3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe

Orly's Fails September 20 Inspection

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September 20, 2012 [go here for text of inspection at Everyblock]
  • Orly's/Jalapeno
  • Risk 1 (High)
  • Results
  • Fail
  • Violations
    14. PREVIOUS SERIOUS VIOLATION CORRECTED, 7-42-090
    Comments:CONTINUED NON COMPLIANCE, EVIDENCE OF RODENTS AND INSECTS ON SITE. NOTED MICE DROPPINGS (APPROXIMATELY 30) SCATTERED IN VARIOUS AREAS BEHIND BAR,IN DRY STORAGE ROOM, IN CORNERS IN DINING AREA,BEHIND BOOTH ALONG WALL BASE,UNDER SHELVES AND ALONG SIDE COOLERS/FREEZERS IN OFFICE/STORAGE AREA,BEHIND EQUIPMENT AND THROUGHOUT. MUST REMOVE DROPPINGS, CLEAN AND SANITIZE AFFECTED AREAS AND HAVE SERVICE FROM PEST CONTROL. ALSO NOTED LIVE INSECTS ON SITE. NOTED APPROXIMATELY 6 LIVE LARGE FLIES IN FRONT STORAGE AREA NEAR UNUSED OVEN,IN DINING AREA AND IN PREP AREA. ALSO NOTED 2 LIVE ROACHES ON THE FLOOR UNDER THE DISH MACHINE. MUST REMOVE INSECTS,SANITIZE AFFECTED AREAS AND HAVE THE PEST CONTROL COMPANY SERVICE AREAS.
    32. FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES PROPERLY DESIGNED, CONSTRUCTED AND MAINTAINED
    Comments:REMOVE RANCID GREASE ON INTERIOR OF FRYERS.
    33. FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT EQUIPMENT UTENSILS CLEAN, FREE OF ABRASIVE DETERGENTS
    Comments:MUST CLEAN INTERIOR OF FREEZERS AND REMOVE FOUL ODORS. ALSO DETAIL CLEAN WINDOW SILLS AND ALL DIRTY SURFACES THROUGHOUT. CLEAN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACHINE. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN ALL FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT EQUIPMENT FREE OF DUST, DEBRIS, SPIDERWEBS, DROPPINGS, TOOLS, SCREWS, ETC.
    34. FLOORS: CONSTRUCTED PER CODE, CLEANED, GOOD REPAIR, COVERING INSTALLED, DUST-LESS CLEANING METHODS USED
    Comments:MUST PROPERLY REPAIR BROKEN FLOOR TILES IN BAR AREA AND UNDER SMALL PREP COOLER. FLOOR MUST BE SMOOTH, EVEN, EASILY CLEANABLE SURFACE.
    41. PREMISES MAINTAINED FREE OF LITTER, UNNECESSARY ARTICLES, CLEANING EQUIPMENT PROPERLY STORED
    Comments:MUST PROPERLY CLEAN AND MAINTAIN UNUSED EQUIPMENT OR REMOVE.

    Announcing Film Babble Blog's Sister Site: Pop Goes The Babble

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    I’m proud to announce my new blog:



    I’m overflowing with pop culture material that’s not about movies, so it seemed like it should get its own site. My reviews and features about television shows, and rock ‘n roll will now be the realm of Pop Goes The Babble, which will be a more indulgent blog mainly about whatever I’m into at the moment.
    So far there are only 2 posts:
    Pop Goes The Babble’s Favorite Album of 2012: Bob Dylan’s Tempest (12/12/12) An essay that I wrote back when the album came out, but never posted gets its proper home here.
    An excerpt: “Dylan’s previous album, 2009’s Together Through Life, had its off-the-cuff, live-in-the-studio charms, but Tempest is a vast improvement in arrangement, production, and songwriting, with lyrics that are as sharp as the singing is raggedy.” 

    Babblin’ about the rocking but exhausting 12.12.12 Concert:


    My re-cap of last night’s mammoth rock star-packed concert at Madison Square Garden to raise money for the Robin Hood Relief Fund benefiting victims of Hurricane Sandy.

    Hope you check out the site and give me feedback as it goes. Thanks for your support!

    More later…

    Tarantino's Overlong DJANGO Is Off The Chain

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    Opening today at a multiplex near you:


    DJANGO UNCHAINED (Dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2012)

    Three years after his revisionist World War II epic INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, Quentin Tarantino is back with this blaxploitation Western, which tackles slavery, revenge, and how many times the “N-word” can be said in a 2 hour and 45 minute movie.

