In 2005, at the age of 54, I embarked on a new chapter in my life — organizing around food & farm policy. Within 1.5 years, we were so successful in terms of public interest and projects, that I decided to retire from my successful 25-year career as a professional gardener, in favor of seeking income […]
Public Trust
This blog has been submitted to the Evanston RoundTable as a Letter to the Editor, following the withdrawal of the latest finalist for Evanston City Manager. But in the interests of getting it out sooner rather than later, I am posting it now. For some other comments by voters on the latest, see:— Article in […]
I’ve been writing a lot lately — blogs, letter to editor, Twitter threads, etc.Here’s some items that relate to Evanston, either directly or as a U.S. municipality that shares in larger problems and opportunities common to the county, state, Midwest, country, hemispheres (West + Global North), species, planet. TO: — Evanston voters, media, political groups, businesses, activists, […]
Recently, I got a fundraising email from an organization called Democratic Municipal Officials. I took it as an invitation to voice my 2022 displeasure with the Democrats directly. Other Democratic voters might also want to contact the DMO and give the Democrats one more chance. For those who don’t know anything about the DMO, they […]
Thanks to the Evanston RoundTable for publishing this letter to the editor that I wrote in mounting frustration at the amount of damage control our City Council inflicts on itself (and the rest of us — voters, City staff, businesses, etc.) as the result of an outdated City Code. An extra thanks to editor Susy Schultz for […]
CONTENTS: Four new blogs + 2 news items on the following topics:— Local Foods— Participatory Budgeting— Universal Basic Income— Lakefront Misconduct Report TO: — Evanston voters, media, political groups, businesses, activists, institutions— Residents in my neighborhood (Nichols Neighbors)— Some non-Evanston voters with Evanston connections & interests Hi, all —I don’t know how much more energy I’ll […]
I’m sure most of us in Evanston are relieved to have some closure on the sexual misconduct at City lakefront operations. Knowing how these kinds of trauma work their way through survivors’ lives, I would not be surprised if more information surfaces, even years from now. But having read the report (released in Feb. 2022) […]
In 2009-10, I was lucky enough to learn about Participatory Budgeting as a way to promote real democracy. I was doubly lucky to learn from the first PB project initiated by a U.S. municipal official, the 49th Ward of Chicago where Alderman Joe Moore and his wife, Barb Moore, spearheaded the process. Evanstonians know the […]