| Local grocery stores near Wal-Marts will face major challenge
Glenn MacDonald, a professor of economics and strategy at Washington University's Olin School of Business, lives near the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Eureka, which competes with a Schnucks 2 miles away. So when MacDonald discusses the probable impact of Wal-Mart expanding full-service grocery departments into the St. Louis area, he also speaks as a shopper.
As MacDonald describes the constantly packed parking lot at the Supercenter in Eureka compared to the less-busy lot at the nearby Schnucks, he predicts that Schnuck Markets Inc. and Shop 'n Save will be hurt the most by the retailing giant's growth, while Dierbergs Markets will continue to draw more-affluent customers.
"I think Schnucks is going to get pinched. I think they've got trouble," he said in an interview last week.
Make resolutions for the new school year
Faced with a new grade, new teacher and new responsibilities, parents and children can get caught up in the activity and not spend the time to prepare for the year ahead. Parenting coach Terry Carson says the beginning of school is an ideal time for families to make resolutions that will help them stay on track throughout the year. Here are Terry's top resolutions along with some solutions for the new school year parents and kids can feel good about: Achieve academic success. The first step is for families to define success. If parents and kids aren't on the same page, work together to create a definition. Keep in mind grades aren't the only measure of success; set small goals, like finishing a book or solving a math problem. Strike a balance between independent and family time.
There's nothing like a man in the kitchen
I'll always remember the guy who got away. Not because of his doe-brown eyes magnified through round glasses, which were cool even before Harry Potter. Not because he was a graduate of Brown and Columbia Business School and could make beautiful furniture by hand. And not because, as I found out years later reading about his wedding in The New York Times, he was sitting on a $100 million real estate fortune. No, what I'll always remember about him was the dinner he cooked on our third date. It was a rainy, blustery March evening. In his perfect way, Jake (whose name has been changed to protect his "trade secrets") called mid-afternoon to suggest that we skip dinner at the latest hip restaurant and grab something at his place instead. I was smitten. (Had he served me frozen pizza and a Bud I would have thought him a culinary giant.) But since he had spent three months at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, the menu was creamy pea soup, sea bass with ginger and miso, perfectly charred asparagus, and a rhubarb-pear crumble for dessert.
Fundraisers
The Streamwood Kiwanis Club is seeking adult and youth group volunteers interested in lending a hand to collect donations on street corners and by storefronts Sept. 28 and 29 for Peanut Days. Each group that participates will earn 40 percent of what they collect for their own organization. For information, call Cathy at (630) 213-3660. Recycle your computer: Drop off your recently retired computer from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept 8 at Weber Atrium Center in Arlington Heights. Collected computers will be refurbished and made available to those in need. Also drop off used printer ink cartridges for donation to the Kenneth Young Center for recycling. For information, www.passonyourpc.com. or www.kennethyoung.org. Palatine/Inverness Arts Council: Come celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Palatine/Inverness Arts Council at 6:30 p.m.
Gullah culture is alive and well in South Carolina
For decades in Charleston, S.C., there was little mention of the rich culture of the descendants of black slaves, many of whom lived as farmers and fisher folk on the nearby sea islands. Euphemisms used by whites helped obscure their history. The Civil War was sometimes referred to as "the recent unpleasantness." Slaves became servants; slave quarters became carriage houses. Despite rewriting reality and the lack of recognition from outsiders, the culture of West African slaves was nourished by their descendants. The isolation of the sea islands where they lived helped keep their language, arts and traditions largely intact. But now this culture known as Gullah in the Carolinas and Geechee in Florida and Georgia is being noticed and sought out by others.
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