Neighbors of a proposed 400-unit apartment complex will meet Thursday night to voice their concerns to the developer and city officials.

A city of St. Joseph crew mowed the wrong yard Monday morning. Well, half of the yard. The mowers packed up and left without explanation the moment they realized they had the wrong house, said the confused resident, Jamey Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter added that the crew did a bad job on the half it did mow, apparently scalping the grass in some spots with weed trimmers.

Drumroll please. On July 14, Mayor Ken Shearin will draw the names of two people to buy two new Midtown homes. Qualified low-income residents have until July 9 to apply for the drawing.

All city of St. Joseph employees will get a 4 percent raise this year, as the city administration couldn’t agree on focusing the money toward certain “underpaid” jobs. Both union and non-union employee representatives agreed in interviews that 4 percent is a good raise, but this is yet another year that the City Council failed to make any steps toward getting overall pay in line with other public-sector jobs. The council did make a solid commitment in Thursday’s meeting to come up with a plan and money to fix the underpaid jobs, compared with other cities. A major part of that plan is a possible public safety tax.

It’s no wonder all the kids came back to Grandma’s house for every Christmas and Easter dinner.

The cynic asks: Is America too far gone to allow the hopeful politics of Barack Obama to succeed? That's the crux of the cover story in the new Esquire magazine. Just read it.

South St. Joseph could get a piece of the East-Side development action, thanks to a tax reimbursement of up to $1.8 million. St. Joseph home builder Scott Gann received an informal go-ahead from the City Council on Wednesday for the incentive on his Fountain Creek project. It could include townhouses, single-family homes, duplexes, apartments and “neighborhood retail” such as a convenience store, small grocery store and bank.

In a news release Wednesday, the city of St. Joseph said it is nearing completion of the debris cleanup effort.

Long-time St. Joseph Museums Inc. critic/Wyeth-Tootle Mansion advocate Ellis Cross wants the city of St. Joseph to seek bids for the operations of the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion.

The City Council approved funding for the Safe Haven homeless facility, but that wasn't good enough for one audience member. The young woman's timing was off, but her message was direct: The mayor should go to hell, and she didn't appear to have much respect for his mother either.