With just about every person in every family having their own cellphone, odds are that whenever you get a “new” number, it’s actually a recycled number that previously belonged to at least one other person. But not all of us can hit the recycled number lottery and end up with Sir Mix-A-Lot’s old digits. No, some folks will be stuck having to explain to strange callers that they are not “Pebbles,” the escort who once used that phone number. [More]
chicago
USDA Says Chicago Soda Tax Puts $87M In Federal Food Stamp Funding At Risk
By 8.11.17
A controversial tax on sweetened beverages in Chicago is putting the entire state of Illinois at risk for losing millions in federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly referred to as food stamps), according to a warning sent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to state regulators. [More]
Walgreens Charged Soda Tax On Unsweetened Beverages
By 8.8.17
It’s only been a few days since Chicago’s tax on sodas and other sweet drinks went into effect, and already some Illinois residents are claiming they’ve been charged improperly for drinks that don’t contain any sweeteners. [More]
Court Halts Chicago Soda Tax, But Some McDonald’s Restaurants Didn’t Get The Message
By 7.5.17
Only hours before a new tax on sweetened beverages was set to kick in, an Illinois judge issued a temporary injunction keeping it from going into effect. However, not everyone got that message and some McDonald’s customers in the Chicago area were charged a tax they shouldn’t have paid. [More]
Sears Laying Off 400 Employees At HQ In Addition To Store Closures
By 6.13.17
Last week, we learned that Sears Holdings, parent company of Kmart and Sears, was planning to close a few dozen more stores as part of its ongoing “transformation” from a nationwide retailer into a handful of appliance showrooms and an online rewards points scheme. Today, the company announced more cuts among staff at its headquarters outside of Chicago, eliminating 400 positions. [More]
Starbucks Testing Lunch In Chicago This Week
By 4.10.17
Starbucks may have missed out on gobbling up Panera, but that doesn’t mean the company is ditching lunch. Instead, the coffee chain will begin tests of a specific lunch menu in Chicago this week. [More]
Passenger Sues Uber After Other UberPOOL Passenger Cuts Her Face With Knife
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
UberPOOL lets you shave a bit of money off your ride by sharing the car with other passengers headed in the same direction. As with any situation involving strangers put together in a confined space, there exists the possibility of everything from awkward silence to romance to violence. The question is: Should Uber be held responsible when an UberPOOL ride goes horribly, horribly wrong? [More]
Some Minority Neighborhoods Pay Higher Car Insurance Premiums Than White Areas With The Same Average Risk
April 5, 2017
If you drive a car, you probably already know that your driving record affects the amount you pay for auto insurance. But what you might not realize is that that price you pay can be greatly affected by purely demographic information — like your zip code. [More]
Thousands Of Flights Cancelled Today And Tomorrow Because Of Massive Winter Storm
By 3.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
If you were planning to travel to the Northeast this week, you’ll probably need to change your itinerary, as more than 1,000 flights have already been canceled in advance of a massive snowstorm.. [More]
Ride-Hailing App Drivers Want To Put Ads Up If Taxis Can
By 2.2.17
If there are ads on the outside of taxis as well as on their insides, why can’t drivers for ride-hailing apps put up ads of their own? A company that provides an app that turns a driver’s tablet into a ride-hailing version of Taxi TV is suing the city of Chicago, which bans advertising in cars for ride-hailing app services. [More]
Some Uber Drivers Sleep In Their Cars So They Can Work In Expensive Cities
By 1.23.17
If you want to be successful at driving for Uber, Lyft or some similar service, it’s important to not only put in a lot of hours behind the wheel, but to do so in a city where you’re likely to also have a passenger in the backseat. Problem is, dense urban areas where residents have disposable income may be out of your price range. Some drivers are getting around this by spending their brief downtime sleeping in their cars. [More]
Man Burglarizes FedEx Truck In Chicago, Ditches Getaway Car With Baby Inside
By 1.19.17
The string of robberies and burglaries of delivery vehicles in Chicago continues this week, with the latest theft happening to a FedEx truck. Police say that the suspect broke into the truck, took packages, and then abandoned his own vehicle with a 1-year-old child inside when the cops were after him. [More]
Armed Robberies Of Delivery Drivers A Growing Problem In Chicago
By 1.11.17
Delivery drivers have trucks full of valuable, brand-new merchandise, and don’t have a lot of visible security protection. That may be the reason why delivery drivers for the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and Amazon have recently been the targets of burglars, armed robbers, and even carjackers on Chicago’s South Side. [More]
Giant Former Sears Store In Chicago To Become Apartments And Maybe A Liquor Store
By 1.4.17
Last year, the oldest operating Sears store, a now-windowless tan brick behemoth in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood closed. The local commercial real estate market had the same problem as Sears itself: what could be done with an enormous retail building that the marketplace no longer needs? A developer came forward with a plan to redevelop the currently dormant space into apartments and maybe a liquor store. [More]
Comcast Stops Offering Gigabit Internet For $70/Month In Cities Near Chicago
By 11.15.16 — Updated: 11.19.16
Earlier this summer, Comcast began offering a new internet service in the greater Chicago area that offers fiberoptic-like speeds but over existing cable lines. Right away, there were questions about the price: In other markets where Comcast sold this service, the rate was only $70/month for people willing to sign a three-year contract, but Chicagoans weren’t initially being offered this discount. Then the company appeared to change its mind, offering that lower rate, though even then there was confusion. Now it looks like that discounted rate is off the table for the handful of Chicago-area cities where it had been an option. [More]
Controversial Soda Tax Coming To Chicago After County Board Vote
By 11.10.16
Two days after voters in four different cities approved local taxes on sugary beverages, the county board for Cook County, IL – home to Chicago — has narrowly okayed a $.01/ounce tax, making this the largest single market to try to curb obesity while fattening the municipal coffers. [More]
American Airlines Flight Catches Fire After Aborting Takeoff In Chicago
By 10.28.16
An American Airlines flight preparing to takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport blew a tire and caught fire Friday afternoon following a reported engine malfunction. [More]
Chicago Might Be Next To Try Tax On Sodas & Sugary Drinks
By 10.13.16
Days after the Whole Health Organization announced it supported taxes on sugary drinks in order to curb obesity, the largest county in Illinois is weighing that option — following in the footsteps of Berkeley, CA, and Philadelphia, where a similar tax is now subject to a beverage industry legal battle. [More]
