Daily Archive : Friday August 11, 2017

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    Country music recording artist Brad Paisley performs at the graduation for Barrington High School at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington. Paisley says years of hosting the Country Music Awards and writing songs with humorous lyrics have - hopefully - prepared him to host his first comedy special, the €œBrad Paisley Comedy Rodeo,€ which will premiere on Netflix on Tuesday, Aug. 15. (Steve Lundy /Daily Herald via AP, File)

    Brad Paisley hopes to land punchlines with first Netflix comedy special
    By JOHN CARUCCI
    Brad Paisley credits his hosting duties with Carrie Underwood on the Country Music Awards as the gateway to his first comedy special. The "Brad Paisley Comedy Rodeo" premieres Tuesday on Netflix.

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    Kevin Webb is among the actors performing in Black Button Eyes Productions' Chicago storefront premiere of the musical “Shockheaded Peter.”

    Suburbanites figure prominently in revival of macabre 'Shockheaded Peter' musical
    By Barbara Vitello
    A set and puppet designer from Bensenville and cast members from Wheaton, Lisle and Libertyville are among the suburban natives playing key roles in Black Button Eyes Productions' revival of the macabre musical “Shockheaded Peter.”

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    FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, file photo, a person displays Netflix on a tablet in North Andover, Mass. The future of TV may well be a mishmash of streaming services that could wind up costing pretty close to a $100 cable bundle, but that are way too difficult to use. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

    The TV-streaming paradox: Why you may miss the cable bundle
    By TALI ARBEL
    The future of TV may well be a mishmash of streaming packages that wind up costing pretty close to a $100 cable bundle but are more difficult to use

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    Brandon Micheal Hall participates in the "The Mayor" panel during the Disney ABC Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

    TV confidential: Signs of season to come at critics' meeting
    By LYNN ELBER
    After the stardust had settled, the just-ended Television Critics Association's annual summer meeting revealed a lot, if not everything, about the 2017-18 TV season

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    The Arlington Million returns to Arlington International Racecourse Saturday.

    5 ideas for this weekend in the suburbs
    The 35th running of the Arlington Million gets Saturday off to a quick start. Here are five ideas for the weekend ahead.

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    Gift of jewelry with strings attached isn’t a gift
    By Carolyn Hax
    Husband wants to buy wife expensive jewelry for anniversary on the condition she doesn’t eventually leave it to her willful daughter. Carolyn Hax says try a nice vacation instead.

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    The top 10 songs and albums on the iTunes Store
    By The Associated Press
    This week's top selling songs and albums on Apple iTunes.

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    FILE - This Oct. 24, 2012 file photo shows "Jersey Shore" cast members, from left, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Paul "Pauly D" Delvecchio, Deena Cortese, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi at a panel entitled "Love, Loss, (Gym, Tan) and Laundry: A Farewell to the Jersey Shore" in New York. The cast of “Jersey Shore” is doing it all again for a special on the E! Network. “Reunion Road Trip: Return to the Jersey Shore” brings the gang back together for the first time in five years. It airs Aug. 20, 2017. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

    'Jersey Shore' gang reuniting for an E! special Aug. 20
    The Associated Press
    The cast of "Jersey Shore" is doing it all again for a special on the E! Network

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    This cover image released by Kemosabe Records/RCA Records shows "Rainbow," the latest release by Kesha. (Kemosabe Records/RCA Records via AP)

    Kesha, free at last, shines brighter than ever on 'Rainbow'
    By MESFIN FEKADU
    Music Review: Kesha's first album in 5 years, 'Rainbow,' showcases a freer, newer, stronger version of the singer without her longtime collaborator Dr. Luke

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    FILE - In this May 17, 2017 file photo, filmmaker Michael Moore attends the Turner Network 2017 Upfront presentation at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Moore showed his patriotism by marching down the Avenue of the Americas with a drum and fife corps after making his Broadway debut. “I say this to the people who disagree with me, we’re all Americans. We’re all in the same boat, and we’re going to sink or swim together. I prefer not to sink. So let’s find a way, if we can, to work together to save this country,” Moore said Thursday, Aug. 10. .(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

    'We're all in the same boat' _ Michael Moore preaches unity
    By JOHN CARUCCI
    Michael Moore showed his patriotism by marching down the Avenue of the Americas with a drum and fife corps after making his Broadway debut

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    FILE - This Jan. 23, 2013 file photo shows Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly posing for a portrait in New York. Kelly, after some eclectic releases, plays to his strength on "Life is Fine." It is a sturdy, collection of pop-rock songs from a writer who's a master of economy and expressiveness. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP, File)

