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[
"Chicago Tribune"
] | 2016-08-27T12:48:09 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsports%2Fcs-ontheair-htmlstory.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-520a69f1/turbine/cs-ontheair | en | null | On the Air | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | null | http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-ontheair-htmlstory.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ca58cde2dd4eaf2ab1f4cfb73c5dc3a48f15df61ab14fb504392ba06a1c3044c.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:11 | null | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flibertyville%2Fnews%2Fct-lbr-sports-complex-parking-hockey-rink-tl-0811-20160808-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57a8f569/turbine/ct-lbr-sports-complex-parking-hockey-rink-tl-0811-20160808 | en | null | Parking solution could clear the way for an outdoor hockey rink at Libertyville Sports Complex | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Village officials are optimistic about a new potential home for an outdoor hockey rink after a study of the Libertyville Sports Complex found a way to add 92 new parking spots.
The rink was used for roller hockey during the warmer months and ice hockey in the winter until it was disassembled in January 2015 when Libertyville sold Bolander Park to a housing developer.
Officials identified a grassy area along Route 45 next to a softball field as a potential spot for the hockey rink, but Connie Kowal, director of parks and recreation, said the field is used for 74 overflow parking spaces during big events.
Village Engineer Fred Chung spent July measuring different configurations and said he can replace all those parking spots. Libertyville's Parks and Recreation Committee reviewed the plan during an Aug. 2 meeting and voted to move forward with soil testing.
If the hockey rink is placed at the very edge of the required 50-foot setback from Route 45, then 22 parking spots could be built between the rink and the softball field, Chung said.
Then, a circle drive behind the spots complex near a loading dock could be torn up and replaced with 70 new parking spots, according to Chung's proposal.
"Who would have thought we struggle to put a hockey rink here and end up with more parking. What a deal," said Village Trustee Peter Garrity, who is also a member of the committee.
An idea pitched last month involved demolishing a side road south of the sports complex and rebuilding it further away from the building with parking on each side. Replacing the rear circle drive yields more parking spots, according to Chung, and committee members admitted it would be easier.
The committee then walked around the sports complex to look at both the circle drive and open field. Along Route 45 is a tall berm that blocks noise and view of traffic along Route 45.
Scott Nelson, a member of the local hockey club, attended the Aug. 2 meeting and said he was impressed.
"This is a nice little spot. Who around here is going to complain?" Nelson said, while pointing to the hill, a distant utility line and then the sports complex.
Parking problems and its remote location were reasons why the committee was originally hesitant about the sports center property. However, a proposal for Butler Lake Park was met with intense opposition from neighbors and the hills at Adler Park were deemed too complicated to build on.
Nelson said he admired Mayor Terry Weppler's desire to keep the rink close enough for teenagers to walk, but he's confident the club's members can find rides.
"I'm actually just really glad this is still on the table," Nelson said. "It's been a topic of discussion for so long and things like that can sometimes get put on the back burner. I appreciate all the effort these guys are putting in. It really makes me and my boys feel important."
Village Trustee Rich Moras said he too was pleased with the latest sports complex proposal, but he clarified to say the plan is still under review and is not final. He said further research could still uncover a problem or the full seven-person Village Board could insist upon another option.
"Yes, each step is progressing and the fact finding is moving along nicely," Kowal said. "Let's let it be thought provoking."
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/libertyville/news/ct-lbr-sports-complex-parking-hockey-rink-tl-0811-20160808-story.html | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5e151138a4006c9bfc9aa453b679713a90ff9c6dc1504e6bd38739433d92ed57.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:32 | null | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-deputy-chief-tl-0825-20160818-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57b66a0b/turbine/ct-nbs-deputy-chief-tl-0825-20160818 | en | null | Northbrook fire chief names new deputy, demotes another | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Northbrook Fire Chief Jose Torres, just over halfway through his second year in command, has shaken up his staff, naming a new deputy chief and demoting the current deputy.
The moves come as Torres finishes a plan that will guide the village's emergency services and preparation, in response to thousands of new residents expected to move to developments approved by Northbrook over the last two years.
"We're taking a look at where the fire stations are, seeing whether they're in the best place to continue to provide services in the most timely manner," Torres said.
He said areas of stress on the department include more than 700 new apartments on the way to being occupied on Skokie Boulevard, as well as the northwest corner of the village, which is difficult to reach because of obstacles such as the expressway.
Previous growth has already left the Northbrook fire service challenged. In each of the last five years for which department records are available, its average arrival time to locations on surface streets has risen slightly, from 5 minutes and 13 seconds in the fiscal year ending in April 2011, to 5 minutes and 35 seconds in 2015.
Torres' plan, which he said will be done by the end of 2016, or at the latest, the end of the village's fiscal year April 30, 2017, will reflect on how the department might change in the next three, five and ten years.
He said he is also looking to raise the profile of the department, which has improved over the years to an Insurance Service Office rating of 2, the second-highest possible.
Torres' new deputy chief is Dan Quinn, a 27-year department veteran who has for years led the drive to raise and protect the insurance rating, which reduces some Northbrook insurance bills. Quinn has also been a leader in emergency preparedness, Torres said.
Quinn, who led one of the department's three shifts, has basically switched jobs with former Deputy Chief Tim Smeltzer, who takes those duties as a battalion chief. Quinn, served as a battalion chief, but had a mostly honorary title of district chief, Torres said.
Torres said that since the change was made in late July, Smeltzer has been doing a good job as a battalion chief, and is happy with that position, but the switch does not come without pain. Smeltzer's annual pay will drop "commensurate with his position," Torres said.
According to the village's salary schedule, that means a reduction from over $137,000 to about $120,000 for Smeltzer, and a similar raise for Quinn.
"Thank you for the confidence you've expressed in me. I won't let you down," Quinn told Torres at his Aug. 9 promotion ceremony. "We'll succeed as a team, as many winning teams do."
Smeltzer did not attend the ceremony and could not be reached for comment. He has served about 22 years with the department, three as deputy chief, Torres said.
"There are just differences in leadership and management styles," between Quinn and Smeltzer, Torres said.
Torres, who was recently appointed as a representative to the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, said he wants the department to raise its profile both regionally and nationally, since he considers it one of the finest in the country.
Torres said he has made other personnel changes, down to who handles fire hose, pump and air-mask testing.
He said he expects those moves to better prepare the department for personnel absences.
"We've got to have a deep bench," he said. "We've got to have somebody to take over, and assume those duties" in the event of change.
He said the normally large cadre of "paid-on-call" Northbrook firefighters — fill-in firefighters paid per job — has fallen to the point where only six are at his disposal, compared to the budgetary limit of 18. The reduction, he said, has come as the on-call firefighters have moved up to regular jobs around the area.
He said he'd like to triple the on-call ranks, and to do so will likely expand the distance from Northbrook where on-call firefighters can live, from the first ring of towns around the village, to places such as Buffalo Grove or Lake Forest.
Twitter @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-deputy-chief-tl-0825-20160818-story.html | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2089484bd25fbaf679213541ed244db674d85ce1d925451f9692ce24d68f394b.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Myrna Petlicki"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:13 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-zurich%2Flifestyles%2Fct-bcr-go-familyfriendly-tl-0811-20160811-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57acccb0/turbine/ct-bcr-go-familyfriendly-tl-0811-20160811 | en | null | See 'Charlotte's Web' live on stage at Arlington Heights Library | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Children are still enthralled by reading E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" even though it was first published 64 years ago. Linda Madonia of American Eagle Productions thinks that's cause for celebration.
"It's a story that is now being passed to a third generation of readers," she said. "Grandparents, parents and their children are influenced by this tale of true friendship and love."
American Eagle Productions will bring their stage version of the classic story to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave., 11 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 20.
"Our musical adaptation is absolutely true to the original book," Madonia said. "A child can read the book and then watch it come to life in our musical."
Seven professional actors are in the cast.
"The obvious message is friendship and what it means to be a true friend," Madonia said. "What I hope is that the message is heightened and enhanced by theater."
Reservations are required.
For details, call (847) 392-0100 or go to www.ahml.info.
The sun will go down
...and the fun will begin during Arlington Heights Park District's Movie in the Park, Friday, Aug. 12 at Pioneer Park, 500 S. Fernandez Ave. Families are encouraged to picnic starting at 6:30 p.m. There will be family games, a bounce house and other activities beginning at 7:15 p.m., followed by the screening of "Annie." The event is free. Food will be available for purchase.
For details, call (847) 577-3000 or go to www.ahpd.org.
Here come the yellow fellows
If you would rather see "Minions," head to Willow Stream Park, 600 Farrington Drive, Buffalo Grove at dusk on Friday, Aug. 12. They promise there's room for everyone in the 54-acre theater plus great visibility and acoustics because they have a 40-foot screen and surround sound.
For details, call (847) 850-2100 or go to bgparks.org.
Gentle start
Beginning school can be tough for kids. To help prepare them, bring your youngsters to a "Milk Goes to School Storytime," 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Deer Park Town Center Barnes and Noble, 20600 N. Rand Road. They will hear Terry Border's book and do related activities.
For details, call (847) 438-7444 or go to www.barnesandnoble.com.
Another way to ease start day
Your family can relax around a blazing fire at a Back to School Campfire, 8-9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19 at Vera Meineke Nature Center at Spring Valley,1111 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg. There will be marshmallow roasting and wagon rides through the prairie.
For details, call (847) 985-2100 or go to www.parkfun.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-zurich/lifestyles/ct-bcr-go-familyfriendly-tl-0811-20160811-story.html | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/9cde99ec673b9e2cf9ff8d754e5030acb3fb1e4f5cbf238e919345133955f9e3.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune"
] | 2016-08-31T14:49:00 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fbeingthere%2Fct-where-we-are-ent-0901-20160830-column.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c6e3a7/turbine/ct-where-we-are-ent-0901-20160830 | en | null | Chicago artist explores the meaning and effects of gentrification in Fulton Market | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | For the past year, to reach her basement studio in the Chicago Artists Coalition, Jaclyn Jacunski has driven a scooter, the kind of adorable and precious orange 1975 French hipster mobile that Wes Anderson would murder for. Before you pass judgment, understand: The Chicago Artists Coalition is on Carpenter Street, at the heart of Fulton Market, the warehouse-restaurant-supply-meatpacking-hub turned Oprah headquarters turned Restaurant Row.
Being an artist-in-residence at the CAC gallery means routinely driving to Fulton Market. Do you feel a shiver yet, moving up your spine? If not, you haven't tried to park a car around Fulton Market lately. There is no parking around Fulton Market. Or rather, there is, but you have a better chance of winning the Powerball than landing a space.
Hence, the scooter, which Jacunski glides past the forklifts that roll into blindspots, past new restaurants, upscale pet spas and tech headquarters that populate every block, past the ubiquitous construction zones synonymous with Fulton Market's gentrification.
"As an artist, I think a lot about place," Jacunski said. "I look at landscape as a kind of psychological reflection of us. And this neighborhood? It's become a hot mess in terms of structure, in terms of how you navigate a neighborhood. It's changing so much, it's hard to know where you can and can't be. In fact, when I was preparing this new show, the CAC had told me they might not even be on Carpenter Street by the time it opened."
Because what, after all, is an art gallery but a large empty room waiting to be a condo?
And this gallery couldn't be in a hotter neighborhood, a stone's throw from Google's Chicago office. The tech company moved into the former Cold Storage building a year ago — and a year later, the building sold for $305 million. And so, even though CAC received a three-year extension on its lease, its administrators know where this is headed and have begun hunting for a new location anyway. Similarly, across Randolph Street, several more galleries, including Western Exhibitions and Document, will leave the area by winter. "It's the nature of the art business," said Aron Gent, Document's owner. "You're in an area because the area is cool, space gets expensive, rents go up, you move on to a new area you can afford." (In his case, the Ukrainian Village area.)
Jaclyn Jacunski Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune Artist Jaclyn Jacunski poses for a portrait with her latest maze installation Friday, Aug. 19,2016 at the Chicago Artists Coalition gallery in Chicago. Artist Jaclyn Jacunski poses for a portrait with her latest maze installation Friday, Aug. 19,2016 at the Chicago Artists Coalition gallery in Chicago. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)
Still, Jacunski wasn't anticipating this when she conceived her new show: "Start Together," which runs through Sept. 8, is about the gentrification of Chicago. That is to say, it is dominated by a single, large piece, a 10-foot-by-8-foot metaphorical maze of sorts, constructed from two commonplace materials, lumber and the plastic orange fencing every gentrifying Chicago neighborhood chokes on. She bought 3,000-square feet of it.
The maze is, at once, soothing and claustrophobic and dizzying and cool. You feel confused by it at first then, after a few moments, you kind of like standing inside of it.
Jacunski walked in.
The orange patterns of the plastic reflected across her, and along the walls, casting repetitious ovals, the kind that would be perfect, well — on the walls of new condos. As she strolled, she kept up a commentary: "There should be a moment of energy when you enter. It becomes disorienting, but there are outlets. The more I am inside, the more comfortable I am. I learn to like it, I guess. Gentrification can be a mixed bag. It's not all bad. The powers at play get confusing, people don't feel they have any power and feel turned around. But maybe they get through, they find a path. Still, a fence is a loaded symbol to me. I grew up in a rural space. I didn't have much experience with fences."
Jacunski grew up west of Green Bay, Wis. Her father was a John Deere tractor salesman. She is 40 and has the angular Midwestern face of a farm hand, blue eyes, pale skin, red hair. She squints when she talks, as if staring into the sun, and her voice has a bright dreamy slur reminiscent of Drew Barrymore. She studied printmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago but found her politics as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Local community activists became a bigger inspiration on her than major art theorists. Fences, and their patterns, their effects on communities — this became her subject. And in Chicago, the flotsam of gentrification became her material.
She would use fences in Logan Square, weaving cloth tapestries through chain links, or pushing wads of porcelain through then firing the result into bricks. Plastic orange fencing, in particular, became "a symbol of the disregard" shown by developers toward many communities, she says. She found the plastic fencing around Logan Square, in empty lots. "No one cared, and no one seemed to notice. There was so much of it left."
MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR
Chicago's fences became her frames, through which she saw class and race and city planning. And so, when you exit her maze at "Start Together," you find two shelves holding copies of zines she has made. One is about art practices, one is about activism (donations for the zines go to Freedom Square, the activist tent city erected in Homan Square). Nevertheless, there is a degree of resignation. Outside the gallery, in the parking lot next door, she left four wooden frames wrapped in orange fencing, leaning against a wall and bushes. These are also part of the exhibit. But Jacunski does not expect you to notice. "A hallmark of gentrification is that, after a while, you don't see it."
cborrelli@chicagotribune.com
MORE FROM CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI:
This couple creates the perfect summer movie rooftop experience for their friends
Kanye pop-up store in Northbrook draws plenty of fans
Windy City Physics Slam and the art of explaining a scientific theory
A tent city grows in Homan Square
Check out the latest movie reviews from Michael Phillips and the Chicago Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/beingthere/ct-where-we-are-ent-0901-20160830-column.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/4557c7e2a19a73ab995f731bc63ce7008afd6c5cfaaaceaece704a47d82dfafa.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Natalie Hayes"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:08 | null | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flincolnwood%2Fnews%2Fct-lwr-lincolnwood-bike-path-fences-tl-0721-20160720-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57903d63/turbine/ct-lwr-lincolnwood-bike-path-fences-tl-0721-20160720 | en | null | New bike path construction could spur changes in fence regulations | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The ongoing construction of the Valley Line Trail and the upcoming project to build the Union Pacific Railroad Recreation Path later this fall has prompted the village to review fencing standards for the approximately 150 residential properties that line the paths.
The Village Board on July 19 unanimously tabled a measure to concur with a Plan Commission recommendation made July 6 to raise the maximum fence height for residences bordering the paths from six feet to up to 10 feet.
Plan Commissioners voted in support of the measure 5-2, with Commissioners Steven Jakubowski and Patricia Goldfein dissenting.
If approved, the new fencing regulations would apply to homes with rear and side residential lot lines adjacent to the Union Pacific and Valley Line public recreation paths, according to the village.
The recommendation also includes permitting fences along the east line of the Commonwealth Edison Right-of-Way.
Privacy concerns were raised when preconstruction of the paths began last spring with construction crews removing trees and bushes, according to the village. Both paths are adjacent to residential areas where no public access has previously been allowed.
Higher fences would help residents shield their properties from the view of pedestrians using the paths.
Trustee Jesal Patel criticized the Plan Commission's recommendation as being too broad, and suggested the village come up with more specific regulations for homes depending on each property's distance from the paths.
"The Plan Commission recommendation doesn't include material facts about locations of existing fencing, locations of existing landscaping, and various elevations of the path compared to the residences," Patel said. "The recommendation that was brought to us has homes that are nearly 200 feet away having the same protection as homes that are only 50 feet away."
Trustees said they planned to go out and visit the path perimeters bordering the residential property lines before coming back with a revised set of fencing guidelines at a future Board meeting.
Natural privacy barriers like trees and bushes—vegetation that is prevalent in residential properties throughout Lincolnwood, according to Patel—should be taken into consideration before the village allows every home near the path to install a 10-foot fence, he said.
"If you look out to your back yard and see a 10-foot fence on your neighbor's perimeter, that's something that's going to affect your view as well," Patel said.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lincolnwood/news/ct-lwr-lincolnwood-bike-path-fences-tl-0721-20160720-story.html | en | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/6ee06d706ae67e406efd110d9c90f84802c53a9b80c2879edb6752dc46895b2c.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Isaacs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:03 | null | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-sculpture-park-director-tl-0818-20160809-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57ab592c/turbine/ct-skr-sculpture-park-director-tl-0818-20160809 | en | null | New sculpture park director set for popular Art in the Park | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | When the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park holds its seventh annual Art in the Park next weekend, there will be one significant change from last year — unrecognizable to most people.
This year marks the first Art in the Park since Sonya Baysinger became new director late last year. The event is one of the Sculpture Park's most popular, a chance for children to create their own sculptures under tents on park grounds.
Baysinger replaced Chris Plummer who held the job of Sculpture Park director for eight years.
One reason the change will not be so noticeable is because Baysinger is already a familiar face at Art in the Park as well as at other Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park events. She served on the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park Board for eight years and chaired the Sculpture Selection Committee, she said.
"I love this park, and I've loved it for a long time because there isn't one like it anywhere near here," Baysinger said. "Even before I became part of this, it was always easy to walk to, and I got to see this park grow."
Every year in August, Art in the Park attracts families with children ages 4 to 12 for a free event. The Sculpture Park provides the art supplies for the children to create their mini-sculptures with the real deal sculptures in the background.
Art in the Park is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 21 in the park near McCormick Boulevard and Dempster Street.
Baysinger has been to Art in the Park events regularly so her presence there, she said, will come as no surprise — even if she is in the new role of director for the first time.
She teaches sculpture, metal smithing and 3-D design at Columbia College of Art and Design in Chicago and McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, she said.
Her connection to Skokie is not limited to the Sculpture Park. Baysinger was an early supporter — a charter member, in fact — of the Independent Merchants of Downtown Skokie, she said. She ran a downtown Skokie art gallery.
"I was already invested in Skokie and in this park, so it seemed like a logical transition," she said.
Baysinger received a master of fine arts degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She maintains a studio in West Chicago, where she works in silver, gemstones and wood, she said. She describes her latest body of work as "a series of oil paintings on beeswax applied to plywood panels that uses various animal images as vehicles for social commentary."
Baysinger said the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park is one of the village's most popular tourist attractions.
The property, which runs along McCormick Boulevard and the North Channel of the Chicago River, is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Skokie initially came forward with plans to turn the area into a recreational park with biking and jogging paths and picnic areas. At the same time, a group of private citizens proposed using the park to display large-scale contemporary sculptures, according to the Sculpture Park's history.
The Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park Inc., a collaboration between the three entities, was developed in 1988, officials said. Today, the park runs for two miles from Dempster Street on the north to Touhy Avenue on the south and displays more than 60 sculptures by artists of local, national and international reputation.
Baysinger said the Sculpture Park sponsors a variety of events and projects throughout the year. It also continues to look for more volunteer docents who can learn about art and the park and help lead tours.
For more information on the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park or Art in the Park, access sculpturepark.org.
misaacs@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @SKReview_Mike | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-sculpture-park-director-tl-0818-20160809-story.html | en | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/71c5641129581ffb02557439002df4ed8d551204ecff1f265d7359297813f227.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Hutton"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:01 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fsports%2Fct-ptb-football-preview-st-0826-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf6ec2/turbine/ct-ptb-football-preview-st-0826-20160825 | en | null | Football: Previewing Week 2's top games | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Gavit (1-0) at Whiting (1-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday.
What to watch: Gavit, an intriguing team, is coming off a 55-0 victory over Calumet. They again rely on senior running back Kyle Heard, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards last year. The last time Gavit beat Whiting was in 2003, which was its last winning season. The Oilers, ranked No. 9 by the Post-Tribune, are still favored after defeating Clark 39-6 last week.
Hobart (1-0) at LaPorte (1-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday.
What to watch: The No. 6 Brickies play the No. 5 Slicers in the best game on the board this week. LaPorte was able to ease by a Russ Radtke-coached New Prairie team 21-20, while Hobart didn't have any problems beating West Side. The Brickies look like a team that could make a run for the Northwest Crossroads Conference title.
Penn (1-0) at Merrillville (1-0)
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday
What to watch: The No. 1 Pirates rolled over Andrean last week, beating the 59ers for the first time since 2012. Penn will be a real test. Valparaiso had the Kingsmen tied at halftime at Penn in a 27-7 loss. The Pirates look like they are going to be better defensively than they were last year. And quarterback Cameron Wright made his debut with 373 yards passing
Portage (0-1) at Lowell (0-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
What to watch: This is pivotal game for both the No. 8 Indians and the No. 7 Red Devils. A loss at home to Mishawaka was a wake-up call for the Indians, who believe they are one of the top teams in the Duneland Athletic Conference. The Red Devils were defeated by Crown Point, which won just one game last year and returned just four starters on offense.
Crown Point (1-0) at Mishawaka (1-0)
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday
What to watch: Another big game for the surprise Bulldogs, who got 72 yards rushing on 23 carries from Tyler Gomez in a 9-3 double overtime victory over Lowell. The Cavemen are a formidable Class 5A team coming off a 21-7 road win over Portage 21-7. If No. 10 Crown Point wins, that will set the Bulldogs up for a big showdown with Merrillville in Week 3. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-football-preview-st-0826-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/7c36474578e63bf8f0090c9ddd9847871bc886536d9362d25e8036931d642128.json |
[
"Lindsey Rupp"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:00 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-rise-of-jc-penney-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c04c69/turbine/ct-rise-of-jc-penney-20160826 | en | null | J.C. Penney aims to be king of the mall as Macy's, Sears retreat | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | J.C. Penney Co. is in a surprising position more than four years after it was almost run aground by a former chief executive officer: It could be the last department store standing at your local mall.
As rivals retrench, J.C. Penney is adding new merchandise, exclusive partnerships and services to draw shoppers to its more than 1,000 stores. Sears has closed stores amid $9 billion in losses in recent years and Macy's said this month it would shutter 100 in as-yet unidentified locations -- an act likely to leave J.C. Penney as the main anchor in some malls.
"When I joined the company, my first thought was, 'Man, we've got a lot of stores to close,' " Marvin Ellison, who became president in 2014 and CEO last August, said in an interview. "It was the opposite.''
Sephora Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg Customers pass a Sephora USA store inside the new J.C. Penney store during the grand opening in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Aug. 29, 2014. Customers pass a Sephora USA store inside the new J.C. Penney store during the grand opening in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Aug. 29, 2014. (Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg) (Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg)
Some of J.C. Penney's most profitable locations turned out to be small stores in rural areas where the retailer pays almost no rent; two California stores opening this year will be completely funded by the landlord. Ellison's focus on mall negotiations, coupled with the changes in merchandising, are helping to move the retailer beyond $1 billion in Ebitda this year for the first time since fiscal 2012. Its stock surged 48 percent this year through Wednesday, compared with 14 percent for Macy's Inc. and a 29 percent decline at Sears Holdings Corp.
Today J.C. Penney has fewer than 10 stores that aren't making money, Ellison said. The Plano, Texas-based company's fiscal second-quarter net loss was smaller than analysts predicted, and it has outlined a path back to profitability even without achieving the $18 billion in sales it last hit in 2009. Comparable-store sales -- a key industry metric -- rose 2.2 percent last quarter.
"They have really unique opportunity, given there's a strong employee commitment to service and a customer focus," said Oliver Chen, an analyst at Cowen & Co. "They have to prove it to everybody that their strategy will yield comparable store sales in an environment that's seen lots of volatility."
Ellison, a former Home Depot Inc. executive, succeeded Mike Ullman, who had returned as CEO after Ron Johnson's disastrous run ended in 2013. Ullman had tossed much of Johnson's strategy and stabilized the chain's finances through loans and stock offerings. That set the stage for Ellison to focus on improving customer service, selling more private brands and revamping online operations.
While the turnaround isn't complete -- at about $10, its shares are far below a 2007 peak near $86 -- the company is strong enough to take advantage as rivals pull back. When a Sears or Macy's closes, J.C. Penney uses direct mail in the zip code to convert those customers. "You make sure you invite them in,'' said Ellison, 51.
If a mall operator has planned well, there can be side benefits when a competitor leaves, Ellison said. Some types of new tenants -- like entertainment options and restaurants -- will do a better job at driving traffic than the department stores they replaced.
"They're second movers in things, and being second mover can be turned into a strength," analyst Chen said. "The world's not really growing, but you have other retailers with problems that give J.C. Penney an opportunity to execute on."
The bad news keep coming at Sears, which reported $395 million loss reported Thursday. Through April, Sears had closed 18 percent of its stores since 2006, compared with 6 percent for Macy's and just 2 percent for J.C. Penney, according to Green Street Advisors, a real estate research firm.
J.C. Penney has spent a lot of time and energy identifying its customer. With a heavy emphasis on testing first, the retailer plans to focus on beauty, home goods and special sizes to achieve these goals, along with investments in customer service and online capabilities.
"They're putting their eggs in reliable baskets in beauty and home," Cowen's Chen said.
About 70 percent of J.C. Penney's shoppers are women, and the retailer is working to attract a younger, more diverse set of moms. More than half its revenue comes from shoppers who are, on average, 60-year-old women with incomes above the U.S. median. Most of the rest comes from mothers who average 33 years of age and are more reflective of U.S. cultural demographics.
J.C. Penney is using beauty products to help draw the latter group -- technologically savvy women looking for value in both their time and money. The retailer has 5 percent market share in prestige cosmetics, Chief Merchant John Tighe said. That's due in large part to the 574 Sephora stores open inside J.C. Penney locations. There are plans to expand that partnership even to smaller sites.
To encourage shoppers drawn in by Sephora to stay and explore, the company collaborated with beauty magazine InStyle to rebrand 120 of its 850 beauty shops as Salon by InStyle. Sales have increased 720 basis points from last year at the revamped salons.
Ellison wants the retailer to be the go-to destination for women shopping for their homes. The chain is introducing 500 appliance showrooms this year, selling brands like LG and Samsung. The retailer has cleared as much as 4,800 square feet for appliances -- items that bring in 8 times more in gross profit dollars than the goods they replace, Ellison said.
In all this, stores are a key component. Half of online sales go through stores, whether items are picked up or returned there, shipped from a location or ordered by an associate to a shopper's home. Expanding its home goods and beauty offerings is part of Ellison's efforts to make the stores a draw, a concept the company refers to as "retail-tainment."
That idea "could speak to how the J.C. Penney of the future could be an important destination," Cowen's Chen said. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-rise-of-jc-penney-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/593bb92ff3283a5cea1dcaef349acd5348c76c7bbc35da3521942fbfaa480059.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Natalie Hayes"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:34 | null | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flincolnwood%2Fnews%2Fct-lwr-lincolnwood-village-board-tl-0728-20160720-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-578fe51b/turbine/ct-lwr-lincolnwood-village-board-tl-0728-20160720 | en | null | Board briefs: AT&T retail store planned for Touhy Avenue | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | The following items were discussed and/or action was taken at Lincolnwood's Village Board meeting on Tuesday.
New storage facilities banned from opening on major roads for a year
The Village Board has approved a one-year moratorium on new warehouses and storage facilities along four major arterial roads: West Touhy Avenue, West Devon Avenue, North Lincoln Avenue, and North Cicero Avenue.
The measure, approved as part of the July 19 consent agenda, follows a recent recommendation from the Plan Commission that sought to reserve several vacant properties that are along commercial corridors for sales tax-producing uses, according to the village.
At least one new storage facility company has expressed interest in coming to Lincolnwood, according to the village, and officials said the village's three existing self-storage facilities generate minimal activity associated with commercial development and don't produce sales tax for the village.
The yearlong restriction would allow village staff the time needed to come up with recommendations for zoning code changes that could limit the number of storage facilities allowed to open in town in the future, according to the village.
Village staff is expected to provide a recommendation on potential zoning code changes to the Village Board by the end of the year.
The moratorium would be lifted once any changes are approved, according to community development director Steve McNellis.
Lincolnwood enters joint-purchasing cooperative
The village has joined a multi-state government purchasing initiative that allows local governments to group together to purchase goods at discounted prices.
The Village Board voted as part of their consent agenda to participate in the National Association of State Procurement Officials ValuePoint purchasing program, which will allow the village to pay reduced prices for hand and power tools purchased annually from Snap-On Industrial.
According to the village, about $5,000 is spent each year on various tools used by the public works department.
Village grants special use permits for AT&T retail store planned for Touhy Avenue
The Village Board as part of the consent agenda approved an ordinance granting wireless provider AT&T a special use permit to build a new parking lot to accompany a 4,500-square-foot store planned for 3701 W. Touhy Ave.
Oxford Real Estate Equities has submitted plans to the village to demolish an existing industrial building on the site and construct the new single-tenant retail building in its place.
The store will be set back from Lawndale Avenue, with driveway access off that street, according to the village.
The Village Board supported the measure during the June 21 board meeting by directing the village attorney to draft the ordinance approved July 19.
Next board meeting scheduled
The next Lincolnwood Village Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 6900 N. Lincoln Ave.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lincolnwood/news/ct-lwr-lincolnwood-village-board-tl-0728-20160720-story.html | en | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e2b2d88af3593aeed27854cc48c6754827f002f35eae442272c5b5bdd44ca575.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Fred Niedner"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:29 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fopinion%2Fct-ptb-niedner-school-st-0828-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c07613/turbine/ct-ptb-niedner-school-st-0828-20160826 | en | null | School days return, with or without homework, guns and floss | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | It didn't register on the Richter scale, but earlier this month the planet trembled slightly upon learning that yet another orthodoxy by which we stay healthy and live responsibly has proven suspect. A growing number of us have flossed our teeth ever since a New Orleans dentist introduced the practice in 1815, and today we spend $2 billion annually on dental floss. Now, however, we've learned that the benefits of faithful flossing, plus all the virtue that accompanies it, may be an illusion. The wisdom and sincerity of our dental hygienists notwithstanding, no accumulation of hard, scientific data proves flossing saves our teeth and gums.
The foundations of the cosmos rattled and shook again this week when an elementary school teacher in Texas informed her students' parents that she would no longer require homework. Her new policy went viral on social media, and teachers around the country not only voiced support but joined the no-homework movement. School children work hard enough, they declared. Family and creative play time, along with an early bedtime, benefit young learners far more than evening hours spent drilling, memorizing, and filling out worksheet.
One can almost hear a generational gasp at such news. Can we also have symphonies without rehearsals? Successful athletic teams that never practice? Still, many parents will rejoice. Policing the successful completion of homework that looms continually over equally weary, recalcitrant parents and children has turned many a home into a nightly battleground that leaves all combatants wounded and resentful. Some may also welcome an end to the not so subtle humiliation that comes somewhere around fifth grade, when the kind of math children must master proves unintelligible to parents educated in the 20th century.
A second groundbreaking, if not earth-moving, educational experiment began this week in Texas. For the first time, students, faculty, and staff who wish to carry concealed firearms may do so legally anywhere on college and university campuses. The more heavily armed, the safer we are, even in dorms and classrooms, believe the state's legislators and the judges who have upheld their laws. To folks like me who have spent their adult lives in college classrooms, this, too, feels like a defilement of something sacred.
Many at the University of Texas in Austin who have misgivings about the new law conspired to bring their own "weapons" to campus this week. Students carrying unconcealed sex toys of various kinds sought to make the point that the symbols of manhood they brandish have as much power as guns to keep the campus safe from violence. Most likely, we'll soon enough have data by which to determine whether guns or plastic genitalia bring more mayhem and heartache to campus, and whether either can stop a massacre in progress.
All experimenting aside, bigger visions and renewed hopes abound in this season when school buses emerge from their summer cocoons and children fill classrooms with their bodies, minds, hormones, and boundless curiosity. First-graders and first-year high school and college students along with their parents find themselves in a bigger, more complex world. New teachers stand with hearts pounding before an array of expectant faces, and the lucky ones will find their way by learning to fall in love with other people's children. Even the veterans get a new start. (Where else but in school does that happen?) Anything seems possible, and mostly it is.
Slow down when you pass a school this week, not just to avoid a ticket, but to remember and give thanks for what goes on there.
Keep flossing, too. Even if it doesn't make you virtuous, it can't hurt.
Fred Niedner is a senior research professor and associate director of the Institute of Liturgical Studies at Valparaiso University. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/opinion/ct-ptb-niedner-school-st-0828-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2dac4fcd4ed429702eb9eb8af034a53cfd3463505b112410db721379f220e5fb.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Isaacs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:16 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-backlot-bash-tl-0818-20160811-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57acd7d0/turbine/ct-skr-backlot-bash-tl-0818-20160811 | en | null | Backlot Bash takes sting out of back-to-school time | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | If there is anything that takes a little of the sting out of the approaching end of summer — when schools throughout Skokie call students back in session — it's the popular Backlot Bash.
The Skokie Park District's three-day weekend festival, which fills the downtown Skokie area near Village Hall with carnival rides, music, games and more, could not come at a better time as far as many are concerned.
Park district officials have called the festival a "last hurrah" for families before fall sets in and the calendar heads toward colder days and more serious endeavors.
Although the turnout is always dependent on the weather, park district officials acknowledge, the Backlot Bash is undoubtedly the most heavily attended event the park district and other village agencies operate, they say.
"As much as any of our events, this one appeals to a wide range of ages and backgrounds," Skokie Park District Executive Director John Ohrlund said. "It sounds cliched, but it's true: it has a little something for everybody."
A little something for everybody seems to add up to a lot for everyone.
The Backlot Bash, which runs from Aug. 26 to Aug. 28, includes popular and diverse live music; three days of a variety of carnival rides; the Backlot Dash 5K run; classic films shown at the Skokie Theatre and the Skokie Public Library; bingo; a pancake breakfast; a classic car show; family entertainment at the library; the Skokie Farmers Market on Sunday morning and more.
Like Ohrlund, Skokie Park District Superintendent of Recreation and Facilities Michelle Tuft said the festival's strong appeal is based on having so many activities for people to enjoy.
"There is a carnival for kids, music and a beer tent for adults, vendors selling a lot of different foods and a lot more," she said. "It's hard not to find something to like."
But more than any other event in Skokie, music stands at the center of this village-wide extravaganza. From the beginning of the festival Friday night to the end of the festival early Sunday evening, live music is always in the air.
Since 2007, when the Backlot Bash first kicked off in downtown Skokie, organizers say, the festival has staged eclectic rock, blues and R&B music, including the Presidents of the United States of America, Lonnie Brooks, The Fixx, The English Beat, The Romantics, Cracker, Fastball, Spin Doctors and Smoking Popes.
Headliners this year include Blue Oyster Cult on Friday, Living Colour on Saturday and Tributosaurus transforming into the Police on Sunday.
Backlot Bash takes sting out of back-to-school time Robert Bahner / Chicago Tribune Blue Öyster Cult is among the bands ready to perform live at Skokie's annual Backlot Bash, scheduled for Aug. 26 to Aug. 28 in downtown Skokie. Blue Öyster Cult is among the bands ready to perform live at Skokie's annual Backlot Bash, scheduled for Aug. 26 to Aug. 28 in downtown Skokie. (Robert Bahner / Chicago Tribune)
The Skokie Review will have more details on the music offerings and other Backlot Bash events closer to the festival opening.
While the park district manages and develops the Backlot Bash every year, the event is possible because of multi-agency cooperation and coordination, organizers say. The village, the library, the Skokie Chamber of Commerce and others contribute to its success, they say.
Business sponsors this year include North Shore Community Bank; Joseph Mulllarkey Distributors Inc. (Miller); Renewal by Andersen (window replacement); the Illinois Science + Technology Park; Bath Planet; Bath Fitter; Window Works; Lyft; Sports Clips Haircuts; and State Farm.
For more information on the Backlot Bash, access backlotbash.com.
misaacs@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @SKReview_Mike | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-backlot-bash-tl-0818-20160811-story.html | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/044a0ff7a65ba23f2c761f4f885f5e77194a4c5e9bf32d3e6e6bf10dc27c4148.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Ruth Ann Krause"
] | 2016-08-29T22:51:58 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fcrime%2Fct-ptb-lackey-plea-2-st-0830-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4ab6f/turbine/ct-ptb-lackey-plea-2-st-0830-20160829 | en | null | New guilty plea in 2015 deaths of Gary brothers | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A second individual charged in a double homicide in 2015 in Hobart has pleaded guilty.
Kiontay Lovell Cason, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping in the deaths of Arreon Lackey, 18, and Antonio Lackey, 16, of Gary. In court, he admitted the two victims were removed by force or threat of force from the Country Inn & Suites in Merrillville on June 26, 2015, where they had been staying after their home was shot up.
Their bodies were found about three weeks later, on July 17, 2015, by fishermen in the area of 7030 Grand Blvd., Hobart. Both victims were shot in the head.
In court with defense attorney Alex Woloshansky, Cason acknowledged to Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell that he understood his plea to kidnapping charges.
Boswell said the plea agreement called for a minimum four-year sentence on each of the counts, up to 16 years. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 26. Cason could be sentenced to consecutive prison terms on the two counts. The plea agreement calls for dismissal of charges of two counts of murder, two counts of murder in perpetration of kidnapping and two other kidnapping charges.
In an unusual move, after the hearing had concluded, Boswell called the attorneys to the bench and said she was going to seal the plea agreement.
On Aug. 19, David Johnson V, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping in the Lackey brothers' death. He has agreed to testify against his co-defendants, including his father, David Johnson IV, 38, and stepmother, Jeri Woods, 34, and grandfather, David Johnson II, 63, as well as Aarion Johnathon Greenwood, 18, and Michelle Faye Hughes, 27.
The remaining five defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Woods' trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 30.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/crime/ct-ptb-lackey-plea-2-st-0830-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2ed51f48a5ae6201fb442f03017a237ea90a77fee37263ce8465372a588c1cc3.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:37 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-car-thefts-tl-0818-2-20160811-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57acafdc/turbine/ct-nbs-car-thefts-tl-0818-2-20160811 | en | null | Cars disappearing in Riverwoods, Northbrook as thefts continue | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | One or more car theft crews have hit the Chicago area hard, and cars are disappearing from places where such crimes are rare.
In Riverwoods, two cars were reported stolen in the early morning hours of Aug. 9, police Chief Bruce Dayno said, and it was the first time any car has been stolen in the town of about 3,700 people in four years.
The Riverwoods thefts, like the vast majority of the thefts elsewhere, are probably preventable, he said. Most of the cars were left with doors unlocked. And most of those had keys inside.
"People I've spoken with, they say it's not just their cars they're leaving unlocked, but also their houses," Dayno said . "They feel like they're living in the northern suburbs, so they're immune to crime, but it's just not the case."
At about 4 a.m. Aug. 9, dogs were barking on the 300 block of Portwine Road, and one resident looked out the window to see the family car, a 2012 BMW, heading out of the driveway, Dayno said.
A little over three hours later, a resident of the 3100 block of Duffy Lane found that a previously occupied spot in the unlocked family garage was empty. The 2013 Lexis that had been left there, unlocked and with keys inside, was gone.
