A road in search of a reason
Read Part One from Monday here.
IF YOU BUILD IT…
Opponents of the Olympian Drive project often point out that the area destined for industrial development sits on one of the three most productive soils in the world, the others being in the Ukraine and in Argentina.
That’s true, but productive does not mean profitable. For most of the first half of the 20th century, the most profitable agricultural county in the country was Los Angeles. [Today it’s probably some pot-growing county in northern California, or a southwest Kansas county with a bunch of cattle feedlots in it — it’s hard to measure.] So even productive and profitable doesn’t mean the land will be kept in agriculture, as the second half of the twentieth century in L.A. shows.
| Forget it, Jake. It’s Champaign-Urbana
It’s the 35th anniversary of one of the greatest American movies: Chinatown. It’s certainly in my top three; partly because it’s a brilliant negation of that durable American storyline: the lone wolf hero who puts a society steeped in corruption back to rights [the final lines emphasizing the futility: “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.“], and partly because it’s about the nitty-gritty: real estate, local government, economic development, business, infrastructure, land use and agriculture, and driving farmers off the land to get the “highest best use” on it.
The film compresses time in the service of brevity, but it gets at the essence of what allowed Los Angeles to become Los Angeles. Despite explosive growth through the 1920s (In 1890, L.A. was smaller than Evansville, Indiana, at 50,000 people; by 1930, it was one and a quarter million and the fifth largest city in the country), L.A. was still a bit of a backwater; its population density was ridiculously low.
The boom was from oil (in the ‘20’s L.A. accounted for about a quarter of all of American production), aviation (later defense), and climate: i.e. the film industry, retirement communities, and agriculture. The big industry where fortunes were made though, was real estate. It was a place striving to become a metropolis, but built on the grease of the cheap petrol, but it became the world’s biggest suburb.
People confuse their cars with their homes. I can understand that. They're lounging in a reclining chair, talking on the phone, watching a movie and cramming salty foods into their fat faces. Sometimes they fall asleep. But the car is not the home. And when you steer your car on to public roads, you waive Constitutional rights enjoyed at home. Police can stop you without probable cause. Police can stop you without even particularized suspicion — just to see if …
(Ed. note: We posted this under Editors, but it's just Caleb and Joel that wrote it. Carry on. And leave Trig out of this.) As a society, we have made a habit out of hiding people with developmental disabilities. We have institutionalized them, we have sterilized them, we have shown them that they are not important to the fabric of our society. Our collective choice to recognize those with developmental disabilities as human beings with unique and genuine value is …
Seth Fein is my editor here at The People's Republic of Smile Politely. Therefore, you can be certain that anything you read below made it past Seth Fein. A couple weeks back, Seth wrote a reactionary piece about DUI. That's not surprising. DUI is a reactionary concept: It's only contemplated after-the-fact. WHY WE PUNISH Deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation are the four goals of punishment. In Illinois, we call our punishment system the "Department of Corrections" which proves that people …
Not being an Illini fan, it's easy for me to hate on something like the Orange Krush, the student cheering section of our university's basketball team. As a Purdue fan, I get jazzed about the Paint Crew, whose numbers make the Krush look like an amateur co-ed softball team on a rainy day. But I don't live in West Lafayette, and I don't consider them as part of my culture. So, the Orange Krush is on the hook here. Student …
February 14–21 is National Condom Week, and while educating your child about the use and effectiveness of condoms around Valentine's Day might seem scary or inappropriate, recent research suggests many parents are long overdue in addressing safer sex with their teens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur every year, with 15 to 24 year-olds making up half of these cases. Even more alarming, the heaviest Chlamydia and gonorrhea …
Before I begin, a few caveats: there are a bunch of great people who work at the News-Gazette, doing the best that they can under resource reductions in a tough time for newspapers as a commenter noted on one of our snarky posts earlier this week, they're utilizing their Twitter feed (as well as many of their reporters') as well as any media outlet in town we surely haven't figured out how to make money at online publishing either, and …
I've done a "Super Bowl Life Lessons" column for the last few years and, to be honest, I'm beginning to wonder if the Super Bowl as a cultural spectacle has all that much more to teach us. Guys are still oafs. Violence is still funny (especially so when it involves sumo wrestlers). Talking flowers and babies are still funny. Classic rockers are still old. The main innovation this year seems to be that guys not wearing pants is funny. Perhaps …
When you were young did you ever dream about growing up and making the world a better place? Ugh, idealism. Well, pretend to entertain the notion. Take a moment, close your eyes, and cast yourself as a world saver. Now, run with it. Think big. Think bigger. You can abolish corrupt governments, punish evil corporations, provide affordable health care for all, even save Mother Earth. Okay. Now, open your eyes. How does reality jibe with your vision? Y'know, a second …
Most Recent Opinion Comments
I’ve always suspected that there’s a direct correlation between projected land use for the Rt 150 corridor [Industrial / Commercial] and the drive to expand 74. See the CCRPC Future Land Use Map for details, and then take a look at who owns land there, and you…
The University does not subsidize the Airbus. For decades bus transportation to the airport was provided expressly for Institute of Aviation students. This service was paid for by the Institute of Aviation, not campus as a whole. Some of you may even remember the old orange or…
A book just published gives a very useful different perspective on the “growth for growth’s sake” model and its ecological unsustainability. It is “Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet” by Tim Jackson. The first chapter of the book can be downloaded via http://earthscan.co.uk/pwg . This…
I agree with most of the comments on the Orange “Krush.“ They are mostly immature, ignorant, college students who can’t wait for the next frat party so they can get wasted on Keystone light
“Since there is no congestion on 74, one wonders what he is talking about.“ - Duh. Perhaps the congestion is wishful thinking? And IL DOT is planning to spend $71 million taxpayer dollars widening I-74 between Champaign and Mahomet. I contacted IL DOT on the I-74 stuff. …
Great articles, btw.