    Almost as if he’s atoning for playing an evil Nazi in BASTERDS, Christoph Waltz portrays an abolitionist-minded bounty hunter who frees a slave named Django (Jamie Fox) from his sinister masters (James Remar and James Russo) in the deep south of 1859. 


    Waltz recruits Fox to join him in his bounty hunting (“Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?”), and they set off to rescue Fox’s wife (Kerry Washington) from the clutches of Leonardo DiCaprio as a brutal yet charming Mississippi plantation owner.


    Tarantino takes his sweet time getting to DiCaprio’s plantation, as Fox and Waltz make their way across the terrain, beautifully shot by cinematographer Robert Richardson. At times the film comes off like a collection of comedy sketches loosely strung together. One scene, in which a Colonel Sanders-looking Don Johnson as another villainous plantation owner named Big Daddy argues with his men about the badly cut slits in their proto Klan hoods, feels like it could’ve been an outtake from BLAZING SADDLES.
    Dinner at DiCaprio’s, with his house slave (an intensely invested Samuel L. Jackson), is also leisurely paced. Fox and Waltz, under the guise of slave traders, are trying to pull the wool over DiCaprio’s eyes and liberate Washington, but Jackson sniffs them out. This is one of those slow burning sequences that can only end in bloodshed, but Tarantino drags it out too much, which calls attention to how slim the narrative is.

    The Spaghetti Westerns and ‘70s grindhouse movies that Tarantino is forever paying homage to didn’t have very layered storylines either, so that’s not too terrible an issue, but it’s sometimes tedious how he cares more about hanging out with his characters than putting them into challenging scenarios.


    From the retro Columbia studios logo to the RZA’s “Ode To Django” that plays during the end credits, DJANGO UNCHAINED feels like a Tarantino movie through and through. It’s a profanity-laced dialogue-driven violent action comedy with well chosen cameos (look for Jonah Hill, The Dukes of Hazzard’s Tom Wopat, Tarantino (you knew he'd show up, right?) and the original Django himself, Franco Nero), set to a hip soundtrack (a mix of Ennio Morricone, hip hop, and even a little Johnny Cash), that could only come from the twisted mind of the 49 year old former video store clerk.


    Fox puts in a solidly stoic performance as the title character, interacting superbly with Waltz, both obviously having a blast with Tarantino’s way with words. DiCaprio, sporting a devilish goatee, also appears to be having fun, but he’s not given a very interesting character. DiCaprio doesn’t come off as despicable as he’s supposed to be. It’s Jackson who takes that honor.
    And, of course, it's a boy's club, so don't expect much from the women present - Washington, at least, makes her presence known.

    DJANGO may be more for Tarantino fanatics than casual movie-goers, so if you don’t have much tolerance for the man’s particular brand of abrasive cinema, you won’t be won over. Fanboys will be picking it apart and poring over the inevitable much longer director’s cut (a four hour version may be released to theaters depending on the box office of this one) for years, but I doubt many of them will think its Tarantino’s best film.


    So anyway, it's pretty a pretty ballsy move for the Weinstein Co. to release this movie, maybe containing the most excessive use of the N-word in cinematic history, on Christmas Day. It's a move that proves that, these days, a Tarantino movie, however crude the content, is a tent-pole event.
    More later...

    Holiday Season Cinema Roundup 2012 Part 1

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    This hasn’t been the strongest holiday movie season I’ve experienced (how could it be without the Coen brothers or George Clooney?), but it’s a pretty strong one with a few entertaining epics, a couple of decent comedies, and one big overwrought musical competing for movie-goers attention.

    So let’s take a look at what’s currently playing as the year is ending:

    SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK 
    (Dir. David O. Russell)


    Although it must be stressed that this is ultimately a best-case scenario rom com, this tale of a bio-polar Bradley Cooper getting together with Jennifer Lawrence as a neurotic widower has a punchy screenplay that’s energetically (and very loudly) delivered by the leads, including Robert De Niro, in one of his most invested performance in years, as Cooper’s Philadelphia Eagles superfan father. Chris Tucker, who keeps popping up after repeatedly escaping from Cooper’s former mental institution, adds to the film’s already plentiful laughs. Director and screenwriter Russell's last film, 2010's THE FIGHTER, was a winner as well, so here's hoping he's on a roll.
    HITCHCOCK 
    (Dir. Sacha Gervasi)   

    Sacha Gervasi’s (2008's rock doc ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL) second film as director boasts a stellar cast - Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collett, and Danny Huston – but a not so stellar story. The conceit that every good idea that went into the making of the classic 1960 thriller PSYCHO came not from the Master of Suspense, but from his wife Alma falls flat in the midst of these fine actors being put through T.V. movie-ish motions. Read my full review here.

    THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (Dir. Peter Jackson)


    Peter Jackson takes us on another sweeping slog through Middle Earth in this prequel set 60 years before THE LORD OF THE RINGS series. Martin Freeman, best known as Tim on the mockumentary sitcom The Office [UK], stars as Bilbo Baggins who reluctantly finds himself on a quest with an unruly band of dwarves to overtake what looks like the Paramount mountain. I saw it in HFR (Higher Frame Rate) 3D, but, although it looked exquisitely sharp, it wasn’t as immersive an experience as I’d heard. Probably would’ve been just as well off with the 2D version.

    There are some amazing heavily CGI-ed sequences, including battles and chases inside an elaborate underground city that comes off like THE TEMPLE OF DOOM times 100, but you can really feel its length (169 min.), and the idea that this is just part one of another trilogy seems to come more from greed than pure inspiration. 

    But that's too cynical of me. This is really for the legions of Tolkien fans who can’t get enough of this stuff and will love spending more time with Ian McKellen’s Gandalf, and getting cameos from Frodo (Elijah Wood), and Ian Holms as the older incarnation of Bilbo who presents the story as a flashback. What I enjoyed most was Bilbo's cave encounter with the slimy creature Gollum (once again beautifully played by motion-capture specialist Andy Serkis), which is nicely faithful to the original Tolkien text.


     DJANGO UNCHAINED 
    (Dir. Quentin Tarantino)

    Tarantino’s blaxploitation Western is also a long-ass film (165 min!) that could’ve been served by better editing (sadly his long-time editor Sally Menke died in 2010), but it’s still a hugely entertaining epic that tackles revenge, slavery, and possibly contains the most excessive use of the “N-word” in cinematic history. 

    Jamie Fox stars as a slave who gets freed by a former dentist played by Christoph Waltz who offers Fox a new job as a bounty hunter. Together, they set off to rescue Fox’s wife (Kerry Washington) from the plantation of the brutal yet charming Leonardo DiCaprio. The film drags a bit in DiCaprio’s company, which includes Samuel L. Jackson as his cruel conniving house slave, but when its “on” it's a blast. Read my full review here.
    Coming soon: Part 2 of Film Babble Blog's Holiday Season 2012 Roundup.

    More later...

    Holiday Season Cinema Roundup 2012 Part 2

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    Continuing Film Babble Blog's end of the year roundup (check out Part 1 here), we now take a look at several more movies currently playing this holiday season:

    LES MISÉRABLES (Dir. Tom Hooper) 


    I was surprised at how many of the songs that I was familiar with in this adaptation of the wildly popular musical based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel. I had forgotten that a long time ago an ex-girlfriend had the CD set of the Original Broadway Cast Recording from the late '80s, so much of it came flooding back as the film unfolded on the screen.

    As my memories and the movie coalesced, I took in this French revolution era tale about Hugh Jackman as an escaped convict, who after becoming mayor of a small town, agrees to take care of deceased factory worker Anne Hathaway’s daughter (played by Isabelle Allen as a child; Amanda Seyfried as an adult). As sleazy innkeepers, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron-Cohen bring on the bawdy and steal the movie whenever they appear.
    Jackman, Hathaway, and Seyfried, who all sing their parts live, are in fine voice, but Russell Crowe, as a ruthless policeman who’s hunting Jackman, has a rough warble that can be painful to endure - especially when the songs go on and on, which they often do. Hooper’s epic production, which clocks in at 157 minutes, wonderfully wallows in the muck of its dark, grotesque imagery, but its messiness can be overwhelming at times. Folks who aren’t fans of the musical, or musicals in general, will find it hard to take, but for the most part, I took it just fine.

    JACK REACHER (Dir. Christopher McQuarrie) 
    Looks like Tom Cruise wants another franchise as this is an adaptation of one of seventeen in a series of novels by Lee Child. This action thriller formula is competently constructed, but its story - Cruise as an ex-army military police investigator tries to get to the bottom of a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random people - isn't very compelling. 
    Some excitement is there in a few set-pieces, but its climax containing a shoot-out at a construction site, only hammers home how routine a genre exercise it is. Still, Cruise fans should love it as he makes a convincing unshakable badass, and Werner Herzog makes a great villain. Read my full review here.