Dayno said that a Northbrook police officer got a glimpse of the BMW on southbound Interstate 294, but the driver took off at high speed, and got away.
Northbrook has had several recent thefts of cars, including a pair the night of Aug. 2. Gone are a 2014 Porsche Cayenne worth more than $40,000, left unlocked in a driveway in the 600 block of Driftwood Lane, and a 2013 Volkswagen, left unlocked, with keys inside, in a driveway on the 300 block of Sunset Court.
"It's happening almost every night, in the north suburbs, the west suburbs," Northbrook police Cmdr. Mike O'Malley said. "They sneak in, sneak out. It's not hard."
On the same night, cash and other items were stolen from another unlocked car, a 2011 Volkswagen, on the 600 block of Driftwood. And in Riverwoods, laptops were stolen from two cars parked unlocked, on the 3100 block of Kenilwood Lane and the 2800 block of Blackthorn Road.
O'Malley said it's apparent that the crew is looking to steal the cars, but when there's no way to start the ignition, valuables are grabbed. He said it's obvious that car theft is the principal target, "otherwise, we'd be seeing 35 car burglaries."
Northbrook police Chief Chuck Wernick asked residents to lock their cars and pocket their keys, a request he's made several times before.
The unlocked car problem has persisted, Northbrook police spokesman Dan Petka, in the more than 30 years he's served as an officer and civilian police department employee.
"They think it's safe," he said. "That's why they spend all that money to buy houses in Northbrook."
Ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-car-thefts-tl-0818-2-20160811-story.html | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/3ad6c09b4800ccc27aad22eaeee3c5192507df5c81921eb90e846b66ba39dcc1.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune Wire Reports"
] | 2016-08-29T16:48:38 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fbuffalo-grove%2Fnews%2Fct-wisconsin-interstate-shooting-buffalo-grove-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c463d1/turbine/ct-wisconsin-interstate-shooting-buffalo-grove-20160829 | en | null | Charge downgraded against man accused in fatal interstate shooting | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Prosecutors have downgraded the most serious charge against a Wisconsin man accused of killing a Buffalo Grove woman in an interstate drive-by shooting.
Zachary Hays faced first-degree intentional homicide and reckless endangerment charges in Sauk County in connection with the May 1 incident on Interstate 90/94 that left Tracy Czaczkowski dead. District Attorney Kevin Calkins on Monday downgraded the intentional homicide count to first-degree reckless homicide, saying during a hearing that the charge is more consistent with what he's learning about Hays' mental state.
Hays pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to all four counts.
Hays also faces charges in Milwaukee for allegedly killing his neighbor hours before he took to the road. A psychiatrist's report in that case found Hays could be suffering from schizophrenia or another mental disorder.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/buffalo-grove/news/ct-wisconsin-interstate-shooting-buffalo-grove-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/305562dcf8211a9f02e1c42913a16a107a51c05905b6f0298d1d7efce91f0b54.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Becky Yerak"
] | 2016-08-30T00:48:58 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-chicago-marijuana-dispensary-0830-biz-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c49593/turbine/ct-chicago-marijuana-dispensary-0830-biz-20160829 | en | null | Medical pot clinic to open in Jefferson Park neighborhood | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Nicholas Vita is a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who specialized in medical deals back when he worked in the financial services industry. Big money, however, isn't the chief reason he gives for trying to build a multistate network of medical marijuana clinics, including one expected to open in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood next week.
Vita, chief executive of New York-based Columbia Care, said he has a more personal reason: his mom.
Vita said he saw firsthand how a cannabis topical cream recommended by a friend helped to alleviate her inflammation and pain from acute rheumatoid arthritis.
When he and another former Goldman Sachs executive, Michael Abbott, decided to make an investment together, they went into the medical marijuana business.
"Almost every single partner in the business has a personal story," Vita said Monday. "There's a huge unmet need."
Besides the Jefferson Park facility, which will have about 15 employees, Columbia Care said it plans to open a marijuana-growing center in Aurora that will be up and running in 2017, creating another 40 jobs.
Vita and Abbott, who serves as Columbia executive chairman and also is a former police officer, wouldn't be the first big-money executives to enter the medical marijuana industry. Other backers of Illinois dispensaries include Getco trading firm co-founder Stephen Schuler. His company, PharmaCann, has four Illinois locations. In a sign of how the industry could be moving beyond mom-and-pop operators, Columbia Care's website lists an opening for a chief financial officer.
Illinois currently has 44 medical marijuana dispensaries, including five in the city of Chicago, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Last month the state of Illinois, which has one of the nation's most restrictive medical marijuana programs, added post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness to the list of about 40 conditions that qualify patients to buy the drug. The state's 9,000 patients spent about $3 million on medical marijuana last month.
Columbia Care's location at 4758 N. Milwaukee Ave. had been a vacant building that the company bought, Vita said. The space for patients is about 2,000 square feet, with the total amount of usable square footage, including security features, being about double that.
The facility could accommodate hundreds of patients a day, but if it sees 20 a week for the first several weeks, Vita said he'll be "delighted."
Owen Brugh, chief of staff for Ald. John Arena, said the Columbia Care facility is two doors down from the 45th Ward office.
Columbia Care Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune Margarita DeForrest, center, with human services at Columbia Care, talks Aug. 27, 2016, with Kelly O'Hern and her husband Larry at Columbia Care's marijuana dispensary in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood. The O'Herns are farmers and marijuana cultivators from Vermont, Ill., who will be supplying Columbia Care until it opens its own cultivation center. Margarita DeForrest, center, with human services at Columbia Care, talks Aug. 27, 2016, with Kelly O'Hern and her husband Larry at Columbia Care's marijuana dispensary in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood. The O'Herns are farmers and marijuana cultivators from Vermont, Ill., who will be supplying Columbia Care until it opens its own cultivation center. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
"It will be easy for us to keep an eye on them," Brugh said. Columbia Care has been good to work with as it sought approvals to open in the neighborhood, he said. Arena didn't take an official position on zoning matters related to the dispensary, Brugh said.
Jefferson Park marks Columbia Care's entry into Illinois. It also has dispensaries in Arizona, New York and Massachusetts.
To access Illinois dispensaries, patients must be deemed eligible by a doctor and undergo a fingerprint background check. They also must be registered with the state's public health department.
Columbia Care's initial hours will be 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. There will be around-the-clock surveillance with a backup system. A physical inventory count is done twice a day. It also has security personnel on staff.
Initially a variety of marijuana products will be supplied by third-party growers in Illinois. Starting next year, Columbia Care expects to begin supplying its Chicago dispensary with additional products grown at its own cultivation facility in Aurora.
byerak@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @beckyyerak | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-chicago-marijuana-dispensary-0830-biz-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/9565e9b90a78ba682fb440ed5015eae160fc6e85c63172a52f83a05dfe49ac9f.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Amy Lavalley"
] | 2016-08-26T22:51:13 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fpost-tribune%2Fnews%2Fct-ptb-glbt-route-deadline-st-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0b95f/turbine/ct-ptb-glbt-route-deadline-st-0827-20160826 | en | null | Rail line planners to miss alternative route deadline | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Great Lakes Basin Transportation will not meet a Monday deadline for filing an alternate route for its proposed freight train line from Milton, Wis., into LaPorte County.
"We are going to file a request for an extension on Monday," said Frank Patton, founder and managing partner of GLBT, on Friday, declining to provide further details. "It should be public shortly thereafter."
In related news, a local lawmaker said he will spearhead updating the state's eminent domain laws related to railroads to make it more difficult for business interests to take privately owned land for their own profit.
The federal Surface Transportation Board, which held public meetings on the 278-mile proposal in the spring, set an Aug. 29 deadline for GLBT to offer an alternate route to the one that cuts through southern Lake and Porter counties.
"There is no explanation in the information GLBT has provided to date to explain whether GLBT considered other potential alignments and variations and why they might have been rejected," Victoria Rutson, director of the Office of Environmental Analysis, wrote in a July 5 letter to one of GLBT's attorneys.
The Office of Environmental Analysis will compile the more than 3,900 comments submitted online, as well as those made during the spring meetings, for an environmental impact statement on the proposal. That is expected to take a few years.
Earlier in the week, Patton indicated via email that GLBT planned to meet the Monday deadline. It was not immediately clear Friday what might have changed.
GLBT's $8 billion privately funded proposal, would be the largest new rail line in recent times and is meant to provide a bypass for Chicago's congested rail yard and take trucks off the road. The route will have the capacity for up to 110 trains a day.
Two of the six Class I railroads expected to be served by the freight line have publicly stated they will not participate; the remaining four appear uncommitted to the project.
Several people, including a representative with the opposition group Residents Against the Invasion of Land by Eminent Domain, or RAILED, have submitted alternate routes for consideration to the STB.
"There have already been some good alternative routes submitted," said Kathleen Honl, one of RAILED's organizers, adding she wasn't surprised Patton would not meet the deadline. "Though I would doubt he would kill the project altogether, maybe he is realizing that his original route isn't the best choice. Of course, this is speculation."
A document on the STB website outlines what was discussed in an Aug. 5 teleconference between GLBT representatives, their attorneys, and representatives from the Office of Environmental Analysis.
"GLBT indicated that the general location of their proposed route was designed as a balance between the closer and more distant routes (from Chicago)… (and) included design objectives to avoid population centers, connect with other railroads, and avoid wetlands."
The document notes that the group discussed submissions on the STB website that identify alternate route, and "GLBT indicated that it is reviewing scoping comments and considering them."
GLBT indicated during the teleconference "that it will prepare a robust narrative" on how it screened route alternatives and variations. According to the document, the OEA will independently review the information GLBT submits.
Meanwhile, State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, chairman of the House of Representative's Roads and Transportation Committee, said he will work to update the statutes on railroad eminent domain, some of which date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.
"It's the days when railroads were just beginning to have an impact on the nation. It appears to be quite liberal by modern standards," he said.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling several years ago on an eminent domain case on the East Coast led many states to update their related statutes, he said, but not those regarding railroads.
"We should not take people's land or property unless there's a compelling public interest, and a compelling public interest is not that someone makes a profit," he said.
The move was prompted by media reports about GLBT's plans to take land through eminent domain if its proposal were to move forward, he said, as well as requests by the Porter County Board of Commissioners to take a look at the statutes.
"This is an issue whether (the GLBT plan) exists or not. It needs to be done. I've been talking to the big railroads and they see the need," he said.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-glbt-route-deadline-st-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ebf6e7a2fbb855143e00a8fd0ec30f00fc72e9dff738d87ba265f53204974deb.json |
[
"Los Angeles Times",
"Tre'Vell Anderson"
] | 2016-08-28T20:48:19 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fla-et-mn-box-office-dont-breathe-suicide-squad-20160825-snap-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c31030/turbine/la-et-mn-box-office-dont-breathe-suicide-squad-20160825-snap | en | null | 'Don't Breathe' breathes life into slow end to summer box office | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Breathing life into what was expected to be a slow end to the summer box office season, Sony Pictures’ “Don’t Breathe” over-performed, leaving three-time box office champ, Warner Bros.’ “Suicide Squad,” in the dust.
The low-budget horror movie raked in a surprising estimated $26.1 million in the U.S. and Canada, well surpassing analyst projections of $12 million to $14 million.
“‘Don’t Breathe’ is a film that, I have to admit, from Day One, we knew we had something special,” said Rory Bruer, the studio’s distribution chief. “It was one of those things where the trajectory ended up being far beyond what we could've imagined, a stunning result.”
The violent thriller about a group of friends whose home invasion plot goes horribly wrong stars Stephen Lang, Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette among others. The $9.8-million flick is the latest financial success for Uruguay-born writer-director Fede Alvarez, best known for 2013’s “Evil Dead" remake. Alvarez has been in high demand in Hollywood since he was discovered through a short film uploaded to YouTube in 2009.
Caption The Comedy Comedy Festival in Little Tokyo The comedy festival running Thursday through Sunday in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood is an Asian American comedy fest with a bill of more than 100 comics of Asian descent. You probably wouldn't know that from the name of the event: the Comedy Comedy Festival. The comedy festival running Thursday through Sunday in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood is an Asian American comedy fest with a bill of more than 100 comics of Asian descent. You probably wouldn't know that from the name of the event: the Comedy Comedy Festival. Caption Director Andrew Ahn on his new film, 'Spa Night' Actor Joe Seo and director Andrew Ahn discuss what inspired the new film "Spa Night." Actor Joe Seo and director Andrew Ahn discuss what inspired the new film "Spa Night."
“Don’t Breathe” benefited from one of the biggest, most aggressive digital marketing campaigns in Sony’s history, following recently successful digital-skewing campaigns for “Sausage Party” and “The Shallows.”
Audiences and movie critics appear pleased. Moviegoers gave the picture an overall B-plus CinemaScore (A-minus from the under 35 crowd) while 87% of Rotten Tomatoes critics rated the film positively.
“Don’t Breathe” is the latest in well-reviewed horror fare, a genre that has had a vibrant summer at the box office, including hits like “Lights Out" and “The Conjuring 2” from New Line Cinema, and “The Purge: Election Year” from Universal Pictures.
“Suicide Squad” dropped to second place with $12.1 million in its fourth week, still meeting analyst expectations, which were at $12 million this week. The DC antihero mashup, after receiving relatively poor reviews, has taken in $282.9 million domestically. Internationally, the picture has brought in an estimated $353.1 million.
Landing in third was “Kubo and the Two Strings,” from LAIKA and Focus Features, with $7.9 million. In its second week, the animated film has grossed $24.9 million domestically to date.
Sony’s “Sausage Party” continues to be a big money maker, landing in fourth in its third week, with an estimated $7.7 million. The $19-million film has already made back more than four times its price with a domestic gross to date of $80 million.
The only other major release this week, Lionsgate’s “Mechanic: Resurrection,” took the fifth spot with an estimated $7.5 million in ticket sales. Though only meeting analyst expectations of $6 million to $8 million, the film will prove to be a major success for the studio when factoring in projections on the home entertainment front and its UK release.
“Mechanic: Resurrection” is the sequel in a Jason Statham franchise. The first, “The Mechanic,” about an elite hitman, opened to $11 million when it was released by CBS Films in 2011. It eventually grossed $62 million worldwide.
In the new film, Statham, known for action roles in the “Fast & Furious” and “Crank” franchises, is joined by costars Jessica Alba and Tommy Lee Jones.
“Mechanic: Resurrection” has audiences and critics at odds. While moviegoers gave the picture a B-plus CinemaScore, only 24% of Rotten Tomatoes critics favored it.
On the limited-release front, this weekend was “Hands of Stone,” from Weinstein Co. The boxing drama pulled in an estimated $1.7 million from a mid-level release of about 800 theaters, coming in well below analyst projections of less than $6 million.
The film tells the story of Panamanian fighter Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez), who became a world champion with the help of legendary coach Ray Arcel (De Niro). R&B singer Usher plays legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.
“Hands of Stone” was originally planned for a wider push, but the company decided to scale back its release plans, a reflection of the data they had collected at the time, said David Glasser, the studio’s president and chief operating officer.
“By going on 800 screens early, [audiences] start to realize who [the film’s characters] are,” he said. “It was about having the audience find it.”
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The audience thus far has been 60% male and 50% Latino. And while only 46% of Rotten Tomatoes critics favored the flick, moviegoers gave it an A CinemaScore, with the under-35 crowd giving it an A-plus, according to the studio.
Glasser projects strong word of mouth will see the film’s performance increase next week when it expands to 2,000 theaters.
Another notable debut in limited release is Roadside Attraction’s Barack and Michelle Obama love story “Southside With You.” It took in about $3 million from around 800 locations.
The film starring Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter as the First Couple before the White House is a hit with critics, with 93% of Rotten Tomatoes critics favoring the picture.
Up next for premieres on Labor Day weekend is Disney’s “The Light Between Oceans” and a host of small releases.
Follow me on Twitter: @TrevellAnderson.
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Aaaah: 'Don't Breathe' takes top spot at the box office | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-et-mn-box-office-dont-breathe-suicide-squad-20160825-snap-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/9bdfdce38579e2cb74402e8e494c5622f187f8e3d0a7ff5e37ffba043bfce9ac.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Kim Geiger"
] | 2016-08-27T00:48:04 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fpolitics%2Fct-bruce-rauner-teacher-pensions-vote-met-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0d4ae/turbine/ct-bruce-rauner-teacher-pensions-vote-met-0827-20160826 | en | null | Rauner loses $400 million vote on teacher pension fund issue | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday unsuccessfully waged a last-minute battle to block the Downstate and suburban teacher pension system from making a move that puts cash-strapped state government on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars more in the short term.
At issue was whether the Illinois Teachers Retirement System board should lower expectations about how much the fund might earn in the stock market. For the past two years, TRS has assumed that its investments will earn an average rate of return of 7.5 percent. But this time actuaries argued the figure should be lowered to 7 percent, given widespread belief that retirement funds won't continue to perform as well as they have in recent years.
If the board voted for the 7 percent figure, state government would be on the hook to make up the difference, estimated to cost an extra $400 million to $500 million a year, an expense that would come due starting in July. The governor and lawmakers would have to find that extra money, worsening a state budget that's already in free fall amid a budget impasse that's lasted more than a year.
If the board voted for the 7.5 percent figure, the state would not have had to pay all of that extra money right away. But if investments failed to hit the benchmark, the shortfall would have been tacked on to the pension fund's $65 billion debt. Taxpayers would be hit either way; the question was whether it would be in the short term or long term.
Rauner wanted TRS to delay the decision, an odd position for him to be in. Rauner has long criticized state and city government for kicking the can down the road on financial issues, and that's what he was advocating as he tried to delay the teacher pension decision.
The chronic under-funding of the pension system pre-dates Rauner. TRS was created in 1939, and in no year since then has the system received enough money from the state to keep it fully funded. A law that was passed in the 1990s ties the state's contribution to a formula that is designed to get the system to a 90 percent funding level by 2045.
When the governor's office learned that the change was afoot, his team mounted an effort to block it, firing off memos that warned of a secretive attempt by the TRS board to saddle taxpayers with a new, unaffordable expense. As trustees prepared to consider the question Friday morning, Rauner attempted to stack the board with allies by appointing new trustees to fill three vacancies.
Had that move been successful, Rauner may have had a majority of the votes on the board. It's made up of 13 members — six trustees appointed by the governor and six chosen by pension system members, and it is chaired by the state superintendent of schools, also an appointee of the governor.
But Rauner erred by attempting to fill one of those seats with a person who hailed from Chicago. State law requires that appointees reside in an area that is covered by the retirement system. Chicago teachers have their own pension system and aren't covered by TRS.
Rauner's staff said the erroneous appointment was the result of a "miscommunication" and withdrew it. As a result, just 12 trustees were seated for the Friday vote. Ten voted in favor of lowering the expectations on returns, while Rauner's two new appointees abstained.
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover blasted the decision as a blow to taxpayers, and questioned whether legal requirements to provide advance notice of such a meeting had been met.
"With less than two hours' notice, Illinois taxpayers including our social service providers and small business owners were just handed a bill for nearly a half-billion dollars," Trover said in a statement. "While questions remain about the legality of today's action, it further underscores the need for real pension reform in Illinois."
A wealthy private equity executive, candidate Rauner sold himself to voters as a businessman with the financial discipline to right Illinois' ship. That the first-term governor found himself on the other side of that message by resisting calls to better fund a historically shortchanged pension fund was an indication of Rauner's continued struggle to grapple with the pressures of governing when they run up against his political promises.
Rauner on Thursday cast his opposition as a concern about transparency, saying the decision to put taxpayers on the hook for another massive payment should be considered carefully.
"What they shouldn't do is rush this decision," Rauner said when asked at an event in Decatur what he thought the trustees should do.
But his staff also expressed concerns about the amount of money that could be eaten up by the decision, pointing out in a memo that taxpayers spend less each year on support for six state universities combined.
And the added bill comes as Rauner has been presiding over a stalemate at the Capitol that's left state government continuing to spend beyond its means. The extra money for TRS only worsens the growing pile of unpaid bills and the mounting state budget deficit. And every extra dollar digs the state deeper into the hole, adding pressure for a large tax increase and major spending cuts.
Still, even Rauner's allies on the TRS board were convinced that the financially responsible move was to lower expectations and start sending more dollars to the pension fund. The vote came after an actuary chided the trustees for the state's poor funding of its pension systems.
"When you're paying a bill off, you want to at least make some progress toward paying the bill off," said Kim Nicholl, an actuary with Segal Consulting, who lamented that in Illinois "your bill keeps getting bigger and bigger each year."
"At some point, it starts to come down. But it would be like taking out a 30-year mortgage on your home and then not paying your mortgage payment so that at the end of the year you have to take out a bigger loan and then start paying it again," Nicholl said.
Several board members balked at the actuary's recommendations, which is also tied to projections of a lower rate of inflation. The resistant trustees said they wanted to explore the option of making no change at all, and wanted more information about the long-term consequences of that option. Nicholl said she could crunch the numbers but warned that her firm would have to include a caveat.
"We'll do the calculations for you, but in our certification letter we will say that that's not our best estimate assumption," Nicholl said. The board then moved forward with the vote.
kgeiger@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kimgeiger | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-teacher-pensions-vote-met-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/062cab545c44b4f10c838456ea90ba262371b16664d492db1a8bb5a7b027066e.json |
[
"Washington Post",
"Robert Samuels"
] | 2016-08-29T02:48:25 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fpolitics%2Fct-clinton-gay-rights-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c37823/turbine/ct-clinton-gay-rights-20160828 | en | null | Clinton's slow shift on gay rights frustrated supporters: 'We took it personally' | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | During her first run for president in 2008, Hillary Clinton had an opportunity to become an undisputed leader in the gay rights movement.
As she prepared for a forum on the gay-oriented Logo network, she reached out to her friend Hilary Rosen, a political consultant who is a lesbian. Rosen expressed frustration that so many mainstream political figures opposed legalized same-sex marriage, and she challenged Clinton to speak out for a community that had strongly supported her.
Clinton refused.
"I'm struggling with how we can support this with a religious and family context,'' Rosen recalled Clinton telling her. Clinton just wanted to know the best way to explain the position.
The exchange was painful for Rosen, who had known Clinton since they worked on children's issues together in the 1980s.
"We took it personally," Rosen said. "You try not to because it's politics, but in this case, the politics is personal."
Clinton eventually got where her friends wanted her to go, though her change of heart came when the political risk had disappeared - close to a year after similar shifts by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Pride ribbon Justin Sullivan / Getty Images A pride ribbon sits next to a placard for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before the start of a round table discussion at Holden Heights Community Center on July 22, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. A pride ribbon sits next to a placard for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before the start of a round table discussion at Holden Heights Community Center on July 22, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
This year, as the Democratic presidential nominee, she is running as a forceful advocate for the LGBT community's agenda and a full-fledged supporter of same-sex marriage. The country's leading gay rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, endorsed her early in the campaign, lauding her as a "champion" for its cause.
Clinton's path to get to this point frustrated many of her supporters. While most national politicians have been slow to evolve on gay marriage, Clinton's handling of it was particularly saddening to some activists because they had expected more. Clinton and her husband, Bill, had stood out as being among the first to actively court the gay community as an interest group and donor base - and yet they were unwilling to stand with the community on one of its biggest civil rights issues.
"You could see the powerful way she has leveraged her influence on behalf of women and children or other issues," said Alan van Capelle, a former director of the now-disbanded Empire State Pride Agenda. "In terms of LGBT rights and marriage, there were people who led and people who followed. And on that issue, she followed."
Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights Sebastien Feval / AFP/Getty Images Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton adresses the assembly during a speech entitled "Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights" at the United Nations in Geneva on Dec. 6, 2011, ahead of the International Human Rights Day. She urged an end to discrimination worldwide against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals, and announced a fund to advance their cause. Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton adresses the assembly during a speech entitled "Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights" at the United Nations in Geneva on Dec. 6, 2011, ahead of the International Human Rights Day. She urged an end to discrimination worldwide against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals, and announced a fund to advance their cause. (Sebastien Feval / AFP/Getty Images) (Sebastien Feval / AFP/Getty Images)
Clinton's approach to same-sex marriage illustrates the caution that has come to define her political career. It also reflects a central challenge for the 68-year-old candidate, who along with her husband helped to shape an era of centrist politics designed to appeal to culturally conservative voters but has struggled to adapt to a generation of Democrats who have moved further to the left.
Among the Bill Clinton-era policies that Hillary Clinton has disavowed on the presidential campaign trail is the Defense of Marriage Act, the law signed by then-President Clinton in the lead-up to his 1996 re-election effort that prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage.
As Bill Clinton sought the 1992 Democratic nomination, LGBT activists were eager to align with the Clintons. The community had a strained relationship with the previous Democratic nominee, Michael Dukakis, whom activists heckled at a campaign event when he said he didn't see the need to issue an order banning discrimination against gays in the federal government.
Bill Clinton sought to include the community as a part of his coalition. He thrilled hundreds when he spoke at an LGBT fundraiser at the Palace nightclub in West Hollywood.
"I have a vision and you're a part of it," Bill Clinton told the crowd, recalled Richard Socarides, who advised the Clinton White House on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
He spoke about increasing funding for AIDS research and ending discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Most provocative was his unequivocal promise to lift the ban on gay people serving in the military. He didn't speak about marriage, which had not yet emerged as a major political issue.
As Bill Clinton focused on policy, Hillary Clinton developed friendships with LGBT activists. She would talk with same-sex couples about their children and share stories of parenthood. She'd acknowledge staffers with a smile if she saw them holding hands with their partners at their church and was comfortable asking details about relationships.
The night before Roberta Achtenberg, then a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was scheduled to make history at the 1992 Democratic National Convention as the first openly lesbian person to ever address the gathering, Hillary Clinton called to give her a pep talk.
"I'm rooting for you," Achtenberg recalled Clinton saying.
In 1993, Bill Clinton's first year in office, relations began to fray. Members of Congress and military officials were arguing against lifting the ban on gays serving in the military. Many strategists thought the president didn't have the political capital to push through his idea, so he had to compromise. The result was the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allowed gay men and women to serve in the military so long as they were not open about their sexual orientation.
Those who spoke to Hillary Clinton at the time said she encouraged her husband to find more support in Congress to avoid the compromise. But there was little she could do. "Bill knew the issue was a political loser," she wrote later in her 2003 autobiography, "Living History."
Three years later, the president faced another question about gay rights. Lawmakers were crafting legislation mandating that the federal government recognize only heterosexual marriage. Some White House strategists worried that if Clinton didn't back the legislation, he might lose the support of the centrists who had helped propel him to the White House in the first place. LGBT staffers tried to change the president's mind. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-clinton-gay-rights-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/9b3e3addb9e2a3f2ab529fa9d79295ebc9bfc9dbfd3bec9a3864b87a6731ae86.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Myrna Petlicki"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:22 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-zurich%2Flifestyles%2Fct-bcr-go-bacon-brothers-tl-0811-20160811-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Bacon Brothers bring folk, rock, soul to Metropolis | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | There aren't six degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and his older brother Michael.
Actor Kevin, whose prolific career has led to an informal party game — creating a pyramid of actors and their movies that leads to Kevin within six steps — and his Emmy Award-winning composer older brother Michael are in perfect harmony.
That's particularly true when they perform as the Bacon Brothers. They will be sharing the stage at Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 17 and 18.
Kevin loves performing with Michael because, "We get to hang. We are both very busy in our other lives and might not be as able to carve out the time."
That's probably because Kevin has appeared in 80 films plus on TV and stage. Michael has written many original scores for film and television. His four movement, "Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra" premiered in New York in March.
Michael noted that The Bacon Brothers band is also a business. "And it's a good feeling to share this with a family member because of the imbedded trust," he said.
The brothers grew up in Philadelphia, where Michael began his musical career in the 1960s. He later moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting.
Kevin also loved music from an early age but focused on his acting career.
Kevin calls their style Forosoco, which happens to be the title of their first album, which was released in 1997 — two years after they formed the band. That's an acronym for folk-rock-soul-country.
Their seventh album "36 Cents" was released in 2014. (Kevin indicated that the amount in that title song has no particular significance. "The rhythm just kinda sat nicely in my mouth," he said.)
In addition to Michael (vocals, guitar and cello) and Kevin (vocals, guitar and percussion), the band includes Paul Guzzone (bass guitar and backing vocals), Joe Mennonna (keyboards and accordion), Ira Siegel (lead guitar, mandolin and backing vocals) and Frank Vilardi (drums).
The brothers' influences are as diverse as their musical style, including the Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen for Kevin; The Band, James Taylor, Pete Seeger and the Beatles for Michael
"We play rowdy bars and elegant Victorian opera houses, and everything in-between," Michael said.
Kevin said they have a set list, but that it often changes, "depending on the night. It's a complicated show because everyone in the band changes instruments so often. We have to have some idea what's next."
Both brothers are songwriters. "We try to balance the set between songs that Mike wrote and songs that I wrote," Kevin said. "The primary writer sings lead."
The band is on a lengthy tour. The upside of traveling, Kevin said, is "everything you do so you can get to the moment when you play together. That's the fun part."
Michael, on the other hand, said, "I love looking out the window as we're traveling." He also enjoys going to places "that I probably would never see without our gigs."
Both brothers have plans for their upcoming visit to this area.
"I love the architectural tour from the river," Michael said.
"I love Chicago," Kevin said. "I think I've done four movies there. I love to run near that big lake you have. But most of all I'm looking forward to playing."
The Bacon Brothers
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 17 and 18
Where: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights
Tickets: $70; $80 stage tables
Information: (847) 577-2121; www.metropolisarts.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-zurich/lifestyles/ct-bcr-go-bacon-brothers-tl-0811-20160811-story.html | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/3f6b64b923db5d3455a7553f3c32e12a6501a6210baaa4caef70f61e49007e51.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Phil Rockrohr"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:04 | null | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-zurich%2Fnews%2Fct-lzc-habitat-restoration-tl-0811-20160808-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57a8c801/turbine/ct-lzc-habitat-restoration-tl-0811-20160808 | en | null | $10,000 ComEd grant helps restore Oak Ridge Park in Lake Zurich | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Lake Zurich residents should be amazed once work to remove buckthorn and other invasive species across three acres of Oak Ridge Park concludes later this year, said Judi Thode, president of the local Ancient Oaks Foundation.
"People are always amazed when they go past places that had been inundated with buckthorn," Thode said. "When buckthorn and honeysuckle are cleared out, the places look amazing. People are going to flip when they see how good this looks."
The foundation partnered with Lake Zurich officials to win a $10,000 Green Region grant for the habitat restoration project at Oak Ridge Park from ComEd and Openlands, a Chicago-based conservation group administering the program for ComEd.
Lake Zurich Public Works Director Mike Brown credited Village President Tom Poynton with alerting village officials about the availability of the grants.
"It's good," Brown said. "It was a great little bonus we got there."
Brown and Thode both said the removal of buckthorn, honeysuckle and other invasive species at Oak Ridge, 351 Lions Drive, should lead to additional projects on the three-acre site, which sits directly across the street from Oak Ridge Marsh Nature Park.
"It's a project that will be ongoing," Brown said. "It will probably morph into something larger potentially. We're working with AOF on the first phase."
The $10,000 grant — plus any additional funds provided by AOF and potential corporate donors — will be used to hire a firm to remove the invasive species, Thode said. The village and foundation have requested proposals for the work, she said.
Oak Ridge Park woodlands have been inundated with buckthorn, honeysuckle and "typical bad invasives," Thode said. Currently, 28 mature oak trees there will not regenerate if the invasives are not removed, she said.
"Invasives like buckthorn shade out everything," Thode said. "You can't get new oaks to grow. They would eventually die and go away, and it would be an empty area filled with buckthorn."
The project, which will likely be done late this fall or early winter, will include removal of all invasives and reseeding of native plants, along with a second removal of any buckthorn re-sprouts that are missed during or arise after the first removal, she said.
The local foundation hopes the removal of invasive species is just phase one of a project that also could eventually extend a walking path from the nature park across the street and add a fishing area at the pond at Oak Ridge Park, Thode said.
Those projects will depend on the availability of grants or other funding, Thode and Brown both said.
"That's down the road," Thode said. "We'll start looking for (funding) pretty soon. We're doing it one year at a time, but have it all mapped out."
Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-zurich/news/ct-lzc-habitat-restoration-tl-0811-20160808-story.html | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5a11ca37933cf9224faf2ccf80cf056dd66970b044547ea3f08f53f5497aae8f.json |
[
"Andy Sharp",
"C"
] | 2016-08-26T20:47:54 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fsns-wp-blm-japan-military-212675fe-6b87-11e6-91cb-ecb5418830e9-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c05053/turbine/sns-wp-blm-japan-military-212675fe-6b87-11e6-91cb-ecb5418830e9-20160826 | en | null | Japan's military begins training for new overseas missions | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | In a further shift in Japan's pacifist postwar security policy, the military has begun training to carry out new missions overseas.
Defense Minister Tomomi Inada announced the change for the Self-Defense Forces, saying units would start training Thursday. "It's natural to make the proper preparations to respond under any circumstances," she said Wednesday in a briefing.
Under revised security legislation that took effect earlier this year, Self-Defense Force troops will train for a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan starting in November. That will include troops potentially using weapons to rescue UN staff, and joining troops from other nations in defending the barracks of peacekeepers if they come under fire.
The laws to expand the role of the military were revised after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet reinterpreted the nation's pacifist constitution. Previously, Japanese peace keepers could only use their weapons to defend themselves if attacked, and that was "limited to the minimum necessary to protect the lives of personnel."
"It does eventually allow Japan for the first time to come to the rescue for other nations," said Michael Cucek, an adjunct fellow at Temple University's Japan campus. "Basically, until now Japan was a lead weight on peacekeeping operations."
The move could prove controversial in a nation so attached to its pacifist beliefs in the decades since World War II. Huge crowds gathered outside Abe's office last summer to protest the passage of security legislation.
Still, "it shouldn't become a political crisis because most Japanese actually agree with the expansion of peacekeeping operations," Cucek said.
The Self-Defense Forces, founded in the 1950s, were initially limited to fending off any attack on the country's islands. Japan began making changes after criticism from some analysts during the 1990-1991 Iraq war for contributing $13 billion but no troops.
It took part in later UN peacekeeping operations and sent non-combat troops to the second Iraq war for a reconstruction mission. Each step toward full militarization has been met with unease among ordinary Japanese. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-japan-military-212675fe-6b87-11e6-91cb-ecb5418830e9-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/92c8576882e7bfb574242fba94bd15ef84eda247a196bef01880172442a91ea1.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:07 | null | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-zengeler-tl-0818-20160815-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57b317db/turbine/ct-nbs-zengeler-tl-0818-20160815 | en | null | Zengeler Cleaners, in its sixth generation, grows into a smaller way of doing business | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Zengeler Cleaners is learning the benefits of shrinking.
The clothes are still coming out the size they came in, but the Northbrook building they arrive at has gotten a lot smaller.
It took years of negotiations to get the headquarters of one of the country's oldest family-owned businesses to move from its home, on the north side of Dundee Road, to a new one a block north, within the Norshore 770 development.
But when it moved, CEO Tom Zengeler got the plant he always wanted. It cost about $1.5 million to refit, but he said it's we'll worth it.
That new plant at 792 Skokie Blvd. has 2,800 square feet of floor space, less than a tenth the 30,000-square-foot size of the plant at 550 Dundee Road left for the bulldozers. It operates with about 100 employees, 45 fewer than it took to run the old one, Zengeler said.
He and his crew say no one was laid off. As people left from Northbrook or one of the other locations, the slack was made up by overtime.
Norshore 770 builder Crossroads Development Partners is getting $760,000 in tax incremental property tax revenue generated to facilitate Zengeler relocation costs, according to an agreement with the village and other taxing bodies. Zengeler said his company won't get any of that money, but one of the things the company did get was a 20-foot ceiling in the new, smaller facility. That allowed thousands of finished garments to be conveyed into a system that snakes through the space in the upper third of the plant.
"It used to take up 5,000 square feet," Zengeler said of the old storage system. "Now it's not taking up floor space, and it's tied in to our point-of-sale computer service."
The Italian-made Metalprogetti conveyor brings clothes to the front desk, to the drive-through and to a night kiosk pickup, where customers can set the system in action with the press of a button.
No more employees walking around the plant gathering orders.
No more tags, either, to a great extent, said Fernanda Estella, general manager of production.
"We put them on once, and we don't have to do it again," she said.
The little bar codes are affixed into secret places in the clothes, and all the tagging work the intake personnel have to do is make sure they're still there.
In November 2014, Zengeler said he took a trip to Japan, and found himself the only American at a Japanese dry-cleaning equipment convention. He came back with Sankosha pressing and ironing units that save more time and space.
The shirt-pressers spin around and allow an employee to fit two shirts on pressing forms without moving. Then both shirts are pressed at once.
Estella said her Northbrook crew still pushes out 3,000 garments by 2 p.m. daily, with about a third of the employees she used to have.
She said as the production improves, the quality has improved, too. Zengeler boasts the new Union dry cleaning machines, from Italy, are the best.
Like four out of seven of Zengeler's other plants, Zengeler said, the employee operating the drive-through doesn't hand the garments through a window. There's a removable wall that allows the clerk to walk through and load the clothes into the customer's back seat.
Zengeler said the lease cost is about the same as before, despite the smaller footprint, but there's more value in being in the middle of a new shopping center, and still having four-lane highway visibility.
The company has been headquartered in Northbrook since 1964, but dates back to 1857, when it was founded in Chicago's South Loop by Zengeler's great-great-grandfather John Zengeler. Tom Zengeler said his father, Bob, now in his 80s, still goes to work in the Libertyville branch. His brothers Michael and Bob, Jr., are also managers, having all been with the company for decades.
This summer, Tom Zengeler's daughter Kristine, 19, became the first of the sixth generation to work in the family business, in the Libertyville branch.
She maintains she's keeping her post-college options open. In the fall, she returns to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where she's majoring in neuroscience.
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-zengeler-tl-0818-20160815-story.html | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e333aa57440bd014ea725c65387522655318bbe75d1ccc2d9662ee223b6b4bc8.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Chicago Tribune Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:26 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fpolitics%2Fct-bruce-rauner-teacher-pension-vote-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bfcd86/turbine/ct-bruce-rauner-teacher-pension-vote-20160825 | en | null | Morning Spin: Why Rauner fears teacher pension board vote | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
The board that oversees the Teachers Retirement System is scheduled to vote on whether to lower the expected rate of return on investments, a move Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office has warned could blow a massive hole into the state’s already shaky finances.
The board will convene in Springfield on Friday morning to consider the change. When the board last altered the assumption from 8 percent to 7.5 percent in 2014, the state ended up on the hook for an additional $200 million in pension payments.
It’s an added cost state government can ill afford after going more than a year without a full budget. The Rauner administration suggests it could lead to deeper cuts and the need for even higher taxes down the road.
“If the board were to approve a lower assumed rate of return, taxpayers will be automatically and immediately on the hook for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in higher taxes or reduced services,” Michael Mahoney, the governor’s senior adviser for revenue and pensions, wrote in a memo to Rauner’s chief of staff earlier this week.
“Unforeseen and unknown automatic cost increases will have a devastating impact on the state’s ability to provide adequate resources to social service programs and education,” Mahoney said.
The vote comes as pension systems across the nation are reporting lower-than-expected returns, and as analysts encourage systems to lower their assumptions amid concerns states don’t have enough money to pay for promised retirement benefits.
Illinois already has $111 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, one of the worst funding ratios in the nation. (Monique Garcia with The Associated Press)
What's on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public schedule.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner will make southern Illinois stops in Carbondale, Marion and Makanda before opening the DuQuoin State Fair.
*Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Rep. Tammy Duckworth will campaign in Carbondale and DuQuoin.
What we're writing
*Sharply divided Illinois Supreme Court keeps redistricting reform off ballot.
*Munger, Mendoza blame each other for state budget mess.
*Show us the details, say aldermen after Emanuel aides brief them on Police Department reform.
*Emanuel rules out Israel ambassador job if Clinton wins presidency.
What we're reading (weekend edition)
*U. of C. warns freshmen: no safe spaces, no trigger warnings.
