I'd like to share a little info surroundng what was once a very troubled little strip that has really improved recently. The problem was booze and the solution also was booze.

At the Jarvis stop there were always dirtbags hanging around. Then they closed the liquor store and many of them went away. A little while later the bar that was there was replaced by a new bar with big windows that faced the street. The presence of people sitting near these windows at night who can witness any sort of shady activity going on led to even less loitering, pan handling, robberies, etc..

I used to visit chicagocrime.org and find that people were robbed near that stop almost daily. Now the area is starting to attract businesses again. This all happened since the spring of this year. An amazing turn around. There's still crime but it is greatly improved from what it once was.

Hello all. I apologize for not posting much in a while but I have been quite busy and got myself involved in a rather boisterous conversation in another blog. As a result, Craig, the administrator at morsehellhole.blogspot.com has indicated that he will now censor any of my postings. This is quite funny to me as all I do is take him to task for posting half truths an innuendo. A practice that he regularly attacks others for. He even recently took another blogger to task for censoring his comments. In any case, I think it is funny. I will continue to try and expose this site which gets so much attention for the Michael J Harrington campaign rally that it is.

That aside, you may have noticed that the van is till their. The property owner continues to lie about what they intend to do with it. I am looking for ideas for further actions to take on getting it removed. If you look at the rear of the vehicle, their is evidence that the floor is rusted out and that animals may be living in the van. I plan on trying to get the department of health involved. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I have been out of town for several days so forgive me for not posting in a while. I would like to thank those of you who elected me to represent you as part of the condominium association board of managers. I will do my best to serve the owners and try and build better relationships with our neighbors in the coming months. I'll also do my best to keep you all informed of issues/proposals before the board through this blog and other postings.

Please feel free to contact me through this forum if you ever need any information or have an issue you would like addressed. If you do not already have my email address, I plan to post it in the building.

I know I do not usually post about National Issues but this portion of Dan Savage's "Savage Love" column from this week's onion caught my eye and I agree with his statements.

-There were two disturbing developments in the battle over straight rights last week. First, we know that Target fills its ads with dancing, multi-culti hipsters giving off a tolerant, urbanist vibe, and runs hipster-heavy ad campaigns positioning Target as a slightly more expensive, more progressive alternative to Wal-Mart. Well, as John Aravosis revealed on americablog.org last week, Target's politics are as red as their bulls-eye logo. The chain allows its pharmacists to refuse to dispense birth control and emergency contraception to female customers if the pharmacist objects on religious grounds. What's worse, the company claims that any of its employees have a right to discriminate against any of its customers provided the discrimination is motivated by an employee's religious beliefs. Read all about it at americablog.org and plannedparenthood.org.

Second, more troubling news from Tucson, Arizona, where a 20-year-old rape victim called dozens of pharmacies in town before she found one that stocked emergency contraception (EC). "When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections," reported the Arizona Daily Star. Emergency contraception, the story continued, "prevents pregnancy by stopping ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg. The sooner the emergency contraception is taken after intercourse, the more effective it is."

Don't just sit there, heteros. Defend your rights! Don't shop at Target, and write 'em and tell them why you're going elsewhere. (Go to target.com and click on "contact us," then "Target Corporation.") As for Fry's Pharmacy in Tucson, the shop that wouldn't dispense EC to a freakin' rape victim, the fundamentalist pharmacist claims it's her "right" to not do her fucking job. Well, you have a right to free speech. Call Fry's at 520-323-2695 and ask them why the fuck a pharmacy that won't dispense EC keeps the drug in stock. Do they do it just to torment rape victims? ("Oh yeah, we've got EC—but you can't have any. Don't you know that Jesus wants you to bear your rapist's child?") Rise up, straight people, and demand your rights!

Someone asked me, in a different forum, what I envision this bike path/park development would look like. Apparently, they thought I was for expanding LSD. That is not true. I am not trying to break down this myth so that we can build another highway. What I would like to see is similar to what you see in Evanston. A nice gently curving path that winds along the lakefront with a well kept park with modern facilities. Why can't we do that? Show me a study that says building such a park would decrease property values or destroy wildlife habitat. Would you really rather maintain a massive stretch of rubble along Loyola's lakefront and the private beach rights of a handful of properties? Explain to me how that serves the community.

I'd like to ask a few questions about the referendum that gets so much lip service around here. According to an article in last week's Reader:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/pdf/051028/051028_works.pdf

The referendum asked this question:“Should local, state andfederal governments allowextension of Lake Shore Driveor establishment of any otherroadways, marinas, housing orcommercial structures as partof any lakefront expansionfrom Hollywood Avenue toEvanston?” If this is the actual language used, then I would suspect that people voted against expansion of LSD first and foremost and not development of the lakefront overall. If this is the language used then the referendum is a joke. Who drafted this referendum? What purpose did they intend it to serve? It would seem to me that it is designed to block all development of the lakefront even if it were for park space.

Using LSD expansion paranoia to block all development on the Lakefront does a disservice to this community and makes us all look foolish. Responsible development of the Lakefront is a great way to bring much needed resources to Rogers Park. I am concerened that certain members of the community are more concerned with the well being of fish or possibly their own lakefront property than they are about their neighbors and the well being of our neighborhood.