Give bicyclists space, so much space. Congress is now considering a bill that demands that motorists give bicycles at least three feet of space while passing, but cyclists can use much more than that.  Crowded cyclists are forced to ride closer to parked cars, which can result in them being “doored” – when a parked car opens their car door into a moving cyclist.  When a cyclist is moving at 15-20 mph, an unavoidable collision like this can be fatal.  A driver should always check their side mirror before opening their door, to make sure a cyclist isn’t approaching.

Of course, sharing space goes both ways.  Cycling commuter Elizabeth Carson says she tries to be as considerate to drivers as possible.  “I try to ride on streets with wide shoulders, because sharing the road goes both ways.  I want to give cars enough room to pass me, and I want cars to give me enough room to not die.”

Treat a bicyclist as you would a car.  Cyclists are essentially held to the same traffic laws as motorists – right down to signalling lane changes and turns and using headlights at night.  One of the most dangerous situations occurs when a motorist attempts to pass when there is oncoming traffic.  It might appear that there is space for a cyclist to move over – but they must keep a safe distance from parked cars while trying to follow the straightest, least erratic path.

Robert Fitzgerald, board member of the Topeka Community Cycle Project (TCCP), often hears complaints from motorists about the unpredictability of cyclists.  “In my experience, this is something cyclists have to worry more about – since they aren’t the ones texting or putting on makeup or talking to the kid in the back,” he explains. “In any instance where there is a car versus bike accident, the car will win every time – it just makes sense to afford them the same courtesy.”

Don’t be overly considerate – This means not waiving your right of way – this can confuse other motorists and the cyclist in question, who will plan to go when it is their turn.  It seems like a nice gesture, but can cause more trouble than necessary – this is especially true on a four-lane road, where a motorist can wave a cyclist on, but doesn’t have control of whether the other lanes of traffic will also stop.

But don’t be a jerk. There is a special place in hell for motorists who honk and yell at cyclists. Fitzgerald asks motorists to step into the mind of a cyclist: “There is headwind, traffic, exertion, all while you’re pedalling and trying to keep your balance – honking or yelling is a distracting and hazardous activity for someone to do.”

The time it takes to take a few deep breaths and wait for a safe time to pass (maybe 30 seconds) is far superior to the possibility of an accident.  “Being honked at is startling!” Carson squeaks. “A startled cyclist can swerve or lose control and fall into a car’s path.”

Now take your newfound knowledge, and use it to avoid killing people.  And remember what you learned in preschool – share!  “We’re all on the same road,” Fitzgerald says, “So it’s just about how we get from Point A to Point B safely.”

[ republished from May 2011 print issue seveneightfive | by Melissa Sewell | photo by Ande Davis | photo illustration by Aymen Ghali ]

Imperfectly Perfect

a poem by Emma, age 14

In my mind I can see
The girl that I would like to be
I’ve gotten to know her in my thoughts
she is perfect and I am not
She’s pretty, smart, and always sweet
She plays sports and piano, she’s so elite
It upsets me sometimes. I just don’t understand.
Why can’t I do everything as well as she can?
People say to be happy with just being you
but then the girl shows me everything I can’t do.
It used to be that my world was so happy and warm
But this hatred has left me alone in a storm.
I’ll never be good enough I say as my teardrops fall.
but suddenly I realize I can’t have it all
Nobody’s perfect, now isn’t that true?
The things that you’re good at is what makes you you.
Hey perfect girl now I know what to feel
I am a person and you are not real.
We have to accept ourselves even though it can be hard
Our imperfections are what makes us who we are
If we were all perfect we’d be the same as each other
What makes us perfect is being good at one thing or another
People are all different, some are short, some are tall.
So since we’re all good at different things you aren’t perfect at all.
I’m good at writing but I can’t ride a bike.
My friend’s just the opposite, no ones exactly alike.
So that girls not perfect after all and I am just right
Then the rain stops and my world fills with light
so next time you feel down and your world starts to get dim
just remember you’re perfect outside and in.

