| Forest Park law student earns scholarship |
When you're a crusading reporter chasing down big stories, the question is: will the big story include free hors d'oeuvres and drinks? Happily, the reception honoring Rory Hoskins for winning the John J. Waldron Scholarship not only had self-serve beer and wine, it offered stunning views of the city from the 66th floor of Willis Tower.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010 |
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| Sunburns, packrats and lost golf balls |
In the time-honored tradition, I'm writing about what I did on my summer vacation - and what I didn't do. Developed killer tan (for an Irishman) by serving three tours of Census duty walking the baking sidewalks of Cicero. Weeding - forgot to do weeding.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 |
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| Forest Parkers, let's be Facebook friends |
I don't tweet or blog, and when it comes to texting, I'm all thumbs. But I do have a Facebook page for tracking down the characters I'm seeking in my private detective business. I also like to keep my many Facebook friends informed of the minutest details of my daily life.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 |
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| What do the library, The Beacon and Drunken Monkeys have in common? |
Quick, what is Supergirl's relationship to Superman? This was one of the questions posed on Trivia Night at The Beacon Pub last Wednesday. The Forest Park Public Library organized the game and reference librarian, Ben Haines, served as MC. The event was yet another example of how our dynamic library thinks outside its boxy building.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 |
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| Our very own yellow brick roads |
The worst card you can draw in Monopoly is the yellow one that assesses you for street repairs. I've seen high rollers with hotels and houses forced to remove them and mortgage their properties to pay the assessment. Here in Forest Park, though, we are completing two major street repairs at little cost to homeowners.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 |
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| Panthers pounce on competition |
This is the time of year when Forest Park is buzzing about the tournament. I don't mean the No Glove softball tournament that starts tonight; I'm talking about the Forest Park Panthers winning the Bensenville Tournament.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 |
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| Why divine intervention? God only knows |
I read an article about how the antiquated term "Act of God" still carries legal weight in our secular society. For example, when an insurance company wants to deny your claim for the tree that crashed through your roof, they can blame God for the high wind that toppled the tree.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 |
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| Forgetting Paris for Chicago |
For our 30th wedding anniversary, my wife and I had planned to visit Paris but economized by traveling to another world-class city, Chicago. We found a very reasonable hotel, provided you low-balled the room rate online.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 |
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| Lost in the flood |
The first time my family home flooded was the day I was born. I wisely stayed at St. Anne's Hospital and was spared the sight of our dog clinging to a floating table in the basement.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010 |
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| Feed those kids a video game |
We live in the "Age of Irony." So, if I told you a healthy lifestyle-promoting pediatrician conducted a raffle offering a video game as top prize, you'd say, "How ironic." But, what if this video game was a Wii Fit, which demands physical stamina and burns calories? Well, you'd have to get your irony fix elsewhere.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 |
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| Chewing the fat on the obesity epidemic |
Childhood obesity is the current focus for Forest Park's resident epidemiologist, David Shohan, Ph.D. David, who works at Loyola, is a kind of health detective who analyzes epidemics to determine their cause and reduce risk factors.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 |
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| Counting the people, not the money |
Working on Census 2010 gave me a revelation: a government job could be a higher calling than a private one. In government jobs, we work directly for the common good, while in business we're producing primarily for personal profit.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 |
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| This one's for the dogs |
Cats were the topic last week. So, to be fair and balanced, we'll discuss dogs this week: to honor the late great Tilly of Raleigh, N.C. Tilly was an Australian Cattle dog my sister Betty Anne found at the North Carolina State Fair Grounds.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 |
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| How to help Forest Park's CATS |
A growing cat-astrophe in Forest Park is threatening our quality of life and the lives of hundreds of helpless animals. Large colonies of feral cats have been found in town. These stray cats engage in all kinds of feline-ious behavior: fighting, bird killing and spraying. A group of Forest Park volunteers has formed to care for these cats and keep them from becoming a public nuisance.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010 |
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| Conservator comes to the rescue, again |
Nationally known conservator Andrzej Dajnowski is being commissioned by the Illinois Labor History Society to restore the Haymarket Martyrs Monument for its 125th birthday. This is the second major art work from Forest Park that Dajnowski will refurbish.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 |
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| Jeep muscles its way into Cruise Night |
You've heard of muscle shirts, muscle beaches and muscle cars but have you ever heard of a muscle Jeep? That's what Juan Gonzalez will be driving to Cruise Night on May 25th. Last summer, Juan bought a 1987 Jeep Wrangler and spent many months sooping it up.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 |
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| Hawks run a good draw for local taverns |
I've long suspected the fortunes of our local sports teams have an impact on the economy of Forest Park. To prove it, I conducted a survey. I found that two out of two tavern servers said that a playoff run by a Chicago team greatly increases their business.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 |
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