Daily Archive : Sunday April 13, 2014

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News

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  Democratic lawmaker: GOP base ‘animated by racism’
  

  Associated Press

  
  An overhaul to the nation's broken immigration system remains stalled because "the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism," the head of the House committee to elect Democratic lawmakers said Sunday.
  

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  ‘I am a bully’ sign-holder calls sentence unfair
  Associated Press
  An Ohio man who spent hours on a street corner Sunday with a sign declaring he’s a bully says that the punishment in a disorderly conduct case was unfair and that the judge who sentenced him has ruined his life. Sixty-two-year-old Edmond Aviv mostly ignored honking horns and people who stopped by to talk with him in.
  

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  Abdullah, Ghani lead in partial Afghan vote tally
  Associated Press
  Two clear front-runners emerged in Afghanistan’s presidential election as partial results released Sunday showed a tight race that increasingly appears destined for a runoff vote. Both candidates promise a fresh start with the West, vowing to sign a security pact with the United States that has been rejected by President Hamid Karzai, but their fierce rivalry has raised the possibility of...
  

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  Kiev government to deploy troops in Ukraine’s east
  Associated Press
  Turning to force to try to restore its authority in the vital industrial east, Ukraine’s government announced Sunday it was sending in troops to try to quash an increasingly brazen pro-Russian insurgency, despite repeated warnings from the Kremlin.
  

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  Antiques market draws crowds to Lake County Fairgrounds
  Daily Herald report
  Customers shared laughs with vendors as they discussed the history and background of pieces of furniture and vintage clothing Sunday on the second day of the Zurko Antique and Flea Market at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake. “This is the premier show in Chicago, size wise and quality wise,” promoter Bob Zurko said.
  

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  Arlington Hts. church recreates the march into Jerusalem
  By Steve Zalusky
  Arlington Heights doubled for Jerusalem on Sunday, as the Rev. Claudio Diaz, Jr. recreated Jesus’ march into the city during a Palm Sunday procession from St. Thomas Villanova in Palatine to his home church of Mision San Juan Diego. Dressed in a robe of gold and red and riding atop a horse, Diaz was accompanied on his journey by a huge crowd of parishioners wearing period costumes as...
  

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  3 dead after suburban Kansas City shooting
  Associated Press
  A man in his 70s opened fire Sunday outside of a Jewish community center and nearby retirement community, killing three people, authorities said. Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass said at a news conference Sunday evening that a person who had been reported to be in critical condition earlier was among three killed in the attacks, which apparently occurred minutes apart.
  

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  Elgin man charged after car smashes into house
  By Harry Hitzeman
  A 35-year-old Elgin man who went to prison for fighting with emergency crews responding to a 2009 fire at his parents’ Elgin home is in trouble again. James R. Beavers Jr. was arrested April 4 and charged with driving under the influence after, authorities say, he crashed his girlfriend’s car into a house.
  

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  Cost of fighting warming ‘modest,’ says U.N. panel
  Associated Press
  The cost of keeping global warming in check is “relatively modest,” but only if the world acts quickly to reverse the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, the head of the U.N.’s expert panel on climate change said Sunday. Such gases, mainly CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels, rose on average by 2.2 percent a year in 2000-2010, driven by the use of coal in the...
  

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  Morning rain can’t deter Lake in the Hills runners
  By John Starks
  The spring rain Sunday morning couldn’t stop the roughly 500 runners in the 15th Run Thru The Hills road races in Lake in the Hills. After months of freezing temperatures, snow and ice, the early spring rain made the rolling pavement glisten as runners in the 5K and 10K events made their way through the Woods Creek Lake neighborhood in the mature section of town.
  

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  Missing plane’s black box batteries may have died
  Associated Press
  Following four strong underwater signals in the past week, all has gone quiet in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, meaning the batteries in the plane’s all-important black boxes may finally have died. Despite having no new transmissions from the black boxes’ locator beacons to go on, air and sea crews were continuing their search in the southern Indian Ocean on Sunday...
  

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  St. Charles East students walk to help 2-year-old girl’s cause
  By John Starks
  Six months ago, Caitlin Cox couldn’t even bend her knees. Swelling and pain had stiffened the two-year-old’s joints so badly she had to be carried around the house. On Sunday, the St. Charles girl couldn’t be stopped.
  

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  Wood Dale egg hunt goes to the dogs
  By Daniel White
  An Easter egg hunt went to the dogs Sunday, as various weight classes of canines and their owners battled for treats and other goodies during the sixth annual Doggie Egg Hunt at the Cabin Nature Center White Oaks Dog Park in Wood Dale.
  

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  Bark in the Park in Hawthorn Woods
  Daily Herald report
  Hawthorn Woods hosts its inaugural Bark in the Park event from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 26, at Community Park, Old McHenry and Quentin roads.
  

