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11th September 2008

catbirdgirl @ 9:58pm: anyone need an apt in South Evanston? 3 br. $925 I am moving out of state, my neighbors are taking my apartment, so I am working on finding a sublet or someone to do a new lease in theirs.

3 bedroom 1 bath, dishwasher, steps to laundry. garden apartment. Not a "basementy" feel, though. hardwood floors. Very private, few stairs. Pet friendly.

Will need to pass credit check.

Avail Oct 1.

contact me at catbirdgirl@yahoo.com

4th June 2008

catbirdgirl @ 10:28am: looking for haircut I'm looking for a new salon, my old one has gotten too inconvenient, moved from clark and belmont to wicker park. I live in Evanston. I have short, thin, wavy hair, and I want someone who pays attention well and can do a good creative cut and not terribly expensive (they would have to be GREAT for me to go over 50 bux, and prefer around 30).

17th January 2008

espio @ 10:02pm: Come watch the fireworks And now for something completely different ... or maybe not. I came across this event press release while checking up on the status of the transit bill:

The Northwestern University and Evanston communities are invited to attend the LEGISLATIVE LEADERS FORUM: January 23, 2008, 7:00 pm, in Ryan Auditorium, in Northwestern University’s Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston.

Participating will be:

EMIL JONES, President of the Illinois Senate;
FRANK WATSON, Senate Republican Leader;
MICHAEL J. MADIGAN, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives;
TOM CROSS, House Republican Leader.

HENRY S. BIENEN, Northwestern University President, will moderate.

The four legislative leaders of the State of Illinois will meet to discuss top issues of today and the importance of civic participation, followed by written questions from the audience.

Anyone else think we could be in for a good show there?

Current Mood: curious

espio @ 6:18pm: Miracles can happen: Transit funding bill passed With one working day to spare before the drastic service cuts outlined earlier were to take effect, the Illinois government has finally gotten their shit together and passed a comprehensive transit funding bill.

Evanston will keep all it's bus routes and bus and train services will continue at their current levels and prices -- with the exception of Metra, whose 10% fare increase will go into effect on February 1st.

Best news of all, with this transit funding bill, you should no longer be seeing posts from me crying wolf about the transit situation. At least for a few years :P

Current Mood: happy

14th January 2008

espio @ 4:02pm: Transit Doomsday and Evanston: Jan 20 looms

I know I'm starting to sound like the boy who cried wolf here. But I'm OK with that: I'd rather these horrific transit doomsdays be avoided and I look like a fool then for them to actually happen. Maybe me posting here will be the good luck charm we need to avoid the cuts happening on 1/20. And we are in dire need of good luck at this point, with the Gov vetoing the funding bill (and trying to distract and avoid blame but adding on the feel-good 'Hey lets give free rides to seniors!' thing). Feel good or not, it has likely doomed the transit bill. Buckle up Evanstonians, because your transit is going away:

The CTA

Service Cuts

ALL EVANSTON CTA BUS ROUTES WILL BE ELIMINATED. I'm not exaggerating. The only CTA bus that will come near Evanston will be the 22 Clark that leaves from the Howard terminal. All these other routes will be GONE:

• 93 California/Dodge
• 97 Skokie
• 147 Outer Drive Express
• 200 Main Shuttle
• 201 Central/Ridge
• 205 Chicago/Golf
• 206 Evanston Circulator

The only buses left in Evanston will be what remains of Pace service (more of that later) and the Northwestern shuttle busses. Anyone know if they let non-students on those things?

In (comparatively) good news, the Purple Line will still be running. Although, last I heard, it could end up being the Evanston Sometimes Express: depending on the load on the Red Line, the Purple Line could end up making all stops to/from Belmont like it was really a Red line.

Fare Increases

Brace yourself...

For the full lists of bus route eliminations (81 total) and the full new fare structure, go here.

Pace

Note: All information in this section is based on previous postings, as Pace appears to have pulled the notices from their website: they took them down when the legislature passed the funding bill and posted a 'yay we have funding, whoohoo!' message on the front page. Now, obviously, the front page is back to normal, but the dire warnings and service cut announcements are conspicuously absent. Perhaps the web admins are still crying into their beer.

Prior, Pace had said that all weekend service would be eliminated, but eventually some lines go a reprieve. Below is the last proposed status of Evanston Pace lines, as recorded in the Google cache of the site, as of Jan 11.

