Illinois Ozarks

Maybe you knew this but I did not.  Given the amount of flat land between the two ranges, I always though that the name "Illinois Ozarks" was just another name used for the Shawnee Hills because of their proximity to the Missouri Ozarks. Turns out I am wrong. The two sets of hills are part of one eroded tableland and the flat area between the two is due to the meandering and flooding of the Mississippi River. If the Mississippi did not run there, the Ozarks would run continuously from Indiana to Oklahoma

Saluki Tax

The Saluki Tax or percentage of the city sales tax will expire in a year or two. If residents of the city want to get rid of it, now is the time to lobby the city council to do so. The last time a portion of the city sales tax expired, a portion used to retire the bonds passe to pay for school roofing, council figured in the additional revenue into the following year's budget and  found it easier to pass an ordinance maintaining the tax rather than letting it expire, as it was supposed to, and debating the merits of reinstating that portion of the sales tax.

One of the selling points for any increase in a city sales tax has been that it is only for a limited period of years and will expire once that time elapses. Allowing any portion of the sales tax to expire has not happened, at least as far as I can recall.

Thai Taste Reopened

Looks as if Thai Taste reopened today. The closed due to death sign was gone this afternoon and the Open sign is on now.

Arbor District Meeting

If you live in the Arbor District or have an interest in what goes on there, the District Association  has its annual meeting next Sunday at 2 p.m. in the meeting room at the Carbondale Public Library. Given that city may designate the District a TIF district, ti would be interesting to see how the Association plans to approach it.

Marijuana Dispensary

Had the first person I can remember ask me where a marijuana retailer was in Carbondale. he seemed a bit surprised when I told him he would have to drive east of Carterville to find one as no have applied for a license yet in Carbondale and I think Murphysboro has voted, so far, not to authorize any within their city limits. Given the lines I have seen waiting to get into the Harbor, often half a block long on the weekend, I imagine we should see a marijuana shop apply for a license sometime this year, likely by the end of summer.

Quall's Hats and Company

Quall's on West Walnuthas an opening date of Feb 10th posted in their window. Looks as if the focus is men's hats and most of the brands listed in their window are men's. The nod to women's styles is a notice of "women's hats" in the window. Certainly hope they do well and entice more clothing shops to locate downtown to entice customers to visit the area for more than restaurants and bars.

Thai Taste Temporary Closed

Thai Taste closed yesterday and apparently will remain closed for a few days. The sign in the window says the head chef passed away unexpectedly and the management and staff need some time to deal with the loss and look for a new head chef.