CHICAGO — Here's what we're reading before celebrating the long weekend.
Liquid gold: As parts of the planet face drought (thirsty, California?), cities on the Great Lakes could benefit, says a report in the Buffalo News. The urban leader so far: Milwaukee, which has been developing a water technology industry basically figuring out how to do more with less. "What oil is to Saudi Arabia, we are to water," Milwaukee business exec Rich Meeusen says. Senior editor Andrew Herrmann says you might want to impress your friends this holiday weekend with this nugget from the story: Miller beer is brewing more and more Coors in Wisconsin because of water shortages in Colorado.
Buffalo News writer Tom Precious notes a recent conference held in Chicago about economic potentials for the Great Lakes. "There are discussions that instead of bringing water to people over long distances, this is a time people could move back here to around the Great Lakes," said Northwestern prof Aaron Packman.
You Are Riding the CTA Brown Line to Jefferson Park?: Reporter Heather Cherone is reading the final entry in the Active Transportation Alliance's five-week examination of Chicago's transportation lines. The group calls for the CTA Brown Line — which ends now at Lawrence and Kimball avenues in Albany Park — to be extended to the Jefferson Park Transit Center and linked to the CTA Blue Line. The extension would speed up east-west trips on the North Side to give Far Northwest Side and West Side residents a better options to get around rather than being forced to endure a slow bus ride. The group is hoping a petition will get Cook County officials on board with its call to set aside money for transit expansion in its budget.
Philosophy Pays the Bills: Philosophy students are outperforming their peers in the humanities in the job market. The Atlantic reports on salary surveys that show the creative problem solving and comfort with ambiguity that comes out of studying philosophy is paying off. Maybe philosophy majors aren't topping engineers, but who knew it would turn out to be more practical than history, long cheered as the pragmatic humanities degree.
FOX Anchor Not Flattered Over Mass-Produced Toy Rodent Named After Her: A new toy hamster — part of Hasbro's "Littlest Pet Shop" family — shares the same first and last name as FOX new anchor Harris Faulkner as well as a similar complexion and eye makeup patterns. Faulkner, an accomplished journalist whose been with Fox News since 2005, has filed a lawsuit against Hasbro, claiming that a toy hamster produced by the company wrongfully appropriates her name and “distinctive persona,” The Washington Post reports. The suit, which seeks $5 million in damages, also notes that Hasbro’s portrayal of Faulkner as a rodent is "demeaning and insulting."
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