The North Branch Trail Alliance (NBTA) of Greater Chicago will dedicate its May 19, 2018 ride “Icons of the Northwest Area” to Florence Berman, the mother of Scott Berman. The Berman family owns SuperDawg, the popular Gladstone Park drive-in located just off the North Branch Trail. This Northwest Area icon was named to the 2003 internationally acclaimed 1000 Places To See Before You Die. SuperDawg was also NBTA’s first Business Partner. The SuperDawg Family has been a fixture on the northwest side - supporting generations with distinctive food and generous donations.
“We wanted to help hold up the Berman Family who recently lost their matriarch. Our May 19th ride date falls so close to Mother's Day and celebrates icons along the trail,” said NBTA Board member, Julie Morley. “There’s no doubt about it - this is her ride,” said NBTA Board member and North River Commission (NRC) Vice President at Large, Jim O’Reilly. NBTA invites everyone to join the Icons of the Northwest Area ride on Saturday, May 19 at 11:30 AM in Forest Glen. Northwest Area icons will also include The Leaning Tower (Niles) and North Park Nature Center (North Park), along with stops at SuperDawg, Village Creamery (Niles) and Marie’s Pizza (Mayfair). All are asked to bring money to support our NBTA Business Partners. More about this ride and NBTA at www.northbranchtrailalliance.com on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Pat Robertson reports elsewhere in the magazine about a piece of legislation making its way through the general assembly that would make two big changes in turkey hunting regulations: setting a unified statewide season and reducing the bag limit from five to three birds.
These are changes that are long overdue, especially as South Carolina hunters come to grips with the fact that things ain’t what they used to be. The spring wild-turkey harvest has been dropping for about 10 years, and the statewide hatch has been poor for a half-dozen or so years.
You can debate why this is happening — habitat change, drought, coyotes — but you can’t debate that states across the Southeast appear all to have turkey populations that are in decline. North Carolina is the exception, because its turkey restoration program only ended a few years ago and its flock is still expanding and growing in new areas.
One part of the legislation would put in place a uniform statewide season that begins March 20 and ends May 5. That eliminates the two-week jump that hunters get in the Lowcountry, and it should effectively end the practice that biologists often refer to as “hunter migration.” In other words, hunters from the Upstate have been invading the Lowcountry for two weeks before their own season has been opening on April 1. It puts more hunters in the woods during the last week of March, which is considered a peak in the gobbling. It extends the season five days on the back side after almost all the hens have gone on the nest; if you can talk a reticent gobbler into walking into shotgun range, his death won’t have any effect on the number of hens bred.
The statewide bag limit of three bearded birds is an even better idea. Data from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ mail surveys indicates that an extremely small number of hunters take more than three gobblers in a season; in many cases, those accomplishing that feat are hunting the entire March 15-May 1 season that’s already in place. A fourth “bonus bird” restricted to bowhunters is an interesting idea. How it might affect the harvest remains to be seen, but it’s not likely to add too many birds to the harvest.
It’s been reported that SCDNR and the National Wild Turkey Federation are on board with the proposed changes. Those two groups doubtlessly know more about the statewide flock than any other group, the complaints of individual hunters notwithstanding. They’re also more aware of how South Carolina stacks up with what other Southeastern states are experiencing. This change is nothing but a step in the right direction.
Description: Completely inspired by this, one of my favourite tracks, I just cannot help bouncing around to it....not quite as savvy as this dancer though!
If you've considered moving to Wilmette's desirable Kenilworth Gardens neighborhood you've probably discovered that most homes here run from the $800,000s to well over $1,000,000. But this little gem offers you a chance to own a well-maintained and very livable house that you can update as time and funds allow.
As you enter the foyer you are welcomed by a spacious living room flooded with light from the large bay window and warmed by a wood-burning fireplace. Next to the living room is a dining room that leads to the eat-in kitchen. The cabinets are original but the appliances have been updated over the last few years. A powder room and a screened-in porch complete the first floor.
Upstairs are three large bedrooms with plenty of closet space and a hall bath. There are hardwood floors on both the first and second levels.
1) The dining room opens to a delightful screened in porch, where you will while away warm summer evenings sipping a glass of wine and watching the kids catch lightning bugs in the back yard. You could also convert the porch into a family room, if you need more indoor space.
