Saturday, July 28, 2007

* Dismal Ribbon Cutting Turn-out - Joe Still Preaches to the Choir


I had a hunch this would happen. After watching this video, can you honestly tell me Joe didn't bring parade 10 year old Zachary out as protection? Kinda like a buffer from the blog media. Knowing he was going to be under heavy questioning, Joe used little Zack to keep the hard questions from coming. And today, it worked. Joe got a pass. But...

... I did get my weekends entertainment in. I got to pick Zacks little brain. And boy, can the kid talk. Must get that from the old man.

The crowd was estimated at 30 people. At least 2/3's (20 or so) of those in attendance were members of Joe's or DevCorp's choir. The poor promotion by DevCorp North is the major factor in the dismal turn-out. That didn't keep everyone from patting themselves on the back.

So with-out further commentary, click the video for Joe's ribbon-less ribbon cutting.

BLOGNOTES: The flyer lied. State Rep. Harry Osterman was a no-show. I guess Harry couldn't find anyone to hide behind.

Monday we'll have the Kim Bares speech.

15 comments:

Fargo Woman said...

He hid behind a kid!?! My word, that's the most cowardly thing I think I've ever seen. Where are his handlers? Where is the person who, upon introducing the Alderman announces the parameters for the gathering, i.e. no questions, this is a community event not a press conference, we are here to celebrate the accomplishments of the artists involved with this project and encourage them as they go forward, etc. etc. etc. Then have anyone who does try to disrupt the event detained by off duty (or on duty) police. It may not seem fair but the fact is the Alderman has the right to set both the tone and the terms for his public appearances. He has the right to say, "No questions, please." That's how you manage a public event where the politician doesn't want to address questions from the media/public. NOT BY HIDING BEHIND A KID! That's just shameful, weak and disgusting.

Natas said...

Well Craigie poo, seems you were a part of his choir - Do you sing like a little birdie?
La La LA

Toni said...

Is he sending his kids to Harrington's to watch?

MadeInRogersPark said...

If you are loking for Joe you might find him at the beach.
He was walking that way a bit ago

Bill Morton said...

He wasn't on his bulldozer?

DorothyParker007 said...

so your going after family members again and a child? Its ok to pick on a helpless child?. This is the lowest I've seen this group go, sad very sad.

as fargo woman said "That's just shameful, weak and disgusting"

you all should be a shamed. grown adults 40+++years old going after a child. you can't sink any lower

blove said...

One can tell how proud he is of his dad. Joe might not be the best alderman, but he is providing his son with a healthy message of at least trying to improve things. I wish I had memories like that, and I bet most of the kids on that street do as well.

Fargo Woman said...

dorothy, did I miss something? How is this "going after a child"? My comments were specifically targeted at the Alderman and his staff's lack of professionalism when dealing with public appearances. As for the other comments, except for the passing reference to Michael Harrington, I don't see any comments about the child at all. What on earth are you talking about?

DorothyParker007 said...

I wasn't talking about you fargo, I just used your quotes. But taking a childs photo and putting it on this blog just crosses the line of ethics, how would any of us like our childs photos on this blog and then to use a child as an instrument to attack the alderman?

Craig states "can you honestly tell me Joe didn't bring parade 10 year old Zachary out as protection?"

So a father can't be with his child out with him? Everyone here gets ruffled when Craigs father is brought into a blog conversation, but its ok to pazzaraxzi a child? Wow must be nice to be a RP liberal, now go attack the assyrians.

Toni said...

As I recall, Mr. Joe had his eldest son walking NOH up and down stairs knocking on doors with him. As I recall, there were mailers of both sons with their dad to all of ward 49. Remember the one in front of the library on Clark?

Philip McGregor Rogers said...

how could moore not notice the pile of gravel in front of the jamaican restaurant across the street?

is this some kind of make shift kitty litter?

I suspect that is from some retarded planter contraption that used to be and was knocked over long ago, leaving behind its innards,

i guess no one gives a crap about it,
ho hum
gravel on morse forever!
that will be good for the neigborhood, you can poo in it
and throw rocks if you are mad,
or just throw poo rocks.

come on craig
how about a picture of the large pile of gravel on morse,
i dare you....