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.  ~Leonardo da Vinci

The 5th annual Family Service & Guidance Center Works of Heart Art Event and Auction will take place on Friday, August 26th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ramada Hotel + Convention Center, Downtown Topeka. Over 300 art enthusiasts and community leaders will bid on Works of Heart created by young FSGC clients. Their pieces will be up for bids alongside works by professional artists from across the country, and 100 percent of the proceeds will directly benefit the over-11,000 children and families FSGC serves each year.

This exciting evening features a cocktail hour, live music, silent and live auctions, three-course meal and more. “The highlight of the evening,” Amy Burns, FSGC director of marketing and development, said, “is watching the faces of our Featured Young Artists as bids on their pieces go higher and higher.”

The highlight for the Works of Heart artists, however, is the long-term impact the event has on their lives. “We’ve heard from the children that this event helps them unlock their potential and gives them self-esteem,” said Burns. For the attendees, they are not only helping these kids but helping all the children that FSGC serves.

Support these talented young artists and the great work Family Service & Guidance Center does by attending the 5th Annual Works of Heart Art Event & Auction.

photo by Works of Heart Artist, Ashten, 17

Works of Heart Art Event + Auction, Ramada Hotel + Convention Center

August 26, 6 – 10 pm

Call 270.8996 to purchase tickets

www.fsgctopeka.com

Follow them on Facebook + Twitter:

WorksofHeart + FSGCTopeka

#worksofheart  /  @fsgctopeka

The only office where overtime is welcomed, The Office, 8th and Jackson, has been a watering hole for downtown workers since March, 2009.  However, it was in September 2010 when The Office expanded the bar, brought in weekend dueling pianos, created a great patio area and showcased an upgraded menu, that this bar and restaurant exploded. The menu includes steaks, crab cakes, oysters and and other fresh seafood flown in weekly.  The dueling pianos creates a unique destination in downtown Topeka and tradition continues with after-work legislators and workers who host after-hour meetings over a scotch.

The Office has figured out their formula and is expanding to a second location in August to accommodate workers in South Topeka.  Taking over the old Bennigans, The Office will have a much larger area for Dueling Pianos, tables and an even more expanded menu that will still include unique flavors, steaks and seafood and upscale pub grub.  Look for details Aug. 1 by following them on Facebook (with their group page).

We’ll see you bright and early, and seven days a week, at The Office.

[ Kerrice Mapes | photo contributed | republished from July 15 - Aug. 31 print issue seveneightfive ]

We’ve all heard it, thought it, said it—If only downtown had stuff going on evenings and weekends. It’s gotten to the point where it’s lost meaning and entered the realm of Topekan verbal tic, like saying “sorry” when someone’s trying to get past at the grocery store.

The Break Room Metro Eatery is trying to help push that bit of Topeka culture out of the mainstream by expanding their hours—and menu—into dinnertime. By converting the back part of the Break Room into a dining room and dinner theatre, and offering a new menu, owners Chris and Kim Schultz are hoping that opening their doors Thursday and Friday nights will help keep people downtown.

“We knew it was impossible to change the neighborhood by yourself,” said Chris Schultz. “We aren’t expecting to singlehandedly make downtown alive again, but with the Heartland Visioning stuff talking about creating a viable downtown arts district, we wanted to do something toward that goal.”

That something is partnering with Friends of Tinkham-Veale, a local arts group centered out of the Tinkham-Veale building that houses the Break Room, to bring shows and entertainment during dinnertime on Thursday and Friday evenings. Throughout the dinner service, the staff provides entertainment that ranges from singing to comedy to audience participation. In addition, on some nights the Friends of Tinkham-Veale will stage theatre shows, including musicals and off-broadway plays.

“We want to find a way to get people downtown in the evenings,” said Chris Schultz. “[By] putting the arts in the forefront with shows and an art gallery from the Tinkham-Veale group, we’re trying to build on the cool things to do downtown.”

The Break Room’s new menu combines Spanish and Italian influences into a style they’re calling “SpanItalian” cuisine. They serve tapas and other Spanish-inspired dishes almost like tasting plates, as well as pastas dished up family style, encouraging diners to share with the others in their party.

“We’re trying to create an experience not available elsewhere,” said Chris Schultz. “It’s a different concept for Topeka, and something people need right now. We need interesting things that make you feel good about where you live.”

