tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21191920533712511462024-03-19T03:47:54.416-05:00The Carbondale GazetteDaily (more or less) commentary on news and events in Carbondale and the Southern Illinois region, with occasional excursions to other locales.Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.comBlogger4449125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-45416318060072607422024-03-16T11:35:00.005-05:002024-03-17T11:13:34.856-05:00Eclipse Hotels<p> Looks like hotels in Carbondale and the path of the eclipse are<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1132777414368504&set=a.659310091715241" target="_blank"> 99% sold out </a>the weekend of the eclipse with rooms going for up to $850. The city apparently <a href="https://www.explorecarbondale.com/988/Carbondale-Eclipse?fbclid=IwAR0rvzyDshBv8gGg8-VbYI53jgRLnLloTS4-04e_-m6KMRpE0Ax8KxLOmSU" target="_blank">still has space available</a> at Evergreen Park for $500-$700 for the weekend. and apparently still has space available As the Eclipse gets closer, though, I would expect them to sell out, though not without some grumbling.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-86003258492669278242024-03-13T12:51:00.006-05:002024-03-13T12:51:57.149-05:00Artistic Minds Tattoo<p><a href="<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fartisticmindtattoo%2Fposts%2F1459839091487482&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="787" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>" target="_blank"> Artistic Minds Tattoo announced on its Facebook page</a> that the business has purchased the shuttered Chicago Hot Dog location at the intersection of College and Illinois, just across the street from its current location. From the wording of the post, renovations started today with no indication as to when the move will be completed.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-25526122151282642732024-03-11T22:29:00.006-05:002024-03-11T22:29:35.123-05:00Campus Lake<p> Obviously, it has been awhile since I have been to Campus Lake. I had no idea the university had razed the facilities at Campus Beach and removed the beach, replacing it with a walkway adjoining the path round the lake allowing the walker to go out over the water. From talking to a few friends, it has been there since at least 2020. Guess I need to get onto campus more often.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-46204208320036728582024-03-09T14:24:00.004-06:002024-03-09T14:24:47.137-06:00Rip's Pizza<p> No indication as to when it will open but the old Keeper's Quarters building (old McDonald's building if you have lived in Carbondale for a long time) on south Illinois has a sign on it announcing Rip's Pizza, baked in brick ovens. Not sure if Carbondale really needs another pizza place but Newby's appears to be doing ok .</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-56884711988355035902024-03-08T21:36:00.003-06:002024-03-08T21:36:58.788-06:00Carbondale Eclipse<p> Carbondale city government has posted <a href="https://public.alertsense.com/content/2111/28597" target="_blank">a roundup of events </a>taking place in the city to celebrate the upcoming total eclipse. Looks like a concert featuring the Woodbox Gang on the Sunday night before the Eclipse and then street busking at a number of locations on the day of the Eclipse. wonder if this year will be a replay of 2017 when everyone came into town on the day before the Eclipse and then left immediately after, causing such a traffic jam that it took about 3 hours to get from here to Marion and about 6 hours to take 51 north to the interstate.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-54181139277991476032024-03-06T20:25:00.003-06:002024-03-06T20:25:43.185-06:001 Million Gallons<p> That is the amount of water vanishing from the Carbondale water system on a daily basis. At this time of year, residents of Carbondale use about 3 million gallons of water a day. Measurements from the water purification plant show about 4 million gallons going out daily. No meters in the city show any significant increases and no customers in Carbondale have reported any abnormal increase in the bills so the city has no idea where the water is going. Staff members have spent the last two months looking for the and thought they had found it last month but after patching the leak they discovered, the flow continued.</p><p>The city figures one of two things is happening. One million gallons of water escaping per day is either creating a pond or swampy area somewhere in the city, so if you see a large accumulation of water in an area that normally does not have any, contact the city to let them know. The other likelihood is the leak is close to a sewer drain or stream and the water is flowing into it before getting to any location where it could be measured.</p><p>From what I understand, the city can process about 5 million gallons of water per day before straining the purification system so the leak is not currently causing any stress so we are okay during spring, fall and winter. However, Carbondale water use increases to about 4 million gallons per day during the summer, raising the output from the system to levels that are problematical.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-70596432533643405312024-03-05T14:45:00.003-06:002024-03-05T14:45:30.139-06:00Gary Williams<p> City Manager Gary Williams <a href="https://public.alertsense.com/content/2111/28437" target="_blank">announced he will resign</a> the post effective the end of March. From the sound of the press release, it sounds as if he has another job opportunity within the area and plans to accept it. Probably not the Executive Director position at Carbondale Main Street, which, as far as I know, is still looking for someone to fill the spot. Meanwhile, the city is considering applications for an interim manager while it looks for someone to fill the position.