Today In The Culture, February 20, 2023: Buddy Guy Sings Blues About The Blues | Roald Dahl Rewritten | Blue Line Station Closings

Divvy bike in snow, February 16, 2023/Photo: Ray Pride

ART

Chicago Artists Coalition Call For Executive Director

The Chicago Artists Coalition is seeking an executive director, “who will have the opportunity to make their mark charting CAC’s leadership role in Chicago, forging new collaborative relationships to promote the arts, and supporting Chicago’s artists” in our “politically challenging reality.” The executive director is “the public face of the CAC… the primary individual representing CAC and building relationships in the broader community, both from a programmatic and visibility standpoint and from a fundraising perspective” and “oversees all aspects of the organization, including strategic planning, program direction, fund development, finances, staff management and community relations. A key responsibility is generating resources to support ongoing and new programming.” More here.

Nick Cave On Police Violence And The Repetition Of History

On the Financial Times’ FTWeekend podcast, Nick Cave talks Soundsuits and history: “He made the first after police beat Rodney King in 1991, and they are meant to help process collective sorrow through celebration, and to give armour to the marginalized. In the wake of police killing Tyre Nichols last month, we speak with Nick about how his work has changed over thirty years, even as history repeats.”

DESIGN

Divvy Hikes Bikes

Divvy is raising prices, reports CBS 2. In March, annual memberships go up to $130.90 from $119. A full day goes up by $1.50.

Ten-Year Plan, “We Will Chicago,” Adopted For City

“Chicago’s first comprehensive planning document since the 1960s became official policy Thursday amid cautions that it lays out a framework for civic improvements but leaves policy recommendations to future administrations,” reports the Sun-Times. The 154-page document is here.

Mayor: We “Cannot Have People Sleeping In Our Airports”

“We absolutely, fundamentally cannot have people sleeping in our airports who are homeless,” says Mayor Lightfoot, reports CBS 2. A statement from the Chicago Department of Aviation says “all City of Chicago agencies must continue to work together and provide services to unsheltered individuals at Chicago’s airports. While it is not illegal to be homeless in this city, it is trespassing to be at O’Hare or Midway without any airport business. The CDA remains committed to providing financial and logistical support to its partners at the Department of Family Support Services, the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Fire Department to ensure O’Hare and Midway remain safe and secure for our passengers, while also doing what we can to support individuals experiencing homelessness who make their way to Chicago’s airports.”

Three Blue Line Stations To Close On Weekends

The Belmont, Logan Square and California stations will be partially or entirely closed from 10pm Fridays to 4am Mondays through at least the end of May, advises the CTA. “Crews will replace the fifty-year-old Belmont crossover that was built with the original Kimball Subway portion of the Blue Line in 1970. Due to deterioration from decades of use, repairs are no longer an option and full replacement of this crossover is necessary.”

Landlord Will Evict Half Of Little Village Discount Mall Vendors

“About half the vendors at the Little Village Discount Mall will be evicted from the mall next month—and the area’s alderman is threatening legal action unless the vendors are given a new agreement,” reports Block Club. That’s a total of eighty vendors, reports the Trib. Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez “said his office has demanded that all permits and licenses for [the owner] to begin renovations and changes be put on hold by the city until the company creates a proposal to ensure that all vendors—and not just half—can stay at the mall.”

$300,000 Buys You Eighty Acres With A Cave, Stalactites And Stalagmites, And An Underground Waterfall In Missouri

About 115 miles from St. Louis, an unusual property is on offer in Rolla, Missouri, lists Zillow with twenty-five photos. Nestled at  O Pool Holler Cave Road, it’s your “chance to own a true Ozark Treasure Pool Holler Cave. When you enter the mouth of the cave you will walk along a spring branch running out of the cave past several stalactites and stalagmites you will begin to hear a roar but don’t be frightened as you will end your hike at an underground waterfall. Locals say that this was once a popular place for dances and because of the cool air coming out it was also perfect for 4th of July picnics & parties.” Bordered on two sides by Mark Twain National Forest, “this wooded property has amazing building sites whether you like a private secluded holler or a cleared off hilltop with a view that you can see for miles.”

