The Evergreen Parker

The Evergreen Parker: Where Does (Has) the Time Go (Gone)?

Musings on time management, or the nearly complete lack thereof, in fall - the season when things are supposed to "pick up" after the slow summer.

And so much for the "lazy days" of summer. Summer 2012 was a blink. I look back on it and I can barely discern early August from mid-July and they both closely resemble the entire month of June, at least in my head. I look at the calendar and I know logically that it is September 26, but I can't help but wonder, how did I get here? What do I have to show for the summer? I look north out one of our upstairs windows, across the rooftops to the honey locust trees that line part of 97th Street. The tops are turning yellow already. No doubt they have had a stressful summer, which for them probably started in April. Or maybe March, when 20 out of 31 days saw temperatures above 60 degrees, a string of warm weather that never really seemed to end…

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Chris Clair

5:47 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012

That sounds perfect, Nicki! Folks can stop by on their way to or from the voting booth!   more ›

The Evergreen Parker

What Should Go Here? The Old TCF Bank Building at 95th and Pulaski

Now that TCF and the Evergreen Park Chamber have left the faux-Colonial building, what to do with it?

I have always thought the TCF Bank building on the northeast corner of 95th Street and Pulaski Road is one of the coolest buildings in suburbs. Now it's essentially empty. TCF Bank and the Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce have moved out. The building's future is uncertain. I don't know what sort of condition it's in – whether it needs significant restoration or whether it's even worth saving. It would be a shame to lose it, though. It's by far the best building at that intersection. And by "best" I mean most interesting, most architecturally relevant and classiest. If it were go be knocked down, I fear a corner Walgreen's with a parking lot in front, or something worse, would take its place. This is a major gateway into Evergreen Park, …

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Sound Off: What Can Be Done to Help Plaza Businesses With the Mall in Limbo?

Redeveloping the Plaza is one thing, but what can be done in the interim to help the businesses struggling to survive there?

The Evergreen Parker

Sound Off: What Can Be Done to Help Plaza Businesses With the Mall in Limbo?

Redeveloping the Plaza is one thing, but what can be done in the interim to help the businesses struggling to survive there?

Amid all the talk about what might happen at the Plaza, one fact sometimes gets forgotten: There are still businesses there. Not many, relative to the size of the mall, but there are some, and most of them are hanging on by their fingernails. These are small businesses run by people for whom the Plaza is one of the best options out there from a rent perspective. Bruce Provo, president of the Provo Group, which owned and operated the Plaza, has very little at this point to do with the future development of the site. The property has been foreclosed upon and he's running it at the request of the receiver. But Provo has been involved with the Plaza in one way or another for the past 33 years. He said he still cares about the owners of the …

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What Should Go Here: The Empty Lot at 99th and Kedzie

Another prominent corner location in the village awaits a business worthy of its location. What say you?

The Evergreen Parker

Caution: Weather is in the Area, and Could Happen at Any Time

The Evergreen Parker is tired of TV news going into Storm Mode every time the weather changes. The drought, now that's a story.

Back when I worked at daily newspapers, getting assigned the "weather story" was usually a sign you were either in the dog house with your editor or had drawn the short straw. Nobody wanted to report about the weather because … it's weather. Almost by definition, weather isn't news. In the winter it's cold and it snows (usually). In the spring and summer there are thunderstorms. Yawn. Nowadays, though, it seems like TV, radio and news websites spring into Full Storm Coverage Mode in response to relatively minor changes in the weather. Snow's coming? Better get a team of reporters out there – someone on an overpass above the Kennedy Expressway, someone along the tollway, someone at one of the salt storage facilities in the city and someone …

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Chris Clair

1:31 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012

Agreed, Ozzy. I don't consider it serious unless the TV switches to the Emergency Alert System, which it did one night three years ago, about the same time I heard the tornado sirens. On that one we actually went to the basement. I'm hopeful that in an era when Google knows that six months ago I looked up "plumbers - Evergreen Park" and still serves me ads for plumbers and plumbing supplies, the …   more ›

The Evergreen Parker

Poll Question: To Water or Not to Water

We're the midst of the worst drought since the 1950s, and Lake Michigan is 8 inches lower than last year and dropping. Do you water?

Growing up in the west, dry summers are nothing new. Rain falls in the fall, winter and spring, and summers are warm and dry. Some winters you don't get the snow in the mountains, and by July the reservoirs are low and water restrictions are in place. But in this part of the country, the majority of the rain is supposed to fall in the spring, summer and fall in the form of thunderstorms. Not so much this year. It's dry. It's been 76 days since the last rainfall of 1.5 inches. But you don't need statistics to know it's dry. Just look at local lawns. Or most of them, at any rate. For the most part this summer, I've gone with as little watering as possible. A couple days week I'll hit the flowers and shrubs with a good soaking. In the days …

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Ozzy

9:04 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012

I was metal detecting the (dirt) parkways (east side of Kedzie) and wondered what would happen after they put the sod in. I know they were watering it from a truck for a few days. I haven't been around in that section to see how the parkways are coming along, but it is pretty much a given if you do not water sod, it isn't going to end up too well.   more ›

Did you Catch This Week's Evergreen Parker?

The Patch Plaza Forum showed residents' true passion for the community. Read what happened, then add your opinion to the mix.

The Evergreen Parker

Patch's Plaza Forum Shows Residents' Vision, Passion for Community

The group may have been small, but the thoughts and ideas they expressed is proof there are good new ideas for how Evergreen Park can evolve.

A couple of weeks ago at the Patch community forum on what to do with the Plaza site, I wondered aloud what it might be like if someday we lived in a world where small, locally owned businesses forced the Walmarts and other big-box retailers out of business. I didn't conceive it as an applause line or anything. I really believe a world like that would be a place we'd all enjoy living. I also think that day is coming, inevitably, as large-scale retail operations collapse under the weight of their massive supply lines and rising costs. There was some agreement among the people at the forum, and I like to think that for a second we all imagined the Walmart bulldozed and turned into a park across 95th Street from a town center housing local …

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The Evergreen Parker

What Does a Sustainable Development Look Like?

During our forum on The Plaza Shopping Center this week, our Evergreen Parker Chris Clair took us through a presentation pitting malls against town centers. Which do you prefer? Which do you think makes for a sustainable development?

As part of our open forum discussing The Plaza Shopping Center this week, our Evergreen Parker Chris Clair opened with a presentation showing us the possibility that could exist at 95th Street and Western Avenue. On Thursday, Clair and residents discussed the necessity of a sustainable development, one that will be able to withstand short-lived societal trends, and set Evergreen Park apart from other municipalities. Clair commented that this type of development should be "interchangeable." In this presentation, Clair takes us through the town center concept which dates back to Pompeii in 600 B.C., and pits it against the existing mall concept. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more.

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