</p><p>During his tenure, off the top of my head, the city saw significant upgrades to the downtown streetscape, construction of the multimodal transit center, transfer of several parks from the Park District to the city and progress on the downtown entertainment plaza. Not bad to list on one's resume.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-79483028599066212012024-03-04T08:47:00.004-06:002024-03-04T08:47:39.610-06:00American Eagle<p> According to signs in the window and posts on social media, University Mall's American Eagle Outfitters will close on March 17th. By my count that leaves 8 stores and the theater still open inside the mall and one with outside access only.. That does leave plenty of space for SIH to expand into.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-20784574260999473332024-03-02T11:06:00.001-06:002024-03-02T11:06:18.396-06:00Veo Scooters<p> Veo Scooters are back! Hurrah? They do provide a useful form of transportation but I see more people riding them just for fun rather than actually using them to get somewhere. Much like bicycles, they are only allowed on certain streets and bikeways in the city, which has provided <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.explorecarbondale.com/DocumentCenter/View/2707/City-of-Carbondale-Bikeway-Map-PDF?bidId=" target="_blank">this map</a> to show where they SHOULD be ridden. Of course, where they should be ridden and where they will be ridden are typically different things.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-83101375303476829782024-03-01T10:04:00.005-06:002024-03-01T10:04:28.681-06:00Magickal Hippie<p>Magickal Hippie opened its new<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/233368565385412/user/100071283466271/" target="_blank"> University Mall location </a>yesterday .Center part of the mall near Rue 21 and Maruice's across from Hot Topic, in what was the Renaissance Trading Company location until it shuttered last December.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-57928084342629805262024-02-29T20:06:00.001-06:002024-02-29T20:06:22.517-06:00Mike's Music<p> Mike's Music has moved out of its long time location in the strip on East Main where Plaza Records is located. Fear not, though, as it only moved across the parking lot into the storefront left vacant when Magickal Hippie moved out.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-51375042365938015102024-02-28T20:14:00.005-06:002024-02-28T20:14:50.128-06:00Big Chill Ribbon Cutting<p> Wazo's Big Chill <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/370865929200772/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22event_profile_plus_create%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&notif_id=1709167190936846&notif_t=event_profile_plus_create&ref=notif" target="_blank">will hold a ribbon cutting</a> on March 21st at Noon. Just reopening with a cool new sign and name was not enough. </p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-20043957210242931612024-02-27T18:55:00.005-06:002024-02-27T19:31:14.037-06:00City Council Meeting<p> Listening to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=notif&v=1466918390835464&notif_id=1709078913599528&notif_t=live_video" target="_blank">city council meeting</a>. Democratic Socialists are pushing the council for a vote condemning the actions of Israel in Palestine> Councilman Loos just told them it is not going to happen and that they should devote their energy to something more useful, such as the upcoming proposed landlord regulations. The other council people appear to be trying to not bring it up for a vote without saying so. </p><p>I tend to agree with Loos. Voting to condemn Israel at the city level makes about as much sense as the Saline County Board voting to make the county an immigrant sanctuary free zone.</p><p>Voting on a pay raise for the council, which has not had an increase in pay since 1998. All vote yes except Councilman Loos. The pay raise does not go into effect until May of 2025 and no council person may receive a raise during their term of office.</p><p>Meeting adjourned about 7:30</p><p><br /></p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-13617417265189616242024-02-26T22:23:00.001-06:002024-02-26T22:23:04.094-06:00Roxanne Conley 2<p> According to her family, there will be no funeral but a celebration of life later this spring. I expect to see quite a turnout for that.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-14295542527975559322024-02-25T19:52:00.002-06:002024-02-25T19:52:33.885-06:00Roxanne Conley<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanne-conley-2b376318a/" target="_blank"> Roxanne Conley</a> passed away early this morning. Aside from being a fantastic wife, mother, sister and daughter, she was active in Carbondale for as long as I knew her. For the past 4+ years she was general manager of G&R Rentals. Before that, she owned Attitude Designs, the local Welcome Wagon franchise, and was the executive director of Carbondale Main Street. In addition, she served on the board of the Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau and was active with the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=779741909167267" target="_blank">BNI WIN</a> group. As active as she was, I have probably forgotten several of her positions in the city over the years. If you know any I forgot, please post them in the comments.</p><p><br /></p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-24010902862576541382024-02-22T20:13:00.003-06:002024-02-22T21:11:32.183-06:00Pritzker's State of the State Address<p> In case you want to read Gov. Pritzker's State of the State Address, <a href="https://www.nprillinois.org/government-politics/2024-02-21/read-gov-pritzkers-2024-state-of-the-state-and-budget-address" target="_blank">here it is</a>. The tax on groceries is a lot less regressive than the Governor makes it out to be. Wealthier people tend to spend more on groceries so the tax hits them harder than people with lower incomes. </p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-89351516702244928872024-02-21T17:36:00.001-06:002024-02-21T17:36:00.478-06:00Big Chill<p> According to the sign in front, spring is just around the corner. The Big Chill reopenes for the season this Saturday, probably just in time for a deep freeze next week.