Google Earth application maps U.S. military deaths, 16 lost from Philadelphia

Nick Zangara was 21-years-old in 2004 when a makeshift bomb exploded near his convoy in Tikrit, 90 miles northwest of Baghdad and a universe from his home in Northeast Philadelphia.

The George Washington High School graduate is one of at least 16 people from Philadelphia who have been killed in Middle Eastern military conflicts this decade, according to a new Google Earth layer called “Map the Fallen.”

“This Memorial Day I would like to share with you a personal project of mine that uses Google Earth to honor the more than 5,700 American and Coalition servicemen and women that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan,” writes Sean Askay, the layer’s creator. “I have created a map for Google Earth that will connect you with each of their stories, you can see photos, learn about how they died, visit memorial Web sites with comments from friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died.”

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Technically Not Tech: Tech training and another chance at YouthBuild Philadelphia

YouthBuild Philadelphia Leads a green build at the National Mall in D.C. on March 17, 2009. YouthBuild also has technology courses.

She wasn’t going to pass.

Testing for an ICDL, a license noting she had mastered general computer functions, is the goal of the six-week technology class at the YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, but sometimes there are too many challenges for some students to get there.

This young woman tried, but it sure seemed like she’d be one of the students who miss the mark. Female high school dropouts aren’t often thought as players in technology fields.

But then, she passed. And now, one year later, she’s at the Community College of Philadelphia, reaching even further.

Stephanie Virgo, a YouthBuild technology instructor who had those concerns about that student she liked, now sees that triumph as something of a lesson on how technology can challenge and motivate.

“We have students who have never used a computer before,” Virgo says. “It can be very empowering and help them pursue that post-secondary education. If you’re given a paper to write, that can be hard. If you’re given that paper and you don’t know how to use a computer, it’s a whole ‘nother challenge.”

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Technically Not Tech: G-town Radio, the Sound of Germantown

G-town Radio is programmed from an office space in the Maplewood Mall in Germantown. Photo courtesy of G-town Radio

In February, residents of Germantown lost two community fixtures when the Journal Register Co. declared bankruptcy and published the final issues of the Germantown Courier and Mount Airy Times Express.

It shouldn’t be a surprise for many who have watched the newspaper industry struggle. Small communities are continuing to hemorrhage vital media coverage.

Consider G-town Radio a band-aid.

In the heart of Germantown in an office space in the Maplewood Mall, Owner and Station Manager Jim Bear broadcasts an eclectic mix of programming on the Internet radio station. And he’s throwing in some civic duty for good measure.

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Comcast Cares Day brings out 50,000 across country

We like the good stories, too.

Comcast held its 8th annual Comcast Cares Day on Saturday — sending more than 50,000 employees out for more than 500 service projects to log more than 300,000 volunteer hours in what they bill as perhaps the largest single day of corporate service  in the world, according to a company press release.

The company’s blog puts that total at *poof* more than 60,000, which may or may not be nonsense, but it does a fine job of chronicling some of the good works Comcast has involved itself in this year, like servicing public green space, helping at food pantries and other wholesome goodness that doesn’t cost too much but is sweet.

For all of those who like the redeemable parts of corporate USA, check after the jump.

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