Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Oak Parker's mobile business offers a rolling coffee shop.
What started as a "lightbulb" moment for Renee Estese-Long has turned into Oak Park's first mobile coffee vendor. The idea for the Mojo Express began in 2009, she recalled, during a Fourth of July fireworks display — there were ice cream trucks surrounded by people looking for a treat. That's when it hit her. "It was too bad the ice cream truck didn't sell hot coffee or hot teas, I thought, and literally, the lightbulb just went off in my head," she said. With family and friends, Estese-Long began hashing out the concept of a mobile organic coffee dispensary. Then, she started looking for investors. Finding few who were willing, she turned to Accion Chicago for a loan. The international group offers "microfinancing" to those without …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Portion of Wednesday's sales at Whole Foods will be donated to Oak Park domestic abuse resource agency.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Aly Brumback
-
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Domestic violence is never an easy topic to tackle. It's not often discussed, instead left behind closed doors for someone else to worry about. Sarah’s Inn, an Oak Park nonprofit organization working to prevent and educate about domestic abuse, has refused to leave the topic in the shadows. This year, the group will celebrate its 30th anniversary. In honor of that anniversary, the River Forest Whole Foods will donate five percent of the Wednesday’s sales to the organization. The company's Community Support Day happens every quarter at each store and Whole Foods likes to keep donations local. “We try to identify organizations that are truly making a difference, and Sarah’s Inn is definitely a worthwhile cause,” said Whole Foods spokeswoman …
41.88853
-87.806548
Whole Foods Market
7245 Lake St, River Forest, IL
/articles/sarahs-inn-gets-community-support
1297155
/locations/5279978
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Shoppers snatch up bargains, raise an estimated $40,000 at annual sale.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Aly Brumback
-
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The line stretched around the block before Oak Park Public Library's 41st annual book fair, full of people ready to run and get their hands on the best deals. They were loaded down with boxes and carts, totes and bags. Some waited in line for hours, well before the doors to Oak Park-River Forest High School's doors opened at 6 p.m. Friday. Some were there earlier than noon. One couple from Lafayette, Ind., said they'd been waiting for 12 hours. When the doors finally opened, customers raced down the hallway to the high school's cafeteria, bags flapping behind them. Book fair volunteers call this "the running of the books," a play on Pamplona's annual bull running. It's an accurate assessment. The book fair raises money for the Friends of …
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Zephyrs Track Club's Christopher Madison wins the Youth Boys high jump at the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships.
Oak Park’s Christopher Madison hoped to clear 6 feet in the high jump event for the first time during a meet this summer with the Zephyrs Track Club. Earlier: McCoy, Madison Among Zephyrs' Qualifier for Track Nationals Not only did Madison accomplish that, but he also picked the perfect time. And now he’s a national champion. By clearing 6 feet, ¾ of one inch (1.85 meters) on his first attempt, the incoming freshman at Oak Park–River Forest High School captured first place during the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships July 26-31 in Wichita, Kans. in the Youth Boys division for 13- and 14-year-old athletes. “When I was on the podium, getting the medal, it felt really good,” said Madison, a Percy Julian Middle School …
41.78911
-87.93183
W 55th St & S Grant St, Hinsdale, IL
/articles/incoming-oprf-frosh-wins-national-track-title
/locations/5051220
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Fenwick track star, incoming OPRF frosh to compete at this week's national Junior Olympic Championships in Kansas.
Fenwick High School senior-to-be Erin McCoy and Oak Park-River Forest freshman-to-be Chris Madison of Oak Park are among athletes from the Zephyrs Track Club competing at the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships in Wichita, Kans. on Tuesday, July 26, through Sunday, July 31. McCoy will compete in the Young Women (ages 17-18) division in the 400-meter hurdles and with 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams. Madison will compete in the Youth Boys (ages 13-14) high jump and 400. To reach USATF nationals, athletes needed top-five finishes at the Region VII Championships for Illinois and Indiana entries July 9-10 at Plainfield Central High School after requiring top-eight finishes to advance at the state meet June 24-25 at Plainfield …
41.78911
-87.93183
W 55th St & S Grant St, Hinsdale, IL
/articles/mccoy-madison-among-zephyrs-qualifiers-for-usatf-nationals
/locations/4947302
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friends of the Oak Park Library will host the 41st Annual Oak Park Book Fair on August 5 and 6; sorting takes place throughout July.
