The pride of March

March is my favorite time of the year. I was born in March - brought home from the hospital on the day of Chicago's downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade.

In addition to being the unofficial start of spring and warmer weather - March is my favorite month because it celebrates the Irish (whether you actually have Irish blood or not) while March Madness encompasses everyone (whether you are a basketball fan or not).

This year, we have already seen two monumental basketball upsets - with second seeds Duke and Missouri being ousted in round one within an hour of each other. This proves to be an exciting NCAA Tournament.

But my favorite thing about the month is the parades. And last weekend, I had a chance to attend and cover the Michigan City St. Patrick's Day Parade - but also make a long-awaited return to the South Side Irish Parade, which has made its return to Western Avenue after a two-year hiatus.

Both parades had the perfect weather, atmosphere and people.

Everyone was well-behaved - even on Western Ave., where parade-goers knew this would be the last one if they weren't behaved.

The SSIP featured a few of my favorites - including the Marist High School band, SXU 2011 NAIA Champions, the Wee Folks of Washtenaw-Talman (who began the original parade in 1979) and the Gainer Family, a long-standing south side parade tradition, as well as an emotional tribute to the fallen Cpl. Conner Lowry - a Beverly native who died while fighting in Afghanistan.

Many attendees had donned shirts proclaiming the 2012 event as "Conner's Parade."

The bagpipes really got people in the mood for both parades.

In Michigan City, the Summer Festival float (of which I was on for the route down Franklin Square from 4th to 11th streets), was situated right behind a group of pipers in kilts.

The say everyone loves a parade - and last week that was the case on both sides of Lake Michigan.

Photo: Bagpipers march down Western Avenue during the return of the South Side Irish Parade.

IHOP gives back

The Michigan CIty IHOP was one of many nationwide that participated in "National Pancake Day," where donations for a free short stack of pancakes were used to benefit the Children's Memorial Hospital.

Random thoughts

I am very glad the New Orleans Saints will be getting punished for carrying out a "bounty" system for three years under former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams. I knew they were a dirty team in 2009 when they beat the Colts in the Super Bowl. Williams himself "joked" about how he wanted to take Peyton Manning physically out of the game. People thought he was joking but that may have been part of the plan if things did not go the Saints' way.

I think the Illinois legislatures who reintroduced a bill to make horse slaughter legal again in Illinois should be ashamed. It's animal cruelty and anyone who supports it is either inhumane, emotionally bereft or stands to gain financially from the slaughter of horses.

When a department head - whether any illegal activity has taken place or not - loses the trust of his or her workers, it is time to move on to someone else.

Indy's time to shine

Since 1997, I have been a frequent visitor to the capital city of Indiana. As a die-hard Colts fan dating back to the days of "Captain Comeback" Jim Harbaugh, my father and I usually make at least one trip to Indianapolis a year for a Colts game.

I have also been on hand for three Big 10 Men's Basketball Tournaments and the 2011 Drum Corps International show.

But I will be making a special trip down there today for an event that has never occurred within driving distance in my lifetime - that being Super Bowl weekend.

Some of my favorite Indianapolis moments since 1997 include:

Meeting Jim Harbaugh (1997, on field)

Meeting Peyton Manning (1998, in the Hyatt hotel elevator)

Touring the RCA Dome (1998)

Being in attendance for infamous Jim Mora PLAYOFFS???!!! game against the San Francisco 49ers (2001)

Seeing punter Hunter Smith score a touchdown on a fake field goal against the New York Jets (2003)

Seeing Peyton Manning's 48th and 49th touchdown passes, then an NFL record in an incredible come-form-behind overtime win against the San Diego Chargers (2004)

Waiting inside the RCA Dome for the Colts to arrive with the Lombardi Trophy for the Super Bowl Champions rally (2007)

The final regular season game at the RCA Dome (2007)

The first ever game (preseason) played at Lucas Oil Stadium (2008)

Incredible classic comeback win over the hated New England Patriots after Bill Belichick's 4th and 2 gamble (2009)

To the NFL - I can only hope that Lucas Oil Stadium becomes a regular Super Bowl site. Indy has always done a fine job hosting sporting events like the Big 10 Tournament, Indy 500 and also a number of conventions, auto shows, band competitions and the Drum Corps world class finals.

