Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did... more ›

That's how many people are working illegally in this country, at least according to some estimates. Others put it closer to seven, depending on who you ask, and when. It's hard to get a handle on the actual number because most undocumented workers aren't too keen on standing up and being counted. Yesterday afternoon Elvira Arellano was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency charged with, among other things, keeping people from washing... more ›

Better yet, how do they say it without a robot heart? On Monday, 38-year-old Reverend Daniel McCormack pleaded guilty to molesting five boys at St. Agatha Parish and Our Lady of the Westside School. He received a five-year sentence and was immediately was taken into custody. At first, we were actually pleased. It seems we never hear about any priests who actually get called out into the public eye and who even make it to... more ›

August 15th has a special meaning to Croatian nationals, Croatian Americans, and Croatian Catholics. It is on the 15th that they celebrate the Velika Gospa; translated, it means the holiday of the Great Lady Mary. The celebration has its roots in the Venetian era. On August 7th, 1715, the Turkish army, under the leadership of Mehmed Pasa, sent an envoy under heavily armed escort to the Croatian fortress town of Sinj, with an offer to... more ›

This weekend is the weekend of "summerfests". Seriously, how many do we really need? We've got Wicker Park Summerfest, River North Summerfest, Uptown Unity Summerfest, Our Lady of Lourdes Summerfest, and the 21st Ward Family Summerfest. Not to mention, Sheffield Garden Walk, the Jubilee Gospel Fest and the 29th Ward Family Gospel Picnic & Back to School Event are also happening. And Mullet Fest at the Cell. Whew! more ›

As a sometime student of the fine art of writing, Chicagoist has often been given the age-old advice: write what you know. Last Thursday, Chicago author David Cowan allegedly took that old platitude (or perhaps its less pithy and more useful corrolary: research that which you want to write about but don't know) a little too seriously. Cowan, author of Great Chicago Fires: Historic Blazes That Shaped a City, is charged with setting fire to a church storage building on the North Side. A former firefighter and also co-author of To Sleep With Angels: A Story of a Fire, Cowan has given a statement to police admitting to setting the fire, from which there were no injuries. more ›

This freezing holiday weekend while we were all cozied up by the fireplace opening presents with loved ones, two homeless men died on the streets of Chicago. Their suspected cause of death is hypothermia. Makes us really appreciate what we've got. A roof over our heads and a warm bed to sleep in. more ›