    THIS IS 40 (Dir. Judd Apatow)

    Judd Apatow’s glorified home movie is his third film to feature his wife (Leslie Mann) and kids (daughters Maude and Iris), so you know he thinks they’re funny. To his credit, for a lot of its running time (another long one at 134 min) they are funny, but this is a big sloppy comic drama with too many storylines that never really get resolved. Paul Rudd and Mann, reprising their married couple roles from KNOCKED UP, have good chemistry together, and Albert Brooks, as Rudd’s father dealing with new triplets, is highly amusing, so there’s enough here to satisfy most comedy fans. Folks who aren’t fans of heavy amounts of profanity, or Apatow’s brand of man-boy humor in general may want to skip it however. Read my full review.

    ANNA KARENINA 
    (Dir. Joe Wright) 

    Leo Tolstoy's 1868 novel has been adapted many many times, but Wright, in the third of his “literary trilogy” with Keira Knightly, has a meta take on the material involving setting the late 19th-century Russian story in a lavish old theater that evolves within the production into whatever backdrop is needed. Knightly, as the title character, works around the ropes, pulleys, curtains, footlights, and appropriate props, to portray a virtuous woman in a loveless marriage to an imperial minister (a balding, bearded, and quite boring Jude Law) who has an affair with Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a dashing cavalry officer. It can get a bit strained at times in its second half, but Wright's inventive reworking of the well worn material makes it recommendable. Read my full review here.

    Well, that's it for this not bad Holiday season. By the way, I appeared on a Special Christmas Edition of fellow Raleigh, N.C. based critic Craig D. Lindsey's podcast Muhf***as I Know last week. We recorded a commentary (of sorts) for what Craig calls “one of the shittiest sex comedies ever made: THE HAPPY HOOKER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (1980). The movie is available on Netflix Instant, so queue it up, go here, and listen to us babble all over it.

    More later...

    2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba

    Frozen yogurt, cupcake shops closing in Dilworth

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    Two relatively new food options on East Boulevard are closing this weekend, as Freshberry Frozen Yogurt and Smallcakes Cupcakery throw in the towel.

    The neon-accented stores opened in the former Blockbuster location at Kenilworth Avenue and East Blvd. just this summer. I wrote about them when they were first announced in February, which you can read about here.

    Sunday will be the last day of business for Freshberry and Smallcakes. There's no word yet on what will be replacing the stores. Owner Nick Smith was out of town Thursday, said a woman at the store.

    Smith, a longtime Charlotte franchise owner who opened the city's first Jersey Mike's sub shop and Moe's Southwest Grill restaurants, will be featured in an upcoming Observer store on franchising. He said that the Freshberry/Smallcakes concept is closing due to slow traffic.

    That certainly seemed to be the case Wednesday night, when I went by the restaurant on my way home from work. A man in a cowboy hat was spinning LED lights to lure people into the nearly-empty parking lot.

    Freshberry was entering an already crowded fro-yo marketplace, with a slew of businesses including Yoforia, Tasty Yo, Pinkberry, TCBY, Cherry Berry, and the Frozen Isle. And directly across the street from Freshberry, on the opposite corner in the Kenilworth Commons shopping center, is Menchie's, a fro-yo franchise that opened last year.

    Read more here: http://obswhatsinstore.blogspot.com/2012/02/frozen-yogurt-cupcakes-subs-headed-to.html#storylink=cpy

    A Jersey Mike's that occupies the other half of the former Blockbuster building will remain open. 





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    Walmart Neighborhood Market opening on Independence Blvd.

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    A Walmart Neighborhood Market is opening next year on Independence Boulevard, the first store of its kind in Charlotte.

    As previously reported on this blog, the store will be in a former Best Buy location at 7421 E. Independence Boulevard, in the Independence Square shopping center. That shopping center also has a Super Global Mart international food store.

    The store will be hiring about 85 people to work full and part-time. They'll start working in January as the store prepares for its opening.

    There are some 200 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets nationwide. They're about the same size as traditional supermarkets, and carry similar lines of goods. This is the state's second Neighborhood Market. The first opened in Cary in October. Here's a local news story from Cary with pictures of the store, to give you a better idea what to expect (Their verdict: "Walmart Neighborhood Market looks like a lot like a slightly less fancy Harris Teeter.").

    “We are excited to add this Walmart Neighborhood Market to Charlotte and bring good jobs with career opportunities to the area,” said store manager David Thomas, in a statement. He's been with the company for three years, and started his career in Shelby.

    The new Neighborhood Market will be a challenge to other supermarkets, of course, and also to other smaller,  discount food retailers, such as Family Dollar. It represents the fourth new grocery option in the region announced or opened this year, along with Whole Foods, 201central, and Publix.