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  Nominate the Lincolnshire Citizen of the Year
  Daily Herald report
  In keeping with a 31-year tradition recognizing an individual for outstanding service to the Lincolnshire community, the Lincolnshire Community Association (LCA) is accepting nominations for the annual Citizen of the Year Award.
  

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  Mundelein seniors invited to dinner, play
  Daily Herald report
  Senior citizens who live in Mundelein High School District 120 are invited to have dinner, view an art show and experience opening night of the school’s musical, “The Secret Garden,” on May 1.
  

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  Round Lake Area park district meeting canceled
  Daily Herald report
  The Round Lake Area Park District’s regularly scheduled board meeting at 6 p.m., Thursday, April 24, is canceled.
  

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  Schaumburg police host family self-defense seminar
  Daily Herald report
  The Schaumburg Police Department has partnered with The Vistelar Group and internationally recognized instructor Dave Young to present a free seminar designed to keep families and children safe. Family Self-Defense “Stay Safe Program 1” will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 at the Schaumburg police station, 1000 W. Schaumburg Road.
  

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  Winter coat drive runs through April 30
  Daily Herald report
  Now that winter’s finally done, the Woodfield Area Children’s Organization wants you to clean out your closet. WACO’s End of Winter Coat drive runs through April 30 at three locations. Area dry cleaners will accept your gently-used winter coats, clean them and then distribute them to disadvantaged families in the Northwest suburbs and Kane County.
  

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  Obama, Republicans compete for support among women
  Associated Press
  After months on the defensive over his health law, a more combative President Barack Obama has emerged to fight about gender politics, leading to an election-year competition with Republicans for support from women.News: No single group will be more important to Democrats’ fortunes, say White House advisers, than unmarried women, who are likely to go Democratic — if they vote, and...
  

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  Neglect-case animals making way to new homes
  By Susan Sarkauskas
  Kane County Animal Control is trying to do what it can to make sure the animals involved in a March neglect and cruelty case end up in good homes. As of Friday, adoptions were finalized for all but seven of the 90-plus animals that Stacy Fiebelkorn forfeited or had removed by a judge, Animal Control Director Robert Sauceda said.
  

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  Tight wedding ring, other subtle changes pointed to tumor
  By Burt Constable
  When Phil Van Duyne hit middle age and discovered his wedding ring got a little snug, it wasn't because of his diet or a lack of exercise. The Roselle engineer and contractor had a tumor linked to gigantism. “I just thought we were getting older,” Kathy Van Duyne says. “It was so gradual. People say, 'Didn't you notice?' and I really didn't.”
  

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  Elgin master mechanic builds Lincoln's funeral car replica
  By Elena Ferrarin
  Elgin master mechanic David H. Kloke does not think small: He is building a full-size replica of the funeral train car that carried Abraham Lincoln's body in 1865 from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Ill. “I like Lincoln. I was always inspired by him,” said Kloke, of Bartlett. “He did a lot more than the slavery issue for this country.”
  

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  Former Lake Zurich police chief Glogovsky dies
  By Deborah Pankey
  Visitation for former Lake Zurich Police Chief James "Jim" Glogovsky will be held April 21 at Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home. Glogovsky, who retired in 1991, died earlier this month.
  

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  Naperville to consider cutting health care for council
  By Marie Wilson
  The Naperville City Council recently ended cellphone and Internet stipends for future council members and discontinued eligibility to participate in public pensions, but the discussion about compensation isn't over. The focus has shifted to health care. “It occurred to me that our own employees that we have that are part-time don't get the same benefits we do,” council member Paul...
  

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  Dist. 95 open to suggestions in survey regarding hot classrooms
  By Bob Susnjara
  Lake Zurich Unit District 95 seeks suggestions from parents and staff on what to do when classrooms without central air conditioning become too hot. District 95 has set a Thursday deadline for completion of an online heat emergency procedure survey. “I wanted to conduct the survey so I could be sure that the heat emergency procedure that we are developing is meeting the needs of the...
  

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  Trying to combat growing drug trade in oil patch
  Associated Press
  The oil boom in the Bakken shale fields has touched off an explosion of growth and wealth on this remote wind-swept prairie. Big money is raining down in small towns. Oil rigs light up the night sky. But the bonanza suddenly flourishing here has also brought with it a dark side: a growing trade in meth, heroin, cocaine and marijuana, the shadow of sinister cartels and newfound violence.
  

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  Syria rebels, government report poison gas attack
  Associatd Press
  An amateur video posted online by opposition activists showed a hospital room in Kfar Zeita that was packed with men and children, some of whom breathing through oxygen masks. On one bed, the video showed six children on a bed, some appearing to have difficulty breathing while others cried.
  

