Trains, Condos, and Automobiles

Submitted by jeffpsmith on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 15:54

My mini-tour of some of the local condo offerings led to some larger mullings. Altogether, the 4 developments I covered, representing nearly 100 new condos within a 9-iron shot of the Central Street Metra station, raise interesting questions. No doubt all will eventually sell; but at what price? One wonders if the demand for "transit-oriented" luxury condos here hasn’t been overestimated.

Top Of The Tracks Turns Twenty

Submitted by jeffpsmith on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 12:24

Dozens of well-wishers gathered Fri., May 30, to help owner Mary Lou Smith celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Top of the Tracks coffeeshop at the Central Street Metra station. For a generation, Mary Lou's coffee, Danish, and good cheer have warmed the hearts and stomachs of morning commuters. Mary Lou, a longtime leader among Central Street merchants, currently serves on the board of the Central Street Neighbors Association.

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Daley as Graduation Speaker Roils NU

Submitted by jeffpsmith on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 11:37

Northwestern University President Henry Bienen's announcement that the 2008 commencement speaker will be Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley has prompted a lot of discussion among NU seniors and other students, much of it negative or disappointed. As of this morning there were nearly 300 posts on the Daily Northwestern's website, eclipsing by far any other story.

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Midland Shooting Star

Submitted by jeffpsmith on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 00:12

Midland Shootingstar (Dodecatheon meadia), one of about a dozen or two shootingstar varieties, a type of primrose, is a popular wildflower found throughout the eastern US, including most Illinois counties, and a really cool perennial. The first year I planted them they didn't do much. The next year they put out big, floppy-eared lettuce-type leaves, out of which suddenly shoot up stalks of up to 18", from which hang little, delicate, tubular clumps of flowers.

 

May Apple

Submitted by jeffpsmith on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 23:57
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May apple (Podophyllum peltatum) is an exotic-looking member of the barberry family.

 

The plant consists of a long, thick stalk from which flares an umbrella of irregularly-lobed leaf, with anywhere from 5 to 9 lobes. I read that these get "up" to 1' across, but I routinly get some over 15". I planted a half dozen and the second year they formed a nice little canopy. Within a few years they had tripled.

 

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