It's not often that the owners of a business toil unheralded as support troops. Yet that's been the case at New Homes Magazine / YoChicago, where Valerie Zekas has worked as a sales assistant while her brother Jordan handles distribution for his magazine.

Today was Valerie's last day at New Homes / YoChicago. It's a bittersweet day for the business, but one of unalloyed joy and pride for her indirect supervisor, her dad. Valerie will be pursuing a master's degree, with a concentration in nonprofit housing development, at Milano, The New School, in New York.

Michael Kardas spent part of what looks to have been a beautiful summer day checking out the new homes at Lake Park Crescent. We'll be looking at that development and several other large, new-construction projects on the South Side for the August issue of New Homes.

Flip through our Flickr photostream to see more photos from Michael Kardas and the YoChicago staff.

Added 1:18 p.m.: A tip of the hat to Kristy for pointing out the correct community.

During his recent trip to the South Side, photographer Michael Kardas met Gordon, a former Chicago resident and an aspiring photographer in his own right.

Gordon, who grew up in Kenwood, returned to his old stomping grounds during his vacation to see just how much his neighborhood has changed, Kardas says.

We will feature more of Kardas' photos in the August issue of New Homes. In the meantime, flip through our Flickr photostream to see more photos from Michael Kardas and the YoChicago staff.

It seems like Michael Kardas has a knack for bumping into boxers during his assignments.

First it was Rughead, the Golden Gloves fighter who moonlights as a construction worker. Now it's Cedric and Geoffrey, two Bridgeport toughs with fists of fury.

During a trip to the South Side last month, the photographer came across two young pugilists on 35th Street as they were walking to the Chicago Boxing Club. Kardas talked them into showing off some moves for the camera before sending them on their way.

Flip through our Flickr photostream to see more photos from Michael Kardas and the YoChicago staff.

Looks like Michael Kardas made a few friends during his trip to the South Side last month. He came across this pack of Chicago Park District day-campers at the Oakwood Shores mixed-income development in Bronzeville. In the August issue of New Homes, we'll take a closer look at the market-rate homes still available at Oakwood Shores and other similar developments on the South, West and Southwest sides of the city.

Flip through our Flickr photostream to see more photos from Michael Kardas and the YoChicago staff.

The strands of the American dream, homeownership among them, are inextricably intertwined with one another. Set aside a few minutes to watch Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, et al, perform the Declaration of Independence, then ponder the gap between its timeless ideals and Chicago's realities. Happy 4th of July.

Monroe Harbor will light up this evening under the "Independence Eve" fireworks show, and with the Taste of Chicago going on in Grant Park, the Loop figures to be pretty crowded this evening. It looks like this man in the photo has it all figured out then. Camped out at a safe distance from the crowds in the Loop, he'll be able to catch the fireworks in relative peace, right?

Actually, no. The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago by Michael Kardas, and the man with the soprano sax is named Ernest. I'd be willing to bet that the lawn of Burnham Park will also be pretty packed this evening, but it still looks like a nice place to play the saxophone.

I'm still trying to puzzle out what motivated the Berwynites to place this billboard on Orleans Street, around the corner from Yo's River North office. Can anyone aid my understanding?

If you're down on the South Side for the games this weekend, make sure to pick up a dog and some fries at 35th Street Red Hots, just like Michael Kardas did on his latest assignment for New Homes. And tell them Yo sent ya.

Now that's a plan that's tailor-made for co-eds on summer break.

We occasionally come across developments like this on our drives through Chicago neighborhoods: new-construction condos that made it all the way to completion but may never, ever see a sale. (That's not to say that it hasn't, but it looks awfully empty, and that "For Lease" sign suggests that these homes are no longer on the market.)

Joe Zekas came across these red-brick three-bedrooms at the corner of Lawrence and Lawler avenues in Jefferson Park yesterday and was struck by the project's odd lease offer. I tried calling the property owners yesterday to learn more about their three-month rental plans, but haven't heard back from them yet.

So shed a tear or pour one out on the curb for this former for-sale project, another casualty of…what? Bad timing? Poor location? Overly optimistic price points? The world may never know.