Recently, we RedEye bloggers got together for a very official meeting – secret handshakes were traded, hoods were donned, oracles were conferred, and our collective chants hung low in the room as a swirling mist curled around the hems of our mystical robes. (Note: This description may be somewhat exaggerated completely untrue.)
Anyway, we had an interesting discussion about how the typical online reader gets their news, which got me thinking about how I get the lowdown on what’s going on in Hyde Park.
First, there’s the local neighborhood paper, the Hyde Park Herald. It’s been around forever – no for real, since 1882 they say – and occasionally, their viewpoint seems stuck there. While it’s relatively informative about what’s going on in the neighborhood, I also sense a decidedly doomsday undercurrent whenever it comes to any new development or redevelopment in the neighborhood. This is reflective of a fear shared by many long-time Hyde Parkers – this sense of not wanting the neighborhood to evolve past anything they’ve already known it to be. My gut says this isn’t due to a true fear of gentrification or being pushed out – Hyde Park isn’t the cheapest neighborhood to live in to begin with – it’s just a general distaste for change, and a distrust of the powers that be who would change it, particularly U of C.
When I’m looking for an alternative perspective on the development going on in the neighborhood, I turn to a blog called Hyde Park Progress. It’s written by “Chicago Pop,” who says he started the site because he wanted to give a voice to those who believe the neighborhood needs to change (e.g., more retail and commercial amenities and a greater street life), but whose voices are often drowned out by what he calls “the establishment” of Hyde Park. The recent purchase of Borders by U of C is a current topic on the site It seems that whenever the University purchases property in Hyde Park, there is a fear in the air that warns, “Beward the Maroon candyman! He is only here to steal your property, and turn it into office buildings that will only benefit them, and not the community!” But Chicago Pop suggests that Trader Joe’s is interested in the space – a rumor that’s been circulating for a while now. I really like Trader Joe’s, and would like one in my neighborhood, so I choose to believe this rumor until proven otherwise.
Finally, I have to give props to RedEye – call me a suck up if you want, but since RedEye started the Hyde Park page, it has become another one of my go-to’s for HP news, whether it’s sharing the news about our street festivals, (did you know WAR is coming back?) to Mayor Rahm sending his kids to U of C Lab School. Props, RE!
Did I miss your favorite HP news source? Set me straight on Twitter @melkat.
Above image: Dress by Gary Harvey, borrowed from www.treehugger.com
This is a RedEye community blog. The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author and not those of RedEye or Tribune Company.
