From a press release:

Hear in iRepairSquad President James Skaggs’ own words how iRepair Squad was conceptualized and launched.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Novus is held in the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center
801 W. Main Street, Peoria
($10 admission includes hors d‘oeuvres and drinks.)

You’ve probably heard ABOUT iRepairSquad. Now hear FROM THEM. These winners of the May 2007 Project Springboard business plan competition — the team of James Scaggs, Patrick Whitt, Lynn Wiewell, Jamie Buggs and Brad Watson — beat out five other teams to capture the first prize of $10,000 and a year’s worth of “knowledge capital” provided by several local companies. But their award-winning business was already up and running out of a home office. Now you can hear the electrifying story of how these Bradley students went from student to entrepreneur overnight.

TO REGISTER: Go to www.novusnetworking.com

Here’s some new and old stuff (mostly old) that I haven’t commented on, but is worth mentioning:

• Adams Street Market bites the dust. It’s too bad this development didn’t live up to its hype. The owner of this store gave me a tour of it before it opened, and I thought it sounded like a good thing for the South Side which is grossly underserved for basic services like supermarkets. Regrettably, the service and food quality evidently went downhill fast, and now it’s closed. Bummer.
• The President is coming back to town, but apparently he isn’t going back to the Sterling Family Restaurant. Nope, it’s a private residence (which won’t be disclosed ahead of time for security reasons, natch), and it’s to help raise funds for Aaron Schock, Republican candidate for the 18th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Ray LaHood. Thank goodness Schock is getting some help — he only has $1.1 million in his war chest, poor guy. How will he ever compete with his challenger’s $280,000? If you’d like to go, tickets are $500. If you want your picture taken with the President, you’ll have to cough up a cool five grand. Hey, for $100, I’ll Photoshop you into a picture with the President and it will look just like you were there! Drop me an e-mail.
• The Heart of Illinois Fair opens Friday. I remember this being a much bigger deal when I was a kid. Have I lost interest because I’ve gotten older, or has it really just gotten less exciting overall?
• Diane Vespa reminds us that we could have had Paul Vallas giving us free consulting advice, but District 150 turned him away. So, while he’s improving test scores and lengthening days down in New Orleans, District 150 is shortening days and misusing Title I funds. Who needs him!
• Gatehouse Media, owner of the Journal Star and the Times-Observer, is losing money hand over fist, Billy Dennis informs us. This is bad news for Peoria. I hope they get the ship righted, or else sell off our newspapers to a company that will manage them better.
• The Chillicothe Police are endorsing Darin LaHood for State’s Attorney. LaHood also has the endorsements of the Peoria Police Union and the Peoria County Sheriff’s Union.

From the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 ruling handed down today:

Held:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Pp. 2–53.

(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.

(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court’s interpretation of the operative clause. The “militia” comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved. Pp. 22–28.

(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms-bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.

(d) The Second Amendment’s drafting history, while of dubious interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms. Pp. 30–32.

(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion. Pp. 32–47.

(f) None of the Court’s precedents forecloses the Court’s interpretation. Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264–265, refutes the individual-rights interpretation. United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.

2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons. Pp. 54–56.

3. The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s [District of Columbia, where this suit originated] total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of “arms” that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional. Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Pp. 56–64.

478 F. 3d 370, affirmed.

SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and KENNEDY, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which STEVENS, SOUTER, and GINSBURG, JJ., joined.

I’m surprised the vote was so close, but I suppose I shouldn’t have been. It’s just that, to me, a plain reading of the Second Amendment to the Constitution shows that the right to bear arms is an individual right:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

It’s nice to see that the Supreme Court agrees. And if you’re looking for a gun that is perfect for concealed carry, check out https://ballachy.com/glock-37-review/

It’s not easy to make it to first place in the whole state. But the Limestone Rockets 3A softball team has done it. Congratulations!

Look out, Ed Boik — Randy Oliver is following you.

Ed Boik used to work in the Planning and Growth department, but recently moved to Peoria, Arizona. Now, word comes that former City Manager Randy Oliver is likely to become the new city manager in nearby Surprise, Arizona. The city council there selected him unanimously from a pool of 109 applicants, which had been whittled to five finalists. A contract could come up for a vote before the month is out.

Not everyone is happy about how the choice was handled. The article mentions several people who were unhappy with the lack of transparency on the part of the Surprise city council in making their selection.

