| Amtrak lowers estimate for Chicago-Q.C. line
An Amtrak report released this week gives casino operators hope that that a proposed passenger-train route between Chicago and the Quad Cities could carry 111,000 riders a year.
Many of those riders could be Chicago gamblers heading to casinos along the Mississippi River, said Renk, vice president for sales and marketing at the Jumer's Casino in Rock Island.
"We're very much delighted," Renk said Tuesday. "What this would do is put us in a good position to expose Chicagoland to what the Quad Cities have to offer."
There's also good news for longtime advocates of a Chicago-Quad Cities line who feared the project might be too pricey.
The upbeat study estimates costs of upgrading existing track for passenger-train use at between $14 million and $23 million lower than earlier estimates of around $30 million.
NIU Shootings Stir Sense of Helplessness
Bloody students fleeing in terror. Bodies carried out on stretchers. Candlelight vigils and makeshift shrines. Another campus, another deadly attack with a sickening senselessness that now borders on routine. Despite a national push to secure schools after the Virginia Tech shootings, the rampage at Northern Illinois University this week proves a gut-wrenching reality: Unless colleges are willing to turn themselves into armed camps, they're helpless against these kinds of attacks. .
Transient found a home on Main Street
Michele Turner, the owner of the Main Street institution, would charge her a buck or two so as not to offend her. They'd talk a bit, maybe about the old days in New York, maybe about Mary's son or daughter. Mary's great fear was men the ones in her head were always trying to get at her or her cart. But she did fall for a surfer boy once. "You know, she wasn't that crazy over men, but she had a crush on my one son Ryan because he used to call her Maria," Turner said. "She'd get a red face whenever people asked her if she had a crush on him." Anna Wright, a hair stylist who can pair pinstripe shorts with vintage cowboy boots and pull it off, enjoyed Mary's compliments and her interest in fashion. She also liked having an extra set of eyes on the salon.
Baseball Charities set to top $500,000 at Sunday's fundraiser
This Sunday at Scottsdale Stadium, not only will some of the players on the baseball cards your mother might have thrown away decades ago come to life, but a local nonprofit organization is set to mark a milestone. Scottsdale-based Baseball Charities, donor of thousands of dollars to Little League teams throughout Arizona, is set to surpass $500,000 in funding so young players can get in the game by building a baseball field or by simply buying equipment. After Sunday's 16th annual Celebrity Baseball Game, $37,000 that has been raised during the last year will be distributed among 40 Little League teams, including $5,000 for one team, $2,500 apiece for two teams and $1,000 each for five teams, according to Buddy Schultz, the organization's executive director and a Scottsdale resident.
More Obama substance!
And just like in Iowa, Obama beats them all. Edwards doesn't run as strong in New Hampshire as in Iowa - no surprise there - but he still manages a dead heat against McCain and Giuliani and handily beats Romney. So even though Hillary is clinging to a lead at the top of the field, she's once again giving off the "unelectable" vibe in comparison to her two most serious primary challengers. [E.A.] P.S.: In light of these poll results, doesn't Dick Morris' theory--that if Obama now doesn't run he'll have done Hillary a favor by clearing the field--have a couple of holes: 1) Obama hasn't cleared Edwards out; and 2) If Obama decides not to run early next year, and Hillary's still this weak, there will be plenty of time for new challengers to jump in. ... P.P.S.: Why does Massachusetts' governor Mitt Romney do so poorly in 'neighboring New Hampshire'? 12:32 P.M.
When IHSA restricts news media, it restricts public
As expected, the Pantagragh continues to print only one side of the story. Additional information can be found at ihsa.org. Click on “Information You Won't Find in Most Newspapers About the Photo Dispute" in the announcement section. Also, no where will you read that it was the Illinois Press Association that walked out on discussions to resolve this issue. We presented them with a proposal on November 14, 2007, and as of today, we still do not have a response. However, we remain willing to meet at any time. Also for the record, the $1,000 figure quoted in the paper today does not match the figure reported to the Court in Springfield. The figure reported to the Court was in response to a subpoena. " .
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