CHICAGO — Here are eight neighborhood news stories you may have missed while sobbing about the end of the Bulls' season this week.
• A huge mystery project along the Chicago River in Avondale will be anchored by Metropolis Coffee's new roasting facility, Benjamin Woodard and Ariel Cheung reported. The new location will feature massive windows for natural lighting and a river-side patio.
Metropolis owner Tony Dreyfuss inside the future home of a new roasting facility. [DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard]
The developer for the industrial district around 3057 N. Rockwell St., who is known for creating Bridgeport Art Center, has begun knocking down walls to carve out a handful of large spots for tenants that could include a brewery, distillery or even a chocolate-maker, according to Ald. Deb Mell (33rd), though no other tenants officially have been announced yet.
We'll keep you up to date for more news about the area, which Metropolis owner Tony Dreyfuss calls, "space you can dream in."
• Speaking of dreams, some Humboldt Park residents are having theirs quashed after the Chicago Park District announced that Humboldt Beach would likely not open this year, citing the $1 million it allegedly costs to maintain, and saying that refilling the beach year was unsustainable.
Humboldt Beach, drained of water. [DNAinfo/Darryl Holliday]
Darryl Holliday reported that neighbors were furious when the announcement was made, saying they were "disgusted" and that it was "unacceptable."
"This [beach] was a dream that we realized and now you're telling us that we can't have it," resident Ada Nivia Lopez said at the meeting.
• Have out-of-town friends visiting this summer? Bone up on your Chicago pizza knowledge and don't get caught unawares. Did you know, for instance, that there's a difference between deep-dish, pan and stuffed pizza? (There's also a lesser-known type of Chicago pizza that most people have never heard of.)
Check out our Chicago pizza guide and take our quiz, "How Well Do You Know Chicago Pizza?" to prepare. Beware, Tanveer Ali's quizzes are notoriously difficult. And prepare to get hungry just clicking through the questions.
• Ever felt like your eyes were playing tricks on you? This trippy painting, created by Illinois College of Optometry doctoral students Sepideh Omidghaemi and Chido Munjangaja, does it on purpose.
Mark Konkol wrote in his column this week about Omidghaemi and her twin sister, an artist, who collaborated to create the optical illusion "akin to a mild acid trip."
In a mind-bending trick, the objects in the painting that appear closer to you seem to move faster than objects that appear to be further from you — the exact opposite of real life.
• Another mind-bending piece of news came out of West Rogers Park this week, where an 18-year-old high school senior was charged with aggravated battery for allegedly head-butting and breaking the nose of a school security guard.
Erica Demarest reported that a teacher asked Theodore Covey, a Mather High School student, to leave a classroom. When he refused, a security guard arrived and saw Covey throwing the teacher's supplies on the floor. That's when Covey head-butted the guard, prosecutors said.
To add insult to injury, the 18-year-old spat on him afterward, according to police. A judge released Covey on the condition that he submits to electronic monitoring.
• Wrap your mind around this: Somebody dumped at least nine adorable bunny rabbits in an Irving Park parking lot last week.
The good news? The rabbits will be available for adoption after they were saved by Red Door Animal shelter, Kyla Gardner reported.
"Jackalope, Long Tall Sally, Squirrel, Caesar, Bert, Duncan and Alex need four to six weeks of care before they are adoptable," she wrote.
• Chicago Police offered some real talk to parents about the dangers of Internet crime in Beverly after a sexting incident in March, Howard Ludwig reported.
Some advice may surprise parents who thought they were tech-savvy enough to keep tabs on their kids' Internet use: For instance, many boys are targeted while they are online gaming. Boys unknowingly share a significant amount of personal information while playing games with strangers, said Det. Charles Hollendoner. Read on for more specific tips and warning signs.
• We saved the best for last: The CTA is taking steps to eliminate the infuriating "ghost bus" or "bus bunching" phenomenon, in which no buses come for 30 minutes and then three arrive at once, Ted Cox reported.
Yeah, you know what we're talking about.
CTA officials said that the new Bus Management Transit System would enable better communication so that supervisors could spread out buses in real time.
We'll see how it works the next time we're waiting for the Damen bus for 22 minutes.
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