May 6th, 2008 01:49pm
Georgette Braun
With all the hoopla over Cedric Benson of the Chicago Bears being charged with operating a boat in Texas while intoxicated, which he plans to fight, made me wonder what the laws are on the Rock River Valley, right outside my office window.
They aren’t as strict as driving a car.
Chris McCloud of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources tells me that it is legal here for the driver of a boat to consume or possess an alcoholic beverage as long as the operator isn’t over the legal intoxication limit of .08 (same as in a car).
Passengers of boats are allowed to consume alcohol, but their actions can’t endanger or disrupt the public or they are subject to fine and arrest. You can’t have open liquor in a car being driven in Illinois.
So, what do you think about all that?
May 1st, 2008 02:59pm
Georgette Braun
A reader needs an answer to this by tomorrow afternoon. She’s having company and they really want good catfish.
I’ve had catfish in a clay pot at Hai Quynh Vietnamese Restaurant, 324 Seventh St., Rockford, 815-964-5353. The typical dirt-taste of the catfish was nicely overpowered by a hoisinlike sauce.
Other recommendations?
May 1st, 2008 08:29am
Georgette Braun
Today’s top story in the Register Star about an Elgin-Belvidere-Rockford route picked for future commuter rail got me thinking about the very cheap way for individuals and families to get to Chicago on weekends.
The Metra route that starts and ends in Harvard in McHenry County (35-minute drive northeast from Rockford) charges just $5 for an adult, who can take up to three kids under age 12 on that same five-buck fare, to ride on Saturdays and Sundays as many times as you want to any stop along the way and to the end in Chicago.
I lived in Harvard for about two decades, and more than a few times a year would take the kids into the city to see the lighted store windows at Christmas or to go to the air and water show and other fun places. We’d catch a cab or walk to wherever we were going. A few times we took the bus or the elevated train, though for the occasional user those latter options are harder to navigate.
There are nine trips in and an equal number of trips back on the weekend from and to Harvard.
Way cheaper these days than driving into the city, finding and paying for a place to park, and way less stressful.
April 30th, 2008 01:54pm
Georgette Braun
See Emily Bear, 6, of Rockford, whose new CD is available now, play piano on YouTube, taken from last week’s “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” of favorite moments during 800 shows.
Emily’s on screen from about 3:10 minutes into the segment until about 4:10.
April 30th, 2008 08:23am
Georgette Braun
We all have moral weaknesses.
LT’s is causing some of us to think twice about our own vices with a billboard outside the bar and grill on Alpine Road in Rockford.
Ah, but wait, the bar’s aim really isn’t to get us into self-examination. It’s to get you into the place Friday night to see rapper Vanilla Ice (”Ice Ice Baby”) perform.
My colleague at the paper, movie man Will Pfeifer, told me today he saw V-ICE on LT’s billboard.
April 29th, 2008 11:35am
Georgette Braun
A reader writes to ask where she can buy USA-made clothes and household items.
She says she’s done online research, but come up pretty empty-handed.
Can you help?
April 29th, 2008 11:30am
Georgette Braun
I’ve been to more than a few concerts at the MetroCentre lately, but I’ve had trouble seeing when descending stairs there.
No, I wasn’t drinking. Can’t drink on the job, ya know.
But I saw more than a few people from ages 12 to 55 walk gingerly down the steps at the Three Days Grace show and other shows as well. The lights on the steps are too dim to see when you’re walking down them and the light is barely visible when you’re walking up them.
I mentioned this to a MetroCentre staffer who said he’d send my comment to the bosses, but I haven’t pushed for an answer on whether they’re doing anything about it as part of the renovations.
Just wondering if you’ve had trouble seeing on the stairs.
April 29th, 2008 11:25am
Georgette Braun
Got a birds-eye view of Dierks Bentley a few weeks ago at the MetroCentre from the Press Box Group Suite. (Check out our coverage.)
Because the suite wasn’t sold to a corporate somebody two weeks before, the box was opened to anybody who hadn’t already bought a ticket for the show. Cost: $49, compared with $35.50 for a regular seat. It was mostly well worth it.
You got a free beer or soda, good-tasting chicken wings and popcorn, a private bathroom, an unobstructed view from the top of the arena, leather high-top chairs to sit in and a table area in front of you to put your drinks on and to lean on during the show. The suite can accommodate 50.
What you couldn’t see from there, though, was that opener Bucky Covington was wearing a necklace. And it’s just not quite right if you’re a big fan of the star performing to not be in the heat of the excitement on the floor.
Still, for an elbows-free experience, it’s good. It’s not available for individuals for every concert, though. Just when the staff open it up like two weeks before a show if they haven’t sold it to a group.
Sign up for the MetroCentre’s Scoop e-mail news, and you’ll get to know right away when the suite is open for individuals.
April 29th, 2008 10:15am
Georgette Braun
So, I’ve just started this blog.
And I’m so excited, I’m ripping off the B-I-N-G-O song and vow to sing this version of it — “A-S-K Gee-Oh” — when I’m bloggin’ to get my juices flowing. You’re welcome to sing it too when you respond to my blog posts or when you ask me a question that I’ll try to answer.
Anywho, my bosses advised me in my newbie-ness to blogging to post a few comments so you all think I’ve got something to say, even before I get going. So, wanting to keep the paychecks flowing, I’m doing just that.
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