Eclipse and SIUC Start Date

The much ballyhooed solar eclipse takes place on August 21. According to the Academic Calendar classes at SIUC start on August 21. Talking with people who were looking for a place to stay during the eclipse festivities, almost every hotel room within about 100 miles is booked for several days prior to the eclipse and those still available in town want $500 per night for a room.

We will have an estimated  30,000-50,000 people in town for the eclipse, plus families moving students in for the start of classes the day after the eclipse. Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell was supposed to make a statement regarding what, if anything, the University would do to adjust for this but I have not found anything in his messages and the University's academic calendar still lists August 22 as the start of classes.

Super Bowl Weekend Crackdown

The C'dale Police cracked down on drunken drivers over the Super Bowl weekend but doesn't seem they saw any great increase in alcohol related infractions. There was one DUI and i citation for illegal transportation of alcohol. There were other citations but none alcohol related so not sure if the additional arrests were worth the extra effort. certainly did not see the amount of alcohol related violations the city saw during Polar Bear weekend.

New Home Buyer Seminar

Carbondale is still about 70% rental property. The city is working to slowly increase the percentage of home owners with various loans and programs, including this seminar this Saturday, sponsored by the Carbondale Neighborhood Action Group and the Egyptian Board of Realtors aimed at potential new home buyers"

The Carbondale Neighborhood Action Group is teaming up with the Egyptian Board of Realtors to host a free home buyer seminar on Saturday, February 18.

The event will be held at the Carbondale Public Library from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The library is located at 405 W. Main St. Realtors, mortgage lenders, home inspectors and title companies will discuss a variety of topics associated with buying a home. This includes selecting a relator, finding the right home, selecting a lender, home inspections, contingencies and post-purchase maintenance.

Lunch will be provided to all attendees and light refreshments will be available throughout the seminar. Activities for kids will also be available. This event is free, but registration is strongly encouraged. To sign up, visit

http://goo.gl/forms/pLGXoQFyyrO30bZu1.

For more information, contact Daniel Presley at (626) 487-9747 or CarbondaleHomeBuyer@gmail.com.

Southern Illinois Pharaohs

Sign on the side of the old school on North Oakland promoting it as the future home of the Southern Illinois Pharaohs.  Not sure why the designer opted to go with a skull motif in the logo. Maybe it goes along with the other team logos in the league?

One problem I see with this location is the lack of parking. The Pharaohs's gym is at the west end of the complex and most of the parking is located at the east end. Will attendees be willing to park there and then walk the couple of blocks to the Pharaoh's gym? There is also the potential for a lot of congestion in the area as the streets there are not well designed for heavy amounts of traffic.

There's an Eclipse Coming

In case you missed it, the Carbondale area has a solar eclipse coming this August.  The city made this video looking at how some local businesses are preparing to greet it.  I understand the asking price on some of the remaining rooms in town is $500 a night.

More Polar Bear

Sent to me by a reader of the blog, this shot was taken showing a house on S. Poplar mid afternoon on Polar Bear Saturday. According to the sender, there was property damage as well as public urination.

Town Square Lighting

According to a tweet I received from City Manager Gary Williams, the city is looking into lighting the Town Square year round, rather than just at Christmas. Would certainly brighten the place up and make it more friendly at night.