• 208 Golf Road: All service after 7pm will be eliminated, but the line will continue to run all seven days.
• 213 Green Bay Road: All Saturday service eliminated; Weekday service after 7pm eliminated.
• 215 Crawford/Howard: All service after 7pm will be eliminated, but the line will continue to run all seven days.
• 250 Dempster: All Sunday service eliminated; Weekday & Saturday service after 7pm eliminated.

Fares for all these lines will increase to $2 initial. For a full listing of affected routes, view the Google cache above, or wait until Pace updates the website again. Metra commuters take note: Pace is still planning on eliminating all Metra feeder and shuttle routes.

Metra

Metra is increasing its fares, legislative bailout or not. Effective Feb 1 2008, all Metra fares will increase by 10%. For the new Metra fare matrix, go here.

Ugh... next week is not looking to be a pleasant one. I'm really hoping I am the boy who cried wolf for this...

Current Mood: worried

24th November 2007

lotushands @ 8:32pm: She Drums - Friday December 14 Friday December 14
She Drums the Women's Community Rhythm-Ritual
Reveling in the festival of lights & the dark nights of the Winter Solstice We explore the Many Faces of MARY
8PM -10PM BRING YOUR DRUMS & SHAKERS
RATTLES & MUSIC MAKERS TO
Lake Street Church rooted, connected, transformed607 LAKE / CHICAGO AVE. EVANSTON IL. Josephine's Parlor Room $10

23rd November 2007

yad @ 12:05pm: romantic evening in evanston Would anyone suggest a nice romantic restaurant/bar in evanston for a late night dinner/drinks? I can only think of pete miller's, are there any others, maybe not as big? I'd appreciate your thought! Thanks:)

29th October 2007

espio @ 10:17am: CTA and Pace service cuts start Sunday Barring a legislative miracle, both CTA and Pace will implement the first phase of the 'Doomsday' budgets on Sunday, November 4th.

CTA

The following Evanston routes will be eliminated. Listed is the alternatives as provided on the CTA site.

• 93 California/Dodge
  • In Evanston, service is available on the #206 Evanston Circulator during rush hour periods. Direct service on the northern part of California in Chicago will not be provided. Alternative service is available on Western via the #49B North Western.
• 200 Main Shuttle
  • The #97 Skokie provides local service from Howard Station to Oakton/Dodge. Service operates on Oakton ½ mile south of Main Street.
• 205 Chicago/Golf
  • Service on the Purple Line operates parallel to the #205 Chicago/Golf along Chicago Avenue in Evanston. Customers traveling west of downtown Evanston should use the #201 Central/Ridge or Pace Route 208. (Pace routes subject to change.)

For the full list of the 39 eliminated bus routes and the recommened alternates, go here.

In addition, the fare schedule will change, with the addition of a higher 'Peak Period' fare. Off-Peak fares will also see an increase. Peak period is defined as being 6:30-9:30a and 4:00-7:00p weekdays.

New CTA Fares

For the full fare schedule, including reduced fares and Day Passes, go here.

Further service cuts and fare increases will happen on Jan 7 2008 if the funding issue goes unresolved.

Pace

No Evanston-specific routes are being elimianted in Pace's first round. To see the list of the 20 normal and 26 Metra feeder routes being eliminated on Nov 4, go here.

Fares for Pace 'local' and 'feeder' routes will go up on Nov 4, but the 'normal' routes (all Evanston routes are 'normal' routes) will not go up. However, Pace will no longer accept

any CTA Passes EXCEPT the CTA/Pace 30-Day Pass, the Chicago Card,and the Chicago Card Plus. See the full fare details here.

Further service cuts and fare increases will happen in December and January.

Current Mood: anxious

24th October 2007

catbirdgirl @ 6:39pm: anyone know a petsitter/vet that does petsitting in Evanston, IL?

We are traveling Friday and coming back Sunday and the cat needs meds twice a day.

So any ideas where we can board the cat and preferrably pick him up Sunday? We can't get him Monday, toooo busy.

12th October 2007

philady @ 12:18am: Halloween Does anyone know of anything fun or interesting going on in or around Evanston for Halloween? It's my favorite holiday, but I haven't really been here long enough to have the scoop on any Halloween happenings.

2nd October 2007

prema @ 3:48pm: Chiropractors Can anyone recommend a good chiropractor in the Evanston area? Good pretty much means to me that he/she fixed something and didn't break anything new :)

12th September 2007

espio @ 6:45pm: CTA service cuts avoided... until Nov 4 Today, the governor offered a bail out to the CTA to avoid the service cuts and fare increases that were to take effect on Sunday.

