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Showing posts from June, 2010

West Fest organizers at July 12 EVA meeting

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The West Town Chamber of Commerce takes over Chicago Avenue July 10 and 11 for its West Fest street fair. The next day, the business group reports to East Village Association members on the festival and its other activities. West Fest closes Chicago Avenue from Damen to Wood, and extends from noon till 10 p.m. both days. This year's music headliners are We Were Promised Jetpacks, an indie rock band from Scotland, and New York dance DJ Jonathan Toubin. A Kid Fest on Wolcott between Chicago and Rice features live music, pony rides, a bounce house and other activities till 6 both days. A PupFest includes a dog wash to benefit the Greyhounds Only rescue organization and Alive Rescue shelter. A $5 donation benefits the West Town Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Park Advisory Committee. It's the last of three summer fund-raisers the chamber organizes, following June's Do-Division Street Fest on Division Street and the Green Music Fest this past weekend, another Chicago Av

Worker bees star in community garden

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A bee at work (top) in the Frankie Machine garden; an insect trap amid the sage. By Marjorie Isaacson   Consider the honeybee: It may be a humble insect, but food production depends on the work of these pollinators. In recent years, honeybees have become the subject of considerable attention from scientists and food policy experts. They've observed a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder. Worker bees suddenly die off and whole hives disappear. This is a big deal for agricultural crops worldwide. However, honeybees work in the city too, and this year they’re being studied right in our neighborhood. A University of Illinois researcher is evaluating the honeybee population in a number of Chicago area sites, including the Frankie Machine Community Garden at Wood and Haddon. Four monitoring stations have been established in the garden, and once a month collection containers are set out to catch insects. Then the contents are shipped to the U. of I. for analysis. Additional data

Respect: Final thoughts on thoughtful debate

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President's Message | By Greg Nagel    At our last general meeting. a bylaw amendment was vigorously debated. The result was 11-10 against adding language giving the president the power to remove from a meeting a member who was not being respectful. I had promised East Village Neighbors leaders to propose this amendment as a prerequisite for them merging into the East Village Association, and felt it had additional symbolic value. I had only half my board’s support, and as it turns out just under half the vote in the general meeting. Many board members urged me not to push forward on this item but rather find other ways to promote respect within the organization. After all, there were reasonable objections, including the potential for the president to abuse the power and quell legitimate debate, and the vague nature of exactly what is disrespect. With that said, I’m pleased that I pushed forward and took it to a vote. One result was we spent nearly an hour in our general meeting ta

Talking points to frame EVA meetings

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Greg Nagel opens June 7 membership meeting with guidelines for respectful speech.   Board Meeting Minutes for June 14, 2010 Submitted by Dana Palmer   Attendance: Greg Nagel, Neal McKnight, Nicole Semple, Dana Palmer, Scott Rappe, Aaron Bilton, Tom Tomek and Stephen Rynkiewicz. Meeting commenced at 6:40 p.m. Respect Bylaw Amendment Alternatives: It was agreed by the board that the president will open each membership meeting with an opening statement regarding respect and will introduce the board members. Majorie Isaacson drafted a statement regarding respect that the president will use as an outline to the opening statement of each meeting: Welcome everyone, thanks to all for coming and special welcome to new attendees. Suggest that if people are newcomers, they are encouraged to introduce themselves to any of the Board members after the meeting. (This because some people are shy about speaking in public, and point people to the whole board so if one person is busy talking after th

Liquor OK linked to zoning, new moratorium

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Peter Locke (with laptop) demonstrates energy-audit tests at the Happy Village.   Membership Meeting Minutes for June 7, 2010 Submitted by Dana Palmer   Business Minute: Dana and Matt Palmer presented Super Dog Walking as a local business. Guest Speaker: Peter Locke, a sustainability consultant with the city of Chicago, presented to the group. He spoke about the Chicago Climate Action Plan, which states that Chicago has proposed to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020. He also touched on the Chicago Retrofit Strategy, which involves retrofitting homes and businesses to be more energy efficient buildings. Respect Amendment: President Greg Nagel proposed a bylaw amendment regarding respect and expulsion of an individual being disrepectful. However, a vote of 10 in favor and 11 opposed did not allow the amendment to pass. Galleria Liquors. Benjamin Pourkhalili and associates presented plans to put a high-end wine and liquor store at Ashland and Division in the Pol

EVA lends wine store an opener

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East Village Association members on June 7 paved the way for a wine shop to lease the former Washington Mutual bank building at 1555 W. Division. Members voted 19-3 vote to support a new package-goods moratorium on the south side of Division Street, from Wood Street to Ashland Avenue, and to rezone the commercial Division-Ashland-Milwaukee block to B1-1. Galleria Wine & Liquor‎ made a presentation to EVA at the suggestion of 1st Ward Ald. Joe Moreno, who would have to lift a moratorium that now extends to Milwaukee Avenue. Downzoning after Galleria obtains a license would prohibit package-goods uses if the business fails or moves, said EVA planning co-chair Neil McKnight. A proposed bylaw that would allow the chair to expel members from EVA meetings failed on a 10-11 vote.

LaSalle II raffle raises $3,674

By Rhonda Locke A total of $3,674 was raised for art and music programs at LaSalle II magnet school, 1148 N. Honore, from a raffle sponsored by the East Village Association May 22 at the Boundary Tavern & Grille. There were 328 tickets sold at $5 each or 5 for $20. Raffle revenue totaled $1,370. The Boundary, at 1932 N. Division. donated $2,304. Winner of the Black Hawks box is Caroline Pappas, of West Delaware Place. A CrossFit Chicago membership package goes to Cathy Micinski of North Hoyne Avenue, and Lush Wine & Spirits will provide a wine-tasting package for Craig Benson of North State Parkway. Total expenses were $250.18: business license $120, raffle ticket printing $92.18 and posters $38. A huge thank-you to EVA and all who helped the LaSalle II Parent-Teacher Organization pull this off.
Tom Tomek business card
Anselmo @properties business card,
Ask Nagel business card.