*A Q&A with man alleged to be Sausage King of Chicago.
*Less-talented Gallagher brother to record solo album.
From the notebook
*Duckworth says Kirk hiding behind stroke: Democratic U.S. Senate challenger Tammy Duckworth has fired back at Republican Sen. Mark Kirk, suggesting her opponent was hiding behind his stroke and calling that “shameful.”
The comment, made while campaigning in Decatur on Thursday, came a day after Kirk accused Duckworth of mocking stroke victims when she characterized him as “unhinged” in a Tuesday speech.
The story so far: Duckworth was referring to Kirk’s likening of President Barack Obama to the nation’s “drug dealer in chief” for a $400 million payment in January’s Iran prisoner release deal. Kirk suffered a major stroke in 2012, and Duckworth assigned a term to him defined as “mentally deranged.” Kirk then said Duckworth was “so desperate to run for office that she would denigrate any stroke victim in America and make fun of them, and that’s awful.”
On Thursday, Duckworth was asked about Kirk’s statement. “Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, his irrational comments pre-date his stroke,” said Duckworth, referring to a string of Kirk exaggerations that came to light before the November 2010 U.S. Senate election.
Then Duckworth took things further.
“The fact of the matter is, he's not been able to accomplish much of anything from before he had his stroke. And for him to use his stroke as something to hide behind is really shameful because there's a lot of people -- you know, neither one of us are victims. We have both recovered from disability. And to hide behind that, your ineffectiveness as a senator, behind that, is pretty shameful,” she said.
Kevin Artl, Kirk’s campaign manager, said the Democrat’s comments represented “another nasty cheap shot.”
“The simple fact is that Congresswoman Duckworth is a Democrat rubber stamp who has been rated as one of the least effective members of Congress,” Artl said. (Kim Geiger, Rick Pearson)
*Emanuel doesn’t knock Sox: Mayor Emanuel flubbed a chance to take batting practice on the topic that has been the subject of so much South Side hand-wringing and North Side schadenfreude this week: the rebranding of Sox Park thanks to a corporate naming rights deal with mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-teacher-pension-vote-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/3434cd8480aefd1f110429f6b97ab79596b5c3ba57a773b395d2b7f777369c17.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Brian Cox"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:53 | null | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-district-219-meeting-tl-0728-20160801-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-579f900f/turbine/ct-skr-district-219-meeting-tl-0728-20160801 | en | null | Niles Township District 219 eliminates top HR position amid restructuring | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | With a new budget looming, the Niles Township High School District 219 board of education is trying to save money where it can and is eliminating its top human resources position, officials said.
"It's actually a restructuring of the human resources department," said Eric Trimberger, assistant superintendent for business in district 219. "The HR 'director position' is being eliminated and is being replaced by an assistant director at a lower salary."
The board during its July 27 meeting voted in favor of the move, which Trimberger said would save the district as much as $30,000 a year. He also said the district is saving money in similar ways in other departments and is trying to be more efficient in its operations as staff continues to draft the 2017/18 budget, which will come out in the next month or so.
"There's a lot of administrative changes going on," he said, adding that those changes have allowed for some cost savings, including the recent hiring of a new district superintendent at a lower salary.
Brian Cox is a freelancer. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-district-219-meeting-tl-0728-20160801-story.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f13775d5ed90223dcd230e827c87e0e10fa1ac269725a77384d518316f68f70a.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:49 | null | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fvernon-hills%2Fnews%2Fct-vhr-vernon-hills-airbnb-ban-tl-0728-20160720-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57900f47/turbine/ct-vhr-vernon-hills-airbnb-ban-tl-0728-20160720 | en | null | Vernon Hills moves toward Airbnb ban | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Vernon Hills is close to approving a ban on short-term vacation rentals often arranged through sites like Airbnb.
Mayor Roger Byrne called for research on the topic earlier in July when officials noticed Vernon Hills homes listed on the sites. Village trustees on July 19 voted unanimously to prohibit the activity after reviewing uncertainties surrounding the new trend.
Trustees Barbara Williams and Cindy Hebda were absent from the meeting.
"If we deem to allow the Airbnb-kind of operation to exist, that would create a regulatory burden to us," Village Trustee James Schultz said. "Let me be clear, I suggest that we create the language needed to prohibit (this)."
Four homes in Vernon Hills are already being advertised, according to Building Commissioner Mike Atkinson.
If Vernon Hills was to regulate Airbnb and other sites like it, Atkinson said trustees would need to consider factors like annual building inspections, parking requirements, limits on the number of renters and zoning restrictions, among other issues.
Trustees agreed that those topics would be difficult to address and enforce.
Assistant Village Manager Joe Carey said the four homes currently listed are all located near the Metra station along Route 45 and advertise rooms or a couch for rent between $48 and $69 per night.
"This is becoming a nightmare in some of these, what I would call, pretty high-end neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, where it turns into a bachelor pad or bachelorette pad," Byrne said. "If that happens every weekend, there might be vigilantes out there."
Village Trustee Thom Koch said Vernon Hills needed to either ban short-term vacation rentals or strictly regulate them before the activity becomes disruptive.
Atkinson said Vernon Hills' zoning ordinance already prohibits "lodging houses," but he said it is not defined. Atkinson said he will now create a definition for "lodging houses" that describes Airbnb or he will write a whole new sentence with a new term and definition.
Once that language is written, Atkinson said the zoning board will conduct a public hearing and the Village Board will hold a final vote after that.
"Even though boarding houses kind of helped make this country great during the initial development and march from east to west, I think that time is gone," Schultz said.
Schultz said the zoning language should somehow include the concept of "for profit" so it's distinguished from other, more acceptable temporary living arrangements.
"Right, because you don't want to prohibit foreign students from coming and staying with family for a semester or something like that," Village Trustee Tim Grieb said. "That's not the intent."
Byrne later compared Airbnb to people who own and lease entire townhouses. He said Vernon Hills monitors and enforces exterior maintenance standards, but he worries about how much interior work is done.
Trustees agreed that the topic is different than short-term vacation rentals and said it should be talked about some other time.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/vernon-hills/news/ct-vhr-vernon-hills-airbnb-ban-tl-0728-20160720-story.html | en | 2016-07-20T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/400d3e1d4a9c461fdf6b926df05c48cdb69ee02484638ee8aac98528f9fb9e52.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Pat Lenhoff"
] | 2016-08-29T16:47:42 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flibertyville%2Fnews%2Fct-vhr-lenhoff-column-tl-0901-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c45deb/turbine/ct-vhr-lenhoff-column-tl-0901-20160829 | en | null | Lenhoff: It's September, Merry Christmas | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Say good bye to summer and hello to Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
For many of us, flipping the calendar page to September means Labor Day, school in full swing, colors changing from summery brights to subdued rich autumnal tones and shorts and flip flops relegated to storage.
Hints of the seasonal change abound, the sounds of the insects ring out in the morning and the sunsets take on a new angle. Sweaters begin to look enticing.
But for some, September means Christmas. And I don't say that happily, even though Christmas is a happy day. A recent Chicago Tribune article discussed the issue of stores introducing Christmas items this early and it rattled my cage once again on a subject that I just can't let go. My unending question: Why oh why do we need a full-tilt Christmas department in early September? Or, if you're a Hobby Lobby shopper, in July?
Even my five-year-old granddaughter, on a recent shopping trip to Hobby Lobby, knew enough to wonder why half the store was decorated for Christmas when it was still the so summery outside.
Now, there are many reasons and many items that I could understand being available for purchase this early, crafting and holiday projects among them. And I can also see unlimited items being available online to order. But have you ever seen a mad dash of shoppers buying 12-foot Christmas trees in August, along with thousands of ornament selections?
Factor into that commercialization the Hobby Lobby mantra to keep Christ in Christmas, and it sure seems ironic at best and hypocritical at worst.
Although they are usually the first, they are not the only ones to capitalize on the biggest shopping season of the year. We've already discussed here the glossing over of Thanksgiving, an important holiday in its own right but totally overshadowed by the months-long Christmas juggernaut. Halloween hangs on but still shares the spotlight with the red and green displays not far away.
In recent years, retailers have bemoaned the slipping sales racked up during the holidays. I've often wondered if they ever connected the dots to see that the holiday shopping season has been extended so much longer than what used to be defined as 'the holidays', that they could probably begin collecting those shopping statistics in September.
But my biggest bone of contention is what that long term exposure to everything Christmas actually does to the holiday. I'm one who argues that instead of making it bigger and better, it actually diminishes the special nature of the season. It numbs us, thanks to that long-term sensory overload, to the childlike wonder even adults often used to recapture between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. To me, it's a sad loss.
Pat Lenhoff is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.
viewfromvh@yahoo.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/libertyville/news/ct-vhr-lenhoff-column-tl-0901-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/fab28b63f9d9969d4076047e69fc5e30597cdb32ad1fc681750a4d16cffb2eb1.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-29T00:48:23 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fct-vmas-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | MTV VMAs to feature Kanye West, performance by Beyonce | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | What will be the spectacle at the MTV Video Music Awards this year? A long rant from Kanye West? The surprise performance by Beyonce? It seems anything is possible.
The show returns to New York on Sunday, where Beyonce is the leading nominee with 11. MTV confirmed via Twitter on Sunday that Beyonce will perform. She outshined her peers at the 2014 VMAs, closing the show with a 16-minute medley of songs from her self-titled surprise album that dominated that night.
West has had even more history with the awards show: He famously jumped onstage and stole Taylor Swift's microphone at the 2009 show and last year gave an 11-minute speech onstage — after being introduced by Swift — and announced he was going to run for president in 2020.
He'll have another chance to own the night since his controversial "Famous" music video — featuring what appears to be naked images of West, Swift, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump — is nominated for best male video and video of the year.
Beyonce's "Formation," Justin Bieber's "Sorry," Drake's "Hotline Bling" and Adele's "Hello" are also up for the top prize. Adele, though, won't attend the show at Madison Square Garden, her representative said. Reps for Drake and Bieber didn't return emails asking if they would or would not attend the show.
Rihanna will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award and kick off the show with a performance. The VMAs will air live on MTV at 9 p.m.
Other performers include Britney Spears, Ariana Grande with Nicki Minaj, Future, Nick Jonas and The Chainsmokers.
Among the early arrivals on the White Carpet: Beyonce, angel-winged and green-feathered with daughter Blue Ivy in tow, and Amber Rose, one of the evening's hosts.
Presenters include Jimmy Fallon, Alicia Keys, Puff Daddy and the recent Olympian gold medalists Michael Phelps and the Final Five gymnasts — Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman.
Nominees for best female video include Beyonce, Adele, Rihanna, Sia and Grande. The best male video nominees are West, Drake, the Weeknd, Bryson Tiller and Calvin Harris, whose nomination is for "This is What You Came For," which he co-wrote with former girlfriend Swift.
Coldplay, Desiigner, Fergie and Alessia Cara earned multiple nominations, while David Bowie — who died from cancer earlier this year — is nominated for best direction, cinematography, art direction and editing for "Lazarus." The music video, which shows him looking frail in bed with bandaged eyes, was released just days before the icon's Jan. 10 death. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-vmas-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/8c376be6496e232f63c44c17929d5796c8b9181b9fe2348ff5e194f269f3bdc7.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Clifford Ward"
] | 2016-08-27T00:48:09 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Foak-brook%2Fnews%2Fct-oakbrook-terrace-car-hits-cop-0827-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0acc6/turbine/ct-oakbrook-terrace-car-hits-cop-0827-20160826 | en | null | Man pleads guilty to hitting cop with car in Oakbrook Terrace parking lot | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A Chicago man has pleaded guilty to charges that he struck a police officer with a car in May while trying to escape from an Oakbrook Terrace home improvement, where he had allegedly been shoplifting court records show.
Devin Dawson, 20, of the 8400 block of South Justine Street, is due in DuPage County court on Sept. 19 for sentencing on a single count of aggravated battery and an unrelated forgery count, according to court records, which indicate he pleaded guilty to the charges Wednesday.
Dawson was charged in May after authorities say he hit the plainclothes Oak Brook police officer in the parking lot of a Home Depot on 22nd Street about 1:10 p.m. on May 4.
According to police, Dawson was among a group of four people who were allegedly shoplifting items from the store. The plainclothes officer was there buying supplies and joined store loss-prevention personnel in attempting to halt Dawson, who was running out of the store, according to authorities.
The officer encountered Dawson in the parking lot after Dawson had gotten behind the wheel of a car. He allegedly struck the officer and drove off with the officer on the hood for several moments. The officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said,
An investigation led to Dawson's arrest on May 8. A juvenile female was also charged in connection with the shoplifting incident. Two other people got away, police said.
In addition to his guilty plea on battery, Dawson also entered a guilty plea this week to a forgery charge. In that case, he was alleged to have passed a counterfeit $100 bill in September 2015 at a clothing store in Woodridge. At the time of Dawson's arrest in May, authorities had issued an outstanding warrant for him after he missed a court date in the forgery case.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-brook/news/ct-oakbrook-terrace-car-hits-cop-0827-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/76af140921a75cdfee701157c4c03f7fd2d72cfa14dd6cd9c246ed7f94fd2ce1.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Irv Leavitt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:29 | null | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fnorthbrook%2Fnews%2Fct-nbs-car-hit-salon-tl-0825-20160819-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57b77ded/turbine/ct-nbs-car-hit-salon-tl-0825-20160819 | en | null | Car hits Northbrook building | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | An errant car hit the front of a building in the Sanders Court shopping center Friday, damaging the door and some of the brick facade of a beauty salon, according to Northbrook village spokeswoman Cheryl Fayne-Depersio.
The driver sustained minor injuries. But no one else was reported hurt. Fayne said that village building and development director Tom Poupard inspected the building for structural damage, and cleared the salon to reopen once the glass is cleaned up and a temporary door is installed.
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @IrvLeavitt | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-nbs-car-hit-salon-tl-0825-20160819-story.html | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/100e7a12c9a6ec31428f8b8dc78982319d8b0ae6c4ad056bc8f06da25bf873d9.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kogan"
] | 2016-08-30T00:48:56 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Fmusic%2Fct-jim-post-kogan-sidewalks-ent-0830-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4b67f/turbine/ct-jim-post-kogan-sidewalks-ent-0830-20160829 | en | null | Visiting Old Town with Jim Post - and a few happy ghosts along for the ride | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | It is impossible for people of a certain age to walk down Wells Street in the vicinity of North Avenue and not be transported to a bygone time.
This sort of thing can happen in a lot of different places, this time travel. We live surrounded by ghosts and the past echoes. You walk by the field where 40 years ago you scored a high school touchdown and you can hear the roar of a crowd. You walk past Macy's in the Loop and remember the day you and your mother bought your prom dress there when it was Marshall Field's and how nice that saleslady was. You stroll around Belmont and Western avenues and hear the sounds of one of Riverview Park's roller coasters or, near 95th Street and Stony Island Avenue, the laughter and squeals of what was once Funtown.
I could go on but ... near North and Wells is a tavern/restaurant named Corcoran's that was once the Earl of Old Town and for a time, roughly the early 1960s into the 1980s, arguably the most famous folk-music club in the world.
More than two decades ago, after the Earl had closed, a lively man named Jim Post and I walked into what used to be the Earl and Post said, "There was a generation that passed through this room. People learned a lot about life and love and everything else inside these walls."
Inside he talked some more, saying, "(There was) a smell, the smell of people having a good time. In most places the combination of odors of cigarettes and old beer can stink. At the Earl it was the sweetest smell imaginable."
Post was among those who made the Earl and made it a place that sits pleasantly in the collective memories of thousands of Chicagoans.
Some of those who played there are gone, most prominently Steve Goodman, who died in 1984 of leukemia at 36, and Fred Holstein, who was the soulful heart of the place and died in 2004 when he was 61, and Earl Pionke, who owned the place, who died in 2013 at 80.
But there is no reason to let these deaths depress you. The music, the personalities live on; their ghosts wander. Just check your memory.
The living, too, carry on, as John Prine, having beaten cancer, continues to perform across the country and makes what should be a raucously sweet homecoming when he plays the Chicago Theatre on Nov. 4 and Milwaukee's Riverside Theatre the following night (johnprine.net).
Bonnie Koloc, who has long lived in Iowa with her writer-husband Bob Wolf, has never performed with enough frequency to satisfy her many fans but she will be appearing Oct. 14 at the Old Town School of Folk Music with Ed Holstein, Fred's younger brother and himself a gifted performer-teacher (www.bonniekoloc.com).
Post has visited and performed in Chicago now and then over the past decades. He is originally from Texas and, as part of the duo Friend and Lover, had a big hit with their song "Reach Out of the Darkness." But he left here in the late 1960s, disturbed by the violence that he witnessed during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He went to Colorado, then San Francisco and in the early 1980s settled in Galena, that charming town in northwest Illinois, which helped inspire his "Galena Rose: How Whiskey Won the West," an ambitious full-blown musical theater piece that enjoyed critical acclaim and had long runs at more than one theater here.
In reviewing the show, I wrote that it was "a stunning one-man show … a stirring mixture of history and folklore, joy and tragedy" and that Post "creates a unique and intoxicating world."
He later crafted what has become his musical bread-and-butter and an ongoing delight. "Mark Twain and the Laughing River" is a captivating show that he has performed all over the country. It has been called by the Washington Post "one man tour de force — part musical, part drama and thoroughly entertaining." It helps that some time ago Post began to resemble the white-haired image that most of us have of Twain and he performs the show at Galena's One Eleven Main Restaurant & Theater on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through September and beyond (www.jimpost.com).
Post and I talked a couple of days ago and despite his dealing with the sad news of a friend's recent cancer diagnosis, he was his ebullient self, saying. "I'm very happy, still writing, still dreaming and working on a new piece based on Twain's writing and I'm thinking of taking the greatest hymns of all time and working them all into a new hymn."
We talked about Jimmy Fallon because earlier this year Fallon featured Post on the "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
It was in May, in a segment titled "Do Not Play," a feature meant to highlight music or an artist one should avoid listening to. He played Post's "I Love My Life" from his 1978 album of the same name.
Fallon seemed to like the song, dancing along to the music.
But Post did not hear about it until a friend called: "He said, 'Jim you're on the Jimmy Fallon show,' and I said, 'No I'm not, I'm in bed.' I later heard from so many people. Bother me? I was happy about it and when I finally saw it, Jimmy was having so much fun."
Mark Twain was 74 when he died in 1910. Post is a couple of years older but still aware of the wonders all around him. "Just a couple of days ago I was looking out my first floor window at a bunch of trees in the distance," he said. "And all of a sudden this bear walked up and stared in the window at me and I stared back, wondering to myself, 'What is this bear thinking?' "
rkogan@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rickkogan
MORE FROM RICK KOGAN:
Winner's circle visit sired career as world-renowned 'horse artist'
Dust off your soapbox for Bughouse Square Debates
Was Jesus married? A journalist circles the question
Two authors returning to Chicago to discuss blood, sweat and years
Check out the latest movie reviews from Michael Phillips and the Chicago Tribune. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-jim-post-kogan-sidewalks-ent-0830-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/3902db953e38c46fc2978d14e224cada1a5ee5c4ba2c4ed88a7a80fa507c0c77.json |
[
"Tribune Content Agency",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-30T14:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fentertainment%2Ftv%2Fct-dancing-with-the-stars-season-23-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c58cab/turbine/ct-dancing-with-the-stars-season-23-20160830 | en | null | Ryan Lochte and the rest of the 'Dancing With the Stars' cast revealed | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | With less than two weeks away until "Dancing With the Stars" returns with its 23rd season, ABC has revealed the full cast of celebrity dancers and their pro partners.
Among the star-studded cast is Ryan Lochte, Laurie Hernandez, Amber Rose, Rick Perry, and Maureen McCormick. The entire cast was unveiled Tuesday on "Good Morning America."
Erin Andrews and Tom Bergeron will return to host, along with judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Julianne Hough, who is back after a season hiatus, as Variety previously reported.
MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR
Here's the full rundown of the "DWTS" Season 23 celebrities and their pro partners:
Laurie Hernandez & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Marilu Henner & Derek Hough
Amber Rose & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Ryan Lochte & Cheryl Burke
Vanilla Ice & Witney Carson
Calvin Johnson & Lindsay Arnold
Emma Slater & Rick Perry
Maureen McCormick & Artem Chigvintsev
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds & Allison Holker
Jake T. Austin & Jenna Johnson
James Hinchcliffe & Sharna Burgess
Terra Jolé & Sasha Farber
Jana Kramer & Gleb Savchenko
"Dancing With the Stars" Season 23 premieres on Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m.
Variety
RELATED STORIES:
Ryan Lochte mum on Rio return, plugs 'Dancing with the Stars' gig
U.S. swimmer Lochte's legal troubles mount in Brazil with charge of false reporting
Speedo USA, 3 other sponsors drop Ryan Lochte after Rio incident | http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-dancing-with-the-stars-season-23-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/a866473d8ce771d1b51ee1e92f0c1cc9f317d17d542db89b020c1b734c10ec32.json |
[
"Washington Post",
"Sean Sullivan"
] | 2016-08-30T00:48:47 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fpolitics%2Fct-trump-kaepernick-national-anthem-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c4bece/turbine/ct-trump-kaepernick-national-anthem-20160829 | en | null | Trump slams Kaepernick: 'Maybe he should find a country that works better for him' | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Donald Trump sharply criticized San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Monday for refusing to stand for the national anthem, telling a radio host it's a "terrible thing."
"Maybe he should find a country that works better for him. Let him try. It won't happen," said the Republican presidential nominee, who spoke to conservative show host Dori Monson on KIRO radio in Seattle ahead of his Tuesday trip to the region for a fundraiser and rally.
Kaepernick, who has been highly critical of both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, has drawn national scrutiny for his decision to sit during the national anthem before games as a form of protest against what he sees as injustices across the country, including police treatment of civilians.
"I mean, ultimately it's to bring awareness and make people realize what's really going on in this country. There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust, people aren't being held accountable for, and that's something that needs to change," he said Sunday, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
Asked what he would like to see changed, Kaepernick said: "There's a lot of things that need to change. One specifically is police brutality, there's people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. The cops are getting paid leave for killing people. That's not right."
Queried about his decision to spend time in a safely Democratic state like Washington, Trump acknowledged his challenge there, but added: "We seem to have a great receptivity there. We've gotten very good numbers from other states where we're sort of in the same position."
Most recent polls show Trump trailing Clinton, both nationally and in key battlegrounds. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-kaepernick-national-anthem-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/2de9733518daea9c77ea6c6c779ae97115c44a54d824e1e9186654a9f964e8f8.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-29T04:48:26 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-hawaii-mars-simulation-20160828-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c38a83/turbine/ct-hawaii-mars-simulation-20160828 | en | null | Scientists complete yearlong Mars simulation in Hawaii dome | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Six scientists have completed a yearlong Mars simulation in Hawaii, where they lived in a dome in near isolation.
For the past year, the group in the dome on a Mauna Loa mountain could go outside only while wearing spacesuits.
On Sunday, the simulation ended, and the scientists emerged.
Cyprien Verseux, a crew member from France, said the simulation shows a mission to Mars can succeed.
"I can give you my personal impression which is that a mission to Mars in the close future is realistic. I think the technological and psychological obstacles can be overcome," Verseux said.
Christiane Heinicke, a crew member from Germany, said the scientists were able to find their own water in a dry climate.
"Showing that it works, you can actually get water from the ground that is seemingly dry. It would work on Mars and the implication is that you would be able to get water on Mars from this little greenhouse construct," she said.
Tristan Bassingthwaighte, a doctor of architecture candidate at University of Hawaii, served as the crew's architect.
"The UH research going on up here is just super vital when it comes to picking crews, figuring out how people are going to actually work on different kinds of missions, and sort of the human factors element of space travel, colonization, whatever it is you are actually looking at," Bassingthwaighte said.
Kim Binsted, principal investigator for the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), said the researchers are looking forward to getting in the ocean and eating fresh produce and other foods that weren't available in the dome.
"HI-SEAS is an example of international collaborative research hosted and run by the University of Hawai'i. So it's really exciting to be able to welcome the crew back to earth and back to Hawai'i after a year on Mars," Binsted said.
NASA funded the study run through the University of Hawaii. Binsted said the simulation was the second-longest of its kind after a mission that lasted 520 days in Russia.
Scientists in the Hawaii simulation managed limited resources while conducting research and working to avoid personal conflicts.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-hawaii-mars-simulation-20160828-story.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/58bdf8aff5c63a664ca61ada01709af6c42bdf964e17f94a8fe110fc823a37ad.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Dan Campana"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:19 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Faurora-beacon-news%2Fnews%2Fct-abn-murder-charge-dropped-st-0826-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf8a18/turbine/ct-abn-murder-charge-dropped-st-0826-20160825 | en | null | Prosecutors drop murder charge in 2015 shooting of teen in Aurora | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Prosecutors this week dropped murder charges against 17-year-old Gabriel Barron in the 2015 shooting death of Gianni Aguirre, a move praised by the defense attorney who cited issues with scientific evidence and witness credibility in the case.
"I think the state's attorney made the right decision based on the way evidence was coming in," attorney Liam Dixon said Thursday.
Barron, of Aurora, was 16 when prosecutors accused him of the shooting in February 2015 outside Aguirre's home in the 100 block of Bluff Street. Authorities previously said the pair exchanged words before Barron shot Aguirre in the chest during the daytime incident. Barron pleaded not guilty after being indicted last year. Dixon said Barron was acting in self defense.
The murder charges triggered a mandatory transfer to adult court for Barron, who appeared for a number of status hearings over the last 18 months. Prosecutors on Thursday cited juvenile court rules for declining to comment. Members of Aguirre's family could not be reached for comment.
Barron, who had been held on $2 million bail since his arrest, is now free, according to Dixon.
Dixon described Barron as "relieved and excited" by the developments.
"This was a life-altering event for him," Dixon explained.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-murder-charge-dropped-st-0826-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e0ee986710fadd174ccaa8e4080824c2d722f704664bfc1f49a334577df424d3.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Mike Isaacs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:18 | null | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fskokie%2Fnews%2Fct-skr-skokie-uncontrolled-intersections-tl-0818-20160809-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | Flurry of Skokie intersections to receive traffic control signs | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | More than two dozen intersections without control signs or lights in Skokie will receive new traffic signs to improve safety and prevent driver confusion, under action recently taken by the Skokie Village Board.
Skokie Engineering Director Erik Cook said the village is often asked to investigate intersections perceived by the public to be problematic.
"These intersections typically do not have the volume of traffic or accident history to warrant the upgrade requested," Cook said. "However, since many drivers are unfamiliar with the rules of the road as one approaches an uncontrolled intersection, there is a value in assigning the right of way with a traffic control sign."
Almost all of the signs recommended by the engineering department and signed off on by the Skokie Village Board are for yield signs.
"Generally, we like to use the least restrictive sign first," Cook told the Village Board.
The Skokie Engineering Department, Cook said, makes sure that recommended signs for uncontrolled intersections meet guidelines established by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
"Staff has concerns about installing restrictive controls that do not meet (these) guidelines," he said. "Stop signs are frequently violated if unwarranted. Some drivers become careless about stopping at them, and this can be especially dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists who may have a false sense of safety from the presence of a stop sign."
Cook said the engineering department takes into account crash history, the street network system, sight distance and more when determining whether an uncontrolled intersection should have a sign.
In general, Cook said, the recommendations for signs are for uncontrolled intersections where there have never been signs.
"A lot of people don't know the right-of-way rules," he said. "I think a lot of the surrounding communities generally have signs. When they get to Skokie, there's 26 intersections that don't have these. I think this will make it a little safer."
Yield signs were approved for intersections on Birchwood Avenue at Kolmar, Kilbourn, Lowell, Kildare, Tripp, Keeler and Kedvale avenues.
Yield signs were also approved on Brummel Avenue at Keeler, Kenneth, Kilbourn, Kolmar and Kenton avenues; on Lavergne Avenue at Fitch, Lunt and Morse avenues; on Conrad Street at Long Avenue; on Suffield Court at Kildare Avenue; on Greenwood Street at Lavergne Avenue; and on Lyons Street at Latrobe Avenue.
Yield signs were approved on Foster Street at Kostner and Kildare avenues; on Payne Street at Kildare and Tripp avenues; and on Lyons Street at Ewing Avenue, Forestview Road and Lincolnwood Drive.
The approved recommendations also included installing a stop sign on Birchwood Avenue at Keystone Avenue "due to the number of angle crashes," Cook said.
One existing yield sign at Crain Street and Keystone Avenue will be upgraded to a two-way stop sign, and a stop sign at a "T" intersection with a marked crosswalk on Lawndale Avenue at Drake Street will receive a southbound stop sign, under the approved recommendations.
misaacs@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @SKReview_Mike | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-skokie-uncontrolled-intersections-tl-0818-20160809-story.html | en | 2016-08-09T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/846e5a3ac24ea88a20ed8ce78c080c96fc166dd967cd786cca7400278b53be1e.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Jeremy Gorner",
"Dan Hinkel"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:12 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flaquanmcdonald%2Fct-laquan-mcdonald-chicago-police-board-met-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c5ddb1/turbine/ct-laquan-mcdonald-chicago-police-board-met-20160830 | en | null | Chicago police seek to fire Van Dyke and 4 other cops in Laquan McDonald shooting | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has filed administrative charges seeking to fire five officers involved in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in October 2014.
The charges, filed Tuesday with the Chicago Police Board, seek the dismissal of Officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot McDonald 16 times, as well as four officers who gave reports contradicted by video of the shooting, suggesting an attempted cover-up.
In addition to Van Dyke, Officers Janet Mondragon, Daphne Sebastian and Ricardo Viramontes as well as Sgt. Stephen Franko face potential firing by the board.
Cook County prosecutors have also criminally charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
The move to fire the officers comes on the heels of a report from Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, who recommended the discipline. Ferguson had recommended firing 10 officers, according to Johnson, but two have retired, and Johnson said he didn't agree with the recommendation to fire one other officer. A source said Van Dyke's partner, Joseph Walsh, was also among the officers Ferguson called for firing, but he has since resigned.
The status of the 10th officer Ferguson called for firing was not immediately clear Tuesday.
Beyond the moves to fire officers, several high-ranking officers who were involved in the McDonald case have retired recently. David McNaughton, the deputy chief who ruled Van Dyke's shooting complied with department policy, retired in recent weeks. Also, Lt. Anthony Wojcik, who was involved in the department's investigation into the shooting, retired in May. No official or records have linked those retirements to the investigation into the McDonald case.
The move to fire the five officers doesn't promise a quick end to the scandal stemming from the department's response to McDonald's shooting. Cases can remain before the Chicago Police Board for months, and the board's decisions are not always the final word, as officers commonly challenge their firings in court.
The proposed discipline represents the latest consequence of a shooting that has driven political upheaval and changes to policing in the city.
Dashcam video: The shooting of Laquan McDonald This excerpt from video released to the public shows the most complete version of the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. It is edited for length by the Chicago Tribune. Warning: This video contains graphic images. This excerpt from video released to the public shows the most complete version of the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. It is edited for length by the Chicago Tribune. Warning: This video contains graphic images. See more videos
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration worked for months to avoid putting out the video of McDonald's shooting, but a judge forced its release late last year. The footage of the white Van Dyke shooting the African-American teenager repeatedly as he lay motionless on the pavement sparked heated street protests fueled by long-standing grievances with the police among many black Chicagoans.
As the scandal deepened, the U.S. Justice Department announced an investigation into whether Chicago police have systematically violated citizens' rights, and Emanuel has announced a slate of changes designed to blunt the impact of reforms federal authorities could seek to enforce.
The widely distrusted city agency that usually investigates police shootings — the Independent Police Review Authority — referred the inquiry to Ferguson's office.
The conduct of the officers who face potential firing is also under scrutiny from a special Cook County prosecutor appointed to determine whether their actions warrant further criminal charges. The U.S. attorney's office in Chicago had also been investigating the shooting.
Before the McDonald video touched off a political crisis, the city had only rarely accused officers of filing false reports. But the video of McDonald's shooting directly contradicted the accounts of both Van Dyke and other police on the scene.
Van Dyke stated in reports that he fired his weapon in fear for his life when McDonald advanced on him with a knife. On the video, however, Van Dyke can be seen jumping from his car and opening fire within seconds as McDonald appears to walk away from him.
Van Dyke's account was echoed by several other officers who filed reports that described McDonald as attacking him with the knife and trying to kill him. One said the teen waved the knife and raised his right arm toward Van Dyke.
According to police reports on the incident, Walsh said he "believed McDonald was attacking Walsh and Officer Van Dyke with the knife and attempting to kill them when the shots were fired."
Two other officers who responded, Sebastian and Mondragon, reported that Van Dyke and Walsh repeatedly ordered McDonald to drop the knife as he waved a blade while approaching the two officers.
Viramontes wrote that McDonald turned toward Van Dyke and Walsh after they told the teen to drop the knife. After Van Dyke shot McDonald, the teen fell to the street but continued to move, trying to get back up with the knife, according to Viramontes' account in the reports.
Another report shows that hours after the shooting, McNaughton, who was designated as the incident commander that night, made a preliminary determination that Van Dyke fired his weapon in compliance with Police Department policy.
"Based upon information available at the time of this report it is the preliminary determination of the undersigned that Officer Van Dyke fired his weapon in compliance with Department policy. Officer Van Dyke fired his weapon in fear of his life when the offender while armed with a knife continued to approach and refused all verbal direction," McNaughton stated in the report.
In December 2014, the department officially recorded the shooting as a justifiable homicide.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/laquanmcdonald/ct-laquan-mcdonald-chicago-police-board-met-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/8be998adbb61d95df32a74bda069b22652c8c7514987e096e2479008d6f29be7.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic",
"Frank S. Abderholden"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:16 | null | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flibertyville%2Fnews%2Fct-lns-libertyville-motorcycle-accident-st-0813-20160812-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57ae3b41/turbine/ct-lns-libertyville-motorcycle-accident-st-0813-20160812 | en | null | Man, 59, killed in motorcycle accident near Libertyville | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A 59-year-old man died after his motorcycle collided with a box truck in a late Friday morning accident at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Casey Road in an unincorporated area near Libertyville, officials said.
Preliminary evidence suggests the motorcycle was traveling northbound on Milwaukee Avenue and attempted a left turn onto Casey Road when it collided with a box truck traveling south on Milwaukee Avenue, said Libertyville Deputy Fire Chief Mike Pakosta.
Crews first responded to the scene around 11:20 a.m., Pakosta said.
The man, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from his motorcycle and was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he died shortly after his arrival from his injuries, Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman Christopher Covelli said.
The man's name is not being released until family is notified. The Lake County Technical Crash Assistance Team was on the scene and investigators are talking to witnesses about what color the traffic signals were and other contributing factors, Covelli said.
Motorcycle accident Joe Shuman / News-Sun Investigators on the scene of a motorcycle accident at Route 21 and Casey Road on Aug. 12, 2016, near Libertyville. Investigators on the scene of a motorcycle accident at Route 21 and Casey Road on Aug. 12, 2016, near Libertyville. (Joe Shuman / News-Sun)
The roadway was shut down until almost 4 p.m. he said.
Rick Kambic is a reporter for Pioneer Press and Frank Abderholden is a News-Sun reporter.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
@Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/libertyville/news/ct-lns-libertyville-motorcycle-accident-st-0813-20160812-story.html | en | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ab9bf6670831b4ac4ab51461abbae989f9cbbf4f568fd4c9c28e640b2cd67b8c.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Nereida Moreno"
] | 2016-08-26T22:47:58 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-louisiana-paws-rescue-misson-met-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c0b337/turbine/ct-louisiana-paws-rescue-misson-met-20160826 | en | null | PAWS Chicago rescues 26 cats, dogs from flood-ravaged Louisiana | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Bouncing back and forth between a silver water bowl and a red chew toy, Bubba the dog howled as volunteers from a local animal rescue group approached his cage.
"He loves interacting with people," said Stacy Price, director of animal operations at PAWS Chicago. "He'll pose for the camera and everything."
Bubba, a bubbly brown mixed-breed dog, is one of 26 stray animals rescued by a team of veterinarians and volunteers during a two-day trip to Louisiana after recent flooding devastated the area.
PAWS Chicago welcomed 17 cats and nine dogs at its medical center in Little Village early Thursday, all named after Louisiana landmarks and themes. The strays were in danger of being euthanized in Louisiana to make room for pets displaced by flooding, Price said.
Louisiana animal rescue Nereida Moreno / Chicago Tribune Bubba, a 2-year-old mixed-breed dog, is among the 26 stray animals from Louisiana that members of PAWS Chicago rescued this week. Bubba, a 2-year-old mixed-breed dog, is among the 26 stray animals from Louisiana that members of PAWS Chicago rescued this week. (Nereida Moreno / Chicago Tribune) (Nereida Moreno / Chicago Tribune)
"Everything down there was really chaotic. Some of the shelters are flooded and actually can't accept any animals, others shelters are trying to move out all of their strays to try to make room for displaced animals," she said.
Heavy rains this month overwhelmed parts of Louisiana, putting it in a state of emergency — the flooding has killed at least 13 people and damaged tens of thousands of homes, rendering residents homeless.
Moving the animals to Chicago helps alleviate the burden on animal shelters in disaster-stricken areas, Price said.
"We saw a lot of overcrowding. Louisiana has a pretty high stray population, so we saw a lot crates stacked on top of crates, animals out in the sun, stuff like that," she said.
PAWS Chicago partnered with St. Tammany's Humane Society, one of the largest no-kill shelters in Louisiana, to coordinate the rescue mission. Four volunteers, a two-person veterinarian team and the founder of PAWS Chicago packed up two vans Wednesday for a 13-hour road trip. They brought back as many animals as they could fit.
"The animals are gems. They're all playing with toys and seem really happy to be here," Price said. "So far, they've been enjoying Chicago on their walks."
The animals will receive medical care, vaccinations, microchips, and spay and neuter surgeries. Once they get medical clearance, they will be available for adoption, and PAWS will be looking for foster homes and supplies to care for the animals. Among those in need of care are Jambalaya, a 4-month-old gray and white kitten and Beignet, a 4-year-old black female Labrador retriever.
Sarah McDonald, spokeswoman for PAWS Chicago, said the majority of rescued dogs are heartworm-positive and will need foster homes while they recover.
"We were devastated to hear of the catastrophic flooding in Louisiana, so we wanted to step up and do our part to help," McDonald said. "There's still a great need, too, so anyone that can go down and help, they definitely need it."
PAWS has responded to other natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the organization made several trips to a devastated Gulf Coast and took in more than 200 pets.
The organization launched its disaster relief program in the aftermath and went on trips to help animals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Quincy, Ill., after flooding in 2008, and in Oklahoma after tornadoes ripped through the state in 2013.
nmoreno@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @nereidamorenos | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-louisiana-paws-rescue-misson-met-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/65ca25a37b9c6e7c3081df5c7276a91c4bd951c26517c86795a7f8e132e25601.json |
[
"Washington Post"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:50 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-obama-hawaii-national-marine-monument-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c07f35/turbine/ct-obama-hawaii-national-marine-monument-20160826 | en | null | President Obama to create the largest protected place on the planet, off Hawaii | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | President Barack Obama will create the largest protected area on the planet Friday, by expanding a national marine monument off the coast of his native Hawaii to encompass 582,578 square miles of land and sea.
The move, which more than quadruples the size of the Papahanaumokuakea (pronounced "Papa-ha-now-moh-koo-ah-kay-ah") Marine National Monument that President George W. Bush established a decade ago, underscores the extent to which Obama has elevated the issues of conservation and climate change in his second term. Obama has now used his executive authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to protect more than 548 million acres of federal land and water, more than double what any of his predecessors have done.
Many scientists, environmentalists and native Hawaiians have argued that recent scientific deepwater discoveries and threats of climate change and seabed mining warrant more stringent protection of the remote and biologically rich region. The roughly 1,200-mile-long archipelago, which is known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and lies about 270 miles northwest of Oahu, is protected by a buffer of 50 nautical miles from shore in all directions.
