by admin | Oct 18, 2023 | Climate, Disaster, Disaster policy, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Management, Floodplain management, Floodplain management, Government, Hazard Mitigation, History, Iowa, Natural Hazards, Public safety, Resilience, Urban Planning, Weather
In the latter half of June 2008, it was hard to imagine Cedar Rapids as the city it had been just one month earlier. A massive flood along the Cedar River clobbered the city with a classic double whammy: About the time existing flood crests that had already swamped...
by admin | Sep 26, 2023 | Climate, Disaster, Floodplain management, Hazard Mitigation, History, Iowa, Movies, Natural Hazards
In 2008, much of Iowa experienced such massive floods that 10 percent of Cedar Rapids was evacuated, books were being rescued from the basement of the University of Iowa Library, and homes were under water in Cedar Falls. Dozens of other Iowa communities faced flood...
by admin | Sep 5, 2022 | Blogging, Books, Education, History, Immigration, Journalism, Literature, Personal history, Writing
My mother was definitely a neatnik. Everything in its place, but don’t keep too many things in the first place. If something did not have an obvious use, get rid of it. A sentimentalist, she was not. She lived her life in the suburbs of Cleveland, which is where I...
by admin | May 30, 2022 | Activism, Chicago, Civil rights, Crime, Emergency Management, Government, History, Politics, Public policy, Public safety, Terrorism, War
I am going to keep this short and simple for two reasons. One, I am writing on the morning of Memorial Day, and I want to celebrate the holiday and spend time with my family. Our grandson Angel, who is graduating from high school on June 6, and from a Chicago Police...
by admin | Apr 16, 2022 | Activism, Books, Civil rights, Government, History, Personal history, Politics, Racism, Travel, War
It was spring break in the Chicago Public Schools this past week (April 11-15). Despite busy lives, I thought my wife and I should do something special with Alex, our 13-year-old grandson, so I proposed a visit to Springfield, the Illinois capital, to visit the...
by admin | Mar 9, 2022 | Activism, Chicago, Cleveland, Foreign policy, Government, History, Immigration, National security, Personal history, Politics, Terrorism, War
This past Sunday, I attended a rally for Ukraine at Chicago’s downtown Daley Plaza. I am no expert at crowd counts, but it was clear that hundreds attended, filling most of the plaza. The point was painfully obvious: People were hugely upset with the unwarranted...