After a menu preview night and a closed event for city leaders, the Break Room will debut its dinner shows on Jan. 21. People interested will need to call ahead to save a spot, as seating will be limited. The Schultzes say they plan on holding one seating per night on Thursdays and Fridays, but will add additional seatings if demand necessitates it.

“There’s a larger group of people and business owners and city officials trying to return to a vibrant downtown, and this is hopefully going to play a role in that,” said Chris Schultz.

If more downtown businesses take their cues from the Break Room and other places who make it a point to be open when the office crowds head home, that vibrant downtown will be ushered in sooner rather than later.

[ photo at top by Lyle Vaughn | Jan. 2010 ]

by Kerrice Mapes | photo by Colin MacMillan / Nathan Ham Photography

Where are you? What are you doing? Where are you going?  For many seveneightfivers, familiar nightly texts are going to the wayside as they adopt the new social media platform called Foursquare. And while Foursquare isn’t new (it started in 2009 and was adopted by New York urbanites and SXSW attendees on a rapid basis), for Topeka, its recent trending has made it the new kid in school.

The fast-growing social network service is a friend-locator, a city-special guide and a competitive game. Foursquare lets users check in with their cell phone at establishments and alerts their friends to their current location. The free app can be used on any phone, but is best with smartphones with GPS.  Your alerts can then be targeted to your select group of Foursquare friends or you can alert your entire Twitter and Facebook network.

The beauty behind Foursquare is that others can leave comments and tips at establishments you visit. For example, if you venture to Bosco’s and check in using Foursquare, you’ll find over 330 check-ins and four tips, varying from Tracy S. who tells you to “try their cosmo- it’s the best I’ve had!” You can also access customer reviews like the one from Daniel C. who boasts, “Boscos is the best place to do lunch and also meet with your friends at night to catch up while listening to exquisite local bands jam the night away.”

It’s human nature to ask our friends for reviews of local establishments, and Foursquare puts those at your fingertips.

This peer referral source Foursquare offers is a cost-effective way for local businesses to reward their repeat customers.  Rewards or specials can be given every time you visit (Check-in at College Hill Tavern and take $1 off your appetizer), for a certain number of visits (Get a free serving of s’mores after five check-ins at Sub TropiXS) and for new clients (Take 15 percent off any service when you check-in at Envy Salon). The true reward, however, is becoming the Mayor of a location. Mayorship is gained when you have the most check-ins in a certain time frame. The Mayorship of a location can change with just one check-in and Foursquare will proudly boast new Mayorships on your social media platforms (with permission).

The Playground Scuffle

Jim Ogle (user name Jim O.), general manager of WIBW and known as the “Mayor of Topeka” among local Foursquare users was an early adopter.  He currently boasts 236 Mayorships including his home, Via’s Pizzeria and Michelle’s Lounge.

“It connects you to places in your community that you may forget to think about,” said Jim O.

Jim O. was an early adopter via his profession in media and aggressively looks for trends, including mobile, that can be used at the station. Coming soon will be WIBW badges.

And while checking in and getting discounts is enough, for most, the narcissistic side of some individuals prevails as does the competitive side of earning Mayorships.

“Whenever you are at the mountaintop there are always people who want to take you down,”  said Jim O. “I know that there is a group of people who have great fun in their efforts to go to places I go to and check in to take away some of the Mayorships that I have. I get a kick out of it.”

For many in the group of “Jim O. Foursquare Opponents,” it’s simple: to play the game and win Mayorships; to catch Jim O. not in a location and to beat him at different locations.

One of these opponents is local barista Tyler Rowlinson (username Tyler R.). Tyler R. was a later adopter of Foursquare.

“Why would I want everyone to know where I am all the time?” thought Tyler R. when he first heard about Foursquare. However, once he started checking it out, he added some venues and got his first Mayorship. “I was like ‘wow,’ now I want to be the mayor of my work… my apartment…”

But when he tried to become the mayor of his workplace, Blackbird Bistro, a rivalry ignited with Jim O.

“We used to fight over Blackbird for Mayorship,” explained Tyler R. “I was like ‘I’m here every single day but I can’t become the Mayor because Jim O. has it. But he’s not here everyday, so I’m calling his bluff.’”