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-54774907229941069642024-02-20T16:15:00.002-06:002024-02-20T16:15:58.330-06:00Meet the Mayor<p> There is anothe<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CarbondaleCity/posts/812228710933907?notif_id=1708455362656909&notif_t=notify_me_page&ref=notif" target="_blank">r Meet the Mayor</a> event scheduled for 1 p.m. Tomorrow at the East Main Starbucks. Your opportunity to have the ear of the Mayor, at least for an hour. Wonder if there will be any union activity while she is there?</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-7946452008448485442024-02-19T19:47:00.001-06:002024-02-19T19:47:08.661-06:00Parking<p> By the time the demoishing gets done, downtown Carbondale will have more parking than it will have buildings, at least south of Walnut. Carbondale and its landlords have a really bad track record of letting buildings run down to the point where it makes more financial sense to demolish the building than to rehabilitate it. Both the Tuscan Lodge and the old bank building on Washington Street come to mind</p><p>From what I have heard, the owner of the current house on Walnut getting demolished did not even wait until it had not tenants before starting the process. At least two of the apartments in the building were still occupied when the landlord told them to move as demolition would start shortly. </p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-9118547166457072352024-02-17T16:12:00.002-06:002024-02-17T16:12:09.544-06:00Houses Demolished<p> A second of the 3 old foursquare style houses in the 200 block of West Walnut is getting demolished this week. From what I have heard, Hilton has purchased the row of buildings along that bstretcy of Walnut east of University and will demolish them to add additional parking for the hotel. The buildings housing Horstman's Cleaners, SI Pawn and SewALot are scheduled for demolition as well. Not sure about the Phoenix Cycle building though and removing it without doing some damage to PKs would prove difficult.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-87508672579402818482024-02-16T21:09:00.001-06:002024-02-16T21:09:04.524-06:00The Strip<p> Heading north along Illinois Avenue from the intersection of Grand and Illinois up to Main Street, the Strip actually looks in pretty good shape as far as occupancy. There are three empty storefronts in the area where LegalSmile and Harbaugh's Cafe are. Blocko's still sits empty and only one of the storefronts in the Evolve building is occupied. De'lish is empty as is the short lived liquor store next to Bombay Olive and the Chicago Hot Dog across the street. Art Frames and the old Phoenix Cycles location are empty but Phoenix Cycles moving into both the long vacant Petal Patch location and the newly empty Leather World fills up a couple of spots and the only other empty location is the old Sound Core spot.</p><p>The real problem, as far as empty storefronts, are the strips perpendicular to Illinois. The stretch behind Trax is completely empty, although there are reports of a rage room opening in that location. Similarly, the storefronts behind Geologic Oddities are also empty as is the Wise Guy's Pizza building adjacent to Sam's Cafe.</p><p>Maybe I have missed a few but in general, the Illinois Avenue street scape is in pretty good shape, although there does not seem to be immediate demand for those empty locations. The big problem is the side streets.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-56988966164712789872024-02-15T21:22:00.003-06:002024-02-15T21:22:15.755-06:00Park Survey<p> The city is asking residents (and interested parties) to <a href="https://carbondaleparks.com/" target="_blank">complete a survey</a> regarding perception and use of the parks and other recreational facilities in the city. One focal point is the establishment of new parks and recreation spots. I indicated I would rather see the city spend its resources on maintianing and upgrading the ones already in existance before building new ones, although, given the success of Slabz Skatepark, installing an outdoor one is something the younger residents would appreciate.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-53354328086801521742024-02-14T21:36:00.001-06:002024-02-14T21:36:12.524-06:00President's Day<p> Just a reminder that city offices will close President's Day. That's Next Monday. Which also means trash pickup gets pushed back a day.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-2146976891181854502024-02-13T14:59:00.001-06:002024-02-13T14:59:06.192-06:00Ashley Furrniture<p> It looks as if Ashley Furniture is plannning on making Carbondale a hub. There is the main store in the Eastgate Shopping Center and the recently opend Ashley Outlet in the old Saluki Gymnastics building. Additionally, there is signage on the shuttered Ashley Furniture building on East Main indicating it is now an Ashley Furniture distribution center.</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119192053371251146.post-66636287789110153512024-02-10T13:26:00.001-06:002024-02-10T13:26:08.682-06:00Frankie Trumbauer<p> I submitted "Frankie Trumbauer Entertainment Plaza" as the name for the downtown entertainment venue. <a href="https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/frankie-trumbauer/" target="_blank">Trumbauer</a> was born in Carbondale in 1901 and spent his career as one of the premier jazz saxaphonists of the 1920s and 1930s. His 1927 recording of "Singing the Blues" was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1977. I thought about Robbie Stokes or Larry "Big Twist" Nolan but would really like to see part of Carbondale's early musical heritage memorialized</p>Castle Perilous Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11344944898418451419noreply@blogger.com2