Hello Highland Park! I have some good news, some bad news and then some good news to report. First, the good news. It looks like Sandy's Deli (now remolded to be the Highland Park Deli) is open, but not selling beer! YAY!! It also looks like they have gone back to their deli roots, offering fresh cooked corned beef and daily specials, fresh bread, and homemade soups. The thugs have not been loitering around, and the trash and traffic problems have slowed WAY down! From what I understand, they have applied for a new license to sell beer, but it's highly unlikely that they will be granted one. So, thank you to all who wrote letters! You might want to stop by and see the new establishment and encourage the owners to keep up the positive growth! Next, the bad news that leads into the other good news...My husband and I were jumped by a band of 6 teenaged boys last week. We were walking home from the park on Wednesday, Feb 22nd. The boys, the oldest was 15 and the main aggressor, were sitting on the steps of a house on Wellesley between Mellon and St. Clair. We made the mistake of looking their way (the house next door to where they were is for sale) and they made some comment that we ignored. Next thing we knew, the oldest boy was running up behind Brett and jumped on his back, throwing a punch at the back of his head! The other 5 boys circled around us...luckily they didn't have guns! We kept walking towards our house, and the aggressive boy actually threw a punch at me. I found myself with a 3' stick and started waving it around yelling for them to get the F*** away from us...I'm surprised that none of the neighbors came out...(but a guy walking his dog ignored us...thanks dude!) They started picking up rocks and sticks and throwing them at us. Brett pulled out his cell phone, and I covered him with my fancy stick moves, and the kids ran. Brett followed them for a couple blocks, then I got in my car and searched for them. Now the good news...we FOUND THEM! Only the main aggressor was arrested and we will be pressing charges but we're lucky that they didn' t have guns. I hope that because of the action we took, this kid and the others who didn't get arrested, learned from this and don't progress to a higher level of violence. We can only hope! Thanks for listening, Highland Park! Shelly Danko+Day Mellon Street Neighbors