2) The eat-in kitchen is more spacious than most of the original kitchens you'll find in older Kenilworth Gardens homes. It could definitely use an update, but there is plenty of space for both a table and an island or peninsula.
3) The bedrooms are BIG. Usually the older homes in the neighborhood have a couple of decent-sized bedrooms and one tiny room that only works as a nursery or an office. Even the smallest of the three bedrooms in this house is a generous size.
4) There are two walk-in closets in the master bedroom; one of these backs up to the hall bath, so it would be easy and relatively inexpensive to convert to an en suite master bath.
5) The basement is large and has good ceiling height. With some drywall and carpet it can quickly be transformed into a terrific rec room or play room. And you don't need to worry about flooding or seepage. This basement has been waterproofed and has drain tile, a sump pump with back-up battery and window-well drains. It is clean and dry!
6) The one-car attached garage is extra wide, so you can actually fit your car as well as bikes, lawnmower, garbage cans and tools in there.
All told, updating the kitchen, converting a closet to a bath and finishing the basement can be done for under $80,000, and you will have a house easily worth $800,000+. That's a pretty good ROI.
Award-winning schools. Harper Elementary is a five minute walk. Highcrest Middle School and Wilmette Junior High are also walkable or bikeable.
Wilmette has an outstanding park district, with an ice rink, swimming pools, tennis courts (indoor and outdoor), theater, fitness center and more.
East access to the Metra - the Kenilworth Station is an eight-minute walk, and from there it's a 35 minute ride to the Loop.
A friendly neighborhood where there's always something going on. There are playgroups and block parties, a neighborhood egg hunt in the spring and a rock concert in the park in the summer. On Halloween you'll see both kids and their parents taking part in the trick-or-treating fun.
Have your agent schedule an appointment to see the home or plan to visit our open house on Sunday, February 11 from 1:00-3:00pm. The seller is represented by Anne West of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Please call for more information: 847-687-5957
Closed sales on the North Shore were down 8% in September. All towns declined except for Winnetka, which was up a healthy 41% and Glencoe, whose sales doubled over last year.
Median prices increased a modest 3% overall but results were a mixed bag on a town by town basis. Winnetka, Wilmette and Lake Forest had double digit gains, while Kenilworth, Northfield and Glencoe went the other direction.
Market time overall was flat compared to last year at 113 days. Evanston continues to have the shortest market time, at 66 days. Lake Forest and Glencoe had the longest average time on market, at 211 days and 256 days, respectively.
While closed sales were down for the month, accepted offers were up 10%, boding well for future closings. Most towns had nice increases over last year, though Evanston, Kenilworth and Glenview were flat and Glencoe actually decreased.
Year-to-date closed sales were down 5% through September, with all towns posting declines except Glencoe (+23%) and Lake Forest, which was flat.
The median price for the North Shore was up only 1%. Wilmette, High;and Park, Winnetka and Evanston were up, while the remaining towns had modest declines.
Average market time for the year hovers around 4 months. Only Wilmette and Evanston are below the North Shore average. Lake Forest is significantly above, at 199 days or six and a half months.
Why is the North Shore so much slower than the rest of the U.S? It’s the confluence of three main trends: 1) Fewer job transfers into the area; 2) Illinois population losses driven by high property taxes and a poor economic prognosis for the state; and 3) More people preferring to stay in the city vs. moving to the suburbs.
For buyers it means that good deals can be had. There's still plenty of inventory available and prices are coming down.
If you have any questions about the market or would like to schedule a buyer or seller consultation with the Anne West and the Come Home North Shore Team, please give us a call at 847.881.6657.
BOSTON — Coast Guard members from Sector Boston and Station Boston honored two young boys Tuesday who rescued a man in distress at Walden Pond on June 10.
Cmdr. Brad Kelly, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston, recognized Herman Tsakhaev, 9, and Bodie Thompson, 11, for their combined efforts of saving a swimmer who became distressed after suffering a leg cramp.
Kelly and a 45-foot response boat crew from Station Boston awarded the boys challenge coins for their heroic actions.
On June 10, the boys were at Walden Pond enjoying the water on their kayak and paddle board when they saw a man waving his arms in the water appearing to be in distress. They paddled over to the man and pulled him onto the paddleboard, saving him.