    Paul Kelly plays to strengths on sturdy 'Life is Fine'
    By DAVID BAUDER
    Music Review: Australian treasure Paul Kelly, after some eclectic releases, plays to his strength on 'Life is Fine.' It's a sturdy collection of pop-rock songs from a veteran known for his economy and expressiveness as a writer

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    FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2016, file photo, 2 Chainz performs at The Budweiser Made In America Festival in Philadelphia. 2 Chainz took the stage in Tuscon in a pink wheelchair Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, 11 days after he said he broke his leg. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP, File)

    2 Chainz takes stage in pink wheelchair after breaking leg
    The Associated Press
    2 Chainz isn't letting a broken leg interrupt his tour plans

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    FILE - In this March 15, 2016, file photo, Big Boi performs at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival closing party at Stubb's in Austin, Texas. Big Boi presented a puppy on August 10, 2017, to a little girl who was paralyzed in an April shooting. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)

    OutKast's Big Boi gives puppy to girl paralyzed in shooting
    The Associated Press
    Atlanta rapper Big Boi has gifted a puppy to a little girl who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot while playing in a bounce house near the city earlier this year

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    FILE - In this June 10, 2017 file photo, singer Dionne Warwick arrives for the opening ceremony of the Life Ball in front of the City Hall in Vienna, Austria. Warwick will be honored with an award named for a pioneering opera singer. The Marian Anderson Award is given in Philadelphia to "critically acclaimed artists who have impacted society in a positive way." Anderson was the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. Mayor Jim Kenney announced Thursday, Aug. 10, that the five-time Grammy winner will receive the award at a Nov. 14 ceremony.(AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)

    Dionne Warwick to be honored with Marian Anderson Award
    The Associated Press
    Dionne Warwick will be honored with the Marian Anderson Award at Nov. 14 ceremony in Philadelphia

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    This August 10, 2017, photo provided by NBC shows Alex Moffat as Eric Trump, left, Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr., center, and Colin Jost on set during the debut episode of "Weekend Update: Summer Edition," in New York. The "Saturday Night Live" spinoff runs through the end of the month. (Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via AP)

    'Weekend Update' pokes Trump, Scaramucci on 'SNL' return
    The Associated Press
    Summer vacation is over for "Saturday Night Live" and that means "Weekend Update" gets to weigh in on the latest White House commotion

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    Night life events: Backstage Pass at Q Bar
    By Sara Hooker
    Longitude 87’s rum tastings; Beelow’s car show; Q Bar’s band night.

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    Celebrate Marina City's new release, “Terminal,” Friday, Aug. 11, at Wire in Berwyn.

    Weekend picks: New Marina City music release at Wire
    By Scott C. Morgan & Laura Milbrath Stewart
    South suburban Marina City celebrates the release of a new EP at Berwyn's Wire with Early June, Detour North and Arvia. More on this and other fun upcoming events.

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    Erstwhile Spider-Man Tom Holland plays a novice monk during the 13th century in the violent “Pilgrimage.”

    Gory medieval drama puts the ‘grim’ in ‘Pilgrimage’
    By Dann Gire
    “Spider-Man” star Tom Holland stars as a young monk-in-training in Brendan Muldowney’s blood-soaked Irish religious drama “Pilgrimage.”

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    Mexican mint marigolds surround an urn in the author’s herb garden. For those who struggle to grow tarragon, the herb makes a good stand-in.

    An herb that tastes like tarragon adds beauty to your yard
    By Barbara Damrosch
    It was with some trepidation that I sowed something called Mexican mint marigold this year. It’s the new kid on the herb block, a fact you’d know only by looking it up under several names mentioned in seed catalogs. These include sweet mace, Spanish tarragon, Texas tarragon, winter tarragon, cloud plant, yerba anis, coronilla and pericón.

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    Asbestos removal stalls remodel
    By Barry Stone
    Q. We recently purchased an older home and hired a contractor to remodel the interior. An unexpected expense arose when the contractor found asbestos. He wants an additional $30,000 for asbestos removal, and this makes the total cost of the project more than we can afford.

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    A crab melt sandwich is one of the new lunch options at Red Lobster.

    Dining events: Seafood lover’s lunch at Red Lobster
    By Sara Hooker
    Red Lobster’s seafood lover’s lunch; Restaurant Michael’s flavor fit menu; Krispy Kreme’s secret.

