Winnetka Talk

Small business owners have heart

Thu, 30 May 2013 09:34:00 -0500

I’ve heard the phrase, “Small business is the heart of America” all my life. While I’ve always agreed with the statement, spending the last year as a business features reporter has more than driven it home to me. Since last August, I’ve interviewed an estimated 1,000 people, which include business owners, professionals and consumers, and I have written Business Spotlight articles in the Pioneer Press on roughly 250 businesses all over the North Shore. Every week, I walk in and out of seven businesses to interview the owners, talk with employees and/or customers. Each business owner has a personal narrative …

Keep records of vital information for elderly parents

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:26:23 -0500

Sometimes we make assumptions about the information that we have or don’t have when it comes to our parents, grandparents or other seniors in our lives. Unfortunately the moment we realize that the information we need is not available is usually during a crisis.

Taking stigma off incontinence

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:14:03 -0500

Watching daytime TV, and all of the commercials for incontinence products, one might think that incontinence is a normal part of life and aging.

This Apple has sour taste

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:42:03 -0500

Dear Fixer: I cannot download any apps on my iPhone. It says my account is disabled. After I sent a request to the Apple support email address, I received a response from an iTunes adviser who said it appeared that my account had been disabled due to “chargeback orders” they had received from my credit card issuer.

Art of compromise is what’s needed now

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:42:03 -0500

In the aftermath of last week’s election, I’ve been listening to my friends on the right and the left. They are saying the same thing, and that’s what worries me.

Christmas shopping, philosophically speaking

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:42:03 -0500

Now that that pesky presidential election is over, it’s time to concentrate on what’s really important. Christmas shopping. But before you can shop, you have to decide what to get friends and family, collectively known as loved ones.

Stop ‘straw buyers’ of guns

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:10:01 -0500

For years Chicago and Cook County officials have been pushing a law that would help close the spigot of guns flowing illegally into the city. So far, the National Rifle Association has blocked the law in Springfield, but officials here should keep pushing. The so-called “lost or stolen” law would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen gun within 72 hours of noticing it is missing. It would help discourage “straw buyers” who purchase numerous guns legally in the suburbs and then sell them to felons in Chicago. Straw buyers often say their weapons were lost or stolen …

How about veggie McDonald’s here?

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:16:04 -0500

McDonald’s is opening two vegetarian-only restaurants. Not, unfortunately, in one of the hipper neighborhoods of Chicago, or even somewhere in California. But in India — in Amritsar and Katra. This makes sense. For reasons of religion and tradition, Indian diets tend to be low in meat, with about 30 percent of Indians eating no meat at all. But vegetarians are growing in number in this country, too, and we’re pretty sure a veggie McDonald’s would fare well in or around Chicago. Our first reaction when we read the news about a vegetarian-only McDonald’s was to laugh. Aren’t these the folks …

Refinancing bill could help the housing market

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 02:54:02 -0500

Gail Schechter is the executive director of the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs United States homeowners are in desperate need of relief. More than two million homes are in some stage of foreclosure and millions more homeowners are in homes for which they owe more in mortgage payments than the property is worth. The effect on the nation’s well-being is dire. Housing wealth dropped by 57 percent or $8.2 trillion from 2006 to 2011, resulting in net household wealth plummeting $14.3 trillion, according to a recent Harvard University housing report. Communities of color have been hit hardest with …

A ‘Moneyball’ lesson in life: ‘Get on base’

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:54:00 -0500

I’ve decided that the correct answer for just about any question this spring is: “He gets on base.” That answer comes from one of last year’s best movies, “Moneyball.” That simple phrase answers the questions put to Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A’s, about why he wants certain players over other players on his team. Because, Billy’s assistant answers every question, “He gets on base.” If only every move were that simple. But it is spring, and with spring comes a new baseball season. Here in Chicago, every baseball fan must be full of hope. It is clear …

Shimkus: Senator Kirk is coming back

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:42:30 -0500

Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed piece submitted by U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, regarding the status of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, who is in recovery from a stroke he suffered in January. As a member of the Illinois congressional delegation, I have been besieged by questions on the status of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk. These well-intended queries come from colleagues from around the country, congressional staffers, the professional employees of the government, local Republican leaders, and the general public. When I went to visit Senator Kirk, he was clearly very happy to see me. Family …

BLASER: Frauds and phonies are nothing new to Springfield

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:26:17 -0500

The recent news that a portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln hanging in the governor’s mansion in Springfield is a fake proved not only interesting but also somehow appropriate. It was interesting because all things dealing with President Lincoln are, at the very least, “interesting.” Appropriate because most of the occupants of the governor’s mansion over the last few decades have also been fakes. Have we had a governor lately who has even read about Lincoln? They certainly don’t try to emulate him. The recent governors we’ve had in this state are mostly charlatans and frauds, political hacks and hangers-on. They …

Why we will no longer endorse in elections

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:32:46 -0500

The publications of Pioneer Press are no longer going to be endorsing candidates in local, state and national elections. This editorial tells you why.