DINING & DRINKING

Manny’s Deli Monday Collaboration: A Soul & Smoke Knish

“On Monday, we bring it together with Soul & Smoke by putting their Smoked Brisket, Mac & Cheese, and Braised Collard Greens in a knish,” posts Manny’s Deli with pictures. “Available only at Manny’s and for pickup and delivery. Thank you, Chef Carter and the Soul & Smoke Team.

Carmine’s Will Be Wrecked

Carmine’s on Rush Street will be razed, reports Eater Chicago, and a $4 million rebuild will open in 2024. The site closes February 26 and will be demolished on March 5. The new restaurant will comprise “10,000 square feet with multiple dining rooms and bars,” including “an all-weather outdoor terrace overlooking Rush Street.”

Senators Question Profit Eggstraction

The nation’s largest egg producers saw profits rise over 600 percent in the past year, reports Reuters. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representative Katie Porter of California want to know why: “The lawmakers said the spike in prices raises concerns about anti-competitive conduct and requested information on executive compensation, profit margins, avian flu impacts, and whether [the companies, Cal-Maine Foods, Hillandale Farms, Rose Acre Farms, Daybreak Foods, and Versova Management] have communicated with one another about egg prices.”

Chicago Real Estate Investor Will Make Billions If Government Allows Kroger-Albertsons Merger

“A Chicago real estate investor who once bid on the Chicago Cubs could see a big payday if the proposed $24.6 billion merger of grocery store giants Kroger and Albertsons goes through,” reports Ally Marotti at Crain’s. Hersch Klaff, founder and CEO of Klaff Realty and a South African native who moved to Chicago in the 1970s, “first invested in Idaho-based Albertsons back in 2006… Over the past seventeen years, a group of investors that includes Klaff Realty has shuttered stores, bought additional chains (including Jewel), taken Albertsons public and [expanded] it into the third-largest grocery chain by dollar share in the country… The combined grocer [would] have almost seventeen percent” of the United States market. “Klaff Realty holds 10.9% of shares. If regulators allow the merger at $34.10 per share, Klaff Realty’s more than 58 million shares could be converted into almost $2 billion. The merger agreement states that such shares will have the right to be converted into cash.”

White Castle Could Be Fined Billions For Violating Illinois’ Strict Biometrics Law

“An Illinois Supreme Court ruling may expose employers to harsh penalties for collecting workers’ fingerprints and other biometric data,” reports Crain’s. “A divided Illinois Supreme Court on Friday ruled that claims under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act accrue with each alleged violation of the law, a decision that may expose businesses using fingerprint-based sign-ins to computers or timekeeping machines to stiff penalties.” The Court wrote that legislators should clarify the intent of the law, reports the Tribune, suggesting that “damages should not be so large as to bankrupt businesses… ‘There is no language in the Act suggesting legislative intent to authorize a damages award that would result in the financial destruction of a business.'”

LIT

“Sensitivity Readers” Rewrite Roald Dahl’s Catalog, Owned By Netflix

“‘Sensitivity readers’ were hired to scrutinize the text with parts rewritten for a modern audience,” reports the Telegraph (via MSN). “Augustus Gloop is no longer fat, Mrs. Twit is no longer fearfully ugly, and the Oompa-Loompas have gone gender-neutral in new editions of Roald Dahl… The publisher, Puffin, has made hundreds of changes to the original text, removing many of Dahl’s colorful descriptions and making his characters less grotesque. The review of Dahl’s language was undertaken to ensure that the books ‘can continue to be enjoyed by all today’… The changes were made by the publisher, Puffin, and the Roald Dahl Story Company, now owned by Netflix… The review began in 2020, when the company was still run by the Dahl family. Netflix acquired the literary estate in 2021 for a reported $600 million.”

