Posts Tagged ‘swimming pool’
Ohio landlord appeals ruling on her bigotry, her “Whites Only” sign
A landlord wants the Ohio Civil Rights Commission on Thursday to reconsider its finding that she violated the law by posting a “white only” sign at her swimming pool. Jamie Hein has asked the commission to reverse its initial ruling that found she violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by putting up a sign that read “Public Swimming Pool, White Only” at her Cincinnati duplex.
The commission, meeting this week in Columbus, concluded last year that the sign “restricts the social contact between Caucasians and African Americans as well as reinforcing discrimination actions that are aimed at oppressing all ‘people of color.’”
The case was brought by Michael Gunn, a white man who said had unrestricted access to the pool area for himself and his guests during the nearly two years he lived in the duplex, he said in a December interview.
Gunn, a software engineer, said he and his girlfriend, who is also white, lived upstairs; their 31-year-old landlord lived downstairs. However, he said their relationship soured in May 2011 when he invited his 10-year-old biracial daughter to visit and swim in the pool…”Days later, the owner posted a sign on the gate to the pool which read, ‘Public Swimming Pool, White Only.’”
Hein said she received the sign from a friend and posted it in early May, the summary says. Several people interviewed by the commission staff confirmed that they had seen the sign, it added.
Hein did not respond to a request for comment at the time. But she told ABC News in December that she collects antiques. She said the sign, which was dated 1931 and from Alabama, was a gift from a friend…
It’s as American as apple pie. Collecting historic memorabilia for racism and bigotry.
Reminds me of nothing more than a job I held at New Orleans International Airport back in the day. The administration of the airport had never painted over signs in the engineering department for separate restrooms for “colored” and “white” employees. The excuse was they’d have to paint the whole department to make it look uniform. “The old signs would eventually fade away”.
Meanwhile, they reminded every employee of the cultural heritage of bigotry in Louisiana every day of the week. One of my closest friends there – a Black man of Jamaican heritage – arranged our own daily ritual when I would pee in the colored restroom and he would pee in the whites restroom. Then join to applaud the venture immediately afterwards. Laughter at backwards fools always helps.
Crematorium to help heat swimming pool
Holy smoke!
A council is proposing to save money – and combat global warming – by heating a leisure centre and swimming pool using heat generated by the crematorium next door.
Redditch council in Worcestershire says it can save £14,500 a year by warming its new Abbey Stadium sports centre with heat from the crematorium’s incinerators that would otherwise be lost.
The council, which says it is the first project of its kind in the UK, is holding briefings later this week with faith groups, funeral directors and members of the public to discuss the scheme.
But some local people are concerned. Simon Thomas, of Thomas Brothers funeral directors, said: “I don’t know how comfortable people would feel about the swimming pool being heated due to the death of a loved one, I think it’s a bit strange and eerie.”
Council leader Carole Gandy defended the plans, saying it would save money and energy. “I’d much rather use the energy rather than just see it going out of the chimney and heating the sky. It will make absolutely no difference to the people who are using the crematorium for services…I think it will save the authority money and, in the long-term, save energy which is what we’re all being told we should do.”
Be careful about all that common sense stuff, Ms. Gandy. It will get you in trouble every time.
Public pool disinfectants link to health problems
Splashing around in a swimming pool on a hot summer day may not be as safe as you think. A recent University of Illinois study links the application of disinfectants in recreational pools to previously published adverse health outcomes such as asthma and bladder cancer.
Each year, 339 million visits take place at pools and water parks across the United States. Not only is swimming fun, but it’s also the second most popular form of exercise in the country. Because of this, disinfection of recreational pools is critical to prevent outbreaks of infectious disease. However, Michael Plewa, U of I professor of genetics, said negative outcomes can occur when disinfection byproducts form reactions with organic matter in pool water…
“All sources of water possess organic matter that comes from decaying leaves, microbes and other dead life forms,” Plewa said. “In addition to organic matter and disinfectants, pool waters contain sweat, hair, skin, urine, and consumer products such as cosmetics and sunscreens from swimmers…”
In this study, collections from public pools and a control sample of tap water were evaluated to identify recreational water conditions that could be harmful to your health…
The study compared different disinfection methods and environmental conditions. Results proved that all disinfected pool samples exhibited more genomic DNA damage than the source tap water, Plewa said.
You never know when someone is peeing down the other end of the pool.
