Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

Declarations.


vs.



Rat Patrol
“Officials say U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport thwarted a man’s attempt to import several pounds of African rat meat,” AP reports.

Customs spokesman Steve Bansbach said Tuesday that the man declared the 32 pounds of meat on June 26 when his flight arrived from the Ivory Coast. The meat was confiscated and destroyed.
Bansbach says the man did not face a fine and continued on his journey because he was forthcoming about what he was bringing into the country. He says customs officials prohibit the entry of African meats to prevent the spread of African swine fever.

This story is getting a fair amount of attention nationwide because A) ewww, even though we eat meat from all kinds of weird animals, and B) look at those primitive Africans, even though Alinea will probably serve fried rat custard on a trapeze next week.
But the story is missing some key details:
1. What was the man’s purpose? He was bringing the rat meat to a family feast, perhaps? Or did he intend to pass it off as “real” meat?
2. Thirty-two pounds is a lot of rats. Who killed them all?
3. He was allowed to continue “on his journey” without penalty because he was forthcoming. Why didn’t he just check ahead of time if it would be okay to bring rat meat into the country?
It’s a weird story, but something about is fishy.
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The Ivory Coast rat is sort of a thing?

Beam Blaze
“Multiple crews are on the scene of a major fire at a bourbon warehouse facility,” WKYT reports.
“Woodford County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler tells WKYT two barrel warehouses at a Jim Beam aging facility caught fire around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday . . . Chandler says approximately 45,000 barrels of bourbon were in the warehouse that was still burning. He speculated crews could be on scene until late Wednesday night.”
Jim Beam’s headquarters has been in the Merchandise Mart since 2016.

New on the Beachwood . . .
PointsBet Partners With Hawthorne
Here we go.
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Peak Summer: More Than One In Six People Likely To Get Food Poisoning
Beware festival and picnic foods!

From the Taco Bell Desk . . .


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ChicagoReddit

How common is Dutch Crunch bread at delis in Chicagoland? from r/chicago



ChicagoGram

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Alfred “Eye” Neuman spotted in Pilsen #pilsen #madmagazine #mad #alfredeneuman #streetart #viaduct #art #gus #chicagoart

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ChicagoTube
1985 Waterbed Mart Chicago Local TV Commercial


BeachBook
Chicago Rap That Asks The Right Questions.

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Spotify: We ‘Overpaid’ Songwriters In 2018 And We Want Our Money Back.

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GIF: Lincoln To Trump.

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The Video Games That Made People Question Their Beliefs.


TweetWood
A sampling.


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The Beachwood McRibTipLine: Ding dong ditch.

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Posted on July 3, 2019