Sports

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  Blackhawks to face Blues in first round of playoffs
  By Mike Spellman
  A couple of weeks ago it looked like there was no way. Even just a week ago it was still a far-flung possibility at best. Well, the unthinkable has happened. Somehow, some way the Blackhawks will begin their title defense against St. Louis on Thursday night.
  

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  Bulls fall to Knicks, 4th seed in East
  By Mike McGraw
  The Bulls' seven-game win streak came to an end with a 100-89 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The Bulls trimmed a 17-point deficit down to 6 in the fourth quarter, but missed a couple of open looks that could have made it closer.
  

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  Aaron or Bonds? Time to let go of that angst
  By Len Kasper
  A great thing about the game of baseball is that we hold its records, its heritage and its long-retired and deceased heroes dear to our hearts. Butwhenever the modern baseball world interferes with or “attempts” to erase, obscure or offend those memories, we tend to lash out and immediately condemn. In his weekly Cubs insider column, Len Kasper says i's time to let go of the angst over Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron.
  

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  Ramirez homer saves another White Sox bullpen mishap
  By Scot Gregor
  The White Sox and Indians battled through a long, rainy game Sunday. It ended with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Alexei Ramirez came through with a 2-run homer off Cleveland closer John Axford.
  

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  Changes ahead if White Sox’ bullpen doesn’t improve
  By Scot Gregor
  The White Sox are off to a fairly good start at 7-6, but the pitching staff is having numerous problems. While he's staying patient for now, manager Robin Ventura said changes will be coming if poor individual performances continue.
  

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  Radtke joins Burlington Central’s Hall of Fame
  By Mike Miazga
  John Radtke, the Daily Herald’s Fox Valley sports editor and a 17-year veteran of the company, joined Scott Hoffmeister and five other individuals along with the 2003 Central football team Sunday night as the newest inductees into the Burlington Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
  

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  Knicks snap Bulls’ 7-game win streak
  Associated Press
  NEW YORK — Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and the New York Knicks, a night after being eliminated from playoff contention, beat the Bulls 100-89 on Sunday.No longer with any hopes of their own, the Knicks snapped the Bulls’ seven-game winning streak and dropped them back into a tie with Toronto for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with two to play. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith each had 17 points for the Knicks, who were eliminated Saturday when Atlanta beat Miami, ending New York’s run of three straight postseason berths.A 54-division champion last season, they believed they were built to play deep into the spring, so confident in what they had that Amare Stoudemire said the expectations should have been even higher.
  

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  Maybe it’s best that youth wasn’t served at the Masters
  By Mike Imrem
  Maybe it's a good thing that Jordan Spieth didn't win the Masters. It would be too depressing for too many hackers if a 20-year-old made golf look that easy.
  

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  Wolves close in on home ice for 1st round
  Special to the Daily Herald
  The Chicago Wolves reeled off 3 third-period goals to earn a 4-2 victory over Rockford in an Illinois Lottery Cup contest Sunday before 11,535 at the Allstate Arena.
  

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  Ramirez walk-off homer gives Sox a W
  By ROBERT QUESENBERY
  Associated PressAlexei Ramirez hit a two-run homer off John Axford in the ninth inning, rallying the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians 4-3 on a rainy Sunday.The Indians scored twice in the top of the ninth, getting the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by closer Matt Lindstrom.Axford came in seeking his fifth save in as many chances. He issued a leadoff walk to Jordan Danks, who stole second.One out later, Ramirez homered over the left field fence.The White Sox won a series against Cleveland for the first time since October 2012. Chicago took three of four in this set.The game was delayed 1 hour, 15 minutes at the start by the threat of rain. There was another 45-minute delay in the fourth.Cleveland trailed 2-1 going into the ninth. Michael Brantley reached on first base Jose Abreu’s error, and singles by Yan Gomes and David Murphy tied it.With two outs, Lindstrom threw a wild pitch that put the Indians ahead.Marcus Semien hit a solo home run in the eighth to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. He sent a full-count pitch from Indians starter Corey Kluber into the seats in right field.NOTES: White Sox manager Robin Ventura says OF Avisail Garcia will have season-ending shoulder surgery on Tuesday. He was injured Wednesday at Colorado on a diving-catch attempt. . Chicago 2B Gordon Beckham (strained left oblique) was cleared to resume his rehab assignment with Double-A Birmingham. ... Chicago is off Monday before concluding its seven-game homestand with three games against the Boston Red Sox beginning Tuesday. Rookie Erik Johnson (0-1, 9.58 ERA) is scheduled to face former White Sox righty Jake Peavy (0-0, 2.13 ERA) in the opener. ... The Indians reinstated 3B Lonnie Chisenhall from the paternity list and optioned Justin Sellers back to Triple-A Columbus. Chisenhall’s second son, Cannon, was born Thursday. ... Cleveland is off Monday before beginning a three-game series at Detroit on Tuesday with right-hander Zach McAllister (1-0, 2.31 ERA) scheduled to face Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 3.00 ERA).
  