"The oceans are the untold story when it comes to climate change, and we have to feel a sense of urgency when it comes to protecting the ocean that sustains us," said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who helped broker a compromise proposal with groups including native Hawaiians and day-boat fishermen.
All commercial extraction activities, including commercial fishing and any future deep-sea mining, will be prohibited in the expanded monument. However, recreational fishing, removal of resources for traditional Hawaiian cultural purposes and scientific research will be allowed with a federal permit.
Obama will highlight his announcement Wednesday in an address before the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders and the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, and will travel the following day to Midway Atoll, which is located within the current monument.
Longline fishermen lobbied against any new protections, arguing that their operations eschew damaging practices such as trawling and need flexibility to sustain an annual catch valued at more than $100 million.
"We move all over the ocean, in the way the fish move," said Jim Cook, co-owner of POP Fishing and Marine, adding that the new restrictions mean that 60 percent of federal waters off Hawaii are now closed to fishing.
With Friday's action, a total of seven presidents - starting with Theodore Roosevelt in 1909 - have taken steps to safeguard part of the archipelago, which is one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world. It features the largest seabird gathering site in the world, with more than 14 million birds from 22 species, nearly all of the remaining endangered Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaiian green sea turtles and Laysan albatrosses.
Recent research expeditions have unearthed extraordinary features beyond the existing monument boundaries such as the world's oldest living animal - a black coral estimated to be 4,500 years old - and six massive seamounts, one of which is nearly 14,000 feet high and teeming with life. This area also includes the USS Yorktown, which sank during the Battle of Midway in 1942 and has not been visited since it was discovered there in 1998.
Daniel Wagner, a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who served as the scientific lead for the agency's deepwater expeditions in the region a year ago and again in February, said every one of the 50 biological samples the remotely operated vehicles recovered were either new species or "not known to live in the area."
"We're seeing a lot of life, a lot of new life and a lot of very old life," he said. "Things have not been disturbed for a very long time."
Wagner said he is particularly concerned about future underwater mineral extraction, given the rich deposits of manganese, nickel, zinc, cobalt and titanium in the region. "If they're not protected, they're going to be exposed to mining," he said.
Matt Rand, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Global Ocean Legacy program, said intact ecosystems like these "offer a glimpse of what our planet was like before the impacts of human activity, and it is critical that we preserve places in this way, both as a window to the past and for future generations."
A change Schatz suggested to the proposal carved out areas for day-boat fishermen in Kauai and Niihau to continue operating, which won the support of influential state officials such as Democratic state Sen. Ron Kouchi. Kouchi said in an interview that he could back the expansion as long as it would be the last one.
"One of the questions the fishermen are asking is, 'When will it stop?' " he said.
Federal officials estimate that five percent of current commercial fishing efforts will be displaced. Longline operators already catch about half their fish in international waters, and they reached their annual catch limit for big-eye tuna in early August.
However, Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association, said the industry's fleet of 145 boats could not match the lobbying power of well-financed environmental groups such as Pew.
"We're obviously going up against environmental organizations that have billions of dollars," Martin said. "For somebody to feel good, we're going to force U.S. fishermen out of waters."
Several Republicans have accused Obama in recent years of abusing his authority under the Antiquities Act, which instructs any protections to "be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected."
But Richard Pyle, a researcher at Hawaii's Bishop Museum, said he and other scientists have concluded that the interconnectivity of the region - including the fish larvae that are dispersed on currents and the sharks and other pelagic fish that travel vast distances - extends beyond federal waters to the high seas.
"The minimum space necessary for protection, it's more about 350 to 380 miles, but of course we don't have the jurisdiction for doing so," Pyle said.
Some Native Hawaiian activists, moreover, lobbied for greater protection so they could continue to observe traditional voyaging practices in which they navigate without instruments. Hawaii's Department of Natural Resources and Office of Hawaiian Affairs will serve as a trustee in managing the monument.
William Aila, a former state official and Hawaiian activist, said Thursday the president's move will preserve "a cultural seascape, with the history of the Polynesians who migrated up to Hawaii." | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obama-hawaii-national-marine-monument-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/9ada16029679a7da7386708eafc2ec16724e2046141715934154a204834c0c1f.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Lauren Zumbach"
] | 2016-08-26T18:50:59 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fbusiness%2Fct-michigan-ave-sephora-opening-0827-biz-20160826-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c08a12/turbine/ct-michigan-ave-sephora-opening-0827-biz-20160826 | en | null | Sephora's Magnificent Mile store has new, high-tech look | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Beauty retailer Sephora opened its 400th location, on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, on Friday. The location is one of the first where customers can get a look at Sephora's new Beauty TIP Workshop — named after the company's "teach, inspire, play" motto with more high-tech touches and space for classes and experimenting with products. Sephora Americas President and CEO Calvin McDonald talked about the new store look and why Sephora is "bullish on brick-and-mortar retail" in a chat with the Tribune on Thursday. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Why did you think Sephora needed a new concept?
A: We build and have built beautiful stores. Knowing we were going to be dialing up our physical expansion plans, with more stores and more refreshes, it was the right time to hit a reset, rethink, and really build the store front to back, side to side, which we hadn't done probably in six years.
Peek inside the new Sephora retail outlet on the Magnificent Mile. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Q: What are some of the biggest changes people will see with the Beauty TIP Workshops?
A: We believe teaching beauty is a competitive advantage, and when you look at other choices clients have, it's one only Sephora can bring to life and have a credible position in. We've been doing it over the years, but we really wanted to formalize it and bring it to life in our brand, and we need a stage to allow us to do that. At the center, you'll see the Beauty Workshop, where we run beauty classes while the store is in operation. There are 12 screens, and a trained cast member walks you through it right then and there, so it's a learning environment supported by technology.
There are more seats for the Beauty Studios, and we've added services in skin care and fragrance. Michigan Avenue has the first fragrance studio, so we'll start the consultation at our Fragrance IQ (a station that walks customers through scent categories like floral or spicy before an "InstaScent" machine emits a jet of scented air to let them test the options). I'll ask, "What notes do you like?" and if you're like most clients, you'll say, "I have no clue." It emits the raw note so you can sit there not skewed by Johnny Depp and the millions spent trying to represent a brand, you really get the raw note and figure out what you like.
We're scouting and discovering new brands, and we're bringing an unbiased experience to (the customer). We've linked in service with the studio that allows us to express it and teach, and we're bringing that formula from skin care to fragrance, the formula that's worked so well in color.
Q: You say you're bullish on brick-and-mortar stores. Not everyone in retail feels the same, so why is that?
A: If the sole purpose of your physical environment is nothing more than to transact, you're in trouble, because dot-com can transact more conveniently and more easily than a physical environment. We believe that our retail footprint exists to do so much more than just transact. It's designed to provide a service, a mini-makeover, it's designed to teach, where you can sit down and have an interaction with a cast member. (The transaction is) the end result of her exploring, her learning, her being inspired and playing and having fun.
Sephora Michigan Avenue opening Sephora SVP of Marketing and Brand Deborah Yeh talks about some of the changes in the beauty retailer's newest store on Michigan Avenue. Aug. 26, 2016. Sephora SVP of Marketing and Brand Deborah Yeh talks about some of the changes in the beauty retailer's newest store on Michigan Avenue. Aug. 26, 2016. See more videos
Q: It's a tough time for a lot of retailers, mall-based ones especially. Does that affect Sephora, if the mall overall is less inspiring?
A: We love the centers we're in, and we're expanding and investing in them and seeing great success. Our mall-based business is growing at the same rate as our other portfolio component, so we're very excited.
But we see opportunity in testing and developing other concepts. Not every mall is equal. You look at the A-plus and A malls, they're doing well. There's a few more we'd like to be in, and we'd like to expand and reinvest in some so we can bring a better client experience. But as we look at where are we going to grow our store base, I think it's more neighborhood (stores), more streetfronts and lifestyle centers that we're playing with and seeing great success with as well.
Q: A lot of people are surprised to see Sephora inside J.C. Penney. Why do you think it makes sense for Sephora?
A: The partnership is over 10 years old now, and it's been incredibly successful for both parties. What I love about the partnership, it allows us to reach a client we otherwise would never reach. It has allowed us to get a larger footprint, get a different client, and back to the strategy of how do we grow prestige beauty, how do we get people to trade in and trade up. It was a fearless decision 10 years ago for sure.
Sephora shelf Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune Beauty products are seen Aug. 24, 2016, during a media tour of the new Michigan Avenue Sephora store. Beauty products are seen Aug. 24, 2016, during a media tour of the new Michigan Avenue Sephora store. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @laurenzumbach | http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-michigan-ave-sephora-opening-0827-biz-20160826-story.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/e833effcae68edbde1b18e8bd25d2f5c747efa5ff4f15ccff1dc5111b07496ec.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:28 | null | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fmundelein%2Fnews%2Fct-mun-morris-avenue-lumber-yard-purchase-tl-0818-20160822-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bb78bd/turbine/ct-mun-morris-avenue-lumber-yard-purchase-tl-0818-20160822 | en | null | Mundelein buys former roofing warehouse, already looking to sell | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Mundelein expanded its portfolio of village-owned properties when it bought a vacant lumberyard along Morris Avenue for $200,000 earlier this month, but officials say they're already in serious talks to sell.
The 2.8-acre property and 14,700-square-foot building at 538 N. Morris Ave. were previously part of Bradco Supply Corp., a roofing supplies wholesaler, according to the sales agreement.
Village Trustees on Aug. 8 voted to buy the vacant warehouse and lumberyard located near the Park Street railroad crossing. The agreement says the $200,000 sales price is below the appraised value, and the amount between the agreed price and appraised value will be considered a tax-deductible charitable gift.
The purchase now gives Mundelein a total of 42.28 acres in the area zoned for downtown, according to a report from the community development department.
"We don't want to be the largest land owner in the city," Village Administrator John Lobaito said. "The overriding reason Mundelein is purchasing key parcels in the downtown is because we're trying to accelerate the redevelopment or rebirth. We think the properties we've purchased were in some way holding back our progress."
Appearance was the main problem with the warehouse, Lobaito said.
"That thing is plain ugly. Aside from any struggle to sell that land, who in their right mind would build next to that thing?" Lobaito said. "It's not pleasing to look at out the window. Neighboring companies wont want their customers driving past that. Some of what we're doing is getting rid of the eye sores."
But Lobaito said the warehouse won't be around much longer and Mundelein is already in talks with a developer that wants to construct a building for commercial uses on the property. Lobaito declined to elaborate, but said Mundelein will likely demolish the warehouse if talks with the developer are unsuccessful.
Mundelein's property dealings put them in an unusual position, as government typically plays a regulatory role but Lobaito said the village has "more freedom" to affect change as a landowner.
"As the governing body, we're bound by the rules and regulations that have been adopted," Lobaito said. "As the owner, we can entertain different ideas and we can reject ideas we don't think match our vision. We can reject for any reason we choose; we're not bound by the same rules and regulations."
Others have looked at the former lumberyard in the five years it's been vacant, according to Amanda Orenchuk, director of community development. She said one company a few years ago wanted to demolish the warehouse and build a body shop, but the plan and zoning commission rejected the proposal because it didn't fit the downtown zoning.
A few others looked at buying the property and continuing its grandfathered warehouse use. Orenchuk said those companies looked at Mundelein's downtown efforts and decided against making a risky short-term investment.
Instead of urging the property owner and waiting to see what happens, Lobaito said Mundelein now controls the long-term future.
Similarly, the 10-acre plaza near the Metra station is part of the downtown zoning area that allows an assortment of residential and commercial uses, but Lobaito said Mundelein can choose to not sell the land until someone proposes a high rise with first floor retail.
Breaking up the 10 acres makes it easier to redevelop, Lobaito said.
"It was a five-acre building sitting on 10 acres smack dab in the center of downtown. It had silos 40-feet in the air. That just had to go," Lobaito explained. "Nobody wanted to build next to it and not many people could take it over."
Just south of the plaza, Mundelein also owns over seven acres of Metra parking, more than six acres known as the Archer Business Center — which is leased to a law firm and Tighthead Brewing Company — and over six acres of land that houses part of the public works department.
Lobaito said everything from Courtland Street north to the Archer Business should be downtown-type housing that tiers in size, growing taller closer to the plaza. He said property north of that should be a condensed commercial area or commercial mixed with residential.
Officials in February announced that the 112,000-square-foot vacant U.S. Music building at 444 E. Courtland St. had been sold to a residential developer who's familiar with Mundelein's goal. Mundelein at one point was interested in buying that building, too.
The neighboring public works facility already has a future home. Mundelein spent $527,500 buying 17 acres of land along Allanson Road in 2013, property that will one day become a $15 million public works facility.
"We don't have timelines on this stuff. There are so many variables involved in this type of work," Lobaito said. "We're showcasing our stuff along with the private property and if someone makes an offer on one of our pieces then we consider it."
Village-owned property north of Hawley Street includes the lumber yard, Mundelein's former village hall, a field along Seymour Avenue south of Route 176, a field at Seymour and Park Street, another public works building along Chicago Avenue and a recently acquired parking lot at Seymour and Park Street.
"We got 60 parking spaces at a below market rate," Lobaito said. "We couldn't build a parking lot for the price we paid."
Buying the parking lot was debated in the community, but Lobaito said he encouraged trustees to acquire the land in hopes of avoiding future parking problems, such as those in downtown Libertyville.
"We may have been criticized or laughed at, but these aren't plans for next year or two," Lobaito said. "These are plans for 20 years from now."
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/mundelein/news/ct-mun-morris-avenue-lumber-yard-purchase-tl-0818-20160822-story.html | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/ddd7e65501409046e886ca7de44371f7717af3655f8139a219e269b4b65332f6.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Frank S. Abderholden"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:16 | null | 2016-07-14T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Flake-county-news-sun%2Fnews%2Fct-lns-jail-inmate-death-lake-county-st-0715-20160714-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-578845ef/turbine/ct-lns-jail-inmate-death-lake-county-st-0715-20160714 | en | null | Autopsy: Inmate in attempted hit man case found dead in jail cell in apparent suicide | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A preliminary autopsy determined a Mundelein man found dead in a Lake County Jail cell Wednesday apparently committed suicide.
A guard found 34-year-old Jonathan Velazquez alone in his cell "with fabric-type strap wrapped around his neck" about 12:45 p.m., according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The strap appears to have been used to secure a television on an elevated stand, authorities said.
Correction officers and medical staff attempted CPR and used an automated external defibrillator, but were unable to revive him, according to the release. He was declared dead when paramedics arrived, police said.
"The autopsy by the coroner revealed he died of ligature strangulation due to ratcheted safety strap," said Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, which investigates inmate deaths at the jail. "It appears we are investigating an apparent suicide."
Velazquez, of the 0-100 block of Sandhurst Road, was initially charged in December 2015 with criminal sexual assault, authorities said. The alleged assault happened on Christmas, and police arrested him later that day, Mundelein police Deputy Chief Don Hansen said.
On July 1, Velazquez was charged with solicitation of murder for hire, according to court records. Covelli said Velazquez attempted to pay a former inmate more than $1,000 to kill a witness in the sexual assault case. The former inmate was actually working with Lake County detectives, Covelli said.
Velazquez was moved to the medical unit July 1 as part of "standard procedure" to keep "high-profile" suspects out of the general population, according to the release.
Covelli said investigators are seeking additional medical records and it will be several weeks before a final report.
Velazquez's is the sixth Lake County Jail inmate to die in custody in the past five years.
The number is similar to several other counties in the state, but a yearly breakdown for all counties was not immediately available.
McHenry County, which also has a jail capacity with more than 600 inmates, has four inmate deaths since 2011, according to information obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request. In 2011, the jail had two suicides and a drug overdose in a holding cell. There was another suicide in 2012.
In downstate Champaign, there have been 13 inmate deaths at the county jail since 2004, according to the The News-Gazette. Five of those deaths were suicides. Others were related to medical conditions.
In Lake County, 50-year-old Thomas Arvie, of Waukegan, apparently suffered a stroke in his cell and died Sept. 22, 2011.
In 2012, 51-year-old Eugene Gruber, of Grayslake, suffered paralyzing neck injuries while struggling with officers in the jail, authorities said. He died months later after being transferred to a Chicago rehabilitation center and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a "homicide." The county settled a nearly $2 million federal lawsuit filed by Gruber's family. In April, a jail guard was acquitted of official misconduct in Gruber's death.
Lake County Jail James Newton / Lake County News-Sun There have been six inmate deaths at the Lake County jail the past five years. There have been six inmate deaths at the Lake County jail the past five years. (James Newton / Lake County News-Sun)
Officials made changes later that year after 52-year-old Lyvita Gomes, of Vernon Hills, launched a 15-day hunger strike and then died at a hospital of malnutrition and dehydration, authorities said.
In the wake of Gruber's death, Sheriff Mark Curran called for an administrative audit that resulted in four terminations and disciplinary actions against 15 corrections officers. County officials had reviewed procedures and replaced Correct Care Solutions with another medical provider, Wexford.
In 2014, Igor Karlukov, 36, of Palatine, was found hanging inside his jail cell after he used shredded pieces of a mesh laundry bag and a piece of copper wire to hang himself from a vent despite the fact he was on special watch, authorities said. He had been told by a judge that he could face life in jail for charges related to a home invasion and domestic battery against his girlfriend.
Also in 2014, Curran vowed to spend $1 million in new security cameras, adding 44 body cameras for bailiffs. Also included were five new wheelchairs for detainee transport, two new restraint chairs and new food vendor Aramark. Additionally, all security staff now carry pepper spray and every shift conducts updated electronic security checks.
In 2016, David Butterfield, 36, died of natural causes in the jail from a medical condition.
fabderholden@tribpub.com
Twitter @abderholden | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/news/ct-lns-jail-inmate-death-lake-county-st-0715-20160714-story.html | en | 2016-07-14T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/1f44da0b7658122cc7e7370edbd34a5b1165cce44f4c7e811913acb9256c6183.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-31T08:48:58 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-hurricane-madeline-hawaii-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c605f5/turbine/ct-hurricane-madeline-hawaii-20160830 | en | null | People stock up, board up as hurricane hurtles toward Hawaii | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Residents of Hawaii's Big Island were evacuating animals and stockpiling water Tuesday, bracing for what could be the first hurricane to make landfall in the state in decades.
The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning as the major Category 2 storm dubbed Madeline hurtled west toward the island, urging residents to rush through preparations to protect themselves and their property and expect hurricane conditions within the next 36 hours.
"Hopefully our roofs stay on, and our houses don't float way or get blown away," said Big Island resident Mitzi Bettencourt, who boarded up walls of glass windows at her brother's oceanfront home. "It's like, 'Oh my God, are we going to get flattened or what?' "
Bettencourt, who lives in a subdivision called Kapoho Vacationland, manages several vacation rental properties and has her own home to worry about, which sits a few blocks from the ocean. She and her neighbors were stocking their pantries, stowing away lawn furniture and preparing for power outages.
"If they're not prepared now, they should get prepared fast," said Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Hurricane Madeline, which was downgraded from Category 3 to 2 Tuesday, was weakening as it approached the islands. But it's expected to remain a hurricane as it passes the state, Chevalier said.
Forecasters are expecting Madeline to pass just south of the Big Island around 2 a.m. Thursday. But if the storm track shifts slightly to the north, the eye of the storm could pass over land.
The last hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which hit Kauai, Chevalier said.
A second Pacific hurricane, called Lester, is still far from Hawaii, and it is expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it passes the state, Chevalier said.
Gov. David Ige issued an emergency proclamation for both storms, which will allow the state to quickly spend money to alleviate disasters. "I urge you to take immediate steps to protect your families, loved ones, employees and property," Ige said in a statement.
The state Department of Education announced public schools would be closed Wednesday and Thursday in anticipation of severe weather, and about a dozen schools were turned into emergency shelters.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Oahu this week. The White House is tracking the weather developments closely, but it doesn't anticipate changing Obama's schedule.
The islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai were under a tropical storm watch, but there were no alerts for Oahu or Kauai.
On the Big Island, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was closing some areas Tuesday, and park officials planned for the coastal lava viewing area to close by Wednesday morning. Some camping areas were closing, but guests staying at Kilauea Military Camp and Volcano House were allowed to shelter in place.
The U.S. Coast Guard asked crews of barges and ships to prepare to leave Hilo Harbor and told ocean-going vessels to seek sheltered waters until storm conditions subside. Captain Mike Long said he expected to close Hilo Harbor to all traffic by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, urged residents to restock their emergency kits with a flashlight, fresh batteries, cash and first-aid supplies. It recommended that residents create evacuation plans and secure outdoor furniture.
Hawaiian Airlines said customers holding tickets to or from Hawaii's Big Island from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 would be allowed a one-time reservation change without a fee.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-hurricane-madeline-hawaii-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/5332cbd49942b19425eb85c31a088b89453083ba143d8d9763b5b2bf70761c5e.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rick Kambic"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:41 | null | 2016-06-27T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fvernon-hills%2Fcrime%2Fct-lbr-sex-offender-park-arrests-tl-0630-20160627-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-577293b2/turbine/ct-lbr-sex-offender-park-arrests-tl-0630-20160627 | en | null | Police charge 2 sex offenders for being in Vernon Hills and Libertyville parks | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Two sex offenders were recently charged after police say they were found in local parks.
Libertyville police say they were patrolling the Libertyville Days Festival on June 17 when a man and woman told officers that a registered sex offender was in Cook Park.
Jason M. Silsdorf, 29, of the 500 block of Richard Brown Boulevard, Volo, was identified and charged with unlawful loitering of a sexual predator. Police say Silsdorf was in Cook Park talking with a woman at 9 p.m. when officers approached and that he cooperated without incident.
According to his sex offender registration, a Cook County court convicted Silsdorf of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of an intellectually disabled person. Records say he was 28 years old at the time of his offense and the victim was 20.
When contacted for comment, Silsdorf said he was at the festival with a friend when he noticed another individual who he doesn't get along with. Silsdorf said he believes that person contacted police for malicious reasons and that police arrested him for being close enough to the park.
Ricky L. Fecht Illinois State Police Ricky L. Fecht, 57, of the 1400 block of Carol Court, Palatine, pictured in 2015 was charged June 15 with being a sex offender loitering near a public park after Vernon Hills police reportedly found him in Century Park, 1000 Lakeview Parkway. Ricky L. Fecht, 57, of the 1400 block of Carol Court, Palatine, pictured in 2015 was charged June 15 with being a sex offender loitering near a public park after Vernon Hills police reportedly found him in Century Park, 1000 Lakeview Parkway. (Illinois State Police) (Illinois State Police)
Two days earlier, Vernon Hills police arrested a sex offender for loitering in Century Park, 1000 Lakeview Parkway.
Ricky L. Fecht, 57, of the 1400 block of Carol Court, Palatine, was charged June 15 with being a sex offender loitering near a public park. Vernon Hills police say there was also an active warrant from Lake County for a similar offense elsewhere.
According to his sex offender registration, a Cook County court convicted Fecht of sexual exploitation of a child. Records say he was 56 years old at the time of his offense and the victim was 16.
Fecht could not be reached for comment.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/vernon-hills/crime/ct-lbr-sex-offender-park-arrests-tl-0630-20160627-story.html | en | 2016-06-27T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/06d9ff35d1e9d139f0ca8a0531d0954b58fde3debcb7f218fa3ab57f91e91c55.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Kate Thayer"
] | 2016-08-31T02:49:06 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-wettest-august-illinois-met-20160830-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c625e0/turbine/ct-wettest-august-illinois-met-20160830 | en | null | August could be rainiest on record in Illinois | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | August could go down as the wettest on record in Illinois, though the hardest-hit spots have been outside the Chicago area.
Rainfall in the southern and western portions of the metro area has been higher than average this month, according to the National Weather Service, and the region has had at least some rain half of all days in August.
As of the start of Tuesday, average state rainfall totals for the month reached 6.34 inches, which is 2.75 inches above normal, weather service meteorologist Matt Friedlein said. The state's record average of 6.86 inches was set in 1977.
Wednesday is expected to be mostly dry in the Chicago area, but rain is forecast elsewhere in the state, so breaking the record is possible, he said. This month follows the third wettest July in Illinois.
Because rainfall totals can vary widely, even within the Chicago region, and because the area has generally avoided flooding problems this month, it may come as a surprise that August could go down as the soggiest in the state's recorded history.
At O'Hare International Airport, rainfall for August through Monday was 4.07 inches, below the 4.62-inch average, Friedlein said. But in southwest suburban Romeoville, that number is 7.68 inches. Some sites downstate recorded more than 13 inches of rain this month.
"Everyone (in the Romeoville area) has that feeling that it sure feels like we're seeing thunder or rain almost every day, and that's pretty close," Friedlein said.
Covered up Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune Pat Stamper walks with a trash bag over her head as a sudden, heavy downpour drenched the city on Aug. 12, 2016, in Chicago. Pat Stamper walks with a trash bag over her head as a sudden, heavy downpour drenched the city on Aug. 12, 2016, in Chicago. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)
Downstate downpours have hurt summer staples such as the Illinois State Fair, which had to shut down for a one day earlier this month in Springfield, and the high Illinois River level has encroached some trails and parking lots at Starved Rock State Park near Utica.
Closer to Chicago, those who operate outdoors facilities such as pools and golf courses caught something of a break in that the second half of the month has generally been wetter than the first.
Karol Komar, park district facilities manager in Tinley Park, said there's often a decrease in attendance later in summer anyway because students return to school.
The earliest part of August had plenty of rain too, but it only affected attendance when it was "a total wash-out day" and "we only had one of those," Komar said.
Carter Patton, athletic supervisor for the Frankfort Square Park District in Frankfort, said the rain did seem to take a toll on attendance at Square Links Golf Course and Driving Range, and the district closed the course Aug. 20 because of a storm.
Walking in the rain Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune A pedestrian makes his way down Roosevelt Road during heavy rainfall in Chicago on Aug. 12, 2016. A pedestrian makes his way down Roosevelt Road during heavy rainfall in Chicago on Aug. 12, 2016. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The rain often came with heat and humidity.
"People that play on our course are a little bit older, and they don't want to play in the heat," he said.
On the brighter side of a somewhat gloomy August, Illinois farmers are anticipating what may be a record-breaking crop this year.
Though some agricultural land got too much rain, in general it came at the right time in the right amounts, right after planting and throughout the summer, said Bona Heinsohn, Cook County Farm Bureau spokeswoman.
Farmers were able to plant early this year, in mid-April. The onset of warmer weather spurred growth, and the ensuing rain plumped up the corn kernels and soybeans.
Some corn yield projections have surpassed 200 bushels an acre, which was the statewide record set in 2013, said Russ Higgins, a University of Illinois Extension educator.
"That's really remarkable," he said. "These are amazing yields."
Unfortunately for farmers, the glut has caused commodity prices to drop. While corn was selling about $6 a bushel after a drought in 2012, now it's selling for about half as much. That could translate into lower prices for groceries.
Higgins just hopes the fields dry out in time for the harvest to begin in late September.
"There's no advantage to any further rain," he said. "We've gotten all we need."
A wetter month is also sure to mean more mosquitoes as the summer winds down, including the Culex mosquito that carries West Nile virus, said Gregg Dulleck, general foreman for the South Cook Mosquito Abatement District. The district, like others in the region, is spraying to kill larvae before the mosquitoes reach adult stage, he said.
Because Culex mosquitoes can breed anywhere water is, Dulleck said it's important not to let rainwater that accumulates in gutters, rain barrels or other containers stagnate.
The mosquitoes that typically carry the Zika virus have yet to be found in the Chicago area, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said another, more rare kind of mosquito that can carry Zika has been found in the state, but only in southern counties.
Though flooding has not been a major problem in the Chicago area overall this summer, Lake Michigan levels are 11 inches above normal for an average August, according to the last reading on Friday, said meteorologist Ricky Castro with the weather service.
That's mainly a concern because it's possible high winds in the fall could cause shoreline flooding, he said. But current lake levels are far from record-breaking. In 1986, Lake Michigan rose 22 inches above its average, Castro said.
And, rainfall isn't the only factor. Castro also attributes the higher lake to recent winters that were especially cold, creating more ice cover, leading to less evaporation.
Chicago Tribune's Robert McCoppin contributed.
kthayer@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @knthayer | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-wettest-august-illinois-met-20160830-story.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/31598b18215730b4555d79dda349785bd19aa86e7f32bdd1fda58c09de3c47d2.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Brian L. Cox"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:55 | null | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbreaking%2Fct-child-porn-possession-northbrook-met-20160816-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57b33e43/turbine/ct-child-porn-possession-northbrook-met-20160816 | en | null | Northbrook man, 73, gets probation for child porn possession | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A judge has sentenced a Northbrook man to two years of sex offender probation and severely limited his internet access after the man pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Norman Eisenberg, 73, also was ordered to register as a sex offender for life, to give a sample of his DNA for entry in a sex offender database and to have no contact with minors.
Eisenberg was charged in December 2014 after Northbrook police with the department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force acted on a tip, executed a search warrant at his home and found pornography on his computer and a jump drive, prosecutors said. They said the illegal images depicted youths under the age of 13.
Prosecutors said Eisenberg admitted at the time of his arrest that he had downloaded and possessed child pornography. But in Cook County court Monday, when he entered his plea, Eisenberg told Judge Lauren Gottainer Edidin he had not been aware he was doing anything illegal.
"I regret this entire affair," he said. "I did not mean to break the law."
In determining his sentence, Edidin said she considered Eisenberg's age and that fact he did not have a criminal record.
She forbade Edidin from owning a cellphone with internet access and said he may only use a single computer for email and financial transactions. She warned him that he could be jailed for three to seven years if he fails to comply.
"They do check," Edidin said of probation officers. "These are very rigorous requirements that you must follow."
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-child-porn-possession-northbrook-met-20160816-story.html | en | 2016-08-16T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/06a646b8db92c2773e6127e51d9466fd1364ac251e0026a864c0cd2987a8c1c6.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Rex Huppke"
] | 2016-08-29T18:48:57 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fopinion%2Fhuppke%2Fct-amnesty-donald-trump-immigration-huppke-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57c464ce/turbine/ct-amnesty-donald-trump-immigration-huppke-20160829 | en | null | Amnesty Don Trump's immigration policy (smartly) explained | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Some people — dumb ones, I suppose — are confused about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's extremely fantastic immigration reform plan.
While he built his campaign around the idea of deporting the roughly 11 million immigrants believed to be in the country illegally, certain crybabies in the media now say Trump is "softening" his stance.
As a huge Trump supporter — probably the hugest — I was shocked to wake up Monday morning and see the hashtag #AmnestyDon riding the top of Twitter's trending topics. Turns out MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a noted loser who I'm told has terrible ratings because everyone hates him, got that term rolling.
"For 14 months, Amnesty Don has been putting illegal immigration at the center of Amnesty Don's campaign," Scarborough said on Monday's "Morning Joe." "And yet nobody in Amnesty Don's own campaign can tell you what Amnesty Don's position is."
What kind of a jerk comes up with a smart-aleck nickname for a presidential candidate? That's something Crooked Hillary would do.
Apparently some (dumbs) are interpreting a few comments Trump (smartly) made over the past week.
On Fox News he said he would work with law-abiding immigrants who paid taxes. And he said of his nonsoftening plans to deport all 11 million unauthorized immigrants, "There certainly can be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people."
Those comments may sound strange to Trump fans who were excited at the notion of some mild immigrant hurting. After all, he had previously proposed a "deportation force" and said flatly that anyone in the country illegally has to go.
Trump continues to claim he will build a wall that Mexico will pay for During a campaign stop in Tampa, Donald Trump stood by his plan to build a border wall that he says Mexico will pay for. "It's going to be a big wall, it's going to be a real wall, it's going to be as beautiful as a wall can be..." Aug. 24, 2016. (C-SPAN) During a campaign stop in Tampa, Donald Trump stood by his plan to build a border wall that he says Mexico will pay for. "It's going to be a big wall, it's going to be a real wall, it's going to be as beautiful as a wall can be..." Aug. 24, 2016. (C-SPAN) See more videos
But I assure you, Trump is not wavering a bit on his clearly defined immigration plans. Don't let recent headlines like these fool you:
"Donald Trump's immigration stance changes again."
"Mike Pence defends Donald Trump's immigration flip-flop."
"Ann Coulter fumes as Donald Trump floats massive immigration flip-flop."
And don't let the fact that Trump's main surrogates spent Sunday on the cable news shows dodging questions about the candidate's immigration policy make you think there is a lick of confusion.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus spelled out the policy that has been central to Trump's campaign for more than a year by saying: "Well, you're going to find out from Donald Trump very shortly. He's going to be giving prepared remarks on this issue, I think, very soon. I don't want to give a date."
Well I will give a date. It's Wednesday. Trump announced it via Twitter: "I will be making a major speech on ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION on Wednesday in the GREAT State of Arizona. Big crowds, looking for a larger venue."
Wednesday is the day Trump will explain to all the idiots out there his totally consistent immigration policy on which he has not wavered in the least. I hope you're happy, dummies. The man now has to waste time finding a larger venue to hold his awesomeness.
Those of us who "get it" don't need to wait for Trump's Wednesday speech. So for all the rubes in the media, allow me to give a quick and easy Trump immigration policy primer.
It breaks into three parts: Wall; Bad Ones; Good Ones.
The wall along our border with Mexico is the key, because it will be huge and flawless and impenetrable. It will also reinforce the idea that America welcomes immigrants, as long as they come in through one big, beautiful door where we will check to make sure that they are "good ones."
The checking for good ones policy is how we avoid the bad ones. Which brings us to the second part of the plan: the kicking out of the bad ones.
Our law enforcement officers — who are great — know exactly who all the bad ones are. Still, the police — who are the best — do nothing about the bad ones because Trump is not president. When Trump is president, they — the cops, who are excellent — will round them all up — the bad ones — and make America safe again.
Easy.
The third part, of course, is the good ones. They have to leave, absolutely, no question, unless Trump decides to let them stay, in which case that is a very good and humane idea.
If they do leave, which they probably will, they can come back in through the beautiful wall door, and they will each get a Make America Great Again hat, totally free, except for a handling fee of $15. Very fair, it's a nice hat.
If they don't leave, which they will — leave, I mean — probably, they will have to do stuff in order to stay. Lots of stuff. The best stuff, really.
And that's it. That's the policy. It's what Trump has been saying since he launched his campaign by winning over Latino voters with the suggestion that most immigrants are rapists and drug dealers.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay talked about Trump's immigration plan Monday on Fox Business: "Donald Trump's on the right track, he just needs to figure out a way to talk about it."
And he'll do that Wednesday. Because everyone — even Crooked Hillary, probably — knows that roughly 70 days before the election is the best time to figure out how to talk about your signature issue.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-amnesty-donald-trump-immigration-huppke-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/701f2c7bff9d92cd898d7e4c0974f587e11c1c23c075c9063297224cd9a7f723.json |
[
"Associated Press",
"Tribune News Services"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:30 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fct-judge-aaron-persky-stanford-rape-case-20160825-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57bf9d23/turbine/ct-judge-aaron-persky-stanford-rape-case-20160825 | en | null | Judge in Stanford rape case to stop hearing criminal cases | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | A California court said Thursday that a judge who was harshly criticized and subjected to a recall campaign for the leniency of a six-month jail sentence for a former Stanford University swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman will no longer hear criminal cases, a move that came at his own request.
Santa Clara County Presiding Judge Rise Pichon said she has granted the request for reassignment of Judge Aaron Persky.
"While I firmly believe in Judge Persky's ability to serve in his current assignment, he has requested to be assigned to the civil division, in which he previously served," Pichon said in a statement. "Judge Persky believes the change will aid the public and the court by reducing the distractions that threaten to interfere with his ability to effectively discharge the duties of his current criminal assignment."
The move is not necessarily permanent. The assignment is subject to an annual review and takes effect Sept. 6.
Pichon said that another judge's desire to transfer to Palo Alto has made a quick swap with Persky possible. Normally such changes don't happen until a new year.
Persky ordered the six-month sentence for Brock Turner, a Dayton, Ohio, resident who had been attending Stanford on a swimming scholarship. The judge cited a probation department recommendation and the effect the conviction will have on Turner's life.
Authorities say Turner sexually assaulted the girl while she was passed out near a trash bin.
The case sparked a national debate on college drinking and sexual assault and led to a recall effort against the judge.
Michelle Dauber, the Stanford law professor behind the recall effort, said that while the move from Persky is welcome, the recall attempt will continue, in part because Persky "can still transfer back to hearing criminal cases any time he chooses."
"The issue of his judicial bias in favor of privileged defendants in sex crimes and domestic violence still needs to be addressed by the voters of Santa Clara County," Dauber said in an email. "In our opinion, Judge Persky is biased and should not be on the bench."
Dauber and other organizers have said they will begin collecting signatures in April to qualify the issue for the November 2017 ballot.
Persky had already departed from two sex-crimes cases since his June sentencing of the 20-year-old Turner exploded in national media.
On Monday he formally recused himself from deciding whether to reduce a San Jose plumber's felony child pornography charges to misdemeanors.
That came two months after the district attorney's office removed Persky from a different sexual assault case, saying "we lack confidence" in the judge's ability to decide it impartially.
In addition to his supervising judge, attorneys who have argued in front of Persky cite his abilities. Santa Clara County deputy public defender Gary Goodman in June called him a "solid and respected judge," while defense attorney Barbara Muller said he's "one of the fairest judges" in the county.
A jury convicted Turner, a former Olympic hopeful, of sexually assaulting the young woman he met at a campus fraternity party in January 2015 after she passed out behind a trash bin.
The sentence along with the long and much-shared statement the victim read in court made the case a national rallying cry for a reconsideration of how rape is handled by the law.
Associated Press | http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-judge-aaron-persky-stanford-rape-case-20160825-story.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/c43e8a203e479c7a87b9929dede4f386f5a0c19255a3e3e93ad3cc483d344193.json |
[
"Chicago Tribune",
"Denys Bucksten"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:15 | null | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fsuburbs%2Fmundelein%2Fnews%2Fct-mun-national-night-out-tl-0811-20160803-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-57a35cd0/turbine/ct-mun-national-night-out-tl-0811-20160803 | en | null | Neighbors in Vernon Hills and Mundelein turn up for National Night Out | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Vernon Hills Police Officer Dan Mead has 18 years on the force and said he interacts with kids in the village all the time, but it was a thrill Tuesday night to meet so many at once at the village's National Night Out event at Hartman Park.
Both Vernon Hills and Mundelein have participated in the nationwide event for decades. The event began in 1984, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch in North America, with the purpose of uniting communities to fight crime and drug involvement.
According to NNO statistics, 38 million people in over 16,000 communities are now celebrating National Night Out each year in early August, with some southern states opting for early October to avoid extreme heat.
Mead, a towering and highly recognizable figure, was approached by Landon Hodges, 3 of Wauconda, who pointed to his face to show off a dinosaur painted on one cheek. Mead dutifully lowered himself down to examine the little boy's bright green face art and give it his approval.
Moments later Mead was drawing crowds of children wherever he walked in the crowded carnival area of the sprawling park. A lot of high fives were exchanged as he handed out junior police officer stickers to kids attending the night out.
Out in the park's spacious sports fields, a fire hose with a spigot was turned on sending heavy volumes of water into the air, which children immediately ran around and through, getting soaked on a warm, humid night.
Summer food – including chicken sandwiches, ice cream, bottled water, soda and snacks were free, to encourage heavy participation, said village officials. Area businesses help underwrite the cost of the events in both villages.
Mundelein's celebration, at Kracklauer Park, also featured food, a dunk tank, music and an animated film on a large outdoor screen.
Denys Bucksten is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/mundelein/news/ct-mun-national-night-out-tl-0811-20160803-story.html | en | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/f799eca7a5f08ff43f73f76cd97df6b1fbf2bae214e246e5d3e9bd24fce985c6.json |
[
"Tribune Content Agency",
"Nancy Black"
] | 2016-08-29T12:48:37 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Flifestyles%2Fsns-201607191600--tms--hscopebctnzz-a20160829-20160829-story.html.json | http://www.trbimg.com/img-56f02a81/turbine/chi-default-open-graph-ct-logo/1200/1200x650 | en | null | LINDA C. BLACK HOROSCOPES for 8/29/16 | null | null | www.chicagotribune.com | Today's Birthday (08/29/16). Rake in a fat harvest. Begin a two-year abundance cycle, and don't take it for granted. Guard resources for your family's beautiful future. Find and nurture a personal passion this autumn, before shifting directions with a collaboration. Inner growth next spring leads to flowering romance in a partnership. Savor harmony.
