Keep on rollin'
Keep on rollin'
You gotta roll with the changes.

If you read this blog regularly, and I hope that you do, you have probably noticed that the most recent 2 or 3 blogs don’t resemble the past 500 or so entries. The formatting is different, the URL is different, and most importantly, the connection to ChicagoNow and the Chicago Tribune has vanished.

Several of my colleagues, as well as well-known Chicago columnist Eric Zorn, have detailed the demise the ChicagoNow at the hands of Alden Global Capital. I won’t go into details, but Alden owns the Trib; Alden apparently saw no value in the cadre of talented bloggers who provided free content to the Trib’s digital site; last week Alden unceremoniously pulled the plug.

As a result, the former ChicagoNow bloggers have all been scrambling to rescue our old blogs (most of mine can be found here) and find new places from which to continue to shout our thoughts and views. Some of us hope to band together in a new enterprise if we can come up with the technical expertise to allow us to express our common vision. I have also reached out to the Sun-Times and Daily Herald in hopes that either might consider giving us a home (no responses so far.)

For now, I am using a stand-alone WordPress platform. It’s a return to my roots. I started with WordPress in 2015 and wrote there for several months before passing the entrance exam (gentle questioning by the great Jimmy Greenfield) for ChicagoNow and being invited to join in with the gang. The site is a bit bland but I will try to pretty up the place…all with the hope that this is a temporary hiccup and I will soon be blogging with my old buddies once again.

And One More Change (with a request)…

Many of you are aware of my past association with USToo, the Chicago area organization that was heavily involved in helping patients with prostate cancer. Last year USToo merged with the national organization Zero-The End of Prostate Cancer. As an UsToo board member, I agreed with the merger knowing the power of a large national group will help make an impact in the lives of prostate cancer patients and their families.

One thing hasn’t changed. Zero is continuing the annual SEABlue Prostate Cancer Walk and Run in Lincoln Park. I participate annually to honor my dad, who lost his life to prostate cancer. Through the years, many of you have sponsored me. Some have already done so this year. If you have not and would like to, here is the link. No contribution is too small or not appreciated.