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  Cougars win fourth straight
  Special to the Daily Herald
  Threats of rain didn’t stop the Cougars from squeezing in their fourth straight win with a 6-1 decision in 6½ innings Sunday at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in Geneva.
  

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  Hawks, Blues start playoffs on Thursday
  Associated Press
  The Blues set a franchise record with 52 wins but are the third seed in the Western Conference, setting up a first-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. The schedule for the series, which will begin this week in St. Louis, has yet to be announced. The Blues won the season series against the Hawks, 3-2.
  

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  Bubba Watson wins again at Augusta
  Associated Press
  AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bubba Watson’s second Masters title was nothing like the green jacket he won two years ago.The only daring shot Watson hit was one he really didn’t need. The wild swing in momentum came on the front nine, not the back nine of Augusta National. And the sweetest difference of all Sunday was seeing his 2-year-old son walk toward him on the edge of the 18th green after his three-shot victory over Jordan Spieth.Watson turned in another masterpiece and joined an elusive group as the 17th player to win the Masters more than once.He turned a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead on the final two holes of the front nine, then kept Spieth, 20, and everyone else at safe distance the rest of the way. Watson closed with a 3-under 69 to beat a pair of Masters rookies in Spieth and Jonas Blixt of Sweden.Two years ago, when he hit that wild hook out of the trees on the 10th hole to win in a playoff, his wife and newly adopted son were watching at home in Florida. This time, young Caleb was decked out in a green-and-white striped Masters shirt and green tennis shoes as he waddled over to his father.“This one’s a lot different,” Watson said. “The first one, for me, it was almost like I lucked into it.”After high-fiving the crowd on his way to sign his card, Watson returned to Butler Cabin to take back that green jacket he slipped on Adam Scott a year ago.“After giving it away last year, I wanted it back,” Watson said. “I told Adam we could just swap it back and forth every year.”Spieth, trying to become the youngest Masters champion, could only watch from the side of the green.He dazzled the massive crowd early by holing out for birdie from the front bunker on No. 4, and making back-to-back birdies to build a two-shot lead through seven holes. Bidding to become the first player in 35 years to win a green jacket in his first try, Spieth looked to be well on his way.But he three-putted for bogey on No. 8 the first 6 on his card all week as Watson got up-and-down for birdie to tie for the lead. Spieth then made a rookie mistake, leaving his approach below the flagstick on No. 9 and watching it roll back into the fairway, setting up another bogey and two-shot swing.Whatever prayer he had might have ended at Amen Corner.His tee shot on No. 12 found Rae’s Creek. He missed a short birdie attempt on the 13th. Watson was too powerful, too experienced, too tough to beat. Spieth closed with six pars for a 72 and tied for second with Blixt, who never went away but never really threatened. Blixt shot a 71.“That was fun, but at the same time, it hurts right now,” Spieth said. “I wanted to get in contention on the back nine Sunday, but didn’t come out on top.”Watson finished at 8-under 280 and goes to a career-best No. 4 in the world.Miguel Angel Jimenez, the 50-year-old wonder from Spain, shot 71 and finished alone in fourth. Matt Kuchar lost a share of the lead with a four-putt double bogey on the fourth hole and never challenged again. He closed with a 74 and tied for fifth with Rickie Fowler (73).This was nine holes of theater everyone expected out of Sunday at Augusta National except it was the front nine.Nine players were separated by three shots at the start of the final round only for this to turn into a two-man show. After trading pars on the opening hole, either Watson or Spieth sometimes both made birdie or bogey over the next nine holes.They matched birdies on the par-3 fourth hole when Spieth holed out from the front bunker and Watson hit his tee shot into 4 feet. Spieth led by as many as two shots for most of the front nine, and his spectacular overshadowed a steady hand from Watson.Two holes to close out the back nine changed everything. Amen Corner swung the Masters in Watson’s favor for good.
  

