My apologies to readers who were unable to access the Peoria Chronicle this morning and early afternoon. The company that hosts my site, BlueHost.com, decided to do server maintenance today without any warning. As far as I can tell, the site finally came back up around 2:30 or so. I suggested it would be nice if they would notify me (and their other customers) next time they schedule this kind of maintenance.
Anyway, the site is back up now. Thanks for your patience.
PEORIA — Wm. Aupperle & Sons put the finishing touches on the $137,000 replacement arbor at Rebecca and Main. The City Council approved the expenditure in April out of the capital fund rather than as a special assessment on the homeowners.
I read in today’s paper that the Dream Center downtown is “replacing each old crank window with a version that doesn’t open.” The Journal Star reported yesterday that “The fifth, sixth and seventh floors [of the Dream Center, which is the old YMCA building downtown] are apartments for single-parent families operated by the YWCA.”
I wouldn’t want to live in an apartment where I couldn’t open the windows. It was bad enough when I used to work in an office building where the place was sealed and we had to breathe recirculated air all day. I can’t imagine coming home each evening to the same scenario. Therefore, I’m glad that we have an HVAC unit installed with a furnace installation by services like AirMax Heating & Air at home so we don’t have to worry about ventilation and humidity.
Why are operable windows important? Just look at the reasons given in today’s article:
Some people open windows to add fresh air or a breeze to the already air-conditioned building. Others like to air out their apartments to get rid of a smell associated with having a large group of people living on one floor.
Ventilation and fresh air are important to one’s environment, especially one’s home. Sustainable building design professionals are trying to start a renaissance of operable windows in office buildings, hotels, schools, etc., by touting the benefits of fresh air, ventilation, and control of personal space to individuals, the environment, and the bottom line. Individuals are more comfortable and productive, and open windows/individual climate control can lower the use of A/C, especially on mild days (and we have a lot of those in the Midwest), which leads to lower energy bills. Less energy consumption is also better for the environment. If you are wondering how much will be the cost of having a new window, then you might want to check this residential window replacement cost calculator.
Now, of course I recognize that the Dream Center is doing a lot of good work, and I don’t mean for my comments to detract from the important service they offer the less fortunate in our community. In fact, I only use them as an example because they were in the news today. My concern isn’t aimed at them in particular, but rather the idea of sealed, heavily climate-controlled buildings in general.
The blogger bash was very well attended this time around, and was a lot of fun. I got to meet a few new people, including Ms. Pointlessly Hypertechnical, “Cory,” and Karen Carter (Brad’s better half). Although I got there late, there were still a lot of people there. They couldn’t watch the Cubs on TV for some reason, but the eating and drinking went on as planned.
Also, we did discuss “organizing” to some degree, but the more we talked about it, the more complicated (and expensive) the proposition became. So we won’t be starting an Illinois News Bloggers Association any time soon. But we will be starting a Yahoo Group for sharing news releases, press conference announcements, etc., among Peoria’s news bloggers. So that’s a start.
Oh, and I met Elaine Hopkins. I was polite and cordial, but unfortunately she never apologized for publishing misleading statements about me regarding the Kellar Branch issue, despite having ample opportunity to do so. Until she does, there will be no “set[ting] aside [our] differences,” as she suggested in a comment to another post. I’m not amused by yellow journalism, especially when it’s directed at me. However, if and when I receive a public apology from her, I’ll be happy to set aside the whole matter and not bring it up again.
There’s a blogger bash tonight (7 p.m.) at Donnelly’s, 4908 N Renwood Ave, near the corner Glen and War Memorial Drive. More info is available here.
It’s my understanding the agenda is as follows:
I. Call to Order
II. Eat/Drink
III. Discuss organizing a “blogger journalist” advocacy group
IV. Eat/Drink
V. Watch “lovable losers” (Cubs) game on TV
VI. Eat/Drink
VII. Adjourn
I’ll be late. There’s a parent/teacher conference at my daughter’s school, so I’ll be arriving a little after 8, hopefully.