However, the solution is not a permanent one, and it is only for the CTA as far as I can see. For more details, insight, and discussion on this check out the chicago_el group.

For those that just care how this will affect their daily life in and around Evanston:

• The service cuts and fares outlined in my earlier post WILL NOT occur this Sunday

• The fare for some PACE buses (local and Metra feeders) will increase by 25 cents on Sunday, as well as increases in ADA fares.

Should the legislature continue in their failure to pass a working and reasonable transit budget:

• On Sept 29, Pace will eliminate 23 routes detailed here. Of note to Evanston area riders are the routes: 210 Lincoln Ave, 422 Linden CTA – Glenview – Northbrook Court, and 423 Linden – CTA – The Glen – Harlem CTA
• In October, Pace will stop honoring CTA passes
• The CTA service cuts and fare increases will take effect November 4th
• On Dec 3, Pace will eliminate all Metra feeders
• In January, all Pace fares will increase to $2, and all weekend service will be eliminated.
• Metra will also enact fare increases and service cuts, but they have not disclosed any specific details yet, however they have indicated that night and weekend service would be the first things targetted.
• In the spring, the CTA will face an even deeper crisis, as the funds that it is receiving today are funds meant for Spring 2008.

Again, if these changes will have an impact on your life - either through eliminated service, more crowded trains, or more cars appearing on the roads - then you should contact your representatives, even if you have before. For Evanston, they are Julie Hamos in the House (chair of the transit committee - she was talking to commuters at the Metra stations a few weeks ago) and Jeffrey M. Schoenberg in the Senate. It would likely be helpful to contact the governor too as he continues to threaten to veto the transit bills that are out there.

11th September 2007

lights_out @ 3:19pm: New to Evanston We just moved to Evanston and haven't really had time to explore it at all. But we did manage to buy a new TV. As we are unpacking and storing, we want to watch some movies. Can anyone recommend an good independent movie rental place? Blockbuster is fine for what it is, but we want to find small foreign films (among everything else) that they wouldn't have...

5th September 2007

espio @ 9:35am: CTA Changes to take effect September 16 As you may have read, the House has failed to pass the transit funding bill. Barring a legislative miracle at this point, the following changes will take effect. Scanned image behind the cut to prevent horizontal borkage.

( Fare increases, route cutsCollapse )

Of note to Evanston riders:
- Elimination of bus routes: 93 California/Dodge, 200 Main Shuttle, and 205 Chicago/Golf
- Purple Line Express will start stopping at Sheridan
- Purple Line Express runs may turn into Purple Line Not-So-Express runs, making all Red Line stops to Belmont if needed to allieviate Red Line crowding.

If the changes make you cringe, then you need to help that miracle to happen. The above changes were accompanied by an open letter:

( Dear CTA Customers...Collapse )

The link that it mentions in the letter goes to the website that I have mentioned in this group a few times now: SaveChicagolandTransit.com

25th July 2007

nomad_thoughts @ 10:30pm: Dear Evanston,

I'm moving up to your pretty lil town in September (from thousands of miles away!) - I only know Evanston through recommendations so far, but I'm trying to get an apartment already to have that out of the way. I'm about to sign a lease for a place that is two blocks west of the MAIN CTA stop. I heard from someone that "south of Main" wasn't a nice area to live, but how about Main Street itself, close to the stations?

I'm a female in my mid-twenties. Would I be safe walking around there by myself after dark? How does it compare to the area further south in Evanston, or Rogers Park?

Also, is there a cheap grocery store around there?

8th July 2007

wornblankie @ 6:03pm: the really scary thing is not that 2640 green bay is literally right around the corner from me, but that i walked right past that house the morning before the body was found and i didn't even notice the truck. jesus.

from http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/459262,cst-nws-evanston07.article :

Evanston woman found dead in car in her driveway

July 7, 2007

Evanston police said Friday they were investigating the death of a woman whose body was found decomposing in her car in her driveway in the northern suburb.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the woman late Friday as Mary Doyle, 53, of 2640 Green Bay Rd.

Police said they responded to a report of a vehicle in the woman’s driveway with the driver’s side door open, and an odor emanating from it.

When officers arrived, they found the body of a middle-aged white woman in the driver’s seat of a Toyota Tacoma truck.

“It appeared that the body may have been in the vehicle for an undetermined amount of time,” said Evanston Police Cmdr. James Elliot.

Police said there appeared to be no indication of foul play. A cause of death was pending an autopsy today.

