Columns

  Just when we think that higher mortgage rates are in the bag, we receive some game-changing news. Lackluster economic data, geopolitical disruptions and comments from President Trump regarding the Fed have us wondering what will come next. On the first Friday in April, the jobs report showed a disappointing 98,000 jobs created, far less than the 180,000 that were expected. Adding to that, the February and January jobs numbers were also revised down. The actual unemployment number came down from 4.7 to 4.5 percent, but those figures are the result of a household survey. I find the jobs-creation number …

The simplest questions sometimes have the most complicated answers. “Dan, can you print a family tree chart?” Fra Noi editor Paul Basile recently asked me. “Sure, what kind of chart would you like?” “Um, what kind do you have?” After looking at the software I use to keep my family tree (which is Family Tree Maker) I found out just how many different kinds of charts there are. Each of them has a purpose and conveys the information in a different way. I can’t speak for the other software programs, but all of them print family tree charts. Fortunately for …

Once again, we’ve survived another winter. I was going to say “Chicago Winter” but we are all aware that this past winter was hardly representative of a true Chicago winter. This leads us to wonder if this summer will just be a summer or will it be a “Chicago Summer”? You know, summer days where the temperature ascends into the 90s. Or where the gods in charge of climate control keep things dry for swimming and athletics. The summers of our youth always began with the Little League Parade down Michigan Avenue (“The Ave”) heading south all the way to …

As I sat to write this article about being elected president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, I was struck by how life has come full circle. As a child of immigrants from Sicily, I have marveled at how far our family has come since arriving in the United States in the mid-1950s. Like others before them, they were seeking good jobs so they can take care of their families. Not much has changed as immigrants still seek out America as the beacon of hope as a free society allowing for free speech, religious freedom and ability to …

You just closed and the house is now yours. There will be plenty of time to enjoy what you have worked so hard to attain, but before you settle in, there are some items you should check off your list. Let’s start with the walls. Before you move in, freshen up the paint since it will be easier to get the job done without all your personal belongings in the way. And don’t forget to do the ceilings as well. Most people only do the walls and leave the ceilings since they are usually white. Even if the walls were …

Mid-March marked the first time that the Federal Reserve raised its rate in 2017. In bumping the rate up .25 percent, they noted that the economy is doing well and that we are approaching full employment. The bond market’s reaction to the move was surprisingly positive. We saw treasury and mortgage rates go down slightly that day, which is contrary to what we would have expected. Experts say that happened because the interest-rate increase was widely expected by the markets and it also signaled that the Fed is staying ahead of the inflation curve. When Chairwoman Janet Yellen was asked …

I enjoy receiving e-mails from my readers, especially if they give me an idea for a column! Someone recently asked me whether it was worth their time and effort to extract everyone with the same surname in a town. They’re all related, right? Probably. Should I spend the time? Depends on the scope of your research and other factors. Let’s start by discussing the scope of a very simple genealogy. If you are lucky enough to find all your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents etc. going back six generations, you have to find 127 people starting with yourself. To go all the …

What a treat, to witness one of the great masterpieces of art! “Carmen” is one of those few operas that is so well known that there is little, if no, room for error by any performer. What magnifies this stringent demand is that Georges Bizet’s signature piece of music drama calls for far more vocalists to step into the spotlight than any opera I can think of. The instrumental forces are also needed for consistently brilliant and expressive playing throughout a rather longish composition. Fortunately, the Lyric Opera of Chicago was musically up to the challenges and once again demonstrated …

May has always meant Mother’s Day as well as the May Crowning of Mary, the Blessed Mother. Of course, those feelings are based in memories of how attending St. Anthony’s School shaped me into the man I am today. I am sure the same sentiment can be expressed by many of today’s men and women who had their early childhood’s formed by the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Scalabrinian priests of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in the Kensington/Pullman neighborhood of Chicago’s Roseland community. All the priests left an impression on the nuns as to how our Catholic learning …

I’m very happy to report that the Lyric production of “Norma” is by far the strongest musically that I’ve witnessed thus far in the 2016-17 season. One would be hard pressed to think of any other contemporary singers who could do any better in the four major roles, especially that of Norma, than those who took the stage at the Civic Opera House. The chorus was also outstanding, and the fine Lyric orchestra turned in yet another solid performance. Bellini was not the creative orchestrator as were the other Italian masters of opera. His instrumental accompaniments are relatively simple, and …