News Watch

A few news items of interest from the media...

Tuesday, July 18, 2000

The Chicago Tribune reports the big bass fishing tournament starts tomorrow. The defending champion says he does not even eat bass, "out of respect". Given the high level of E. Coli in Lake Michigan waters, fear may outweigh respect.

Monday, July 17, 2000

The Chicago Tribune describes plans to add 40 miles to the Fox River waterway trail, from south of Aurora to the Illinois River. The plan does not involve paving the river, but would get this section of the river listed in official guidebooks, and help various units of government obtain funds for improved access and signage. This section of the Fox is among the 480 miles identified in a water trail plan completed last fall by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) and other agencies.

Sunday, July 16, 2000

The Chicago Tribune reports on the problem of Lake Michigan beach closings due to high E. Coli counts. The city beaches may close more often simply because they test the water more often. The combination of low lake levels, heavy rainfalls, and high water temperatures seems to be making the problem worse. The source of the E. Coli affecting Chicago has not been identified. On theory is the source may be animals, not people. (We still suspect Milwaukee.) A third article predicts that the North Polar ice cap may vanish during the summer months within fifty years. Plan your expeditions accordingly.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000

The New York Times "Science Times" section is a triple treat. The lead story is devoted to the lifecycle of the tick, and tells of sightings of "ghost moose" afflicted with up to 400,000 ticks, who have rubbed themselves bald (the moose, not the ticks) trying to get some relief. Another article details efforts to control exotic species in the Great Lakes. (One scientist is quoted as saying 90% of the animals in Lake Erie were not found there ten years ago.)

Monday, July 10, 2000

Over the weekend, various sources reported that the Southern Baptist Convention was staging a special missionary effort in Chicago. (Kind of goes along with the bass fishing tourney?) Among the events was a mass baptism in Montrose Harbor.

Meanwhile, several sources reported continued problems with south-side beach closings due to high bacteria counts.

"Take me to the river"? I think you'd still be better off in the lake....

Monday, June 12, 2000

The Chicago Tribune carries a story about environmental groups' protest of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's standards. (OK, it sounded more like a "press conference" than a "protest".) The groups cited fecal coliform counts of over 10,000 in the Chicago area, versus under 1,000 in comparable areas elsewhere.

Meantime, the Chicago Sun-Times carried two water-related stories. The first described a river festival the City is planning, and the second mentioned the bass fishing tournament that's coming to the Chicago area.

The operating principle is that every body of water around here is downstream from someone's sewage treatment plant....

Friday, June 9, 2000

The Chicago Tribune carries a front-page story about three cyclists lost in the Skokie Lagoons who were eventually rescued by combined elements of the Glencoe and Cook County Forest Preserve police. By raft, no less. They could have used the nice Skokie Lagoon map found on this site.

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