Kankakee received a bleak distinction when a recent CBS News report — that many saw published on Yahoo! — ranked it the city least likely in the nation to rebound from a slumping real estate market.
Home values in Kankakee have plunged more than 39 percent since 2008, and the likelihood of them ever fully rebounding are not good, according to data compiled for the national news network.Numbers provided by a local elators group, however, are much different and show an overall drop of only about 6 percent.Without listing specific sale prices, the national report indicates that the 39.2 percent drop of the average sale price of a Kankakee home is the sharpest decline of any city in the country."Unless the city sees a serious economic turnaround, it will be nearly impossible to recover that 39 percent drop in home values," the report concluded.
Showing posts with label Local. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Local. Show all posts
Friday, 27 September 2013
Dennis Yohnka: Trade bad TV for local theater
I don't think I really have to tell you this, but I am definitely over involved in TV.
Knowing that, I hope you will respect my words today when I suggest that there are at least two great reasons to get off of your couch — even in the midst of all the season premiere TV shows you can't wait to see.
Oh, I'm not going to suggest anything too strenuous on your part. I just want you to relocate where you're sitting. In fact, if you read to the end I'm even going to make this venture free for one lucky couple.
You see, instead of catching the next "Fast and Loud," "Project Runway" or "True Blood," I humbly ask you to set your recorder and go see some live theater. But, wait, before you label me as "hoity" and/or "toity," please read my side of this.
New Lenox mayor asks residents to boycott local gas stations
The mayor of New Lenox is asking residents to boycott local gas stations because prices are too high.
Tim Baldermann said gas prices in his village average about $3.50, higher than surrounding suburbsJoliet, Orland Park, and Homer Glen, according to a CBS Chicago report.
"We have to do something. The residents have got to send a message. It's a free market, and we respect that it's a free market, but that doesn't mean that I want our residents being taken advantage of, just because of our location," he said.
The CBS Chicago reports says it's the second time the mayor has urged residents to boycott. He made the same plea last year.
Monday, 2 September 2013
News digest – melanoma in men, local stats, quitting sucesses and more
Here’s our round-up of the week’s developments in cancer research.
We published new statistics showing the difference in death rates from melanoma between men and women (here’s the press release). The story was widely covered in the media – including this BBC interview with our spokesperson Yinka:An international team of researchers is calling for death certificates to record people’s smoking status, after an analysis from South Africa (the only country to do this) revealed large differences in smoking-related deaths among different ethnic communities. We covered the story on our news feed.Women with breast cancer caused by inherited faulty BRCA genes, and who take tamoxifen, have a lower risk of developing a second breast cancer, according to research covered by Reuters.Dr Maria Ocampo-Hafalla, a researcher at our London Research Institute, wrote about her work on understanding DNA in the Independent.Fascinating research from the US, covered here in the Huffington Post, suggests that the gene mutation that causes people to have red hair might also be directly linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.This is a really nice piece looking at the phenomenon of overdiagnosis (people being diagnosed with a disease that wouldn’t have harmed them), in the context of the US healthcare system.Taxol is one of the most successful cancer drugs of all time, and it comes from yew trees. Fox News looks at how it was discovered in the 1960s.A charity has developed a series of mobile computer games to help young cancer patients better cope with treatment, according to Medgadget.“Eating Celery Helps Fight Off Pancreatic Cancer”, yells the Mirror. Really? Celery? Really? As you might well expect from this sort of headline, the research was done in the lab and looked at whether apigenin – a chemical found in celery, oregano and other plants – could affect growing cells. It involved no patients, and it does not mean eating these plants has been shown, in any way, to prevent or treat cancer. Please, newspapers, stop doing this.Henry
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
News digest – melanoma in men, local stats, quitting sucesses and more
Here’s our round-up of the week’s developments in cancer research.
