SPews: August 27, 2010
"Prussing insisting on full Olympian Drive project," News-Gazette, August 21
Laurel Prussing, never known to shrink from a fight, isn't about to back down from her insistence that the entire Olympian Drive project - from Apollo Drive to U.S. 45 - must be built.
The Urbana mayor said Friday that she wants the road built all the way to U.S. 45, even though several Champaign County Board members indicated Thursday that they would support construction only to Lincoln Avenue.
| Champaign to close recycling drop-off center
As part of a new recycling initiative in the city, Champaign plans to close down its popular Hagan Street recycling drop-off center on December 1st, leaving many county residents without means to recycle. According to Elizabeth Hannan, Administrative Services Manager at the City's Public Works Department, the closure would save the city $150,000 a year. And since upcoming recycling ordinances will be mandating that multi-unit dwellings receive curbside services (and since there is already an ordinance on the books in Champaign mandating curbside service to all single-family homes), the city feels the drop-off center will not be needed. In addition, Hannan tells me, this center is providing a service for people outside the city, people who don't pay city taxes.
In order to find out if this is indeed the case, and to find out more about how the closure would affect recycling efforts county-wide, I grabbed some bottled water, a pad of paper and pencil, and drove the few short blocks up to the center to spend some quality time next to the dumpsters.
It's not true what they say about garbage. You know, "out of sight, out of mind." People actually do want to talk about garbage. In fact, the topic of garbage arouses great passion, perhaps precisely because no one is ever given the chance to talk about it. It's a great hidden shame, our garbage, overflowing in obscenely huge mountains out on the ragged edges of our cities and towns, or dumped in our oceans at a rate six times greater …
Students and educators in Mahomet were back to class on Monday, Aug. 23 after the Mahomet Seymour Education Association (MSEA) and the school board were able to settle on a new contract on Aug. 20. The settlement marked an end to a two-day strike, the first strike ever in their union's history. MSEA secured a one-year contract with 2.6% raise (step + .5%) for teachers, 3.5% (step + 1%) for aides and 3.5% for other support staff. Union president Joan …
The teacher's strike in Mahomet filled the news Thursday and Friday. The collective action by 200 teachers and 120 support staff pushed through an agreement that had been in the works since February. I nosed around a bit, looking for the inside scoop and I ended up talking to Eric Potter, the high school teacher elected to represent them in negotiations and a parent. The parent asked to remain anonymous out of concerns for the privacy of their child. Eric's …
"Opposition voiced to Olympian Drive plan," News-Gazette, August 20 Champaign County Board members, in a wide-ranging discussion that lasted nearly an hour and a half, indicated opposition to the proposed Olympian Drive project. But there was support for a more limited project that would connect the roadway from Apollo Drive on the west to Lincoln Avenue on the east. Despite some talk before the meeting about taking a possible straw vote to determine a county board consensus on the current …
Click here to listen/download the podcast. (to download right click and select save as)In this episode: The debut of our new regular feature Songs in 90 Seconds. Here we limit local bands to 90 seconds --- and only 90 seconds --- to show us what they've got. We kick things off in a big way with the Palace Flophouse whose song, "Missouri," is a minute and a half of rocking pure folk/pop bliss. (We'll have downloadable version of the song …
"Champaign officials want more feedback on community-police relations," News-Gazette, August 10 City officials this week are asking for further feedback on goals to improve the relationship between the community and the police force that were developed following a March 15 community forum. The city has set up a website where users can comment on an outline of initiatives based on about 300 community members' comments during the March meeting. "Our goal from day one was to keep the community engaged …
"UI president search price tag: $302,295," Daily Illini, August 5 The University of Illinois spent about $302,295 on the presidential search for new UI leader Michael Hogan, according to 956 pages of documents sent out by the University on Thursday. The expenses included about $130,000 to Isaacson, Miller - an executive search firm - as well as about $142,000 in lodging, travel and food expenses for candidates and search committee members, among other things.
"UI offers to rehire Catholicism prof, ends funding from Newman Center," July 29, News-Gazette Kenneth Howell has been offered his job back teaching Catholicism, but from now on the University of Illinois will pay his salary, the UI said Thursday.He has until Aug. 6 to respond. And the university will dissolve its relationship with the local Newman Center, which for decades has been paying instructors to teach Catholicism under the UI's religion studies department.
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It sounds as if you should direct your concerns toward the Champaign County Board, aka the most dysfunctional board of its type in the nation. Perhaps if the ISWDA had not tried to locate a recycling facility in wetlands a number of years ago, there’d be county recycling now.
In response to Grouchy92: I don’t think the rural folks feel a sense of entitlement at all!! You have no idea how appreciative they are that they have been able to use the center up until now. If anyone had asked them, the majority would probably have…
I am a rural Champaign county resident and have been dropping off my recycling at the center for years. I had no idea I wasn’t supposed to be using it! I didn’t see that information posted anywhere. I understand that there have to be available funds to…
From the Town of Normal website: “The Town of Normal has drop-off boxes for recycling at various <span style=“color: #0000ff;“>convenient locations</span> around town open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If that college student is driving to Champaign to recycle, he’s wasting his time and…
<span style=“font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: small;“>The City of Champaign will be implementing its multi-family recycling program starting December 1. At that point, all residents will have an opportunity to recycle where they live. We do not plan to leave any of our residents without…
The ISWDA was destined to fail for many reasons. I remember the siting process for the landfill near Homer. There were concerns about wetlands. I don’t recall a plan to build on top of an aquifer, but perhaps critics were being nice. The main problem, though, is…
This is a great piece that certainly opens up a lot more questions. As a relatively new resident, the recycling program in Champaign has been one the two or three biggest disappointments I’ve had about living here. I’m not naive enough to think recycling is going to…
The sense of entitlement of these rural folks is pretty astounding. I’m sure that whatever paltry amount they pay in sales tax gets eaten up by maintenance on the roads they are driving on, the police that protect them while they are here and the fire departments…
It’s 2010, we have a responsibility to recycle. Thank you for bringing this closing subject to light. It will be a huge step back if it indeed closes. Not a very “forward”, “green”, move for a university community that likes to think of itself as both of these things.
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Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
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I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?