Thursday, October 27, 2011

Halloween, Farragut High, Lvejo Garden, Salaries, City Ordinance, LACC Breakfast Meeting


                 A FUN DAY: Each Halloween almost every Little Village child has walked down the 26th St. business district to “Trick or Treat” at all the stores. Halloween is a big deal for the children in Little Village because it is an occasion for them to dress in disguise and receive treats.  Every “character” imaginable, scary or funny, is represented in the Halloween parade. Many parents participate by dressing-up in costume to carry the youngest of “trick or treaters”. The parade of children is hectic, but fun to see.
                 LAST YEAR, 1,000 children in costumes visited the Little Village Community Council to receive candy, popcorn, or watch a scary movie and listen to the Halloween “Monster Mash” music. This year the LV Community Council, 3610 W. 26th St. will continue the tradition with an added Haunted House for bigger kids. The Council wants the kids to have fun and be safe. Vamos a tener una “Casa de Espantos” para los ninos en La Villita. Free admission. Admision gratis.
                 DAY OF THE DEAD: “Dia de los Muertos” [Day of the Dead] is a Mexican holiday.  Scholars have traced the origin of this modern Mexican holiday dating back hundreds of years and to the Aztec. “Dia de los Muertos” is celebrated immediately ending the celebration of Halloween at midnight for two days, Tuesday, Nov. 1st and Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.  
                 TO HONOR the deceased, family and friends gather together to pray for and remember those close to them who have died. Private alters are built and decorated with sugar skulls, marigold flowers, candles and the favorite food and beverage of the departed. Grave sites are visited with these gifts along with toys for the dead children and bottles of tequila for adults.
                 IN MOST regions of Mexico, November 1st honors children and infants, deceased adults are honored on November 2nd. Maria Silva, Secretary, Little Village Community Council, is building an alter with “oferta” [offering] for Dia de los Muertos. You are invited to come by and see her alter.

Theresa
Plascencia
                 FARRAGUT HIGH: Theresa A. Plascencia, Principal of Farragut Career Academy High School, 2345 S. Christiana Ave. in Little Village is resigning from her post.  She has accepted the CPS position as Chief of High Schools for the West Side Network of Chicago.  As Chief of High Schools, Plascencia will have supervision over Farragut Career Academy, Crane, Little Village, Manley, Juarez to name a few of a total of 26 high schools.
                 PLASCENCIA’s last day at Farragut will be Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. She has been at Farragut since 1995 in which she was a teacher, Dean, Assistant Principal and Principal for the past 6 years. “I am most proud of taking Farragut to a Level 2 school. Meaning the school is in good standing. This is the first time in 16 years for Farragut,” said Plascencia.
                 CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard will appoint an interim principal who will serve until the Farragut Local School Council [LSC] members selects a new principal. CPS will officially make the announcement of the Principal vacancy at Farragut.
                 MEMBERS on Farragut’s  LSC are Maria Avila [parent]; Eva Bahena [parent]; Maria Hernandez [parent/chairperson]; Rosa Perez [parent]; Martha Ramirez [parent]; Maria Rodriguez [parent]; August Sallas [community]; Maria Silva [community]; Leslie Andrade [student representative]; Victor Younger [non-teach staff]; Linda Trevino-Garcia [teacher/secretary]; William Nelson [teacher] and Theresa Plascencia [principal].     

Kimberly Wasserman, 
Abraham Duenas, President of 
LVEJO Board of Directors; 
Selene Gonzales, Park Organizer
                 LVEJO GARDEN: The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization [LVEJO] held a press conference Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 at 2727 S. & Troy Ave. to announce that a former contaminated site will be a future urban farm/community garden. “After 10 years of struggling for this garden and park, we are now here to see it happen,” said Kimberly Wasserman, Executive Director of LVEJO.
                WASSERMAN also announced the City of Chicago’s acquisition of the 23 acre Celotex property, plans for a new 24-acre park development on the site located at 28th & Sacramento Ave. in the 12th Ward in Little Village.  LVEJO’s work for a park on the Celotex park site was highlighted in the Chicago Tribune article by Blair Kamin.
                GUEST SPEAKERS at the press conference were Nelson Chueng, Chicago Dept. of Housing & Economic Development; Martha Boyd, Angelic Organics Learning Center; Fermin Mesa and Elvia Garcia, Little Village residents.
                LVEJO held a Networking for a Healthy Community forum immediately after the press conference at the Little Village Library, 2311 S. Kedzie Ave. to build support for the development of the community garden and park.

Juan
Rangel
                SALARIES: Juan Rangel’s yearly salary is $266,000 as the CEO for United Neighborhood Organization [UNO], a not-for-profit organization. As CEO Rangel oversees 10 charter publicly funded schools. Chicago Public School CEO Jean-Claude Brizard receives a yearly salary of $250,000 overseeing Chicago’s 486 elementary schools and 107 high schools; Mayor Rahm Emanuel, $216,210; Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, $260,004; Police Assistant Superintendent Beatrice Cuello, $188,316; Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff, $202,728; Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino, $179,109; Alderman Ricardo Munoz, [part-time] $108,086; Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinckle, $170,000; Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, $85,000 per year. Both Illinois House of Representative and Illinois State Senator base salaries are $67,836 per year, plus $132 per diem. [Per diem, from the Latin term "per day" or "for each day". Usually refers to the daily rate of any kind of payment. In employment it means that you are working on a day to day basis.]

                 CITY ORDINANCE:  “Title 8 of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago. Section 8-4-057, states: Excessive barking—Prohibited. “It shall be unlawful for any person who owns, controls, has possession of or is charged with responsibility for caring for any dog or other animal to allow such animal, while the animal is outside, to bark excessively in a manner that unnecessarily disturbs the comfort, quiet, peace or repose of any other person in the vicinity anytime day or night.  Any person who violates this section shall be fined not less than $50.00 or more than $250.00 for each offense. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
                 FOR PURPOSE of this section, the term “bark excessively” means any continued, repeated or habitual barking, whining, crying, howling, whimpering or loud noise common to an animal’s species that exceeds more than ten consecutive minutes in duration.”

Eva
Aquino
                 LACC BREAKFAST MEETING: The Latin American Chamber of Commerce is hosting a LACC Business Roundtable breakfast meeting this Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 at Lazo’s Restaurant, 2009 N. Western Ave. The meeting will feature Eva Aquino, SBA Director, Citibank, as their guest speaker
                  REGISTRATION and networking begins at 8:00 a.m. Breakfast will be served at 8:15 a.m. and the presentation at 8:45 a.m. Ms. Aquino’s topic will be “SBA Loan Programs from a Lender’s Perspective.” Donation for members and members’ guests: $25; and Non-members: $30.
                 THE LATIN American Chamber of Commerce is located at 3512 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago. The LACC Business Roundtables provides “a forum where its members exchange ideas, network and address issues related to financing, contract procurement, emerging economic topics and legislation impacting commerce and industry.”