Trader Joes Opens Tomorrow!
Finally, after waiting for three years (ever since moving to Oak Park), Trader Joes will be opening tomorrow in downtown.
Finally, after waiting for three years (ever since moving to Oak Park), Trader Joes will be opening tomorrow in downtown.
So I just learned (via a text message to my phone), that iphone users can get access to free wi-fi at Starbucks. This makes two of my favorite pastimes, drinking coffee and surfing the web, all that much more enjoyable. I've been reading about this for almost a year now, and I'm not sure why it took so long to put into effect.
Amidst all the economic gloom and doom, there's some good news for us transit fans. Especially for those of us in Chicago. Congress just passed legislation increasing funding for Amtrak and supporting a midwest high-speed rail network centered in Chicago. Granted, its really just seed money at this point, but at least the trend is in the right direction, which is more than can be said for the past few decades. Within a few years, it may be possible to get from Chicago to Minneapolis in 5 and a half hours by train and under 4 hours to St. Louis.
Labels: transit
We've just had two days of record rains in the Chicago area. There's been widespread flooding, road closures, and wet basements. The nearby Des Plaines river, usually a small creek, is about ten feet higher than normal. We drove past it yesterday, and it was quite impressive. I'd hate to have one of those homes right next to it. Luckily our house is high and dry.
This is the bridge that my commuter train travels over. The water is usually ten feet below the bridge.
Boy, the financial industry appears in total meltdown right now. First Bear Stearns, then FannieMae and FreddieMac, now Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and AIG. Who knows what the future holds. It's all the horrible fallout from the real estate bubble, or as Atrios descriptively calls it, "the big s--tpile." The apparently worsening crisis fits well with my instinctual pessimism, so I can't say I'm shocked or surprised. I just hope Apple isn't hurt too badly.
Labels: economy, real estate
Ridership on public transit in Chicago is up 10% this year thanks to high gas prices. Great news for the CTA right? Unfortunately, the increase in ridershp is only exacerbating the financial problems at the chronically underfunded agency. You'd think that now would be precisely the time for this city, state, and country to be investing in better public transit. You'd be wrong.
Labels: Chicago, transit, urban stuff