By Dan Irvin

I’m happy to hear there may be some hope that at long last the old Holiday Inn property in North Normal will be developed.

You know it was not all that long ago that the hotel on that site was rivaled only by what was then called Jumers as the nicest hotel in the community. Scott Laughlin told us yesterday morning his wedding reception was out there.

I seem to recall attending a lot of high profile events in the wonderful atrium there. They had an excellent restaurant, too.

A couple of times the Twin Cities feed of the Easter Seals Telethon that I co-hosted took place there, too. There’s a lot of community spiritual equity connected with that site, I hope the latest proposal goes.

Naysayers will tell you the developers shouldn’t receive a red cent in tax incentives. I’ve always been a fan of incentives that are credits. That way the business has to invest and employ to receive those credits. I think that’s what’s being proposed here. Nobody cares, but it has my blessing.

Also getting a thumbs up from me: Shop with a Cop.

If you’re unfamiliar, check out a newspaper or look online for info about this Normal and ISU police initiative that took Somebody had this brainstorm five years ago, I guess.

I’ll bet you the police participants go home feeling that they get as much of a gift as the kids do.

The path to peace in this world follows a route in which we invest our time with members of other cultures. It counters the human tendency to reflexively consider the unfamiliar as suspicious.

Dan Irvin is Vice-President of the Bloomington Public Library Foundation Board, and a member of the Heartland Community College Foundation Board.

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