18th Chicago Bike Winter Art Show Opens Friday
By Shanley Chien Bike and art lovers rejoice! The 18th Annual Chicago Bike Winter Art Show opens Friday with a public reception at Genesis Art Supply. Members of the Rat Patrol Bike Club, a pro-bike and anti-consumerism organization, uses recycled parts and scrap metal to hand-weld unique bikes. The club showcases some of their offbeat creations […]
Reducing emergency room visits among elderly patients
By Jamie Friedlander Nearly 45 percent of ER visits from nursing home residents on Medicare or Medicaid could have been avoided, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. These ER visits ended up “accounting for 314,000 potentially avoidable hospitalizations and $2.6 billion in Medicare expenditures in 2005,” CMS reported as part of an […]
Beating the beetle: Giving ash trees a second life
By Jasmine Sanborn “Treecycling” is giving a second life to tens of millions of ash trees attacked by one small but powerful beetle. Instead of chipping fallen ash trees into mulch or chopping them into firewood, groups such as the Illinois Wood Utilization team are promoting a practical approach – “even when you can’t save […]
VIDEO: Drone interest takes off as regulation lags behind popularity
By Laura Furr From the White House to Chicago’s suburbs, from Lollapalooza to Snapchat, unmanned aerial systems, commonly known as drones, have been making headlines. And as drone technology becomes cheaper with user-friendly photo and video capabilities, interest in personal drone use has taken off.
Wolves players, coaches in favor of outdoor game
By Sara Romano Chicago Wolves defenseman Brent Sopel has fond memories of his childhood hockey days growing up in Calgary. “I grew up with a rink in my backyard that my dad would flood for me every winter,” Sopel recalled. “Growing up in Canada, that’s all we wanted to do. We didn’t want to go […]
Rising Dollar Exacerbates U.S. Trade Deficit
By Lucy Ren The U.S. trade deficit went up 17.1 percent to $46.6 billion in December. Impacted by the strong dollar, exports decreased by 0.8 percent and imports expanded by 2.2 percent, the highest growth since March. For all 2014, the U.S. goods and services deficit increased 6 percent to $505 billion. Exports rose 2.9 […]
VIDEO: Value-conscious shoppers driving consignment industry
By Marika Bastrmajian The resale industry is a multi billion dollar industry having grown significantly in the last few years since the recent recession. Consignment shops, like Luxury Garage Sale, have seen an influx of both shoppers and sellers and as the industry continues to grow, value-conscious shoppers are given more options aside from traditional shopping.
Sports talk paradox: as industry grows, on-air talent struggles
By Eric Clark Broadcast journalists Ben Finfer, Alex Quigley and Mark Carman became victims of the cutthroat nature of the sports talk radio industry in December, losing their jobs at Chicago’s The Game 87.7 only nine months after its inception. But they still believe the industry is as strong as it has ever been.
Does Chicago’s homicide rate rise and fall with cold winter weather?
By Dean DeChiaro There’s evidence to support the conventional wisdom that as temperatures in Chicago increase, so does crime. But that narrative usually focuses on spring and summer, when statistics show violent crimes, including homicide, occur most frequently. But do those summer patterns also hold true for a particularly mild winter?
VIDEO: Grassroots group canvasses for Ramirez-Rosa in 35th Ward
By Adam Banicki The Chicago City Council elections are weeks away and Reclaim Chicago volunteers are canvassing the streets seeking support for new progressive candidates. Reclaim Chicago, a grassroots political organization, strives to elect new progressive candidates as the city’s officials. Its goal: to get corporate interests out of city politics. [vimeo 118047110 w=500 h=281]