We published new statistics showing the difference in death rates from melanoma between men and women (here’s the press release). The story was widely covered in the media – including this BBC interview with our spokesperson Yinka:An international team of researchers is calling for death certificates to record people’s smoking status, after an analysis from South Africa (the only country to do this) revealed large differences in smoking-related deaths among different ethnic communities. We covered the story on our news feed.Women with breast cancer caused by inherited faulty BRCA genes, and who take tamoxifen, have a lower risk of developing a second breast cancer, according to research covered by Reuters.Dr Maria Ocampo-Hafalla, a researcher at our London Research Institute, wrote about her work on understanding DNA in the Independent.Fascinating research from the US, covered here in the Huffington Post, suggests that the gene mutation that causes people to have red hair might also be directly linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.This is a really nice piece looking at the phenomenon of overdiagnosis (people being diagnosed with a disease that wouldn’t have harmed them), in the context of the US healthcare system.Taxol is one of the most successful cancer drugs of all time, and it comes from yew trees. Fox News looks at how it was discovered in the 1960s.A charity has developed a series of mobile computer games to help young cancer patients better cope with treatment, according to Medgadget.“Eating Celery Helps Fight Off Pancreatic Cancer”, yells the Mirror. Really? Celery? Really? As you might well expect from this sort of headline, the research was done in the lab and looked at whether apigenin – a chemical found in celery, oregano and other plants – could affect growing cells. It involved no patients, and it does not mean eating these plants has been shown, in any way, to prevent or treat cancer. Please, newspapers, stop doing this.Henry
4-H honors 5 local volunteers
A record 65 volunteers were inducted into the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame during the Illinois State Fair — including Lorraine Wildman, 54-year leader of the Bonfield Happy Helpers 4-H Club and the longest-serving leader in Kankakee County.
Other area inductees were Sharlene Finegan, of Iroquois County; Rodger Bennett, of Ford County; Marge Vaughn, of Livingston County; Pam Brockman, of Grundy County; and Linda Scharnhorst, of Will County.
"These long-time volunteers fully embody what 4-H strives to instill in youth," said Angie Barnard, director of the Illinois 4-H Foundation. "They are caring, dedicated, generous leaders."
Mrs. Wildman, of Bonfield, said she likes the character-building ways of the 4-H. "It's good to see the children progress in their own ways after they're out of 4-H," she said.
She still works the 4-H Foodstand at the Kankakee County Fair, where she also is a volunteer in the antiques department in the Creative Arts Building.
The Wildman family has served more than 100 years as Happy Helpers leaders — son Ronald Wildman, of Bonfield, is in his 29th year and her daughter, Rita Overacker, of Kankakee, served for more than a quarter century.
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech
Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech
While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.
The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.
"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.
On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.
Pace said that day has yet to arrive.
"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.
News digest – melanoma in men, local stats, quitting sucesses and more
Here’s our round-up of the week’s developments in cancer research.
We published new statistics showing the difference in death rates from melanoma between men and women (here’s the press release). The story was widely covered in the media – including this BBC interview with our spokesperson Yinka:An international team of researchers is calling for death certificates to record people’s smoking status, after an analysis from South Africa (the only country to do this) revealed large differences in smoking-related deaths among different ethnic communities. We covered the story on our news feed.Women with breast cancer caused by inherited faulty BRCA genes, and who take tamoxifen, have a lower risk of developing a second breast cancer, according to research covered by Reuters.Dr Maria Ocampo-Hafalla, a researcher at our London Research Institute, wrote about her work on understanding DNA in the Independent.Fascinating research from the US, covered here in the Huffington Post, suggests that the gene mutation that causes people to have red hair might also be directly linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.This is a really nice piece looking at the phenomenon of overdiagnosis (people being diagnosed with a disease that wouldn’t have harmed them), in the context of the US healthcare system.Taxol is one of the most successful cancer drugs of all time, and it comes from yew trees. Fox News looks at how it was discovered in the 1960s.A charity has developed a series of mobile computer games to help young cancer patients better cope with treatment, according to Medgadget.“Eating Celery Helps Fight Off Pancreatic Cancer”, yells the Mirror. Really? Celery? Really? As you might well expect from this sort of headline, the research was done in the lab and looked at whether apigenin – a chemical found in celery, oregano and other plants – could affect growing cells. It involved no patients, and it does not mean eating these plants has been shown, in any way, to prevent or treat cancer. Please, newspapers, stop doing this.Henry
Saturday, 24 August 2013
As Kankakee regatta nears, local racers trade drivers' seats
A bizarre experiment in trading places will play out over the next two weekends in Kankakee.
Friday, champion boat racer Tammy Wolf, of Clifton, will test her racing skills on dry land — well, almost dry land. She's going to be behind the wheel of a stock car on the slippery, damp clay of the Kankakee County Speedway.
And, on the following Friday, Wolf will lead stock car driver Bill Stevenson — a Kankakee businessman, and part-time stock car driver, road racer and dragster pilot — through the boat racers' training program and out for a race that will be part of the annual Kankakee River Regatta.
Wolf, the first runner-up in this year's World Championship for the SST 200 racers, has the experience of entering a watery turn at 110 mph. But she says she isn't prepared for the feel of a car sliding into a banked turn at closer to 70 mph.
Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech
Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech
While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.
The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.
"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.
On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.
Pace said that day has yet to arrive.
"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.
News digest – melanoma in men, local stats, quitting sucesses and more
Here’s our round-up of the week’s developments in cancer research.
We published new statistics showing the difference in death rates from melanoma between men and women (here’s the press release). The story was widely covered in the media – including this BBC interview with our spokesperson Yinka:An international team of researchers is calling for death certificates to record people’s smoking status, after an analysis from South Africa (the only country to do this) revealed large differences in smoking-related deaths among different ethnic communities. We covered the story on our news feed.Women with breast cancer caused by inherited faulty BRCA genes, and who take tamoxifen, have a lower risk of developing a second breast cancer, according to research covered by Reuters.Dr Maria Ocampo-Hafalla, a researcher at our London Research Institute, wrote about her work on understanding DNA in the Independent.Fascinating research from the US, covered here in the Huffington Post, suggests that the gene mutation that causes people to have red hair might also be directly linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.This is a really nice piece looking at the phenomenon of overdiagnosis (people being diagnosed with a disease that wouldn’t have harmed them), in the context of the US healthcare system.Taxol is one of the most successful cancer drugs of all time, and it comes from yew trees. Fox News looks at how it was discovered in the 1960s.A charity has developed a series of mobile computer games to help young cancer patients better cope with treatment, according to Medgadget.“Eating Celery Helps Fight Off Pancreatic Cancer”, yells the Mirror. Really? Celery? Really? As you might well expect from this sort of headline, the research was done in the lab and looked at whether apigenin – a chemical found in celery, oregano and other plants – could affect growing cells. It involved no patients, and it does not mean eating these plants has been shown, in any way, to prevent or treat cancer. Please, newspapers, stop doing this.Henry
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Local comedian helps kids combat bullying
A sense of humor always has been a useful tool in deflecting the taunts of schoolyard bullies. Bourbonnais comedian Tim Owens wants to make that connection even more obvious.
The standup comedian and budding TV talk show host is mining his own youthful experiences as an African-American with a stuttering problem. He has blended in his own family-friendly style of humor. And he's ready to start visiting schools with a fresh approach to the anti-bullying campaign educators are waging.
"I grew up in Pembroke. I know something about low expectations." he said. "I have a 14-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter. I know a little about what the school environment is like now. And I survived some very awkward moments as a student who didn't overcome a stuttering problem until I was like 16."
So far, Owens' school visits have been limited to Lorenzo R. Smith School, where he attended.
Local student hooks up with Bears' film crew
When the Chicago Bears broke camp in Bourbonnais on Wednesday, Limestone resident Reece Storey headed north with the team.
The 2010 Herscher High School graduate has landed a spot with the team, and for a man who never even played high school football, that's quite an accomplishment.
The 21-year-old senior won't be packing shoulder pads, cleats or a helmet, however.
The Olivet Nazarene University actuarial science major has made the team as a result of his camera and film work. He will work Bears' home preseason and regular season games in the film editing department.
Storey will be helping process images of each play and getting those pictures to the coaching staff during the game. The coaches review those pictures on the sidelines and often make personnel or play adjustments based on the information they glean from those still shots.
Storey has been shooting film during Bears' camp since it began in July, and the team obviously has been impressed with the product he has produced, which mainly has focused on offensive and defensive line work and special team's play.
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