send me all over the world.

I love movies and reading and spending time with my friends and family. I also enjoy long drives; there's something about being on the road, blasting my favorite music (Mark Ronson, at the moment), and knowing that there's possibility ahead of me.

This is my first blog. I never had the patience for one before. I guess now I will learn.