CHICAGO — We have a case of the sads due to the sad forecast and gloomy weather. So, we're distracting ourselves with these stories.
Miracle Berry Coffeshop May Need a Miracle: An Eater Chicago story about legal problems threatening famed chef Homaro Cantu's food empire caught reporter Heather Cherone's attention. Cantu's Old Irving Park coffee shop Berrista, which opened in December, has quickly become one of the most-loved eateries on the Far Northwest Side, with its customized java and pastries made with the "miracle berry" — a fruit containing a protein that makes sour things taste sweet. The suit also threatens Cantu's plans to open the Crooked Fork, an organic brewery, on Montrose Avenue near Kennenth Avenue, this summer, according to the story.
We're All Going to Work for Facebook: Downtown reporter David Matthews is reading in Slate that Facebook will begin hosting, instead of linking to, news articles on its ubiquitous website. Venerable publications including the New York Times and National Geographic (and of course, Buzzfeed) are reportedly on board. By cutting out the links, Facebook stands to capitalize from a fractured media ecosystem where outlets often compete for the same readers and advertisers. It's no surprise outlets are signing up so they don't miss out on Mark Zuckerberg's traffic engine, but it also leaves news distribution (and perhaps some editorial control) directly at the mercy of Facebook. "The skeptics are right," Slate's Will Oremus writes. "Collectively, news media would be foolish to put their fate in Facebook’s hands. Individually, however, they might be foolish not to."
Some Schools Resist Token System Intended To Help Homeless CPS Students: Reporter Mina Bloom is reading a recent story in the Sun-Times about the 1996 token policy, which was implemented to help homeless CPS students travel back and forth from where they are temporarily staying. According to the story, some schools are resisting the policy. And one parent said the school liasions, who are supposed to help coordinate the tokens, can be "more concerned somebody will receive a benefit for which they don't qualify than whether a student who needs it will go without." CPS officials are looking to revise the policy.
Legos Hurt Like Hell, It's a Scientific Fact: Don't let the "Lego Movie" fool you. The little plastic bricks aren't adorkable animated characters that sound an awful lot like Chris Pratt, they're instruments of torture. Want proof? Step on one. Or spare your foot and check out this article reporter Patty Wetli discovered on Quartz. According to scientists, the sole of the foot is unusually sensitive to pain. Couple that with Legos' hard, sharp corners and the result is the perfect storm of pain.
He's a Believer: The Chicago Reader's Mick Dumke talked to David Axelrod about Mayor Rahm Emanuel's style of politics and whether he thinks Emanuel deserves another term as mayor. The short answer? Yes: "The White House wouldn't have gotten half of what we got done without him," Axelrod says. "That same drive has been employed to relentlessly pursue other public policy advances."
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