Authorities are investigating the slayings of five people whose bodies were found in a house in the tiny Scott County community of Manchester. A suspect is in custody.
Illinois State Police spokeswoman Monique Bond says the victims were found early Wednesday morning in the southwestern Illinois community, 50 miles west of Springfield. She didn’t have any details on the deaths or the circumstances surrounding the capture of the suspect.
A school superintendent in the area says he was informed by sheriffs early Wednesday morning that the victims had been shot to death. Les Stevens of the North Greene School District says he canceled classes because authorities warned him at the time that the suspect was at large. The district has since been informed that the man was captured.

Amherstberg, LaSalle, Tecumseh and Lakeshore were all in the top five safest communities in Canada; Kingsville was 10th, my own town of Essex was 15th. Isn’t that remarkable? How could six of the eight municipalities in Essex County rate so highly out of 239 Canadian communities?

Isn’t there something a little fishy about such a “success” rate? In fact there is.

Elliot Leyton, the respected Canadian anthropologist and expert on juvenile delinquency, spent a lifetime studying violence — among his best-selling books are Hunting Humans, and Men of Blood. He says violent crime in Canadian society is inextricably linked to one thing, and one thing only: age.

I had the good fortune to hear Leyton speak to a Canadian Association of Journalists convention in St. John’s Newfoundland some 15 years ago. That’s where he’s still on staff at Memorial University as professor emeritus. I’ve never forgotten the vivid picture he drew of Canadian violence.

“If I could describe the average Canadian murderer,” he told us, “it would be a male between the ages of 18 and 32, killing a friend over an argument about a hockey game.” I’m quoting from memory, here. “Most of the rest of the murders are young males killing a woman they are in a relationship with.”

Leyton might amend that statement now, but only slightly, saying most of the arguments stem from drugs and drug debts or transactions. But I’d bet the age correlation doesn’t change a bit.

Study the demographics of any community, he said, and you can pretty much track and even predict the crime rate going forward. The more young males a community has in the crime zone between 18 and 32, the more crime that community will have. As that demographic decreases in any given community, so will violent crime in that community.

There’s no magic to it, he said. The crime starts when young males start drinking and using drugs. It drops when those males get married or have children and settle down.

Essex County is enjoying a remarkable level of safety simply because so many of our young people have been forced to move away to find work. The automotive portion of our regional economy collapsed. There are fewer young friends watching hockey games and looking to buy drugs locally, and getting into fights afterward.

Any police force asked about a low crime rate will always pat itself on the back for a job well done — and ask for an increase in “resources” at the next budget to keep crime even lower. That’s just the opportunistic side of human nature, not scientific crime fighting.

Our low crime rate is something to be a little bit embarrassed about, actually. It means Essex County is turning into a big retirement village. Some people might like that. But a robust economy would produce better results for most of use.

This small town located in the Swedish Lapland, hidden approximately 500 miles north of Stockholm near the Polar Circle. It offers the best of nature: lush forests, winding rivers, crystal blue lakes, and miles of white sand beaches.

It boasts clean, unpolluted streets, low crime, and vast opportunity. This quaint, family-oriented community is home to a population of roughly 72,000 friendly locals.

Visit Skelleftea, Sweeden for more information.

In 2009, Naples was ranked as one of 10 pricey cities that was worth its high cost by US News and World Report (along with our other hometown, New York).  It’s easy to see why!  Nestled between the Gulf of Mexico and the Everglades, Naples combines breathtaking natural beauty with relaxed, sophisticated living in one of the world’s most desirable tropical locations.  There are sandy beaches, world-class golf courses and exciting eco-adventures.  And when you are done soaking up the sun, a vast array of businesses and services, including world-class shopping and restaurants, satisfy every need and desire.  A vibrant arts and entertainment scene, together with an extraordinary assortment of community and charity events, brings a cosmopolitan flair to the Naples way of life.

How did it all get started?

