Winnebago County News

Bowling for Barbershop Don Carter Lanes 4007 E. State Street. Rockford, IL    Bowling for Barbershop is a peer-to-peer fundraising and awareness campaign for Sweet Adelines International and its chapters worldwide. During the month of July, potentially more than 23,000 Sweet Adelines International members will be Bowling for Barbershop in bowling centers across the globe, raising funds for Sweet Adelines International's music education programs, membership growth/retention and chapter expenses. In Rockford, IL, over 50 Sweet Adelines members and friends from River City Sound Chorus will be Bowling for Barbershop and harmonizing on Friday, July 19, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. on the lanes of Don Carter Lanes, 4007 E. State St., Rockford, IL. Tickets are $40/couple and include three games of bowling and all-you-can eat pizza. There will also be a silent auction, raffle items, and 50/50 drawings. Donations can also be made on our Facebook page: https:...

Rock River Times, Online Staff Report The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed July 12 an “action level” of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in apple juice. This is the same level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for arsenic in drinking water. “The FDA is committed to ensuring the safety of the American food supply and to doing what is necessary to protect public health,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “We have been studying this issue comprehensively, and based on the agency’s data and analytical work, the FDA is confident in the overall safety of apple juice for children and adults...” Read the complete article at the Rock River Times, http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/07/12/fda-proposes-‘action-level’-for-arsenic-in-apple-juice/

Rock River Times Editor’s note: The following is in response to Paul Gorski’s July 3-9 “Meet John Doe” column “County ignores long-range plans, wasting tax dollars, risking growth.” By Steve Schultz Winnebago County Board member, District 3 I thank Paul Gorski for his commentary describing the county board’s failure to follow our 2030 Plan (LRMP) (“Meet John Doe: County ignores long-range plans, wasting tax dollars, risking growth” July 3-9, 2013 issue). I’d like to expand on his discussion and address the seriousness of our board’s dismissal of the public’s will and the economic impact of ignoring the LRMP. I was personally involved in the development of the LRMP as a resident and as a board member, as were many other citizens and leaders in our county. Dozens of meetings and hundreds of hours of public input and debate went into the plan. Residents, business owners, and local government leaders came together and discussed the future of the county... Read the entire commentary at th...

Online Staff Report, Rock River Times   Reed A. Catalano, 43, of Rockford, has been arrested and charged with the July 8 murder of 75-year-old Elizabeth Kinkade...   Read the full Rock River Times article at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/07/12/rockford-man-charged-with-july-8-murder-of-75-year-old-woman/

• Rockford resident, who has represented himself since February 2011, welcomes Chicago attorney By Brandon Reid Senior Assistant Editor, Rock River Times Michael Castronovo is no longer alone in his First Amendment battle against Winnebago County.  Chicago attorney Jason R. Craddock, who has been practicing law for more than 15 years and is a special counsel to the Thomas More Society, will be representing Castronovo as the case heads to trial. Craddock is no stranger to Rockford courtrooms. The attorney, who specializes in civil rights and First Amendment cases, was part of a Thomas More Society legal team that successfully battled the City of Rockford for five years in federal court over the city’s alleged harassment of... Read the full Rock River Times article at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/07/10/castronovo-no-longer-alone-in-his-first-amendment-battle/

I drew inspiration for this article from the article “Sosnowski: Historic fracking agreement means jobs” ( http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/05/31/sosnowski-historic-fracking-agreement-means-jobs/ ) posted online May 31. I had set out to write an article about how desktop and laptop computers were often better research tools than tablets and smartphones when surfing the Internet. I lacked an immediate example, though, until I read the article mentioned above. To begin with, the article is only available online, so I needed an Internet-enabled device to read it. Unfortunately, as many news sources, databases and other materials become digitized, you need Internet access to view this content... Read the entire Rock River Times column at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/06/05/tech-friendly-desktop-and-laptop-computers-best-for-research/

I love news, newspapers, journalism, the whole package. How people get their news has changed over the years, from subscription-based or pay-per-copy newspapers, to what appears to be “free” news online. Good news isn’t free, though. Weeklies like The Rock River Times have for years sold print advertising to deliver you excellent news without charging a per-copy fee, and print advertising has been the important part of our local daily’s revenue stream, too. Now, both daily and weekly newspapers rely increasingly on online advertising. To make that work, all you have to do is click on a coupon, or tell the business owner you saw their ad in this paper (or another paper, if you must.) When you do, you’ll be supporting your local news source and a local business... Read the entire Rock River Times column at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/05/22/tech-friendly-save-the-press-%E2%80%94-click-on-the-ads-coupons/

In addition to the operating system and programs installed on your computer, many users have installed the free system add-ons Oracle Java and Adobe Flash. Unfortunately, computer hackers have used flaws in both Java and Flash to attack computers or to capture information without user knowledge. If you have Java and/or Flash installed, you need to apply their regular security updates. Just last week, more problems were found in Java, and a patch was released days ago. What is Java? From the Java website: “Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. It is the underlying technology that powers state-of-the-art programs including utilities, games and business applications. Java runs on more than 850 million personal computers worldwide, and on billions of devices worldwide, including mobile and TV devices.”... Read the entire Rock River Times column at:  http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/01/16/tech-friendly-insta...

Adobe Systems Inc. recently announced changes ( https://www.adobe.com/cc/letter.html ) to how it licenses its print and web design programs. Most of Adobe’s professional products will only be available through a monthly licensing program, with the programs verifying your license against Adobe’s registration servers on a monthly basis. These licensing changes don’t sit well with many corporate clients, as the changes will cost legal purchasers of the programs more money over time. The software pirates who steal programs are equally upset because it will be hard to obtain illegal copies of Photoshop, one of the most pirated professional-level programs. Read the entire Rock River Times column at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/05/15/tech-friendly-a-free-alternative-to-adobe-photoshop/

That headline is sure to irritate a few people, so let’s look at it more closely. By “county” I mean the Winnebago County Board. “Long-range plans” refers to the county’s 2030 Land Resource Management Plan (LRMP). And “wasting tax dollars” refers to almost $300,000, or more, spent developing the LRMP. According to the county’s website, the LRMP is: “a vision of how growth and development will affect land in the unincorporated areas of the County through the year 2030. More specifically, the 2030 Land Resource Management Plan details out the County’s growth goals, objectives and policies as well as illustrates same via the newly adopted 2030 Future Land Use Map.” Read the complete commentary at: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/07/03/meet-john-doe-county-ignores-long-range-plans-wasting-tax-dollars-risking-growth/