By Steve Rhodes
I’ve got a lot of material for our Politics section I’d like to get to between now and Tuesday – including our legendary Beachwood Voters’ Guide – so I’ll post as I can from today until then. You’ll just have to keep coming back.
To that end, I’ll hold my fire here on the U.S. Senate race, the congressional campaigns and the county assessor race and get on with the rest of the news.
Dart Board
I have absolutely nothing interesting to say right now about Tom Dart’s decision to abandon his mayoral run. I would like to note, however, that Dart always wears fleece pullovers and jeans. I always found that an appealing quality. So nothing new there. Let a thousand conspiracy theories bloom!
Zagel Zinger
Blago’s conviction stands.
“Defendant’s motion is founded in substantial part on the well-known principle that if a lawyer cannot attack the law or the facts in a criminal prosecution, the only recourse is to attack the prosecutor,” [federal judge James] Zagel said. “One aspect of the case that makes it clear that the defense had no attack on the law or the facts . . . is that defense counsel did not, and correctly so, choose to attack the evidence” of Blagojevich’s guilt on the lone count of conviction.”
Of course, Blago’s defense lawyers attacked Zagel’s rulings in their appeal so now it goes to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the real action takes place.
Meters Kaput
Did he really just ram them with his van? What a disappointment.
City Stuck Up
“City Sticker Problem May Have Cost City Millions In Parking Ticket Revenue,” The Expired Meter reports.
And here is the most aggravating part of the fiasco:
“Chicago-based SecureMark Decal Company is the company that won the five year contract to supply the City Clerk’s office with city vehicle stickers and residential parking permit guest passes in March of 2010. Their bid came in about $300,000 lower over the length of the contract.
“But from the moment Chicago’s Procurement Services Department announced SecureMark as the winning bidder, City Clerk Miguel del Valle began his opposition to SecureMark’s contract. Del Valle sent Procurement a letter dated March 4th, 2010 asking them to ignore the low bid. Instead, del Valle asked Procurement to assign the contract to a company the Clerk’s office had worked with for years – The Standard Register Company.
“Del Valle pointed out in his letter that the State of New York Department of Motor Vehicles, less than a year earlier, had experienced a well publicized problem with defective decals from SecureMark.
“The problem?
“They didn’t stick.
“In fact, according to an October 14, 2009 article from New York Newsday, of the 13.4 million DMV decals ordered, over 5 million were defective. Ultimately, according to the Newsday piece, SecureMark agreed to replace 1.4 million DMV decals.
“Despite del Valle’s reservations, Procurement went forward and awarded SecureMark the contract on April 8, 2010 for nearly $960,000.”
*
Disclaimer: I have a business relationship with The Parking Ticket Geek.
Enthusiasm Gap
“If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for life,” Michelle Alexander writes in The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (via ScienceBlogs).
AOL Genius
Art Institute of Chicago graduate Jimmy McBride (’02) has been named one of AOL’s 25 for 25 – meaning he just scored 25 grand.
I applied, positing this website as an intersection between art and journalism. Oh well.
Hail, Bedbugs!
I, for one, welcome our new bedbug overlords.
Four Extra Pockets
“Six-Legged Metaphor For Zell Era Removed From Tribune Co. Lobby.”
Ditching The Front Desk
“The Holiday Inn program forgoes keycards altogether, opting instead for a system in which guests can unlock their doors with their cell phones,” MSNBC reports. “Called MobileKey, it involves getting a travel-day text message, but one that includes a link to an encrypted audio tone that can be played back to open the door.
“The system is currently being piloted at the Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-O’Hare and Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown with enrollment topping 200 in the first month of operation.”
Chicago Sharpies
“Sanford Manufacturing Co., a Chicago purveyor of ink and glue, launched the Sharpie line in 1964, later becoming Sanford L.P. and part of the Newell Rubbermaid empire,” GuelphMercury reports. “Easily the market leader, half a billion Sharpie products were sold around the world last year.”
In Action! Gary Numan
The only way to live.
What Should LeBron Do?
How ’bout get real.
Giants=Sox
Just catching up with this, from our very own Dan O’Shea.
Indonesian Journal
It’s Funny Until 13 People Die.
The 99th Worst Cub Ever
Is Bobby Murcer.
Freakin’ Fantastic Fliers!
Nobody out-alliterates Aldi.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Milk it.
Posted on October 28, 2010