When Florida gained its statehood in 1821, most people thought of Southwest Florida as an area of wilderness and swampland.  It was Walter N. Halderman, owner-publisher of the Louisville Courier Journal, and General John S. Williams, a prominent Kentucky politician, who “discovered” Naples in 1885 and promoted the area as a refuge for northerners who would like to escape the bitter cold winters of the Northeast United States.  It is believed the first sunset they saw reminded the two gentlemen of similar sunsets in Naples, Italy, hence the name, “Naples,” came into being.

Many years passed before any major development in what is today prosperous Naples.  Records show that there were only ten families living near Everglades City, and that there were ten businesses in the area.  The first construction in Naples, in 1889, was the building of a 16-room hotel and the 600-foot-long Naples Municipal Pier.  The pier enabled large boats to dock at the end, and it later became a popular spot for fishing and watching the sunset.

Halderman’s family ran the hotel until 1914, when E. W. Crayton purchased the business, setting the foundation for the beautiful and well-planned city we know today.  In the following year, the Naples Hotel was expanded, becoming the center stage for social life.  A single-lane shell road was built between Naples and Ft. Myers, allowing the city to slowly start to grow.  Also around that time, the first golf course was built, and replaced around 1932 with what is still today the Naples Golf and Beach Club.

But it wasn’t until a visionary advertising magnate named Baron Gift Collier came into town that the city finally got the funding to finish the uncompleted Tamiami Trail, which would provide a much-needed link to the east coast of the Florida Peninsula.  Collier’s plan also included the purchase of Useppa Island in his first trip, and many more acres of land within the next years, allowing him to eventually own over a million acres across Southwest Florida.

Collier also presented a plan during a session of the Florida Legislature convened in 1923 for better drainage and transportation, without which Naples was destined to remain a small town.  Many great developments followed, including an airport, streets, homes, beach restorations and mosquito control programs.  The generosity of many families contributed time and money to provide recreational areas such as Cambier Park, Caribbean Gardens, Delnor State Park, Lowdermilk Park and Fleischman Park.  The city opened a fully equipped and accredited hospital.  The elegant Third Street South shopping area was built.

The building activities of this era attracted new businesses, such as banks, restaurants, real estate and retail businesses.  Specialty shops closed from May 15th to October 15th, with the proprietors leaving the area.  The population doubled during the winter months, providing an active social life in the few established private country clubs and private homes, with cocktail parties, dinner parties and fund-raising benefits.  All of this added up to a great foundation for what Naples has become today:

• Beaches.  Naples’ white sand beaches are some of the best in the world.  The Travel Channel rated Naples’ beaches #1 in 2005, and they consistently get on top ten lists of the best beaches in the world.
• Low to No Crime.  Crime is so low, people often move to Naples sight unseen after they Google the Naples crime rate.
• Noncommercial.  Naples homes are not surrounded by tall, buildings that block the sun and skyline.  The local government has strong restrictions on signs, billboards and building height in the city of Naples.
• Dining.  Naples has some of the best dining in the United States, on par with major metropolises like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
• Pristine.  The word “pristine” comes up often when explaining Naples to an outsider.  It best describes the litterless streets, low crime, small signs, clean beaches, expertly shaped landscaping and conscious efforts of residents to keep it that way.  Neapolitans respect their piece of paradise and work hard to ensure its continued beauty.
• Boating, Fishing, Golf.  Naples has some of the best waterfront in the world.  Fishing and golf are not hobbies here, they are ways of life.
• Sunsets.  Sunsets in Naples are very special, to say the least.  Around the time of the setting sun, if you venture down any of the Olde Naples avenues that end at the Gulf, you are bound to be shoulder-to-shoulder with several others looking west.  When the sun hits the horizon, put your cocktail down and join the clapping, for you have just witnessed one of the most sacred moments on the Gulf: sunset.  And, if you’re lucky, one day, if you don’t blink, you will see the elusive “green flash” at the moment the sun vanishes below the horizon.