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  Cubs drop 2 of 3 to Cardinals
  Associated Press
  ST. LOUIS — Matt Carpenter drove in three runs, leading Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cubs 6-4 Sunday.The Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs, who have lost three of four overall.Carpenter hit a two-run single in the second inning and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth that put St. Louis ahead to stay at 4-3.Wacha (2-0) allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. He gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo on his 16th pitch of the game.Wacha struck out eight and walked one.Trevor Rosenthal gave up a run in the ninth, but retired Luis Valbuena and Emilio Bonifacio with the tying runs on base to pick up his fourth save in as many opportunities.Edwin Jackson (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked three in a grueling 114-pitch effort.The game was delayed 46 minutes because of rain in the bottom of the third inning.Jhonny Peralta highlighted a two-run eighth with an RBI double.Rizzo’s second homer of the season put the Cubs ahead. After Carpenter singled in the second, he stole second and scored on Kolten Wong’s single.Trailing 4-3, Mike Olt led off the Cubs seventh with a double off Wacha. Welington Castillo struck out and reliever Kevin Siegrist retired Darwin Barney and Bonifacio to end the threat.Siegrist retired all five batters.NOTES: The Cubs are winless in their last nine series. Their last series win came in September when they won two of three in Cincinnati. .... St. Louis begins a 10-game road trip Monday with the first of a three-game set in Milwaukee. Lance Lynn (2-0, 6.55 ERA) takes on Matt Garza (0-1, 2.57) in the opener. ... The Cubs conclude a five-game road trip with two games against the New York Yankees. Jason Hammel (2-0, 2.63) faces Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 3.21) in the first game on Tuesday. .... St. Louis C Yadier Molina has 11 hits in his last 22 at-bats, including two hits on Sunday.
  

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  NCAA will help athletes only if ordered
  By Barry Rozner
  What is fair for college athletes? Ask 100 people, get 100 different answers, ranging from give the players nothing, to pay them like professionals. Obviously, there's a reasonable answer somewhere in between. At the least, the result ought to be a seat at the table for the players bringing in billions for the NCAA and making millionaires of the men who coach them.
  

Business

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  Chances of getting audited by IRS lowest in years
  Associated Press
  As millions of Americans race to meet Tuesday’s tax deadline, their chances of getting audited are lower than they have been in years. Budget cuts and new responsibilities are straining the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to police tax returns. This year, the IRS will have fewer agents auditing returns than at any time since at least the 1980s.
  

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  Savers beware: Fees may be shrinking your 401(k)
  Associated Press
  It’s the silent enemy in our retirement accounts: High fees. And now a new study finds that the typical 401(k) fees — adding up to a modest-sounding 1 percent a year — would erase $70,000 from an average worker’s account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options. To compensate for the higher fees, someone would have to work an extra three years before retiring.
  

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  Apartment rents skyrocket in Brooklyn
  Bloomberg News
  Brooklyn apartment rents rose to a record in March and new leases more than doubled, extending a surge in housing demand in the New York borough that was once seen as a refuge from Manhattan’s high costs.The median monthly rent was $2,900, up 13 percent from a year earlier and the highest since appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate began tracking the market in January 2008. The number of new leases surged to 854 from 311 in March 2013, the firms said in a report today.Brooklyn, the most populous of New York’s five boroughs, has become a magnet for the young and affluent, who are drawn to its gentrifying neighborhoods. Last month’s median rent was $300 cheaper than Manhattan’s, compared with an average spread of about $1,100 in 2008, according to Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman. Rental demand is also surging as the number of homes for sale in the borough tumbled to a six-year low.“Brooklyn is on everybody’s radar, and whatever type of housing you’re in the market for, there isn’t enough of it,” Jonathan Miller, president of New York-based Miller Samuel, said in an interview. “Both the for-sale and rental markets are at or near record levels, and there’s a chronic lack of supply.”Rental prices were up across all size categories in March. Apartments with three or more bedrooms had the biggest increase, rising 27 percent from a year earlier to a median of $4,450, Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman said. The median rent for one- bedroom units was $2,747, up 16 percent.Manhattan RentsAcross the East River in Manhattan, the median monthly apartment rent was $3,200 in March, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier, according to Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman. It was the first month without a year-over-year decline since August.Brooklyn is adding residents and jobs at a faster pace than any other New York borough, sparking a boom in commercial development. Private-sector jobs in Brooklyn jumped 26 percent in the decade through 2013, Labor Department data show. In Manhattan, the increase was 13 percent for the period.“Brooklyn is standing on its own and isn’t overshadowed by Manhattan as a destination,” Miller said.Home sales in Brooklyn fell 2.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as inventory shrank, while the median price climbed 1 percent to $520,000, Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman said today in a separate report. The number of listings dropped 13 percent to 4,092 properties.Homes spent 131 days on the market, down from 160 days in the first quarter of 2013, the firms said.Multiple BidsFrancis Bradley and his wife, Jessica Athens, are trading their three-bedroom Park Slope co-op for a bigger place in gentrifying Bushwick. They received multiple bids for the Park Slope apartment, which they purchased for $770,000 in December 2012 and spent $75,000 renovating. It was on the market for less than two weeks when the couple had a contract to sell it for $999,999, Bradley said.As buyers, their experience didn’t go as smoothly. They bid on seven properties, sometimes losing out to people paying all cash, before securing a two-family home in Bushwick for $899,000, Bradley said.The couple, who have a 3-year-old daughter, intend to rent out the garden-level apartment. The family will live in the top two floors, which have six bedrooms, including one where Bradley, 37, hopes to host jazz concerts.More Space“Bushwick is up for sale at the moment,” said Bradley, an assistant professor at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute. “We wanted to get in on that because there’s more space. And given the price, it’s still relatively affordable compared to Park Slope.”
  