Philip McGregor Rogers said...

Family jazzing up Morse Ave.
REDEVELOPMENT | Music club, eatery a longtime dream

July 24, 2007
BY LORRAINE SWANSON Pioneer Press
There were at least a dozen other neighborhoods where Andy and Devin McGhee could have located their jazz club and restaurant -- neighborhoods that were already established as destination night spots, with more attractive streetscaping and inviting denizens.

Instead, the father-and-son team chose Morse Avenue, where metal grates clamp over storefronts like orthodontia, and blue-light police cameras flash intermittently over the ghost of a once-thriving neighborhood commercial district after 8 p.m.

So why take a chance on renovating an old vaudeville and movie theater, especially when so many other jazz and blues clubs are shutting their doors because of high rents and condo conversions?

Explained Andy McGhee, "I've lived here for 28 years. Rogers Park has been my home for a long time. I wanted to do something for myself, for my son Devin and for the neighborhood."

The McGhees are betting the house that their Morse Theatre and Century Public House in the old Cobblers Mall at 1330 W. Morse Ave. will be the final spark that ignites a renaissance of commercial development on a tired, old street that for the past couple of decades has been plagued by crime and urban blight.

Two restaurants and possibly a delicatessen are poised to open on Morse Avenue, with three other storefronts currently being upgraded and rehabbed for new tenants, according to Rene Camargo, a community development coordinator for DevCorp North.

"Between the Morseland and the McGhees, we'll anchor the street," said Devin McGhee, who will manage the Century Public House, a restaurant that will offer "unpretentious pub food."

The elder McGhee will build the adjacent Morse Theatre into a national showplace for the top names in jazz, blues, country, old-time, Irish and bluegrass music, along with local, homegrown talent.

Overseeing the $3 million renovation project is architect Thom Greene of Greene and Proppe Design, who specializes in historic preservation. The new Morse Theatre will be a "green" building and already has been certified as a LEEDS qualifying project.

The building incorporates such environmentally friendly design features as planted green roof system, bamboo flooring and an on-demand, hot water system. LED lighting, 95 percent more efficient than regular incandescent bulbs, will be used throughout the building, including some of the secondary stage lighting and outdoor marquee.

Reviving the building has been like an archeological dig into Rogers Park's historic past, upturning cast-iron wagon wheels; a funky, paint-by-number landscape mural that once wrapped around the old movie theater, and a 1934-era air-conditioning system, the first on Morse Avenue.

The middle section of the building will be demolished and rebuilt, with new steel scheduled to be installed in August. The McGhees are working with Morse Avenue's Special Service Area commissioners to come up with 100 additional parking spaces, which will help other stalwart, neighborhood institutions, including the Heartland Cafe and Lifeline Theater.

"It will make a huge difference in jumpstarting the street. If [parking] doesn't get approved, my business will ultimately fail. Either we hang together or hang apart." Andy McGhee said.

Both the Morse Theatre and Century Public House are privately funded projects of Rogers Park Entertainment Ventures Inc. The entertainment venue is planning a soft opening in spring 2008. As the McGhees and their general manager, Bill Kerpan, work out the kinks, they hope to start booking national acts by next fall.

"I've wanted to open a club for all of my adult life. It's a silly, romantic idea, but I always loved the environment of music clubs. Our goal in 20 years is to have a long-lasting institution in Rogers Park," Andy McGhee said.


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Thought you guys would appreciate this.
jeffo

Philip McGregor Rogers said...

you have posted that story already
but just in case no one has read it yet,
its still a fairly recent article.

Craig Gernhardt said...

i'll leave it Jeff-O. Just because I find it humorous Kim Bares keeps taking credit for this project every chance she can get. Even though it's not open and she had nothing to do with it.

What a loser Bares is.

Unknown said...

At this official appearance the alderman had his school age child up on the dias with him while he was giving his speech. The child wasn't just part of the gathering; he was part of the show.

There is a big difference between "take your child to work day" and using them, even unintentionally, as a politically convenient accessory.

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