Redevelopment

<em>Near West Side Stories: Struggles for Community in Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood</em> is an ongoing story of unequal power in Chicago. Four representatives of immigrant and migrant groups that have had a distinct territorial presence in the area&mdash;one Jewish, one Italian, one African-American, and one Mexican&mdash;reminisce fondly on life in the old neighborhood and tell of their struggles to save it and the 120-year-old Maxwell Street Market that was at its core. <p> <em>Near West Side Stories</em> brings this saga of community strife up to date, while giving a voice to the everyday people who were routinely discounted or ignored in the big decisions that affected their world. Though slaying that dragon&mdash;fending off the encroachments of those wielding great power&mdash;was nearly impossible, we see in the details of their lives the love for a place that compelled Harold, Florence, Nate, and Hilda to make the quest.</p>

Features on: Mayor Richard M. Daley's proclamation that he'll make Chicago the greenest city in America and how The Resource Center's projects are already working on this; a memorial to Mark David "Malachi" Ritscher who performed self-immolation protest of the Iraq War; How the Chicago Recovery Alliance affects change through unconventional programs; the story of the survival of a man attacked by a grizzly bear; surveillance cameras in Chicago as part of "Operation Disruption"; the redevelopment of Block 37; how the Great Andamanese and the Sentinelese survived 2006 tsunami using instinct and spirtualism; discussing living through World War II, Nazi-ocuppied France with grandma; the most expensive US House race in history with James Hill of Iowa; The Department of Homeland Security's human trafficking awareness campaign and how its exploitation of fear of women being sold into sex slavery echoes the history of the sensationalist tales of "white slavery" throughout the 20th century, masking real concerns like rights for migrant workers and sweatshop laborers; a review of the Massive Change show and how it only makes yuppies feel better about capitalism; an interview with cryptozoologist Loren Coleman; an interview about "sabermetrics,"; which is the study of baseball statistics; and why everything sucks except sports (mostly).