When Steve Kirshenbaum first moved to Oak Park, volunteering to sort books for the library’s annual book fair was one of the first things he did to become a part of the community. “[My family] loves books, and it’s a great way to meet people,” Kirshenbaum said. “This year will be my nineteenth. The more people that come to help, the merrier.” Now the president of the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library, Kirshenbaum said the goal is to raise between $30,000 and $40,000 for the organization at the 41st Annual Oak Park Book Fair. The "Friends" use that money to fund special programs at the library, such as Young Adult Coffehouses, the summer reading program, author readings and film series. “Anything we can do to get more people into the …
41.89099
-87.78803
Oak Park & River Forest High School
201 N Scoville Ave, Oak Park, IL
/articles/sort-it-out-oak-park-book-fair-looking-for-volunteers
245498
/locations/4750041
41.888648
-87.795493
Oak Park Public Library Main Branch
834 Lake St, Oak Park, IL
/articles/sort-it-out-oak-park-book-fair-looking-for-volunteers
246216
/locations/4750042
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Senior tops girls gymnastics teammates in all four events; OPRF finishes 5th.
Oak Park-River Forest senior Grace Ryan’s gymnastics season got off to a painful start. “Especially the first couple of weeks of practice, I was so sore,” Ryan said. “It was hard because I didn’t work out at all over the summer. Coming in, I was really rusty. Now I’ve gotten everything back so it’s gotten a lot smoother.” Ryan has had a history of peaking at the end of the season and that’s the way it looks like she'll go out. Saturday, she had the Huskies’ top scores on all four events at the West Suburban Silver conference meet at York. The Huskies (125.25 points) finished fifth and fifth again in the final overall standings, a 50-50 combination of dual results and Silver meet results. They'll compete next at the Wheaton Warrenville …
41.890335
-87.951529
355 W Saint Charles Rd, Elmhurst, IL
/articles/ryan-leads-huskies-at-silver-meet
/locations/3212511
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Evanston rebounding dominates, Oak Park-River Forest falls 53-49.
It had all of the makings for a pretty decent upset. Evanston Township was 6-3 against some rugged competition and was highly regarded throughout the Chicagoland area. Oak Park-River Forest High School has a younger team that is still trying to make a name for itself. The young Huskies, however, simply couldn't do it. Evanston hit 10 fourth-quarter free throws and commanded the boards throughout as they rallied to win 53-49 Tuesday night at OPRF. For Huskies junior Gabe Levin, it was an especially difficult loss to accept. The first-year varsity player has provided ample energy, rebounding and offense. Tuesday night he was relegated to five rebounds, zero points and a foul out. Levin was frustrated after the game. "They were a lot more …
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sophomore's penalty kick lifts Huskies to 1-0 win
Elias El Metennani did not let the delay before his penalty kick rattle him. The Oak Park-River Forest sophomore calmly waited for his time to kick the ball, then drilled it into the back of the net with 11:49 left in the boys soccer game. The goal held up as the game-winner as the Huskies turned back Glenbard West 1-0 in a West Suburban Conference Silver Division battle Tuesday evening in Oak Park. Metennani was forced to wait to take his shot while the official explained the foul to Glenbard West coach Maciek Kusmierz. "I was ready to take it and then the coach called the ref over and so we were waiting," Metennani said. "I think he was deliberately trying to do it to get in my head. There's a lot of pressure when there's a few minutes …
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Oak Park-River Forest rolls by Morton 46-0.
The Oak Park-River Forest football team sure knew how to please a homecoming crowd. The Huskies gave their fans lots to celebrate by dominating Morton 46-0 in a West Suburban Conference crossover match-up on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oak Park. Junior quarterback John Phelan ran for three touchdowns and passed for another one. "Our line was blowing people off the ball all day," said Phelan, who carried the ball 14 times for 148 yards and completed six of nine passes for 132 yards. "Tony (Stapleton) and Jakari (Cammon) were both just running great. Everything was clicking. We were executing on all fronts." The Huskies (2-5) gained 315 yards in building a 27-0 halftime lead. They finished with a season-high 503 yards. "That was probably …
