Spring snow takes Chicago by surprise
By Shannon Longworth Medill Reports More than two inches of snow on Saturday interrupted spring for Chicagoans. So the question arises: is such extreme weather at unusual times of the year related to climate change? According to National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Carlaw, there’s no way to tie an individual weather incident to a larger […]
Environmentally conscious consumers ponder genuine leather versus alternatives
By Karleigh Stone Medill Reports Use of genuine leather in the fashion industry is a topic of dispute among designers and consumers. Authentic leather is environmentally friendly. Its durability allows it to outlast synthetic options, and that decreases consumption in the high-polluting apparel industry. Leather is also made from natural products — animal hides — […]
Gender-neutral salon helps people express their identity through hairstyles, wild or otherwise
By Thomas Ilalaole Medill Reports Barbara & Barbara salon in Logan Square started off as a small shop in the back of an art gallery. But their idea to create a gender-neutral space — where LGBTQ+ people and others could come to express their personal style through their hair — caught on. Now the salon […]
Stopping on the Mag Mile proves costly for ride-sharing drivers
By Shannon Longworth Medill Reports Uber and Lyft drivers are facing hefty fines for violating the no-stopping, no-standing regulation along North Michigan Avenue. The law applies to all vehicles driving on the street, according to Chicago Police. However, ride-hailing drivers are specifically being ticketed because their apps so frequently tell them to drop off and […]
The right to vote might be too expensive for former felons in Florida under new bill
By Kaisha Young Medill Reports On Wednesday, the Florida House passed a bill that would require former felons to pay all restitution debt as well as court fees and fines before they can register to vote. The bill is a blow to supporters of Amendment 4 — the landmark ballot initiative Florida passed last November. […]
Hyderabad, India, captures a nexus of ancient and modern culture
By Aaron Dorman Medill Reports I traveled to India for the first time in my life for an all-too-brief three weeks’ of learning how farmers are adapting to increasing drought in the central province of Telangana with water conserving greenhouses. Hyderabad and environs are about as far inland as can be at this latitude. But […]
Pests or pets: a history of how pigeons took over the Windy City and what organizations are doing about it
By Stephanie Fox Medill Reports After spending the day with family celebrating her husband’s birthday, Chava Sonnier received a call that made her heart skip a beat. “I don’t think he’s going to make it,” her friend said on the other line. Despite the call coming in at around 10:30 at night, Sonnier hopped in […]
The trend toward natural hair styles continues as African-Americans embrace their “hair-itage”
By Ebony JJ Curry Medill Reports For years, black women devoted hours and hundreds of dollars to relaxing their hair. But sales of the chemical products used to straighten hair have been declining in the African-American hair-care market. One estimate predicts chemical relaxers will make up the smallest percentage of the market by 2020. This […]
Old Town School of Folk Music focuses on enrollment to keep Lincoln Park building
By Nadia Adams Medill Reports The Old Town School of Folk music is focusing on increasing enrollment to keep the doors open at its Lincoln Park location. In October of last year, the school’s board of directors voted to put the property at 909 W. Armitage on the market for sale. This decision caused discord […]
A hundred-year-old tradition of delivering Passover meals feeds 15,000 Chicagoans
By Josephine Chu Medill Reports Volunteers from all over the city worked for weeks to make sure Passover celebrants had meals for the holiday. They packaged ingredients needed for Passover Seder into boxes and delivered them to places like food pantries and senior living centers. The Jewish nonprofit Maot Chitim has been organizing this event for […]