To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is an 8 -- Relax and enjoy time with friends and family today and tomorrow. Partnerships seem easier for the next month, with Venus in Libra. Compromise comes easier. Enjoy the people you love.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is an 8 -- There's more work over the next month, with Venus in Libra, and it's fun and profitable. Home and family draw you in today and tomorrow. Love rejuvenates you.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is an 8 -- Write and communicate today and tomorrow. You're especially lucky in love for the next month, with Venus in Libra. Artistic efforts work in your favor. Discover extraordinary beauty.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Today and tomorrow are good for making money. Your home is your love nest. Beautify your environment, with Venus in Libra. Pour love on home and family. Tend your garden.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- You're getting stronger and more sensitive today and tomorrow. Trust your heart to lead. Your communications savvy grows, with Venus in Libra this month. Feed your insatiable curiosity.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is a 5 -- Reflect on the road ahead. Pay attention to your dreams today and tomorrow. This month can get especially profitable, with Venus in Libra. Infuse your work with love.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Develop team strategies through tomorrow. Your luck in love improves immensely, with Venus in your sign for the next month. You're irresistible. Try a new haircut or style.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 6 -- Career matters engage you today and tomorrow. Symbolism and spirituality comfort your heart over the next month, with Venus in Libra. Revel in peace and quiet. Get lost in beauty.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is a 7 -- You're especially popular this next month, with Venus in Libra. Group activities thrive. Get out in the public spotlight. Social life benefits your career. Travel, study and explore today and tomorrow.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is a 7 -- Over the next two days, manage financial accounts. Take on more responsibility for the next month, with Venus in Libra. Your career blossoms, especially when you follow your heart.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is an 8 -- Coordinate with your partner for powerful collaboration over the next two days. Explore, study and discover new frontiers (of your personal passion) this coming month, with Venus in Libra.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is an 8 -- Work demands your attention over the next few days. Increase your shared assets. The next month is good for saving money, with Venus in Libra. Set up automatic payments.
(Astrologer Nancy Black continues her mother Linda Black's legacy horoscopes column. She welcomes comments and questions on Twitter, @LindaCBlack. For more astrological interpretations like today's Gemini horoscope, visit Linda Black Astrology by clicking daily horoscopes, or go to www.nancyblack.com.)
(c)2016 bY NANCY BLACK. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sns-201607191600--tms--hscopebctnzz-a20160829-20160829-story.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.chicagotribune.com/49bfec1db3878e05a9750d9765597a9524fac21be9f523b130e0a585e085f918.json |
[
"Ken Waddell"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:53 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fopinion%2F5725-right-in-the-centre-is-it-viable.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/plugins/content/fb_tw_plus1/linkcmp.png | en | null | Right in the centre | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Right in the centre - Is it viable?
Details Published on Thursday, August 25, 2016
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The viability of industries and communities has come into sharp focus lately. The Port of Churchill was dealt the most recent in a series of death blows with the closure of the Omnitrax shipping port. The Churchill port has not been viable for a long time, perhaps never. To operate, it takes huge government subsidies and enforced usage by way of the former Canadian Wheat Board.
People talk about tourism and how important it is. Wapusk National Park near Churchill had only 196 visitors in 2014-15. Churchill itself had many more than that, but like many towns, tourism is an add-on, it’s not the main industry.
Churchill has big problem. Now The Pas, with the closing of the paper plant, has a big problem too. All of the north has a problem because, in the strictest sense, northern communities are not viable. The same can be said of many small southern communities as well. Hospital ERs have closed, many schools are gone. The grain elevator business has amalgamated into a few mega terminals. Farms are becoming larger every year. The corporate world realized the trends and have helped fulfill them by creating larger and larger farm dealerships across the country. Long term viability is a problem faced by many Canadians.
Doubtless, the government will be called upon to act, but how well has that worked out in the past? Churchill’s viability as a port has always been in question because the rail line isn’t a strong line either physically or economically. There simply isn’t enough business at either end or along the line to create a viable railroad. In the early days of railway building, the transcontinental railway was supposed to go much further north, initially. It kept getting re-routed further and further south, as the northern parts of the great plains were not populated enough or developed enough in the 1880s to support a railway. Hence the main line creeps along the most southerly part of Canada where there was some development and where most of the development is still located.
If Churchill had been viable, the grain companies would have invested in it. Instead, the great lakes and west coast ports handle almost all the grain from Western Canada. Churchill has been a dream, but it hasn’t attracted the business, the investment or the political will. The route to Churchill is a long one and it’s tough to build railway on muskeg. Geography played a huge role in the construction of the CPR. They were able to build all across Saskatchewan in one summer because of the suitability of the terrain and that was a huge boost. That one summer in the 1880s gave the railway quick access to a huge swath of grain land and it became a mainstay of the CPR. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot stuff to haul out along the Churchill line and only a very small percentage of the grain was ever shipped through Churchill. The problem at The Pas is similar.
Local, provincial and federal levels of government have a huge problem on their hands. It appears Churchill and The Pas could simply die off. The whole northern strategy needs a major re-thinking. If Churchill and The Pas are to become viable again, the transportation issue has to be solved. The Pas has a highway plus rail and air travel. Churchill doesn’t have a road. Neither do many other communities. A decision is needed on transportation systems, a searing question that should have been asked a long time ago, but still needs to be answered now.
There is one over arching principle that has been almost completely ignored and that is national sovereignty. If we don’t beef up our northern presence and development, Russia will. People scorned John Diefenbaker on his northern vision in the 1950s. They scorned Stephen Harper for going north every year and waving the Canadian flag. The skeptics are reaping the despair of that scorning today. Canada should put a Canadian Naval base at Churchill. They should strengthen the north and seek all kinds of private investment to do so. If we are going to retain any sense of economic or defence viability in the north, we have to make decisive moves. But let’s learn from the mistakes of investment in the CPR 140 years ago and Omnitrax in the last decade. If huge amounts of taxpayer money gets put on the table, the recipients can’t be allowed to abandon that investment. Taxpayers have paid for thousands of miles of railway lines that were later abandoned. Just saying. | http://www.mywestman.ca/opinion/5725-right-in-the-centre-is-it-viable | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/00958865ef3bcaf523a8631f8d3135085936f51bbf42c064b1cc0e58b400bd29.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T02:49:46 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5742-my-neepawa-bumbling-along.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/IMG_3186_copy.jpg | en | null | Bumbling along | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | My Neepawa - Bumbling along
Details Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016
What’s “Your Neepawa”? We’re asking readers to share with us their pictures of past and present Neepawa. To share a picture, please email a high resolution version (1 MB or higher) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or stop by the office at 243 Hamilton Street, in Neepawa. Please include your name as well as a description of the photo.
Photo by Sonya Paterson. This bumblebee’s too cool to fly. He was seen crawling around on a farm east of town on a brisk morning earlier this summer. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5742-my-neepawa-bumbling-along | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/ee96d74244d49a224c76f89e734838d28298c87e4ed44ffd3efa03db60d486aa.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:23 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5731-the-dispatch-beware-of-callers-posing-as-canada-revenue-agency-employees.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/plugins/content/fb_tw_plus1/linkcmp.png | en | null | Beware of callers posing as Canada Revenue Agency employees | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | The Dispatch - Beware of callers posing as Canada Revenue Agency employees
Details Published on Thursday, August 25, 2016
Spruce Plains RCMP
Well it’s been a lengthy amount of time since the Spruce Plains RCMP have submitted a report to you, the readers. The weekly reports were provided regularly by Auxiliary Constable Grant ‘Hymie’ Hurrell, but since the Auxiliary Program no longer operates as it once did, A/Cst. Hurrell was unable to continue. Thanks Hymie for all your work.
With July bringing an end to the school year and a beginning to the summer, Spruce Plains RCMP have been preparing for the busier stretch of the year. The following is a brief example of some of the calls local members were involved with:
On July 2, Neepawa RCMP conducted a traffic stop on highway 16 in the RM of North Cypress-Langford, as a vehicle was seen following too closely to the vehicle in front. A male driver was arrested for an impaired investigation, which resulted in two samples of breath obtained with readings of 290 mg per cent and 290 mg per cent. As a result, Taw Htoo of Saskatoon has been charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
On July 25, Neepawa RCMP responded to a traffic complaint from Minnedosa Co-op about a possible impaired driver. The vehicle was located and the male driver was arrested for an impaired investigation, which resulted in two samples of breath obtained with readings of 160 mg per cent and 150 mg per cent. As a result, Michael Foster of Gladstone has been charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
During the month of July, seven individuals were arrested and charged for impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
On July 20, Neepawa RCMP were investigating a theft of a bike that had occurred in Neepawa. Police were conducting surveillance on a residence in Neepawa when two males were seen leaving the residence with the stolen bike. Police approached the two males and informed them that they were under arrest. The two males ran from police and after a short foot pursuit, one male was caught. Justin Roulette has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime, possession of break-in instruments, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest. The other male was located and arrested a few days later. Blake Beaulieu has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime and resisting arrest. Both males are currently before the courts dealing with their charges.
The month of July also brought an increase of fraud related files, 24 in total. A large number of these files were in relation to individuals calling people and stating they work for Canada Revenue Agency. The callers are usually very aggressive on the phone, demanding payments be made to them. If payments are not made, they threaten with police attending the residence to arrest the individual. If you receive any such calls, please refrain from paying these individuals. This is not the way the CRA collects payment. If you are unsure, as many calls sound legit/authentic, contact your local RCMP Detachment for assistance. You can also call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 to report the fraud.
The speeder of the month went to one lucky Neepawa resident who was caught by Cpl. Taggart travelling 141 km/hour in a posted 100 km/hour zone. The ticket amount for travelling that fast was $586.75.
For the month of July, Spruce Plains RCMP were involved in a total of 438 files. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5731-the-dispatch-beware-of-callers-posing-as-canada-revenue-agency-employees | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/04cc06be30f19cc0eacceeec3121467b718808e819e8a9b0dcae4d8e6bc6a5ac.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T22:49:42 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5738-looking-back-1986-landmark-destroyed-by-twister.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/Aug_31.jpg | en | null | 1986: Landmark destroyed by twister | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Looking back - 1986: Landmark destroyed by twister
Details Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Neepawa Press Archives. Thursday Aug. 28, 1986; A violent wind storm flattened the former Airline Drive-in theatre screen.
By Cecil Pittman
The Neepawa Press
80 years ago Friday, August 28, 1936
Someone has advanced the opinion that the letter “e” is a most unfortunate letter in the English alphabet, because it is always out of cash, forever in debt, never out of danger and in hell all the time.
For some reason, he overlooked the fortunates of the letter, and we call his attention to the fact that “e” is never in war and always in peace. It is the beginning of existence, commencement of ease and the end of trouble. Without it, there would be no meat, no life and no heaven. It is the centre of honesty, makes love perfect and without, it there would be no editors, devils or news.
70 years ago Thursday, August 29, 1946
Marsh Corbell, formerly with the American Army Air Corps, was in town this week purchasing airworthy aircraft at the local fort for sale in South America. Mr. Corbell will fly any planes purchased here down to the States. At the first of the week, only one serviceable craft had been purchased.
60 years ago Thursday, August 30, 1956
Ten applications for the position of police constable on the Neepawa Police Force were read by secretary-treasurer George Bates, at the regular meeting of Neepawa Town Council Monday night. The applications were replies to advertisements appearing in the Neepawa Press and in the two Winnipeg newspapers, necessitated when W. Banyleyako, who had been employed by the town for 10 months as police constable, obtained a position in Ontario.
50 years ago Tuesday, August 30, 1966
The future of baseball in Neepawa could be radically altered by the result of a meeting to be held Wednesday evening with the objective of organizing a Neepawa Minor Baseball Association.
The association would attempt to rectify the situation by organizing more teams at the pony and colt levels. It would also provide more coaches and training for the youngsters than is presently available.
40 years ago Thursday, August 26, 1976
The eternal flame of the 1976 Manitoba Summer Games burst to life Saturday night, July 21, and the first Manitoba Games were underway.
It was a thrilling moment for the more than 1,000 officials, spectators and athletes, who attended the opening ceremonies. Neepawa’s Rick Fraser, in true Olympic style, ran the torch around the track and held it high in salute before touching off the flame.
Lieutenant-Governor F. L. Jobin won the heart of the crowd when he officially declared the games open. He announced that rather than sprinting around the track or cutting a ribbon, he would officially open the games by bestowing a kiss on Miss Summer Games – “and it wouldn’t be upon the brow,” he said.
30 years ago Thursday, August 28, 1986
The Neepawa Airline Drive-in Screen is no longer on its pedestal. The screen was one of the first casualties of the twister, which struck Neepawa last Sunday evening. The landmark won’t be re-erected, since Esso Petroleum Canada, owners of the theatre closed last fall, intend to build a bulk station on the site. Thousands of dollars in damage to buildings, equipment and crops in the area was revealed in the aftermath of the storm.
20 years ago Monday, August 27, 1996
The desire to preserve valuable local history has prompted the Beautiful Plains Museum board, notably Jim Hunt as organizer, painter and carpenter, to devote space in the museum dedicated to pictures, insignia and a history of the Neepawa Masonic Lodge and the Order of the Eastern Star.
The pictures date from the institution of the Masonic Lodge in 1883 when the first meeting was held in a log and frame building occupied by M. H. Fieldhouse.
The temple, built in 1925, is closing this year. The building will be moved to Stonewall.
10 years ago Monday, August 28, 2006
One may be the loneliest number, but 17 is rapidly becoming one of the saddest. That’s how many Northern Spotted Owls are left in Canada, and a recent decision by the Federal Environment Minister all but guarantees that they will be the last of their kind in our country.
Logging has pushed the spotted owls into a few pockets of old-growth rainforest in southwestern British Columbia – and even these last vestiges of their homeland are on the chopping block.
Earlier this year, environmental groups petitioned Rona Ambrose to intervene under the Federal Species at Risk pact to protect Canada’s remaining owls. Last week, she declined. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5738-looking-back-1986-landmark-destroyed-by-twister | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/c4c0ab64b53e61fb8bc3c0edbe5446259c31ea600f70c9cdbe1ddee540d15897.json |
[
"Kira Paterson"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:51 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5732-harvesting-for-the-hungry-aug-26.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/IMG_0903_copy.jpg | en | null | Harvesting for the hungry | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Harvesting for the hungry
Details Published on Thursday, August 25, 2016
Submitted photo. Volunteers were working into the night to get the Whitemud Growing Project’s fall rye combined.
By Kira Paterson
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The Whitemud Growing Project has officially started harvesting. The project is a grassroots fundraising endeavour to raise money for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to help the hungry overseas. The project is run by a committee of farmers from the Neepawa, Arden, Plumas and Gladstone areas and involves volunteer companies and farmers who want to help with the project’s crops or donate some of their own crops.
Over two days – Saturday, Aug. 13 and Tuesday, Aug. 16 – the farmers and volunteers were out in the field combining the project’s 170 acres of fall rye. Several groups and companies helped out with the harvest this year, including Rocky Mountain Equipment, Odessa Colony of Arden, R&S Farms of Arden, Renegade Transport of Plumas and Charles Doell of Gladstone. The field preparations and seeding were done by A&F Farms of Plumas and the herbicide was applied by Neepawa-Gladstone Co-op.
There have also been a few colony farms that have committed to donating portions of their crops to add to what the group gets from the project’s two fields. Springhill colony has already delivered their crop and the money from that is in the fund now.
The farmers estimated a yield between 75 and 80 bushels per acre, which is excellent. A fairly good yield for fall rye is between 55 and 60 bushels per acre, so it’s been a really good year for them.
The project also has 140 acres of canola, which will be harvested in about a month’s time. Once the canola is off the field, the project committee, consisting of Roland Unger, Charles Doell, Jeff Harder and Jake Hamm, will have a better idea of how much money they will make off the crops to donate to Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
The committee is still looking for volunteers to help with the canola harvest, so anyone interested can contact Unger at 204-476-6024, Doell at 204-856-6621, Harder at 204-476-0631 or Hamm at 204-570-2446 to offer equipment, time, or proceeds from a portion of their own crop. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5732-harvesting-for-the-hungry-aug-26 | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/deee98dfc7fc97ad676bc25a4689d6b439e8f9c01d4e7e3a4667cb9b39fc24fe.json |
[
"Kate Jackman-Atkinson"
] | 2016-08-26T14:48:12 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fopinion%2F5726-my-perspective-a-province-on-the-move.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/plugins/content/fb_tw_plus1/linkcmp.png | en | null | A province on the move | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | My perspective - A province on the move
Details Published on Friday, August 26, 2016
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Over the centuries, many things have changed in Manitoba, but throughout our history, one thing hasn’t– the importance of transportation. How we move has changed, but the fundamental importance of transportation to Manitoba and her people hasn’t.
This has been the case right from the beginning, as the First Nations people used the province’s trails and river networks to create trade networks between tribes.
Starting in 1611, Europeans began arriving in what is now known as Hudson Bay and northern Manitoba. They were in search of the North West Passage, a new trade route to China. While they might not have found a direct route to China, they did find a vast trade network in the enormous Hudson Bay watershed, which is fed by all of the rivers in Manitoba and many of those in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nunavut. This natural transportation route played an important role in the province’s development from that point on.
In 1881, construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway began and its route, linking east and west, would inevitably pass through Manitoba. The availability of efficient freight transportation, starting with the railway, has opened doors for Manitoba’s relatively thin population to seek economic fortunes outside our borders, moving both goods and people. For much of the province’s history, natural resource extraction and agriculture have been the dominant industries. Both of these require that producers are able to access markets beyond the province’s borders, something not possible, or economically viable, without strong transportation networks.
The construction of the Trans Canada Highway began in 1950 and this opened more doors for Manitoba’s role as a transportation hub. As time has progressed and freight transportation has evolved, Manitoba has kept pace. Today, Manitoba is one of the country’s major transportation hubs.
When it comes to the trucking industry, Manitoba continues to punch above its weight. According to the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA), Manitoba represents just three per cent of Canada’s population, but the province’s trucking industry accounts for 5.1 per cent of the Canadian industry. Both direct and indirect employment in the for-hire trucking business employs about 4.6 per cent of Manitobans and contributes about $2 billion to the province’s GDP.
Everywhere you look, you can see the industry’s importance to our daily lives, even if it’s not clear at first. Trucking companies have a visible impact, providing direct employment to our friends and neighbours, but their impact stretches far below the surface, too. MTA’s figures show that for every 10 jobs created in the trucking industry, seven jobs are created in ancillary businesses, like mechanics, tire shops, suppliers and road departments. Most importantly, trucks move our goods to where they need them. In rural Manitoba, it’s pretty well impossible to find a product that has not travelled by truck at some stage of its journey.
Manitoba’s location, at the heart of the continent, will forever mean that goods headed in either direction have to pass through our borders. This week marks our annual trucking week feature and gives us a chance to celebrate this vital industry working in the background of our daily lives. This is an important strategic advantage we must continue to develop. | http://www.mywestman.ca/opinion/5726-my-perspective-a-province-on-the-move | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/2c1e0c2018becbc293d98f421210ac3ff48dc4ee5d61616d6d98068016bc5edf.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:49:35 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5740-he-was-humble-honest-wise-and-real.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/1883-1983.jpg | en | null | He was humble, honest, wise and real | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | He was humble, honest, wise and real
Details Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Photo courtesy of Hertiage Neepawa Land of Plenty. Jack Huxley in the 1970s working in the Neepawa Press building.
By Press Staff
On Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, Jack Huxley passed away. A prominent member of the community and owner of The Neepawa Press for many years, he will be missed by friends, family and everyone who had the pleasure to know him.
On Aug. 18, Jack’s funeral service was held at the Neepawa United Church, where Rita Friesen delivered these words of remembrance:
“John Campbell Huxley, Jack, was born November 7, 1927, the second child of Thomas Lynden (Barney) Huxley and Margaret (Maggie) Huxley. Jack and his sister, Mayme Huxley Lupton, spent their early years on the family farm at Riverhurst, Saskatchewan. As a result of the Great Depression of the ‘30s, the family gave up the farm and moved first to Welwyn, Saskatchewan and then, in 1939, to Carberry.
Early life
It was here that Jack received most of his education. These years built the foundation for his involvement in baseball, hockey, fishing and snooker. In 1943, Jack’s father was the superintendent of carpenters with the American Army Post Engineers, working on the Alaska Highway. Jack very much wanted to be a part of that historic event, and by studying hard he obtained the grades his parents expected and earned the right to spend the summer up at Dawson Creek working on the project.
After graduation, Jack became an apprentice printer with his brother-in-law at the Carberry News-Express. He also played hockey with the Junior B team at Boissevain. Marie, teaching in Carberry at the time, attended a hockey game and her friend pointed out Jack, stating that he was a ‘clean player,’ a high compliment.
The love that lasted a lifetime
Jack and Marie met in 1951, married in 1952 and in 1953, they moved to Neepawa, moving into an apartment in the Guinn house, commonly known as ‘The Castle’. Jack had obtained employment managing the Neepawa Press, a job that would become his career. During these early years, the couple attended picture shows at the Roxy - admission 25 cents - or dancing at the Arcade to the music of The Black Hawks. It was also during this time life long friendships were developed and nurtured.
In 1954, Jack and Marie built a home at 562 Second Avenue. They were delighted and thankful to remain there, raising their family, entertaining guests and making memories up until 2013. Family was most important to Jack. Through his years as co-owner of the Press with John Oslund, from 1968 to 1988, a period in which the paper grew in integrity and purpose, gaining the respect of the community and the Manitoba Community Newspaper Association, Jack set aside time for family and community.
A family man
Jack and Marie and their three daughters spent two weeks camping every summer, a must for Jack, exploring Canada. An outing could be fishing, an afternoon at Big Valley or a destination drive searching for Arrowheads. Jack and Ivan Traill became knowledgeable about where to search and identifying what it was they found. Jack was delighted to provide his daughters with wonderful memories.
A growing family
As the family grew to include son-in-laws and grandchildren, Jack simply had more people to love and encourage. The grandchildren and their activities enriched Jack’s life. Susan and Rob and their children, Shawn and Lindsay; Joanne and Wayne, daughters Kristin and Cam and Karla and Brad; and Lois and Bob and their sons Jesse and Joel loved as they were loved. The addition of Hannah, Kristin and Cam’s daughter, a great granddaughter for Jack and Marie was simply the icing on the cake. Jack maintained that she was ‘a pretty special little lady.’
An impact through generations
Jack played an important role in his grandchildren’s lives, as he did in his daughters’ lives. They recall that to grandpa, everything was ‘just great’ and every meal was ‘delicious’. He was always thankful for everything anyone did for him, a quick visit, a phone call, important family connections.
Jack attended hockey games and baseball games. You would find him behind home plate, eating a hot dog and having endless cups of coffee. It was not unusual to find Jack wearing dress pants, a sweater and a St. Louis Blues hat. Jack had a torn loyalty between watching the Neepawa Natives and staying home to catch grandson, Joel, playing hockey with St. Louis.
Jack had a love for people and his community. A supper out involved Jack talking to almost everyone in the restaurant, everyone was important and had a story. When Jack was recognized for his 50 year Rotary Award, he wondered what all the fuss was about. Jack was philosophical, his response when informed of events, was ‘these things happen’. No doubt a refrain that you will hear and smile, or say with a smile.
A life’s worth of stories
Jack was a voracious reader, keeping tabs on many local newspapers, editing them, ascertaining if they were profitable or not. He loved non-fiction, Canadian history, archeology and books on wildlife. Often staying up really late to read, knowing that, with retirement, his only commitment was to get down to ‘the office,’ the Drop in Centre, welcoming folks, playing cards and shooting pool.
Jack was humble, honest, wise and real. He had a sense of humor and a love for his fellow man. Among his work with and for his community he served on the Game and Fish Association, the school board, the Neepawa United Church Board, the Chamber of Commerce, was a founding member of the Elks, a member of the HAND (Home Assistance Neepawa Disctrict) committee and a strong supporter of the Neepawa Terry Fox Run. The Neepawa Rotary Club was a big part of Jack’s life. Jack was aware of the goodness of the Divine creator, expressing his appreciation, declaring ‘we are so blessed.’ For family, the food on the table, friends and the care and concern expressed to him and his family, Jack was thankful. The first thing Marie knew about Jack was that he was a clean player. In hockey and in all of life, he maintained that status. He has left a legacy of faith, loyalty and service.”
Though he sold the Neepawa Press in 1988, Jack frequently stopped by the Neepawa Press office. He came to to pick up weeklies from around the province and talk newspapers, or sports, with the staff.
May he rest in peace. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5740-he-was-humble-honest-wise-and-real | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/7d27996d268a4710cfbbf61fd673d591f1b73633a8ce3cb7d9becd8f54c8b4ae.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:47:54 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5735-a-boo-tiful-day-in-riding-moutain.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/_DSC0093.jpg | en | null | A boo-tiful day in Riding Moutain | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | A boo-tiful day in Riding Moutain
Details Published on Friday, August 26, 2016
Photos by John Drinkwater. Inhabitants emerge from the Park Theatre’s “Haunted House.”
By John Drinkwater
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Friends of Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) hosted the annual Boo in the Park on Saturday, Aug. 20. Hundreds of families filled streets and sidewalks to meet monsters and other weird creatures roaming around the townsite.
Above: This spooky mannequin was spotted outside the Wasagaming Community Arts centre.
Boo in the Park also includes a free outdoor concert, this year featuring Haywire and Trooper. The concert was an outstanding success. Megan Dudect, Promotions and Non-Personal Media officer for RMNP said, “The dry sunny weather contributed to a wonderful event. Boo in the Park brought in many hundreds of visitors during the day. We estimate nearly 5,000 attended the free concert. The brief power outages caused minor delays and the audience were very supportive. We at RMNP were extremely pleased with all those who assisted in this experience!” This was the seventh year of the free concerts and many who attended were looking forward to next year’s.
Below: Approximately 5,000 fans attended the free concert featuring Haywire and Trooper. The crowds extended beyond the grass area near the Trading Post. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5735-a-boo-tiful-day-in-riding-moutain | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/b473fa151400fd29fea38d19d1543eea34373bacf414185fada83ce382b65781.json |
[
"Eoin Devereux"
] | 2016-08-30T14:49:35 | null | null | myWestman.ca - Sports | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fsports%2F5737-heads-up-hockey-season-is-almost-here.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/1-Yellowhead-Centre.jpg | en | null | Heads up, hockey season is almost here! | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Heads up, hockey season is almost here!
Details Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
While most of us are still thinking about barbecues and beaches, the Neepawa Natives are looking ahead to the long bus rides and early morning practices that are part and parcel of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League season. The junior ‘A’ club is set to begin its training camp on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at the Yellowhead Centre, with between 90 to 95 players looking to secure a spot on the roster.
This will be the first training camp for Dustin Howden, as the team’s head coach, after serving as an assistant for the past two seasons. Howden said that he’s looking forward to taking on more responsibility.
“Being the main guy this year on the coaching staff, means the final decisions and at time the tough decisions, are yours and yours alone to make. Fortunately, [Natives general manager Myles Cathcart] and [Director of player personnel/head scout Byron Billett], along with the rest of the scouting staff have put together a quality group of players to assemble a team from,” noted Howden. “For the upcoming season, I think that this will be a fast, skilled group. We will move the puck well and create opportunities. On this team, I also want to focus on being sound defensively. The past few years, we’ve allowed too many shots per game. We need to be a puck possession team. That means controlling the tempo and playing smart. We have the ability to do that with the players that we have.”
Natives GM Myles Cathcart noted that while this year’s training camp will include a solid core of returning players, there are still ample opportunities for younger players.
“We have very good retention of players from last year, but when you look at the stats from last year, there is room for improvement. Everybody needs to earn their spot,” stressed Cathcart. “With the variety of players coming in to try out, I think this will be a highly competitive camp.”
For this year’s training camp, the schedule has been altered slightly, as the camp will end on Saturday instead of Sunday, as has been the norm in previous years. Cathcart said that this a positive change.
“It’s something we’ve looked at for a few years now. The Yellowhead Centre has been very accommodating in ensuring we can move it ahead a day. It’s a positive shift for several reasons. It minimizes the overlap between the camp and [The Neepawa Golf and Country Club’s Rosebowl Tournament] over the long weekend. As well, it gives the players a bit more time to get home, enjoy the rest of the long weekend with their families and get themselves prepared to come back to Neepawa and get settled in for the start of the MJHL season,” said Cathcart.
Registration for the 2016-2017 training camp will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am at the Yellowhead Centre. It’ll be quickly followed by a mandatory players’ meeting at 10:05 am. As for the on-ice sessions, those will start at 11:00 am, with the individual player schedules given out during registration. The Neepawa Natives training camp is open to the public.
As for games, the first home pre-season for Neepawa is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 7 against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, while the regular season begins on Friday, Sept. 23, when the Neepawa Natives will host the Winkler Flyers. | http://www.mywestman.ca/sports/5737-heads-up-hockey-season-is-almost-here | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/e07e8212f806603cc3ff8fdb621c47b43d4122b1610aa743c9ce678ed66e3175.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:48:04 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5736-17-in-your-program-but-1-on-the-most-wanted.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/plugins/content/fb_tw_plus1/linkcmp.png | en | null | #17 in your program but #1 on the most wanted | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | #17 in your program but #1 on the most wanted
Details Published on Friday, August 26, 2016
RCMP Media Release
RCMP are searching for a pair of suspects in an unusual break-in. On Aug. 15 at 3:38 a.m., a break-in occurred at a beer store vendor in Russell. Video surveillance caught two men entering the store and stealing cases of beer.
The first man was wearing mitts/gloves, a large coat, ball cap and had his face covered. The second suspect that followed was dressed as a goalie. However, he may have been a defenceman or forward in disguise as he was wearing jersey #17 – a non-traditional number for goalies. He is described as having a medium build, wearing a blocker, trapper and carrying a goalie stick.
Anyone with information about this theft or has played against a goalie matching this description is asked to call Russell RCMP.
Surveillance video | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5736-17-in-your-program-but-1-on-the-most-wanted | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/77a3a6445bd95d41ed719a8e0c634da6f38a9d375034d2a84e9054e14f8ef1dc.json |
[
"Eoin Devereux"
] | 2016-08-30T20:49:39 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5739-interest-spikes-in-volleyball-camp.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/Dig-it-Volleyball-Camp.jpg | en | null | Interest spikes in volleyball camp | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Interest spikes in volleyball camp
Details Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
Young setters and hitters from across the region converged on Neepawa last week for the inaugural Dig It Westman Volleyball Camp. The event was co-ordinated by Amy Spring and Drew Korman and took place from Aug. 22 to 26 at the NACI gymnasium. The camp was split into two groups, middle years (grades 7/8) and junior varsity (grades 9/10) and consisted of a combination of game technique and cardio training each day. Korman said the feedback they’ve received from the camp’s attendees was very positive.
“We have had kids here before the doors open and they’ve been ready and looking forward to the day. While they’ve been here, they’ve been putting their max effort in and most importantly, we’ve see them improving as the week progressed,” noted Korman. “It’s great to see the skill level and conditioning level improve as it has. It shows that they’re committed and willing to learn. We have been really impressed with the attitude.”
Spring concurred with the positive response and added that having former University of Winnipeg Wesmen player Alica Perry in as an instructor for a portion of the camp, helped to enhance the experience.
“Having Alica here during the week, helping with the camp, provided a fantastic player perspective. [Perry] has so much experience on a university level, that it really enhanced the education the players received. Everyone really enjoyed having her here,” noted Spring. “It’s been a good camp. Everyone came in with an excellent attitude and were really focused. It’s been great to see with both the [junior varsity] and the [grade] 7/8, working so hard.”
Perry has been involved in volleyball programs like this for several years. She said serving as an instructor and seeing the youngsters develop their game so much was gratifying.
“For the younger players that are out [at the volleyball camp], I hope that they gain a bit more confidence in their game, as well as learn ball control, footwork and just generally get a good understanding of the basic principles of the game,” stressed Perry. “For the more experienced players, we’re able to take a different approach. We can work on the nuances of their game. Improving their footwork on the court, how to put more power into their serve or how to use their physicality to maximum benefit. We also discuss the mental portion of the game, because that’s a big facet of the game. In that way, we focus on leadership and supporting teammates. It’s really a complete evaluation of the player.”
The primary goal of the camp was to allow young volleyball players from across the region to improve their skills with the help of some top level instructional talent. Dig It has stepped up this year as a replacement to the Beautiful Plains Extreme Volleyball Camp, which ceased operation in 2015. Both Spring and Korman noted after the week had concluded, that they were very optimistic about Dig It’s long term future. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5739-interest-spikes-in-volleyball-camp | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/31ba378cb5cee751073b04489ddd65ed28261092645caa057afff9c47beb6370.json |
[
"Tony Eu"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:18 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5733-furniture-for-fundraising.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/IMG_5380.jpg | en | null | Furniture for fundraising | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Furniture for fundraising
Details Published on Thursday, August 25, 2016
Photos by Tony Eu. Left: Four chairs (left), decorated by members of the Neepawa Art Club, are on display (right) in the windows of It’s Time Fashion & Gifts in Neepawa. The chairs are being auctioned off to raise money for ArtsForward.
By Tony Eu
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Passing by It’s Time Fashion & Gifts in Neepawa, you may notice something odd on display in the windows. Old wooden chairs, painted and redone, sit among the mannequins and clothes that are typically the sole occupants of the space.
These chairs are part of a silent auction fundraising event.
“[The fundraiser] is for ArtsForward, it’s just a sort of general fundraiser for our organization and will likely go towards visual arts programs,” said Rrain Prior, programs director of ArtsForward.
“[The fundraiser] is actually the brain child of Gwen Baryla, who is a member of our art club,” Prior explained. She noted that the arts club isn’t a part of ArtsForward, though they do meet in the building. Continuing she said, “[Baryla] sort of found these old worn wooden chairs at auction and they’re the sort that people are trying to get rid of, they’re mismatched sets, they’re the last one standing. So she brought them to the art club and thought it would be a great idea if [the members] decorated these chairs up and had them as things you can put in your entry hall or in your bathroom, some kind of decorative piece, so every member of the art club took one of these chairs to decorate.”
“What’s happening is they’re being on display in the windows of It’s Time, Ineke [owner of It’s Time Fashion & Gifts] has offered space for us to display them. Then they’ll be auctioned off at our wine tasting, which is on Oct. 22,” Prior added.
Four of the five total chairs are currently on display, with the last one not quite yet completed.
“It’s a silent auction, so [people] can bid now. There are bid sheets at It’s Time and the bidding will run until the wine tasting,” Prior said. Bidding will also take place at the wine tasting, which itself is another fundraising event for ArtsForward, held once every two years.
“It’s due to the generosity of the art club that we’re able to do this and we’re sort of always looking for fundraising opportunities here because we’re a non-profit,” Prior added as a final comment.
For more information, contact Rrain Prior at 204-476-3232 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5733-furniture-for-fundraising | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/e4139d743b1e6537ec17336fbbb2f53b19c993713304ecb3474035358c7fae27.json |
[
"Kira Paterson"
] | 2016-08-31T00:49:41 | null | null | Local news and information for the Westman region. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mywestman.ca%2Fcommunity-news%2F5741-art-wareham-a-jack-of-all-trades.json | http://www.mywestman.ca/images/Art_Wareham.jpg | en | null | Art Wareham: A jack of all trades | null | null | www.mywestman.ca | Art Wareham: A jack of all trades
Details Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Submitted Photo. This is a photo of Art Wareham from a 1979 document about his trip to Africa.
By Kira Paterson
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
People rarely think their own life is interesting. They think they’ve had a regular, dull life that wouldn’t make a good story. The fact is, most people who listen to that person’s story would completely disagree. Everyone has an interesting life to others who are living a different life; an example of that is Art Wareham. He thought there wouldn’t be much to talk about in regards to his life, but found himself remembering more and more neat stories that others would find fascinating.
Wareham was born and raised in the Neepawa area. He grew up on a farm in the area and went to school in Neepawa. Then, his life in the workforce began. “When war came along, it was the beginning of [World War II], and we could get a job anywhere, so all of us young guys worked at the airport as carpenters’ helpers and all that kind of stuff,” he explained.
After working at the airport for a while, he enlisted in the army and was stationed at various bases around Canada for three years. All the while, he was working towards a specific rank. “I wanted to be a paratrooper. You had to be 19 and a half, so I joined the paratroopers and got my wings... so my next step was volunteering for the Japanese area. We didn’t go, we took some Japanese training, but we didn’t go there. Then I took my discharge in 1946, late October.”
A start
After leaving the army, Wareham had quite the variety of jobs, with many different experiences. “But one thing I never had to do,” he noted, “I never filled out a job application in my life. Not to this day.” He added, “I was always offered [a job] prior to being unemployed.”
“I tried various things. I had some carpenter experience from the airport, so I did that for the first few months. Then I did long-distance truck driving. Then, an [farm] implement dealer in town, which was at that time William Whitmore Ltd., he knew of me and he offered me a position there to study under him and to do all aspects of the business. So I did that and I was there for 17 years.”
While he worked for Whitmore, he spent time in almost every department of the business, from machinery parts, to sales, all the way up to assistant manager. He said that it never felt like working for the Whitmores, it was always working with the Whitmores.
“Then as things went along, the implement companies were getting bigger and absorbing one another and amalgamations, so I was offered a good deal to take over the business, but I figured with all these amalgamations and that, I’d try something else,” Wareham continued. “I certainly often think afterwards, if it hadn’t been for all these dealerships getting bigger and amalgamations and everything, I would [have] purchased that business. We had 35 employees, so it wasn’t a big business, but it wasn’t small either.”
After being there for 17 years, he moved on to his next job. “I came home one evening here from Brandon and the president and vice president of Agristeel Ltd. Minnedosa were there, offered me a job. And I knew the Whitmores were going to quit in a year and I decided not to take [their business], so I went with [Agristeel] and they gave me an offer I couldn’t hardly refuse... So I decided to take this other Minnedosa job. I’m glad I did in the end, because it gave me a chance to travel to Africa and Australia.”
World-wide work
Agristeel was a company that manufactured farming equipment and sold it to other companies, such as Massey-Ferguson, JI Case, Minneapolis Moline, New Holland, Versatile, Co-op Implements and even John Deere. Most of Wareham’s job was to go to these companies and sell their equipment, which was what took him all over the place. “I was on the road a lot. I think I knew probably every dealer in Manitoba and Saskatchewan by first name,” he stated. “After that, I was on international sales for a while. We were selling to Ethiopia and Sudan, so I flew to Africa a few times. One trip, I was on loan to the department of Industry in Ottawa and we took six weeks over there, visiting Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania... As well as being responsible for the dealers in Western Canada, I had this other added on, so I was a busy boy, but I liked it.”
Even with being on the road quite often, he was involved in a lot of different aspects of Agristeel aside from sales. “[My] favourite job would be working with the engineer department or research and development department, designing machines. I didn’t do the actual work, but I had a lot of input. And finding farmers to use the machinery and evaluate it and all that. I was very interested in that,” he added.
