Bike traffic skills class

Would you like to ride more places but lack confidence in traffic? A Traffic Skills 101 class might be just the thing. There's a class starting Monday night 4/15. Click here for more info.

coming soon....

A new cafe at 99th and Walden...



I wish this wasn't an April Fools joke.  I'd really love to see a cafe in this vacant commercial space - Greek, Lebanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, or some other ethnicity that's NOT currently represented in the neighborhood, preferably with some healthy meal options (something that's also in short supply in our 'hood). 

We don't need another pizza or sandwich place.  An affordable little lunch and dinner spot offering something that we can't get in the neighborhood would be ideal.  Perhaps they could make an arrangement with the all day Montessori across the street to share their parking lot on evenings and weekends. And bike racks, yes, bike racks...

Who else shares this dream?

non sequitur Friday

Warm thoughts for a cold day.

non sequitur Friday

Listen to more from a Sidi Toure appearance on NPR.

non sequitur Friday

Take a musical trip to Madagascar with Tarika.

snow far not quite snow good

Last night when I was walking home from the Metra station, I followed 95th St., hoping that the sidewalk would be reasonably walkable. All was good until I got to the bus stop in front of the Trinity community center.  From both directions, snow was decently plowed.  That plowing stopped just short of the bus stop, and the plow guy was so considerate in blocking access to the bus stop with a wall of snow. 

By what stretch of the imagination is it acceptable to treat our bus stops as snow dumps and bus passengers as second class citizens?  This has been a consistent problem and it needs to stop now.

non sequitur Friday

A friend recently introduced me to the music of Red Baraat, a Brooklyn band that melds Indian music with the energy of a New Orleans brass band and flavors of other musical genres.  Click here to enjoy a  mini concert of their music.

bike access on Metra

Do you take your bike on Metra? If so, please consider taking a survey about your experiences. It's a research poll for an upcoming blog post on Streetsblog Chicago (sustainable transportation blog). Thanks!

organic seed swap on 2/23

The 1st Annual South Side Organic Gardeners Seed Exchange will be held Sat., Feb 23, 4-6 p.m. at The Blossom Boys, 9911 S. Walden Pkwy. The event will feature Jodi Prout, the Program Director for Sustainability & Environment for the City of Blue Island, and provide an opportunity for local gardeners to swap their saved seeds with others from the area. For more information, contact: Abe Lentner.

non sequitur Friday

R.I.P. Magic Slim.  You gave us a lot of tasty blues tunes over the years.