Where have all the news boxes gone?

I have to confess to not really noticing until the past couple of days – I can’t remember the last time I bought a copy of the Chicago Tribune from a news box.
 

Is this now a historic relic?

I happened to be in downtown Chicago on Wednesday and had no problem finding an honor box for the Chicago Sun-Times in which to deposit four quarters in order to get a copy of the Bright One.

BUT LOOKING OVER at the nearby spot where there should have been a white and blue box hawking the Chicago Tribune resulted in vacant spaces. I wound up having to walk into that DePaul University bookstore that doubles as a Barnes & Noble franchise in order to spend my $1.99 for a copy of the modern-day incarnation of the World’s Greatest Newspaper.

It got me to thinking around all the locations that I used to stumble into and find a news box from which to buy a Tribune. They are all gone.

And now, Crain’s Chicago Business confirmed it with a report they published Thursday on their website. Newspaper officials won’t say, but the News Media Alliance confirmed that the Tribune really is eliminating those boxes in which people are trusted to deposit the correct amount of change before taking a copy of the paper.

The Tribune does still use honor boxes for the free publications they want people to take – such as the Spanish-language “Hoy” or the pseudo-alternative “Red Eye.”

BUT THE DAYS of reaching into one’s pocket and picking out some spare change in order to get a copy of the newspaper seem to be fading away. Which is a shame, since I have always been the odd-ball (at least as far as newspaper management is concerned) who wants the printed paper, but doesn’t particularly care for home delivery.

Although when one considers how much newspapers are costing these days, I suppose I can see where the idea comes in that you’re better off trying to get people to walk into stores where they can pick up a paper along with whatever goods they buy. Just think of trying to put $6 worth of quarters into a box for a Sunday New York Times.

The beginning of the 'downfall?'

In my case, the Walgreen’s about a block from where I live is a common spot for buying my copy of the Tribune. Either that, or whatever gas station I happen to stumble into while out and about with my life’s business.

Still, there is something about the news boxes that added to the character of the urban community. And not just because they’d have a tendency to eat peoples’ quarters and jam up – thereby refusing to provide people with the paper.

IN A SENSE, it was Chicago city officials themselves who began this trend when they required publications to put their wares in those massive multi-news boxes that were supposed to eliminate the clutter on the streets.

But instead, they often turn into a filthy, grimy mess, particularly when one looks at them and sees that most of the slots are empty. Not exactly something that anybody wants to deposit money into.

Besides, with the Tribune now charging $1.99, it makes me wonder if a news box would have to be built to accept pennies. Or if the Tribune would just want people to pay an even $2 – with all those extra pennies adding up to additional profit for the paper.

In short, newspapers cost quite a bit more than they used to – although I can recall decades ago when then-Gannett CEO Al Neuharth openly said major metro newspapers ought to charge in the dollars for their product rather than for spare change.

HIS THEORY WAS that it would increase the demographic of people buying the paper because the rabble who think in terms of the news box were less attractive to would-be advertisers.

I’m sure there are those people reading this who are screeching and screaming at their computer screens that I’m an idiot – I can read all this stuff for free via the Internet. Except that I really don’t like reading anything on a computer screen – I will go to my grave preferring ink on paper as a medium.

Even though it makes me wonder how much, at the end, I will be shelling out for copies of the paper. Since I can recall selling copies of the high school newspaper I wrote for, and being taunted by fellow students that they could buy copies of both the Tribune AND Sun-Times for the 50 cents I was asking for “The Arrow” of Thornwood High.

So when I hear the hedline to this commentary being sung in the back of my mind to the tune of the old Pete Seeger song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” I realize I’m probably alone

  -30-

EDITOR’S NOTE: I wonder how many people these days comprehend the one-time meanings of “The Bright One” or the “World’s Greatest Newspaper.”

Do we really need the food carts coming to Chicago? I don’t think so

A part of me supports the idea of food carts being permitted to operate openly on the Chicago streets; primarily because I thought it was absurd that those food trucks are allowed but the carts aren’t.

Could become a common sight in Chicago

Yet let’s be honest; I can’t say I’m eager for the pushcarts to be cluttering up the sidewalks and other public ways. It seems like there are ample food options that it’s not like anyone is incapable of getting something quick to eat.

UNLESS THEY DON’T have money. Although that is a different issue to be argued another day.

Personally, I think one of the most overrated aspects of New York is the pushcarts peddling hot dogs. The idea that those things are particularly edible is about as ridiculous as thinking a ballpark hot dog is anything special.

Maybe not as overpriced as the $6 or so that anyone pays to eat a hot dog while watching the White Sox or Cubs blow a ballgame. But still, there are better food options.

That is something we have never experienced in Chicago, on account that the restaurants have used their political clout to keep away competition in as many forms as possible.

IT WAS A major concession when food trucks were permitted a few years ago – feeding off the business of certain hipster types who think there is something special about eating from a kitchen on wheels even though the typical greasy spoon diner probably offers much the same thing.

Now, the City Council’s License Committee spent the day Wednesday discussing the issue, then recommending its passage. The full City Council could approve a change permitting food carts as soon as next week.

One of the few pushcart-worthy items

Although I couldn’t help but notice that many of the people touting this issue were of a Latino ethnic persuasion. As though pushcarts in Chicago would be peddling tamales or elotes.

I don’t care for the latter dish (it’s corn, slathered in mayonnaise that drowns out any other spices that have been added) and realize that getting a decent tamale takes a certain level of care that someone with a pushcart isn’t going to be able to put into their product.