“I go to all those places and check-in,” said Jim O. “I’m fortunate to get to participate in a lot of community organizations. So I go to a lot of places to meet and engage with folks.”

The playful battle is heating up as more folks are getting involved with the game and new heights have been taken that make me wonder if these small disputes could possible ruin Foursquare for our community.

“I’m trying to take over Jim O.’s house,” said Tyler R.  When asked how he would check in, he explained that because he worked in Fleming Place and was so close to Jim O’s home, he could still check-in without actually being there.

“If he is gonna take three to five of my Mayorships in one day, I’m gonna take his house,” Tyler R. said.

With people checking-in and making up locations like, “Jim Ogle’s soul,” or the “Lamp Dancer, “ (which Tyler R. was Mayor of as of publishing), will this tiff ruin it for others?

Luckily for us, Foursquare has created Superusers. Superusers are local social media mavens (Like Heather M., Brandon S. and Brendan J.) who help keep things in check and delete fake locations (like “Jim Ogle’s soul”).

While Mayorships can change as quickly as the weather, both Tyler R. and Jim O. laugh about the competition.

“It’s all good-natured fun” said Jim.

“If I want to know what is going on in Topeka, I can look at Foursquare and see what is trending,” said Tyler R. “You know what’s going on, in the moment, and if you are looking for something to do or something to eat, go on Foursqure and read comments.  Good and bad.  And it’s kind of like a ‘hell yeah’ when you become the Mayor of a location.”

Badges? Yes, I want my stinkin’ badges!

Some Foursquare users are perfectly content to check in where they naturally visit and collect badges. Like coffee? Check in to your fave coffee shops and get a “Fresh Brew” badge. Checking in while on a boat? You get an “I’m on a Boat!” badge. Many local users were amused to get a, “You’re not Kansas Anymore,” badge when they checked in after crossing the border into Missouri.

[ republished from July 15 print issue seveneightfive ]

NOTO Community Arts Center

The NOTO Banner Project

Join community-based artist and designer Carol Bradbury in creating a series of vibrant, flower-filled banners that will line the streets of NOTO and remind everyone of the artistic transformation happening in North Topeka.

Everyone welcome, kids and adults.

The Eclective

Enjoy the music of Monk’s Wine playing indoors while browsing new art work.

Featured artist:  Jan Jennings, watercolor and pastels.

Special guests: the Craftivists.

Two Days Market

Hot temps, cool merchandise. Wine…and lots of ice water available while strolling through new displays.  New section upstairs opened.  Featured artists:  Connie English and Jane Gibler

STUDIO 831

Sip wine, meet artists Lois VanLiew and Hi Stockwell and see exciting art displays in the Gallery

Robucks Jewelers

Meet Jewelry Designer Kristen Haug and see her astonishing acid-etched designs on sterling silver

Food vendors on the street.  Restaurants open. It’s all happening in NOTO this Friday.

[ image at top courtesy NOTO arts district ]

Spoken Thought is emcee and musician, David Chronister, from Topeka. Spoken started on the piano at four years old and quickly moved to the string bass by ten. Five years later he picked up the guitar and began looping tracks shortly afterwards. During the past 10 years, Spoken Thought has established himself as one of the most versatile emcee/producers in the midwest.

“Brain Food” features clever turns of phrases, both musically and intellectually. It’s also dedicated to a beloved Topeka activist, Micah Rolfs, who passed away over a year ago. Its songs are well worth a listen and even more so a download, so you can take the beats with you throughout the capital city. This is Top City summer music.

[ July 2011 | seveneightfive ]

The pictures, in their tidy black frames, are not large.  They show some amazing scenes of birds and beasts, and humans doing ordinary things in ways alien to us.  Each one is a window upon a deeper world.  Each one a story.

The current exhibit at the library’s Sabatini Gallery is “One World, Many Stories,” photography by Kansas native Jim Richardson.  He has worked on every continent, taking pictures that draw viewers into the stories of the people, animals, and things that have been his subjects.  These pictures exist because Richardson has a great employer: “Virtually all of the work I do — and have done for 25 years — is for the National Geographic Society,” he says.

