fischer
View from here too tall for downtown Naperville
While I have, on more than one occasion, been told to “go fly a kite,” a chilly late September Sunday morning was the first time I had ever been invited to go out and hoist a balloon. A small group of interested citizens wanted to …
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From The Homefront: Procrastination leads to insights on election
Looking for reasons not to rake the leaves in his yard, columnist Bob Fischer finds time to read “Cronkite” on his Kindle and finds roots of current political landscape.
From The Homefront: Fair Housing Advisory Commission here to help
In response to a call for applicants, I was selected to a term of office on the Fair Housing Advisory Commission. This group exists to help ensure that all people, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, familial status, physical or mental handicap or disability, military status, sexual orientation or legal source of income, have a fair and equal opportunity to purchase, own, lease or occupy housing within the city of Naperville.
From The Homefront: Smart meter discourse hits ludicrous speed
While I am certain analog-meter-loving luddites will find fault with my smart meter analysis, the situation long ago deteriorated beyond rational dialogue. My adding further convenient “facts” to the discussion, no matter how outrageous, merely highlights the absurd direction of the discourse.
From The Homefront: Meeting focuses on city services
This Saturday, the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation kicks off its 2012-2013 general meeting schedule by giving residents the inside scoop on how our city government functions. Joining Dr. Bob at the podium will be 14 city government team members led by City Manager Doug Krieger and Deputy City Manager Marcie Schatz.
From The Homefront: Confederation’s opinions more than rhetoric
Columnist Bob Fischer sets the record straight about the Naperville Homeowners Confederation’s by-laws, and how the group’s positions are developed and presented.
From The Homefront: No do-over for Water Street development
Naperville’s Planning and Zoning Commission will get a rare chance to be part of a “do-over” this Wednesday. The Water Street developers will make another appearance to pitch their most recent plans for their piece of a small area tucked along the downtown Riverwalk.
From The Homefront: Pitching horsehoes in Naperville is the pits
Last February, while visiting our friends the Schultz’s in Arizona, Ted roused me out of bed one morning to engage in some male bonding at the nearby Rec Center. Together with 20 or so other AARP card carriers, we spent a couple hours engaging in a sport whose roots harken back to second century BC Greek soldiers: horseshoe pitching.
From the Homefront: HOAs bring neighbors together
Recognizing the need to recruit and include motivated new members, the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation recently revised its bylaws to allow individual homeowners, not part of a recognized Homeowners Association, to join the confederation.
From The Homefront: Rethinking the symbol of suburbia — our lawns
Depending on perspective, looking out over our front and back yards, there is a sea of contentment, playing field, home value differentiator, or potential ecological blight symbolizing wasted resources and the excesses associated with living the “American dream.”
From The Homefront: Cell phones bring out worst, best in us
Market research firm iGR (igr-inc.com) recently surveyed U.S. consumers regarding technology. While the full study has yet to be published, last week they provided advance knowledge of some of their gathered insights. The topic that they talked about first? The seemingly obsessive need to communicate while, to put it delicately, taking care of business.
From The Homefront: Road construction part of larger north-south crunch
Once again a topic around town is automobile traffic. Two very different construction proposals, at opposite ends of town, have neighbors talking about roadway congestion and its impact on their daily lives. While the two projects might seem completely unrelated, there is a strong connection, and studying the implications of one might help understand the other.
From the Homefront: Think about health of treeson Arbor Day
April 27 is Arbor Day, so this is a good time to think about trees. For homeowners, trees add to property values, decrease energy bills, and contribute to our overall quality of life. A study recently released at HomeGain.com reported that spending on landscaping, when …
From The Homefront: Pedestrians should follow rules, too
Now that I am older, and some might say (albeit factually) curmudgeonly, my appreciation for pedestrian Naperville remains strong. This is in spite of dealing with the self-centered few whose mindset seems to be that crosswalks and roadways were placed solely for their personal use and enjoyment.
From The Homefront: Art of compromise lost to bullies, closed minded
Threats to picket (as is the case with the fertility clinic proposal), or the ongoing rhetoric around the smart meter saga, are the most recent examples of individuals willing to talk, but definitely not amenable to listening.
From the Homefront: Chances to enhance your gardening skills
Other than some errant bulbs spoofed by our mild winter, the only things sprouting are colorful candidate signs for the March 20 primary elections. Despite the abundance of political fertilizer being spread, a lot of neighbors are thinking about garden soil instead of the dirt dished up by the candidates, political campaigns and PACs.