So there are four updates on the Co-Op situation:First, and this has already been widely reported: The U of C will either bring in a Dominick’s or a Treasure Island. I think everyone in the area knows what Dominick’s is and what their shtick is. Treasure Island seems to be fairly different. Not much can easily be found out about them with web searches or Wikipedia (first time in a while that it has failed me), but they describe themselves as a “European grocery store,” whatever that means.Second, the Hyde Park Herald is insane. Their latest staff editorial sounds like the type of half-thought through scheme that a group of amateur journalists would put together as their paper went to issue (trust me, people at this blog know something about this). Hyde Park Progress blog does a great job (as always) of mocking it. Read the Herald’s editorial for yourself here.Third, the Co-Op’s loan application was denied at National Co-Operative Bank. If Option B gets passed and the Co-Op does not secure a loan, it will essentially cease to exist as a grocery store. It will, however, continue to exist as an occupier of the 55th St. store as it’s elimination is fought over in the courts (mainly what money will go where).Fourth, the Co-Op is not only bad for the people that shop there, it is also bad for the people that work there!

Addressing complaints that the closure option would leave current employees in the cold, Reisner said that the potential grocers had agreed to interview all employees to see if they would make a good fit for the new store. He emphasized that, under new grocer control, employees would end up at a higher pay level and likely receive better benefits.

For someone who honestly feels bad for the uncertainty that people working at the Co-Op must be facing, this made me even more mad at the Herald and other defenders of the Co-Op. I mean, who are you actually helping by keeping this failed institution around? God!VOTE OPTION A!