This seems to be a growing concern and I’m wondering why now, after years of e-mailing, these accounts are being picked off. Clearly, e-mail passwords (and probably all passwords) should be changed more often than most of bother to do. But is something else afoot?

I found this explanation of the problem but am curious to know how widespread the problem has been in Downers Grove and how others have dealt with it. Because it seems like only a matter of time before many more of us will face this cyber irritation.

Davenport, who also serves on the village’s Architectural Design Review Board and Comprehensive Plan Ad Hoc Committee, aims to finish the marathon in less than three hours in his second attempt.  He also wants to do good, by raising money for Noah’s Hope, the foundation established on behalf of two Downers Grove children who are fighting Batten’s Disease, an incurable and rare genetic disorder.

“In addition to your prayers of support, I’m asking that you support me by making a donation to ‘Noah’s Hope’,” Davenport wrote in an e-mail. “Noah and his sister Laine (Van Houtan) are battling Batten’s disease.  Batten Disease is always terminal, usually between the ages of 8 and 12. Fewer than 450 children in the United States have Batten Disease and as a result it receives very little research attention.”

Davenport, a father of four, said he has been thinking of the Van Houtan family throughout his training. ” I keep a picture on my desk as a daily reminder,” he said.

“I’ll be wearing a wristband during the race to remind me that no matter how much pain I endure, it’s nothing compared to the battle that little Noah and Laine are fighting,” he said.

To donate to Noah’s Hope, click here. And best of luck to Davenport Monday in Beantown.

But dang, the counter jumped from 999,998 to 1,000,001 while I was refreshing so I missed a screen shot of the Big Number.

And, yes, we have a winner, who will be announced on Monday.

“I find this to be my break from things,” said DeProsperis, who is a finance guy by day.  “I enjoy politics, in a smaller municipal fashion, on the side.  It’s my work away from work, and I have the mindset to always be working on something.

“I enjoy entrepreneurial things and taking on projects, which is why I started the site,” he said. “I want Downers to grow and flourish just like the next person, so I’ll continue to reinvent it as well.”

In six years of writing my Sun column, I’ve taken the opportunity to highlight the holiday several times. Among the most memorable (to me) were last year’s column about deserving Fairview Village vets who were whisked to Washington, D.C., for a whirlwind tour compliments of the Honor Flight Chicago organization and an account of the funeral procession of Marine Sgt. Thomas Gilbert, who died in Iraq during a second tour of duty.

My family’s soldiers and warriors stopped short of paying that ultimate price.  My dad was drafted in 1945 after graduating from high school. The war was over by then and his main memory of the service was gaining so much weight on Navy rations that his mother didn’t recognize him.

My husband’s father saw real battle in WWII, crossing the Moselle River in 1944 under heavy fire. My uncle spent years cris-crossing the globe on the Allen M. Sumner during the Korean War, but his stories sound more like adventure than war. My cousin, however, lost the use of one arm after being shot in Viet Nam.

I thought of Anthony during a visit last summer to the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. It was early evening when we walking down the incline, read the rows of names on polished black granite and noted the small remembrances left along the span.

It was a moving experience, as was our day spent at the Gettysburg battlefield and cemetery. Even from the remove of nearly 150 years,  I was shocked by the loss of so many lives and could only wonder at the courage it takes to go off to war — or to watch your child go off to war.

As the mother of a son, who at 17 is the age of so many soldiers who fought and died for this country, I can’t help but be afraid. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, Iran and Korea threaten to eventually erupt, and I wonder how long it will be before there is a draft –  or a war that is so big and so galvanizing in its cause that it will draw in his generation as so many before them.

And I also can’t help but wonder: Would they be brave?

Lord Roger Bramble, the deputy lieutenant of London, surprised marching band members today with an invitation from the queen to perform at the 2011 New Year’s Day Parade in London. He was accompanied by Bob and Geraldine Bone, the parade’s directors.

The invitation makes North one of approximately eight high school and college bands to be so honored.  The South High band performed in the parade in 2005.

As parades go, it’s a bloody behemoth: 10,000 performers from around the world, a street audience of 500,000 and a television audience numbering tens of millions.

“This prestigious invitation, offered to a small handful or college and high school bands in America each year, honors the hard work, dedication and musicianship of our students,” said Brayer Teague,  North’s fine arts department head.

“It also recognizes the tremendous support our school enjoys from parents and guardians. To each we send our congratulations and gratitude.”

My goal is to skip cooking tomorrow night and instead attend the Second Annual Taste of Downers Grove event tomorrow night, which friends raved about last year. It’s scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. at the corner of I-355 and Butterfield Road.

The family-friendly adventure in dining offers more than 30 sample dishes from several local restaurants, all priced from $2 to $5 each.