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  Artificial cooling tricky topic for climate panel
  Associated Press
  It’s Plan B in the fight against climate change: cooling the planet by sucking heat-trapping CO2 from the air or reflecting sunlight back into space. Called geoengineering, it’s considered mad science by opponents. Supporters say it would be foolish to ignore it.
  

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  Career Coach: Innovation is a necessity
  By Joyce E. Russell
  Innovation is one of the most popular words being used in businesses today. As Alex Triantis, dean of the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, remarked during his keynote at the school’s recent annual summit, “Innovation is an essential building block for prosperity and survival.”While he pointed out the importance of innovation for a company’s future, he also noted that turning new ideas into financial success is not easy. There are many impediments, such as corporate strategy, culture, organizational processes and misaligned incentives.Indeed, John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School and well-known author on change, notes that at least 70 percent of new efforts fail.So how can you improve the odds your innovation will be a success?Have a clear role for senior leadersFor anything to be truly successful in a company, there must be top management support. Being able to get buy-in from the board and senior management is vital for the successful creation and delivery of innovative products and services. A recent Fortune magazine article on the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” pointed to how Alan Mulally, as the chief executive of Ford Motor Co., saved the automaker by changing its “risk-averse, reality-denying, CYA-based culture.”Similarly, retired Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. noted that leaders have to be able to “see around corners” and see something significant about the future that others don’t see. This is critical as environments are increasingly described as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.Joe Taylor, chief executive of Panasonic, describes innovation as being able to adapt to the markets needs and demands. The market has changed profoundly from the industrial revolution to now. “How quickly can you can adapt?” is how he defines innovation. Top leaders have to be champions of innovation by what they say and what they do.Take risks and allow for failureInnovation only happens in the right culture, one where everyone is encouraged to speak up and bring new ideas to the table. While this sounds like common sense, few companies can say that they routinely do this.Companies also have to take some risks in order to innovate and to succeed. Employees have to see the need for change — either to move the business forward or to help it avoid being left behind. Further, they have to understand that some failures will be likely to occur and that it will be OK. The idea is not to encourage failure, but to foster innovation that leads to winning success as rapidly as possible.Start smallCompanies may want to have large, breakthrough innovations, but they can still focus on innovating in smaller, shorter bursts. They can look for improvements to current products and services and use smaller experiments to test new ideas. By starting smaller, they may have an easier time getting employees on board and convincing external clients of what they are doing. These smaller innovations can also serve as the building blocks for later larger innovations.Integrate innovation throughout the firmInnovation can’t be solely placed in one department with an Innovation Czar. It might be better to weave it into the fabric of the entire organization so that everyone is concerned and advocating for the new initiatives in their work. Otherwise, it is seen as one department’s work (to make the firm more innovative), and with this approach, the firm is likely to fail.
  

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  Work advice: Jokes on men? Still not funny
  By Karla L. Miller
  The points raised in your column are serious, but it is also important to acknowledge the constant (often incorrect) negativity directed at men. My other male friends and I (in my early 30s) regularly hear female colleagues talking about how “all” men are “evil” and “sexist pigs.”
  

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  Small businesses in limbo again on tax breaks
  Associated Press
  Small businesses are in limbo as they wait for Congress to make decisions that could save them a lot of money. Bills in Congress would extend tax deductions widely used by small businesses making equipment or property purchases. One, known as the Section 179 deduction, has shrunk to a maximum $25,000 this year from $500,000 in 2013. Another, called bonus depreciation, expired at the end of last year.
  

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  6th-graders mop up against college investors
  Associated Press
  A class of sixth-graders from North Dakota has schooled some of the best college business students in the country on the stock market. The students started the project using an app through BreadVault, a Fargo company that makes online money management tools designed for families with children.
  

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  Tax proposal to help live theater brings out stars
  Associated Press
  Live commercial theater from Broadway to Los Angeles would get a huge financial boost under a change in the federal tax code that’s being championed by such actors as Neil Patrick Harris, Bryan Cranston and Tyne Daly.
  

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  Canada: U.S. retailers get the cold shoulder
  By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and CHARMAINE NORONHAAP Retail Writer
  For years, Canadians would cross the border to the U.S. to shop at Target. Exporting its cheap chic there seemed like a no-brainer. Cracking the Canadian retail market, one-tenth the size of the United States’, looks simple. But a year after opening more than 100 stores north of the border, Target has found business isn’t so easy.
  

