Arlington Hts. night sky may get darker.(News)

An ordinance regulating artificial light to promote "dark skies" has been proposed by Arlington Heights environmental control commission.
The ordinance is being discussed by village staff, and it is not known when it will be presented to the village board, officials said.
The idea behind the Dark Skies movement is to limit the light reflected into the skies and reduce energy costs, said David Templer, chairman of the commission, which drafted a proposal that the village staff is now reviewing.
Some people also think excessive light can be harmful to wildlife, he said.
As proposed, the ordinance would affect outdoor light emanating from residences, commercial and public land.
The environmental control commission was approached by the International Dark-Sky Association, which is talking to towns nationwide.
While Arlington Heights, as part of a metropolitan area, cannot create "dark skies" on its own, it is one of the larger municipalities in the region, and others might follow the example, Templer said.
Glenview has had an outdoor lighting ordinance since 2003 and is in the process of updating it to make it easier to understand, said Jill Ziegler, village planner.
Ziegler said the ordinance hasnt been controversial, and Glenview residents do not employ much lighting.
A proposed ordinance in Barrington Hills, however, has created a lot of controversy and has not yet been resolved.
People who oppose lighting restrictions worry about an increase in crime, and also object to losing control over their own property.
Templer agrees that people have a right to do what they want with their land unless it affects other peoples rights.
Arlington Heights already outlaws nuisance lighting something so bright it keeps neighbors awake.
"We dont want to over-regulate everyone," he said. "We want them to voluntarily do things like reduce carbon usage and have responsible lighting in place."
Existing light fixtures would be grandfathered so owners would not have to replace them immediately, he said.
* "Uplighting" would be permitted only for landscaping, flags or ground signs.
* Flags lighted at a 45 degree angle would be limited to 1,100 lumens, which is comparable to a 50-watt, low-voltage halogen landscape bulb.
* Motion-detecting security lights could stay lit five minutes or less and would be limited to about 100 watts.
* A light 5 feet above the ground at the property line could not exceed one-tenth of a foot candle, comparable to a full moon.
* Temporary lighting, like for Christmas, Halloween or festivals, would be allowed.
* Prohibited lights, generally associated with businesses, include ones that flicker, rotate, strobe, flash or scroll. Searchlights are also prohibited, as are neon lights outlining a building.

Arlington Hts. singer rekindles love for performing.(Neighbor)

You might say that Tony Bennett is returning a 22-year-old favor by opening for Arlington Heights singer Tony Andriacchi at Ravinia this weekend.
OK, maybe "opening" is a stretch, seeing as how there's roughly a day and a half between sets, but the Highland Park venue will bring the Tonys the closest they've come to sharing a stage since Mr. B. invited Mr. A. to open for him in Chicago two decaded ago.
Andriacchi (whose "American Songbook" salute starts at 4:15 p.m. Sunday) was on a roll then, wowing them in the hottest nightspots of the Second City scene, including the Park West, Playboy Club and Ritz Carlton, while piling up critical accolades.
"The best these ears have heard," gushed After Dark's Jeff Rossen. Variety declared him "a good bet for continued success," while Chicago critic Aaron Gold observed that Andriacchi "keeps the usually noisy lounge crowd in you-could-hear-a-pin-drop-silence."
By the time Bennett dropped in to hear what all the fuss was about, Andriacchi had officially reached the top of the heap, headlining at Chicago's famed Pump Room.
"He stayed for the whole show," Andriacchi recalled. "And then he hung out for another hour and a half just talking with me about the current music scene and stuff."
During the bull session, Bennett extended two invitations: one to open one of his shows here and the other to submit demos for a new record label he was planning to launch. (The label, unfortunately, never got off the ground, effectively ending their prospective partnership).
"By that time, I'd reached a point where I had to make a big decision regarding my career," Andriacchi said.
"As great as things were going for me, I knew that in order to move beyond the level I was at, I'd have to leave town for New York or L.A., but I really didn't want to leave my family and friends behind. I wasn't ready to leave home."
Instead, Andriacchi opted for a lateral move, accepting a year's engagement at the Sabre Room in Hickory Hills, mesmerized by its "big, gargantuan show lounge and a stage that was made in heaven."
The money was good, the applause was constant and by his own admission, the song stylist was "very comfortable," so much so that he agreed to extend his contract from one year to five, thereby sowing the seeds to his own self-destruction.
"By 1988, I'd had it, I was completely burned out," he said.
When Andriacchi hired his former band from the Pump Room days to play at his mother Nancy's 80th birthday party in 2002, keyboardist Peter Polzak suggested that the good son surprise his mom with a rendition of the Sinatra classic, "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)."
"I told him that there was no way, that part of my life was over," Andriacchi said, before accepting the challenge and rediscovering his muse.
"It all came back, like I never stopped singing, and I realized that this was what I was meant to do."
After that, Andriacchi, who teamed up with Polzak for "Old Friends," his CD debut, recorded "Singin' and Swingin' the Standards," and "Songbirds," an in-concert recording that pays tribute to top-notch American songstresses, from "Lady Day" to Striesand.
When he was away from the stage, Andriacchi busied himself by giving piano lessons, opening a memorabilia shop and working as a general manager at several Loews Theaters. But he has quit his day jobs to accommodate an increasingly demanding concert schedule.
"My goal these days is to find things that are creatively challenging to me and look good on my resume," Andriacchi said. "Like playing at Ravinia."