WEST LOOP Owners of restaurants have to deal with patrons bringing in coffee and other beverages when they sit down to order a meal. Customers "walking in with a super grande drive me nuts!" says Ina Pinkney, the owner of Ina's located in the West Loop. "They're on their way to breakfast and they walk in with a giant cup of Starbucks or Caribou. We very gently say, 'Would you mind pouring that coffee into our cup?' I try to be gentle, but at the same time let them know their behavior is not acceptable."
Why have this become a thorn in her side? "I have better coffee [Intelligentsia]," Pinkney says. "Also, my table is not for advertising another business."
Chef-owner Jon Young of Kitsch'n on Roscoe, has hung a small sign on the door of his Roscoe Village restaurant that reads, "Please-no outside beverages," and illustrates a Starbucks-like logo, in reference to the coffee shop just down the street. Read the entire article by clicking here.
LOOP
Beginning on March 30, Red Line service will be scaled back, and Brown Line trains will get more cars to pick up additional riders. Chicago Transit Authority officials warned 185,000 commuters who travel to the Loop from the North Side each morning will be affected and not too pleased.
This means southbound rail customers on the Red, Brown and Purple/Evanston Express Lines should allow additional time for their morning trips or try to avoid travel during the peak rush period, about 7:30 to almost 9 a.m., transit officials said.
It is recommended to ride buses as an alternate. Service will be increased on seven bus routes that run near the rail lines, officials said.
"Leave early. Leave late. Alternate," CTA President Ron Huberman advised. Read more about this by clicking here.
LINCOLN SQUARE
"Today it seems that the slip-and-fall is the chief complaint," said Dr. Rebecca Parker, an emergency room medical director.
When Christine Mikel sought medical treatment Tuesday cradling her fractured elbow, she found she had plenty of company. Several other people who had fallen down due to icy conditions were already waiting.
"I sure didn't feel out of place, because everyone in the waiting area was there because of a slip and fall," said Mikel, 34.
Coming out of the Fullerton "L" station, Mikel had stepped on a thin layer of snow covering the ice like a billion tiny marbles, and suddenly she went down.
This snowy winter has resulted in horrible ice. Snow melts then freezes into a thick, slick and slippery slab of ice covering most sidewalks. People are falling down all over.
Hospital trauma centers from the city to the suburbs report an increase of ice-related injuries recently, ranging from backaches to broken bones. Read all about it by clicking here.
PORTAGE PARK
The day after North Shore-raised Vince Vaughn returned from entertaining the troops in Iraq, he continued on to yet another risky road trip.
The 37-year-old comic actor had no experience in the raw world of live stand-up, but he went into the American heartland as the traveling impresario to four up-and-coming comedians, putting on a show in a new town every day for a month and then made a movie to document it.
It was a tricky venture. Producer Vaughn believed the four comics were funny, but as any traveler knows about the open highway, fate can undo the best of intentions.
Mother Nature just about did. The affects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005 detoured the bus ride through the Deep South, but the diversion led them to a camp of evacuees living out of their RVs, a tragicomic encounter incorporated into the movie. Read all about Vaughn's experience by clicking here.
NILES
More than 200 young scientists from Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 schools took part Saturday in the annual Science Olympiad, held at Emerson Middle School.
Students in grades 3 to 5 participated in competitions on scientific problems. Activities included: the Rubber Band Catapult, in which students designed and constructed a catapult to shoot a rubber band at a target placed within a given range; the Mystery Box, in which students identified the properties of the contents of various boxes using all the senses besides vision; Aerodynamics, in which students designed a paper airplane to fly at a target; Structures, in which students built towers with straws and pins; and Egg Drop, in which students had to create an egg catcher from paper and tape to prevent a raw egg from breaking when dropped from increasing heights.
Find out the top finishers for each event from Franklin, Washington, Roosevelt, Field and Carpenter elementary schools, by clicking here.
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JENNIFER GARRITY & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