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  Why Starbucks won’t recycle your paper coffee cup
  By Adam Minter, Bloomberg news
  When you drop that used white paper cup into the bin next to the door at a Starbucks, have you done your part to save the planet? Yet last week, Starbucks said in its 2013 Global Responsibility Report that it wasn’t going to meet its recycling goals in 2015 -- if ever.
  

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  Review: Fire TV device great, but not fully ready
  Associated Press
  Amazon’s new Fire TV streaming device shows a lot of potential in bringing together the best features from competing devices and adding voice search on top of that.
  

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  Samsung hooks unsuspecting Obama as phone ad star
  Associated Press
  The latest pitchman in Samsung’s marketing machine: an unwitting President Barack Obama. Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz snapped a selfie with the president at a White House event using a Samsung phone and tweeted it to his followers.
  

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  Taco Bell again pokes fun at McDonald’s in new ad
  Associated Press
  The fast-food chain will begin airing a TV spot that is set to the tune of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and shows a man who has been eating Egg McMuffins since 1984. After trying Taco Bell’s breakfast, the man trims his mullet, switches to tighter pants, gets a smartphone and takes down his “Loverboy” poster.
  

Life & Entertainment

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  In CrossFit Games, the biggest competition is yourself
  By Vicky Hallett, The Washington Post
  Competitors are gettng ready for the 2014 CrossFit Games.If you’re unfamiliar with that televised spectacle, it’s essentially the Olympics of exercise, with athletes testing their dominance in a series of surprise (and often borderline sadistic) events; last year’s challenges required endless reps of handstand push-ups, legless rope climbs and weighted one-legged squats.
  

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  Images: MTV Movie Awards
  Break out the golden popcorn, the MTV Movie Awards are back for the 22nd year. And the stars of music and movies are on hand.
  

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  ‘Hunger Games’ sequel wins big at MTV Movie Awards
  Associated Press
  “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” earned the prize for best film at Sunday night’s MTV Movie Awards, besting even top Oscar winner “12 Years a Slave.” “Hunger Games” stars also took home some of the night’s biggest awards. Jennifer Lawrence won best female performance and Josh Hutcherson was voted best male performer.
  

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  Landmark Queen Anne in Geneva embarks on next chapter
  By Jean Murphy
  A Geneva landmark went on the market earlier this week. The Ida and William Davis home at 1101 Batavia Ave., built in 1892, is the only truly extravagant Queen Anne-style home in a town that was built by minimalist-leaning Scandinavians.
  

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  Dining room table should reflect homeowner’s lifestyle
  By Joseph Pubillones
  Dining rooms are stellar rooms for drama. Just think of the exquisite scenes set in “Downton Abbey’s” dining rooms. Whether you love intimate dinners or enjoy large dinner parties, there are certain considerations. Whatever your scenario, the decor of your dining room is as important as the food that is served there.
  

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  Death Valley in spring is beautiful
  By John Marshall
  The perception of California's Death Valley is that it’s hot and desolate.The hot part is right, at least in the summer, when it's one of the hottest places on earth. But in spring, April and May temperatures range from the 70s to just over 100. As for desolation — yes, the landscape is stark. But there’s also a certain beauty to it, a mosaic of colors from the salt flats and sand dunes to the striations of craggy peaks.
  

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  'Mad Men' end in sight for creator
  By Frazier Moore, Associated Press
  Chat with Matthew Weiner these days and you feel the added depth of his “Mad Men” immersion. When its bifurcated final season begins at 9 p.m.Sunday on AMC (with seven episodes, to be followed by seven more next year), the second of those final hours will be shooting, while the fifth of seven final scripts will be taking shape on the page. Weiner, as the auteur of this landmark drama series, voices both resolve and wonderment at his task of bringing “Mad Men” in for a landing.
  

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  Deschanel talks fashion, Prince and ‘New Girl’
  By Sandy Cohen
  Zooey Deschanel is almost bubbling over with excitement: Her show “New Girl” is a hit, she just released a pop song with Prince, she’s working on a movie with Bill Murray and Bruce Willis, and now she’s sitting in a Tommy Hilfiger store filled with racks of dresses she helped design. It’s fitting, then, that bubbles are a theme of her new fashion collaboration with Hilfiger, To Tommy From Zooey.
  

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  Johansson’s life parallels her character’s in ‘Skin’
  By Christopher Kompanek
  “The character itself is not really what drew me in,” Scarlett Johansson confesses of her latest role. The starlet plays an otherworldly creature sent to Earth to possess young men’s souls in “Under the Skin,” Jonathan Glazer’s existentially dystopic new film. It was the opportunity to work with Glazer, who hasn’t made a film since 2004’s “Birth,” that was the main draw.
  