Police said they also found within the home, five dogs and a cat that appeared to not have had food or water “for a few days,” Elliot said.

Doyle apparently ran a doggie day care at that address called the Grateful Dog, according to several online directories and her answering machine.

The animals were taken to the Evanston Animal Shelter for medical treatment.

Sun-Times Staff Reports

3rd July 2007

rhiannontherose @ 2:31pm: For those in the Chicago area... This Friday, July 6th, from 6pm-9pm, Stellaria Natural Health is having an all-women Expo, to promote their brand-new group for Women in Transition. It's a social/networking/shopping event, complete with wine (from Provenance Food & Wine), tea (by Stellaria), and snacks (by the NoFriction Cafe).

Somewhere around ten artists and craftswomen will be represented, all of them women with stories and struggles to tell, and original and handmare wares to offer. One of them will be...ME! I won't have much merchandise on hand, but I will have a portfolio of my Silver Leaves Collection and possibly a few other things, a book of designs, a sketchbook to create new designs on the spot, a few examples of what I can make, and a more-than-willingness to discuss doing custom work for you or a loved one.

The location is [url=http://www.stellarianaturalhealth.com]Stellaria Natural Health[/url], 2755 W Logan Blvd, Chicago. This is an indoor venue, very intimate, with a lot of unzoned, meter-less parking in front and nearby.

Please, consider stopping by to support Stephanie Draus (the lovely human being who runs the place), support me (your personal starving artist), and support women struggling through transition!

29th June 2007

ignignokt @ 10:35pm: 24-hour pools? Anyone know of any gyms in the area that let you have access to the pool 24 hours a day? Or at least late at night?

22nd June 2007

espio @ 9:48am: Evanston and the Pace doomsday

Pace has made the official announcements of what will happen should the state fail to adjust the budget for the transit agency. While not as drastic as the CTA doomsday, it still has the possibilty of being quite unpleasant.

These changes are currently proposed, and will be the subject of public hearings in July.

Should nothing change by then, here's what will happen:

Effective September 1, 2007 : the fare increases

• All Pace fares will increase to $2.00
• Pace will no longer honor any CTA passes other then the Pace/CTA 30-day pass. This includes the U-pass, but unclear if it includes the Chicago Card.
• The fares for ADA, Taxi Access, Vanpools, and Dial-A-Ride will increase
• ADA service will be reduced to the minimum amount allowed by federal lawEffective October 1, 2007 : the service cuts
• 23 fixed bus routes will be eliminated
• All Metra feeder/shuttle routes will be eliminated
• ALL WEEKEND SERVICE WILL BE ELIMINATED. No Pace buses will run on Saturday, Sunday or on holidays - no exceptions.
• All Pace 'special events' service will be eliminated.
  Service cuts specific to Evanston:
  Bus routes 208, 213, 215, and 250 would no longer run on weekends and holidays.
  Bus route "208su" is listed under the "Fixed Routes Eliminated" section, but based on how other routes are listed in the section, I think that means Sunday service would be eliminated - so kinda redundant.
  More information can be found on Pace's website.

10th June 2007

philady @ 11:20pm: New to Evanston I recently moved to Evanston from the Twin Cities. I am looking for recommendations for a few services.

1. I need a doctor. Where I lived before, I went to a medical center that had several doctors, and when you needed an appointment, you could see whichever doctor was available. They also had an Urgent Care in the same building. I'd love to find another place like that, if one exists in Evanston. If not, I'm open to any kind of internist or family medicine doctor that has evening and weekend hours.

2. I need a salon/spa: someplace to get my hair cut, and someplace to get my brows waxed. It's be great if they were the same place, but I'm OK with going to different places to get cuts and waxes if need be. I'm mostly concerned with the quality of the work they do. Someplace in downtown Evanston would probably be best, but I'm open to whatever.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

30th May 2007

lotushands @ 9:44am: Drum circle, dance, and fire at the lake- Evanston May 30

Wednesday May 30 Come Drum the Sun down & the Moon up from the Lake as WE Celebrate the Blue /Buddha on the EVE of the Full Flower Moon with the We drum TRIBE =YOU 7:30pm - 9:30pm* a family friendly happening @ the Stone Fire-Pit on the Landfill @ Northwestern University Love Offering: $5 more or less +Bring your Scout-Smarts & All fire-building supplies if you want a Fire+ *~~~IF IT'S RAINING @ 6PM STAY HOME & PLAY~~~Wednesday May 30