The photos run the gamut from a long-distance shot of white birds nesting on a remote, chilly Scottish island, to a close up of Samoan men tattooing each other.  Richardson has been everywhere, and these pictures give the sense that everywhere and everyone is important and has a story worth hearing.

This is officially the gallery’s annual summer children’s show, but it could hardly be called ‘juvenile.’  Anyone of any age could study these pictures for a long time and focus on different details.  The pictures are hung in groups of three, each trio united by a theme, which is not always obvious.  “Jim did a fun thing,” says Sherry Best, director of the gallery.  “He set it up so that kids and their parents can look at the photographs, and figure out the connections together, like solving a puzzle.”

“One World, Many Stories” runs through August 12.  Take a kid, or just enjoy it yourself.  Have a summer vacation that can take you over the whole strange world, for free.

[ July 2011 | Cale Herreman | Gary Krohe | cross-posted to XYZ Magazine ]

It’s not a new concept, but the term “New Topeka” itself is rather new. It’s a term that is used precisely and carefully, but always carries a nuance of revolutionary sentiment. It’s a phrase with a purpose. And it’s becoming an oft-used part of the lexicon of our city.

Do you know who Chad Manspeaker is? If you don’t, you probably don’t live in District 6 (encompassing the entirety of the College Hill District near Washburn’s campus) where Manspeaker is a newly elected City Councilperson. The fellow is a relatively young man, in his thirties, with a glimmer in his eye, two young and sassy daughters, an opinionated and intelligent wife and a son on his way into the world equipped, even in utero, I imagine, with orator skills that are inherent in a genealogical line carrying the name “Manspeaker.”

Watching Manspeaker’s city council campaign unfold on social networks, the Twitter, the Facebook, was like seeing an Obama-like figure climb the status ladder. He became an icon of liberal-minded 20 and 30-somethings in Topeka. They kept saying those words when they spoke of him: “New Topeka, #newtopeka, this [he] is the New Topeka.”

Manspeaker ran on a “New Topeka” platform. His campaign buttons declared it. Is this a new political party? A movement? An ideology? Yes, yes and yes. Sort of. Depending on your perspective.

Manspeaker, along with activist and man-about-town Karl Fundenberger and local architect and outspoken proponent of “New Topeka,” Zach Snethen, coined the phrase in 2009. It started as a joke, says Manspeaker.

“We were going to change Topeka,” he says. “It’s supposed to be more about imagination, not concrete. It’s not about living within confines, but getting outside the box. It’s a little complicated, but not really.”

One thing is for sure: the phrase “New Topeka,” if you use it, implicates the user has a pride in the city. It’s a trained eye on the city. The discovery of a new gyro joint, is New Topeka. An afternoon on the porch on a block in the central part of the city where old homes radiate the city’s storied history, is New Topeka. A packed dance floor on a Thursday night, is New Topeka. The bio on the Twitter account with the handle “@newtopeka” states ambiguously, “It starts anywhere and ends everywhere.”

“It’s a mentality – a community that is built from all over creates a diverse, proud and vibrant Topeka. It’s as much sitting on your porch with friends and family as it is any place or structure,” explains Snethen. “It’s different for everyone, but it’s a collective mindset as why one has chosen to put down roots and not just call Topeka home, but make it home.”

Members of Think Big Topeka, an organization founded to lure Google and its fiber project to Topeka, messaged me on Twitter to explain their ideas of “New Topeka.”

“To me, #newtopeka is a progressive state of mind. It’s not being told ‘that’s not the way we do it,’ ” says Alissa Sheley.

“#newtopeka is something we can all be proud of –  old, young, conservative, liberal, all races. It’s defined by a new zeitgeist,” says Marc Limon.

The Boobie Trap, which I think deserves “New Topeka” status although its doors have been open since the old days of 1993, has a dance night called “Resistance,” which was started in the summer of 2010 and is raging every Thursday night with electronica/DJ music, drinking, dancing and general carousing. I thought I’d get some good answers to the question of “What is New Topeka?” – this ethereal label – among the city’s youth.

The answers I got weren’t always informed. A 22-year-old brunette Washburn student with dangly earrings who declined to give me her name, said that New Topeka is “all that stuff they’re trying to do downtown, like making it artsy and narrowing the street.”

