Editorials

Editorial opinions from the Currents.
Posted inEditorials

This is the Place

by Editor

A new year is a good time to take stock of what’s good and what’s bad in your life. For many people, one thing that’s good is this place we’re all in together. It’s where we live. It’s our neighborhood. So we’re devoting some space this issue to reflecting on the past year — in photos and writings — and on this place we live in together. Just what is it that makes a place a neighborhood? You may think it’s something as simple as location and boundaries, but even that can be complicated, as Dan asks in “Where is Riverwest?” Boundaries are fluid and changing; we decide what they are. You may think it’s the people that make a neighborhood, and that is mostly right. People have everything to do with a neighborhood’s character, which is why Riverwest has so much character. We live in one of the few diverse neighborhoods in one of the most segregated cities in the nation. But we still have a ways to go, as Tanya talks about in this month’s View from Here.

Posted inEditorials

The Master Gift-Giver

by Editor

The Internet is an amazing thing. It feels like all human knowledge can flow through your modem. Of course, there might also be a strong resemblance to your attic — you know it’s in there, but just try to find it. And like your attic, the Internet can steal hours of your time as you examine hidden treasures, completely forgetting what has brought you there in the first place…. That said, let me tell you about a mysterious web site I found. It offers a radical little book called The Little Green Book, purportedly written by the Coalition of Wildcat Ministers and Pragmatic Anarchists. The book is made up of 110 short essays — 100 things to do and ten things to stop doing to change the culture. I found one of the essays to be particularly thought-provoking for the holiday season. Here it is….

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Of Abandonment and Anger

by Editor

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

On October 10, about 150 people participated in a Town Hall meeting held in a church at 22nd and Center Streets. Many of them were residents in the area where a mob made up mostly of young teenagers recently beat a man to death. People at the gathering were addressing problems and possible solutions in their neighborhood.

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Good Time to Buy

by Editor

by Sonya Jongsma Knauss I am in the midst of packing boxes as I write. I may still be in the midst of packing boxes as you read. We are getting ready to leave our first residence in Riverwest and moving to our first home. It’s only seven blocks from where we live now, but […]

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One Brief Shining Moment?

by Editor

Riverwest is rich with opportunities, any of which could lead to triumph or disaster. Gentrification is presenting the challenges of higher living expenses, and the opportunities of increased wealth. Garden Park, Kilbourn Park, and Reservoir Park could be potential problems. But if we, as a neighborhood, exercise some wisdom and courage and energy, we can bring these vital green spaces under the direct control of our neighborhood.