Paletas and tamales were the topic of conversation at the Hall

SO I’M NOT exactly anxiously awaiting the coming of the pushcart, which has existed on a limited basis. There are certain parts of Chicago where one can buy sliced fruit or other snack-type items.

Although the one thing I admit to enjoying from a pushcart is a paleta. Think of an ice cream bar – although instead of some generic chocolate or vanilla, the flavorings are more fruit-based.

Personally, I’d like it if I could occasionally enjoy a mango-flavored paleta more easily. Then again, there are the times when I’ll pick them up at the supermarket (if you shop beyond the Jewel, they’re not hard to find) so I can have them more often than when I stumble across a pushcart.

Yet I’m not so sure my sentiment is all that common.

I DID NOTICE the council is considering requirements meant to ensure that any food sold from a pushcart won’t be unsanitary. The food is to be properly packaged, and cooked in a commercial kitchen. This won’t be cooked in someone’s personal kitchen.

Or at least it’s not supposed to be. I do wonder how many people will claim that such requirements are over-burdensome and prevent “the little guy” from establishing his own business. There’s always somebody who will complain about any aspect of an issue.

Besides, a part of me recalls the story my father tells about why he never liked enchiladas – he still recalls the time as a child he saw a street vendor serving them and kept using the same plate over and over to serve each customer.

I’m not saying that’s going to be a common occurrence in Chicago if this ordinance gets approved. But I’m just not sure what this really adds to our municipal ambiance!

  -30-

Wrigley, the protesters and Al Franken

It is hard for me to decide what the most ridiculous spectacle was on Tuesday in the wide world of electoral politics in the United States.

I’m inclined to go with the Chicago City Council, which is preparing to take on an issue of monumental proportions – one where they will confront a force that threatens society as we know it today.

I AM SPEAKING, of course, of all those trashy vendors who try to earn a living by congregating around Wrigley Field and selling you overpriced goods (although not quite as overpriced as the ones sold inside the stadium proper) as you venture your way into the building to watch the women in tube tops who attend Chicago Cubs games.

Alderman Tom Tunney claims his concern is about public safety. He told the Chicago Tribune, “you can’t walk to the park.”

And I will be the first to admit there are instances where vendors get overly pushy in trying to peddle their extra-large bags of peanuts or cheaply-printed scorecards or whatever other item they have concocted to try to make some money.

But then again, I expect there to be something of a crowd around a sports stadium. Isn’t that part of the point of attending an athletic event – to be a part of the spectacle that cheers on the home team (and razzes them beyond belief when they play like trash)?

THAT IS WHY city ordinances have long prevented the unaffiliated street vendors from setting foot on the actual block that Wrigley Field occupies (Clark Street to Addison Street to Sheffield Street to Waveland Avenue back to Clark).

But under the Tunney proposal, which will now be debated with all the seriousness that officials are putting into trying to concoct a state government budget, now vendors would be banned from working within two blocks of the ballpark.

Not that this would affect the people who operate storefronts within a block of the ballpark to sell sports-related stuff. They aren’t affected.

Which makes me wonder if this great public safety concern has a touch of protecting the business interests of the vendors who work inside the stadium and in the storefronts directly across the street.

IF SO, THEN trying to bill it as a public safety concern is a bit of a stretch – even if it also served a local political purpose as well. I couldn’t help but notice that the measure came up the same day the City Council approved a measure requiring city employees to take 15 days off without pay before the end of 2009.

I suppose that’s better than requiring people to work those 15 days without pay. But most people I know with jobs need every penny they can get. Losing three weeks of work isn’t going to help. Better we pay attention to the public safety concern surrounding Wrigley Field.

Or perhaps the City Hall crowd would rather we watch the Statehouse Scene, where officials on Tuesday were treated to the sight of protesters being arrested.

Now keep in mind that protests at a government building, particularly the Statehouse in Springfield, are routine. There’s always somebody who stages a rally of sorts to try to gain attention for their cause.

BUT WHEN WAS the last time you saw protesters chanting, “raise taxes now,” while being carted off by the police?

These particular protesters were organized by the Service Employees International Union, and by their own admission were trying to get arrested to make a point. The union wants Gov. Pat Quinn to get the income tax hike he is calling for to balance the state budget for the fiscal year that begins Wednesday.

Usually, protesters protest against higher taxes. But that is how bizarre the political scene has been twisted due to the budget mess – which shows no sign of ending soon.

If either of those spectacles aren’t bizarre enough for you, how about this? Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.

THE STATE SUPREME Court in Minnesota issued a ruling Tuesday that, for all practical purposes, ends the legal battle over who won that state’s 2008 election. The one-time comedy writer for Saturday Night Live will soon be able to join his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, and will give the Democratic caucus 60 members, which in theory will allow them to run roughshod over the GOP opposition without having to worry about filibusters.

What I find bizarre is the whole idea that Franken is political. He strikes me more as a comedian going for the cheap laugh, and he is willing to use current events as subject material for his humor.

Does anyone really believe that his 1996 book “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (and other observations)” was a serious political tome that will influence the thoughts and perceptions of government for generations to come? Or was it just a quickie laugh that some people were foolish enough to pay $21.95 (plus tax) for ($29.95 if purchased with Canadian dollars)?

At the very least, Roland Burris will now no longer be the only comic in the Senate, even if Roland, Roland, Roland’s humorous moments will be purely unintentional.

-30-