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  Sunday picks: 'LUMA' dazzles Schaumburg's Prairie Center
  By Scott C. Morgan and Laura Milbrath Stewart
  The touring show “LUMA” features performers dancing with illuminated and luminescent object in dazzling displays Sunday at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. More than 350 artists and arts and crafts vendors will be on hand at the Spring Festival at the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park.
  

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  ‘Long Mile Home’ must-read story of Boston bombing
  By Rasha Madkour, Associated Press
  A new book about the Boston Marathon bombings last April is more gripping than a mystery novel, has more deeply drawn characters than a literary novel and is enriched by the details of a history book. “Long Mile Home,” by Boston Globe reporters Scott Helman and Jenna Russell, is a surprisingly fantastic read. The basic outline is well-known. It’s the lesser-known nuggets, and the interweaving of the characters’ stories, that make “Long Mile Home” a must-read.
  

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  How to organize a bulk-item storage area
  By Sharon Naylor
  When you shop at discount warehouse stores such as Costco and Sam’s Club, you likely come home with enormous products — 24-count paper towel packs, laundry detergent jugs larger than your smallest child and cases of canned goods — and all of these oversized items need to be stored somewhere in your home.
  

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  Space-saving headboard ideas
  By Christine Brun
  There is an unfailing way to save space in a bedroom: Slim down your headboard and bedding ensemble.
  

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  Air flow, not gutters, is to blame for ice dams
  By Henri de Marne
  Q: We have lived in Rolling Meadows for over 40 years and have always had problems with ice dams. All the articles we have read regarding ice dams state they are caused by water freezing and thawing, running down and backing up against the gutters. We have no gutters — and haven’t had any for 40 years.
  

Discuss

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  Editorial: Transparency with public severance agreements
  The Daily Herald Editorial Board
  A Daily Herald editorial endorses a bill passed out of the Illinois House that would ban confidentiality clauses in job separation agreements that are paid with taxpayer dollars.
  

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  Candy, movies in school: What’s district’s view?
  By Jim Davis
  An overreactive parent who needs to get a life? A concerned mom making a good point about nutrition? A nonstory? Irresponsible, one-sided journalism? All of these views were expressed about our story on the West Dundee mother objecting to teachers passing out candy and showing "Toy Story" during recess, reports Jim Davis, news director for the DuPage and Fox Valley editions.
  

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  Candy, movies in school. What’s district’s view?
  By Jim Davis
  An overreactive parent who needs to get a life? A concerned mom making a good point about nutrition? A non-story? Irresponsible, one-sided journalism? All of these views were expressed about our story on the West Dundee mother objecting to teachers passing out candy and showing "Toy Story" during recess, reports Jim Davis, news director for the DuPage and Fox Valley editions.
  

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  Colbert an equal opportunity offender
  By Kathleen Parker
  Columnist Kathleen Parker: In selecting Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman as host of the “Late Show,” CBS has waged war on America’s heartland — or so proclaims that Palm Beach font of heartland mirth, Rush Limbaugh. Don’t you believe it, Heartlanders.
  

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  Sensible tips to avoid credit card fraud
  A Hoffman Estates letter to the editor: While cleaning out some old stuff today, I found an Dec. 13, 2013, letters column in the newspaper. It dealt with credit card fraud, so I thought I’d pass along a few tips a friend of mine gave me.
  

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  Expect Cubs to play before more empty seats
  An Arlington Heights letter to the editor: Spring has finally arrived along with Cubs baseball. General manager Jed Hoyer has done his due diligence. He has loaded up the Cubs’ roster with free agent sub-.200 career hitters and sore-armed pitchers in anticipation of another 100 losses. Cubs management can also look forward to slumping attendance and lost revenues.
  

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  Is aim of abortion really population control?
  An Elk Grove Village letter to the editor: Liberals and Democrats are the only ones looking at what really needs to be done about climate change. They call for everyone to have access to abortions, or should I say population control?
  

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  Self centeredness spawns more of it
  A Warrenville letter to the editor: As I read about “pension reform and other public issues,” I sense the media, unions, persons in public office and we as citizens need to shift the focus from “what’s good for me or for us” to what the constitution calls “the common good.”
  

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  Is U.S. headed for a Rome-like fall?
  A Huntley letter to the editor: The recent Supreme Court decision, pronounced by Chief Justice Roberts, removes all remaining limits to campaign donating. It sets a price on our Republic, affordable only by the wealthiest Americans.
  

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  From Dillard to deficits, musings on state of Illinois politics
  By Paul Green
  Guest Columnist Paul Green: As the state begins preparing for a big election come November, here are some general observations and musings about 2014 Illinois politics,