My son Robert is home from Ohio University this week, enjoying his so-called “Spring Break” in Chicago. The official temperature in Chicago is predicted to rise above freezing tomorrow (March 7) for the first time in two weeks. As you can see from the photo above, the Chicago River is already enjoying its Spring Break.
Author Archives: dkstaub
Autos collide on Green Bay Rd
Above is a photo of two cars sitting in the intersection of Green Bay Road and Central Street at 9:30 a.m. this morning. Emergency responders and a tow truck were on the scene. Traffic was blocked on Central Street but it looked like they were letting cars through on Green Bay Road.
Oreos more addictive than cocaine?
Here’s some news that comes as no surprise to me: research done at Connecticut College shows that Oreos may be more addictive than cocaine.
CBS News reports that Connecticut College psychology professor Joseph Schroeder and four of his students conducted a study with rats to determine whether high fat, high sugar foods can be as addictive as drugs of abuse.
“We found that the behavior they exhibited was equally strong for Oreo cookies as it was for cocaine or morphine,” Schroeder, the director of the Behavioral Neuroscience program at Connecticut College, told WCBS 880. “When we looked in the pleasure center of the brain, we found that the Oreo cookies activated the pleasure center more so than cocaine would activate the same center.”
The study was initiated by a student interested in researching the obesity epidemic, noting that low-income areas tend to have a prevalence of fast-food options.
Schroeder told WCBS 880 “Overall, [the study] lent support to the hypothesis that high fat, high sugar foods can be viewed in the same was as drugs of abuse and have addictive potential. It could be used to explain why some people have a problem staying away from foods that they know they shouldn’t eat or that they know are addictive.”
As some who has found himself polishing off a dozen Oreos in short order many times, this new research should be filed under the heading “Duh, yeah!”
Learn about the Affordable Care Act and upcoming health care transition
This Sunday, October 13, come to the Levy Senior Center in Evanston to hear our federal and state officials discuss the new health care law. You can also learn about the enrollment process with in-person counselors.
Starting in October, you can enroll in health care coverage through Illinois’ expansion of Medicaid or the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace. If you have questions about the Affordable Care Act or want to learn more, you can meet individually with an in-person counselor from noon to 5:00 PM Sunday at the Levy Senior Center.
At 3:00 PM you can join a panel discussion on the Affordable Care Act and upcoming health care transition with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Daniel Biss and State Representatives Robyn Gabel and Laura Fine.
No appointments are necessary. For more information, contact Senator Biss’s office at 847-568-1250 or senatorbiss@gmail.com.
The Levy Center is located at 300 Dodge Avenue in Evanston (Google map).
Video celebrates Central Street neighborhood as one of APA’s 10 best in the U.S.
The City of Evanston has released a nice video of our Central Street neighborhood to celebrate being named by the American Planning Association as one of the 10 best neighborhoods in the United States for 2013. Sit back and watch: