Several years ago Glenview had the chance to sell a chunk of the former Naval Air Station for construction of a Home Depot, Costco and Harley Davidson motorcycle store, but there were wetlands on the property north of Willow Road at Patriot Boulevard. The Army Corps of Engineers agreed to let the village fill those wetlands and develop the land in exchange for a promise to make 10 acres of new wetlands on the site. Now, dazzled by the prospect of a car dealership and a gas station, the village is asking the corps for permission to destroy the new wetlands. In exchange, local officials say they’ll put more man-made marshes somewhere at The Glen – perhaps in Gallery Park or around the prairie. Environmentalists are not thrilled with wetlands along Willow Road, but they worry that the proposed deal adds 10 more acres of pavement without giving the community any new open space. The corps could insist that the village add new open space and is asking residents what they think of the village plan. The public has until July 23 to comment – to express concerns about flooding, water quality, wildlife habitat and scenic value.

If you have questions, call 312-846-5531, e-mail kathy.g.chernich@usace.army.mil or visit www.lrc.usace.army.mil/co-r/400639.pdf. Then send your thoughts to Kathy Chernich at the e-mail address above. Be sure to include your full name and address. You can also mail your thoughts to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Chicago District, Regulatory Branch

Attn. 200400639, Ms. Kathy G. Chernich

111 North Canal Street, 6^th floor

Chicago, IL 60606-7206

As traffic through The Glen builds and the number of pedestrians increases around Gallery Park, Park Center and Attea Middle School, the village is planning to take a second look at the design of two key intersections – Patriot Boulevard at Chestnut Avenue and Patriot at West Lake.

Police Sgt. Terry Urbanowski says new signs and lane markings may be added this fall to clarify appropriate routes for drivers entering The Glen Town Center through those five-point intersections, but Urbanowski says the village is unlikely to change its mind about banning right turns on red.

They’re prohibited, she explains, because of an extra element of risk – the fifth street. If drivers are heading west, for example, on Chestnut and want to make a right turn onto Patriot Boulevard, they’re likely to look to their left first, she explains, but they might not notice traffic turning left from Town Center – moving into the intersection at the same time.

Urbanowski says traffic is increasing all over Glenview, and she joins Police Chief William Fitzpatrick in urging residents to be patient. "When people have to wait 30 seconds to make a turn, it may seem like a lifetime, but it’s 30 seconds in a 24-hour day," Urbanowski says. "It’s amazing the number of complaints we get when people have to wait less than a minute!"

Residents who have ideas for improving traffic flow or concerns about safety can e-mail Sgt. Urbanowski at turbanowski@glenview.il.us, but if you want the traffic committee to officially consider a situation, you must use snail mail, posting letters to Sgt. Terry Urbanowski, Traffic Safety Committee, 1215 Waukegan Road, Glenview, IL 60025.

If you’re not satisfied with the response you get, you can appeal to Village President Larry Carlson.

– Still no word on the cause of a devastating fire at Red’s Auto Body Shop on Lehigh Avenue. Because the destruction was so costly, several agencies are investigating, including the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Red’s owner Helen Bammesberger has vowed to rebuild.

– Glenview’s Library Board hosts a public forum on where the community should build a new library at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 14 at the Lyceum of Glenbrook South High School. Village officials want the library to stay at its present location, but the library board insists it would be far cheaper and easier to build north of Dominick’s at The Glen. Members say they look forward to hearing from the public on this subject.

– The Naval Air Station Glenview Museum is open at The Glen Town Center on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

– Glenview’s new zip code for The Glen and other communities west and northwest of downtown takes effect on July 1. You can find out whether you’re in the new zone – 60026 – by visiting the village website: www.glenview.il.us, then clicking the zip code entry under "News and Notices." Communications Director Janet Spector Bishop admits the map "is not a great one, but you can get the general idea." If the map does not answer your question, call the post office at 729-1021. While the code can be used to streamline delivery, mail bearing the old code will continue to be delivered for a year.

– The plan commission has approved a proposal to expand the Plaza del Prado shopping center at Willow and Pfingsten roads. The owner wants to add a 4,450-square foot building just east of Bank One to house two new casual restaurants, bringing the total number of eateries in that center to 10. The recommendation came despite a presentation from zoning board member and patron Mary Novotny who showed photographs documenting a tight parking situation at the plaza one Saturday afternoon. The center’s management says it has provided more parking than required by village ordinance. Novotny and neighbors could appear to protest when the center’s owner seeks final approval from the village board on July 20.

– A Connecticut-based company that manages 17 movie theaters with a total of 178 screens says The Glen is doing well – coming within 5 percent of projected business volume in its first six months. Crown Theatre’s Jeremy Wellman says, "People just really appreciate having their own neighborhood theater, and The Glen has become the new downtown for Glenview." He admits weekday business is often slow, but says that’s typical for the industry, and the theater is offering a number of promotions designed to boost traffic Monday through Thursday. Movies for Moms – a special Wednesday morning show – invites mothers with infants to enjoy a film, and an $8 summer pass allows children to see one movie a week for eight weeks. The Glen’s promised art screen has been scrapped because Wellman says, "It didn’t perform very well."

– The Tea Leaf Café is now open at The Glen Town Center, offering exotic fruit and ice drinks, bubble tea and other beverages along with gourmet ice cream. Already doing business in Chicago’s Chinatown, Tea Leaf brings a taste of Taiwan to the northern suburbs.

– You can also get fruit freezes and gourmet tea drinks at Liquid Fusion on Milwaukee Avenue next to Famo’s. Try the strawberry banana drink with tapioca for a sweet and chewy summer treat.

Glenview’s Park District says it must still raise $10,000 to cover the costs of this year’s Fourth of July celebration – a $65,500 party funded by private donations. Glenview State Bank is again a major sponsor of the twilight show and parade. Cook County Commissioner Gregg Goslin, who owns the Abington nursing home, will cover costs for the bike parade that precedes the main procession.

The park district’s Director of Recreation Services Mary Van Arsdale says new residents and businesses in Glenview are doing their part to support the celebration. About half of this year’s donors did not contribute last year.

All of this year’s festivities will take place on July 5 to avoid conflicts with Sunday church services. The bike parade will pedal off at 10:45 a.m. Children nine years of age and younger are invited to assemble with their decorated cycles at the Colonial Court building on the corner of Glenview Road and Church Street at 10:30 a.m.

The parade itself begins at 11:30 a.m. – stepping off from the parking lot of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, proceeding west on Glenview Road, south on Harlem and west on Central to Johns Park. There will be 97 participating groups and businesses this year – up from 83 last year. Van Arsdale says celebrating on July 5 takes us out of competition for bands that are marching in other communities on July 4.

– West Nile virus has arrived according to the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District. Insects trapped in Northfield tested positive for the disease, and spraying has begun. For more information, call 446-9434 or visit www.nsmad.com.

– The Air Station Prairie is not officially open for business, but residents who hop the split rail fence are not being stopped – nor are they being warned. The prairie is heavily infested with ticks. While Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses are not known to occur in northern Illinois, experts advise visitors to wear long pants and socks if they plan to wander newly-mown paths through the prairie.

– Congratulations to ace Glenview birder Jeff Sanders who spotted nine piping plovers – the largest number ever seen in Illinois and spied the first snowy plovers ever in Cook County.

– Nationally-recognized nature photographer Carol Freeman, a resident of Heatherfield, is snapping shots of threatened and endangered species of plants and animals for her 2005 calendar. If you have such flora or fauna on your property and would be willing to give her access, please e-mail carol@carolfreemanphotography.com

– Glenview resident George Nassos hosts an international conference on sustainable cities – looking at ways to integrate environmental, social and economic concerns -- July 22-24. For more information go to www.stuart.iit.edu/bell or call 312-906-6543.

– Glenview’s grand dame of politics, Norma Morrison, hosted a party for her favorite presidential candidate Saturday. The event, which featured a pre-recorded call from the candidate, raised $1,300 for John Kerry and drew guests from as far away as Washington D.C. Morrison, who is 88, was ably assisted by her 16-year-old granddaughter Kelsey, husband Bill, sons Ken and David.

– Tenth district congressional candidate Lee Goodman is accusing incumbent Mark Kirk of hypocrisy. Kirk recently criticized the World Bank for pulling its staff out of Iraq because U.S. troops could not assure their safety. Goodman considered that a cheap shot from someone sitting safely inside the U.S. Capitol. He says Kirk, who’s a Navy officer, "did not go to Iraq when the reserves were called up, claiming he was more valuable here. Because he is a congressman, the Navy cannot force him to go abroad as it can other reservists, so it has allowed him to fulfill his obligation on occasional weekends in Washington," Goodman says.

– Evanston police are investigating a break-in at the offices of four Democrats – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Jeff Schoenberg, State Representative Julie Hamos and Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin. Nothing was taken, but intruders vandalized the place – spraying a fine white mist from the fire extinguisher.

– The Cook County Board has voted to lower the speed limit on Lake Avenue in Wilmette from 35 miles per hour to 30 at the request of community activists and the village. Residents were concerned about the safety of pedestrians and drivers on the mainly residential section of Lake between Skokie Boulevard and Ridge Road.

– Northbrook is running out of cash to redevelop the Annetsberger property – improving the golf course while adding a ball field, batting cages and a skate park. The village has set aside $7 million for the project but say it may cost more, forcing some construction delays.

– Glenbrook North students Mike Rosecrans and Jake Ziering won a national debate competition, beating out California’s College Preparatory School for top honors. It was an exciting going away gift to Coach Ted Belch, who recently retired from GBN.

– Northbrook’s Rotary Club raised $7,500 with its annual Rubber Duck Race down the Chicago River. Participants paid $5 apiece to sponsor a duck or $25 for a "quack pack" of six. Sixteen hundred rubber ducks were dumped by a front-end loader from the Shermer Road Bridge. Twenty minutes later, the first one crossed the finish line. Its sponsor, the son of Rotary member Judy Hughes, claimed a prize of $1,000.

– Wilmette is cracking down on drunken boat drivers. Under an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard, intoxicated captains will be turned over to police and face steep fines, community service or jail time.

– Ravinia is bracing for big crowds this summer when Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin and the rock group Abba perform. To help with the crush, Chicago’s Botanic Garden has agreed to open its parking lot to concert goers.

The Glenview Public Library presents Active Music for Children with Bill Hooper, a musician who specializes in pleasing kids under the age of 6, at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 29. Get tickets for this free event at the Youth Desk.

Drop-In Chess Club for children will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 30. Instructor Steve Levenson is there to help, but kids should bring their own chess set if possible. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. No registration is required.

Pick up tickets for a performance of Earthkeepers: Native American Legends and the Environment. Learn to love, respect and care for nature, dance and chant to the beating drum, listen to Kokopelli's flute, and discover the great web of life at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 1.

Paul Fischl wants to clear up driving confusion at The Glen: "If one is heading west on Chestnut toward the intersection at Patriot, which lane should one be in to make a soft right turn onto Tower? The left turn lane for Patriot southbound is obvious, and the right turn lane for Patriot northbound is obvious as well, but there is no sign, and there are no arrows painted onto the street to indicate which is the proper lane to use for Tower. I have assumed it is the center lane, but every time I try to follow the center lane onto Tower, someone in the right lane cuts me off. If I am in the right lane, I find myself cutting off someone in the center lane. I finally gave up, and now I turn right onto Patriot, then turn left into Town Center a few yards further north. Couldn't there be better signage there?"

The Watch replies: "You are correct. Traffic headed for Town Center from Chestnut should be in the center lane. A new sign tells drivers in the right lane that they may only turn right on Patriot, and new lane markings are expected this fall. In the mean time, you’re wise to drive defensively by taking another route."

KNC corrects a reader who last week complained that the post office barred parking in front of a driveway that leads to a brick wall: "I was walking past the post office yesterday and looked for the space mentioned in your last newsletter. The marked off area is not a driveway heading into a brick wall but a curb cut designed to provide handicapped access to the post office."

Ed offers this footnote to last week’s warning about a telephone scam: "I decided to check on this scam and came across some more information at

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa021898.htm

It appears that this trick will only work if you need to dial 9 to get an outside line. By the way, this is a great web site that addresses a lot of the scams and urban legends that pop up quite frequently."

Maryanne Colter quotes from the website www.hoaxinfo.com: "The claim in the message circulating is that by pushing 9-0 and the pound sign you'll give the caller access to your phone line. Is it true? Well that depends. It is not true for any residential customers. If you are at a business that uses a private branch exchange (PBX), and your system uses 9 to get an outside line, then the answer is yes! It is possible for someone to be given an outside line with complete
calling privileges at the company's expense. I called AT&T and confirmed that as of June 2000 most businesses use this system and most of them are still vulnerable to this type of scam."

And Jodi Carlson outdid herself, supplying links to several sites that discuss this misleading warning to consumers. She wrote: "Ninety-nine percent of the email warnings I get from well-meaning friends are proven to be hoaxes after just a little bit of research. My rule of thumb is the more convincing the warning, the more likely it is to be a hoax. Checking one of these sites before spreading these myths will save people a lot of anxiety: The Korova Multimedia "Hoax Du Jour" essay from 1998 on The #90* Hoax ,The AT&T advice on how to avoid the original scam (not the hoax mutations), The Internet Scambusters' article on The 90# Hoax (which they describe as an Urban Legend), the CIAC HoaxBusters article on The 90# Hoax, the AFU & Urban Legends Archives article on The 90# Hoax, the Urban Legends Reference Pages article on the original scam and various related telephone scams, and a not completely serious article from the MiningCo on The 90# Hoax. Finally, if someone insists that they heard this warning from a policeman/telephone company employee/system administrator/boss and that it therefore ‘must be true,’ tell them to read the Computer Virus Myths page on False Authority Syndrome."

AG laments local changes: "I lived in Glenview for 14 years. I moved there because it was more like a small town than a North Shore suburb. It even had a farm with cows! But things changed when The Glen was built for the rich. Our neighborhood, just a few blocks east of The Glen, contains a block of boarded up houses with overgrown yards that the Village of Glenview won't deal with (except for putting a chain link fence around it, which makes it look even worse). At one point they even said they didn't know who owned the property. I got tired of driving by the mess every day for many years and even more frustrated with the village of Glenview and Village President Larry Carlson's attitude when we asked for improvements. Take a drive sometime down Monroe Street, between Chestnut and Jefferson, and compare it to The Glen or any other area of Glenview. I moved before the neighborhood deteriorated any further."

YOUR TURN: Write to glenviewwatch@aol.com or 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a contribution to support The Watch. Non-deductible checks should be payable to Glenview Watch. Thanks for your support and for reading. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors.

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