From The Editors

mrkamm

In our last issue, we said we were hosting our 2012 Downtown Debate Series because having such a forum for candidates to express their views and having such a forum for citizens to hear such views before casting ballots matters to our city, our area, and our region. We take our role in this community -- as a forum for ideas and discussion, as a publication seeking to drive a two-way communication with our audience -- seriously. And regardless of whether we're liberal or conversation and regardless of whether you're left or right, we're glad we were able to come together for a night to hear the exchange of ideas between people who will be elected to serve us in Harrisburg.

With that, we want to take a moment to thank everyone who contributed to those debates held Thursday, Oct. 11 at The Jefferson Educational Society. From the candidates -- Janet Anderson, Ryan Bizzarro, Jason Owen, and Sean Wiley -- to our sponsors -- Epic WebStudios, The JES, Lilly Broadcasting, and Velocity Network -- to our panelists -- WICU's Kevin MacDowell and Erie Reader's own Ben Speggen and Cory Vaillancourt -- to all of those in the audience, none of this could be possible without you.

As we mentioned in our last issue, being heard in public, at debates, is crucial to a candidate getting her/his message to the voters. And being able to hear a candidate's message, not through political ads or campaign visits but in a forum open to the public is crucial to the voting process. That's why we're proud of all of the people who were in attendance for both debates. We're also proud to announce that Lilly Broadcasting will air both debates -- Pennsylvania House District 3 Wednesday, Oct. 17 and Pennsylvania State Senate District 49 Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Both debates will air in their entirety at 7 p.m., and to get you ready, Upfront's Cory Vaillancourt has a recap of the PA HD-3 Bizzarro/Owen debate in this issue. Fret not state-senate enthusiasts, he'll tackle the Anderson/Wiley debate in our October 31 issue.

Political debates aren't the only heated discussion you'll find in this issue. Atop his Street Corner Soapbox, Jay Stevens has his sights aimed squarely on fall hardball, specifically the debate over who should be the American League MVP, Triple-Crown Winner Miguel Cabrera or 20-year-old wunderkind Mike Trout.
While we're enjoying fall ball, we're also enjoying preparation for Halloween, which brings us to this issue's cover story -- Eerie Erie: Seven tales to be told after dark. As Rebecca writes, during Halloween, popular tales and legends resurface and through these stories people delight in the chance to entertain their primordial fears and Erie is no stranger to this.  

You may have heard of some of the more well-known legends of our area -- the Gudgeonville Bridge and Axe Murder Hollow -- but Rebecca tells us of seven other bone-chilling tales, some proven true, some steeped in legend and myth, all sure to delight in the Halloween spirit.

And if you find the tales too terrifying and need to get out of the house, head down to Electric Funeral, a Halloween Tribute to Black Sabbath at the crooked i -- an event Alex Bieler features in this issue's To-do List. Keeping in the Halloween spirit, we're featuring Greg Ropp in this issue's You Ought to Know. Alex talks with Greg, who's off the heels of Erie's first taste of Halloween -- the Eerie Horror Film Festival & Expo -- and has big plans for this city.

"How do we break through that wall and show [people] how great Erie can be?" Greg posed to Alex. "Erie needs to understand how successful it can be and stop be so freaking afraid of it."

Great question, Greg. For one answer, we should all check out Michael Haas's Code for Erie in this issue's Tech Watch.
For additional answers, let's remember those debates and what follows them: the elections. Tuesday, Nov. 6 is fast-approaching, which means there's less than three weeks before we send our representatives off to, well, represent us.

So sit back and enjoy this issue, but don't stay seated for too long. Get up and get out to go volunteer, donate, knock on doors, ask questions, talk about issues, get information, share information, and affect change. After all, we don't want our future to be one of the grisly tales we read about in a future issue of the Erie Reader.