All of this and more are the reasons there are no questions to ask about why we are so proud to announce the Grand Opening of our new Showroom down in Naples!  If you’re in the area, visit us at:

The Shops at Naples Bay Resort
1500 5th. Ave. South
Suite A2-102
Naples, FL 34102
(239) 530-0070
Fax: (239)530-0072

Borrowed from Murrieta.org

I moved to this once sleepy town in 1989.

Borrowed From Google Images - Barley even on a map! Good thing for AirField Maps.

The streets were free of traffic, stop signs or traffic signals. Cal Oaks Apartments (now called The Arbors) were in the process of being built. The windows were not installed yet and the stucco wasn’t even spray painted on. It was a three-story dark mass of small dark windows and doors. The only store we had, Murrieta Market, a tiny one-stop-shop in Old Town. The owners were a little bit amazing. They made the most amazing deli sandwiches and was so disappointed when they stopped serving them. I remember being a 9-year-old child and looking out the car window at this dark town with no lights, streets under construction and empty houses that just demanded us to play in them  with the plaster on the weekends. In 1990 the town was estimated to be 24,000. Here 

I moved from Huntington Beach to Murrieta. Since I was so young, I didn’t really grasp the whole different culture/lifestyle of the two towns. I remember Huntington was busy, the helicopter with the light would shine on the wild parties next to our house and the constant noise.

Borrowed from Wikipedia.org

Borrowed from Google Images

Murrieta on the other hand was silent. Occasionally we would hear coyotes and some living creature crash through the forest behind our house. Experienced wild life I never experienced before. raccoons in our back yard and the beautiful experience with poison oak, which I am happy to say, I am FINALLY immune.

Murrieta grew from 24,000 people to close to 115,000 people in the 2010 census. Our sleepy town who didn’t even have a graduating class until 1994, a grocery store till the early 90′s or even a spot on the map grew to over a hundred thousand people in a brief twenty years.

This brings me to my original title of the post. I understand back in the day, when it was difficult to find anything to do, let alone by beer at midnight in a town that barely was alive. If we were to combine Murrieta and Temecula together we have: a ridiculously large mall, over crowded schools, no jobs, a bazillion restaurants and two bazillion homes and congestion on our beloved freeways with one off-ramp.

Here is my dilemma. It is next to impossible to buy beer on a Friday night because…

I woke up from a nap (summer break – screws with my schedule) at 10pm and shuffled out to the front porch where my brother and a few of his band mates, Cease To Be were drinking beer. Since they are so kind, they offered me a beer (actually two) and then invited me along for a car ride (!) to go fetch another 12 pack. I figure that since it was a Friday night, stores would be open later than the weekdays. Our first stop was Ralph’s. They closed at 10pm and it was now about 11pm. So we swooped in on CVS, they closed at ten too. Next stop was our beloved Murrieta Market. Closed at nine! (I would think they would be open later because they are right across the street from a bar.) Went on to Brand X, the liquor store that may be as old as Murrieta… and CLOSED! Since I am with an upbeat bunch of guys, we continue on with our quest to score some beer before the night is officially over. We head to AMPM, a favorite place to buy beer after the bar is closed and they don’t accept credit cards. Really? We hop across the street and go to Chevron and manage to get a 12 pack of PBR. Finally. Only took us one hour and a quarter tank of gas.

With all our travels, I was proud to say I did not see one cop. Not that I don’t 100% support our police and catching the bad guys and all that they do… we have no crime in Murrieta. It might be slightly, like ever so slightly more dangerous than it was twenty years ago. One of the lovely things about living out here is the low crime rate and it is a great place to raise a family.  We are so boring the cops chose to harass people (I have been the object of harassment for years from certain coppers out here), pull them over for no reason in the drive thru of Del Taco (a personal favorite of mine). I worried for nothing since for the first time, we didn’t look obvious or like we were up to mischief. We were on a mission!

