AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneMar 09, 2021 at 12:44 pmChelsea Curry is a second-generation bird-watcher, so she knew she was seeing something special in February 2020, when a handsome lemon-yellow songbird made his first appearance at her bird feeders.“That’s a cardinal,” said her husband, Richard.Advertisement“No it’s not. There’s no such thing as a yellow cardinal,” Chelsea replied. And yet, there was no denying the bird’s jaunty head feathers and his distinctive jet-black markings.“I’m tellin’ you,” Richard said. “That’s a cardinal.”AdvertisementAs it turns out, a one-in-a-million...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneMar 09, 2021 at 12:44 pmChelsea Curry is a second-generation bird-watcher, so she knew she was seeing something special in February 2020, when a handsome lemon-yellow songbird made his first appearance at her bird feeders.“That’s a cardinal,” said her husband, Richard.Advertisement“No it’s not. There’s no such thing as a yellow cardinal,” Chelsea replied. And yet, there was no denying the bird’s jaunty head feathers and his distinctive jet-black markings.“I’m tellin’ you,” Richard said. “That’s a cardinal.”AdvertisementAs it turns out, a one-in-a-million...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 23, 2020 at 3:13 pmThe Boystown banners are coming down.Business leaders in Chicago’s largest LGBTQ neighborhood announced Wednesday that they would stop marketing the area as Boystown, following complaints that the 30-year-old name excludes women and gender nonbinary people.AdvertisementBoystown will be called Northalsted and promoted as “Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the Northalsted Business Alliance, the local chamber of commerce.The announcement follows an online survey by the Northalsted Business...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 23, 2020 at 3:13 pmThe Boystown banners are coming down.Business leaders in Chicago’s largest LGBTQ neighborhood announced Wednesday that they would stop marketing the area as Boystown, following complaints that the 30-year-old name excludes women and gender nonbinary people.AdvertisementBoystown will be called Northalsted and promoted as “Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the Northalsted Business Alliance, the local chamber of commerce.The announcement follows an online survey by the Northalsted Business...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 16, 2020 at 9:40 amAs a teenager in the 1990s, Melissa Blake was interested in fashion.Unfortunately, fashion wasn’t much interested in her.AdvertisementBlake, who has a genetic bone and muscle disorder and stands a little under 4 feet tall, couldn’t find jeans or dresses in her size. Paging through Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines, she didn’t see a single person who looked like her.“That would have been a game-changer for me,” said Blake, a freelance writer and disability activist who lives in DeKalb.Advertisement“When you’re a teenager — disabled or...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 16, 2020 at 9:40 amAs a teenager in the 1990s, Melissa Blake was interested in fashion.Unfortunately, fashion wasn’t much interested in her.AdvertisementBlake, who has a genetic bone and muscle disorder and stands a little under 4 feet tall, couldn’t find jeans or dresses in her size. Paging through Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines, she didn’t see a single person who looked like her.“That would have been a game-changer for me,” said Blake, a freelance writer and disability activist who lives in DeKalb.Advertisement“When you’re a teenager — disabled or...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneAug 14, 2020 at 12:06 pmLloyd Peters used to awaken in the cooling shade of a 100-year-old oak tree.But now his mornings begin in a blaze of unfiltered sunlight, and his apartment — on the top floor of a Roger’s Park three-flat — is so hot he turns on the air-conditioning, even when outdoor temperatures are in the 70s.AdvertisementThe tree that cooled Peters’ building is gone now, felled by Monday’s storm, along with so many of the stately oaks and maples that sheltered his historic neighborhood.“Walking through this neighborhood on a sunny day, there’s a...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneAug 14, 2020 at 12:06 pmLloyd Peters used to awaken in the cooling shade of a 100-year-old oak tree.But now his mornings begin in a blaze of unfiltered sunlight, and his apartment — on the top floor of a Roger’s Park three-flat — is so hot he turns on the air-conditioning, even when outdoor temperatures are in the 70s.AdvertisementThe tree that cooled Peters’ building is gone now, felled by Monday’s storm, along with so many of the stately oaks and maples that sheltered his historic neighborhood.“Walking through this neighborhood on a sunny day, there’s a...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJul 14, 2020 at 1:55 pmSammie Marks recalls the time when she was asked whether Jews really have horns on their heads. This was about 10 years ago, she said, in relatively liberal Iowa City.“It was one of those things (when) you just stop in your tracks and think, ‘How in the world do I respond to this in a productive way?‘” she said.AdvertisementSuch memories surfaced Sunday, when Twitter users took on the anti-Semitic hashtag #JewishPrivilege, a variation on the old smear that Jews are somehow controlling money and politics, and that everyone else is...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJul 14, 2020 at 1:55 pmSammie Marks recalls the time when she was asked whether Jews really have horns on their heads. This was about 10 years ago, she said, in relatively liberal Iowa City.“It was one of those things (when) you just stop in your tracks and think, ‘How in the world do I respond to this in a productive way?‘” she said.AdvertisementSuch memories surfaced Sunday, when Twitter users took on the anti-Semitic hashtag #JewishPrivilege, a variation on the old smear that Jews are somehow controlling money and politics, and that everyone else is...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJul 10, 2020 at 7:59 amWill Boystown become Queerville, Legacy Street, New Town or Spectrumville?Under pressure from , particularly in the context of local incidents of sexism, racism and transphobia, business leaders in Chicago’s most prominent LGBTQ neighborhood have begun the process of considering a name change.AdvertisementThe influential Northalsted Business Alliance board said in a written statement that it had formed a committee to begin outreach to businesses and community members, with the goal of gaining “important perspective” on a possible name...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJul 10, 2020 at 7:59 amWill Boystown become Queerville, Legacy Street, New Town or Spectrumville?Under pressure from , particularly in the context of local incidents of sexism, racism and transphobia, business leaders in Chicago’s most prominent LGBTQ neighborhood have begun the process of considering a name change.AdvertisementThe influential Northalsted Business Alliance board said in a written statement that it had formed a committee to begin outreach to businesses and community members, with the goal of gaining “important perspective” on a possible name...WW…