Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

basskisser wrote:
"Calif Bill" wrote in message link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

Story and photo by Sgt. Greg Heath, 4th Public Affairs Detachment

PAKTIA PROVINCE, Afghanistan ? Twenty-three years ago formal education
along
with the schoolhouse for the children of Dara and the surrounding area
vanished.


More military b.s., JohnH?

More Union b.s., Harry?

What "Union b.s." did Harry state in this thread?


I've now seen three separately sourced articles that indicate the mighty
U.S. military machine did NOT find Saddam, but that he was "captured" by
a local force and then the mighty U.S. military machine was led to where
he was stashed.

I don't know yet if it is true, but if it is, it plops yet another big
lie in the lap of the U.S. military, which hasn't told much in the way
of the truth on things that matter since the beginning of the War
Against Vietnam.

--
Email sent to is never read.

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

Story and photo by Sgt. Greg Heath, 4th Public Affairs Detachment

PAKTIA PROVINCE, Afghanistan ? Twenty-three years ago formal
education
along
with the schoolhouse for the children of Dara and the surrounding
area
vanished.


More military b.s., JohnH?

More Union b.s., Harry?

What "Union b.s." did Harry state in this thread?

Well, he is a union shill. Spiels for the union constantly.

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

Calif Bill wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

Story and photo by Sgt. Greg Heath, 4th Public Affairs Detachment

PAKTIA PROVINCE, Afghanistan ? Twenty-three years ago formal
education
along
with the schoolhouse for the children of Dara and the surrounding
area
vanished.


More military b.s., JohnH?

More Union b.s., Harry?

What "Union b.s." did Harry state in this thread?

Well, he is a union shill. Spiels for the union constantly.



Well, Bill, perhaps if you were a bit more successful as a contractor,
you could afford to pay workman's comp insurance and then be able to
hire skilled craftworkers, instead of the pick-up crews you are forced
to use.


Hey, have you been over the Al Zampa Bridge yet? You know, the one named
to honor the Zampa family?

Opening day for Carquinez span
Ceremony honors Alfred Zampa, builder of bridges
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, November 9, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ

URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/11/09/BAGO22TPNU1.DTL

It was a great day for the working stiff Saturday when the state opened
the newest bridge in the world -- and the first one named for a blue-
collar worker.

Pedestrians in their thousands walked across the Alfred Zampa Memorial
Bridge, the handsome westernmost span of the Carquinez Bridge complex.
Some wore hardhats and some had baseball caps with their union
affiliation -- ironworkers, carpenters, pile driver operators.

The bridge may open to automobile traffic as soon as today -- or as late
as midweek -- depending on whether the rain expected over the weekend
permits crews to finish restriping the approaches to the bridge on
Interstate 80.

The bridge is the first suspension bridge built in the Bay Area since
the Golden Gate Bridge opened 66 years ago -- and the first bridge of
its kind built in the United States in more than 30 years. But the talk
Saturday was not about traffic or engineering. It was about Zampa, who
was a legend in the bridge business, an ordinary guy who built great things.

Gov. Gray Davis called him "a working-class hero'' who helped build
nearly all the bridges in the Bay Area, including the Golden Gate and
Bay bridges.

Davis, who was the keynote speaker, recalled that Zampa had fallen off
the unfinished Golden Gate Bridge, flipped over three times and broke
his back on impact.

"He always said, "I climbed halfway to heaven and I fell halfway to
hell, and neither place seemed to want me,' " Davis said. "So I just
went back to work."

Dozens of members of Zampa's extended family were on hand Saturday to
tell stories about the man, who died at the age of 95 three years ago,
only weeks after he attended groundbreaking ceremonies for the bridge
that bears his name.

Zampa was no saint. "He liked his women, he liked bars, he liked to play
pool, he liked to play the horses,'' said Dennis Zampa, his grandson.
"He only went to the doctor twice. Once when he fell off the Golden Gate
Bridge and once when he got his jaw broken with a pool cue. He was in
his 70s the second time.''

"He was the toughest man I ever knew,'' said Ron Zampa, an ironworker
and another grandson.

"Dad would be proud,'' said Dick Zampa, his son, and an official with
the statewide organization of the Iron Workers Union. "And I'm proud of
every construction worker who participated in this celebration.''

Speaker after speaker praised the working men and women who built the
bridge and noted that it is the first bridge or freeway in California
named for a blue-collar worker. Most others are named for political
leaders or peace officers.

The day was also a valedictory to Davis, who was recalled last month and
has only nine more days in office. The celebration was moved up a week,
and that allowed Davis -- and not Arnold Schwarzenegger -- to preside.