Regardless of how large Murrieta seems to get we are still that small town that makes it  damn hard to buy beer to drink on our front porch at midnight. Time to move outta the ‘burbs, I guess.

Well, what other islands are there in New York?

Roosevelt Island.

RI

Tucked between Manhattan and Queens, this 2 mile long and 800 foot wide island often goes unnoticed by millions of New Yorkers just across the river.

Yet, it has a lot to offer. I was first lured to the island because of its tram.

Wait, tram?

I didn’t believe it either, until my brother flew out to visit from California and told me that he wanted to ride the Roosevelt Island Tram. We hopped on it from its Manhattan side, at 59^th Street and 2^nd Avenue. That’s just down the street from Serendipity.  And it’s only $2.25 – one swipe on your metro card.

The tram!

During rush hour the tram runs frequently, and at other times of day about every ten minutes.

Tram arrival and departure times.

The four or five minute ride offers you a beautiful panoramic view of the river, the Manhattan skyline and Roosevelt Island. It runs parallel to the Queensboro Bridge, but soars up to 250 feet high. It travels along pretty fast – about 16 miles an hour! Prior to it’s $25 million remodel in 2011, there were often complaints about the instability of the tram during high winds. However, the new tram is much more secure and you don’t even need to hold on as you glide above the river. As long as you’re not afraid of heights or claustrophobic, you’re good to go!

Manhattan view.

1st Ave.

Crossing the river! (on the old tram)

Manhattan on the left and Roosevelt Island on the right!

Once you set down on Roosevelt Island, you exit onto a small and surprisingly serene neighborhood, where the roar of the city becomes barely audible from across the river. There are a plethora of benches all along the west side where you can sit and enjoy the Manhattan skyline.

Gorgeous spring day, looking south on RI.

Brothers being silly.

Soaking in the view with my brother.

After enjoying the skyline, you can visit the Blackwell House, which was built in 1796. It’s “the sole surviving building on Roosevelt Island which dates from the period when the island was still privately held property” (check out the full history, here).

Although the island is now mainly apartment buildings and parks, it once housed a penitentiary, a lunatic asylum and a smallpox hospital. You can check out the list of still-standing landmark structures to visit while there.

Lunatic asylum.

Still standing - barely!

I’d recommend a complete stroll around the island – you come across beautiful views of Manhattan, Astoria, the Upper East Side and more.

My brother with that perfect Manhattan backdrop.

West side of RI.

Continuing along the island, you can’t help but notice all of the soccer fields, basketball courts, benches, barbecues, trees and greenery. There’s a sense of small-town on this island, along with a sense of safety. In the year of 2010, there had been no murders, no rape and no cases of child abuse. Other crimes, such as property damage and robbery, were also low compared to Manhattan.

Why would burglars and murderers wander the 2 streets of Roosevelt Island, by the one diner, one bar, one Starbucks and one Duane Reade, when they can wander the 150+ streets of Manhattan?

Perfect lunch spot.

With such great views, historical buildings and small town feel, Roosevelt Island is definitely worth checking out. And who can resist a tram ride in New York City?

Tram station.

Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island Tram – 59th Street and 2nd Avenue

F train to Roosevelt Island

According to the review, “Great public schools and low crime aren’t the only draws of this small Texas city. College Station has also seen steady growth and a low unemployment rate of 6.9%. Plus, there are plenty of cultural and athletic events at Texas A&M University, an interactive children’s museum, dozens of parks, and playgrounds on the shores of nearby Lake Bryan.”

The school system received a rating of 8 on a scale of 10 from GreatSchools.org, but parents ranked many individual schools even higher!

Those of us who live and work in Bryan-College Station already know that our community is thriving. At Stylecraft Builders, we’ve been busy constructing new homes for incoming residents, including many families who discovered the quality of life offered here even before Kiplinger.com recognized it.

