The 234 Apartment

In the spring of 2015, residents of the Forest Hills Apartment complex complained about their air conditioners not working, mold in their apartments, outdated fire extinguishers , broken electrical outlets and slow response times from the management company . Now after about 18 months of renovations, things are starting to improve, residents say. “They’ve got a new manager, Ms. Eunice, and she is really, really trying to get some stuff done here,” Joyce Mosley, a long time resident of Forest Hills, said. “She has repaired several apartments, taken care of mold issues. They’ve sent in painters and plumbers.” Resident Keith Miller agreed . He said on a scale of 1 to 10, he’d give the new management an eight, primarily for their effort. He said things are not perfect, but he sees some improvement. Forest Hills has had a history of troubles in recent years. The 136- unit apartment complex is on Seventh Avenue and has 96 apartments reserved for residents who receive federal housing su...

On a Friday night in late June, the air along the Sava River pulsed with a panoply of music and competing bass beats . Belgrade’s city lights danced on the water like molten gold, with ripples from passing boats creating a trance-like effect. Across the way, the centuries-old Belgrade Fortress snaked along a hill, marking the Sava and Danube confluence. Anchored on the banks of Belgrade’s rivers, around 300 rafts (called  splavs  or  splavovi ) lined the waterways – a mix of restaurants, bars and clubs. The river is our seaside On the other side of the river from the trendy Beton Hala district , a cluster of floating nightclubs draws visitors from around the globe. The nightlife in Serbia’s capital has been touted as the best in the Balkans and these rafts make every night feel like a Friday. “The river is our seaside,” said long- time Belgrade resident Ilija Duni . He explained that locals, whether they are club-goers or not, come to the rivers to escape the summer heat. The day...

click to enlarge I can’t remember exactly when I started at the Riverfront Times , but it was a long time ago — the web site was a .PDF of the paper that was uploaded on Wednesday morning . I can say that I’ve lived or worked (sometimes both) in the Loop since Bill Clinton was in the White House. I've been coming down here for films, books, meals and weird people watching since the late ‘80s, back when gangs of feral kids camped out in the street- level parking lot across from the Tivoli. The stretch of Delmar between the St. Louis Noodle Cafe and the University City Public Library has been my psycho-geographical concept of St. Louis for more than half my life. But now I'm in the process of packing up my office in preparation for a move. This afternoon, the RFT is leaving our home of 21 years on Delmar. By tomorrow, the paper will be based in Downtown West, and so will I, at least during office hours. Goodbye to all that. We’re only the latest business to say that...

More than 20 residents at Greenbrier Gardens Apartments have been displaced due to flood damage. Senior Area Manager for Leddic Management Group Michelle Cook , who oversees the apartments, said residents living in 22 apartments must vacate their homes by Sunday. “Despite rumors, these are not being condemned,” she told the Log Cabin Democrat on Wednesday. “Our main priority is the health and safety of residents and the apartments affected [from flood waters] are in need of repair.” Looking into the apartments, it was clear water levels rose about one-foot off the ground, ruining carpeting and damaging furniture and residents’ other personal belongings . Greenbrier Alderman Joyce Johnson was at the apartments helping three family members living in three separate apartments pack their belongings Wednesday . “We need help, we need supplies out here,” she said, noting residents did not have long before having to leave their homes and find storage for their belongings. Johnson sai...

A new report could give insight into why San Jose failed to notify more than 14,000 residents that their neighborhoods were under a flood threat in February. The report, commissioned by San Jose and conducted by emergency management consultant Witt O’Brien’s, gave the city an “A” for how it responded after the Feb. 21 flood but an “F” for foresight. It was also critical of the way the city handled notifying residents , such as Juanita Wilson, who was living in the Rock Springs neighborhood when the flood occurred. That area is near Coyote Creek, which floods whenever Anderson Dam overflows . South of San Jose, the dam was built in 1950. “We had no warning from the city, none from the county, nothing at all,” Wilson said. A night photo of the pole Jeffrey Hare uses to measure Coyote Creek water levels . This photo was taken on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, two days before the neighborhood was flooded. (Courtesy of Jeffrey Hare) As the floodwaters were reaching her neighborhood, she was pre...

Recycle. Reuse. Reduce. Reclaim. Cheryl Oliver is a true believer. Her husband, Jack, is not quite so sure. For Cheryl, there is no choice because she regards recycling as crucial for the survival of the planet. Jack said he gets it, but doesn’t think a few people can make any real difference. The house divided is a microcosm of communities when it comes to recycling. Cheryl believes everyone should do their part, while Jack believes that since not everyone is doing their part, why should he? “The problem with recycling is that most people don’t do it or won’t do it,” Jack said. “I think it’s mostly due to people being plain lazy.” Jack has a point – recycling takes more effort than just throwing everything into the same trash can. There are people who might recycle but don’t because they simply don’t know how. With paper, plastic, aluminum, metal and a myriad of other color-coded options for recyclable material, deciding where each thing should go can be troublesome. ...