Chicago Sun-Times

Best hats at the Kentucky Derby

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:34:15 -0500

The hats at the Kentucky Derby are almost as famous as the horses. We tip our hat to these mad hatters at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky before the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, May 5, 2012. …

Shaka Senghor shares how he transformed his life while in prison

Wed, 01 May 2013 17:38:01 -0500

I was invited to speak at TEDxMidwest this weekend because of my work in the community as a mentor and anti-gun violence advocate. During my talk, I will share my journey from an emotionally hardened and violent “thug” into a caring and compassionate mentor who found hope despite the hopelessness that grows like weeds in prison. I was a victim of gun violence at the age of 17, which led me to become very paranoid and live in constant fear. I started carrying a gun wherever I went, and 14 months later, I found myself in a similar conflict — …

People live in many different closets

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:50:02 -0500

We think we live in such an open society, but there are different closets for different people.

Growing crowd of celebrity wines takes spotlight

Thu, 02 May 2013 02:20:05 -0500

Fancy having Brangelina, Drew Barrymore and Dan Aykroyd over for dinner? No problem, they’ll even bring the wine. OK, maybe the stars themselves won’t show up, but their wines will appear with just a wave of a credit card. You might start with an aperitif of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s new Miraval rose, move on to a light pasta dish served with Barrymore Wine’s pinot grigio, then perhaps finish up with a glass of Aykroyd’s cabernet franc ice wine for dessert. It’s hard to put a number on celebrity wines, a category that includes singers, sports stars, chefs and …

Kadner: A mission to adopt children in need

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:49:22 -0500

Traci and Scott Heim are just your typical parents of 10 adopted children from three foreign countries. Sveta, from Russia, who is now 15, was the first in 1998. “We were living the American dream,” Traci recalled. “We had a big house in the Brookside Glen subdivision of Tinley Park, a Mercedes and we planned on having two kids. That was the plan.” The couple had difficulty conceiving, and Traci began thinking about adoption. “I wanted a family. Some people can’t deal with the idea of adoption and I get it,” she said. “But I realized family to me meant …

Healthy French toast with a hidden chocolate layer

Thu, 02 May 2013 02:20:16 -0500

Time for a confession. As a child, I never once celebrated Mother’s Day. My parents thought the holiday was nothing more than a cheesy excuse to sell greeting cards, and who was I to argue? But after I became a mother myself? Oh. My. God. I’d spent years working 80 hours a week as a restaurant chef, and that was nothing compared to the amount of work required of the mother of a newborn. I buckled down and got the job done, but not without help. And not before establishing that in our house we’d most certainly be celebrating Mother’s …

Teasing over hearing loss should be cut off

Thu, 02 May 2013 02:32:15 -0500

Dear Abby: Last year, I began to lose my hearing because of a genetic disorder, and now I have to wear hearing aids. I will be a freshman in high school next year. My teachers all have to wear microphones so I can hear them. I’m scared other kids will make fun of me for being different. I have already gotten laughed at. What should I do? — EMBARRASSED TEEN DEAR EMBARRASSED TEEN: When people laugh at a person who has a disability, it is usually out of ignorance. Because this happened at school or another place where there is …

Davich: Can I get a dollar? How about two dollars?

Thu, 02 May 2013 02:02:09 -0500

Dawn Pelc hoisted item after item into the air, hoping for a buyer. The St. John woman held her first public auction Saturday morning at her new business, Last Straw Auctions, and she hustled her way through most of the day. I couldn’t believe the countless items on display. Knickknacks, cookie jars, lamps, vases, pictures, and a dusty old twin-blade fan that may – or may not – have worked. Yet even that sold. The items were from the estate of an older woman, as well as some consignment stuff. As the old sales pitch goes, everything must go. And …

More are willing to cook — for their dogs

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:46:53 -0500

Riding the coattails of the slow-food movement for humans, more and more dog owners are trying to go one better than packaged pet food by cooking for their pets. That’s right — chicken, beef, barley, tomatoes, brown rice, bell peppers and more in an increasing array of recipes found in books and online.

Tiptoe through tulips in Holland, where spring has real flower power

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:56:59 -0500

LISSE, Netherlands — Forget wooden shoes, windmills and wheels of Gouda cheese. The tulip is the irrefutable hallmark of Holland. And right about now is when this symbol of spring is in its full glory, blanketing large patches of the Netherlands in rows of red, orange, yellow, purple and pink.

Joel Sartore is out to save the Earth’s captive species with The Photo Ark

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:18:00 -0500

For more than 20 years now, I’ve been a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine. They’ve sent me to every continent, and I’ve worked on 34 photo essays so far. Most dealt with conservation issues. But it has not been enough. Every year, I see more habitats lost, more species barely hanging on. At TEDxMidwest this week in Chicago, I’ll be introducing my latest project, The Photo Ark. The Photo Ark was born out of desperation to halt, or at least slow, the loss of global biodiversity. The goal is to document every captive species on Earth. With The Photo …

Naperville’s downtown nets high marks for bike- and pedestrian-friendliness

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:48:01 -0500

Mark Fenton plans to make an example of Naperville. The television personality, engineer and public health, planning and transportation consultant said that when he visits cities in other parts of the country, he’ll hold up Naperville as a place where the downtown reflects efficient, sensible and sustainable elements — particularly for those who aren’t in cars. The host of “America’s Walking” on PBS, in town for a workshop at the Hotel Arista that focused on building sustainable communities, took about two dozen people on a walking assessment of the downtown area Friday morning, pointing out places that display visionary genius …

After struggle, couple finds double blessings

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:48:10 -0500

Infertility issues lead couple down a different path on the way to becoming parents.

E-waste businesswoman goes from part time to big time

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:29:04 -0500

ROMEOVILLE — Karrie Gibson has gone from part-time tanning salon employee to an international recycling mogul in seven years. The 41-year-old Plainfield woman’s rise to the top of the electronics recycling heap has been fast and furious. But above all else, she said she’s proud that her company is squeaky clean in an industry that hasn’t always had a good reputation. Gibson is the owner of Romeoville-based Vintage Tech Recyclers, a company she started in her home that has grown to process 50 million pounds of electronics waste last year. TVs, monitors, laptops, desktops, cell phones, cables, keyboards, mice, fax …

Vapor-emitting smokes no danger to others

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:21:48 -0500

Dear Abby: I work in a small office with two former heavy smokers who have now transitioned to vapor/e-cigarettes. My concern is that they “smoke” their e-cigarettes in the office constantly, and I don’t know what chemicals I am now breathing secondhand. Both of them are senior to me in rank and age, and they pooh-pooh the notion that anything but water vapor is being exhaled. Am I making something out of nothing, or should I be worried about this? —CLEAN AIR DEAR CLEAN AIR: You don’t have anything to worry about, but your co-workers may. In 2009, the FDA …

Benefit set for sick Mokena mom who usually is the fundraiser

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:34:46 -0500

For more than half of her life Alicia Almanza, has battled a rare form of cancer. Diagnosed at 18 with adenoid cystic carcinoma — ACC — she had to “quit being a teenager,” the Mokena woman said. Even now, as this slowly progressing disease has taken over other parts of her body, she doesn’t live the normal life of a 40-year-old woman. ACC often develops in the salivary and lacrimal glands in the head and neck and can slowly progress to the lungs and liver. Alicia’s cancer has spread to her spine, lungs and kidney. But that has not stopped …