In today’s world, it’s a real challenge finding a safe, stimulating, and friendly environment to raise children. And this type of positive community doesn’t happen by chance. It’s the result of residents who care for and respect not just each other, but the spaces around them. If this sounds like your kind of place, we’d love to help you find your new home.

Cary is an incredible place to live! Low taxes, Low Crime and Unemplyment Lower than the National Average.

Check out the article: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL3710740.html

Well you probably are curious about the top 10 best places to raise a family in the US?

Well guess what we have them here for you. The best places to live and the safest. It’s all the things you would look for in a community if you were looking for the ideal place to move to and get a fresh start.

Roll the post over and get the scoop………..

Luke Mullins of US News reported:

If you could create the ideal community to raise a child in, what ingredients would you include? First off, you’d probably want a low crime rate.  A strong school system would also be key. From there, you’d need lots of other children, expansive green spaces to play in, and plenty of nearby family events. Toss in an abundance of artistic and recreational activities, and all of a sudden you’ve got one heck of a place to grow up. At U.S. News, we wanted to find out if any communities like that already existed—and if so, where they were located. So we dug into our database of 2,000 different places all across the country and pinpointed the locales that met these criteria. We then examined these communities more closely to determine which places offered the best combination of safe neighborhoods, fun activities, and top-notch educators. Our selections appear below, in our list of America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up:

Virginia Beach, Va.

Junior adventurers will love Virginia Beach, Va. This community of 434,000 residents in the southeastern part of the state has a low crime rate, a solid school system, and 35 miles of majestic beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. “It’s kind of neat to be able to come home from work, make a call to my wife or son, grab a bucket of chicken or some sandwiches, and then go out on the bay and have dinner,” says Greg Ward, who works for a marketing firm that represents the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Children can explore an impressive ecosystem of threatened and endangered species—including bald eagles and loggerhead sea turtles—in the 9,000-acre Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The warm summers and mild winters provide plenty of opportunities to hike, bike, and picnic your way through the 19 miles of scenic trails over at First Landing State Park. And after checking out the sand tiger sharks and the cow-nose rays at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, children can catch an educational picture in its 3-D IMAX theater.

And in early September, the community is launching an online resource—VBparents.com—designed to keep parents plugged in to local health and school news, while ensuring that they are up-to-date on all of the community activities available to their kids. “There are lots of great parenting resources out there. This one is going to be specific to raising your child and your family within the city of Virginia Beach,” says Jenefer Snyder, city of Virginia Beach GrowSmart coordinator. “We are constantly going to be connecting it back to community services, activities, events, programs, and classes.”

Madison, Ala.

Of the roughly 43,000 residents in the friendly, churchgoing town of Madison, Ala., about 12,000 are under 18 years old. And this bedroom community of Huntsville, Ala., offers no shortage of outlets to keep these young folks active. “There is an event almost every weekend—whether it is in Madison, Huntsville, or Madison County—that families can attend,” says Paul Finley, the mayor of Madison. Children can take advantage of the area’s expansive outdoor amenities: watching beavers plunge into Bradford Creek or rabbits dart through the 130-acre Rainbow Mountain Trails park. And if they behave well enough, perhaps some lucky children can even persuade their mom and dad to send them to Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in nearby Huntsville.

Overland Park, Kan.

Just 12 miles outside of Kansas City, Mo., is the lovely community of Overland Park, Kan. This family-friendly suburb in America’s heartland has a four-season climate and is opening a 12-field, artificially turfed, fully lit soccer complex in the late summer. “Soccer is a big sport in this community,” says Mayor Carl Gerlach. Meanwhile, at the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead, kids can visit nearly 200 farm animals, toss a bobber into a fishing pond, or take a ride in a horse-drawn wagon. The 17-mile-long Indian Creek Trail makes for a great bike ride. At the same time, sports fans are only a short car ride away from a Kansas City Chiefs football game or a Kansas City Royals baseball game. In addition, “we have three different school districts in Overland Park,” Gerlach says. “All three have been nationally ranked and won awards.”

