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Proud San Franciscan, born and raised. General assignment reporter at Mashable. Graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
sasha@mashable.com // @sashajol
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Chicago Tribune
A night of drinking local beers at a Chicago watering hole happens a lot. Finding real business inspiration after guzzling craft brews usually doesn't. But for Phil Thompson and his then-girlfriend, now wife Katie Lauffenburger, a night out at a neighborhood bar led to plotting out their adopted city's best beer bars in the style of a vintage map, complete with illustrated images.
Which states are the easiest and cheapest to mortgage your home? GoBankingRates looked at fixed rate mortgages around the country and found the best states to get a loan.
First dorm. First apartment. First home. These may seem like entirely different situations, but there are a surprising number of parallels between dorm life and post-college life when it comes to sharing a roof with a roommate, housemate, partner — people who use the same dishes, keep their special milk stowed away in the refrigerator and have keys to the front door.
It's obvious what lures homebuyers to certain Chicago neighborhoods. Among the draws are convenient public transportation, walkability and diversity in everything from restaurants to culture. But this summer, some neighborhoods have seen their housing markets heat up much more than others.
Life is a journey, not a destination. The quote, usually attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, applies to the most scenic public transit journeys through Chicago and beyond. A day at the beach on Lake Michigan or ice skating in Millennium Park may be the destination, but look up while on the bus, train, water taxi and other forms of transportation to enjoy the sights, landmarks and views.
For many tweens heading into middle school, the transition from elementary school won't only be marked by new teachers, class schedules and locker assignments, but also by a gleaming new phone - or at least a hand-me-down after dad's recent upgrade.
Another taste of the San Francisco chocolatier Ghirardelli is arriving in Chicago this weekend, this one boasting a chocolate-making station and a chocolate-covered fruit and nut bar. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. announced in January its plan to move into the historic Wrigley Building at the base of the Magnificent Mile.
The quest for the Berwyn bungalow to receive national recognition is nearing its end. What has been a five-year process for the historic brick, rectangular, 1 1/2-story, low-pitched roof homes to make it into the National Register of Historic Places has moved to the final stage.
The sound of kids playing lingers in the hallway as Christine Eaddy heads into her office at People's Church of the Harvest, in the Garfield Park neighborhood on Chicago's West Side. Eaddy runs the church's Safe Haven program, a citywide initiative that serves more than 12,000 Chicago Public Schools students each year at 120 churches and centers.
Student housing is getting a makeover along with the 121-year-old Old Colony Building in the heart of Chicago's Loop. The former office space built in 1894 by architecture firm Holabird and Roche, is undergoing a conversion into dorm-style apartments. The newly named Arc at Old Colony is expected to be ready for the fall term.
Bay Area publications
Mission resident Todd Warren is hoping for $10,000 on his path toward a liver transplant - and he's asking strangers to help him through a direct appeal, crowdfunding campaign. Warren is part of a surge in patients with Hepatitis C seeking to crowdfund their shot at a cure at places such as GoFundMe, GiveForward and YouCaring.
In a marathon ballgame that lasted 19 innings, the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-8 early this morning, leaving fans and players happy but exhausted. The game began at the Oakland Coliseum shortly after 7 p.m. and ended at 1:41 a.m.
Jaclyn Mae came out of the closet when she was 21. When she told her family in Indiana that she was a transgender woman, she quickly realized they were not receptive to the idea and decided she had to get out of what she called an "abusive environment" at her mother's home.