Working at Agristeel for about 20 years gave Wareham some really interesting stories and adventures to tell. “When I was in Africa one time... we had this meeting with a bunch of bankers in Nigeria. Of course, we had to talk through an interpreter. Well I had never had an interpreter before, well that was about the scariest thing I’ve ever done. You get up there and you have one long sentence, maybe, and this guy would rattle on for about two minutes and I thought ‘Gee, I couldn’t have said that much!’ Anyway, we got through it,” he started. “We went to Nigeria first and then spent a couple weeks there... trying to promote machinery in Africa. Quite a job, because everything is done through government there. There’s no individual dealers and we found it kind of trying. And we got a nice trip to Kenya after that. That was the time of the uprising there in Uganda... so we had to fly around Uganda over to Kenya. But we never felt threatened or anything. Then in Kenya, we picked up our own plane, just about a 10 passenger. And that was quite interesting because there was the pilot, of course, and then the eight of us in the group and all our literature and luggage and we had to leave from this airport. The pilot said ‘It’s kind of a heavy load, so we’ll have to put the tail wheel off on the grass and try to put as much luggage as you can in the back and you guys move to the back until I get the front end off the ground.’ So we’re roaring down this runway, and he said ‘Okay you can start moving forward now, we’re off the ground.’ I thought ‘Oh, phew!’ And then when we got to Tanzania, they were at war, the Tanzanikans and Uganda. So the pilot... he couldn’t leave his plane, he had to stay out on the runway overnight and we were ushered into the terminal with a guard with a machine gun so we were very careful what we did. But [the pilot] couldn’t come in. He had a sleeping bag and they took him food, but he had to stay out on the runway. And then when he flew us from there... they had some kind of a war agreement, we had to land on the outskirts of the airport and carry all our literature and luggage, it was about a mile. He said ‘I can’t go any closer because I’m not allowed to. I can’t buy fuel here, I hope I’ve got enough to get back to Mombasa in Kenya, so you fellows are going to have to walk to the terminal.’ It was about 107 above or something, fahrenheit, so that was some ordeal, that was.”
Despite some crazy adventures, he stuck with Agristeel for a long time, but eventually, he wanted a change. “Now I had a chance to stay with them, but I was getting along in years... and the head office in Saskatoon felt I could take an early retirement because I had been there about 20 years. And then I took a whole new effort on,” Wareham said. “When I retired from up there, implement dealers in Neepawa here wanted me for a salesman. But I had had enough of farm equipment sales, I decided to do something else.”
‘Like a paid holiday’
“I met with my brother-in-law at the [Beautiful Plains] school division bus garage, and he said ‘Here’s our next bus driver.’ And my knowledge of school busses was nil, you know. But I had some experience driving in my early years, you know, and I figured, well this was a real swing of things, but I would do it. So I took it on. I drove school bus for seven or eight years, I guess.” Wareham said that he quite often took the extra-curricular school groups in addition to his regular route. “So I enjoyed that, it was like a paid holiday,” he joked.
As with his other jobs, he didn’t stick to one duty with the school division. He also helped them install the computerized heating and cooling system that allows them to control the temperatures of all the schools in the division right from the division office. In addition to that, he also took a course to be able to teach new bus drivers. “They never had a full time bus driver instructor for new drivers, so I took that on... And I did that for a number of years.” After a certain age, bus drivers had to retire and weren’t allowed to drive with kids anymore, however, they were still allowed to instruct. So even after he retired from bus driving itself, he continued to teach new bus drivers for a while.
“I eventually retired at about 1995, I guess... So that’s about my work career,” he concluded. “I think, summing it up, in the working world, if you’re worrying about it and have to dread going to work, it must be terrible. Because I enjoyed [it]; I liked going to work every day of my life. Always something interesting, phones ringing when you got there and lots of action.”
Adrenaline-filled hobbies
Wareham was a jack of all trades in a lot more than just the work world. He was also involved in a lot of things in the community and personally. In Neepawa, he was involved with the Legion for many years. He was also a part of EMO (Emergency Measures Organization) for five years, which involved being prepared for any emergencies that could’ve come up in town. “Nothing major happened in my time. A few snowstorms, we billeted people, but other than that, we had no major rail derailments or anything. But that was the purpose of it, to be ready for emergencies.”
He was also involved with the local Boy Scouts for four years. “I liked working with Scouts. One time, we had an annual get together at the Peace Gardens. And no one else could go, we had the three of us instructors and the other two couldn’t go and they said, ‘You think you can handle 34 boys by yourself?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll have to try!’ We got through it, we had the odd little thing come up. Nothing major, they were good boys. But I had 34 of them all by myself. They were about 14 to 17, pretty active, those guys. But they were pretty well behaved, a good group of kids.”
Wareham also had an affinity for adrenaline-filled hobbies. “One of the crazier things I got into was stock car racing,” he said. “We did that for years on different tracks around Manitoba and we finally got to racing it in Winnipeg. And I’ve followed it ever since. And my son has followed it. He’s right into that sort of thing.” He added that one time, he even got to race against his son. “It’s quite a sport when you get into it, you have to be a bit wrong in the head to get into it, but it’s fun and interesting. Even my wife didn’t mind. She went to every meet.” He and his wife also had motorcycles for a while, too. “We had to be crazy,” he joked.
Reunion
He and his wife also kept busy in their personal life. “We did quite a bit of traveling in my life. Trips to the States and stuff, whenever we had a chance,” Wareham noted. “We did one interesting trip, and I’ve got to thank my wife for this. My dad was 96 years old at the time, he hadn’t seen his brother in England in 78 years. So we arranged to take him over there. Some of the family thought we were out of our tree to do that, but we took him and he was game for it. So we went to England. My wife arranged it. She went, and my sister and her daughter and my dad. Five of us... One of my cousins over there organized a meeting over there of the clans and there was 72 people showed up from all over England. So we had quite a time there. Dad, he had a chance to visit his brother and his brother was 94 at the time. And sometimes, we left the tape recorder on and left the house and just let them talk and my sister has the recordings somewhere yet. But we’ve laughed over that several times because some of the antics they went through as youngsters.” Wareham said the two of them were like big kids when they got talking together. “They were both in the First World War, but my dad was a Canadian. And when he was in France, his brother, Bill, was in England. And they never met ever since he left for Canada. Because eventually, when he left for Canada... [Bill] said ‘Oh, you’ll be back in six months.’ So it was almost 80 years later he’d go back. But that was quite a visit, I’d have to thank my wife and sister for that. They organized all of that.”
Shared interests
Wareham talked about how much fun he always had with his wife. “I think one of the main points in marriage is liking the same things,” he noted. “We love dogs. We had dogs for 49 years. We had Great Danes for 32 years. Three of them, consecutive, not together. And they were wonderful dogs. Of course, my wife and I were great nature people. We used to go walking on trails before anybody else thought of it and we went for hours with dogs.
Took a backpack and drink and drink for the dogs and we were gone... My wife used to walk up to eight miles with the dogs... We had them all obedience trained and went to dog shows, that was another part of my life,” Wareham explained. “My wife usually showed the dog and one time, she had to go on emergency, her dad was sick in Mexico. So she had to go down there and the tryouts came up when she was away and I had to go and handle the dogs. Now there’s no problem there, I was familiar with what to do, but when the results came back, we lost four points, ‘handler’s error’... She’d bring it up occasionally, about once a week. ‘The dog did perfect and you mucked it up.’” He joked that she would never let him forget that.
Local travels
Travelling, for he and his wife, was not just going overseas or down to the US, it was also going around the province for day trips. “One of our favourite things we had to do, in fact our friends used to laugh at us, we’d go to these country fall suppers,” Wareham began. “And some people go to one or two, we had an average of 18 a year. We worked at it, we knew everybody ahead. And we’d go as far as Rossburn, Oak River, Hamiota, Rivers, Langruth, Ste. Rose even... McGregor had one Nov. 11, no matter what day of the week it was, they’d have the supper. They still do and they get 1,200 people. But we always figured that was good eating and a trip and both of us enjoyed it. In fact, the first three years she was at Country Meadows, we took in about 10 a year, I’d just sign her out.”
Wareham’s wife, Dorothy, has been at Country Meadows for about seven years now, since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Now, he goes to visit his wife there every single day. “I go out [to Country Meadows] every day. And until I had to have [an operation], I had 2,341 days all consecutive. But then I had to spoil it by being in the hospital for a few days. But I’ve only missed, I think, 22 days out of seven and a half years going out. I go about three o’clock and stay late, so I know everybody out there and it’s gotten to be a life.”
He also helps out a lot with some of the activities that go on at the care home. There are two summer barbecues and a Christmas supper that the staff does every year. Each wing has their own group meal, because having all 100 some people eating at once is a lot more work than the staff and volunteers can handle.
He also helps by bringing the residents their weekly entertainment. “I take the fellow that entertains at Country Meadows [Remi Bouchard]. I take him out every [Wednesday] afternoon to play piano for seven years. We’ve become pretty good friends... he sold his car a few years ago, so I have no trouble [driving him]. There’s another lady that takes him out every Monday to read and whenever one of us can’t go, we just switch... so we just interchange if we have to, it works good. That’s one thing I do.”
He also helps out the community outside of Country Meadows whenever he can. One way he did that was helping other seniors out during the election. “I’ve always been interested in politics. So I always leave my name in for a driver to take old folks to vote. Always interested in politics, never active, but interested.”
He mentioned some other things he does to keep busy. “These days, besides going to see my wife... They’re trying to get me into that seniors group downtown, I just tell them I’ll do that when I get old... I read quite a bit. If I can’t sleep, I’ll read... I’m a radio man, not too much TV, but radio I couldn’t do without it; I think I have a radio in every room except this one. Always been interested in radio,” he said, adding that he also goes for coffee or visits with his neighbours. “I’ve got wonderful neighbours. One neighbour, 38 years I’ve had at this corner here, go back and forth all the time. Look after each other’s place when they’re away and vice versa and go to help when they need help, that’s worked out good. Good friend.”
Wareham has always been a more private man, who doesn’t like to talk about himself too much because he says it feels like bragging. But when he does start to talk, he has a lot of stories to share. “I’ve had so many embarrassing moments and interesting moments, but obviously I’ve managed to survive most of them,” he said. “It’s been interesting. There’s lots of other things I could add, but I’m not going to. But it’s been lots of fun.”
Do you know someone with some interesting life stories? We’d love to hear them, please contact us at 204-476-3401 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | http://www.mywestman.ca/community-news/5741-art-wareham-a-jack-of-all-trades | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | www.mywestman.ca/e6e3a5274bf41cb36772b0ac06a1d6c5d39977004b8e361e30fcc4cf0f1e966c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:24 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Firish_olympics_boss_arrested_i.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/pathickeyarrested.jpg | en | null | Irish Olympics boss arrested in multi-million ticket tout scheme | null | null | republican-news.org | Irish corruption is again the subject of international media attention following the arrest of the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) Pat Hickey as part of a Brazilian police investigation into an insider ticket touting scandal.
Hickey is facing three charges arising from the alleged illegal distribution of tickets for the Olympic Games via intermediary firms.
His dramatic arrest at his hotel and detention at a high-security prison has shocked the establishment in Ireland, where many sports executives consider their control over ticket distribution to be a perk of the job. Ticket resales by white-collar sports officials have never previously been a subject of interest to the Garda police.
However, the operation allegedly operated by Hickey in tandem with nine others has shocked by its scale. He is accused of plotting to sell tickets above face value as part of a scheme that authorities say had already netted about 2.7 million euro in profits.
Although he was admitted to hospital as a precaution after he informed police of a heart condition Brazilian police showed little respect for Hickey’s status as a top-ranking Irish executive. He was arrested in his dressing gown when Brazilian police called to his hotel. His passport and accreditation were removed by police, who later displayed them during a press conference.
The development comes after Irish sports Minister Shane Ross travelled to Rio and spoke to Hickey about the surfacing allegations surrounding the touting of Olympic Games tickets. Ross has since returned to Dublin.
The Minister said that he was required in Dublin “as quickly as possible” because of the “seriousness of this matter”. He said that there was “shell shock” at the arrest of Hickey, who is also the president of the European Olympic Committee.
An alleged Irish co-conspirator, Kevin James Mallon, had previously been arrested at a Rio hotel as he allegedly sold tickets to around 20 buyers. It was reported Brazilian police seized 781 tickets being sold at “extremely high prices” of up to 7,200 euro each.
Mallon was described as a director at British firm THG, which faced similar accusations of touting during the 2014 World Cup, also held in Brazil. Police say they have evidence that Hickey was part of the scheme that saw Irish Olympic tickets for the games pass through the hands of THG.
The police say they also found an email from Hickey’s lawyer in Ireland dated last Saturday telling him not to concede to a demand from Minister Ross for an independent member to sit on the OCI’s own investigation into how Mallon came into possession of OCI tickets. Mr Hickey was advised “to put Ross in his place”, they said.
An inquiry into the controversy is to be set up by the Dublin government, but it will not have the power to compel witnesses or demand documents.
Minister for Sport Shane Ross confirmed a retired judge will lead the non-statutory investigation. “It will be limited in that it will not prejudice trials or anything that is happening there [in Brazil]. It will be deliberately limited in that way but we do not think that will limit us in finding out the facts,” he said.
Public Accounts Member and Fine Gael TD, Noel Rock, has said the OCI President’s arrest is a “dark day for Irish sport”.
Mr Rock said: “It is a source of deep shame that it has come to this, and now the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland has been arrested. This is extraordinary and unprecedented, and casts a dark shadow over our Olympics”. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/irish_olympics_boss_arrested_i.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/f74da319cbe9e7ef4d936b04ed512ce037df898ce23f4682aa62ac5591e7e1e4.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:54 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fnew_delay_as_end_of_bloody_sun.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/bloodysundymarch2011.jpg | en | null | New delay as end of Bloody Sunday saga is “in sight” | null | null | republican-news.org | The Bloody Sunday families have called on the PSNI to state whether or not they intend recommending that the soldiers responsible for the 1972 killings are prosecuted.
The police have said they have finished interviewing the former British soldiers as part of their Bloody Sunday murder investigation.
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was shot dead on Bloody Sunday, said those investigating should indicate what their position is based on the evidence they have gathered.
“We were told this investigation would take four years and that is nearly up. The families are frustrated at the length of time this is taking,” he said.
“We were told that this had to be done right so we are taking that at face value but if all the evidence is now gathered, the police should say whether or not they will be recommending that the former soldiers be prosecuted.”
The Derry man said families were also annoyed that the PSNI investigating team had not briefed them about latest developments.
“We were told at the start that we would be kept in the loop but we had to learn from the press that the interviews with soldiers were over. That is not acceptable,” he said.
Last year a High Court ruling determined that seven former soldiers present on Bloody Sunday would not have to travel to Ireland in order to be questioned. The court ruling came after the arrest and questioning of ‘Lance Corporal J’ in Antrim.
The families hope prosecutions will bring answers to long standing questions about how the massacre was initiated and why.
Kate Nash’s brother William was shot dead on Bloody Sunday and her father Alex was wounded when he attempted to come to his son’s aid. Having asked the PSNI about the progress in the murder investigation, Kate Nash said she had received a statement from the PSNI that the investigation team “requires a period of time to consider all matters and to prepare a final report”.
Mr Nash said: “I am happy that the investigation has got to this point but of course I am concerned at how much longer it will take to complete.
“It’s been four years so far and the wait seems interminable. The PSNI told us at the start that it would perhaps take up to four years to complete, but we have already passed that time frame. The Bloody Sunday families have waited a very long time for justice and I feel it’s closer and within our grasp. I am calling on all our political representatives to back us now in this final push to realise the dream of being finally being able to lay our loved ones to rest.”
People Before Profit Assembly member and justice campaigner Eamonn McCann said: “The news that all the former British soldiers associated with Bloody Sunday have now been interviewed under caution marks another milestone on the long match towards the truth about the Derry massacre.
“The interviews with the surviving soldiers were completed last month. The families shouldn’t have to hang on any longer. The PSNI had estimated that the current investigation would take four years. Four years have already passed.”
He said the end of the Bloody Sunday saga is at last in sight. “Massive credit is due to all the Family members who fought so hard for so long, sometimes in face of political indifference,” he said. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/new_delay_as_end_of_bloody_sun.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/e06730673eaf7fccbfdb2cf3fe406fcf13ae36c106471a1ab7a6ce4134916969.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:51 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fapprentice_boys_marchers_provo.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/abodchanting.jpg | en | null | Apprentice Boys marchers provoke city centre outrage | null | null | republican-news.org | The main Apprentice Boys of Derry parade of the year infuriated residents after loyalist band members were seen to lead inflammatory chanting and sectarian singing at the heart of the overwhelmingly nationalist city.
‘East Bank Protestant Boys Londonderry’ played the tune of the infamous loyalist song, ‘We’ll Fight in The Bogside’, as they passed shoppers and spectators near the cenotaph in the city centre last weekend.
Loyalists loudly sang the lyrics, “We’ll fight in the Bogside. We’ll fight in the Creggan. We’ll fight in the Falls Road, we’ll fight in Ardoyne. For we won’t be mastered by no Fenian B*stard, so come all yee lads when the UDA calls.”
Derry Independent Councillor Darren O’Reilly, who was in the city centre shopping with his family, said he was shocked and disgusted his young daughter “was subjected to such bile”.
“It was disgraceful,” he added. “I had my daughter in town shopping for school things. Walking outside the shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon we were subjected to this vile singing by up to 30 people.
“This is a city centre. This is a busy time with people going on holiday and getting geared up for school. A lot of people standing there watching were shoppers. People say others shouldn’t be offended by their culture. People aren’t offended by culture, but are by sectarian chants.”
Separately, a controversial parade through a mainly nationalist village of Rasharkin in County Antrim passed off quietly on Friday night.
The Parades Commission earlier this week banned one loyalist band from being involved in the march because of its conduct over the Twelfth of July in nearby Ballycastle.
The Parades Commission said it received details of the “band’s perceived provocative conduct on that day included wearing face masks, drunkenness and rowdy and antagonistic behaviour”.
Members of Dervock Young Defenders, some wearing Union Jack face masks, were involved in a violent incident in which independent councillor Padraig McShane was injured. Mr McShane was taking part in a protest by residents when he was spat at and taunted by masked loyalist band members, before being dragged to the ground by police as loyalists danced around.
Sean Hanna from Rasharkin Residents Collective welcomed the decision to prevent further provocation from a parade which saw more than 20 loyalist bands march through the nationalist village.
“It was unacceptable that Dervock would be allowed to walk through a Catholic area,” he said.
Mr McShane last night said it was a “a common sense approach by the Parades Commission - given what happened in Ballycastle the banning of this band is unsurprising. Both them and plenty of bands from the loyalist fraternity will need to be looked at closely in the future,” he said.
Mr McShane, who has received further loyalists death threats in the wake of the Ballycastle incident, said that a number of other nationalists have also been spoken to by the PSNI about their safety. He described the threats as “worrying”.
“It’s extremely uncomfortable for the individuals and worrying for their families. It’s a repercussion of unwanted sectarian parades,” he said. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/apprentice_boys_marchers_provo.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/893b3d31323b0fceeabf9c99a129aa8f648656f24b07f86aab9687e450733450.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:29 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fsinn_fein_assembly_member_quit.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/daithimckaybig.jpg | en | null | Sinn Fein Assembly member quits over NAMA testimony | null | null | republican-news.org | Sinn Fein’s Daithi McKay has resigned his Assembly seat following allegations of “collusion” with a loyalist blogger in his claims that former DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson personally gained from a sale managed by NAMA, the bank run by the 26 County state to manage distressed property assets.
It was claimed on Thursday that loyalist blogger and flags protester Jamie Bryson was “coached” with the assistance of Mr McKay, then chair of the finance committee at Stormont, on how to handle legal and political issues in his testimony. He controversially alleged that Robinson financially gained from the infamous 1.5 billion euro deal known as ‘Project Eagle’.
The finance committee had heard allegations that a kickback payout of 7 million pounds was to be shared with some business and legal people and politicians.
At the time Mr Robinson said Mr Bryson’s claims were “scurrilous and unfounded”.
Sinn Fein chief whip Caral Ni Chuilin said Mr McKay has resigned as Assembly member for North Antrim with immediate effect.
“Daithi McKay has resigned as MLA for North Antrim with immediate effect and has been suspended from Sinn Fein. His letter of resignation has been submitted to the Speaker’s office.”
It was reported on Thursday that Mr McKay exchanged direct personal messages on Twitter with Mr Bryson in the period before he gave evidence to the Stormont finance committee in September last year, directing him to communicate with another Sinn Fein member and adviser. That account holder, appeared to advise Bryson how to present his evidence to the finance committee without being stopped by DUP committee members.
Sinn Fein said the communications were “a solo run” by Mr McKay and that it was only made aware of the allegations today. “Sinn Fein’s position has always been about getting to the truth about the sale of the Nama portfolio,” said a spokesman.
“Sinn Fein have only been made aware of these allegations today and if they are true, then this contact would be wholly inappropriate. If such contact did occur it was without the knowledge, involvement or sanction of Sinn Fein, “ he said. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/sinn_fein_assembly_member_quit.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/2e93b119baceb49fb992a51ea23c267b658362bae41972702193603120eb5f43.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:55 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fpapers_reignite_hunger_strike_.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/orawemorrison.jpg | en | null | Papers reignite hunger strike ‘deal’ debate | null | null | republican-news.org | Recently released government papers dating from 1985 have again reopened a debate about negotiations which took place during the 1981 hunger strike which some have argued could have prevented the deaths of six of the ten republican prisoners who died.
Fresh details about the controversy have emerged with the release of previously secret state papers which show that British government officials discussed the existence of a back channel between the IRA and British government at the time.
The new information has now prompted author and former republican prisoner Richard O’Rawe (pictured, left) to call on Gerry Adams and former Sinn Fein director of publicity Danny Morrison (pictured, right) to apologise.
Details of the deal were mentioned in a memoir from British official Stephen Leach to Britain’s permanent secretary in the North, John Blelloch. Blelloch, who also worked as an MI5 agent, served as deputy secretary and a key adviser during the hunger strike.
In the memo Leach warned Blelloch that the author of a book about the hunger strike, Padraig O’Malley, wanted to ask him questions about the existence of an intermediary codenamed ‘Mountain Climber’.
He said: “During the second hunger strike in June/July 1981 ... the Irish Commission of Justice and Peace (ICJP) had some meetings with senior republican figures including Gerry Adams.
“Adams told them in confidence about the Mountain Climber and indicated that a ‘good offer’ had recently been received via this channel.”
When Blelloch proceded with the interview, which has since been published online, he contradicts this idea that there was a ‘good offer’. Questioned in 1986 by O’Malley on whether there was scope for an accommodation, Blelloch claimed there wasn’t, given the “gulf” between the Thatcher government’s position and the “five demands” of the prisoners.
Mr O’Rawe maintains that Gerry Adams and others outside the prison later rejected a potential deal, although Sinn Fein and Danny Morrison, who was involved in the hunger strike negotiations, have always denied there was any deal on offer.
The memo also states that after a period of inactivity the “Mountain Climber” was re-activated and on 19 July that he passed a ‘better offer’ which the republican leadership “wanted to accept”. A deal at that point could have saved the lives of four hunger strikers.
“However, the prisoners themselves refused to accept this offer without public assurances on certain points. These were not forthcoming and no compromise was therefore reached,” said Leach.
Mr O’Rawe disputes this, claiming that prisoners were not told about the second offer at the time and therefore were not in a position to reject it. He urged Mr Adams and Morrison to apologise to former hunger strikers and the families of those who died.
“In either case an apology is needed for the hunger strikers and their families and the wider community that suffered so greatly as a result of the hunger strike,” he said. “Let’s have a bit of humility after 35 years. It’s the decent thing to do.”
Mr O’Rawe said the declassified files, and previously released papers, support his version of events.
“The British were broke, the hunger strike broke the British,” he said. “Adams and Co. said more was needed and because they said that the whole thing collapsed and six more men died.”
Sinn Fein did not comment on the issue. A statement published anonymously on the Bobby Sands Trust website referred to the text of the interview given by Blelloch to Padraig O’Malley.
“Blelloch bluntly says ‘no’ to the question of whether there was scope for an accommodation, stating that there was too huge a gulf between the Thatcher government’s position and the prisoners’ demands,” the statement said.
The statement added: “In the interview, Blelloch rubbished such claims that the British government compromised or softened its position before the death of Joe McDonnell [on July 8, 1981]” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/papers_reignite_hunger_strike_.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/fefde219552bc6703643220e7dc6a3729d7786910be6307a7526361955c2266d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:15 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fsinister_agenda_sees_mckay_ous.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/daithimckaybig2.jpg | en | null | SINISTER AGENDA SEES McKAY OUSTED | null | null | republican-news.org | Senior Sinn Fein political figure Daithi McKay, who worked to expose wrongdoing in the murky world of Ireland’s NAMA property deals, could end up being the only direct casualty of the scandal following his forced resignation this week.
Mr McKay apologised “whole-heartedly” for his “inappropriate, ill-advised and wrong” contact with Jamie Bryson ahead of the loyalist’s appearance at a Stormont inquiry. Bryson went on to make allegations about corrupt interference in the multi-billion pound sale of the bank’s assets in the Six Counties to a US vulture fund.
The inquiry was sparked following claims made in the Dublin parliament by Independent TD Mick Wallace, who alleged 7 million pounds in an Isle of Man account had been earmarked for a politician or party in the Six Counties.
Mr McKay resigned and was suspended from his party amid a furore over his advice to Bryson on how to complete his testimony without being stopped by hostile DUP committee members. The ingenious device of naming the then DUP leader Peter Robinson only at the end of the testimony, as was suggested to Bryson, prevented the loyalist’s most serious allegations from being censored.
The controversy was sparked following the publication of leaked messages between Bryson and McKay on the Twitter social network. Another Sinn Fein member, Thomas O’Hara, has also been suspended by the party after he was also implicated in communicating with the loyalist.
Bryson himself has denied he was behind the leak, as has Sinn Fein. In a statement, the party’s deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the allegations were “profoundly disturbing” and claimed that Mr McKay had been operating behind his party’s back.
He said: “If the allegations of inappropriate contact prove to be true, then Daithi McKay needs to seriously consider his position as an MLA.
“I want to state categorically that I had absolutely no knowledge of this exchange or contact. And having spoken to all relevant personnel in the Assembly I am now entirely satisfied that Sinn Fein had no knowledge of any such contact.”
Mr McKay, who was highly regarded as the chair of the Stormont finance committee before losing his post in a recent Sinn Fein reshuffle, appears now to have also irrevocably lost his Assembly seat.
Following his resignation, Mr McKay said: “Having reflected on the allegations against me which have arisen in the last 24 hours, and consulted with associates, friends and family, I acknowledge and accept that my contact with a witness to the Finance & Personnel Committee’s NAMA inquiry in advance of his testimony was inappropriate, ill-advised and wrong. I apologise wholeheartedly for this.
“Whilst I don’t offer this in any way as a justification for my action, I want to be absolutely clear that my intention was not, as alleged, to coach the witness in question with regard to the substance of his testimony but rather ensure that the inquiry had full access to the truth with regard to all the issues relating to the NAMA scandal.”
The leak has caused little political disruption to the Stormont executive so far, as those who might have been sucked into the controversy, such as First Minister Arlene Robinson and Sinn Fein’s Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir, were abroad.
The question of who initially accessed the messages and then passed them on to the media remains. Despite being forced out of Stormont, Mr McKay said the issue of the NAMA cover-up also remained.
“This scandal was and remains an unresolved matter of wholesale fraud and corruption at the highest level affecting parties across the board,” he said.
“I hope that my own error of judgment on a matter of process will not provide cover or obscure the real and unresolved questions of substance which remain.
“It has been a privilege to represent the constituency of North Antrim for the past nine years. I regret that I will no longer be in a position to do so.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/sinister_agenda_sees_mckay_ous.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/e1fdc806bb3099486d8ef50de2df16585a2a9bade99b62d3dff942def1612ae4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:44 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fnationalist_bonfires_seen_as_h.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/derrybonfire16.jpg | en | null | Nationalist bonfires seen as hotspots of dissent | null | null | republican-news.org | Thousands attended this years anti-internment bonfires, traditionally held on the feast day of the Assumption, and which have become public displays of nationalist dissatisfaction with the Stormont administration and British rule.
The bonfire in Derry was decorated with both loyalist paramilitary flags and election posters of political parties, including those of Sinn Fein candidate Raymond McCartney, a former republican prisoner who took part in the 1980 hunger strike.
Such images and the anti-social behaviour associated with the pyres have brought comparisons to the much bigger and more numerous ‘Eleventh Night’ bonfires organised by loyalist groups.
The Divis fire was not as big as previous years. It is understood there were a total of 15 bonfires across Belfast, but the PSNI said they were quieter than previous years. However, there was an element of violence when the PSNI said they came under pipe bomb attacks near bonfires near Free Derry Corner and in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
Raymond McCartney expressed his disappointment that dialogue had not resolved the situation over the Derry bonfire.
“This situation was dictated by a tiny group of young people who are being exploited by more sinister elements who are clearly determined to act against the wishes of the local community,” he said.
“Unfortunately that failed because people absented themselves from that process or effectively scuppered it by acting as cheerleaders for anti-community behaviour.
“That process was an opportunity lost and we need to see renewed efforts to avoid a repeat of this situation in the future so the local residents can live in peace.”
Independent Councillor, Gary Donnelly, said the Derry bonfire went ahead because of a failure by local politicians and community workers to connect with the young people in the area.
“The only symbolic thing about this is that it’s symbolic of the failure of the politicians of the area, and the community workers in the area to enter into a relationship with these young people,” he said.
“Personally, I don’t see the point in bonfires, but the young people in the area were determined to have one.”
He condemned the actions of the PSNI in which they removed bonfire material. “They broke down the gate, removed some of the wood and left the place unsecured and in a more dangerous state than it had been before that point,” Mr Donnelly said.
A number of residents in the Bogside said they awoke to scenes “like something out of 1969” on Thursday morning.
Residents said police arrived in the Bogside at around 6am on Thursday. One woman said: “It was like something from 1969 to be honest. There were armed officers, jeeps, cameras on top of jeeps. It was far, far too much.
“When I look at these young people here today -- they see not 100 yards from here, a [loyalist] bonfire that is celebrated, that is socially acceptable, that is partly funded, and then they stand now this morning and see armed officers coming in to remove their wood.
“I am no fan of bonfires by any means but I will not encourage the children of this area to accept that discrimination. If it is not the case that all bonfires are stopped then you cannot stop one and allow the other to continue.”
Another woman said: “It was like going back to the 70s -- armed men standing over wee boys. I felt threatened coming out my front door.”
Mr Donnelly said he saw a large number of PSNI officers, members of the Tactical Support Group, heavily harmed, and some carrying rifles, who formed a cordon round where the wood was being stored.
“As I attempted to speak to workers who were removing the items I was told go away or I would be arrested for breach of the peace,” he said.
He concluded: “Whilst they came into this community this morning and drove off, they have left a lot of anger and frustration, not only among the young people, but the among the residents who are not necessarily pro-bonfire.”
“Some young people and one adult have alleged they were man-handled by the police and it has caused a lot of friction in the area. Contrast the attitude here with what happened several hundred yards away in the [loyalist Fountain estate] where the police did not interfere.”
The resulting bonfire was much larger than usual, reportedly a result of suport for the youths against the PSNI’s actions. The new structure had a sign that read: “Yous shouldn’t have taken our wood!”
Mr McCartney said he believed dissident republicans were responsible for the bonfire. “This isn’t an act of defiance, this is a group of young people aided and abetted by other dissident elements in this city,” he said.
Sinn Fein’s Caral Ni Chuilin also called for a “zero tolerance” towards a nationalist bonfire in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
“Those behind this bonfire, which is a magnet for anti-social behaviour, are sticking two fingers up to local residents,” she said. “These bonfires are unwanted. Would this be tolerated in the leafy suburbs of south Belfast? I don’t think so,” the North Belfast politician said. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/nationalist_bonfires_seen_as_h.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/3f9714d37c88e95443943f7bd6f847689d58822f06cc7ca2bcf45ea94cc38e5a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:53 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fmichael_devine.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/michaeldevinebig.jpg | en | null | Michael Devine | null | null | republican-news.org | Michael Devine, known to his friends as Micky, died 35 years ago this week after 60 days on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh. A look back at a life of struggle and a heroic death.
Twenty-seven-year-old Micky Devine, from the Creggan in Derry city, was the third INLA Volunteer to join the H-Block hunger strike to the death.
Micky Devine took over as O/C of the INLA blanket men in March when the then O/C, Patsy O’Hara, joined the hunger strike but he retained this leadership post when he joined the hunger strike himself.
Known as ‘Red Micky’, his nickname stemmed from his ginger hair rather than his political complexion, although he was most definitely a republican socialist.
The story of Micky Devine is not one of a republican ‘super-hero’ but of a typical Derry lad whose family suffered all of the ills of sectarian and class discrimination inflicted upon the Catholic working-class of that city: poor housing, unemployment and lack of opportunity.
Micky himself had a rough life.
His father died when Micky was a young lad; he found his mother dead when he was only a teenager; married young, his marriage ended in separation; he underwent four years of suffering ‘on the blanket’ in the H-Blocks; and, finally, the torture of hunger-strike.
Unusually for a young Derry nationalist, because of his family’s tragic history (unconnected with ‘the troubles’), Micky was not part of an extended family, and his only close relatives were his sister Margaret, seven years his elder, and now aged 34, and her husband, Frank McCauley, aged 36.
CAMP
Michael James Devine was sborn on May 26th, 1954 in the Springtown camp, on the outskirts of Derry city, a former American army base from the Second World War, which Micky himself described as “the slum to end all slums”.
Hundreds of families - 99% (unemployed) Catholics, because of Derry corporation’s sectarian housing policy - lived, or rather existed, in huts, which were not kept in any decent state of repair by the corporation.
One of Micky’s earliest memories was of lying in a bed covered in old coats to keep the rain off the bed. His sister, Margaret, recalls that the huts were “okay” during the summer, but they leaked, and the rest of the year they were cold and damp.
Micky’s parents, Patrick and Elizabeth, both from Derry city, had got married in late 1945 shortly after the end of the Second World War, during which Patrick had served in the British merchant navy. He was a coalman by trade, but was unemployed for years.
At first Patrick and Elizabeth lived with the latter’s mother in Ardmore, a village near Derry, where Margaret was born in 1947. In early 1948 the family moved to Springtown where Micky was born in May 1954.
Although Springtown was meant to provide only temporary accommodation, official lethargy and sectarianism dictated that such inadequate housing was good enough for Catholics and it was not until the early ‘sixties that the camp was closed.
BLOW
During the ‘fifties, the Creggan was built as a new Catholic ghetto, but it was 1960 before the Devines got their new home in Creggan, on the Circular Road. Micky had an unremarkable, but reasonably happy childhood. He went to Holy Child primary school in Creggan.
At the age of eleven Micky started at St. Joseph’s secondary school in Creggan, which he was to attend until he was fifteen.
But soon the first sad blow befell him. On Christmas eve 1965, when Micky was aged only eleven, his father fell ill; and six weeks later, in February 1966, his father, who was only in his forties, died of leukaemia.
Micky had been very close to his father and his premature death left Micky heartbroken.
Five months later, in July 1966, his sister Margaret left home to get married, whilst Micky remained in the Devines’ Circular Road home with his mother and granny.
At school Micky was an average pupil, and had no notable interests.
STONING
The first civil rights march in Derry took place on October 5th, 1968, when the sectarian RUC batoned several hundred protesters at Duke Street. Recalling that day, Micky, who was then only fourteen wrote:
“Like every other young person in Derry my whole way of thinking was tossed upside down by the events of October 5th, 1968. I didn’t even know there was a civil rights march. I saw it on television.
“But that night I was down the town smashing shop windows and stoning the RUC. Overnight I developed an intense hatred of the RUC. As a child I had always known not to talk to them, or to have anything to do with them, but this was different
“Within a month everyone was a political activist. I had never had a political thought in my life, but now we talked of nothing else. I was by no means politically aware but the speed of events gave me a quick education.”
TENSION
After the infamous loyalist attack on civil rights marchers in nearby Burntollet, in January 1969, tension mounted in Derry through 1969 until the August 12th riots, when Orangemen - Apprentice Boys and the RUC - attacked the Bogside, meeting effective resistance, in the ‘Battle of the Bogside’. On two occasions in 1969 Micky ended up at the wrong end of an RUC baton, and consequently in hospital.
That summer Micky left school. Always keen to improve himself, he got a job as a shop assistant and over the next three years worked his way up the local ladder: from Hill’s furniture store on the Strand Road, to Sloan’s store in Shipquay Street, and finally to Austin’s furniture store in the Diamond (and one can get no higher in Derry, as a shop assistant).
British troops had arrived in August 1969, in the wake of the ‘Battle of the Bogside’. ‘Free Derry’ was maintained more by agreement with the British army than by physical force, but of course there were barricades, and Micky was one of the volunteers manning them with a hurley.
INVOLVED
At that time, and during 1970 and 1971, Micky became involved in the civil rights movement, and with the local (uniquely militant) Labour Party and the Young Socialists.
The already strained relationship between British troops and the nationalist people of Derry steadily deteriorated - reinforced by news from elsewhere, especially Belfast - culminating with the shooting dead by the British army of two unarmed civilians, Seamus Cusack and Desmond Beattie, in July of 1971, and with internment in August. Micky, by this time seventeen years of age, and also politically maturing, had joined the ‘Officials’, also known as the ‘Sticks’.
He became a member of the James Connolly ‘Republican Club’ and then, shortly after internment, a member of the Derry Brigade of the ‘Official IRA’.
‘Free Derry’ had become known by that name after the successful defence of the Bog side in August 1969, but it really became ‘Free Derry’, in the form of concrete barricades etc., from internment day. Micky was amongst those armed volunteers who manned the barricades
Typical of his selfless nature (another common characteristic of the hunger strikers), no task was too small for him.
He was ‘game’ to do any job, such as tidying up the office. Young men, naturally enough, wanted to stand out on the barricades with rifles: he did that too, but nothing was too menial for him, and he was always looking for jobs.
Bloody Sunday, January 30th, 1972, when British Paratroopers shot dead thirteen unarmed civil rights demonstrators in Derry (a fourteenth died later from wounds received), was a turning point for Micky. From then there was no turning back on his republican commitment and he gradually lost interest in his work, and he was to become a full-time political and military activist.
TRAUMA
Micky experienced the trauma of Bloody Sunday at first hand. He was on that fateful march with his brother-in-law, Frank, who recalls: “When the shooting started we ran, like everybody else, and when it was over we saw all the bodies being lifted.”
The slaughter confirmed to Micky that it was more than time to start shooting back. “How” he would ask, “can you sit back and watch while your own Derry men are shot down like dogs?”
Micky had written: “I will never forget standing in the Creggan chapel staring at the brown wooden boxes. We mourned, and Ireland mourned with us.
“That sight more than anything convinced me that there will never be peace in Ireland while Britain remains. When I looked at those coffins I developed a commitment to the republican cause that I have never lost.”
From around this time, until May when the ‘Official IRA’ leadership declared a unilateral ceasefire (unpopular with their Derry Volunteers), Micky was involved not only in defensive operations but in various gun attacks against British troops.
Micky’s commitment and courage had shone through, but no more so than in the case of scores of other Derry youths, flung into adulthood and warfare by a British army of occupation.
TRAGIC
In September, 1972, came the second tragic loss in Micky’s family life. He came home one day to find his mother dead on the settee with his granny unsuccessfully trying to revive her.
His mother had died of a brain tumour, totally unexpectedly, at the age of forty-five. Doctors said it had taken her just three minutes to die. Micky, then aged eighteen, suffered a tremendous shock from this blow, and it took him many months to come to terms with his grief.
Through 1973, Micky remained connected with the ‘Sticks’, although increasingly disillusioned by their openly reformist path. He came to refer to the ‘Sticks’ as “fireside republicans”, and was highly critical of them for not being active enough.
Towards the end of that year, Micky, then aged nineteen, got married. His wife, Margaret, was only seventeen. They lived in Ranmore Drive in Creggan and had two children: Michael, now aged seven and Louise, now aged five.
Micky and his wife had since separated.
In late 1974, virtually all the ‘Sticks’ in Derry, including Micky, joined the newly formed IRSP, as did some who had dropped out over the years. And Micky necessarily became a founder member of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army), formed to defend the IRSP from murderous attacks by their former comrades in the sticks.
In early 1975, Micky became a founder member of the INLA (Irish National Liberation Army) formed for offensive operational purposes out of the PLA.
The months ahead were bad times for the IRSP, relatively isolated, and to suffer a strength-sapping split when Bernadette McAliskey left, taking with her a number of activists who formed the ISP (Independent Socialist Party), since deceased.
