Advocates Bring Open Streets to the Heart of Downtown Chicago

On October 1, Chicago advocates celebrated the first open streets initiative since 2009 — and they went big.

The initiative was held on the city’s iconic State Street in the heart of downtown, and was titled Open Streets on State Street. Unlike the initiative in New York City, which was organized by the NYC DOT, Chicago’s initiative was put on by local Alliance member organization Active Transportation Alliance, in cooperation with the Chicago Loop Alliance.

While Active Trans has organized open streets in the past, this was the advocates first time preparing an initiative downtown. In anticipation of the time commitment, the organization hired several part-time staff members to help coordinate volunteers, programming and logistics for the big event. Active Trans also partnered with local media to spread the word.

The initiative itself was a huge success, with thousands of pedestrians and cyclists enjoying a brisk fall day. Children were everywhere along the route, enjoying relay races, the imagination playground and plenty of active games. Even Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein got in on the fun by taking a turn in the dunk tank.

Active Trans Open Streets Manager Julia Kim summed up Open Streets on State Street by saying, “We’re encouraging people to ride bikes, take a stroll, and embrace the dramatic beauty of Chicago. Open Streets brings communities together to have fun and lead active lifestyles.”

With the success of this year’s initiatives, Active Trans is already looking forward to holding more frequent and larger open streets next year. The goal is to create routes that link downtown and neighborhood initiatives, allowing Chicago’s open streets to benefit both its diverse communities and major business district.

Learn more about the evolution of Chicago’s initiative and get tips from Active Trans’ Adolfo Hernandez by listening to or downloading the tip sheet from our recent Mutual Aid Call on Open Streets. If you have successes to share about initiatives in your community, e-mail me at Mike@PeoplePoweredMovement.org.

Source: http://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/site/index.php/site/blog/chicago_holds_successful_open_streets/

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Gov. Christie: I'm with Obama on gay marriage

Following his veto of a bill allowing gay marriage in his state, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused Democrats of playing politics with the issue and said his stance is no different than President Obama's.

Source: http://pheedo.msnbc.msn.com/click.phdo?i=e62208397407c0d875db98c5507991d9

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4 kids, grandma killed in New Jersey house fire

Fire swept through an old two-family house early Thursday in norther New Jersey, killing four children and a grandmother, local media reported.

Source: http://pheedo.msnbc.msn.com/click.phdo?i=95a1cb1042dd31928c83b6914fa58802

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Do You Want to Know How Long You Will Live?

A new study shows that your telomeres—the caps at the end of your chromosomes—may indicate how long you will live.

Source: http://www.aarp.org/health/longevity/info-07-2011/video-telemeres.html

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Not Test & Target

AARP Home » Health » Conditions & Treatments »Not Test & Target. Not Test & Target. January 1, 1970. Text; Print; Comments; Email; Recommend; Tweet; DEFAULT. ...

Source: http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2002/default-text-image.html

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sleeve

Source: http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=sleeve&diff=16301093&oldid=16300502

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South West Coastal Path Walks

Cornwall Walks Looe To Polperro Circular Walking Route

Looe to Polperro is one of my favourite Cornwall walks mainly due to it being, apart from the Looe River walking route, the only walk to do along this section of the South West Coastal Path of any note. The title Looe to Polperro circular walking routes suggests a walk of extra interest but it should just be titled “Looe to Polerro and back”.

We awoke to an amazing sunrise and planned to walk to Polperro from West Looe for a spot of lunch at The Three Pilchards pub, a favourite of ours that does a great crab sandwich and local ale. It’s such an easy walk to follow along the South West Coastal Path that you can relax and take the steep climbs, rocky tracks and stream crossings at your leisure whilst breathing in that clean, crisp and fresh Cornish air.

From West Looe we walked up to Hannafore and upon entering the fields through the gate we met grazing cattle on our way up to the Lamanna Chapel. After stopping to read the information board we walked back down the hill to rejoin the main pathway to Polperro following the yellow waymakers for the rest of this walking route.

With Looe Island, looking like a vibrant green oasis, out to our left we continued walking to Talland Bay as the pathway undulated along by the flat calm sea below. We then walked steeply up to the war memorial at the top of the next hill. At Talland Bay there are three signposts; one says Polperro is one and a half miles, the next says Polperro is one and a quarter miles and the last National Trust Talland Cliffs signpost said its two miles to Polperro. This is always a source of our amusement.

We continued our walk along the South West Coastal Path passing many ramblers, walkers, locals and tourists until we reached the top of Polperro Harbour where we then walked down the pathway in to Polperro and around to The Three Pilchards pub. The ale was as good as ever and the crab sandwiches were just as good as remembered.

As the weather was so good we decided to walk back the way we came to enjoy the splendid views once again noticing how the number of canoeists almost matched the number of walkers in the sea below us. The heat from the sun glaring off the sea was an absolutely lovely feeling as we walked back to Looe stopping off at the first pub we came to; Tom Sawyer. A quick check to make sure our walking boots weren’t too muddy and we were in, at the bar and with a Tribute in hand in a matter of moments!

This made this walking route a respectable 10 miles taking us just under a total of 4 hours walking time to complete.