The BEZ

North Siders: Prepare to sit in traffic

By: Adriana Cardona-Maguigad | Oct. 19, 2012

Oct. 19, 2012

Sitting in traffic can be frustrating, especially after getting out of work or going somewhere fun over the weekend. One of the worst parts of traffic is not knowing what caused it.

We've noticed an increase in traffic around Chicago’s North Side streets. To figure out what was causing the traffic we went for a drive up and down Broadway. Turns out that a combination of CTA Red Line reconstructions, street resurfacing and sewer work are creating some bad traffic conditions.

We also spoke with former WBEZ traffic analyst, Sarah Jindra, who pointed out some of the busiest construction points.

CTA NORTH RED LINE STATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

CTA is in the process of making improvements at seven stations along the north branch of its Red Line.  Work includes viaduct repairs, platform repairs or replacement, station water proofing, lighting improvements and new station house finishes (i.e. floors, doors, windows and lighting).  They have already completed work at 4 stations: Granville, Morse, Thorndale and Argyle. 

Currently, the Berwyn station is temporarily closed for the work.  And at midnight Friday, the Lawrence station shut down for six weeks.

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Immigrant eyes

Rick Kogan | Oct. 19, 2012

Oct. 19, 2012

My grandparents were immigrants, one set from Russia; the other, my mom’s parents, from Ireland.

As you are listening to this, a person is getting out of a car or a bus, a plane or a train and breathing for the first time Chicago's heady air.

This person is from Thailand, Mexico, Bosnia, Jamaica, or perhaps Poland. This person is being met by a pack of tearfully happy relatives.

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The Morning Drive Podcast: Farewell edition

By: Lauren Chooljian | Oct. 19, 2012

Oct. 19, 2012

 

Good morning!

Welcome to this, the last edition of The Morning Drive Podcast. 

 

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The messiah

Rick Kogan | Oct. 18, 2012

Oct. 18, 2012

It is sometimes necessary to go back to high school. The older one grows, the more those four years can act as a comfort. Faded are the angst and insecurities. Brighter every year is the first kiss, the lively prom, the innocence. For those who played sports in high school, the memories are plentiful and vivid but they are also increasingly untrustworthy. The ordinary becomes triumphant: Four points in that game is now 24, the sloppy six-yard run, a zigzagging 62-yard punt return. Perhaps—I’m in no mood to consult with sports psychologists for contradictory opinions—this is some sort of defense mechanism against the belly that is now hanging over the belt, the gray or vanishing hair and the bones that have begun to creak.

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'Afternoon Shift' #172: Promise unfulfilled

By: Katie O'Brien | Oct. 18, 2012

Oct. 18, 2012

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Blue-eyed soul: the co-opting of black music

Tony Sarabia and Richard Steele | Oct. 18, 2012

Oct. 18, 2012

We have Philly DJ Georgie Woods to thank for the term "blue-eyed soul," which he used to describe white artists played on R&B radio stations like WDAS in Philadelphia. Of course, white musicians had been co-opting black music for many years before blue-eyed soul emerged as a distinct genre. Who can forget the Crew Cuts taking on The Chords R&B hit "Sh-Boom"?  Here, you judge which version wins the day:

As R&B began to give way to soul music in the early 1960’s white artists who could nearly match the "soul" of their African American counterparts, began to emerge.

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Thursday's morning news, weather

By: Lauren Chooljian | Oct. 18, 2012

Oct. 18, 2012

 

Good morning!

Welcome to this edition of the Morning Drive Podcast!

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The president as 'Decider in Chief'

By: Al Gini | Oct. 18, 2012

Oct. 18, 2012

Michael Lewis scored a journalistic coup with the recent publication of the article “Obama’s Way” in Vanity Fair. For six months, Lewis was granted almost unlimited access to the President. He “hung around” Mr. Obama in the White House, aboard Air Force One, on the basketball court and even in the president’s favorite private place, the Truman Balcony, which faces the South Lawn of the White House.

As a student of leadership, the most fascinating factoid in the piece for me was President Obama’s reflections on decision-making. To begin with, both Lewis and Obama agree that if there is a central task of the presidency, it is making decisions. “Putting it the way George W. Bush did sounds silly, but he was right: The president is a decider.” From the moment the president wakes up in the morning, and often when an emergency causes him to be awoken in the middle of the night, decisions are thrust upon him. Some of these decisions are pre-scheduled or planned in advance. For example, cabinet meetings to decide on this or that policy or legislative act.

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