The brunette continued on, telling me that Topeka is trying to be like Lawrence, which is impossible.

“My worst nightmare is getting stuck in Topeka for the rest of my life.” In the background, a teeming dance floor rolled with the beats issued forth by DJ Josh “LeTrouble” Luttrell. “There’s nothing to do here,” she finished.

That, I can say with confidence, is not New Topeka.

Let’s step out of the bar and into the City Council chambers. Here is what a few of our city leaders think about “New Topeka”:

“To me, it means the new approach many Topekans are taking about their city. They are no longer looking what Topeka has been in the past, but appreciating what it is today and what it can become,” says Larry Wolgast, District 5 City Councilperson. “There is an excitement among many folks as they learn that there is a new attitude and confidence about our city. We have pride in what Topeka is today and will become tomorrow.”

Karen Hiller, District 1 City Councilperson, referenced Topeka’s ascension in a Gallup poll of small cities on overall well-being of the citizens:

“Topeka jumped from the 178th city in the country to 30th in overall sense of well-being in one year.  We finished 3rd in the country in emotional health…physical health, 5th…and life evaluation, 14th.  Those numbers are not only great, but they demonstrate the momentum and great spirit we have right now.”

“To me, ‘New Topeka’ means several things, but above all, it means visionary leadership.   Leadership that is focused on accountability and transparency in city government. We want leaders that serve as role models who reinforce ethics, values and results,” says Bob Archer, District 7 City Councilperson.

That idea of transparency has been labeled “New Topeka.” Here’s a tweet from Chad Manspeaker’s City Council handle on Twitter:

“@Topcity6: Don’t forget to tune into Channel 4 tonight at 6pm to watch the first live broadcast of a JEDO meeting. Transparency delivered. #newtopeka”

The Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) meetings had never been televised before, and some called this “#oldtopeka.”

Criticism of the city government came heavily on social networks and online after the handling of “Scrapgate,” the burglary and sale of scrap metal from a construction site by city employees. The details of the crime weren’t initially issued to the public, and much of the handling of the case, and the fate of city manager Norton Bonaparte’s job, took place behind closed doors in private city council “executive sessions.” When the “Topeka Capital-Journal” requested documents concerning the “scrapgate” case, they were denied, told that the documents were classified as private. The whole scandal was as murky as the Kaw.

Manspeaker, newly elected to the District 6 seat, says he’s trying to battle an “Old Topeka” mindset, the closed doors, the tendency to leave some out of the conversation.

“We frame the discussion in “New Topeka” when we talk about things now. The barriers are what drove me to run for office,” says Manspeaker. “New Topeka is not singular, it encompasses everything. If we’re going to grow as a community, we need to have everyone at table. It should be an all-inclusive resort.”

Don’t be deterred by the politics – “New Topeka” can be used to describe things that are a lot more lighthearted, too. Jim Ogle, general manager of TV station WIBW, wrote this tweet last year during the ReThink Topeka event, High Noon: “Downtown Topeka is alive with music! Way to Go ReThink Topeka! Musicians on every street corner! #tbt #newtopeka #wibw #1G4Topeka”

When news that Bobo’s Drive-In would open a second location off Wanamaker surfaced, some on Twitter labeled that event #newtopeka. A discussion about public art being a crime deterrent, had the hashtag, #newtopeka. New Topeka is #swag, it’s cheap beer and old neighborhood bars. It’s making Kiplinger’s Top Ten list, it’s eating and shopping at locally-owned establishments.

“Big development is not New Topeka,” says Manspeaker.

People aren’t ready to pin the phrase down with a definition. It’s still fluid. But from my little foray into the world of people who acknowledge and sometimes use the label, I’ve found that it is twofold: New Topeka is pride in the city and a determination to change it for the positive.

On April 9 this year, according to Hashtags.org, the use of the hashtag “#newtopeka” spiked. On that day, during the 2nd Annual ReThink Topeka exhibition, the label “New Topeka” was tossed around like a handmade banner in the winds of change on the corner of 7th and Kansas, with people walking by in droves, enjoying the city, swelling with pride.

[ republished from June 1 - July 15 print issue seveneightfive | story by Leah Sewell | photo by Zach Snethen | illustration by Aymen Ghali ]