Critics said the change was pure politics -- a last hurrah for Davis --
but state officials claimed the change only happened because the bridge
was finished early. No one mentioned the controversy Saturday.

Joe Reyes, who was lead engineer on the suspension span, said he
remembered starting on the bridge five years ago, when the design was
only 35 percent complete. "Now I'm standing here with my kids -- Cody,
who is 5, and Kala, who is 3, and they weren't even born when we started
this.''

He said the wires in each of the cables are no thicker than a pencil;
there are 37 strands in each of the main cables and enough wire, Reyes
said, "to reach from here to Hong Kong and back.''

Speeches over, the crowd of several thousand followed two high school
bands and antique cars over the bridge, marveling at the red cables, the
unmarked roadway, and the sun that burst through the clouds.

It took about 20 minutes to walk from the Vallejo side to Crockett. It
is a handsome bridge, but the setting is not as dramatic as the Zampa
bridge's more famous sister, the Golden Gate.

The north tower is 420 feet high, the south tower 404 feet. The main
span between the towers is 2,388 feet, and it will carry southbound
traffic on I-80, replacing the 76-year-old cantilever bridge just east.

The Zampa bridge cost $340 million, including approaches.

Walking across on the roadway on the opening day was "a great
experience, '' said Hezekiah Mason, a mechanical engineer who lives in
Vallejo. He did not work on the bridge, but wanted to be there anyway.
He brought along his grandson, Terrance Mason, who is 10.

"Someday, when he's grown, I want him to be able to tell his
grandchildren that he walked across this bridge on the very first day,''
he said.

----------------------------------

I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.







--
Email sent to is never read.

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 18:21:40 -0500, Harry Krause wrote:



I've now seen three separately sourced articles that indicate the mighty
U.S. military machine did NOT find Saddam, but that he was "captured" by
a local force and then the mighty U.S. military machine was led to where
he was stashed.

I don't know yet if it is true, but if it is, it plops yet another big
lie in the lap of the U.S. military, which hasn't told much in the way
of the truth on things that matter since the beginning of the War
Against Vietnam.

typical

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 19:16:55 -0500, Harry Krause wrote:

Calif Bill wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

snipped

I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.

typical

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Calif Bill wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

Story and photo by Sgt. Greg Heath, 4th Public Affairs Detachment

PAKTIA PROVINCE, Afghanistan ? Twenty-three years ago formal
education
along
with the schoolhouse for the children of Dara and the surrounding
area
vanished.


More military b.s., JohnH?

More Union b.s., Harry?

What "Union b.s." did Harry state in this thread?

Well, he is a union shill. Spiels for the union constantly.



Well, Bill, perhaps if you were a bit more successful as a contractor,
you could afford to pay workman's comp insurance and then be able to
hire skilled craftworkers, instead of the pick-up crews you are forced
to use.


Hey, have you been over the Al Zampa Bridge yet? You know, the one named
to honor the Zampa family?

Opening day for Carquinez span
Ceremony honors Alfred Zampa, builder of bridges
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, November 9, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ

URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/11/09/BAGO22TPNU1.DTL

It was a great day for the working stiff Saturday when the state opened
the newest bridge in the world -- and the first one named for a blue-
collar worker.

Pedestrians in their thousands walked across the Alfred Zampa Memorial
Bridge, the handsome westernmost span of the Carquinez Bridge complex.
Some wore hardhats and some had baseball caps with their union
affiliation -- ironworkers, carpenters, pile driver operators.

The bridge may open to automobile traffic as soon as today -- or as late
as midweek -- depending on whether the rain expected over the weekend
permits crews to finish restriping the approaches to the bridge on
Interstate 80.

The bridge is the first suspension bridge built in the Bay Area since
the Golden Gate Bridge opened 66 years ago -- and the first bridge of
its kind built in the United States in more than 30 years. But the talk
Saturday was not about traffic or engineering. It was about Zampa, who
was a legend in the bridge business, an ordinary guy who built great
things.

Gov. Gray Davis called him "a working-class hero'' who helped build
nearly all the bridges in the Bay Area, including the Golden Gate and
Bay bridges.

Davis, who was the keynote speaker, recalled that Zampa had fallen off
the unfinished Golden Gate Bridge, flipped over three times and broke
his back on impact.

"He always said, "I climbed halfway to heaven and I fell halfway to
hell, and neither place seemed to want me,' " Davis said. "So I just
went back to work."

Dozens of members of Zampa's extended family were on hand Saturday to
tell stories about the man, who died at the age of 95 three years ago,
only weeks after he attended groundbreaking ceremonies for the bridge
that bears his name.

Zampa was no saint. "He liked his women, he liked bars, he liked to play
pool, he liked to play the horses,'' said Dennis Zampa, his grandson.
"He only went to the doctor twice. Once when he fell off the Golden Gate
Bridge and once when he got his jaw broken with a pool cue. He was in
his 70s the second time.''