They were also difficult months for the fledgling INLA, suffering from a crippling lack of weaponry and funds. Weakness which led them into raids for both as their primary actions, and rendered them almost unable to operate against the Brits.
Micky was eventually arrested on the Creggan. In the evening of September 20th, 1976, after an arms raid earlier that day on a private weaponry, in Lifford, County Donegal, from which the INLA commandeered several rifles and shotguns, and three thousand rounds of ammunition.
ARRESTED
Micky was arrested with Desmond Walmsley from Shantallow, and John Cassidy from Rosemount. Along on the operation, though never convicted for it, was the late Patsy O’Hara, with whom Micky used to knock around as a friend and comrade.
Micky was held and interrogated for three days in Derry’s Stand Road barracks, before being transported in Crumlin Road jail in Belfast where he spent nine months on remand.
He was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment on June 20th, 1977, and immediately embarked on the blanket protest. He was in H5-Block until March of this year when the hunger strike began and when the ‘no-wash, no slop-out’ protest ended, whereupon he was moved with others in his wing to H6-Block.
Like others incarcerated within the H-Blocks, suffering daily abuse and inhuman and degrading treatment, Micky realised - soon after he joined the blanket protest - that eventually it would come to a hunger strike, and, for him, the sooner the better. He was determined that when that ultimate step was reached he would be among those to hunger strike.
SEVENTH
On Sunday, June 21st, this year, he completed his fourth year on the blanket, and the following day he joined Joe McDonnell, Kieran Doherty, Kevin Lynch, Martin Hurson, Thomas McElwee and Paddy Quinn on hunger strike.
He became the seventh man in a weekly build-up from a four-strong hunger strike team to eight-strong. He was moved to the prison hospital on Wednesday, July 15th, his twenty fourth day on hunger strike.
With the 50% remission available to conforming prisoners, Micky would have been due out of jail next September.
As it was, because of his principled republican rejection of the criminal tag he chose to fight and face death.
Micky died at 7.50am on Thursday, August 20th, 1981, 35 years ago today. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/michael_devine.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/ec3143129d6efef497b602ebfe7596aa06bf5e8e564103b4a82cc1d8ab200271.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:52 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fbittersweet_ceremony_unites_tr.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/ballymurphyfuneral.jpg | en | null | Bittersweet ceremony unites tragic Ballymurphy family | null | null | republican-news.org | A priest has spoken about God’s “perfect timing” after he officiated at the joint funeral mass of a man murdered by British soldiers and the wife who campaigned in his memory, despite them dying exactly 45 years apart.
Joseph Murphy, who was buried with his wife Mary on Thursday, was one of the 11 victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre which happened during the introduction of internment without trial in August 1971.
Ten people, including Mr Murphy, a priest who had gone to the aid of one of victims and a 50-year-old mother of eight children were shot dead by British soldiers in west Belfast. Inquests have yet to be concluded into the killings.
An eleventh victim, who does not come under the terms of the inquest, Paddy McCarthy, died from a heart attack after a soldier allegedly put an empty gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger.
It is believed that most if not all of the killings were carried out by members of the British Parachute Regiment. The incident took place months before the same regiment was involved in the Bloody Sunday killings, which resulted in the deaths of 14 innocent civilians.
Last October, as part of the Ballymurphy inquests, the coroner ordered that Mr Murphy’s body be exhumed so that an investigation could be carried out into his family’s belief that he was shot on two occasions by the British army.
In hospital before his death, Mr Murphy told his family he was first shot in the upper thigh on the streets of Ballymurphy, but soldiers then brought him into the nearby Henry Taggart barracks and shot him again through his open wound.
A suspected bullet fragment found among his remains after his exhumation supported his dying comments, and this will be a factor in the inquests into his killing.
With other members of the Ballymurphy families, his widow Mary campaigned for decades to establish the truth behind the killings. It had been her hope that a second funeral Mass could be heard for her husband before he was re-interred.
However, Mrs Murphy died from cancer on August 22nd, the same date that Mr Murphy died from his injuries in 1971.
“Little did she think that he would be buried 45 years to the day when he was first buried,” said officiating priest Fr Darach Mac Giolla Cathain.
“More than that, that she would have the grace when she died that they would be side by side in the church and be laid to rest together,” he added. “God’s timing really is perfect.”
Their daughter has spoken of her mixed emotions that her beloved parents were laid to rest together.
Janet Donnelly, said that the family had found out only the day before her mother’s funeral that the Coroner’s Office were releasing their father’s remains to them.
“The original plan was to have daddy buried and for our mummy to be there. Our mother was a woman of great faith. When our daddy’s body was exhumed in October she insisted that there was a priest present and that there were prayers at the graveside. She wanted him to have a proper funeral when the time came for him to be reburied. Little did we know that he would be waiting for her in the chapel 45 years from the day of his original funeral.”
After her husband’s death Mary Ellen Murphy was left to raise nine children alone - three of her children have already passed away. She remained in the same house in Ballymurphy Parade until her own death.
“After daddy passed away our mummy raised us on her own. She did what a lot of women back then had to do: she just got on with it, she worked non-stop. She had a house shop, she sold candy apples and she took any work she could get, that’s what people did back then. Her faith carried her through those hard years, she said her Rosary every day.
“It is bittersweet.. we’re happy because she always wanted to see him buried again and we promised her it would happen.”
Janet says all the Ballymurphy families know the truth about their loved ones, but it’s vital that the truth is put on record.
“We want an inquiry, we need for the rest of the world to know what happened to the victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre. It’s about justice. In years to come when people look back on history we want it stated clearly in black and white that our loved ones were innocent victims.
“Now that mummy has passed away it’s even more important for the inquests to be heard as our witnesses are dying... there’s money sitting there for inquests, it needs to be released.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/bittersweet_ceremony_unites_tr.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/4afd370e55f05d6643c4fae550b1af28733b1e16cb67804c52b43ce51da1b065.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:54 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fgovernors_assault_prisoners_in.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/maghaberry600.jpg | en | null | Governors assault prisoners in Maghaberry mayhem | null | null | republican-news.org | There were clashes at Maghaberry jail this week as prison governors took part in two separate assaults on republican prisoners over a 48 hour period.
The Roe Four landing, where most republican prisoners are held, was invaded by riot police and guard dogs before being placed on “lock down”. Prisoners were forced to seek medical attention following the attack.
Several prisoners were taken to the ‘punishment block’ at the heavily fortified British state prison in County Antrim, where tensions are now at their highest in almost two years.
“The strategic violence inflicted upon Republican POWs was beyond contempt,” according to a statement posted on the website of Republican Sinn Fein.
“Not only were the riot squad involved in yet another controversial incident regarding Republican PoWs, those who delegate the brutality [the governors] decided this time to inflict it with their own hands, physically striking our men behind the wire. Two governors found it acceptable to strike two PoWs.”
The two separate incidents resulted in three prisoners being verbally and then physically assaulted before being “dragged off to the boards [the punishment block]”.
In a separate statement issued through the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association, another group of prisoners described what they said was a “co-ordinated physical attack”. They said two governors were physically involved in an assault in which five prisoners were grabbed or beaten. Prisoners Sean McVeigh, Jason Ceulmans, Brian Walsh, Darren Poleon, Brendan McConville and Anthony Davison, were among those assaulted and dragged to the ground in the melee. The IRPWA said that they were “danced all over” by the riot squad as they lay on the ground.
It was not an insignificant or spontaneous incident, they said.
“This was the combination of months of harassment and intimidation against Republican Prisoners.
“This was a co-ordinated attack carried out by former H-Block screws [warders] and Crumlin Road screws, former UDR men and others who have regularly abused and intimidated republican prisoners on the landings.
“Seven governors were present on the wing while republican prisoners were locked down for five hours with no access to health care, solicitors, toilets or food before being escorted to cells by dozens of screws clad in riot gear.
“PSNI members also arrived on the landing whilst medics whispered and collaborated with the security governor. Clearly the ‘supposedly impartial’ PSNI is keen to act in unison with the jail administration to oppress Republican Prisoners.
“It is obvious that the Six County Prison Service is determined to break the spirit and resolve of Republican Prisoners and they will happily resort to the old tactic of physical violence but we remain today unbowed and unbroken Republican Political Prisoners.”
Republican Sinn Fein said that the prisoners “will never be criminalised”.
“This is a sign of what is to come. If they believe that Republican PoWs will cower they are wrong; if they believe we on the outside will do nothing they are also wrong.
“We cannot stand idle, we must not be silent, our brave PoWs are being brutalised and beaten because they will not conform, they will not accept the label of criminality.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/governors_assault_prisoners_in.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/0839eb08e507b6e238e21d23312d01b655a717829f6599a0799e7962dd8fcb53.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:50 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fcollusion_victims_son_condemns.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/stepinnbig.jpg | en | null | Collusion victim’s son condemns ‘years of lies’ | null | null | republican-news.org | A man whose wife was killed when a car bomb exploded outside the Step Inn bar in south Armagh 40 years ago has said he wants to see a new inquest, ordered by attorney General John Larkin in 2013, finally take place and for the RUC police to be “shamed” for their involvement in the killing.
Malachi McDonald’s wife Elizabeth, who was known as Betty, was killed along with 22 year old Gerald McGleenan in the bomb blast carried out by the notorious Glenanne gang on August 16th 1976. The gang was directed by the RUC Special Branch and Military Intelligence who operated a campaign of bombings and shootings at will without fear of detection. The Glenanne Gang are believed to have been responsible for the murders of more than 100 people in the seventies.
The Cortina car used in the Step Inn bomb attack had been hijacked on Belfast’s Shankill Road a week earlier and packed with 25lb of commercial explosives and 200lb of homemade explosives.
An investigation by the police Historical Enquiries Team revealed that the RUC had known the identities of those involved in the attack and that the house where the bomb was stored belonged to a part-time police officer and had been under British army surveillance in the days leading up to the attack.
The bomb was originally intended for a bar in Clontibret in County Monaghan but when the gang discovered that the bar was under surveillance by 26 County gardai police, the Step Inn bar in Keady became the new target.
No-one has ever been charged with the bomb attack.
Malachi McDonald, who now lives in Pomeroy in County Tyrone, says he has struggled to cope with the loss of the mother of his three children four decades ago. Mr McDonald said he has been “fed so many lies for years” and has no doubt there was collusion in the killings.
Mrs McDonald had worked as a nurse in England and America before moving home. Her husband, who now lives in Pomeroy, County Tyrone, says he has struggled to cope with his loss over the last four decades.
“I never put any pictures up, it was hard, you just said nothing,” he said. “I pretended it never happened, I just didn’t think about it and it wasn’t in my face every day.”
Mr McDonald said he was “fed so many lies for years” and has no doubt there was collusion in the double murder. He said he wants to see a new inquest ordered by attorney General John Larkin three years ago to finally take place.
“I would like this inquest to be over and this rotten RUC to be shamed for what they were,” he said. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/collusion_victims_son_condemns.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/39b46c9f4909705017122d3ec4c1154e7630466155a20499be6ca2a97c27cf1b.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:56 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Ffeud_fears_as_stormont_cosies_.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/boreland.jpg | en | null | Feud fears as Stormont cosies up to killers | null | null | republican-news.org | The Six County administration in Belfast has been accused of sustaining loyalist criminality following the murder of a former UDA leader by a rival loyalist gang.
John ‘Bonzer’ Boreland (pictured) was shot dead in North Belfast last Sunday night. He died at the scene near his Ballysillan home after suffering fatal gun shot injuries. The PSNI sealed off the area as an angry crowd gathered.
Tensions have been high in loyalist north Belfast since families were forced out of their homes in the area by a breakaway faction of the UDA. The leader of the group is thought to have fled to Scotland after clashing with the UVF.
A former UDA ‘brigadier’ in north Belfast, Boreland had previously survived a gun attack two years ago when he was with former top UDA figure Andre Shoukri. He knew he was in danger from former UDA associates since he was ousted from power during the loyalist power struggle inside the North Belfast brigade. He was also under threat from another loyalist paramilitary gang, the infamous Mount Vernon UVF.
But while republican communities remain under oppressive police stop-and-search patrols and their political activists are interned without trial, the Stormont administration have treated loyalist killer gangs with kid gloves. Most controversially, their ringleaders have been provided with salaries for bogus jobs as well as more indirect, grant-aid funding.
Prominent victims’ campaigner Raymond McCord, whose 22-year-old son Raymond jnr was murdered by the Mount Vernon UVF in November 1997, said unionist politicians in Belfast “haven’t the guts” to stand up to them.
“They stand with them at protests, they go to meetings with them knowing what they are,” he said. “People have not the courage to stand up to them. If we want it to stop let’s put the leaders away, stop their funding and put them in jail and let’s see how many murders take place.”
Protestant Pastor Jack McKee has spoken out against the practice of treating loyalist hoods as community workers, which he said made people feel powerless. He said his stance is perceived as a threat by politicians attempting to draw paramilitaries “into the circle”.
One of the authors of a report into such paramilitary groups has lent his support, saying loyalist leaders should not be “brigadiers at night and community workers during the day”.
Lawyer John McBurney, who was one of those commissioned to report on the issue of paramilitary groups as part of last year’s ‘Fresh Start’ negotiations, said the police were using known gang bosses as their main contact within communities. Some loyalists who receive salaries as “community workers” were in fact terrorising their own people, he said.
“While they want us to believe they’re connecting with what they call local people and with residents, they will connect first and foremost with paramilitary representatives,” he said.
“Then they’ll tell us that they’re talking to the local people and the residents.”
He said as part of his work in the Shankill area, he had visited the homes of victims of loyalist gangs who have been shot or assaulted by gangs being directed by Stormont-funded community workers. “That’s the reality,” he said.
He also warned of potential further killings and urged loyalist paramilitaries “to reflect on where all of this could lead” and “draw back from that position which has the likely outcome of an internecine battle.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/feud_fears_as_stormont_cosies_.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/3140a917769ac366b3c73bd6aedb5f4494055546cf7bc4bebc72d614d4498ece.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:57:16 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Ffreedom_of_assembly_denied_but.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/internmentmarchblocked.jpg | en | null | Freedom of assembly denied, but anti-internment message is heard | null | null | republican-news.org | Thousands of republicans staged a peaceful protest after an anti-internment parade was barred from entering Belfast city centre last Sunday.
A massive British security operation was put it place after the Parades Commission banned the march from making its way into the city centre on Sunday.
Participants walked until stopped by a solid line of PSNI Land Rovers and riot squads at the junction of Divis Street and Barrack Street in west Belfast.
Three groups from the head of the parade turned their backs on police lines and held up banners in support of republican prisoners, imprisoned Palestinian hunger striker Bilal Kayed, and the miscarriage of justice victims known as the Craigavon Two. Marchers and supporters cheered as the crowd listened to speeches.
The Anti-Internment League had applied for the now annual march - which also marks the anniversary of the introduction of detention without trial on August 5 1971 - to walk from Andersonstown in west Belfast to City Hall. However, the march was barred from entering the city centre in a move seen as an attempt to silence the campaign.
Paul Crawford from Cogus, which represents prisoners aligned to Republican Network for Unity, spoke about the case of Tony Taylor, who is currently in Maghaberry Prison on the order of the British government as a “risk to the public”.
Joanne Donnelly from the Justice for the Craigavon Two campaign spoke in support of Brendan McConville and JP Wootton, wrongly convicted over an IRA attack in 2009!.
The short rally was brought to a close when some of those attending joined in with a musician to sing the Men Behind the Wire - an anti-internment anthem from the 1970s.
Community activist Gerard Fitzpatrick, who told the crowd that internment continues today, hailed the parade as a success.
“We had thousands of people walking down the Falls Road showing their opposition to internment,” he said.
“We are disappointed that the quango of the Parades Commission made a determination that this was a contentious parade. This was not a contentious parade.
“The message is clear about smashing internment, and not just here.”
After the parade, members of the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association made their way to city hall where they held a short protest and handed out leaflets to passers by.
Mr Fitzpatrick this was done to “let them know this is our city hall too and we will engage with the public and highlight the issue”.
The organisers say they will take legal action against the Parades Commission.
They believe the refusal to allow the demonstration into Belfast city centre breached their Article 11 rights under the European Court of Human Rights which protects the right to freedom of assembly and association.
Organisers had intended to take legal action over the decision last week but were refused legal aid.
A lawyer for the Anti-Internment League, Michael Brentnall, said a civil case may now be taken.
“As a result of the refusal of access to the court and an effective remedy before Sunday’s march our client has instructed that we commence a civil action against the Parades Commission on the basis that the decision by the PC to restrict the march from Belfast City centre was entirely disproportionate,” he said. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/freedom_of_assembly_denied_but.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/734ae0cf4378b2a043e053cabb97df283047307d513b891c13340c764b0fe647.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:24 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Finternational_solidarity_as_hu.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/blanketmenmarch.jpg | en | null | International solidarity as hunger strike anniversary marked | null | null | republican-news.org | Sinn Fein have marked the 35th anniversary of the hunger strikes with a march involving thousands of activists in west Belfast.
The Belfast National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee march was attended by Sinn Fein supporters from across Ireland who made their way from Divis Street to the Falls Park in west Belfast.
They recalled the ten republicans who died in the H-Blocks after they refused food as part of a campaign to force the British government to give them political status.
The parade was led by symbolic ‘Blanketmen’ -- protesting republican prisoners who refused to wear prison uniforms -- a colour party and guard of honour made up of former POWs. At intervals there was the banging of bin lids, recalling the traditional warning alarm of the republican communities in the North.
At the rally in Dunville Park, biographies of the hunger strike martyrs were read out. Among those who spoke at the event was Stormont junior minister and assembly member for Newry and Armagh Meagan Fearon.
“Young people have always been catalysts for change around the world and to the forefront of our struggle at home,” she said. “This is true even today, as we stand here together on this stage, honouring their memory, and proudly carrying on their legacy.” She said the men “went to their deaths as a cruel British Government looked on” - and described the hunger strikers as “our proudest sons”.
Derry and Strabane councillor Elisha McCallion, who was born a year after the hunger strike ended, also spoke.
“Thirty five years ago the hunger strikes caught the attention of the world and catapulted our struggle forward,” she said. “Today we can take on their mantle and continue their task to build a new Ireland. Let this generation be the generation that delivers Irish unity.”
A vigil is taking place today, Saturday, outside Costello House on the Falls Road in Belfast in remembrance of the 35th anniversary of INLA Hunger Strike Martyr Michael Devine, who was the last of the hunger strikers to die. Tomorrow, Sunday, also sees the National Hunger Strike 35th Anniversary Commemoration organised by the Irish Republican Socialist Party in Derry.
BILAL KAYED
Meanwhile, a number of vigils and protests are taking place in Ireland in support of Palestinian hunger striker Bilal Kayed, with one planned for this afternoon outside the Israeli Embassy in Dublin.
Kayed who is now in his 67th day of hunger strike while being held under administrative detention by Israeli authorities.
Sinn Fein representatives Fra McCann and Senator Paul Gavan arrived in the occupied West Bank on Sunday evening and met with his lawyers of Palestinian hunger striker Bilal Kayed.
McCann said: “Bilal’s health is a cause of major concern at this point. He is currently shackled by hand and foot to a hospital bed in what is an appalling assault to human dignity. The Israeli authorities must take immediate steps to release Bilal from what is effectively internment without trial.”
Senator Gavan added: “This isn’t just about Bilal Kayed - there are currently 750 Palestinian prisoners, including eight children, being held under so called ‘administrative detention’ which is completely contrary to the principles of natural justice.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/international_solidarity_as_hu.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/74ee0079a4010016141a3f565ed8541d92dc8078c22d0bd54eb1fe4614e11f56.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:49 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fcall_for_new_investigation_int.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/johnbradybig2.jpg | en | null | Call for new investigation into informer recruitment coercion | null | null | republican-news.org | The Police Ombudsman has been urged to review an investigation into the suspicious death of a republican while in PSNI custody after an investigator linked to the case resigned.
Belfast-based solicitor Aiden Carlin made the call after it emerged that former ombudsman official Steve Skerratt left his post after a PSNI gun and ammunition were found in a filing cabinet in the ombudsman’s city centre HQ.
It is understood Skerratt stood down from his position shortly after being informed that an internal investigation had been launched into the discovery of the gun in June.
Mr Carlin said this week that Skerratt also investigated the death of Strabane republican John Brady (pictured) who took his own life while being held at Strand Road PSNI station in Derry in 2009.
He was approached by members of the PSNI C3 (Special Branch), three times before his death. It is believed that Mr Brady, who served a prison sentence for IRA actions and had been interned, was put under pressure to become an informer before he died by hanging in the station cell.
Mr Brady’s family later criticised the ombudsman’s investigation, which claimed he was neither harassed nor mistreated in custody.
“Significantly, the role of C3 officers did not feature in the 2010 Police Ombudsman report despite the fact that Steve Skerratt confirmed as recently as last year ‘this aspect has been thoroughly investigated and we can say with certainty that no C3 officers had contact with Mr Brady while he was in custody’,” he said.
“The Police Ombudsman needs to move beyond damage limitation and accept that the casework of its former investigator requires a full independent review.”
Mr Carlin said that if a gun had been left in the ombudsman’s “premises for almost a decade what hope for the Police Ombudsman discovering the truth about John Brady’s suspicious death in custody?”
BLACKMAIL
There have been fresh concerns over the PSNI’s pressure tactics to persuade another man to turn informer recently.
John Carleton, who was subjected to a punishment shooting by a breakaway IRA group over alleged anti-social activity, said he had been threatened by the PSNI for refusing to identify those involved.
Mr Carleton, who has ongoing health problems and is described as “vulnerable” by his lawyers, said he has come under pressure to name a known west Belfast republican as being responsible for the shooting. He claims the PSNI warned him he would be jailed if he didn’t name the man as his attacker.
Mr Carleton, who is in his 40s, has reported his concerns to the Police Ombudsman.
“I’m living in constant fear of what’s going to happen next. They (PSNI) have been phoning me since October last year. I’ve been given numbers to ring and they’ve stopped me and even rang the house. The pressure is getting to me,” he said.
“I’m the victim of a shooting and yet I’m the one being threatened with jail.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/call_for_new_investigation_int.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/b7fcf36273419ae498892206244669c74ea4e7aa8441f75e8c35c573282a8b8d.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:53 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fthe_most_beautiful_of_all_batt.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/colombiapeacehavana.jpg | en | null | The most beautiful of all battles | null | null | republican-news.org | Irish Republican News · August 27, 2016 IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWS: The most beautiful of all battles The most beautiful of all battles The Colombian government and the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army, in Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia--Ejercito del Pueblo) have been at war for 52 years. This week a peace agreement represents the first time that Colombia will be at peace since 1948, and includes comprehensive agreements that encompass many aspects of Colombian life. The following is an account of the negotiations and the agreement from the head of the peace delegation of the FARC-EP. We have closed today in Havana, Cuba, the most desired peace agreement of Colombia. Land, democracy, victims, politics without arms, implementation of agreements with international monitoring, are, among others, the elements of an agreement that will have to be be changed, more sooner than later, by the primary constituent into a solid legislation, guaranteeing the future of dignity for all. We can proclaim that the war with arms ends and the debate of ideas begins. We confess that we have concluded the most beautiful of all battles: laying the foundations for peace and coexistence. The peace agreement is not a point of arrival but a starting point for a multiethnic and multicultural people, united under the banner of inclusion, to be the sculptor of change and social transformation claimed by a majority. Today we are handing over to the Colombian people the transforming power we have been building for over half a century of rebellion, so that with it, and with the strength of the union, the people can begin to build the society of the future, our collective dream, a sanctuary dedicated to democracy, social justice, sovereignty and relations of brotherhood and respect with everyone. We have signed commitments on the six points that make up the Agenda of the General Agreement: Agreement “Towards a new Colombian countryside: Comprehensive Rural Reform,” which seeks the transformation of the conditions of misery and inequality prevailing in the agricultural areas of our country, providing plans and programs for good living conditions and development, starting from the entitlement of lands in hands of rural communities. Agreement “Political participation: democratic opening for peace”, in which the emphasis lays on the elimination of exclusion, beginning from the expansion of democracy that will allow broad citizen participation in defining the country’s destiny. Agreement “Solution to the problem of illicit drugs”, which designs a new policy to fight against illicitly used drugs, taking into account its social connotations and providing an approach with emphasis on human rights that overcomes the shortcomings of the failed “war on drugs”. Agreement on Victims, consisting of a “Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition”, a “Special Jurisdiction for Peace”, a Unit for the search of persons missing in the context and due to the conflict, plans for comprehensive reparation, land restitution measures and guarantees of non-repetition, among others. Agreements on point End of Conflict: “1. the Bilateral and final ceasefire and cessation of hostilities; 2. Decomissioning of weapons; 3. Monitoring and Verification Mechanism launched by the United Nations through the deployment of observers from countries of CELAC; 4. Agreements were defined on security guarantees and dismantling of the phenomenon of paramilitarism creating a research unit and through the dismantling of criminal organizations, including those that have been considered successors of paramilitarism and their support networks ..., not with a non warmongering vision, but with a vision instead of finding solutions to avoid further bloodshed and pain, and, as a fifth aspect, the latest agreed were agreements on the Reincorporation of the FARC-EP into civilian life - in economic, social and political terms, which, starting from a pardon and the broadest political amnesty, will open the door to our party to become a legal political movement in the new social scenario that will emerge from the whole of the peace agreements. We also have an Agreement on Implementation, verification and countersignature, which provides guarantees for planning, funding and budget, and for the creation of regulatory changes that will allow the implementation of the commitments. During the assessment of each point, in parallel, the Gender Subcommission worked on the analysis of all the texts agreed and the issues under debate, providing inputs that paved the way to full vindication of the human being. We have fulfilled the task. In the coming days we will be in Colombia, holding the National Guerilla Conference, our highest body of authority, to which we must subordinate, to submit to its verdict the political work represented by the Special Agreement for Peace in Havana. We confess that it has been a tough task, full of difficulties, with lights and shadows perhaps, but addressed with a heart full of love for the motherland and the poor in Colombia. We are convinced that we have faithfully interpreted the feelings of our comrades in arms and ideas, who always fought in the spirit of finding a political solution of the conflict, and above all, of the possibility of a fair country, without those ugly abyss which today stand between development and poverty. To the comrades held in prisons and jails in the country and across borders, goes our message of love with the hope to soon have them with us building the New Colombia envisioned by our founding fathers. To the people of Colombia goes our embrace with all the strength of our heart to reaffirm that the guerrilla struggle that was staged in all parts of the national territory had no reason other than the dignity of human life, under the universal law that attends all peoples of the world to take up arms against injustice and oppression. Unfortunately, in every war, but especially in the long term ones, mistakes are made and these unintentionally affect the population. With the signing of the peace agreement, which implies a commitment to non repetition, we hope to definitively eliminate the risk of weapons being turned against citizens. Peace is for everyone and embraces all strata of our society calling them to reflection, solidarity, and it tells us that it is possible to take the country forward. To the sector of society surviving in the catacombs of despair, neglect and official neglect, we say that it is possible, relying on the inner strength and determination that we all carry inside, to rise from misery and poverty. While we live, everything is possible, and much better if we do it with organization. There are the young people of Colombia, always generous, from cloisters and universities willing to help in the collective search for solutions to social problems. To the peasants, men and women full of humility and purity, looking into the groove through their work and sweat for the food sovereignty of Colombia, we offer a trench of struggle in the Comprehensive Rural Reform agreed. To the Afro communities in Colombia, the indigenous peoples: we invite you to look within the geography of all agreed the differential ethnic approach, won with your own struggle. To women, we tell them that we will enforce the gender approach that breathes through the Special Peace Agreement. It will not be possible to stop the powerful force of change originated in the dreams and hopes of a people claiming their rights. Nothing can lead us astray. The people of Colombia demand answers to their concerns and the government should provide them with tangible actions. There will be international monitoring on the commitments of both parties, not only of the guerrillas, as some would like, but also of the Government’s commitments on fundamental issues of the end of conflict, such as the reincorporation in political, economic and social terms, on safety guarantees, and on the transition of guerrillas into a legal political movement. We have great expectation about the development of the commitment to institutional reforms and adjustments needed to meet the challenges of peace-building. To do this, we believe, the GREAT NATIONAL POLITICAL PACT should gain ground, after the plebiscite, proposed by the parties, to which we invite the forces of the nation so that in this new space we can all think about a new framework for political and social coexistence that will guarantee tranquility to future generations. We will ultimately have peace if the agreements are respected. The people must become the main guarantor of implementation. The Special Peace Agreement and the people must be as sea and wave, where the agreements are the sea and the people are the persistent wave demanding compliance. On behalf of the FARC I turn to the nations of the world asking the peoples and governments for their solidarity, their support in every way so that the longest conflict on the continent will become a reference point and an issue of the past that should not be repeated by anyone. To the Government of the United States that for so long supported the war of the State against the guerrillas and against social nonconformity, we ask to continue supporting the Colombian efforts to restore peace in a diaphanous way, always waiting for humanitarian gestures from Washington, matching the kindness which characterizes the majority of the American people, friends of harmony and solidarity. We are waiting for Simon Trinidad. We hope that the ELN will find a way towards peace so that peace would be complete as it would really involve all Colombians. Finally, the FARC expresses its deepest appreciation to the government led by General Raul Castro Ruz and the people of Cuba, everything he has done for the peace of Colombia, eternal gratitude to Marti’s homeland. Thanks also to the Kingdom and the people of Norway for its generous contribution and its support as guarantor to the efforts of reconciliation in our country. Our appreciation and affection go to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, for its permanent assistance to her sister Colombia, in the realization of the peace agreement. Thanks Nicolas Maduro to continue the work entrusted to you by President Chavez. And thank to President Michelle Bachelet and the people of Chile for their extraordinary support to a peace that, they know only too well, is essential to consolidate peace on the continent. Let us pay tribute to the fallen in this long fratricidal confrontation. Families, mothers, widows, brothers, children and friends, our condolences for the mourning and sadness of war. Let us join hands and our voices to shout NEVER, NEVER AGAIN. From the Havana conclave, white smoke has emerged. Habemus Pacem, we have peace. Viva Colombia! Long live peace! | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/the_most_beautiful_of_all_batt.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/3adc1c3c16e0763d989b27f00436d9e6a49ad0e6442fa04dd5c19c0e66910183.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:56:48 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fstate_historians_pressured_to_.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/191620162.jpg | en | null | State historians pressured to provide centenary ‘propaganda’ | null | null | republican-news.org | Historians involved in advising the decade of centenaries for the Dublin government have revealed how they were asked to provide pro-British propaganda for use in the north of Ireland, but refused “point blank”.
The chairman of the government’s advisory committee, Maurice Manning, said the historians involved wanted nothing do with contemporary political events in the Six Counties.
“We were into commemoration. We were into history. We were not into politics. We said no,” he said.
He told the Parnell Summer School that the Taoiseach Enda Kenny realised from the beginning that the decade of centenaries could pose “huge problems” for the government.
There was no consensus as to how it should be handled amid suspicions over the coalition government’s motivations for the commemorations. Those included that the government was embarrassed by Irish history and that it was seeking to “sanitise” what happened in 1916, Mr Manning said.
He said the advisory committee was determined that nobody would be able to hijack the commemorations for party political purposes. It was important he stated, that it not be co-opted by “some kind of State propaganda machine”.
However, there have been new claims that the Dublin government is still attempting to commemorate the British colonial forces who fought to defeat the struggle for Irish independence.
An event is to be organised in connection with the little-known ‘Irish Harp Society’, according to Republican Sinn Fein. The group’s mission statement reads: “‘The Harp Society’ will strive to honor in every way possible the contribution to peace of all police services and in particular those of Ireland and Great Britain.”
Among their objectives are to secure a monument for the notorious Royal Irish Constabulary, the Dublin Metropolitan Police, and their “predecessor forces” who were “killed in the course of duty”.
Republican Sinn Fein condemned the plans.
“In 847 years of the English Crown’s colonial aggression in Ireland those who police on behalf of England have been bound by duty to stand by every act of brutality, every unjust English law attacking Gaelic cultural identity, the genocides, the ethnic cleansing and plantations, the enslavement of Irish people, the mass orchestrated starvation of millions, the list is long as it is harrowing,” they said.
“The RIC, DMP and ‘predecessor forces’ are all a continuation into modern times of that legacy, the Royal Ulster Constabulary – RUC, An Garda Síochana and the PSNI are all an embodiment of the same, all working in tandem to safeguard the present objective of normalizing British rule in Ireland.
“Republican Sinn Féin in representing the true ideals set out in 1916 will not be silent in the face of this agenda. We will continue to educate, to agitate and to organise upon the principles of our Revolutionary tradition against the imperialists who have suppressed the Irish people and ruled our country to ruin.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/state_historians_pressured_to_.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/dc9d808c6d8f3be3f82e723457e8e3fc8829cfcc0382557a39afe0595c651b03.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:53:59 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fpalestinian_anger_at_sinn_fein.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/sinnfeinlikud.jpg | en | null | Palestinian anger at Sinn Fein’s links to Israeli regime | null | null | republican-news.org | Palestinians have expressed dismay that representatives of Sinn Féin have been hosting delegations from Likud, the party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In June, a Likud youth delegation held meetings with young Sinn Féin activists in Belfast, the latest in a number of similar meetings Sinn Féin officials have held with Likud counterparts in recent years. It also continues a series of well-publicised engagements and photo opportunities with Israeli government representatives, which have included meetings between Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness and the Israeli ambassadors to Dublin and London.
Many rank and file Sinn Fein members have found themselves conflicted by the relationship, which run contrary to the party’s links to Ireland’s Palestine solidarity movement, both in the North and the 26 Counties. The party is now being condemned in Palestine itself, where there have been calls for protests.
“This is very disheartening to us here in Gaza,” Haidar Eid, a university professor and member of the steering committee of PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
“We call on Irish comrades to condemn these meetings in the strongest possible terms,” Eid said, urging that people write to Sinn Féin leaders and “even disrupt any future visits by Israeli officials.”
“War criminals and racist organisations should not be welcomed in the new Ireland,” Eid added.
“I personally met with the Sinn Féin delegation headed by Gerry Adams after the 2009 Israeli attack on Gaza, and the support they showed at the time was enormous,” Eid said. “They even welcomed our BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) call and promised to take the issue further upon their return to Ireland.”
However, the Sinn Fein leadership has never endorsed the BDS boycott campaign, possibly as a result of US influence and in response to the investments of Israel-linked multinationals in the north of Ireland such as Caterpillar. The heavy equipment firm, which has several facilities in County Antrim, has notoriously supplied equipment to the Israeli Defence Forces, including the armoured bulldozer which killed US peace activist Rachel Corrie in 2003. It is also strongly associated with the construction of the ‘apartheid wall’ in Palestine.
The recent meetings between Sinn Fein and Likud have been held under the auspices of London-based ‘think tank’, ‘Forward Thinking’. One Sinn Fein official to take part was Pat Sheehan, a West Belfast assembly member (pictured, third from right). Forward Thinking says that its “Irish Peace Process Program” is an “initiative which brings delegations from key constituencies in Israel to Northern Ireland to discuss experiences of the conflict and peace process.”
Professor Eid expressed outrage that Sinn Féin is receiving delegations from “one of the most racist parties in Israel, one that openly calls for ethnic cleansing and apartheid and whose ministers have committed war crimes in Israel’s latest attack on Gaza in 2014.”
Pro-Palestinian campaigner John Hurson hit out at the meetings which he said had taken place “under the radar”.
“There is not a shred of evidence to suggest that they [Likud] want peace with the Palestinians, and allow them a homeland free from occupation,” he said. “Until they stop with this occupation we shouldn’t be playing their game and giving them political cover under the ‘Irish Peace Process’”, he said.
Mr Hurson said that if it was known that Likud representatives were visiting the north protests would have been organised.
Professor Eid praised Irish activists for their strong support of Palestine: “Our ties with the Irish people are an example of what true solidarity means. Irish civil society sectors including trade unions have heeded our call for BDS.”
That solidarity has always gone both ways. Eid said: “Irish people had our support when they needed it. Sinn Féin leaders know this very well.”
In response to the controversy, Sinn Fein announced it was sending a delegation to visit Palestine to meet with members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
“Sinn Féin has long established links with the Palestinian people in their quest to achieve freedom and statehood,” said Sinn Fein Assembly member Fra McCann.
“We have used our influence to highlight the many injustices inflicted on our Palestinian brothers and sisters by the Israeli government.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/palestinian_anger_at_sinn_fein.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/e338d2024a1e5f4e1998d7096214a8b812aed3b29a62ce996be9fdee7696419c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:18 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fdialogue_appeal_over_tensions_.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/adamsfennell.jpg | en | null | Dialogue appeal over tensions in republican areas | null | null | republican-news.org | Support is growing for a public dialogue to address a rift in republican communities following an appeal for talks by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
The move comes after new tensions over traditional anti-internment bonfires. A PSNI police raid against one in Derry brought out strong local opposition to the force, and the bonfire ended up doubling in size.
Sinn Fein has blamed its republican opponents for being behind some of the bonfires, which traditionally mark the anniversary of the introduction of internment. It said the bonfires had seen “anti-social behaviour, street drinking and drug taking, criminal damage, street fights involving knives and hammers and car thefts”.
Tensions in republican areas of Belfast have also been heightened after organisers of a Sinn Fein-supported festival, Feile an Phobail, faced criticism for providing a platform to the PSNI police.
Sinn Fein has also been subjected to criticism by republican rivals recently over its efforts to remove some republican murals, its links to the Israeli government and its recent decison to take full parliamentary salaries, including the full British ministerial salaries available at Stormont.
In turn, Sinn Fein has accused its rivals of a campaign of intimidation. “Their only conflict seems to be with their own community,” said Sinn Fein Assembly member Pat Sheehan.
Dialogue efforts have been hampered by the low level of political organisation among the smaller republican ‘dissident’ groups. While some have organised as political parties, many have ceased to issue statements, while others believe the disruptive work of MI5 has undermined their organisations.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he was willing to meet representatives from the various groups. “If these groups had any integrity they would enter into dialogue with us,” he said.
One prominent republican responded to the call by agreeing to debate publicly with the Sinn Fein leader. Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association (IRPWA) spokesman Dee Fennell said he would “relish the opportunity” for a face-to-face meeting with Mr Adams.
“Mr Adams makes unsubstantiated allegations regarding threats of intimidation and criminality that he alleges are perpetrated by republicans,” he said.
“If Mr Adams has any evidence why has he not brought it to the PSNI when he continually asks ordinary citizens to do the same.”
The IRPWA spokesman said the Louth TD needed to “put up or shut up” and produce evidence of republican involvement in criminality.
“The real criminality that goes on within working class communities is the establishment of phantom community groups to supposedly benefit working class communities but in reality all the statistics demonstrate that in terms of social deprivation working class communities in Belfast continue to endure the highest rates of unemployment, deprivation and child poverty in Europe,” he said.
“I for one would relish the opportunity to discuss these issues and more in a public arena.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/dialogue_appeal_over_tensions_.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/6d84bfd6c3fb250eda156d0ca4662e14e9e7d1a2624e77b408c418fa1b35b539.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:52:25 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fbilal_kayed.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/bilalkayed.jpg | en | null | Bilal Kayed | null | null | republican-news.org | A look at the case of Palestinian hunger striker Bilal Kayed, now on hunger strike for more than 66 days, in a cause which has striking parallels with those of Irish republicans. By Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity.
On 13 June, Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed was slated for release after 14 and one-half years in Israeli prison. His family was waiting for him, as were his comrades and friends; however, Bilal never came - because instead of being released, he had been ordered by the Israeli occupation military to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial. He is now on an open hunger strike which he launched the morning of 15 June - demanding his freedom and an end to administrative detention.
Bilal Kayed, 34, is one of approximately 750 Palestinians imprisoned without charge or trial on the basis of secret evidence under administrative detention, and 7,000 Palestinians total in occupation prisons. Administrative detention orders are indefinitely renewable - Palestinians can spend years in administrative detention at a time, never knowing when they will be freed.
