Local Culture

Tim Johnson 3 min read

I See You

It is a small gesture, but when you are trying to cross four lanes of traffic at the corner of West 7th and Goodrich, the gesture and the recognition matters. Each Tuesday I navigate that stretch of road in order to join long time colleagues and friends for breakfast at the Day By Day Café. Sometimes, too often, I feel virtually invisible as cars speed by seemingly unaware or uninterested in a pedestrian hoping to safely make it to the other side. But, invariably there is a person who sees me, slows down and motions for me to cross. Since it is four lanes, I never take one person’s stopping as sufficient, but what often seems to be the case is that if one person stops it triggers other people doing the same thing. It is good to be seen.

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Community Reporter 3 min read

Mancini’s Char House, Cossetta’s Italian Restaurant, and Mahler Music Center Join Forces for a Good Cause

The West 7th community is buzzing with excitement as three local businesses have come together to perform at a breast cancer benefit event. This unexpected collaboration showcases Pat Mancini from Mancini’s Char House, Dave Cossetta from Cossetta’s Italian Restaurant, and Ken Mahler from Mahler Music Center, accompanied by their fellow bandmates known as the Goombas.

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Tim Rumsey 4 min read

Mr. Positive is Ill, Part Three

It is verified factual that Carl Benston – Mr. Positive – has had seven months of stage four esophagus cancer and six months of “no more cancer chemo.” So, it was awfully good to see him this lovely fall Sunday out in front of his St. Clair house at his umbrella table. 

“How are you?” I asked.

“Good,” he answered. “A little tired. It’s too hot out to cut grass, 88.”

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Rebecca Noecker 2 min read , ,

Engagement Done Right

At the beginning of a summer now edging toward fall, I had the chance to attend the We Live Here community meeting hosted by the W. 7th/Fort Road Federation. I came away energized and grateful for a convening that was impressive in many ways. 

First, it was genuine. Too many community engagement sessions seem to be done for show or to “check the box” to say they’ve engaged the community when they knew what they intended to do all along. This meeting was the opposite. There was no preconceived agenda, no ulterior motive beyond an authentic desire to hear from people who live and work in the neighborhood. Notes were taken at each table and shared with everyone who attended, so it was clear what was heard and what was done with our input.

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Tim Johnson 2 min read ,

Wrapped in the Flag

Wrapped in the American flag, the picture tells the story. Having just won a gold medal for team gymnastics, five American women proudly wrap themselves in the stars and stripes. Jade Carey holds one end of the flag. Hezly Rivera holds the other. In the center is the GOAT for gymnastics, Simone Biles. Next to Simone is Suni Lee on one side and Jordan Chiles on the other. It is a striking image that stands in sharp and hopeful contrast to ways in which the American flag has too often been used, not as an image of inclusion, but rather as a symbol of exclusion and hate.

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