Virginia Joins Florida In Questioning Black Studies Advanced Placement Courses

It’s not just Florida governor Ron DeSantis among presumptive Republican presidential candidates pressing culture wars, there’s now Virginia’s governor Glenn Youngkin, for one, reports the Washington Post. “Officials in Arkansas, Virginia, North Dakota and Mississippi said they had questions and planned reviews before deciding whether the new class may be taught in their classrooms. Another four states said no review was planned, but suggested that could change.” Youngkin “has asked state education officials to examine the class to determine whether it conflicts with his previous executive order forbidding certain ways of teaching about race.”

Writes Monica Washington at Education Week, “AP African American Studies isn’t under fire for inaccuracies. On the contrary, the course is being banned because the content is accurate and valuable… However scary, this resistance to teaching students our shared history is not inevitable. Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois recently wrote a letter to the College Board rejecting modifications to the AP African American Studies course… Denying access to information does not lead to the preservation of democracy. In fact, access to information is a prerequisite for children to practice inquiry and the discourse they will need to exercise in society.” Pritzker also addressed the matter in his State of the State address, excerpted here.

MEDIA

Fox Hosts Don’t Believe What They Advocate, Court Filings Show

“Despite what the right-wing talk channel peddled to its millions of loyal viewers in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 election, behind the scenes its most prominent stars and highest-ranking executives privately trashed claims of election fraud,” reports CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”

New York Times Executive Editor Shuts Down Criticism By Employees And Contributors

“It is not unusual for outside groups to critique our coverage or to rally supporters to seek to influence our journalism. In this case, however, members of our staff and contributors to The Times joined the effort. Their protest letter included direct attacks on several of our colleagues, singling them out by name,” New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn memo’ed the publication’s contributors. “Participation in such a campaign is against the letter and spirit of our ethics policy. That policy prohibits our journalists from aligning themselves with advocacy groups and joining protest actions on matters of public policy. We also have a clear policy prohibiting Times journalists from attacking one another’s journalism publicly or signaling their support for such attacks… We do not welcome, and will not tolerate, participation by Times journalists in protests organized by advocacy groups or attacks on colleagues on social media and other public forums.”

Nieman Reports: “In response to the letter, The Times could have pointed to that as well as other deeply reported and contextualized work on trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming issues in the news sections. It could have invited in some of its harshest critics, to listen, learn, and have a substantive back-and-forth about an issue that is vexing many Americans. It could have acted like the grown-ups in the room knowing it has an outsized voice as the paper of record. Instead, it took the route too many high-profile highly-influential journalists and outlets take when challenged. The paper reduced its critics to just a bunch of radical activists.”

MUSIC

Buddy Guy Sings Blues About The Blues Before Farewell Tour

“Buddy Guy Wants the Music Industry to Stop Treating the Blues ‘Like a Stepchild,'” headlines Billboard as a tour and an eighty-seventh birthday approach. “He’s still happy to help nurture new talent, whether on stage at Legends or by paying for the occasional recording session for an upstart. Guy has been particularly aggrieved at the lack of mainstream media support for the genre, especially at radio, where it’s consigned to specialty programs, NPR and satellite,” writes Gary Graff. “Blues is like a stepchild now,” Guy says. “I’ve kept doing it so people don’t forget Muddy and Wolf, B.B., all the rest of ’em. But the big FM stations don’t play blues—if they do, I don’t hear it. And if people can’t hear it… It’s like they say about cooking; you don’t know how good the gumbo is in Louisiana until you go down there and taste it. Whether you like it or not is up to you, but at least you tasted it. And the blues is being treated like that. I don’t care how good a blues record you make—if nobody hears it, it’s just there. It bothers me because I’ve dedicated my life to the blues, and a lot of other people have, too. What did we do to be treated like that? I don’t know, man, but I’d like to see it get straightened out.”