San Jose, Calif.

With 9 square miles of green spaces, 300 days of sunshine a year, and four different professional sports franchises to follow, San Jose, Calif., has everything you need for a happy childhood. At just over 1 million residents, San Jose considers itself the capital of Silicon Valley, but it doesn’t take a computer scientist to understand the city’s appeal to kids. San Jose is the country’s safest big city, and although it’s certainly expensive—the median home price is $449,000—the city offers all sorts of great activities for children. Rather than chasing its skateboarders away, San Jose has embraced them by opening six public skateboarding parks, including Lake Cunningham Regional Skate Park, the largest one in the state. And at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, children can experience everything from theater to gardening.

Boston

With an exciting history and a boatload of activities, Boston is a great option for parents looking to raise children in a big city. Kids will marvel at the African penguins in the New England Aquarium, gawk at the humpback whales on a whale-watching tour, and erupt as the Red Sox take the field at beautiful Fenway Park. At the same time, Boston is one of the safest large cities in the country.

Rochester, Minn.

With about 100,000 residents, the safe, friendly city of Rochester, Minn., has enough activities to tire out even the most energetic youngsters: 85 miles of trails for in-line skating, 3,200 acres of public parks for touch football, and 56 different playgrounds. “It’s a huge sports town,” says Brad Jones, executive director of the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau. Fortunately, the area’s big sport—hockey—is well-suited for Rochester’s chilly winters. “We [also] have two hockey complexes, one with four rinks under one roof and the other with two,” Jones says. “We have the National Volleyball Center located here, and it’s always hopping with volleyball tournaments and trainings.”

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

It would be tough to find a safer community than Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the crime index is about a fifth of the national average. And with a solid school system, plenty of fun activities, and affordable housing costs, this eastern Iowa city can keep your kids happy without emptying your wallet. Tim Boyle, the executive director of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, says the city’s manageable size—it has just 123,000 residents—allows its young people to get involved in a variety of different activities. “The thing that I like about Cedar Rapids is you could end up with a junior or senior in high school who is an offensive tackle on the football team and has the lead in the spring musical,” Boyle says. In addition to a strong music program in its public schools, the area has more than 50 public tennis courts, more than 75 parks, 23 sand volleyball courts, and even a BMX dirt track. During the winters, which can get extremely cold, children can remain active on three indoor soccer fields and five ice-skating rinks.

Denver

Whether they prefer snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains, biking through America’s largest city park system, or heading over to Invesco Field at Mile High for a Broncos football game, Denver is a wonderful place to be a kid. Also among the country’s safest big cities, Denver has 300 days of annual sunshine, eight different professional sports franchises, and countless opportunities for fishing, white-water rafting, and horseback riding.

Plano, Texas

With 7,000 faculty and staff members serving 55,000 students in this Texas community, the Plano Independent School District has achieved national recognition for its strength. The Department of Education has handed 24 of its schools National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence awards, and 99 of its seniors were named semifinalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program. “We have a wonderful park system here in our community that has always been very much focused on youth sports, whether it is soccer or baseball or basketball,” says Mayor Phil Dyer. Meanwhile, the community’s less costly lifestyle—median home prices are just $213,900—means there should be enough cash left in the budget for the 50-minute trip to Arlington, Texas, for a Dallas Cowboys game.

Edison, N.J.

Working parents in Edison, N.J., can take advantage of the township’s expansive after-school programs, which expose youngsters to a host of activities, including magic, piano, cooking, and arts and crafts. More than 30 area parks have facilities for tennis, basketball, soccer, and other sports. At the same time, this community of about 100,000 also offers organized youth leagues for everything from softball to lacrosse.

Check the results for yourself here.

Of course, this just confims what Windsor Park residents have known all along – that our neighborhood is a great place to live.