little blog on the prairie

Just look outside. All the ghosts, goblins, witches and Britney Spears impersonators might be staying in tonight.

The Champaign OTB, the off-track betting facility that serves Champaign-Urbana’s horseracing aficionados and random gamblers, recently moved out of its Springfield Ave. location and crossed borders into Urbana. In a sweet deal with the Brickhouse (formerly TK Wendl’s), the OTB is now filling the tax coffers of the smaller of the twin cities.

I find it fascinating that there is seemingly little public reaction to the presence of the OTB in Urbana. That contrasts mightily to an ongoing fight in the Chicago northern suburb of Niles, where an OTB hopes to take up residence in an abandoned Circuit City store. Among its many hurdles has been opposition from local residents, who believe the OTB would attract crime and told the Chicago Tribune that it would “reverse decades of change in the suburb, which in the 1950s and early 1960s was known as an illegal gambling haven.” J.C. Penney, which is in the same mall, has also threatened legal action because it feels the operation is not consistent with its family-friendly image.

Wonder if the about-to-open Urbana Wal-Mart, a Brickhouse neighbor, feels the same way.

• There is a house on Stoughton Street in Urbana that is being painted blue with orange trim (or is it orange with blue trim?). Whatever it is, it is U-G-L-Y.

• Nice to see Memorial Stadium get a little love in the New York Times last week (registration required). Sorry to see the home team stink up the joint the next day.

• Official trick or treating hours in Champaign and Urbana will be 6-8 p.m. Monday. This is by decree of C-U and the Champaign County Board. If Oct. 31 falls on a weekday, those are the hours; if it falls on a weekend day, then hours are 5-7 p.m. Evidently, Mahomet doesn’t care what the County Board says, because its trick-or-treat hours are 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. I like the independent spirit. Come to my house and you’ll get Kit Kat or Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.

• Bloomington’s Cold Stone Creamery opens on Saturday. Get in line, folks.

Ask anyone in this town to name their baseball loyalties, and the answer is predictable.

Cubs, they say.

Cardinals, they say.

But all of a sudden, it is raining White Sox fans around Champaign-Urbana. Perhaps they have lived in shame all this time. Or perhaps they were just a silent minority. But the World Series hype has given them the courage to self-identify. Just today I heard a complaint from a woman I know about the News-Gazette’s slanted coverage toward the Cardinals.

Now that the Cards have been eliminated, the White Sox fans can bask in their glory. I’m sure the News-Gazette will be all Jerry Reinsdorf and Ozzie Guillen, all the time.

I’ll leave you with this piece of trivia: which major league team is the closest geographically to C-U? Not the Cubs or the Cards. You guessed it, those darned White Sox.

Someone named Gregory was very popular once upon a time in Champaign-Urbana. This Gregory fellow has not one, but two streets named after him. Both of them are on campus, did you know?

So yesterday, Mr. lbotp heads off to try the new Blues barbeque joint. This is located on Gregory Avenue in Urbana. Well, Mr. lbotp, who doesn’t go on campus if he can help it, thinks this means Gregory Drive (an east-west thoroughfare). Silly Rabbit! Ultimately, with the help of google maps and cell phone detective work, we found the place.

Seriously, I wonder how much business this place has lost because no one can find it. I never really got an answer from him if the chase was worth it … his review (I would never eat that stuff) is pending.

It’s that time again.

Time for the mid-October edition of Speak Your Piece. It’s been a while since we dragged this lbotp favorite feature out of the dusty closet. Go ahead and rant and rave about whatever is getting your goat on this beautiful autumn day. What’s got you honked off today?

(See previous editions of Speak Your Piece here and here.)

P.S. Here’s wishing Mr. lbotp a very happy birthday (Saturday) and many, many more!

• If you’re like me, you have a drawer full of old cellphones and charges sitting around your house. Honor Domestic Violence Awareness month and give them to a local Verizon Wireless store. Verizon collects and donates phones to domestic violence victims.
• The Champaign City Council has finally realized that when when you allow underage people into bars, they actually drink. Amazing. What will they think of next, a smoking ban?
• I noticed today that Champaign’s Trout 45, which couldn’t make up its mind what it wanted to sell, is going out of business. This place lacked a true identity, and to boot their fish wasn’t that good nor did they have much of a selection. I feel bad that a local business has gone belly up, but I’m not surprised in the least.
• Do you have a dirty, stinky doggie or kitty? Let some UI vet students wash your pet this weekend, for a cause. Proceeds go to the Champaign County Humane Society.
• Why the heck are flu shots given out at local churches and grocery stores? Does anyone else think this is bizarre?
• An apology to lbotp readers for my lackidaisical posting recently. Sometimes the blog juices aren’t flowing.

OK, so I’m not happy it’s Monday. But here are some things I’m happy about:

• Papa Del’s is going smoke-free on October 10.
• Hot Diggity! is closing (which sucks), but will be open for the holiday season. Thank goodness. Where else would I go to buy presents for my 13- and 10-year-old nephews?
• We may be 10 years behind everyone else, but at least someone in Champaign thought this might be a good place to start a microbrewery. (File under Believe-it-when-I-see it).
• Crop circles are cool. (And I’m not even an Illinois fan.)
• Apples from Curtis Orchard and honey from the Market on the Square.

I had no idea what an effort was being made right here in Central Illinois to actively rescue animal victims of Hurricane Katrina until I ran across this editorial in the Pantagraph today.

Here’s a rundown:

• 39 dogs and 22 cats flown in to the Central Illinois Regional Airport in two cargo planes Tuesday from the Saint Tammany Parish Animal control and Rescue in New Orleans.
• The animals will reside at the Humane Society in Bloomington. They will be available for adoption in 30 days (most were owner-relinquished).
• The shelter needs volunteers desperately.

There are still many homeless pets that need homes in our own community. Don’t forget about them!