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Bally’s Needs Dealers At $9.50 An Hour For Table Gambling; Prospects Won’t Be Paid For Three To Four Months Of Training

Bally’s casino will hire 300 dealers for jobs that start at $9.50 an hour plus tips, reports the Sun-Times. Prospective workers “have to attend ‘dealer school’ at Bally’s Near North Side office. The school would be for four hours a day, five days a week, for twelve to sixteen weeks. It consists of primarily handling cards, chips and dice. Aspiring dealers will not get paid for attending dealer school.”

Child Labor Is Back

“I didn’t want to be right about the GOP and capitalists ushering in a new era of child labor. Unfortunately, here we are,” writes Jared Yates Sexton, author of “American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People.” “There’s a tight labor market. So, of course, states are looking to child labor for relief… There are plenty of jobs out there and, unfortunately, people are refusing to take them… They’re going to have to draft your children into work. This is the kind of thing that makes most people rear back in horror. The very notion of forcing kids—including…. construction, manufacturing, and slaughtering—is repugnant…. And yet it’s being presented as damn near inevitable… This notion that children would be off-limits is just as much of an illusion as was the idea that Roe v. Wade could never be overturned… A simple fairy tale to maintain the status quo while aggressively reactionary forces push and push to turn back the clock, all while whittling away at notions of dignity and sacrosanct ‘principles.'” Reports Washington Post labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley: “The Department of Labor has fined one of the country’s largest food sanitation companies $1.5 million for allegedly employing 102 kids to clean meat-packing facilities at night. The kids were as young as thirteen years old and at least three suffered injuries.”

Packers Sanitation Services, privately owned by Blackstone, “allegedly employed minors… to use caustic chemicals to clean ‘razor-sharp saws’… and other dangerous equipment at meatpacking facilities in eight states, mostly in the Midwest and the South, in some cases for years.” The states include Minnesota, Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas. “The plants are operated by some of the country’s most powerful meat and poultry producers, including JBS Foods, Tyson and Cargill… At least three children suffered injuries, including a chemical burn to the face, while sanitizing kill floors and other areas of slaughterhouses in the middle of the night.”

Cataloging The Toxic Chemicals Of East Palestine And Counting Each Day’s Trains With Hazardous Materials 

Along with a powerful report, The Washington Post builds a visual timeline delineating the Norfolk Southern derailment disaster, marking each destroyed railcar with its spilled contents, the kind of hazardous material that roll through towns and cities every day (about 12,000 rail cars a day, from towns in the Midwest to metropolitan Chicago). “Polyethylene, a common plastic; Vinyl chloride, a flammable and carcinogenic gas used to make plastic; Dipropylene glycol and propylene glycol; Petroleum lubricating oil; Ethylhexyl acrylate, used in adhesives and other products; Diethylene glycol, isobutylene, butyl acrylate and petroleum derivative oil; Polyvinyl (PVC); benzene; steel sheets, cotton balls and frozen vegetables.” Over 1,000 trains a year derail in America, write the journalists of Lever News at the New York Times. The derailment and chemical fire “that left thousands of nearby residents fearing for their health was not a one-off tragedy or a random life-imitating-art manifestation of Don DeLillo’s classic novel ‘White Noise.’ Instead, it was proof of just how dangerous America’s rail industry has become. The number of derailments has declined since the 1970s, but the United States still has over 1,000 derailments every year. And over the last seven years, the costs from derailments of trains carrying hazardous materials increased.”

DHS On Watch For Extremists Engineering Social Collapse

Illinois is not one of the states with attacks on substations, but the Department of Homeland Security has sounded an alarm. “We’ve seen attacks against the power grid for a number of years, and some of those attacks are simply people shooting into substations around the country for purely criminal reasons,” Kenneth Wainstein, undersecretary of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the DHS tells CBS News. “But some of these shootings are also being done by domestic violent extremists” who are attempting to engineer societal collapse. “The vision, in short, is that they want to take down the energy grid because if they take down the energy grid, they believe that society will then collapse… And out of the collapse, [they believe], will arise a white nationalist government to replace the current government. And we’ve seen this narrative online among these white nationalist groups.”

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