little blog on the prairie

• Still waiting for the announcement about the location for the new Champaign Dog Park. In this N-G article from June 6, Champaign Park District officials said the location would be identified sometime in July. I have been in contact with the CPD, and their people say they haven’t yet made a decision.
• If pressed, I would have to say that Milo’s is my favorite restaurant in Champaign-Urbana. I’ll soon be making a pilgrimage over to Lincoln Square Mall (I can’t say Village yet) to visit Cali’s Cocina, the new fast-casual place opened by Milo’s proprietors in the old food court.
• Rumor Mill: I recently reported that Bagelman’s had closed. The report was correct, but not completely accurate. The store that closed then was the newer one in Urbana (Carle bought the land, evidently), not the original site in Champaign. According to my sources, the Champaign store will be closed soon and another restaurant will go into the space on Kirby Ave. Seems to me with the pending redevelopment of the Chancellor property, that would be prime space. Any guesses?
• Was wondering if this silly idea of Mayor Daley’s to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games would somehow trickle down to our neck of the woods. This story says it’s possible. Wonder what events they would stage in Champaign-Urbana. How about table tennis?
• Blogroll addition: Welcome to The Champaign of Blogs.
• Big changes to Illinipundit and Peoria Pundit have inspired me to make some alterations of my own. If you have any ideas to that end, let me know. I’m interested to hear what direction you would like to see the blog take.
• Why don’t all U of I offices have the same business hours? We’re not talking academic offices here. One department is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Another department with similar functions is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. INSANITY!
• Congrats to Chicago’s very own Gapers Block for being named to Forbes’ Best of the Web city blogs list.
• Since it’s summer, I’m taking Friday off. See you in August!

One of my favorite blogs is Veiled Conceit, which chews up and spits out the goofy, pretentious and very entertaining weekly New York Times wedding announcements, where the hoi polloi of the city that never sleeps tell the rest of us: “Hands off.”

Of course, another weekly pasttime is reading the News-Gazette’s Engagement and Wedding announcements page. Perusing it yesterday, I wondered how Mr. or Ms. Veiled Conceit would handle the Hayward-Rasmussen installment. (For the uninitiated, The N-G engagement notices include the names of the future bride and groom, their wedding date, their educational background, their parents’ names, where they’re from, and where they work.)

It wasn’t the text that was so odd — although one wonders what the point of a 2-year, three-month engagement is — but what GRABBED our attention was the photo that accompanied it. Usually, these photos involve a cheesy pose designed to show off the bride-to-be’s new bauble. Instead, Thomas Rasmussen and Deborah Hayward elected to submit a photo of them lip-locked — with his shark tooth necklace stealing the show.

Wonder what the wedding photos will look like. Guess we’ll have to wait till November 2007.

For the five of you out there that actually watched the trainwreck reality show known as “The Bachelorette” this winter, you will know instantly who this is: the guy who said he spooned with his dog.

The guy who spoons with his dog is also known as Bachelor Mike. In addition to his day job — he is a teacher in Michigan — Mike is an actor who hawks a line of bodybuilding supplements that just happen to be made here in Champaign.

And this very specimen will grace our presence when he makes an appearance Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of a store on SouthNeil Street that will sell these products. Don’t worry, guys; Olympian Gea Johnson and fitness model Beth Dolce will also be in tow.

By my count, that’s two reality TV stars that have appeared in town this year at grand openings: at least Designer Doug deserves to be on TV.

That’s what the folks around C-U are saying today. Over the weekend, it was reported in the News-Gazette that our very own Champaign-Urbana was ranked “in the top 20 percent of U.S. metropolitan areas in terms of being a desirable place for companies to expand,” according to a study by Expansion Management Magazine. Add that to our ranking by Money Magazine as having the fourth lowest average commute time in the nation, and we’re flying high.

But over in Bloomington-Normal, officials are a little honked off by being ranked the 245th (out of 274) on the list of best places to do business in the country by Inc. Magazine. The Pantagraph notes: “Converted, that’s 30th on the list of worst places to do business.” The executive director of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce is quoted as saying, “Our quality of life is so much better here than the Decaturs, Rockfords and Springfields.” Bet he feels better about his own community after dissing those. (Incidentally, Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul was ranked No. 242 on that list. Oh well. Can’t win ‘em all.)

Check out this cool lightning photo from last night’s dramatic storm.

TGIF!

Sidney Port is a wealthy business man. The 94-year-0ld graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1933.

But when Mr. Port decided to donate a hefty chunk of his fortune to the University of Illinois, he earmarked the money for the Chicago campus — and not his alma mater.

“I have lived in Chicago for 90 years and in Champaign for four years,” he said in today’s Chicago Tribune. “I have to side with Chicago.”

Chalk up another reason for the financial struggles of the state’s flagship university …

It’s that time again. It’s hot, everyone’s a little grumpy and we need to blow off some steam. So I offer you, fair readers, the second edition of Speak Your Piece.

Are you tired of all the big trucks blocking coveted parking spaces in downtown Champaign? Mad at your neighbor because his roofers keep showing up at 6 a.m.? Annoyed about the resurfacing of Green Street?

I’ll start: I am tired of those stupid magnetic decals on cars. Some of them raise money for charity. Those are OK. But now we have to advertise our sports loyalities (Illini fans won’t like this one too much), our political leanings, and our religious beliefs. Here’s someone else who agrees with me.

This Champaign County Fair starts Friday.

This Champaign County Fair opens August 5.

Any questions?

I was slightly amused to see over the weekend that Cardinal Fitness, an upstart chain of gyms based in Chicago, was moving into an abandoned funeral home at the corner of Galen and Windsor in Champaign. That just so happens to be a hop, skip and a jump from the Fitness Center, one of Champaign’s oldest fitness facilities.

On the surface, CF (also at Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana) is a great deal. They charge $19.95 per month and there is no longterm contract. From my limited exposure, they market themselves as having plenty of machines so there is a limited wait time. The Fitness Center is much more costly, but there is seemingly much more included in the price — a hefty group exercise schedule, access to racquetball courts, towel service, jacuzzi and sauna facilities.

CF is another cog in the fitness industry explosion around here lately. There is the fairly new Refinery, Ladies Workout Express, and the CF locations. I wonder if this is a byproduct of the lengthy remodeling project of IMPE and other campus facilities, but it might be pure coincidence.

I decided to head the new Starbucks on Saturday after my weekly visit to the Market at the Square. As it so happens, it was so hot, and there was no way I was going to leave my precious four-legged best friend in the car. So I brought her with.

Amazingly enough, although I got plenty of funny looks, not one member of the small army perched behind the counter said a word to me about the dog (she is pretty cute). I got my tall skim latte in short order — and left. Evidently they don’t know the rules. According to this 2003 St. Petersburg Times story, “Corporate policy allows service animals inside Starbucks but prohibits other animals.”

Some thoughts on the store: the seating section is awfully small — there seems to be a lot of wasted space in the area between the seating section and the counter. The aforementioned small army (I’m serious. The workers outnumbered the people in the store.) were doing their best to please people. While I was there, they were handing out free samples of pastry. They also gave one guy a free drink coupon because he was waiting for so long — he was there before me and I got my drink before he did.