After Mayor Gerald Schweighart read the resolution providing funds to the reconstruction of three residential redevelopments on North Neil and West Church streets, Council Member Michael La Due took time to note that the incentive deserves a little fanfare in what he called “a small step for the city, but a giant step for preservation and integrity of our downtown.” The resolution grants $225,000 from the city to go towards expenditures incurred in reconstruction of the properties at 219 N. …
Over the past eight months, Urbana’s Public Arts Task Force (encompassing seventeen local working artists), with the support of Urbana’s Art Coordinator, Anna Hochhalter, have developed a Public Arts Program for Urbana. In order to directly support the arts in our community, the new program calls for the creation of a permanent Public Arts Commission and Public Arts Trust Fund, with an allocation of $4 per capita going into the fund to support an Arts Director and Annual Grants. One …
Attention all Insight customers in Champaign County: you can say goodbye to your Insight prices. Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, bought out the other half of their partnership with Insight Communications and has fully moved into town. With over 24 million cable customers, Comcast now serves Champaign-Urbana, Peoria, Quincy-Macomb, Rockford-Dixon, and Springfield cable television systems in Illinois.
Urbana City Council passed a resolution last night to join an intergovernmental agreement to fight against AmerenIP’s rate hike. The council voted to revise the budget to include funds to protest in front of the Illinois Commerce Commission alongside other downstate Illinois cities. According to Mayor Laurel Prussing, who laid out the issue last week in her “Mayor’s Report,” the electricity hike could cost the city more than $100,000 in street lighting alone. AmerenIP is currently proposing a 14 percent …
Downtown Champaign will be suffering yet another Italian restaurant closing this year. First, Dom’s closed at the end of 2007 and now, The Great Impasta, a downtown tradition for more than 25 years, will be shutting its doors at the end of 2008. “It’s not established, for me, if this is a closing or if it’s another move. It might just be another part of the saga,” Harold Allston, the former chef and now owner of The Great Impasta says. …
For more than ten years, a small company located on Danville’s east side has been making a significant impact on the way we clean. EnvirOx originally started in 1995 as a research project with the primary objective of developing a cleaning technology that would reduce toxicity in a meaningful way. As the company grew in recent years, a line of environmentally friendly home-cleaning products was launched, and now employees at EnvirOx are pulling double duty to produce 44,000 household cleaning …
Criminal law, finance, tenant rights and employee rights are the topics of a three-part series beginning this weekend at the Champaign Public Library. Presented by students at the University of Illinois College of Law, “Know Your Rights: How to Deal with Cops, Money, and Your Boss” offers a layman’s guide to the legal snafus often encountered by members of the Champaign-Urbana community. The series, which begins this Saturday and ends March 15, will offer interpretations of basic laws as well …
Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing delivered a report at last night’s Urbana City Council meeting, outlining a potential future increase in utility rates for Champaign County residents unless efforts from area cities to fight the rate hikes from Illinois American Water and AmerenIP are successful. According to Prussing, the water company said the 60 percent increase does not include the total cost of the new water facility on West Bradley Avenue in Champaign and that the company may want to increase …
The new dorm at the St. John’s Newman Catholic Center at the University of Illinois has become a significant player in the campus skyline. Set to be completed in July 2008, Newman Hall now has 85% of its brick exterior complete and crews are currently working on the interior. “We lost a little time in the hard winter months,” said Mark Randall, director of advancement at the Newman Center, but he added that the project remains on schedule to welcome …
Coffee drinkers: Perk up your ears. Beloved Urbana coffeehouse and hipster study spot, Caffe Paradiso, changed ownership over the weekend. Café co-founder and owner Melissa Fanella had been looking to sell the business for the past year. The café first opened in 1998 with partner Geoff Merritt of Parasol Records and That’s Rentertainment. The café soon housed an extension of the John St. movie rental store, first in the seating area and then in the rental space adjacent to the …
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Thank you for discussing Ron Paul’s “successors” - the future of the freedom movement. The movement didn’t begin with Dr. Paul, nor will it end with his exit from the political scene. How many future political leaders were in that audience of nearly 5,000 last night?
I went to the Ron Paul event last night. There was alot of energy & the audience responded to Ron Paul’s ideas which surprised me. I didn’t think most people would be aware of NDAA. Another person, who was there last night, observed that quite a few…
A really well researched article. Great job!
I love the Guitars
Hi my name is Harry Huffman, professional speaker…. keynote humorist and above all story teller. I have also been a ballroom dancer, competitor and instructor over 45 years.I’m looking to get on the story telling circuit or radio. Can you give me some advice. Thank you. My web site http://www.speakdance.com
Man, I cannot wait for these four records to be released by Parasol/Hidden Agenda - seriously great music for them to be working with. Thanks for letting me hang out in the studio and see you at the party…
Rob, I’m slightly confused about the media player you are referring to.
I’ve looked at this page with two different browsers, and four different operating systems. I’ve decided that the embedded media player is just plain busted.
$100K for a toy house? No wonder my taxes are killing me. http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/solar-decathlons-rainy-start_594112.html
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Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
Actually, it’s kind of nice, the quiet. John Heoffleur’s engaging commentary/dialogue is sorely missed, however. In lieu of someone intelligent saying something, I’ve compiled a list of Honourable Mentions: BEST ROCK BAND: Take Care ::these gentlemen have four completely different sets at their disposal right now (which…
What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
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What a great job by all the volunteers! This event was really put together fast, and well. What I noticed about the crowd was how many old faces I saw despite occurring on a college campus. I talked to quite a few, including students, who assured me…