    Building permits show Walmart is spending more than $3.5 million to upgrade some 50,000 square feet of the building.

    Here's Walmart's description of the Neighborhood Markets: "Walmart Neighborhood Markets were designed in 1998 as a smaller-footprint option for communities in need of a pharmacy, affordable groceries and merchandise. There are now about 200 Neighborhood Markets in the U.S. Each one is approximately 38,000 square feet and employs about 95 associates. Walmart Neighborhood Markets offer fresh produce, meat and dairy products, bakery and deli items, household supplies, health and beauty aids and a pharmacy."



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    Vinnie's Grill & Raw Bar closes on South Boulevard

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    After 20 years, Vinnie's Grill & Raw Bar has closed up shop at its South Boulevard location.

    Former general manager David Luckey said the restaurant's last day of business was Sunday. The closure is permanent, he confirmed.

    He said the general economic conditions had caused Vinnie's to struggle. "This economy makes everybody broke," said Luckey, who was helping to clean out the restaurant Thursday afternoon.

    There are no plans to close the second Vinnie's location in Mooresville, which remains open, Luckey said.



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    What's open on Christmas day?

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    If you need a last-last-last-minute gift, some toothpaste, or just to get away from the family for a few minutes on Christmas, there are a few stores that will be open Christmas day itself.

    Here's a list of some of the chains that aren't closing:

    • Walgreen's
    • CVS Pharmacy
    • 7-Eleven
    • Denny's
    • IHOP
    • Starbucks
    • Waffle House
    • McDonald's is reportedly urging its franchised locations to stay open
    Domino's, Dunkin Donuts and Burger King are opening select locations.

    For more information, check out a summary of personal finance site GoBankingRates.com's survey of retailers.

    Savvy Spaces furniture stores closing

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    Savvy Spaces, a pair of furniture stores that opened last year, is closing, the retailer announced last week.

    The company is holding a going-out-of-business sale to liquidate current inventory. The owners, who also operate Ashley Furniture HomeStore locations, said they are closing the Savvy Spaces locations to focus on their Ashley Furniture business.

     
    Inside Savvy Spaces (courtesy the company)









    "We’ve enjoyed wonderful growth in sales at Savvy Spaces, but in the end, we had to choose between our two brands. As owners, we simply don’t have the time to oversee and properly manage both companies," said Charlie Malouf, in a statement. He co-owns the stores with Jonathan Ishee. They're in the midst of opening a new Ashley location in Raleigh.

    Furniture, clocks, rugs, bedding and other goods are all discounted now at both locations, in Pineville and the Northlake area (The Pineville location was in a former Boyle's furniture store). Rugs are 65 percent off, mattress sets over $499 are $100 off, and accessories are 50 percent off.

    No final closing date has been set, and an employee said the stores will remain open until they're sold out.


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    1 Ocak 2013 Salı

    Letter to the editor in support of Ray Lodato's First District Congressional Bid

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    posted by chicago pop
    We have been asked to post this letter to the editor, rejected by the Hyde Park Herald and the Chicago Tribune, from Mr. Alex Gomez. Mr. Gomez is Campaign Manager for Ray Lodato's bid for the First District Congressional seat currently held by Bobby Rush.

    To the Editor,

    Democratic Congressional candidate Raymond Lodato has promised to "get the First District back to work." We share his concern with bringing jobs to the district, and are additionally concerned about Congressman Rush's dismal voting record, which was recently explored by The Chicago Tribune newspaper. Rush's claim to 'seniority' is absolutely hollow. He is not the ranking minority member on any committee. Five Democratic representatives who arrived in Washington the same year he did are, as are another four who arrived after him. But ranking minority members, like committee chairs, are chosen by their fellow representatives based on the respect they command. Rush commands little respect from his colleagues, so his constituents don't benefit from his many years in Congress. He has longevity, not seniority. Fortunately, we have an alternative in Raymond Lodato, who will be a forceful, independent and effective Representative for the District.

