Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“MedMen Enterprises ended a $682 million deal to buy Chicago-based marijuana company PharmaCann on Tuesday, less than three months before recreational marijuana sales are set to start in Illinois,” the Tribune reports.
“When MedMen agreed to buy PharmaCann last year, it was one of the biggest deals in the history of the legal weed industry. It led a flurry of big-dollar acquisitions in Illinois and around the country, and came in the midst of an outpouring of investment into rapidly expanding marijuana companies.”
So, as Joe Biden (I know!) would say, this is a big fucking deal.


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“But the atmosphere surrounding cannabis investments has shifted. Share prices of publicly traded marijuana companies in the U.S. and Canada have seen steady declines in the past six months. Investors are more sheepish, and the big-dollar deals that dominated the end of 2018 and the beginning of this year have slowed down.
“Meanwhile, regulatory hurdles at the state and federal levels delayed the closing of the MedMen-PharmaCann deal, according to a news release from the California-based company. MedMen co-founder and CEO Adam Bierman said in statement in the release that the deal is no longer the best move for shareholders.”
It feels like we don’t know the full story yet, and indeed, the Trib ends its piece with “More to come.”
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Foie Gras Not Fun
“A contemporary American restaurant that aims to highlight innovative approaches to fine-dining ingredients is coming to a high-profile space in Streeterville next week,” Eater Chicago reports.
“Chefs also had fun creating a foie gras ‘Big Mac,’ treating the expensive ingredient like a patty inside a steamed bao with American cheese, bread and butter pickles, shredded lettuce, chopped onions, and WoodWind’s in-house ‘fancy sauce.'”
At one time that would have been illegal inside the city limits – and I supported that. The much-maligned foie gras ban was the right thing to do. Why?
Start with The Foia Gras Follies and The [Foie Gras & Fundraising] Papers.
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Chicago Index
* 40,000: The number of pages of alleged evidence prosecutors have turned over to Ald. Ed Burke’s defense attorneys.
* 100: The number of discs prosecutors have turned over.
* 90: The number of extra days a judge gave Burke’s attorneys Tuesday to review the documents and discs.
* 14: The number of counts prosecutors lodged against Burke in his May indictment.
* 59: The number of pages to the indictment.
* 62,000: Number of Burke phone calls authorities have recorded.
Credits: Tribune, Sun-Times
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The Amazing Uihleins!
Our very own Eric Emery pointed me to some webpages of the Uline Company on Monday after seeing our post about the Uihleins.
Holy. Freaking. Cow.
Says Eric: “I interviewed there about two years ago. I’m glad I didn’t get that job . . . When I interviewed, they had a waiting room for interviewees. They had an anti-marijuana pamphlet on display. Also, I took four tests during three interviews at 1.5 hours per visit. I took three days off and they didn’t hire me.”
I’d say they got that one right! You aren’t Uline material, Eric.
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Russia Is So #Winning
“Since the fall of the Soviet Union, rich Russians have emerged as influential patrons of the arts and Western cultural organizations have often been the beneficiaries,” the New York Times reports.
“Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Lincoln Center are among those who have received gifts from moneyed Russians or the companies they control over the past decade.
“Though wealthy patrons have long used the arts to advance their individual tastes and social standing, much of the Russian giving is different. While the oligarchs also promote their personal preferences and support a wide range of cultural activities, they often employ philanthropy to celebrate their homeland, depicting it as an enlightened wellspring of masterworks in dance, painting, opera and the like.
“These patrons have been quite public in their philanthropy, and there is little evidence that their donations have been directed or coordinated by Moscow. But they all enjoy good relations with the Kremlin – a prerequisite to flourish in business in Russia – and their giving fits seamlessly with President Vladimir V. Putin’s expanding efforts to use the ‘soft power’ of cultural diplomacy as a tool of foreign policy.”
Okay, that’s bad, but perhaps not any worse than American philanthrowashing. Still, Putin is just winning, isn’t he?
“Michael McFaul, the American ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, recalled how [former Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey] Kislyak once told him that he had employed Russian culture as a tool to ‘get deeper into the fabric of society’ in the United States. Mr. McFaul said he made limited efforts to do the same in Russia, once helping to bring through the Chicago Symphony, but never with the kind of resources the oligarchs offered.”
See also from Crain’s: A look at Russian money behind Art Institute exhibit of Soviet art.
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New on the Beachwood today . . .
‘Early Decision’ A Boon For The Wealthy
“The research on early-decision plans shows that the practice tends to provide a leg up to students who already own all the ladders.”
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The Real Dirty Dancing Erases The Film’s Politics
“The 1987 film has a lot to say about Jewish identity, class stratification, shifting gender expectations, and the importance of access to legal and safe abortions. The TV show does not.”
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ChicagoReddit

Free Hong Kong 🇭🇰 from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram


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ChicagoTube
Chicago Rockford’s Magic Manor, ’80s Halloween Commercial.

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BeachBook
In Fast-Thawing Siberia, Radical Climate Change Is Warping The Earth Beneath The Feet Of Millions.

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For The Love Of Baseball.

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Super Cool Day Of The Dead Mural Goes Up On Little Village Restaurant.

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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.


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The Beachwood Tip Line: It’s McBack.

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Posted on October 8, 2019