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    Fannie and Freddie stick with outdated credit scoring
    By Ken Harney
    WASHINGTON — If you’ve been waiting for the long-anticipated news that the two dominant players in the home mortgage arena — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — finally have decided to overhaul their outdated credit scoring systems to expand homeownership opportunities for a broader range of buyers, sorry. Your wait just got a lot longer.There will be no modernization of the mortgage giants’ controversial scoring systems before mid-2019 at the earliest, according to Fannie’s and Freddie’s top government regulator.Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, disclosed last week that despite intense pressure from Congress and homeownership advocacy groups, he plans no changes in the next two years. This means retention of the existing system that uses FICO scoring models that are widely considered out of date, and a continued requirement that mortgage lenders underwrite homebuyer applicants exclusively using scoring versions that even their developer, FICO, would prefer to replace.Some quick background: FICO scores, which range from 300 to 850, predict the relative risk of default on loan applications, based on information from consumers’ credit files. Low scores indicate greater risk; high scores less risk.Since the adoption of credit scoring by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the mid-1990s, FICO (formerly known as Fair Isaac Co.) has introduced a series of newer versions designed to improve the predictive accuracy of its scores.Fannie’s and Freddie’s models date to the early years of the past decade and have long been superseded by more consumer-friendly versions. For example, the latest FICO model ignores score-depressing items found in many consumers’ credit files such as paid-off collections, and is more lenient on medical bill collection accounts.Several years ago, members of Congress and a coalition of housing advocacy groups began complaining that Fannie’s and Freddie’s reliance on outdated scoring models is harmful, and urged the two companies to upgrade their systems.They also noted that at least one major competitor to FICO, VantageScore Solutions, offers a model that claims to score 30 million-plus people with minimal data on file at the credit bureaus who currently are “unscoreable” or invisible to older FICO models. VantageScore says if added to Fannie’s and Freddie’s menus, its model could “expand mortgage lending to Hispanics and African-Americans to purchase homes by 16 percent.”Under the direction of Watt, Fannie and Freddie have studied the possibility of updating and expanding their scoring technologies for the past two years, but have continued to insist that all lenders use only the older FICO models they prescribe. They have also declined to upgrade to any of FICO’s more advanced versions — a move that FICO itself supports. Part of the reason for the reluctance to change, according to industry experts, is the substantial cost of retooling underwriting systems and potential complications for bond investors.Watt said that while he endorses the goal of expanding access to mortgage credit for more people, any abrupt departure from Fannie’s and Freddie’s current technologies would be “a serious mistake.” Watt said the earliest practical time for any change would be in two years, when the two companies plan jointly to introduce a new platform for mortgage bond market offerings. Watt also expressed concern that using “competing credit scores” could lead to “a race to the bottom with competitors competing for more and more customers.”

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    Whether a move is across county or state lines, it can take some time to acclimate to a new neighborhood.

    Five ways to get acquainted with a new neighborhood
    Metro Creative Services
    Whether a move is across county lines or overseas, it can take some time to acclimate to a new neighborhood. These tips can help anyone get acquainted with their new surroundings and make friends in the process.

Discuss

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    The Elgin City Council is having special Saturday budget meetings at the Hemmens Cultural Center, which lacks the video equipment to record discussions for residents to view at any time.

    Editorial: Venue for Elgin’s special budget meetings a blow to transparency
    The Daily Herald Editorial Board
    A Daily Herald editorial says the Elgin City Council’s decision to move three special budget meetings to a location without video-recording capability is a troubling blow to transparency.

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    The art of the bluff
    By Fareed Zakaria
    Columnist Fareed Zakaria: How did we get here? Why does it appear that we’re on the brink of a war in Asia, one that could involve nuclear weapons?

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    State Department divided on mission
    Columnist Byron York: As part of what he calls a “redesign” of the State Department, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has surveyed more than 35,000 State employees on the most fundamental questions facing the organization.

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    Reckless to publish phone conversations
    A Palatine letter to the editor: There was a noteworthy concurrence in the Aug. 6 edition of the Daily Herald.

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    Show respect for disabled parking
    A Vernon Hills letter to the editor: I could not agree more with observations about the abuse of handicapped parking.

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    Climate myth
    A Lake Barrington letter to the editor: On the Aug. 7 Opinion page, Mr. Knight from Citizens Climate Lobby, another false prophet Al Gore acolyte, talks about climate change,

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    Don’t deny history
    A Wheeling letter to the editor: When John Ray stated in his July 29 letter that “the Civil War was fought over states’ rights and not slavery,” he perpetuated a false narrative more than a hundred years old.

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    Columnist not shy to speak the truth
    A Wood Dale letter to the editor: I can’t tell you how pleased I am to read a columnist who knows the truth and is not shy about proclaiming it. How utterly refreshing! I have nothing but admiration and respect for Walter E. Williams.

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    GOP should get started on these issues
    An Elgin letter to the editor: Now that the bogus 7-year Republican obsession to repeal Obamacare is over because it was called Romneycare (Mitt created in MA), can we focus on what really urgent?

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    Today’s Opinion Page editorial cartoon
    Today’s Daily Herald Opinion page editorial cartoon

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