Illinois considers medicinal marijuana during an influx of fake medicinal marijuana prescriptions
Everybody must get (legally) stoned
Since sifting through dull newspapers, hyperbolic blogs, and overflowing RSS feeds for meaningful news can be an arduous process, News Net catches and compiles both the amusing and the significant reports that were overlooked throughout the week. Here are some things to think about as the workweek winds down.
• Hip online T-shirt retailer Threadless plans to move its headquarters from its current Ravenswood location to 1260 W. Madison in the West Loop, according to the Chicago Journal. So long as it keeps pumping out cartoonish shirts showcasing our enthusiasm for anthropomorphic fast-food items and precious insect puns, the move’s fine with us.
• The Illinois House is close to voting on a bill that would legalize medical marijuana, says Chicago Public Radio. State Rep. Lou Lang says he has 56 out of 60 needed votes, and if he finds more, Illinois could join about a dozen other states where patients can take a doctor’s prescription, stroll into a medicinal marijuana store, and pick up an ounce of “Grand Daddy Purple,” “Haze,” and other strains of weed that sound like they’ve been named after forgotten Grateful Dead tunes.
• A strange, distressing theme this week for the El involved people falling onto the tracks. A man was fatally struck by a Blue Line train at the Belmont station in an apparent suicide on Monday morning, then two people suffered injuries after falling on to the tracks at separate Green Line stations, one at the Conservatory station on Monday night, and one at Pulaski late Wednesday. Along similar fucked-up lines, according to the Tribune, Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano threw himself in front of a train this morning. Pagano was on paid administrative leave while his finances were under investigation, and the Metra Board was scheduled to rule on his job status at 9 a.m. So, be a little less cranky this weekend about the Brown Line not offering Loop service due to maintenance.
•Don’t be surprised if you bump into Ron Howard this summer. The Academy Award-winning director is in town this week, along with Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, to begin production of his newest comedy, Cheaters, according to On Locations Vacations. (He was spotted in Second City on Tuesday using the bathrooms, and also holding a rehearsal in the training center.) The film will begin shooting in three weeks and run through August, so treat Mr. Howard and the other Hollywood visitors with civility—don’t badger the ball-cap enthusiast with your theories on Angels & Demons plot holes and asking if that Arrested Development movie is ever going to be made.
•After the Bulls were eliminated in five games by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls fired Head Coach Vinny Del Negro, no surprise after a locker-room rumpus between Del Negro and Bulls VP John Paxson signaled a mildly frosty relationship. The baseless speculation on the next coach began instantaneously, with current Kentucky coach John Calipari reportedly both “not interested” but also “intrigued” by the job. One Chicago sports legend definitely not in the running: former Bulls coach Phil Jackson, meaning the chances of an emotional comeback for 47-year-old Michael Jordan are just as slim.
• This week in restaurant comings and goings: Albany Park says goodbye to the non-profit Blue Sky Inn Bakery And Cafe, which employs Chicago’s homeless youth. Its new home is in North Center at 3720 N. Lincoln Ave. Chinatown's Lao Sze Chuan reopens after the March 29 fire that damaged the restaurant and destroyed the Cakegirls building.
• Sometimes the only way to fall asleep is on top of a comfy representation of former Chicago mayors. Pick up a limited-edition Harold Washington, Jane Byrne, or Eugene Sawyer pillow at Chicago-based Oyez Perez. Another worthy buy: Basketball photographs doctored to portray how famous sports moments felt, like a 2-foot-tall Spud Webb defying several physical laws to slam dunk on a regulation hoop. (via Thrillist)