Participating restaurants:  Ballydoyle Irish Pub & Restaurant, Bok Choy Café, Capri Ristorante, Carlucci Restaurant & Bar, Doubletree Guest Suites – The Esplanade Restaurant, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jimmy John’s, Marriott Suites Downers Grove – Allie’s American Grille & Lounge, Parkers’ Restaurant & Bar, Ruby Tuesday and The Melting Pot.

Presented by the Downers Grove Hospitality Alliance, the Taste also features live entertainment plus a variety of kids’ activities.

There is no entrance fee and proceeds benefit a trio of good local causes: the Education Foundation of District 58, the District 99 Education Foundation and Good Samaritan Hospital.

More information is available by calling (630) 729-0380 or  by emailing info@visitdownersgrove.com.

My kids have grown up in the frightening new world that was ushered in on Sept. 11, 2001. I was serving my kindergartner breakfast when my brother phoned and told me there had been a plane crash in New York. I turned on the television and immediately thought: “Terrorists.”

Like everyone else with a spouse in Chicago that day, I was constantly on the phone with my husband, keeping him posted on the unfolding tragedies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and asking him how soon he could come home. He felt safe; he happened to be meeting with City of Chicago officials in a bunker-esque communications center.

There was something about the horrifying images of that morning that made it impossible to stay inside. My daughter and I went for a walk under bright blue skies, exchanged a few shocked words with a neighbor, noted the unusual silence as jets were grounded nationwide. We got in the car and drove over to my son’s elementary school where I struggled with my desire to pull him out of class and bring him home.

I think I took the attacks harder than many. I had worked across the street from the World Trade Center, had conducted many interviews there and dined many times at Windows on the World. That area of lower Manhattan had been my stomping ground, so it was easy to picture myself there as the jets flew into the towers, as I watched them crumble, and to wonder if people with whom I’d rubbed elbows were among the victims.

The coverage in the next day’s Wall Street Journal was excruciating, written by reporters in a state of shock over the nightmare they’d watched from their windows — windows through which I once stared out on the nation’s financial epicenter.

Like many local places of worship, our church held a service that night. I was never so anxious find a pew and hit my knees. But comfort and security would be elusive for weeks.

Eight years later, I remember everything about that day and the months to come, when the nation waited for another shoe to drop. What do you remember? And more importantly, what lasting impact — if any — have the events of 9/11/01 had on you?

The village is one of 20 towns where “residents live a long life, there are lots of doctors and hospitals nearby, and you can pursue an active lifestyle,” according to Money.

The article opens with a glowing description of the Downers Grove Park District facilities and our “vibrant downtown full of restaurants and shopping” before attributing its “hotspot” status to its proximity to Chicago.

Interestingly, only one of the top five finishers is a sunbelt city, Anaheim, Calif., which topped the list. Others were 2) North Hempstead, N.Y.; 3) Fort Lee, N.J.; and 4) Yonkers, N.Y.

Now let’s hear from some retirees: Is DG a good place to while away those Golden Years?

An extremely rare disease of the central nervous system with only a couple hundred cases world-wide, LINCL  (also known as Batten Disease) causes epilepsy, mental impairment leading to dementia, and the loss of sight, communication and motor skills.

The children who suffer from the disease eventually become bedridden and tube-fed while their parents must live with the knowledge that Batten is a fatal disease, usually claiming its victims between the ages of eight and 12.

Noah’s parents, Tracy and Jennifer, barely had time to come to grips with Noah’s diagnosis before learning that one of their two younger daughters, Laine, 3, also is affected. Laine’s fraternal twin, Emily, has been spared the disease, which results from a defective gene or genes.

Facing these odds, it’s not surprising that those close to the VanHoutans have sought to help. There have been half-marathons, garage sales and other fundraisers to contribute to a trust for the family’s future medical needs. The VanHoutans also started a foundation, Noah’s Hope, to raise money for research and treatment.

Another fundraiser, a garage sale, is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., this Saturday, Sept. 12, at 6618 Fairmount Drive. You can also contribute through the family’s Web site, Noah’s Hope.

“Our two goals are to build awareness and help raise funds for research,” Jennifer said. “I am a native of Downers Grove and feel that so many people are trying to help.”

Noah, like many children with the disease, was misdiagnosed for more than a year following the first appearance of symptoms at age three. His sister’s earlier diagnosis gives her mother hope that “catching Laine’s disease before it’s too late will help her. ” As coordinated and communicative as her twin, Laine loves princesses and attends preschool.

Intent on playing baseball from his toddler days,  Noah can no longer walk and requires constant care to keep him safe, Jennifer said.

“We just turned around one day and Noah was gone and we never knew why until this last March.”