The van that has occupied so much of this blog still sits in the driveway on flats. A not was recently attached to the wiper asking if the owner would be interested in selling it. If anyoune out there has contact with the owner could you let them know the note is there? I think it might be from a realtor who would be willing to pay a few hundred bucks to take it off their hands if it means the hood will look nicer to prospective buyers.

You may have noticed a group of men pruning trees in the neighborhood over the last few days. I am glad for the work as it helps keep the trees healthy but they didn't take the branches away. They left them where they fell and it doesn't appear that they have any intention to come back for them. I saw a few green trucks but forget the name of the company. Did anyone else happen to catch the name? I wold like to contact them about the mess they made.

Everyone has seen the scrap metal collectors driving around with their trucks piled high with all manner of things. Old appliances, computer shells, and bed frames stacked 10 feet high. I worry that this is dangerous but don't report it because I know these folks need to make a living. Making the life of someone (who obviously is having a hard time already) more difficult is not something I will readily do. Problem is, I have seen questionable merchandise tossed up in the back of these trucks. I saw what looked like a few brand new ovens in a truck today that I fear were stolen from a construction site. In the past I have seen a bike rack in a truck with bikes still locked to it. On another occasion, I saw a truck stacked high with wheel chairs. I called the police on my cell phone when I saw that one. Stealing from building sites is one thing but stealing from a hospital is low.

My question is, "Should I call the police when I see these things?" Am I risking sending a person to jail and ruining a family? I wish I could approach the drivers and ask but worry that I will end up in a fight or worse. If anyone else has had any experience in these matters, your comments are very welcome.

There has been a lot of activity in Jarvis square recently. They have been putting in new flooring and installed a counter at what will soon be a coffee shop and are painting the walls in the storefront to the north. The new grocery has new windows and I have seen that they're bringing in coolers and other equipment already. The sound of construction in what will soon be a restaurant in the old liquor store space has also been heard. Rogers Bark pet salon seems to be doing good business and the new theater space is also coming together. All this new business makes feel very good about the economic health of the neighborhood. Most people I know around here have been complaining for years that we need new businesses that people can go to. New buisiness means more tax dollars and hopefully continued improvement. Nothing attracts money like money.

Idle hands are the barber's playground. Or something like that. Since I am no longer looking for a job and I have a few weeks before I start my new job, I have decided to grow a beard. I will document its progress by photographing it each day. On the day before I start work, I will shave it off in increments and create as many different facial hair fashions as possible. Once the project is complete, I'll post the photos for all to see. Unfortunately, I will be shaving my neck so I will not be able to demonstrate the Grady from Sanford and Son full neck beard. Keep in mind that this project is only going to last a few weeks so it might not get that long. More soon.

The fellow who exposes himself at Arbour House did it to me today and then proceeded to urinate in the yard. I called the police and they came and spoke with him. They think he may not have a legitimate mental problem as he seems to understand that what he is doing is wrong but malingers well enough that they could not make an arrest. Their exact words were, "We'd like to bring this guy in but if we did our Lt. would have us working the South Side tomorrow."

They said that we should call on every infraction we see and encourage our neighbors to do so as well. If enough complaints are received they'll be forced to clean up their act. They said that while in the building they saw a guy they arrested a few days ago for drug posession. They got the very distinct impression that the facility will diagnose most anyone with a mental handicap in order to have them admitted and have seen it before. They make money by having people in the facility. It is terrible to think that some of the gentle souls that inhabit that building are being constantly exposed to criminals. Please call 911 and ask to speak with an officer any time something shady is going on. Thank you.

The street lights between Ashland and Paulina are out again they seem to go out quite frequently. I am interested in finding out the cause of these outages and have sent a letter to the Aldreman's office in hopes of getting the issue resolved.

A new business is coming to the Gateway. A Quiznos sandwich shop is going in across from Chinalite. I think this is exactly the type of business we need in order to get some of the commuters that come through each day to stop and spend a little money in our hood.

The new streetlights up and down Greenview between Howard and Jarvis are a welcome sight. There were several lights before but the light was often obscured by tree branches and they were so high the light was too widely dispersed. The new posts have 2 fixtures, one to illuminate the street ad one for the sidewalk. They also look quite nice. I am investigating whether or not this is a program that will move to to other streets as well. I think these types of fixtures would be great in our local parks.

Many of you may have received the gift of a new phone book over the last few days. Our building was given more than its fair share. One delivery person decided to spare those on his route the trouble of disposing of them on their own and dropped 2 tons of yellow pages in our dumpster. If anyone knows of this happening in other locations or has seen any similar activity please let me know.

My wife and I are having a bunch of people over tomorrow night and we plan on ordering pizza. We usually order from Leona's but it just isn't very good any more. I think their sauce is bland. Aside from Carmen's, (which I also think is mediocre) does anyone have any suggestions on a good place that delivers up here? I like a kind of spicy sauce if that helps with recommendations. Thanks!

Hi everyone. I was recently turned on to a free interenet phone service called Skype. It allows you to create a profile much like AIM with voice and talk to other registerd users but it's completely free. It will also dial real numbers all over the globe for those folks you want to reach out who are not registered users if you subscribe to that service. Pretty cool. Here's the link to their site: http://www.skype.com

A few thoughts on the recent smoking ban. I quit smoking about 5 years ago now and when I go out to places that allow smoking it really bothers me but I plan for it. I try to get a table by the door/window and wear clothes I don't mind smelling like an ashtray for 3 washings. if it gets too unpleasant, I go home. I have lots of friends who smoke and I would not want them to stay at home or be forced outdoors every time they wanted/needed a cigarette. Perhaps it is not always the case but smokers tend to be people with a more cavalier attitude towards life and in my opinion are often the life of any party.

The argument has been made that this will protect the bartenders and waitresses in these establishments from second hand smoke. I think that is somewhat logical but is really just an argument used to break down the opposition's argument that people can choose to go to a bar or resatauant that allows these things or choose to go to a place that chooses not to allow smoking on their own. The idea being that the employees do not have a choice. Fact is, they new they were going to be working in a smoky environment. Drinking and smoking go hand in hand. I know many people who only smoke when they drink and others who chain smoke when drinking who usually smoke very little. Anyone who does not expect a smoky environment when they apply for work at a bar must never have been in a bar in Chicago.

I also wonder how this will effect other businesses aside from bars. One in particular is the obligatory smoking lounges at funeral parlors. I know it is a little grim to think about, but can you imagine having to tell a grieving person that they need to go outside to smoke in the rain (15 feet away from the building no less) when a loved one has just passed? I would not have the nerve to do it.

Hi everyone. I know I have been a bad blogger lately but I have been spectacularly busy and lazy recently. I am writing today to ask if anyone knows what all the activity was this afternoon on Paulina. I was walking home from the grocery and noticed flashing lights several blocks south of Fargo. It seemed that it may have been the roving group of police SUVs you sometimes see around. I was particularly concernedas it was right around the time kids were getting out of school. I was carrying groceries home and could not investigate.

Also, I wanted to make an announcement that I am going to change the content of this blog somewhat. I was going to start another blog that is not so "community only" focused to share with family and friends but decided that having a blog that just covers anything I might be interested in would be easier to maintain. I will still post about community issues when I have news or an opinion.

Finally, you may have noticed the new police camera that went in on Ashland and Howard. As much as I appreciate that these cameras might provide additional security in the areas in which they are located, I wonder what effect it has on businesses and investors. Do they think it is an added security or do they think, "I am not going to move my business to an area that needs a police camera."?

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.