Community Corner

The Best Blogs on Patch: Grandmothers, Guns and Scooping Poop

Patch's weekly roundup of blogs from across the country.

Every day people are posting heartwarming, useful and inspiring stories in their blogs on Patch.

Here’s some of the best blogs we saw this week:

1. On Monday, communities around the Washington, D.C. area were impacted by the shooting at the Navy Yard.

Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Tuesday, Blogger Laurie Levine shared her thoughts in a post on Reston Patch.

The tragedy hit close to home, as Levine knew people who worked at the naval facility in Washington. She wrote how the number of incidents related to gun violence reminded her of children misbehaving over and over again. How can adults respond, she asked.

Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I can vote, I can lobby and I can work diligently on the issues of mental health, but I can't stop this insanity.  An elementary school, a high school, a college, a movie theater, a marathon.  These are our places, these are our lives, these are our friends and families that are getting killed - when will the grown ups make it stop?”

2. Blogger Laura Madsen wrote a touching tribute to her grandmother on Hillsborough Patch in New Jersey. Madsen wrote in her blog that her “Gan” was the type of grandmother who loved her unconditionally and taught her many things.

From ringing in her 80th birthday at a bar in Vegas to walking down the hallway of Madsen’s college dorm high-fiving friends, Madsen recalled an ageless woman who talked about the future as if it endless.

In the past few years, it’s been hard to watch her age. Madsen wrote.

“She lived far, and I’m so glad I got to see her one last time with my daughter before she died.  The last hug I gave her resonated with my mind, body, and soul, on a level where subconsciously, I knew it would be our last embrace.  As frail as she appeared, she was strong.   Her arms wrapped around my shoulders as if she were in her 20s with ease and warmth, pulling me close.”

3. Over on Newton Patch in Massachusetts, blogger and local business owner Paul Delaney tackled an issue every community can relate to: pet waste.

Delaney’s company Doody Calls is an expert on dog poop and he wrote 10 tips for how to get rid of it.

With tips like the “360-degree scan” and “follow a grid pattern,” readers are sure to learn a few things when cleaning up after the pets in the local dog park.

Oh, and an interesting fact about pet waste? Delany shared that it’s actually not a fertilizer.

“In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled dog waste a nonpoint source pollutant, placing it in the same category as herbicides and insecticides; oil, grease and toxic chemicals; and acid drainage from abandoned mines.”

4. Another business owner wrote a great piece directed at other bloggers on Birmingham Patch in Michigan.

Lori T. Williams said that a common excuse she hears from lawyers and other clients that they know they should blog, but they don’t have the time.

Williams addressed the excuses head on in her blog post with straightforward advice like keeping a friendly tone and using photos to illustrate a point.

“While blogging might not make sense for all law practices, it is a valuable tool to showcase one’s expertise and educate your target market on the basics of the law in your niche.”

Patch has many parent and mom bloggers who post heartfelt posts about their children and their thoughts on family. This week a touching post came out of Yorktown-Somers Patch in New York.

5. Blogger Mama Mom shared thoughts she had on her child’s education while helping her with her homework.

Between increased testing and common core standards in public education, Mama Mom wrote in her blog that her children are not receiving the education she wants for them at their school.

“There are so many layers to what our children are facing in school today and what our communities stand to lose... I am desperate for the help of parents like you to correct me and if you can't please keep reading and join me as I fight to save our schools, teachers and future of our children's generation.”

Patch is open platform where readers can post, comment and recommend stories on the site. Any user is welcome to blog, by going to the ‘blogs’ tab from the homepage. 


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