"He was the toughest man I ever knew,'' said Ron Zampa, an ironworker
and another grandson.

"Dad would be proud,'' said Dick Zampa, his son, and an official with
the statewide organization of the Iron Workers Union. "And I'm proud of
every construction worker who participated in this celebration.''

Speaker after speaker praised the working men and women who built the
bridge and noted that it is the first bridge or freeway in California
named for a blue-collar worker. Most others are named for political
leaders or peace officers.

The day was also a valedictory to Davis, who was recalled last month and
has only nine more days in office. The celebration was moved up a week,
and that allowed Davis -- and not Arnold Schwarzenegger -- to preside.

Critics said the change was pure politics -- a last hurrah for Davis --
but state officials claimed the change only happened because the bridge
was finished early. No one mentioned the controversy Saturday.

Joe Reyes, who was lead engineer on the suspension span, said he
remembered starting on the bridge five years ago, when the design was
only 35 percent complete. "Now I'm standing here with my kids -- Cody,
who is 5, and Kala, who is 3, and they weren't even born when we started
this.''

He said the wires in each of the cables are no thicker than a pencil;
there are 37 strands in each of the main cables and enough wire, Reyes
said, "to reach from here to Hong Kong and back.''

Speeches over, the crowd of several thousand followed two high school
bands and antique cars over the bridge, marveling at the red cables, the
unmarked roadway, and the sun that burst through the clouds.

It took about 20 minutes to walk from the Vallejo side to Crockett. It
is a handsome bridge, but the setting is not as dramatic as the Zampa
bridge's more famous sister, the Golden Gate.

The north tower is 420 feet high, the south tower 404 feet. The main
span between the towers is 2,388 feet, and it will carry southbound
traffic on I-80, replacing the 76-year-old cantilever bridge just east.

The Zampa bridge cost $340 million, including approaches.

Walking across on the roadway on the opening day was "a great
experience, '' said Hezekiah Mason, a mechanical engineer who lives in
Vallejo. He did not work on the bridge, but wanted to be there anyway.
He brought along his grandson, Terrance Mason, who is 10.

"Someday, when he's grown, I want him to be able to tell his
grandchildren that he walked across this bridge on the very first day,''
he said.

----------------------------------

I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.







--
Email sent to is never read.

I normally avoid the I-80 corridor. Live on the 680 corridor. Was thinking
of fishing the area for sturgeon next week. As to hiring workers. Do not
need to. Semi-retired, do the jobs I do not require extra workers for. Do
to the excessive union charges and EXORBITANT workers comp insurance, I can
make as much money doing crown molding and such. In some ways I wonder how
they picked Al Zampa as the name for the bridge. His son the union shill
forced it? There were lots of people who worked on the GG bridge. By buddy
and best man at my wedding, his father worked on the bridge. So why not the
Les Repass bridge. Maybe you ought to work for a living and have to make a
payroll. Daddy the multi-millionaire boat dealer must have put you through
university, as you brag on the good relationship.

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 19:16:55 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Calif Bill wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

snipped

I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.

typical

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD

Harry, seems to be taking taking credit for the bridge now that he
interviewed a couple of workers.

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

"Calif Bill" wrote in message ink.net...
"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 19:16:55 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Calif Bill wrote:
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JohnH wrote:
New school brings hope for Afghan youth

snipped

I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.

typical

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD

Harry, seems to be taking taking credit for the bridge now that he
interviewed a couple of workers.

Please show where Harry "seems to be taking the credit for the bridge".

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

Harry Krause wrote in message news:bs5d6j$9pohb$1@ID-
I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.

Harry, I have family in Martinez, CA, and went to Crockett to a
restaurant called The Dead Fish, overlooking the bridge. I was there
in Oct., I believe. Next time I go, I'll certainly eat there again,
the seafood is fantastic.

Today's GOOD news! (a little off topic)
 

basskisser wrote:

Harry Krause wrote in message news:bs5d6j$9pohb$1@ID-
I had the privilege of interviewing some of the workers on this bridge
late last year, and to take some interesting photos from the north tower.

If anyone want a copy of the article, let me know.

Harry, I have family in Martinez, CA, and went to Crockett to a
restaurant called The Dead Fish, overlooking the bridge. I was there
in Oct., I believe. Next time I go, I'll certainly eat there again,
the seafood is fantastic.

Aha! The Dead Fish! It is a fabulous restaurant. We happened across it
while driving to the bridge, stopped to take some photos of the bridge
from the back of the restaurant, and ate lunch there on the way back.
Great meal.

--
Email sent to is never read.