AC looks to tall Buildings...

March 2007

Strolling down the boardwalk, thinking about tall buildings. Are you good with the idea of them in Atlantic City? The heights now of casinos were limited previously, due to planes coming and going from Bader Field. Now that Bader Field is no more, nothing is stopping the possibility of structures rising to new heights. With the okay of the city council and the mayor, a new casino to be built in the South Inlet area might go as high as 800 feet. The tallest in the state now is the Goldman Sachs office building in Jersey City, 781. So a new high could be reached in the state. Does anyone know if there is a statue of Mr. Jersey on any building? Come to think of it, I wonder how Old Jersey got its name...

CURSES, ARE THEY REAL?

How about curses. Do you believe in them? I think there’s more to this earth than we are allowed to understand. So, maybe, yea, who knows? The Curse of the Bambino? Supposedly, when Babe Ruth was traded from Boston to New York in 1918, so the Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee, could take cash back to finance the staging of the play No, No, Nannette! That’s the legend. Boston had won five of the first 15 World Series’.

The Yankees had none. The Babe pitched for the Sox in three championships. After the move of Ruth, for the next 84 years, Boston played in all of four World Series, losing all four. New York played in 39, winning 26. So if the Babe had put a curse on the Sox, saying they’d not win again, it seemed to work. Boston finally won in 2004. Maybe Ruth said the Red Sox wouldn’t win again in the 20th century. There’s also the Curse of the Billy Goat that has stopped the Cubs from winning. A fan allegedly put that into effect, when the team wouldn’t let him come to a game with his goat. This all comes up in relation to the Philly pro teams. Last championship was the 76ers in 1983. Oh, they’ve gotten close, but no cigar.

No other city with teams in each of the four major league sports, if you count hockey, has seen a drought so long and large. So is there some sort of curse on the city of Brotherly Love? Some enterprising film makers there have come up with the possible answer: Yes. It’s the Curse of William Penn. That’s right, he who founded the state of Pennsylvania, and lived from 1644-1718, may be affecting the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers, and Flyers some 300 years following his prime of life. Why, you may ask?

Because his statue was put on top of City Hall over 100 years ago, making William the tallest point in the city of Philadelphia, which by the way, he designed. A gentleman’s agreement was accepted, that no building ever would surpass the height of the tip of Penn’s hat. And so it was honored, until...a decision was made to break the agreement.

And a building about three blocks away from William went almost 400 feet taller. Last championship in 1983. Taller building constructed in...1984! Draw your own conclusions. For more information on the documentary and credit for those discovering the curse, check out the website: phrustratedphan.com.

A REAL THIRST QUENCHER...

If William Penn could, I’m sure he’d tip his hat to Sara Hafemeister, of Mendham Township, New Jersey. As I do. Five year old Sara woke up in the middle of the night last month. Her throat was bothering her, so she went to get a glass of water. That’s when she saw the wooden stove shooting flames and smoke. She got her parents up, and her five year old twin brother. And the dog they were watching for a relative. All got out safely. Sadly the house was destroyed, but a round of applause for Sara for saving the family and the dog!

A MILLION BUCKS JUST FOR VOTING...

And do you vote? If not, would you for a shot at a million bucks? Two New Jersey assemblymen are sponsoring a bill, that would tie a lottery to voting. If you vote in a primary, then a general election, you’d have two chances at winning $1,000,000. The same idea was placed on ballots in Arizona last year, and there it was rejected by the public. Would you vote yes for a chance at a million?

This month’s Fun With E-Mail

...arrived in my box last month, but appears to have been written a few years ago. Can’t say for sure if the numbers are correct, but it’s an interesting idea to consider...

If you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

If you had purchased $1000 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

It's called the 401-Keg Plan.

Greg Maiuro is host of The Asociated Press’ Award Winning “Sports Goomba’s” radio show. The popular show can be heard on NewsTalk 1400 WOND AM on Fridays from 6PM to 8PM.