OTL: Episode #399- Shedding light on street fests, No more missed packages, An ex-cabbie’s view on ride sharing

TO HEAR THE SHOW, PRESS THE “PLAY” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST… (podcasting from the studios in the OTL Bunker, somewhere in Chicago) (broadcasting on the “have a drink in the street” radio station WLUW-FM (88.7) Chicago) Mike Stephen learns about the quest of local neighborhood groups to monitor the finances of street fests, gets the lowdown on DropSpot, and talks to an ex-cabbie about his view of ride sharing services in Chicago.   Steve Jensen– President of the Bucktown Community Organization The BCO along with a few other neighborhood groups recently put in a request to see how street fests make their money and where our donations to these festivals go.  He gives us the details.       Andy Meyer, Tyler Veit, and Adam Bryan– Co-creators of DropSpot These Northwestern grad students are solving the problem of what to do with oversized packages getting delivered to our homes.  E-mail them at DropSpotChicago@gmail.com with your suggestions and feedback.     This won’t fit in your mailbox! Dmitry Samarov– Former Chicago cabbie, author, and artist Dmitry weighed in recently on the debate over ride sharing in Chicago.  He shares his thoughts and previews his upcoming book.     Dmitry Samarov in his cab driving days.     OTL #399 local music provided by The Thons…  

OTL: Episode #398- Is there sewage in the Chicago River?, Rehab aid intended for blighted areas languishes

TO HEAR THE SHOW, PRESS THE “PLAY” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST… (podcasting from the studios in the OTL Bunker, somewhere in Chicago) (broadcasting on the “what’s floating in the water” radio station WLUW-FM (88.7) Chicago) Mike Stephen talks to one of the creators of a website that tells us if there is raw sewage in the Chicago River, and discusses federal rehab aid not going going to intended areas in the city.   Scott Beslow– Co-creator of Is There Sewage in the Chicago River? If you ever wanted to know the answer to the above question, check out the site!  We hear why it was created and how Chicago deals with excess rainwater.   Mike Stephen ignoring the sewage in the Chicago River.     Angela Caputo– Staff Reporter at The Chicago Reporter Recently, Angela wrote a story about how federal money intended to rehab vacant buildings in blighted areas of Chicago never made it to those areas.  She gives us the details.           OTL #398 local music provided by Winkler Mill…  

OTL: Episode #396- The CPS funding saga, Mac and Cheese Fest, Staying “on-track” in high school

TO HEAR THE SHOW, PRESS THE “PLAY” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST… (podcasting from the studios in the OTL Bunker, somewhere in Chicago) (broadcasting on the “I’m gonna learn ya’ stuff” radio station WLUW-FM (88.7) Chicago) Mike Stephen discusses CPS funding, previews the Mac and Cheese Festival, and learns about high school “on-track” research.   Dave Stieber– History teacher at Team Englewood Community Academy Recently Dave wrote an opinion piece on Chicago Public School funding.  He discusses the future of how CPS will stay afloat.     Melinda Joseph– Co-owner of Raymi Productions We get an exclusive preview of this delicious festival happening at the UIC Forum in October.       Thomas Kelley-Kemple– Research Analyst at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research The CCSR released a study that looks at the importance of the “on-track” rate of high school students.  We get the details.         OTL #396 local music provided by Yellow Candy…  

OTL: Episode #394- Chicago’s questionable crime stats, Journalism in high schools, CouchSurferz web series

TO HEAR THE SHOW, PRESS THE “PLAY” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST… (podcasting from the studios in the OTL Bunker, somewhere in Chicago) (broadcasting on the “RadioSurferz” radio station WLUW-FM (88.7) Chicago) Mike Stephen talks to a researcher about Chicago’s crime stats, discusses journalism education in high schools, and chats with the creator of the CouchSurferz comedy web series.   Brian Keegan– Post doctoral student at Northeastern University Recently Brian wrote a blog post called Crime, Time, and Weather in Chicago looking at the current trends of local crime stats.     Jason Block– Teacher at Prospect H.S. and board member of the Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association (NISPA) Last week OTL host Mike Stephen spoke at the NISPA Conference.  This week we learn about the great things the organization does to teach journalism in schools.     OTL host Mike Stephen’s talk at the NISPA Conference last week.   Jack Farrell– Writer & Creator of the CouchSurferz web series We get the skinny on this weekly comedy web series that is released every Thursday at Second City’s DeMaat Theater.         OTL #394 local music provided by Sexy Fights…