Tonight on the 5:00 news on WHOI, Elaine Hopkins was interviewed regarding a Peoria judge’s ruling that bloggers aren’t part of the news media. It was an interesting segment.
My favorite line, however, was when Tim McGinnis asked Elaine if she always researches both sides of a story and she responded, “Sometimes. It depends on the story.” Well, I have to give her credit for being truthful in her answer. She certainly has never made any effort to look at the pro-rail side of the Kellar Branch issue, or to correctly report the facts about it, either on her blog now or when she was reporting for the Journal Star.
But I digress. The HOI story also includes reaction from local bloggers. They didn’t put names with the comments in case the blogger wanted to remain anonymous and so they could speak more freely. However, I’ve never been one to leave anonymous comments, so I’ll just tell you that mine is the second one (the long one with the links in it). The most interesting story I read on the matter was this one from ABC News:
Despite the rap that bloggers simply “bloviate” and “don’t try to find things out,” as conservative newspaper columnist Robert Novak once sniffed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have altered policies to indicate they’re taking blogs seriously, and a growing number of public offices are actively reaching out to the blogosphere.
The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media — “including blogs,” the order said.
Like I said to HOI (and this isn’t original with me), reporting is reporting, whether it’s on the radio, on TV, or on a blog. The medium does not change the nature of the content. We may need to develop some criteria to separate the serious reporters from the crackpots for the purposes of giving media credentials, but I don’t believe “publishes on the internet only” and “isn’t an incorporated business” are among them.
Imagine my shock after reading this article about how the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq — not on Fox News, but in the New York Times! It’s written by war critics, to boot. (Note: the New York Times site may require you to register to read the article.)
Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.
They’re kind of splitting hairs when they differentiate between “sustainable stability” and “victory,” in my opinion. We are talking about the Middle East here. “Sustainable stability” is practically the holy grail of peace negotiations in that region.
The Bloomington Pantagraph ran an interesting AP article today on a tactic used by some cities to fight gang-related crime: civil lawsuits. Sounds crazy, but apparently it has had some success:
Fort Worth and San Francisco are among the latest to file lawsuits against gang members, asking courts for injunctions barring them from hanging out together on street corners, in cars or anywhere else in certain areas.
The injunctions are aimed at disrupting gang activity before it can escalate. They also give police legal reasons to stop and question gang members, who often are found with drugs or weapons, authorities said. In some cases, they don’t allow gang members to even talk to people passing in cars or to carry spray paint. […]
Those who disobey the order face a misdemeanor charge and up to a year in jail. Prosecutors say the possibility of a jail stay — however short — is a strong deterrent, even for gang members who’ve already served hard time for other crimes.
The article goes on to state that this method has so far withstood court challenges.
I decided to ask the Peoria Police Department if they had ever heard of this tactic and if they thought it would work. Chief Settingsgaard is on vacation this week, but Officer Ann Ruggles replied via e-mail and said that of the officers she contacted, only Captain Phil Korem had heard of filing civil lawsuits against gang members. Thus, the Police Department has no comment on the effectiveness of that particular tactic.
However, she added that “Peoria does have a Gang/Narcotics Loitering Ordinance (similar to Chicago), that has helped us in keeping track of the gangs and its membership. Keeping the individuals moving, and in some cases [barred] from certain areas of the city, known for drug sales, does help.”
Since the council will be discussing crime prevention techniques at their August 28 meeting anyway, perhaps this would be a tactic worth investigating.
Altogether now: “…Not for a year, but forever and a day….” How do I know?
Though the latest phase of revitalization is nearly finished, the overall effort isn’t complete. [Former board chairwoman Rebekah] Bourland said she envisions replacing the building’s glass arcades and adding a more user-friendly entrance from Monroe Avenue.
“The Civic Center is a work in progress,” she said. “To really do ourselves justice, we need to be thinking about the next step.”
Of course, they’ll be able to pay for these and other “next step” improvements out of the Civic Center’s profits… er… hmmm… I guess there aren’t any profits, are there?
Something on your mind this morning? Type it out. It’s therapeutic.