Here are some interesting quotes:

“You’ll find I’m an upfront person,” Oliver said. “As I told the council, we may or may not agree. There are times that people don’t agree, and the key is you can do that professionally. As evidenced by my career and history, I run a very clean administration. I don’t put up with anything that’s not.”

Oliver said he left [Peoria, IL] when it became clear the job was no longer “the best fit” and city leaders had transitioned to focusing only on basic services.

“They didn’t think the city should be involved in certain things outside of police and fire,” Oliver said.

Nonetheless, Oliver provided Surprise leaders with a letter of recommendation from Peoria’s mayor.

Interesting. This is new information — he left because he perceived the city was focusing only on basic services? And therefore he didn’t see his services as “the best fit”? I guess that means he was in favor of more “progressive” spending behind the scenes. I can see how that would cause some friction, especially around budget time.

Oliver had been a finalist for city manager in Durham, North Carolina, but that job was ultimately offered to Pensacola, Fla., city manager Tom Bonfield.

Good luck to Randy in getting the gig in sunny Arizona. Maybe he and Ed can get together for supper sometime and talk about the good old days in Peoria.

Anyone feel the earthquake this morning around 4:30?

The U.S. Geological Survey says this morning’s 5.2-magnitude earthquake was likely generated by the Wabash fault zone in southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana.

I didn’t. Slept right through it, as did my kids. But my wife woke up to the windows rattling; she said it went on for about 40-45 seconds. WCBU says there may be aftershocks, so if you feel the earth move under your feet, now you’ll know why.

While I missed this earthquake, I do remember feeling a small quake back in the late 1980s. I was at church (not Grace Pres — I went to a different church then), and it was a really strange feeling when the slab floor in the sanctuary started moving!

Fortunately, no damage has been reported.

UPDATE: Anyone feel an aftershock around 10:15?

Good morning, everyone. Please feel free to comment on whatever you’d like here. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

• Watching HBO’s John Adams miniseries. We don’t get HBO at home, but my wife’s parents do, so they’ve been taping it for us. I’ve seen up through the third episode now. It’s very good — I like the authenticity of the sets, costumes, etc. The actors were well cast, too. I had read McCullough’s book (on which the miniseries is based) several years ago, and it is excellent.
• Doing my taxes. I usually do my taxes in February, but for whatever reason, I’m just now getting around to it — right before the deadline.
• Reading about ATSF’s Super Chief train (1935-1971). Amtrak’s Southwest Chief follows roughly the same route today. I’m always amazed by how much skill and effort went into the details back then. For example, a professional designer was hired to decorate the train in authentic Navajo patterns/designs and they hired professional chefs and waiters to provide fine dining on the 39+ hour trip. Nowadays, things like craftsmanship, fine food, and first class service are generally seen as inefficient, too expensive, and ultimately unnecessary.
• Oh yes, and I also read the latest Kellar Branch editorial in Sunday’s paper. Yawn.

What’s new with you? Anything you’d like to share?

From the April issue of Junction City News:

Junction City is Growing!

The last walls of the old Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) building on Knoxville came crumbling down in early February, marking a major transition point in the expansion of Junction City. Where the IDOT building stood will now become parking and retail space for a new addition to Junction City.

The warehouse building, located directly behind Junction City’s current shops, will be divided and turned into new retail stores, with a cozy “main street” feel, continuing the unique and historic atmosphere for which Junction City is known and loved (see the rendering of proposed changes below). This space will be filled with new restaurants and unique shopping opportunities in the next year, and will be supplemented by new retail and mixed-use construction on the land formerly occupied by the Grandview Hotel.

Like it or hate it, it’s their money, and they can build what they want. But like I’ve said before, I just expected something with a little more style from Junction Ventures. And come on, the rhetoric isn’t fooling anybody — this is not a “cozy ‘main street’ feel.” It’s a strip mall. A plain, cookie-cutter, run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen strip mall. The kind that David Joseph always builds. Call it what it is.

Have you seen “Junction City Phase II” yet? Here’s the sign with an artist’s rendering:

Doesn’t really look like Junction City, does it? Kinda looks more like the strip mall out by Wal-Mart on Allen Road. Is it just me, or did anyone else expect the new addition to be complementary to the style of the older part of Junction City, with its boardwalks and town hall? This new development looks… generic.

But hey, they’re not breaking any zoning laws or anything. They’re free to build another nondescript, run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter strip mall if they wish. I had just come to expect something with a bit more style from Junction Ventures.