Interesting Maps and Document About Land Consumption in the Chicago Metro Region

Click to read this interesting historical document. Note the large red area in eastern Will County. This is the planned new airport for Chicago. A substantial portion of the land for the initial two runway airport has been acquired.

http://www.openlands.org/filebin/images/plans_reports/Policy_Issues_Under_Pressure.pdf

REVITALIZATION OF DOWNTOWN WHEATON, ILLINOIS

REVITALIZATION OF DOWNTOWN WHEATON, ILLINOIS

The Study Area

The City of Wheaton is located in the Chicago Metropolitan area and is the seat of government for DuPage County, Illinois. It lies approximately 25 miles west of Chicago’s loop and is connected to it by commuter rail service. It has a historic Central Area identified in Figure 1 with many handsome turn of the century brick commercial structures. This article traces some of the significant changes which have occurred over the past 25 years and their impact on the revitalization of Wheaton’s downtown.

Challenges Faced

Historic downtowns in suburban communities have traditionally faced a variety of problems which have challenged their social and economic viability. Wheaton faced
many of these in the 1980’s including: competition from shopping centers and malls; parking and circulation deficiencies; an active rail line that cut through its center; old
structures suffering from deferred maintenance and interior space configurations poorly suited to many contemporary business needs. Lack of coordinated marketing and
maintenance of sidewalks were also issues.

Response to Challenges

Wheaton experienced a positive turn-around since 1990. This can be credited to political leadership of elected officials and appointed commissions, competent professional staff, consultant expertise, quality developers, an active chamber of commerce and enlightened and pro-active citizens.

One key to revitalization has been the development of a variety of residential projects which have greatly increased the market for new restaurants, and the pedestrian activity
and vibrancy of the central area.

Click to read the full interesting article by City Planner Pete Pointne r

Views From the Top of the Golden Gate Bridge

Click to see more views from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge:

https://medium.com/@stevemnich /top-of-the-golden-gate- bridge-13c14ff7c3ac#.nn55tg4ia

Castle Eilean Donan, Scotland Near the Isle of Skye,

More photos of our Sarasota Sister Cities trip to Scotland at

http://dunfermlinesarasota.blogspot.com/

Law and Order Back in the Day

In 1331 Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, sent an officer to Eilean Donan to warn the occupants of his forthcoming visit. In preparation 50 wrongdoers were rounded up and executed, their heads being displayed on the castle walls to Moray's approval.^[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilean_Donan

Who Knew? The Location of the Fuel Door on your Rental Car

Gas Tanks: Why Aren’t All Fuel Doors on the Same Side?

By Mac Demere

https://blog.allstate.com/gas-tanks-arent-on-same-side/Quick: On which side is your vehicle’s fuel door? Must you look at the little diamond-shaped arrow on the fuel gauge EVERY time you fill up to know which side holds the fuel filler? Have you ever pulled to the fuel island to discover you’re on the wrong side? Did you utter bad…Allstatehttps://blog.allstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Fuel-Door-Thinkstock.jpg

Last week while driving a rental car, I pulled up at a gas station and experienced the dreaded “Oh no!” moment: I had no idea on which side of my car the gas cap was located. If you’re like me, the initial “Oh no!” is followed by a few moments of awkwardly craning your neck out the window in hopes of seeing (or not seeing) the gas door on the driver’s side. More often than not, however, I guess and just pull up to the pump – only to back up and circle around when my guess is wrong.

Arrow Indicators on New Cars?

Mistaking the gas cap location may seem like a minor inconvenience. But, what if there were a way to always know on which side it were located, without ever exiting the vehicle?

Good news: The secret to the gas cap location has been on our dashboards all along. If you are driving a newer car (as many rental cars are), then take a look at the arrow by the gas gauge on your dashboard. Depending on your car, it may look like a triangle pointing to the left or right.

What does this mysterious arrow mean? It’s a directional indicator that identifies which side of the vehicle the gas tank is located. For example, if the arrow points to the left, it means the gas cap is located on the left side, so the car should be parked to the right of the gas pump.

Click to read the full article: https://blog.allstate.com/gas-tanks-arent-on-same-side/?cid=CSY-PB-ZM-PA-z1170380outbrain__008c008cc87ed9fc05c2a00070d487ce571z:gas_tanks_why_aretn_all_fuel_doors_on_the_same_side#allstate.com

Interesting Article About the Underclass

Interesting article about the underclass. A difficult problem.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/the-original-underclass/492731/

I have always advocated that we change our welfare systems into workfare. Anyone who is able should be able to get a job, funded by the Federal Government.