Transit watchdog down. Streetsblog Chicago co-founder John Greenfield was injured in—and placed in a medically induced coma after—a biking accident in Carbondale …
■ … where he was on one of his many multimodal Midwest bicycle tours.
■ Last week, Greenfield observed that Chicago bike lane curb protection “is bustin’ out all over.”
■ He has a history of standing up for Chicago Public Square (2020 link).
■ The Tribune: Unreliable CTA service is frustrating riders and threatening Chicago’s economic heart.
■ … as Bed, Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection, with plans to close all stores by June 30.
■ Forbes offers five reasons the chain’s headed for the Great Beyond.
■ Morning Brew: You have just two days left to use those ubiquitous BB&B 20%-off coupons …
■ … but Illinois has only these 11 stores left.
Help wanted. Flush with billions of dollars to spend on infrastructure, U.S. cities and states are looking for a million construction workers.
■ Vox: “Where are all the apartments for families? Cities are finally starting to build more housing—but not for people with kids.”
■ Block Club Chicago: After lead paint in an apartment poisoned her son, a Chicago mom is pushing for more testing and building inspections.
Books banned. Popular Information reports that The Handmaid’s Tale, The Fault In Our Stars, and Story of a Girl are among dozens of titles a Florida school district has banned—based just on proposed legislation.
■ Flutist Lizzo flouted Tennessee’s anti-drag law, filling a Knoxville stage with drag queens.
■ The Washington Post exposes the conservative campaign to relax child labor laws.
‘Secretaries of state … must refuse to place Donald Trump’s name on the 2024 ballot.’ But columnist Robert Reich says “the guy who committed treason just over two years ago [is] being allowed to run for president.”
■ Surprise: Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is criticizing Fox for its softball interviews with Trump.
‘Too many armed citizens are jittery at best, spoiling for a fight at worst.’ Columnist and gun-owner—“for the purpose of self-defense”— David French says “gun idolatry” is destroying the case for guns.
■ The ex-cop fired for shooting and killing Breonna Taylor in her Louisville home has been hired as a deputy in a nearby county.
■ An ex-Minnesota officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright in 2021—because, she said, she mistook her gun for a Taser—is out of prison.
Gone around, came around. The CEO of NBCUniversal, Jeff Shell, is out after revelation of “an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company” …
■ … less than three years after he fired an underling for failing to disclose an extortion attempt by an actress with whom he’d had an affair.
‘At Elon Musk’s discretion.’ Some high- (and low-) profile Twitter accounts have gotten their blue “verified” checkmarks back—without paying …
■ … but Twitter also bestowed a gold check on a fake Disney account for kids.
■ Insider: The unilateral moves have plunged Twitter (further) into chaos.
■ As one observer on Digg noted, the company’s zigs and zags have left “no discernible way to determine if celebs are who they say they are.”
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