Alforque and Joseph P got the sun in the morning and the moon at night. Respectively. Today's sun and moon stats, just in case you're interested in when "civil twilight" begins and ends. more ›

Oprah is getting her a cable network, OWN ("Oprah Winfrey Network"), which will--gasp--replace the Discovery Health Network. Noooo! We all know what Oprah wants, Oprah gets, but we freaking love the Discovery Health Network. [Trib] more ›

L-R: Pantagrapher, Joseph P, Joe M500.
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Planning on flying to New York on the cheap this year? You won't be going easy, going ATA (or Southwest). The low-cost carrier will no longer be flying to New York. more ›

Countdown to Smoke-Out 2008! In case you forgot, or were outside smoking when someone shared the news, come January 1 there will be no more smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, casinos, dorms, stadiums and anywhere else that is inside, aside from personal homes and cars. more ›

The CTA may be getting slightly greener (assuming it can get its hands on some green). Yes, our beleagured transit authority is looking to by hybrid buses for its fleet if Springfield works out a funding structure. The diesel/electric buses get an extra 2 miles per gallon, and they're priced to move because the King County Metro System in Seattle didn't exercise its option to by the articulated (read: accordion) buses, plus they'd save the CTA about $7 million a year in lower maintanence and fuel costs. Ron Huberman requested and received the board's approval to negotiate a lease for 150 new hybrid buses for $120 million. more ›

Barrington Community Unit School District 220 canceled its classes today because its fleet of school buses were vandalized. Unknown culprits slashed the tires on "24 to 26 large buses and 15 to 17 smaller ones," apparently with an ice pick. School bus tires cost about $200, which means someone's on the hook for a lot of damage. A note from the district's superintendent says about 7,000 of Barrington's 9,200 K-12 students take a school bus... more ›

There are lots of places to get advice in this town. Ladies, are you wondering what to do with jewelry an ex gave you? We say wear it — it's a necklace, not a sex promise — but Ask Ellie says to talk about it with your new fiancé. What should you do if you spot someone else's potentially cancerous mole? Tell them — discreetly, obvs. And hey, how do you put on a... more ›

When Mike Madigan and Mayor Daley declined Balgojevich's invitation to meet (again) yesterday to try to work out a deal to fund transit, Rick Harris, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, which represents rail workers on the CTA, told the press that "we are about at wits' end." Harris was reacting to the looming "Doomsday 3", as the RTA's labor unions are concerned that a plan to overhaul pension and health care... more ›