                                                                                  Respectfully,

                                                                                  Rebecca Janowitz
                                                                                  Joan Merlin Palmer
                                                                                  Linda Swift
                                                                                  Duel Richardson
                                                                                  Judy Jakush
                                                                                  Edward "Ted" Fetters

    Shoesmith and Murray Add Reformers to LSC's

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    -posted by chicago pop
    The results of yesterday's local school council (LSC) elections are in for the two most hotly contested races. At both Murray and Shoesmith, reformers were successful in gaining seats on both councils on the back of extraordinary voter turnout at both locations. This is a strong sign that Hyde Park and Kenwood residents are against two things: backsliding (Murray) and the status quo (Shoesmith). It is an equally strong sign that they are for maintaining and improving the public school options available to residents of Hyde Park and Kenwood - and are willing to put in the time to make it happen.
    This could be the local impact of an overall spike in CPS (and Catholic school) enrollment, due in part to a continued sluggish economy that is sending more and more families into the public school system - as opposed to private schools or suburban districts. It could also be the buds of a distinctly local parent activism, akin to similar movements that have taken shape on the North Side, as a core of local parents commit to improving public education options in the neighborhood
    At Murray, the reformist Parents for Murray group saw its top four "Slate for Change" parent candidates pull in the most votes, together with a community member endorsed by the group. Together this represents a significant contingent of new voices to agitate for change at HP-K's beloved magnet school:
    Parents
    Josephine Njoku-Sanders: 240
    Thomas Hoffer: 230
    Michael Ewing: 227
    Julie Hammond: 198

    Community Members:
    Michael Scott: 81

    A similar story at Shoesmith. Here is a school in the heart of the neighborhood that has just signed a new principal. She is open to new ideas and is testing the waters for ways to improve the school's performance and make it an option for more neighborhood children. Unprecedented voter turnout for an LSC election landed two community members on the council who are both education professionals: Lina Fritz and Tom McDougal.

    Community Members:
    Lina Fritz - 96 votes
    Tom McDougal - 78 votes
    Camille Hamilton-Doyle - 73 votes
    Roxanne Brown - 36 votes

     Both of them not only know the data on urban education inside and out, but can collaborate with the administration and demand accountability, to make sure what's being done is what works, and that Shoesmith reaches out to the neighborhood.

    Worth noting in both cases were the high numbers of community member (non-parent) voters: out of 153 eligible votes cast in the Shoesmsith LSC election, 81 were cast by community members, 72 by parents. I don't have a similar breakdown for the votes at Murray, but the word is that community turnout there was also very strong. Undoubtedly some of those community votes were parents of children attending other schools.

    The message is pretty clear: wherever your students come from, you're in Hyde Park. We all have an interest in how well you do.

    Orly's/The Big Easy: 'Evidence of Rodents on Site'

