Thanks everyone for the suggestions.
I will stop using the newspaper and try either the kindling or the cubes.
My neighbor wasn't really annoyed, more so she was concerned our house was on fire. It was a rather impressive amount of smoke as it made a haze that went down our street and the next street. I kept checking to see if the police or fd were on their way.
So yep, kindling or cubes next.
I was checking out the wood handles for sale by a user on this site.. wow, those are nice! I might have to pick one up for my chimney starter. My 22" already has a wood handled top. I plan on trying to determine the date of my grill using the guide here too. I'm guessing late 70's or early 80's but we'll see.