Author: WBEZ Chicago

No matter how hard we try, we all generate trash. And the fabrics we don’t want anymore — clothes, towels, blankets, rags — are harder to recycle than they might seem, as most fabrics are a mix of fibers and material types, requiring different techniques that can’t be done on a large scale. A local weaver implements sustainable techniques at an artist-run industrial mill in Humboldt Park–but even so, there’s still fabric scraps leftover. So she’s trying out a community approach to deal with these scraps. It involves a people-powered fabric shredder.

Due to declining enrollment, Chicago is no longer the country’s third-largest school district. Northwestern unveils plans for a new football stadium in Evanston. Reset takes a deep dive into these stories and much more in our Weekly News Recap with Natalie Moore, WBEZ reporter on the Race, Class and Communities desk, Mick Dumke, reporter and columnist ProPublica Illinois, and Heather Cherone, Chicago politics reporter for WTTW News.

OK, bakers! Get your starters ready. Cooler weather calls for heartier meals that aren’t complete without breads of all kinds, shapes and sizes. (also bonus: it’s Bread Week, GBBO fans!) Reset checks in with a local James Beard Award-winning baker about his new bread cookbook.

To reduce their carbon footprints, New York and Los Angeles have banned gas-powered stoves and heating in new construction. Chicago is taking a different approach. A new ordinance requires new homes to be “electric ready.” The city isn’t banning gas appliances in homes, but wants residents to more easily be able to switch to electric ones if they choose. But how can people who can’t afford to buy a new home be part of this transition? Reset finds out more about electrification, and checks in with an advocate to learn more about these efforts. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

The nearly dozen suits, filed in Lake County, claims the shooting was “predictable and preventable.” They add to the over 100 charges the shooter already faces, which include first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. Reset get the details and learns how the suit could impact the alleged shooter’s pending criminal case. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

Yes, hackers can spy on some of what you’re doing on your laptop if you’re browsing the web in a coffee shop. But public networks are worlds safer than they were a few years ago. Reset learns the do’s and don’ts of using public WiFi networks. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

Invest South/West is Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s signature economic development plan. Reset explores why so few projects appear to be moving forward three years since the mayor announced the program. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

We spoke to learn why people are targeting these books, and what libraries are doing to protect access to challenged titles. GUEST: Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation at American Library Association Commissioner Chris Brown, Chicago Public Library

The city is pushing for 1,000 new housing units to revitalize Lasalle Street. Despite being synonymous with Chicago’s financial services industry, Lasalle Street has a higher vacancy rate than any other area downtown. Reset talks to a reporter for a breakdown of the city’s goals and plans. GUEST: Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago reporter covering the Loop, West Loop, River North and the Gold Coast