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    -posted by chicago pop
    Despite what was breezily reported in the Herald today ("Fridge Fritz Foils Big Easy," Lindsay Welbers, September 5, 2012), the recent shut-down of the culinary dark-star which, however many aliases it may assume in order to distance itself from its past, will always be known as Orly's, it appears that the restaurant's recent shutdown by the Chicago Department of Public Health was much more than a refrigerator problem.
    Highlights of the recent report (dated August 27, 2012), written in mouth-watering detail and sure to annotate the next version of the menu, include but are not limited to: mice droppings in container of corn meal; sewage and waste-water backup on floor; a cooler with internal temperature of 95F; waste-water overflowing from drain; foul odor in women's toilet (and other places); evidence of rodents on site; mice droppings behind the bar, storage rooms, and dining area; my own personal favorite here - 'rodent rub marks'; extreme grease and food debris buildup; dirty surfaces; dust, debris, and spiderwebs (!); and broken tiles
    But I guess that's all been fixed now.
    Read for yourself below, or here:
    August 27, 2012
    Doing business as
    Orly's/Jalapeno
    License number
    1978
    Facility type
    Restaurant
    Risk
    Risk 1 (High)
    Inspection type
    Complaint Re-Inspection
    Results
    Fail
    Violations
    2. FACILITIES TO MAINTAIN PROPER TEMPERATURE
    Comments:REACH IN COOLER IN POOR REPAIR, INTERNAL TEMPERATURE 50F. INSTD TO MAINTAIN PROPER TEMPERATURE OF 40F OR BELOW AT ALL TIMES. ALL COOLERS ON PREMISES MUST BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN PROPER TEMPERATURES OF 40F OR BELOW AT ALL TIMES OR REMOVE COOLERS IN POOR REPAIR.
    10. SEWAGE AND WASTE WATER DISPOSAL, NO BACK SIPHONAGE, CROSS CONNECTION AND/OR BACK FLOW
    Comments:SEWAGE/WASTE WATER BACK-UP AND ACCUMULATING ON FLOOR FROM FLOOR DRAIN WHEN 3-COMPARTMENT SINK PLUMBING TURNED ON. ALSO WALK-IN COOLER DRAIN CLOGGED, WASTE WATER OVERFLOWING FROM DRAIN AND ONTO FLOOR. INSTD TO REPAIR SAME. FOUL ODOR NOTED IN SAME AREA.
    11. ADEQUATE NUMBER, CONVENIENT, ACCESSIBLE, DESIGNED, AND MAINTAINED
    Comments:WOMENS TOILETS IN POOR REPAIR, ONE WITH NO WATER, OTHER UNABLE TO FLUSH. FOUL ODOR NOTED IN SAME AREA. INSTD TO REPAIR SAME.
    14. PREVIOUS SERIOUS VIOLATION CORRECTED, 7-42-090
    Comments:CONTINUED NON COMPLIANCE, EVIDENCE OF RODENTS ON SITE. NOTED MICE DROPPINGS (OVER 30) SCATTERED IN VARIOUS AREAS BEHIND BAR,IN DRY STORAGE ROOM,(MICE DROPPINGS NOTED IN CONTAINER OF CORN MEAL), IN CORNERS IN DINING AREA,UNDER SHELVES AND ALONG SIDE COOLERS/FREEZERS IN OFFICE/STORAGE AREA, ALSO NOTED RODENT RUB MARKS ALONG WALLBASE NEXT TO DROPPINGS IN DINING AREA. STORAGE AREA BY EXIT DOOR. MUST REMOVE DROPPINGS, CLEAN AND SANITIZE AFFECTED AREAS. INSTD TO HAVE ADDITIONAL SERVICE FROM PEST CONTROL. NOTED REAR DOOR NOT RODENT PROOF AT THIS TIME, APPROX. 1/2 INCH GAP NOTED AT BOTTOM OF DOOR. INSTD TO RODENT PROOF DOOR AND HAVE TIGHT FITTING.
    33. FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT EQUIPMENT UTENSILS CLEAN, FREE OF ABRASIVE DETERGENTS
    Comments:MUST DETAIL CLEAN INTERIOR OF ALL COOKING EQUIPMENT AND PREP TABLES. MUST REMOVE ALL EXTREME GREASE AND FOOD DEBRIS BUILD UP THROUGHOUT. MUST ALSO CLEAN SODA GUNS BEHIND BAR AREA AND INTERIOR OF ALL COOLERS. ALSO DETAIL CLEAN WINDOW SILLS AND ALL DIRTY SURFACES THROUGHOUT. CLEAN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACHINE. INSTD TO CLEAN ALL FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT EQUIPMENT FREE OF DUST, DEBRIS, SPIDERWEBS, DROPPINGS, TOOLS, SCREWS, ETC.
    34. FLOORS: CONSTRUCTED PER CODE, CLEANED, GOOD REPAIR, COVERING INSTALLED, DUST-LESS CLEANING METHODS USED
    Comments:MUST DETAIL CLEAN FLOORS UNDER COOK LINE,BEHIND BAR, IN DISH WASHING AREAS AND IN ALL STORAGE AREAS. MUST PROPERLY REPAIR BROKEN FLOOR TILES IN BAR AREA AND IN PREP AREA. FLOOR MUST BE SMOOTH, EVEN, EASILY CLEANABLE SURFACE.
    35. WALLS, CEILINGS, ATTACHED EQUIPMENT CONSTRUCTED PER CODE: GOOD REPAIR, SURFACES CLEAN AND DUST-LESS CLEANING METHODS
    Comments:MUST CLEAN WALLS NEXT TO FRYERS, DISH MACHINE, STOVE, & THROUGHOUT. MAKING ALL WALLS AND CEILING SMOOTH-EASY CLEANABLE AND TIGHT FITTING.
    38. VENTILATION: ROOMS AND EQUIPMENT VENTED AS REQUIRED: PLUMBING: INSTALLED AND MAINTAINED
    Comments:MUST REPAIR LEAKY FAUCET AND PIPES AT 2 COMPARTMENT SINK
    41. PREMISES MAINTAINED FREE OF LITTER, UNNECESSARY ARTICLES, CLEANING EQUIPMENT PROPERLY STORED
    Comments:MUST PROPERLY CLEAN AND MAINTAIN UNUSED EQUIPMENT OR REMOVE

    Children's Resources during Teacher Strike

    To contact us Click HERE

    -posted by chicago pop
    A few resources for school age children that we've been asked to publicize, in the increasingly likely event of next week's anticipated teacher's strike (beginning September 10):
    From the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club:
     (Right-click on image and click 'View Image' to enlarge)

    And this, from the Chicago JCC:
    Dear JCC Families,

    The prospect of a strikein Chicago Public Schools is a frustrating situation for teachers, administration,and most importantly, the families and children impacted by the possibilityof no school. We would like you to know that JCC Chicago will be able tomeet your child care needs with engaging safe and fun day long activities,should a strike go into effect.