Come Drum

the Sun down & the Moon up

from the Lake

as WE Celebrate the Blue /Buddha

on the EVE of the Full Flower Moon

with the We drum TRIBE =YOU

7:30pm - 9:30pm*

a family friendly happening

@ the Stone Fire-Pit

on the Landfill @ Northwestern University

Love Offering: $5 more or less

+Bring your Scout-Smarts

& All fire-building supplies

if you want a Fire+

*~~~IF IT'S RAINING @ 6PM

STAY HOME & PLAY~~~

Current Mood: content

24th May 2007

espio @ 12:40pm: The CTA "Doomsday" and Evanston, take two

Sigh. Was hoping I wouldn't have to make a repeat of my post from two years ago, but... the CTA Doomsday is back, although they aren't being as apocolyptic about it this year as they were in 2005... yet.

These changes have not been approved yet, are are only the recommendation of the CTA's new President, Ron Huberman. There are still opportunties for public comments before the Doomsday plan is enacted. All information below is based on the press release found here.

If approved, they want to enact these changes in July 2007.

Fares

Think the existing fare structure is complex? Think existing fares are expensive? You haven't seen anything yet. Directly from the press release:

• Rail fares would be priced higher than bus fares.
• Higher fares would be charged during rush periods. 2.75forbus.2.75 for bus. 2.75forbus.3.25 for rail.
• In off-peak hours, cash fares would rise to 2.25forbusand2.25 for bus and 2.25forbusand2.50 for rail.
• Transfers would double from 25 cents to 50 cents.
• Prices for unlimited ride passes would increase an average of 63%
  Yes, you read that right, $3.25 for a rail ride. There is no mention of Chicago Card users getting a fare discount like the currently do. Also, keep this in mind: even though the service cuts of 2005's doomsday were avoided, most of the proposed fare changes went into effect anyways. There may be no avoiding these increases.
  Service
  The current information regarding Doomsday 2007 does not yet give a route-by-route listing of changes like the 2005 one did. The press release simply states:
  Under the plan recommended by Huberman, only routes that currently operate on Sundays would be retained.
• Service would be suspended on 63 bus routes, but the remaining 91 routes would continue to operate at current levels.
• Rail service would be suspended on the Purple Express rush hour service and on the Yellow Line. All other rail routes, including the Purple Line, would operate at current service levels.
  Copying the format used in my 2005 message, heres what that summary means for Evanston routes:
  Rail
• Purple Line Express - Service Eliminated. The Purple Line will always end at Howard.
• Purple Line - Service to Howard only. No change to service hours or frequency between Howard and Linden.
• Red Line - No change in service hours or frequency
• Yellow Line - Service Eliminated.

Bus

• #93 (California/Dodge) - Service Eliminated
• #97 (Skokie) - No change in service
• #200 (Main Shuttle) - Service Eliminated
• #201 (Central/Ridge) -No change in service
• #205 (Chicago/Golf) - Service Eliminated
• #206 (Evanston Circulator) - Service Eliminated

Route numbers 208, 212, 213, 215, and 250 are Pace routes and will not be affected by the CTA's changes, other then becoming more crowded.
Want to let the CTA know what you think about these cuts? Then speak up during the public comment period.
Of course, you can still contact your state representives about the state of mass transit via the http://www.savechicagolandtransit.com/ website. Keep in mind, also, that - unlike in 2005 - both Pace and Metra are also facing budget shortfalls. Should they announce doomsdays of thier own that affect Evanston, I'll post them here.

Current Mood: anxious

7th May 2007

espio @ 7:28pm: City Alert: Police non-emergency phones are down

CITY OF EVANSTON E-Notice

| | | "Stuckert, Donna" DStuckert@cityofevanston.org | 7:00 pm | | - | ------------------------------------------------ | ------- |

The police non-emergency phone numbers are down. I will let you know when everything is back online. If you have an emergency, of course, dial 9-1-1.

EDIT 10p: The phones are back on

1st May 2007

tezliana @ 8:40pm: Pet lovers - new pet supply shop on Davis. Has anyone else stopped in to Fit+Frisky at 1016 Davis? What do you think? I must say I'm impressed. They carry some of the best dog and cat foods and supplies I know of, and are generally helpful and knowledgeable. And unlike Thee Fish Bowl, they don't sell animals of any kind. In fact, according to The Daily Northwestern, one of the owners volunteers at local animal shelters. I really hope Fit+Frisky does well - Evanston could use more small businesses of this caliber.

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