Kayed is known as a leader among Palestinian prisoners - as the representative of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine prisoners in Megiddo prison, he was targeted for solitary confinement for one and a half years. His fellow Palestinian prisoners are engaged in a series of protests and actions to demand his release and will be conducting their third two-day hunger strike on 24 and 25 June, returning their meals to demand Kayed’s freedom and and an end to administrative detention.
This is an attempt to impose a precedent for all Palestinian prisoners - that on the date of release, after five, ten, fifteen, or twenty years in prison, rather than being released, Palestinian prisoners be held indefinitely without charge or trial, ordered to administrative detention. The denial of Bilal Kayed’s freedom is a threat to the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners.
The detention of Kayed, a prisoner leader, scheduled for release; Mohammed Abu Sakha, circus performer and teacher; Jerusalemite human rights defender Hasan Safadi; youth organizer Bilal Abu Diab; members of the Palestinian Legislative Council such as Abdel-Jaber Fuquha and Hatem Kufaisha; journalist and union leader Omar Nazzal - amid hundreds more, indicate the level of Israeli state impunity to lock away Palestinian emerging leaders and prominent community figures without charge or trial. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have put their bodies and lives on the lines in extended hunger strikes to demand an end to administrative detention.
We raise our voices around the world to join the call to free Bilal Kayed and all of his fellow administrative detainees and bring an end to the practice of administrative detention. We call for the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners - and for the cause for which they struggle, the freedom of Palestine and its people.
We join the call for protests, actions and events around the world in support of the Palestinian prisoners striking for freedom and urge organisations and people of conscience everywhere to join in actions to demand freedom for Bilal Kayed and his fellow prisoners, including building the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign to internationally isolate Israel, its institutions, and the corporations that profit from imprisonment, occupation, racism, colonialism and injustice.
Free Bilal Kayed and all Palestinian prisoners! End administrative detention! | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/bilal_kayed.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/8e40c3b4ddee818178c1315930046e3fb5ff33e2271c8d2f7deb28892a042cc0.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:51 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fdont_take_them_down.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/glenariffegates.jpg | en | null | ‘DON’T TAKE THEM DOWN’ | null | null | republican-news.org | The chairman of a County Antrim Gaelic sports club has resigned after it voted to remove entrance gates dedicated to the memory of two Irish War of Independence martyrs in order to secure a grant from a unionist-controlled council.
Eddie Haughey quit after members of Oisin Glenariffe hurling club took the decision in a secret ballot at a special meeting last week. It is understood the managers of two of the club’s teams have also resigned.
The club’s grounds are named after two IRA men, Charlie McAllister and Pat McVeigh, who were killed during a gun battle with B-Specials near in Glenariffe in May 1922 - months after the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed.
The Glens of Antrim club had sought 180,000 pounds from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council to help build a new community centre on its land. Unionist councillors moved to block the funds as part of an effort to remove the erase the memory of the two local heroes. The DUP claimed that the gates leading onto the site would “re-traumatise” people.
On Tuesday night, following the club’s decision to submit to the DUP demands to remove the gates, the council narrowly approved the funding when it met in Coleraine.
Sinn Fein councillor Cara McShane noted the council approval placed no conditions, such as the gates having to be moved. She accused the DUP of “political posturing” and seeking to use “any means possible to treat people in this part of the borough as second class citizens.”
She said there is no political agenda in the building of the centre. “The last thing anyone wants is for this facility, which is a much-needed in a rural community, to be used for political point-scoring. People are very emotional,” she said.
There have already been calls for the club’s decision to be reversed. Ballycastle based councillor Padraig McShane accused the council of “intransigence”
“The club members should not have been put in that position,” he said. “They were put in this position because of the unrelenting anti-Irish sentiment of Causeway Coast and Glens council.”
Mr McShane urged the GAA community in the Glens to stay unified.
“I wish Glenarriffe and all the fellow Gaels the very best,” he said. “A unity of purpose will see us rise a monument fitting to the two volunteers.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/dont_take_them_down.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/55061d5bdce18c30bc3a7dd830c4f0886f960f1ea45c57923c9505af79960f0a.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T14:45:48 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fbryson_sought_revenge_for_derv.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/dervockbandmasked.jpg | en | null | Bryson sought revenge for Dervock band | null | null | republican-news.org | A dispute over a sectarian loyalist parade through the mainly nationalist town of Rasharkin last week is being linked to the “leak” of private messages targeting Sinn Fein Assembly member Daithi McKay.
Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson is being accused of taking revenge against Mr McKay, who was forced to resign his post earlier this month, after he helped lobby the Parades Commission to prevent a notorious loyalist band from taking part in the County Antrim parade.
According to the Sunday Life newspaper, Bryson reportedly told his cronies that by leaking private messages from Mr McKay about his appearance before a Stormont committee, he could end his political career and also bring pressure for a full public inquiry into the scandal over the sale of properties in the north of Ireland.
The controversy over the Rasharkin parade began when independent councillor Padraig McShane was spat at and taunted by masked loyalists during a parade in nearby Ballycastle on July 12. Mr McShane suffered a serious head injury when he was violently arrested in the subsequent scuffle.
Last week, after coming under nationalist pressure, the Parades Comission refused permission for the band involved, the ‘Dervock Young Defenders’, to march in last week’s Rasharkin parade. That march passed off relatively peacefully on Friday, August 19th.
Bryson is a prominent loyalist marcher and ‘flags’ protestor who has a reputation as a publicity-seeker. His insistence that he was not responsible for the transcript ‘leak’ won few believers, and he lost further credibility when he claimed some messages he received from McKay had been removed from the transcript, a claim he then failed to substantiate.
Refusing to comment further, he says: “My focus is on the legal preparation for the pending application to the Secretary of State asking for a full public inquiry into NAMA (the Dublin government’s National Asset Management Agency).”
Mr McKay was forced to resign last week because the messages showed that he communicated inappropriately with Bryson on how to present his testimony to the Stormont Finance Committee investigating NAMA’s dealings in the North. Through the account of another Sinn Fein member, Bryson was advised how to present his evidence of corruption against the DUP leader Peter Robison without being interrupted or blocked by DUP committee members.
The loyalist was called to the committee after making a number of online allegations relating to 7 million pounds in an offshore bank account linked to the deal which had allegedly been earmarked for a politician in the Six Counties.
Bryson told the committee that former DUP leader Peter Robinson was to receive a payment upon its completion. Robinson, who has since quit politics, continues to deny that he was to profit from the sale of the portfolio to the American company Cerberus.
Sinn Fein has made clear that Mr McKay had been acting on his own initiative and had “paid the price”. Speaking in Derry’s Bogside, Mr McGuinness blasted McKay’s actions as “profoundly disturbing” and also derided allegations that he was part of a conspiracy to damage the former DUP leader.
“Does anybody think for one minute that I would even contemplate being involved in anything that would involve someone like young Bryson, who has effectively got his own agenda which is about ill will towards Peter Robinson,” he said.
Sinn Fein’s current Finance Minister in the Six Counties, Mairtin O Muilleoir, also issued a statement making clear he had “absolutely no knowledge” of the communications, and rejected calls to step aside while Stormont’s Finance Committee holds an investigation into the ‘back channel’ communications.
Although the current DUP leader Arleen Foster said the messages were a “disgraceful attempt to impugn and discredit” her former colleague, her party has indicated it is ready to move past the controversy.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has selected Daithi McKay’s predecessor at Stormont to replace him. Philip McGuigan returns to the assembly, having previously served as a Sinn Fein Assembly a decade ago, representing North Antrim at Stormont from 2003-2007. The father-of-four is currently a Sinn Fein representative on Causeway Coast and Glens Council. | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/bryson_sought_revenge_for_derv.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/131242c02fec28eb5b86e19b2c2a6d397b00185d36989dfbbf6cbb1a471313dc.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:57:42 | null | null | null | http%3A%2F%2Frepublican-news.org%2Fcurrent%2Fnews%2F2016%2F08%2Fcall_for_state_recognition_for.html.json | http://republican-news.org/current/news/sundayduddydaly.jpg | en | null | Call for state recognition for heroic Bloody Sunday priest | null | null | republican-news.org | Tributes have been paid following the death of the former Bishop of Derry, Edward Daly, who attended to the victims on Bloody Sunday at the risk of his own life. However, his memory has also been subjected to a sickening sectarian attack by a former member of the British Crown forces who claimed to have been present at the massacre.
Dr Daly waved a bloodied white handkerchief as a symbol of ceasefire as he tried to help a fatally injured youth at the civil rights protest in Derry on January 30, 1972. Fourteen died when members of the British Army opened fire, with him in the midst of the attack.
His funeral took place amid widespread accolades for his bravery and dignity. However, a man who claims to have served in the British forces and to have been on duty as an 18-year-old on the day when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire, branded Daly a “lying IRA-supporting b*****d”.
Allan Woods, who lives in Scotland, provoked public outrage when he described the priest as a “Tague” in a bigoted rant. He added: “Good riddance to the piece of IRA scum” and said he hoped the respected cleric would “rot in hell”.
Daly began serving as a priest in Derry in 1962 before becoming the city’s bishop in 1974. He stood down in 1993 after a stroke. He spent his life working for peace and campaigned against all forms of violence. But Woods claimed: “Watch the footage closely, he was concealing a weapon in the sleeve of his left arm as he led the wounded to an ambulance.”
Daly was near 17-year-old Jackie Duddy, when he was shot and helped attempt to carry him to safety under fire in well-known footage taken on the day of the massacre. Former civil rights leader Hugh McMonagle, who was with him on Bloody Sunday, has called for him to be made a saint. Mr Duddy’s older sister Kay described him as a hero. She said: “He was such a special friend to us because of Bloody Sunday, because of what he did for Jackie in his dying moments when he was there with him, it just meant the world to us that Jackie did not die on his own.”
Relatives of some of the Bloody Sunday victims are now to ask the Dublin government to honour his courage with a posthumous recognition.
“In any other country in the world, people like Bishop Daly – and others – would have been singled out for honours and recognition by governments for the courage they showed on Bloody Sunday,” said Tony Doherty, whose father Paddy was shot dead on Bloody Sunday.
“But here, because of the situation, there has never been any official government honour although Bishop Daly did receive the Freedom of Derry.
“I think it’s time now to change that and to honour Bishop Daly for what he did and for what he did after Bloody Sunday although, sadly, he has now passed on,” Mr Doherty said.
Kate Nash, whose 19-year-old brother William was killed on Bloody Sunday, said: “He knew what happened on Bloody Sunday and said often that it was murder and he understood the struggle for justice.”
In an interview with the BBC after Bloody Sunday, Bishop Daly condemned the army’s actions as “completely outrageous”.
“They were firing lead bullets in all directions. They call themselves an army, it was utterly disgraceful. There was nothing fired at them, I can say that with absolute certainty because I was there.
“The people were running in all directions. Most of them had their backs to them and they just opened fire.”
The man who chaired the Bloody Sunday Inquiry which exonerated the victims of the 1972 killings, described Bishop Daly as a “remarkable man” whose testimony on the events of the day was “very powerful and of great assistance to the tribunal”.
The North’s Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said Dr Daly was a “huge loss to the city and its people” and “a man of authentic faith.” | http://republican-news.org/current/news/2016/08/call_for_state_recognition_for.html | en | 2016-08-01T00:00:00 | republican-news.org/4bac49ad8335a3f3779065462cde2b8874f3e369a74bd9c7901e78b48ca470b6.json |
[
"Oliver Zivic"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:42 | null | 2016-08-12T00:45:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Farsenal-vs-liverpool-preview.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Arsenal-vs-Liverpool.jpg | en | null | Arsenal v Liverpool: Wenger Could Lay The Foundation For A Title Winning Season | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | A long awaited clash between Arsenal and Liverpool will take place at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with both Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp looking to start the season on a high note. Both clubs had great pre-season outings and will be ready for this Super Sunday fixture.
How Are Things Looking In North London?
Going into the new season, Arsenal has been plagued by an injury crisis and will be without a number of their first-team defenders with an injury to German Skipper Per Mertesacker serving as the biggest blow to Arsene Wenger’s squad.
Gabriel Paulista is not expected to feature in the game following an injury he suffered in a pre-season friendly against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City while Laurent Koscielny remains doubtful for the crucial tie.
In the likely event that Koscielny is deemed unfit ahead of the game, Wenger would probably field Callum Chambers and Rob Holding in the heart of Arsenal’s defence line. Both players are quite inexperienced so Liverpool can capitalise on a possible lack of cohesion that is expected to be present within back four of opposition.
Who’s Going To Exploit Arsenal’s Defence?
Arsenal’s defensive set-up could be thrown into utter shambles by Firmino, Coutinho and Mane due to the calibre of players expected to feature at the two Center-back positions for the Gunners. So Wenger will have to focus on dominating the midfield in a bid to limit entry into their half of the pitch.
On that note, Arsene Wenger might play a high defensive line against Liverpool in an attempt to utilise the offside trap.
Arsenal will surely establish a fluid passing game right from the onset to upstage Klopp’s high pressing style. Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey, and whoever spearheads the attack will test Lovren and Matip.
Klopp’s Players Rearing To Go
On the other hand, Klopp doesn’t have many issues with injuries but could be without James Milner and Daniel Sturridge. They will have a few more days to recover from their latest setbacks, but if Sturridge is unavailable to lead the attack, Roberto Firmino will most likely get the nod ahead of Divock Origi.
With the likes of Coutinho, Mane and Wijnaldum or Lallana playing behind Firmino, this match could turn out to be a real thriller.
Klopp’s Tactical Advocacy
Klopp will likely deploy his famous gegenpressing style aimed at throwing Arsenal players off balance and forcing them to give up possession in some key areas on the pitch.
The German manager will be happy to sit back and patiently wait for the hosts to make mistakes, so his team can utilise the pace of Mane and the Brazilian duo of Coutinho and Firmino to penetrate consistently into Arsenal’s defence.
Prediction
This game is a tough one to call but with all factors in place, it has a draw written all over it. Arsenal will be without some key defenders and Liverpool will be keen on exploiting that fact. Both sides have immensely talented players within their ranks so it will prove to be a very open and eventful tie. We’re going for a 2-2 draw but make no mistake; either side could still steal a win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Arsenal Possible Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1): Cech – Bellerin, Chambers, Holding (Koscielny), Monreal – Coquelin (Xhaka), Ramsey – Walcott – Ozil – Sanchez – Giroud
Liverpool Possible Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1): Mignolet – Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Moreno – Can, Henderson – Wijnaldum (Lallana), Coutinho, Mane – Firmino | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/arsenal-vs-liverpool-preview.html | en | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/a096cb0e570c33bdfbd14092d1b1115fd2fe9d356a6896034c122569d1212b98.json |
[
"Sohail Zafar"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:02 | null | 2016-08-18T13:12:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fpakistan-ireland-lock-horns-in-1st-odi-today.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Pakistan.jpg | en | null | Pak vs Ire 1st ODI | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Pakistan will be looking to build a winning momentum ahead of the limited-overs series against England when they meet Ireland in first of two ODIs at Malahide in Dublin on Thursday.
Azhar Ali-led tourists are currently on a five-match losing streak in the ODI format. They lost both of their ODIs in their tour of New Zealand in January and suffered defeat in last three of four matches at the hands of England in United Arab Emirates last November.
They, however, will be highly confident ahead of this game after securing a series-leveling 10-wicket win in the fourth and final Test against England at the Oval last week.
Pakistan have summoned veteran fast bowler Umar Gul, who hasn’t played any international since April last year, for this series.
Watch Pakistan vs Ireland 1st ODI Live on PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah is set to make his first ODI appearance for the first time after serving a six-month doping man while opening batsman Sharjeel Khan has also returned.
Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, all-rounder Anwar Ali, seamer Rahat Ali and batsmen Sohail Maqsood and Ahmed Shehzad were left out of the squad.
The visitors are expected to hand maiden international cap to Hasan Ali, a 22-year-old left-arm seamer who impressed the selectors with his solid performances in domestic cricket.
Ireland, meanwhile, will be hoping to stun Pakistan for a second time in the ODI cricket. They had beat the men in green by three wickets to knock them out of ICC World Cup 2007 in West Indies.
The hosts will be boosted by the return of seam bowler Craig Young and batsman Niall O’Brien, who both missed the recently-concluded home ODI series against Afghanistan.
The head-to-head record between Pakistan and Ireland stands 4-1 to former after six ODIs while one match was tied.
Teams (From)
Ireland
Squad: William Porterfield (captain), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Peter Chase, John Anderson, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Andy McBrine, Niall O’Brien, Stuart Poytner (wk), Craig Young, Gary Wilson.
Pakistan
Azhar Ali (Captain), Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nawaz | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/pakistan-ireland-lock-horns-in-1st-odi-today.html | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/e2d83a04159a0a17bd6920140d87f7a0ca29b3c1efc4a9839f7605cfff168ee4.json |
[
"Roy Emanuel"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:05 | null | 2016-08-24T23:07:08 | With the arrival of Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo expected at Manchester City, what's next for England international Joe Hart? | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fwhere-now-for-joe-hart.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Joe-Hart.jpg | en | null | Where now for Joe Hart? | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | With Bravo imminent, City and Englands stalwart has some thinking to do
Pep Guardiola has Manchester City right where he wants them at the moment and is preparing further changes to his line-up for the coming days.
After a shaky yet successful first match in the English Premier League, City looked dominant on Tuesday in a 5-0 thrashing of Romanian side Steaua Bucuresti in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier.
But as Guardiola looks to improve the quality of his club in various areas, his sights now appear firmly set on the goalkeeper position and a situation that will be disappointing for Joe Hart.
On the bench for the start of the Premier League campaign, reports now suggest that Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo is due to arrive in Manchester as Guardiola’s new favoured first team goalkeeper leaving Hart surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium.
Fresh from his Copa America Centenario triumph with Chile over the summer and a fine performance in helping Barcelona lift another Spanish Super Cup this week, Bravo is seen by Guardiola to be a significant upgrade in the crucial position.
After 10 years, over 350 appearances, 2 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups and one FA Cup, Joe Hart appears to be ready to move on from Manchester City. Whether on loan or a permanent transfer, the 29-year old English international is expected to join a new club before the transfer window closes in eight days time.
Here, we look at three possible destinations for Hart and what he can bring to a new environment.
EVERTON
The most likely destination for Hart seems to be at Goodison Park, as new manager Ronald Koeman seems eager to bring him to Everton.
With club legend Tim Howard moving to the Colorado Rapids over the summer, the stage seemed set for Joel Robles to officially take over as the Toffees number one keeper, but the possibility of adding a proven Premier League commodity in Hart may be too tempting for Everton to pass up.
With the transfer of winger Yannick Bolasie completed earlier in the week, a strong squad could find themselves with yet another quality addition in the near future.
LIVERPOOL
The sometimes bewildering form of incumbent Simon Mignolet, a preseason injury to new signing Loris Karius, and a good old-fashioned Merseyside rivalry could all add up to Reds manager Jurgen Klopp making a move for Joe Hart.
The main issue at hand for both Liverpool and Everton would be taking on Hart’s reported salary of £140,000 a week, a wage few outside of the City Football Group would be willing to pay.
SEVILLA FC
The reigning Europa League champions Sevilla have had a difficult start to the 2016-17 season, dropping both the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup to fellow La Liga clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. While there is certainly no shame in losing to two of the best teams in the world, their inability to hold their defensive shape and stop goal scoring opportunities was worrisome.
New manager Jorge Sampaoli may find that the transfer of Joe Hart can supply the team with a quality goalkeeper and provide a significant morale boost ahead of the La Liga season.
For the right price, of course. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/where-now-for-joe-hart.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/f5c2dd3eb32d679b06242fc177e9474268bea0b8c41bcb54956146429b7c0210.json |
[
"Amir Bashir"
] | 2016-08-26T13:10:19 | null | 2016-07-29T22:33:31 | In an effort to start his Manchester United career with a bang, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has told 9 players they can leave the club | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fheads-set-to-roll-at-manchester-united.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Jose-Mourinho-Man-United.jpg | en | null | Heads Set to Roll at Manchester United | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | To start his Manchester United career with a bang, on Portuguese tactician Jose Mourinho has told nine players they can leave the club, either on loan permanent basis in the coming weeks.
These players were told by Mourinho individually on Thursday at the Manchester United training ground in Carrington. This news represents a major departure from the policy which was adopted by his predecessors at the Manchester United hot seat.
While David Moyes decided to carry the crop of players which was nurtured by Sir Alex, Van Gaal relied on the youth which came from the Manchester United academy.
As evident by the results from the past 3 years, the Red devils didn’t benefit a lot from the respective approaches of both managers.
Looking at the list of Manchester United players who were told by Mourinho, Bastian Schweinsteiger is the highest profile victim of this clear out policy of the Portuguese.
The German World Cup winner was signed by Manchester United from Bayern Munich only last season. However, despite spending only one year at the Old Trafford, it seems that his career at Manchester United is coming to an end.
In addition to Schweinsteiger – whose departure won’t concern a lot of Manchester United fans, the departure of Adnan Januzaj and Andreas Pereira is also on the cards. Januzaj, who impressed in the 2014/15 season, spent a disastrous spell on loan at Borussia Dortmund last season.
However, with the meteoric rise of Andres Lingard, and the likes of Depay and Young waiting in the wings, the winger spot is already overcrowded at Manchester United.
Thus, the future looks bleak for Januzaj at Manchester United. As for Periera, the Portuguese winger will most likely leave on a temporary basis.
In addition to the wingers mentioned above, the likes of Fosu Mensah, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett have also been told to leave the club.
All these defenders featured for Manchester United last season, however, for Mourinho who favours experience, there is no place for any of them in his Manchester United Starting XI.
Lastly, both the strikers in James Wilson and Will Keane will also leave the club after being told by Mourinho that they’re surplus to his plans. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/heads-set-to-roll-at-manchester-united.html | en | 2016-07-29T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/8f70305fc1cc0069d525800afecf514a493c3eec567ba358e6eeaf1311b4999b.json |
[
"Sohail Zafar"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:58 | null | 2016-02-27T08:48:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fasia-cup-pakistan-india.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Pakistan-vs-India-1.jpg | en | null | PTV Sports Live Asia Cup Streaming & Score Updates: Pak vs Ind Match 4 | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Arch-rivals Pakistan and India will lock horns in the fourth match of Asia Cup T20 at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday.
India, who whitewashed Australia 3-0 last month and defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 earlier this month to claim top position in the ICC T20 rankings, began their Asia Cup campaign with a 45-run victory over Bangladesh.
Pakistan, who were beaten by England 3-0 in December last year and 2-1 by New Zealand last month, will feature for the first time in this tournament.
Watch Pakistan vs India Live Match on PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Pakistan’s squad, which was selected on the basis of performance in the recently concluded opening edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the United Arab Emirates, looks balanced on the paper.
Mohammad Hafeez is expected to open the innings with Sharjeel Khan, who was not named in the original squad and added as a replacement for injured Babar Azam.
Sharjeel, who had played his last international match in December 2013, scored 299 runs in 11 PSL games with a century to finish in third on the chart of tournament’s leading run-getter that was topped by Umar Akmal with 329 runs.
All-rounders Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim failed to make their presence felt in PSL and will be hoping to rediscover their form early in this tournament.
Pakistan are likely to go with an all left-arm pace attack in Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir in this high-voltage contest.
Their squad also features uncapped spinner Mohammad Nawaz and veteran fast bowler Mohammad Sami, who claimed 13 and 12 wickets respectively in PSL.
India, meanwhile, are unlikely to make any change in the XI that won the tournament-opener unless skipper MS Dhoni, who did not participate in Friday’s training session due to a back problem, is unable to play and in that case, Parthiv Patel will take his place.
Probable Squads:
India:
Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (capt & wk)/Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin
Pakistan:
Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Nawaz, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/asia-cup-pakistan-india.html | en | 2016-02-27T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/8a60dccdd4db5a9166ad42d2db9632b24b701fde22d07be1e05acfc5db0cf5c1.json |
[
"Adedamola Obisesan"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:28 | null | 2016-08-08T09:52:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fliverpool-klopp-fires-shots-wenger.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Jurgen-Klopp.jpg | en | null | Liverpool: Klopp To Offload Benteke For The Right Price | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Jurgen Klopp believes he has now made the Liverpool team his own with a series of transfer window moves that include the expulsion of Joe Allen, £13M to Stoke City, Kolo Toure, Released and Jordan Ibe, £15M to Bournemouth, and brought in the likes of Joel Matip, Free from Schalke and Sadio Mane, £34M from Southampton.
With all these moves happening there inevitably has been a switch of roles throughout the team and now the likes of Belgian striker Christian Benteke are both out of favour and out of position, with Klopp telling Sky Sports that he expects Benteke to leave as he and the player believe “it makes sense”.
Klopp then went on to say that if clubs want a “real striker”, they will have to make “real offers”. This could be the first shot in the dark at Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger as there always seems to be a limit on the Frenchman’s spending habits, occasionally breaking these, likes of Ozil and Sanchez. This may also be in retort to the £40,000,001 bid for Luis Suarez from a couple of seasons back.
The Liverpool manager then went on to add that certain clubs try to “gamble” on players. Could this be a shot at Wenger for trying to move players like Theo Walcott into striker positions to see how they fare when injuries mount up or the continual reliance on Olivier Giroud and his faith that he will produce the goods necessary?
He then ended his statement with three simple words, “we are serious”. Many fans of the #WengerOut army believe that he has lost his gift, relies too much on the youth and development of his squad and that he is not doing enough to make a serious title bid throughout this window.
These subliminal shots could mean that not only will Arsene Wenger have to deal with another season of the “Special One”, Jose Mourinho (now at Manchester United), but there could be love lost between himself and the manager of Liverpool. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/liverpool-klopp-fires-shots-wenger.html | en | 2016-08-08T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/23e55c55106792ade41667c31eeddb39b9240c10460e1074ae2dd4b5cb13dc75.json |
[
"Sohail Zafar"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:11 | null | 2016-08-20T16:06:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fpakistan-look-complete-whitewash-dublin.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Pakistan.jpg | en | null | Pak vs Ire 2nd ODI | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Pakistan will be looking to secure a series whitewash when they take on Ireland in the second and final one-day international in Dublin on Saturday.
The visitors secured a massive 255-run win in the rain-hit first game on Thursday to end their five-match losing streak in ODIs.
Opening batsman Sharjeel Khan plundered 152 off 86 balls while Mohammad Nawaz and Shoaib Malik made fifties as Pakistan manage 337-3 in the 47-over game.
Watch Pakistan vs Ireland 2nd ODI Live on PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim then claimed his career-best figures of 5-14 while veteran fast bowler Umar Gul bagged three wickets conceding 23 runs as the hosts were skittled out for just 82 in 23.2 overs.
A whitewash of Ireland will be a morale booster for the men in green ahead of their five-match ODI series against England, starting from August 24 in Southampton.
Pakistan are expected to make a couple of changes in their first game’s XI for the second match.
Left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir, who played all four Tests in England, is likely to be rested, which means 22-year-old uncapped seamer Hassan Ali will be in line to make his international debut.
The visitors are also likely to rest Wasim and are replace him with leg-spinner Yasir Shah.
Ireland, on the other hand, will be hoping to rebound after the abject surrender in the first game.
They are likely to drop seamer Peter Chase, who conceded 70 runs in his seven overs on Thursday, with Craig Young.
Probable Squads:
Team news
Ireland:
Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien (wk), Gary Wilson, Stuart Poynter, William Porterfield (c), Kevin O’Brien, Andy McBrine, Brian McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Craig Young
Pakistan:
Azhar Ali (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/pakistan-look-complete-whitewash-dublin.html | en | 2016-08-20T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/c727deaacb66658e67e88ff48c9770d3fbd62d8ad3e373ded31e597f518685af.json |
[
"Alani Adefunmiloye"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:24 | null | 2016-08-05T09:05:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Freal-madrid-forward-set-fill-ibrahimovics-big-shoes-psg.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/jese-Rodriguez.jpg | en | null | Real Madrid forward set to fill Ibrahimovic's big shoes at PSG? | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Unai Emery arrived at the Parc des Princes a troubled man despite landing such big gig in his coaching career. Who wouldn’t when the club’s goal machine for the past four seasons just left, right after a brilliant campaign that saw him notch 51 goals in 50 appearances.
The former Sevilla coach has since been saddled with not only the responsibility of aiming to clinch the Champions League trophy, but also replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Clearly, Cavani isn’t the man to due to his inconsistencies in front of goal, but if rumours making the rounds regarding a Jese Rodriguez purported transfer to the French capital club are anything to come by, then the 23-year-old Real Madrid forward might just be the next Ibra.
It’s the hardest task the Spaniard would have ever faced in his career. More Difficult than trying to earn more playing time at Real Madrid. Given his potentials and abilities, he sure has what it takes to turn himself into the next big thing at PSG, and here are some reasons to believe why.
THESE ABILITIES
Being comfortable with the usage of both feet, Jese can play excellently well on both attacking wings. As a number 9, he’s also able to aim powerful shots at goal from any angle and position inside and at the edge of the box.
This foot-ambidexterity comes with his strength and physical abilities. It is almost impossible to dispossess him of the ball, and with his great pace, techniques, skills and finishing abilities, he is as complete as the modern day striker comes.
The attacking trio of Di Maria, Cavani and Moura might all have their starting positions under threat if he arrives. His versatility makes that very feasible, and he also can line up alongside 2 out of any of the 3. Emery could have found his Ibra replacement in Jese after all, even if he’s not an immediate or instant one.
Jese can also turn out alongside the trio mentioned above in a midfield position. Although the star-studded Real Madrid squad has made him hardly featuring in the position, he can be of great help right behind Cavani in an attacking midfield role. A player able to play four roles well isn’t something we get to see now and then.
HE IS A SUPER-SUB
Off the bench, the youngster can deliver the goods. As opposed to the situation in Real Madrid where the BBC reigns supreme, and the likes of Morata and Vazquez are ahead of him in the pecking orders, there is a decent chance of him getting more games and playing time in Paris.
Despite making cameo appearances in 37 games and finishing just one last season, he found the back of the net six times and contributed eight assists. That tally will increase for sure next season and given his Champions League experience; he can prove to be of good value on that front.
With particularly Cavani liable to completely switch off in games, Jese will come very handy. Di Maria and Moura are also capable of having their off-days now and then, the Spain youth international will be a good backup and option that will deliver when others aren’t able to. His ability to create chances and make timely assists are qualities PSG could do with in their pursuit of European glory. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/real-madrid-forward-set-fill-ibrahimovics-big-shoes-psg.html | en | 2016-08-05T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/89256e016c4f99122157f2dde7e00115933dc260b9ba52c6236c6817225bf419.json |
[
"Phillip Ekuwem"
] | 2016-08-26T13:11:07 | null | 2016-05-28T06:00:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2F5-things-that-will-accompany-mourinho-at-old-trafford.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Jose-Mourinho-Man-United.jpg | en | null | 5 Things That Will Accompany Mourinho at Old Trafford | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | When hit by the prospect of José Mourinho replacing Louis Van Gaal mid-way into the season, Manchester United fans were blatantly equivocal as to whether the special one would be a good fit for Manchester United.
While there was some uncertainty surrounding Mourinho’s ‘imminent’ arrival, the fans of the club were prepared to give the ex-Chelsea boss a chance even if it meant them experiencing short term success before a long-term replacement (possibly Giggs) takes over in the next couple of years.
At the moment, the Red Devils look set to move into the Mourinho era with Van Gaal’s time at the club being done and dusted. LVG had a rocky stint at United as he never actually seemed to get things right even though he was ever so close to bringing the glory days back to Old Trafford.
The managerial position has become more unforgiving than it was ten years ago due to the level of expectancy associated with managing the so-called Big Clubs. Most would say that LVG survived a little more time than he deserved but the outlook of things are far more complicated than that.
Mourinho is finally set to continue his longstanding rivalry from his La Liga days as Pep Guardiola will also be joining him in Manchester but on the Blue side.
What’s going to happen with Mourinho in Charge? | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/5-things-that-will-accompany-mourinho-at-old-trafford.html | en | 2016-05-28T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/aa5ace63e010b5cc05cf761af34e893161ddd3e8d50a64395cd72c50aaaae632.json |
[
"Humaima Malik"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:08 | null | 2016-08-12T07:50:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fna-approves-cyber-crimes-bill-amid-oppositions-protest.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cyber-crime.jpg | en | null | NA Approves Cyber Crimes Bill amid Opposition’s Protest | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Islamabad – The National Assembly on Thursday approved the controversial Presentation of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) 2015 amid strong protest from the opposition parties.
The bill was presented by State Minister of Information Technology Anusha Rehman.
The NA had approved the first draft of the PECB in April this year. However, the Senate had expressed reservations over the bill and made 55 amendments in it before resending it to the lower house of the parliament.
The bill will formally become a law after the signatures of President Mamnoon Hussain.
Salient Features of PECB 2015:
Unauthorized access to critical in infrastructure information system or data will lead to a maximum of three years in prison, Rs1 million fine or both.
The interference with critical in infrastructure information system or data with ill intention will attract up to seven years incarceration, Rs10 million fine or both.
The glorification of an offence pertaining to terrorism or any person convicted of terror-related crimes or banned outfits will attract up to seven years incarceration, Rs10 million fine or both.
The production, generation, supply, import or export of a device for use in an offence will lead to six months prison sentence, Rs50 thousand fine or both.
The obtaining, possessing or transmitting of another person’s identity without authorization will attract up to three years imprisonment, Rs5 million fine or both.
The promotion of hate speech or sectarian hatred content will attract up to seven years imprisonment.
The recruitment or funding of terrorists through the Internet will attract up to seven years in prison.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lodged a strong protest against the bill in NA, arguing that its several clauses are in violation of the fundamental human rights and freedom of expression.
Jamat-e-Islami, Jamait-e-Ulema e Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) and Qaumi Watan Party supported the bill.
During the debate in NA, PPP’s Parliamentary Leader Syed Naveed Qamar termed the bill as a ‘draconian law’, saying the minimum age for punishment under it is ten year than how it could be democratic.
PTI’s Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that there are some positive clauses in the bill, but amendments are needed to be made.
MQM leader Ali Raza Abidi also criticised certain sections of the bill, saying they are ‘utterly unacceptable’. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/na-approves-cyber-crimes-bill-amid-oppositions-protest.html | en | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/d42602193f3a66cde2200e7bfb7161fa28e84354f7e8f61f641de781fa195f09.json |
[
"Roy Emanuel"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:59 | null | 2016-08-14T19:17:39 | Pep Guardiola and Manchester City made their debut together in the Premier League on Saturday, defeating Sunderland 2-1 in a difficult encounter. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fpep-guardiola-and-man-city-get-off-to-a-winning-start.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Man-city-vs-Sunderland.jpg | en | null | Pep Guardiola And Man City Get Off To a Winning Start | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | A nervy finish at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday saw Manchester City and new manager Pep Guardiola get off to a winning start in the 2016-17 Premier League campaign. City defeated Sunderland 2-1, handing new manager David Moyes his first loss in charge of the Black Cats.
With England international and long-time starting goalkeeper Joe Hart on the bench, Guardiola used a 4-1-4-1 formation that looked full of different and creative attacking options.
Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and new signing Nolito had the look of a team ready to put several goals up in the afternoon. However, after a promising start to the game, City struggled to assert themselves against a stingy and organised Sunderland squad.
The 4th minute saw Guardiola and City bag a penalty kick thanks to a foul from defender Patrick van Aanholt; Aguero beautifully converted the opportunity to give the hosts a 1-0 lead early on.
Seemingly from that point on, Manchester City were unable to create many chances and failed to convert the few chances that came their way into genuine scoring opportunities.
At various moments in the second half, tiki-taka began to make its first real appearance. City’s midfielders and defenders held a significant chunk of possession and completed sequences of passes all across the pitch, as Sunderland sat back and waited for their chance to strike.
And that chance came in the 71st minute.
Substitute Adnan Januzaj made his debut for Sunderland and found himself at the heart of the equalising play. A fine central pass to midfielder Jack Rodwell after an excellent run up the right side, Rodwell weighted a perfect through ball that forward Jermain Defoe fired low under goalkeeper Willy Caballero to equalise the match at 1-1.
Sunderland and Moyes seemed poised to grab a crucial road point, until an unfortunate own-goal from substitute defender Paddy McNair gave all three points to Manchester City in the 87th minute.
Manchester City will now prepare for Tuesday’s crucial Champions League qualifier against Romanian club Steaua Bucuresti, while Sunderland will look to bounce back against Middlesbrough next weekend.
Differing Tactical Approaches
Pep Guardiola’s debut in the English Premier League brought mixed results. Manchester City enjoyed an impressive 77% possession, outshot Sunderland 16-7 and completed over 400 passes (578-102), but much of their work did little to secure the victory.
Sunderland were content to keep their midfield and backline in a defensive shape, waiting for Jermain Defoe to find his chance. They perhaps should look for a more proactive philosophy moving forward, their performance was good and should have been enough to get valuable points on the road.
Manchester City, meanwhile, will need to work on making more of their passes and possession.
Defining Moment
Jermain Defoe’s equalising goal sent shockwaves down the Manchester City squad and their supporters. With former Everton defender John Stones making his City debut alongside Aleksandar Kolarov in central defence, Guardiola saw the match turn on its head due to inefficiency in the attack.
By the time Defoe scored, City easily should have had a two or three goal lead. This moment highlighted how complacency could be the enemy of any talented squad.
Player at Fault
Jose Mourinho most likely flashed a cheeky smile out of seeing this match unfold.
With two former Manchester United players making their Sunderland debut, it was bound to be interesting to see how Januzaj and McNair performed for their new club.
Januzaj was integral to Sunderland’s equaliser, while McNair found himself cast in a different light being the goat of the game with an unfortunate header into his own net. A disappointing ending for a young player looking for a fresh start. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/pep-guardiola-and-man-city-get-off-to-a-winning-start.html | en | 2016-08-14T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/2e75e86fea602d13ed65756586ad7c25cc4f0bf16991dbfc0697a1a46846ee4e.json |
[
"Sohail Zafar"
] | 2016-08-26T13:08:37 | null | 2016-07-27T18:38:49 | Pak vs NZ ODI: Having ended their five-match losing streak, Pakistan will be looking to build the winning momentum when they take | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantribune.com.pk%2Fspurs-star-linked-leeds-united.html.json | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/alex-pritchard.jpg | en | null | Experienced Spurs Winger Linked with Leeds United | null | null | www.pakistantribune.com.pk | Leeds United have reportedly joined Newcastle United and Norwich City in the race to sign Tottenham’s attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard.
According to reports from HITC, United boss Garry Monk is keen on signing an experienced winger before the end of the transfer window and believes that the 23-year-old perfectly fits his scope for next season.
Pritchard returned to White Hart Lane following a superb loan spell at Brentford. That followed a brief stint with Premier League side West Bromwich Albion. His vast experience in the Championship brought him on the radar of several football managers.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has told the former U21 England international to find a new club as he has no future with the North Londoners.
He was also dropped from Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Australia. Taking stock of the situation, Leeds are hoping to secure him on a loan deal.
The West Ham United academy product impressed many with his brilliant performances at both club and youth international levels. With the ability to play a high pressing game, he’s an ideal contender to meet Monk’s requirements.
Let’s have a look how he can help the Yorkshire club to get secure promotion back to the Premier League.
Playing Skills
Pritchard’s energetic play and the capability to operate in the attacking midfield as well as on the both flanks in a 4-2-3-1 formation is something that has placed him on the radar of many Championship clubs. He also has a reliable technique to receive the ball in tight areas.
Championship Experience
Another factor that boosts Gary Monk’s attention in signing the young midfielder is his Championship experience.
During his loan spell at Brentford, Pritchard delivered several magnificent performances, scoring 45 goals in 12 appearances. If he arrives at Elland Road, he will add his experience to Monk’s side thereby helping them to launch a viable promotion bid. | http://www.pakistantribune.com.pk/spurs-star-linked-leeds-united.html | en | 2016-07-27T00:00:00 | www.pakistantribune.com.pk/86885ae8cd5996973e6b3bf745e16f5a40f2a4f4aff67c76c16420138ab408b8.json |
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