Since 1994, the American Farmland Trust has had case studies which have shown that there is no net gain to developing farmland. On average the ratio of dollars generated by development to the cost of services provided by communities was $1 : $1.04. For farm land, the…
Stuart, Really a fantastic series of articles on this proposed road. The Chinatown analogy is very cool. I wouldn’t say that the local press has been lapdogs on this issue. One of the local TV news channels actually did a piece where they interviewed Mr. Ziegler, the…
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4961547 I stand by it all, except in that I should’ve used better language to describe the types of fools these folks are. Calling someone a douchebag, is kinda like, being a douchebag. Strike that one from the record. Everything else, well, yeah…
Most Popular Opinion Articles (60 days)
- Orange Krush simply an embarrassment
- Bad theology is like bad breath
- N-G redesign takes website from outdated to useless
- Lift the gavel on DUI
- Down with the R-word
- Fired!: The Humble Heretic goes down
- Forget it, Jake. It’s Champaign-Urbana
- Rational distrust vs. irrational fear
- About that gavel…
- Reality and resources
Most Recent Comments
Can we please refrain from ever EVER comparing running a marathon to childbirth? Especially when the comparison is made by someone without a vagina? Kthx.
It’s hard a bit to learn more information close to this good post,but custom writing services will propose to buy essay to receive correct facts and thst’s doable to buy written essays per really small prices!
I think we are in. But being blown out again by OSU might give the selection comittee doubts. I dunno anymore.
Mark: You raise some interesting points. I’m impressed by anyone who runs a marathon, no matter their finishing time. It’s the commitment people show to accomplishing a goal they set for themselves that impresses me most. A sign I saw at the Illinois Marathon last year along…
To get back to the show, if that’s allowed, we saw it last night. I know a lot about the films of the 30s and 40s and appreciated what Durang was trying to do, though some was pretty obvious and the ending was forced. A literal kitchen…
Every band in CU - I realize this is just a cheeky comment, but I wanted to respond anyway. I think this column is more about the scene and the support system than the bands themselves. The last thing I would ever want is for someone to…
Interesting article, John. I second your comments Doug. I’d really like to see the two of you do a Siskel & Ebert-style review of albums. Can SP make this happen? And if Noiseboy could reappear to DJ one day at Mike & Molly’s…
@Ty I think this article from last year is what you’re looking for: http://www.smilepolitely.com/food/talking_breakfast_at_the_market/ Enjoy!
Thank you SP editors for removing a not-so-nice word from Pope’s comment. I was just going to comment on it myself, wondering if we need an article titled “Down with the F-word”. John, very interesting read. Huzzah for well-written local music opinion.
Ok folks, now that its obvious the wonder bread, gas station eggs, and pasteurized processed cheese food can be marked up sufficiently enough to open two restaurants during a recession and in the same five year span, ya think we can be a little demanding? I’m all…
Everyband in CU - shutup (REMOVED BY SP EDITORS) at least this writer is speaking for himself, at least he has a real opinion you spineless capslock drunk fuck. sorry, anyways… what’s good, what’s bad. what’s rock, what’s indie. what’s real what’s not. In 2010, never has…
WE’RE SORRY JOHN WE’LL TRY HARDER
There went the neighborhood.
Now all you need is large Marge and the picture is complete! Congratulations Tony. I can’t wait. -Manna
I had a great time reading around your post as I read it extensively. Gold Coins
I had a great time reading around your post as I read it extensively. Gold
If you’re bored than you’re boring…damn I must be boring too!
...Papa Bear was applauding.
Zeleni, I had the exact same theory only with the mysterious Man in Black/Smokie granting the wishes. MIB promised Sayid he could have anything in the world he wanted, which turned out to be Nadia. Although he does not necessarily “have” her, she has not died yet…
I like Kaiyo A LOT, but at Sushi Kame (next to the art theatre) you can get an absolute shitload of good sushi, plus miso, and a bit of noodles in a vineagar cucumber salad for $21, and you know it was made just for you. I…
Most Popular Articles (14 days)
- All’s well, no worries, next year will be great!
- Looking down the barrel of the NIT
- Forget it, Jake. It’s Champaign-Urbana
- If You’re Bored, Then You’re Boring
- Saigon to Bangkok in… Savoy
- A road in search of a reason
- A folk pop antidote to the drunken plague
- The Plastic Generation
- The Last Waltz roundtable
- Die another day
Recent Searches
- 1901 (1 Results)
- tom selleck (2 Results)
- rent (1878 Results)
- gcap (8 Results)
- lonely trailer (26 Results)
- 1889 (1 Results)
- 1768 (1 Results)
- 1880 (1 Results)
- 1880 (1 Results)
- 1933 (1 Results)
- great impasta (20 Results)
- 1932 (1 Results)
- r word (860 Results)
- r word (860 Results)
- 1889 (1 Results)
- 1416 (2 Results)
- hot cops (49 Results)
- economic growth (20 Results)
- economic growth (20 Results)
- 1687 (12 Results)
Facebook
Twitter
Full Site
I had a great time reading around your post as I read it extensively. Gold