Why save the light strings that went dark this Christmas season? Keeping them in the attic isn't going to improve the odds they'll work next year. Maybe it's time to toss 'em all and buy LED lights at the holiday clearance sales. Recyclers can Recycle Christmas tree lights at the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce or other city drop-off points. (The chamber office is closed New Year's Eve.) More ambitious recyclers can drop off the bare Christmas tree for shredding at the Humboldt Park boathouse or other city parks, saving them from the uncertain fate of Streets & Sanitation alley pickup. The park district will make much from the trees available after Jan. 7.

A midyear progress report for LaSalle II Magnet Academy is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 11 at the school, 1148 N. Honore. Principal Suzanne Velasquez-Sheehy will measure progress under LaSalle II's School Improvement Plan, the biennial goals set with the local school council. LaSalle was launched under the city's Renaissance 2010 plan, which holds the school to a five-year performance review. Its curriculum includes language instruction in Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Urdu. In LaSalle II's 2010 School Report Card released last month, 85 percent of tests met state requirements. According to a Chicago Tribune analysis , that's better than 57 percent of the state's schools. However, LaSalle II tests lagged in the proportion of top-tier results. LaSalle II gets a high value-added score for math. Pupils show above-average academic growth among city schools.

A rooftop deck for the planned Bleeding Heart Bakery Cafe will face a Jan. 3 East Village Association membership vote. Read more about the bakery and adjoining pizzaria at Chicago and Winchester, and check out photos from the East Village holiday party, in the January 2011 issue of East Village News. Download it here . Happy holidays!

President's Message | By Greg Nagel    At our Jan. 3 meeting, EVA will take a vote on the specific request brought to us regarding the special use for Bleeding Heart Bakery Cafe to have a rooftop deck. The specific motion that will be voted on is as follows: The East Village Association supports the Bleeding Heart Bakery receiving a Special Use allowing them to get a permit for a rooftop deck at 1916 W. Chicago. Members that want Bleeding Heart to get a rooftop deck would vote affirmatively in favor of this motion. Members that do not want Bleeding Heart to get a rooftop deck shall vote negatively or against this motion. The specific request had nothing to do with Roots other than they happened to be the same developers and information regarding both projects were presented to EVA simultaneously. Therefore, our vote will be specific to just Bleeding Heart. That means that despite the result of the vote on the Bleeding Heart Special Use, there should be no misunderstanding

  Click for more photos from the Dec. 6 potluck dinner at Wooden Gallery, 1007-15 N. Wolcott, where the work of artist Jerzy Kenar is on display.

Dec. 13 board meeting minutes submitted by Dana Palmer Attendance Board members Greg Nagel, Neal McKnight, Dana Palmer, Tom Tomek, Scott Rappe and Stephen Rynkiewicz, non-board member Rich Anselmo. Meeting commenced 6:33 p.m. Bleeding Heart/Roots The board discussed plans for development of Roots at 1924 W. Chicago Ave. and Bleeding Heart Bakery at 1916 W. Chicago Ave. Although these two businesses were presented together, the board concluded that they are two separate businesses and EVA is being asked to support a special use zoning for a rooftop deck at the 1916 W. Chicago Ave. address for Bleeding Heart Bakery. Therefore, at the January membership meeting, a vote will take place regarding whether to support or oppose the special use zoning for the rooftop deck only. Greg Nagel will draft a statement and seek board approval regarding the board and Planning, Preservation and Development Committee stance regarding this request and it will be posted in the EVA newsletter. In regards

Scott Rappe, co-chair of EVA's Planning, Preservation & Development committee, outlined EVA concerns with the Roots/Bleeding Heart Bakery restaurant plan in a Nov. 9 letter to its developers. Scott Weiner and Greg Mohr of The Fifty/50 met Nov. 8 with the EVA board. Read Weiner & Mohr's reply. Thank you for attending the EVA board meeting, presenting your plans and answering the board’s questions. The East Village Association is interested in seeing Chicago Avenue flourish and supports responsible businesses that are compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood. The proposed restaurant and bakery include positive aspects, but the prominent presence of the restaurant/bar on an otherwise quiet residential side street also presents some serious concerns. In particular, objections were raised regarding the emphasis on outdoor seating and openings from the bar to the street, the placement of a pick-up window that may invite double parking and the logistical c

Developer Scott Weiner sent the East Village Association board this statement Dec. 1 on the Roots Handmade Pizza/Bleeding Heart Bakery Café , 1916-24 W. Chicago Ave. EVA members will vote Jan. 3 to advise Ald. Joe Moreno (1st Ward) on the project. Thank you for the opportunity to meet to discuss the concept for our project as well as its impact on the neighborhood and Chicago Avenue corridor. We have received your recommendations in regards to modification of our plans and we are hoping our concessions will help alleviate some of the concerns without sacrificing our business model or ability to make impactful business decisions down the road. We have completely redesigned our architectural plans to move our trash and recycling off and out of the alley and into our building. They are now enclosed within our building to eliminate our complete trash presence in the alley. As mentioned prior, we are using electric baking equipment, which is much more expensive but ultimately better for co