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Thursday, May 23, 2013

5 New Stores Set to Open at Old Orchard Mall

Lululemon and Vans are among new additions scheduled to pen at the Skokie mall.

  Five new stores are expected to open in the near future at Westfield Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, including yoga apparel store Lululemon and footwear store Vans, Skokie Review reported.  Other new openings include Splendid, an LA-based clothing brand, Roka Akor, a Japanese-inspired restaurant and ZipFit Denim, a men’s jean store, the three stores follow recent additions to the mall that include Sur La Table, C.D. Peacock, Rolex, Michael Kors, The North Face, Tesla Motors and Henri Bendel, Skokie Review reported.  Tell us: What’s your favorite store at Old Orchard and why? For the full story, visit: Skokie.Suntimes.com.    

Higher Speed Limit Bill Heads to Gov's Desk

70 mph on rural interstates not a done deal yet, as bill has its opponents.

A bill to increase the maximum speed limit in Illinois could hit Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk for his signature soon. Whether Quinn will sign it remains to be seen. The bill, introduced by Republican State. Sen. Jim Oberweis, would raise the speed limit on rural Illinois highways to 70 mph. The bill, which has passed both chambers of the state legislature, has been met with opposition due to safety concerns by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, according to the Chicago Tribune. “The progression of this legislation is a good example of what can be accomplished when lawmakers work together in a bipartisan manner for the good of our state,” Oberweis said. “It was sponsored…

FaceOnMars

8:50 pm on Thursday, May 23, 2013

On a road trip out west, I recall driving up from northern Nevada and into Southern Oregon and seeing the speed limit drop from 70 (or 75) to 55 ... and the terrain didn't really change all that much ... still extremely desolate. Couldn't help but wonder how much less efficient state based businesses which rely upon transportation for some component of their business & how much less eficient OR …   more ›

Illinois Senate OKs Help for Human Trafficking Victims

State senators joined the House in passing a bill that would reimburse human trafficking victims for the removal of tattoos, or 'brands,' which offenders put on them to show 'ownership.'

  Victims of human trafficking who have been "branded" with tattoos by those enslaving them got support from the Illinois Senate Wednesday, according to Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office. State senators voted 58-0 to allow victims to be reimbursed out of the Illinois Crime Victims Compensation Fund for the removal of the tattoos. The Illinois House had earlier unanimously passed the measure, and it now goes to the governor. Criminal offenders who engage in human trafficking subject their victims to horrific abuse, Madigan's office said in a statement. They frequently tattoo victims to show "ownership" of them. “Human trafficking victims are subjected to horrific physical and psychological abuse,” said Madigan, whose office helped …

Memorial Day Weekend Weather Forecast in Skokie

The National Weather Service weather forecast for the coming days in Skokie.

National Weather Service forecast for Skokie.

Higher Speed Limit Bill Heads to Gov's Desk

70 mph on rural interstates not a done deal yet, as bill has its opponents.

  A bill to increase the maximum speed limit in Illinois could hit Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk for signature soon. Whether Quinn will sign it remains to be seen. The bill, introduced by Republican State. Sen. Jim Oberweis, would raise the speed limit on rural Illinois highways to 70 mph. See what your neighbors had to say about the proposal. The bill has been met with opposition due to safety concerns by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and the Insurance Instatitue for Highway Safety, according to the Chicago Tribune. “The progression of this legislation is a good example of what can be accomplished when lawmakers work together in a bipartisan manner for the good of our state,” Oberweis said. “It was sponsored by …

Memorial Day Ceremonies To Take Place

Memorial Day parades and ceremonies will be taking place in Niles, Morton Grove, Park Ridge, Skokie and elsewhere.