Go Indy, it's your time to shine.

Super Bowl deja vu

Other than the night the Colts beat the Bears in a torrential downpour, I cannot remember being happier about a Super Bowl outcome than when the New York Giants stunned the undefeated New England Patriots and became Super Bowl XLII champions.

Four years later, we get another go-round, and this time it's right in our backyard.

With the Colts bowing out of playoff contention pretty much the moment the season began, all I was hoping for out of the 2011 season was a good Super Bowl match-up that would have story lines galore in Indianapolis.

Well that's exactly what we have - with Eli Manning, Peyton's little brother, attempting to defend the house his brother built against his brother's biggest rival, one Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Can Eli outdo Peyton by winning a second Super Bowl in a stadium with a poster of Peyton on the front?

Will the Patriots avenge a four-year grudge against the very team that prevented their perfection of 2007?

And will Indianapolis, America's best mid-size town, prove that it was a good choice to host the Super Bowl.

Let's hope the answers to those questions are: Yes, no, and yes.

Go Giants!

Suing for what?

According to court documents, Phoenix Ventures, LLC, the company attempting to bring a strip club to Michigan City is suing the La Porte County Board of Zoning Appeals for denying their variance request.

WHAT?

Why should a community that is focused on improving their image be forced to accept a strip club in their area? Why can't the people, who clearly are against such a place, simply say no because it will have an affect on the socioeconomic statues of the area?

Shame on the petitioners for filing such a lawsuit.

Top MC stories of 2011

I have put together a list of what in my opinion constitutes the top 10 stories of the 2011 calendar year in Michigan City.

10. Common Council members vote against ensuring that Moon Valley, a 57 acre tract of greenspace between Lake Shore Drive and US 12 will be preserved. An ordinance reapprorpriating $75,000 would have all but guaranteed that Moon Valley would be saved through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Since the May 4 no vote, the Save the Dunes council is still awaiting word from NOAA on the response of the grant application.

9. IU Health La Porte Hospital lays off 112 employees, and legal battles are still being fought.

8. Citizens and community leaders speak out against a proposal for a "gentlemen's club" near US-421 and I-94. The variance is denied by the La Porte County Board of Zoning Appeals, but the petitioners have now taken the matter to court and are requesting a jury trial.

7. "Snowmageddon" shuts down much of Michigan City in early February.

6. A 17-year-old girl is killed and an 18-year old man injured after a family party at Krueger Memorial Park in July ends with gunfire. According to the Michigan City Police, there were two shooters in the parking lot. The one allegedly responsible for the death is still at-large.

5. Former La Porte volleyball coach Robert Ashcraft is sentenced to 21 years in prison after being found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a former player.

4. The revival of Franklin Square into the Uptown Arts District is strengthened as Common Council members vote unanimously to purchase the Warren Building for the Redevelopment Commission, who will then sell it to Minneapolis-based Artspace, a non-profit group dedicated to finding housing for area artists. Once renovations are complete, the seven-story Warren Building will be a colony for about 30 artists.

3. A major up-hall of the Sanitary District includes a new General Manager and board members. Shortly after former employee Ron Meer wins the democratic mayoral primary, GM Al Wals resigns. Meer later names Michael Kuss, a former IDEM to executive to the post.

2. One Chicago-area teenager is dead and another faces manslaughter and battery charges following a July 4 fight at Stop 26 in Long Beach where 17-year-old Kevin Kennelly Jr. was allegedly struck in the head by 19-year-old James Malecek. Malecek is set to go to trial in July.

1. Ron Meer is elected Mayor, completing a two-year turnaround where he was fired by the Sanitary District for being a whistle-blower, and now in the midst of appointing top personnel at the District. His "fighting blight" and "aggressive on crime" approach won over many voters as well as his close ties with the local unions.

Photo: Although she only acquired a little more than 300 votes on Election Day, Independent mayoral candidate Nancy Moldenhauer (pictured) said the campaign was a success because the platform of turning Michigan City into the "Green City of Northern Indiana" was brought to the forefront.