    JCC will offer specialprogramming at Bernard Horwich JCC, Florence Heller JCC, and Hyde ParkJCC.  Programming will run from 8:00am to 3:30pm.  If you needto extend your child’s day, late care will be available from 3:30-6:00pm. While engaged in programming, children will travel to Mayer KaplanJCC to participate in daily specialty curriculum including art, sports,swimming, and other educational experiences.

    Program costs will be$50/day (8:00am-3:30pm) and late care will be an additional $15/day (3:30-6:00pm). For students enrolled in JCC AfterSchool, there will be no additionalcharge for late care.   Services will remain in effect until schoolis back in session; however, JCC will be closed on September 17 and 18.

    We will open online registrationfor Monday through Wednesday .  Advance registration is recommendedand appreciated as space may be limited. Should the strike not go intoeffect, your registration fees can be applied to other JCC programs orwill be refunded.

    For further information,please contact us at any time.



    Julie Rash
    Manager of JCC AfterSchool
    773-938-8342
    jrash@gojcc.org

    Andrea Berlow
    Manager of Vacation DayPrograms
    224-406-9207
    aberlow@gojcc.org

    Andrea Berlow
    Manager of Vacation Day Programs       
    JCC Chicago
    p: 224-406-9207
    f:  224-406-9272
    aberlow@gojcc.org
    http://www.gojcc.org
     
    JCCchicago
    bringing Jewish values tolife!
     
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    Orly's Fails September 20 Inspection

    To contact us Click HERE
    September 20, 2012 [go here for text of inspection at Everyblock]
  • Orly's/Jalapeno
  • Risk 1 (High)
  • Results
  • Fail
  • Violations
    14. PREVIOUS SERIOUS VIOLATION CORRECTED, 7-42-090
    Comments:CONTINUED NON COMPLIANCE, EVIDENCE OF RODENTS AND INSECTS ON SITE. NOTED MICE DROPPINGS (APPROXIMATELY 30) SCATTERED IN VARIOUS AREAS BEHIND BAR,IN DRY STORAGE ROOM, IN CORNERS IN DINING AREA,BEHIND BOOTH ALONG WALL BASE,UNDER SHELVES AND ALONG SIDE COOLERS/FREEZERS IN OFFICE/STORAGE AREA,BEHIND EQUIPMENT AND THROUGHOUT. MUST REMOVE DROPPINGS, CLEAN AND SANITIZE AFFECTED AREAS AND HAVE SERVICE FROM PEST CONTROL. ALSO NOTED LIVE INSECTS ON SITE. NOTED APPROXIMATELY 6 LIVE LARGE FLIES IN FRONT STORAGE AREA NEAR UNUSED OVEN,IN DINING AREA AND IN PREP AREA. ALSO NOTED 2 LIVE ROACHES ON THE FLOOR UNDER THE DISH MACHINE. MUST REMOVE INSECTS,SANITIZE AFFECTED AREAS AND HAVE THE PEST CONTROL COMPANY SERVICE AREAS.
    32. FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES PROPERLY DESIGNED, CONSTRUCTED AND MAINTAINED
    Comments:REMOVE RANCID GREASE ON INTERIOR OF FRYERS.
    33. FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT EQUIPMENT UTENSILS CLEAN, FREE OF ABRASIVE DETERGENTS
    Comments:MUST CLEAN INTERIOR OF FREEZERS AND REMOVE FOUL ODORS. ALSO DETAIL CLEAN WINDOW SILLS AND ALL DIRTY SURFACES THROUGHOUT. CLEAN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACHINE. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN ALL FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT EQUIPMENT FREE OF DUST, DEBRIS, SPIDERWEBS, DROPPINGS, TOOLS, SCREWS, ETC.
    34. FLOORS: CONSTRUCTED PER CODE, CLEANED, GOOD REPAIR, COVERING INSTALLED, DUST-LESS CLEANING METHODS USED
    Comments:MUST PROPERLY REPAIR BROKEN FLOOR TILES IN BAR AREA AND UNDER SMALL PREP COOLER. FLOOR MUST BE SMOOTH, EVEN, EASILY CLEANABLE SURFACE.
    41. PREMISES MAINTAINED FREE OF LITTER, UNNECESSARY ARTICLES, CLEANING EQUIPMENT PROPERLY STORED
    Comments:MUST PROPERLY CLEAN AND MAINTAIN UNUSED EQUIPMENT OR REMOVE.