  Morton Grove The American Legion Morton Grove Post 134 will hold its Memorial Day ceremony at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 26 outside the American Legion Memorial Civic Center, 6140 Dempster, to be followed by a parade. The parade will leave the parking lot at the Morton Grove American Legion Civic Center at 1:30 p.m. The route will cross Dempster at Georgiana, go south to Crain, east to School, south to Lincoln and west to the Morton Grove Library where a short ceremony will take place at the Library’s Doughboy Statue. After the ceremony, the parade will form on Georgiana and march back to the Civic Center.  Niles On Monday, May 27, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., members of the Niles VFW Post #7712 and the Village of Niles will conduct a ceremony at…

District 219 Students to Dance for a Cause This Weekend

The annual District 219 Dance Marathon is set for May 25.

  District 219’s annual Dance Marathon is set to kick off at Niles North High School on Sunday, May 25 at 5 p.m. Each year, the Dance Marathon organization picks a charity to raise money for through the event. The 2012-2013 charity of the year is Rustic Falls Nature Camp in Burlington, Wisc. Rustic Falls is a camp for at-risk-youth, cancer survivors, physically and mentally challenged children and adults, according to the Dance Marathon website.  Since the Dance Marathon’s start 11 years ago, the event has raised more than $576,000 for deserving charities. 

Lisa Lipin

10:57 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013

Dance Marathon is a great event! I'm proud to be a D219 parent!   more ›

Comcast Offering Free Wifi In Expanded Hot Spots, Through July 4

As part of a rollout of wifi hot spots, Comcast is offering anyone, even non-customers, free wifi in a variety of eateries and other settings, through July 4. After that, customers can still use wifi in the many new locations.

  There you are, sitting in a restaurant or doctor's waiting room, trying to get on to the Internet with your smartphone, tablet or laptop. But frustratingly, there's no wifi service. You either can't get online or must use up your expensive data plan service.  To remedy this, Comcast is expanding the number of locations in which it offers Wifi service, and is offering a freebie from May 24 through July 4. Anyone, even non-customers, can access wifi for free on those dates. After that, Comcast customers can access the wifi service for free, and non-customers can get two 60-minute sessions free per month. Many of the spots are located in Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Evanston, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Oak Park, Palatine, Skokie and …

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Pam DeFiglio

9:40 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hi Jon, Yes, there are some in Deerfield. The locations are at this link: http://hotspots.wifi.comcast.com/?map_submit.x=57&a=deerfield+il+usa&map_submit.y=20   more ›

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Ready To Giggle and Laugh With Your Kids?

Take time to read and laugh together! These children's books will get the giggles rolling.

Everybody loves to laugh! Here are some recently published books I’ve enjoyed sharing with kids. In Animal Masquerade by Marianne Dubuc, all the animals are invited to a costume party, but Lion can’t decide what to wear. The next page reveals him with a trunk. Now Elephant wants to come too, but what will he dress up as? Pretty soon preschoolers will catch on to the pattern of one animal disguised as another, followed by the real animal wondering what to wear. There are some wacky surprises, like when little Red Riding Hood dresses up as a birthday cake. The pictures here are the real treat. Imagine a mouse in a flamingo costume and a bear in a snail disguise. The book is quite long, but there is no need to finish it. At any point you can …

Patch Reads: Malcolm at Midnight

A great summer book for young readers posted by James Patterson's READKIDDOREAD.com.

“It began with a rat. There was also a glasses-wearing elderly iguana, a grumpy fish who could spell, a ghost in the clock tower, a secret message in the library, and a twisted evil that lived on the fourth floor of our school. But those’ll all come later. First, there was a rat: Malcolm.” That is the beginning of a pageturner for kids ages 8-12 called Malcolm at Midnight. It is written by W. H. Beck and illustrated by Brian Lies. The story continues: And what an extraordinary rat he is! After being fortuitously mistaken for a mouse at the pet store, Malcolm finds his way to Mr. Binney’s fifth grade classroom at McKenna Elementary School. Life at McKenna is much different from what he is used to, but Malcolm doesn’t mind. He has a Comf-E-…

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