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May 24, 2006

Bike the Drive and Bike Chicago 2006

Bike the Drive is a bicyclist’s only chance to ride LSD and survive. Lake Shore Drive will be closed to motor vehicle traffic for the morning of Sunday May 25th, turning it into an eight lane bike path. The Chicago Bicycle Federation in cooperation with the City of Chicago presents this annual ride. This year the corporate sponsor is Schwinn, a manufacturer with a long Chicago history.
Bike the Drive is also official start of Mayor Daley’s summer-long program Bike Chicago. More information on Bike Chicago’s four major events, Bike the drive, Bike to Work, the LATE Ride, and the Boulevard Lakefront Tour, and any of the nearly 100 other events can be found at the Bike Chicago Web site and the Chicago Bicycle Federation Web site.
Mayor Daley comes to his advocacy of bicycling naturally—his father, Mayor Richard J. Daley, created the lakefront bike paths in the 1970s.

Posted by hinsdalereference at 3:32 PM

May 10, 2006

Mother’s Day For Peace

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe dreamed of a country of pacifists. She dreamt of a nation where mothers would not allow their children to be trained to kill, or be used as cannon fodder. To that end, she proclaimed the first Mother’s Day for Peace in 1870. Mrs. Howe’s initiative failed, and she turned her efforts to women’s suffrage and prison reform.

The concept of honoring American motherhood resurfaced in 1907, when Anna Jarvis wished to recognize the progressive activities of her mother (also named Anna Jarvis) in West Virginia. Jarvis campaigned to create a national holiday on May 14th honoring all mothers. 45 states adopted the holiday in 1912, and the first national Mother’s Day was declared by Congress in 1914.

Posted by hinsdalereference at 3:11 PM

May 4, 2006

Chicago Confection Connection

Twinkies, Cracker Jack, Tootsie Roll, the Mars Bar, Baby Ruth, all of these nationally known sweets have their origins in Chicago. In 2004 candy connoisseurs lamented the loss of the Fannie May plant, which joined the ranks of the deceased or deserted such as Brach’s, Curtis Candy, and Leaf. In the 19th century Chicago was the nation’s largest candy producer and it remains strong in the confections industry.

Industrial cocoa and chocolate producer Blommer Chocolate Company retains its position as supplier to the food service industry and a small retail outlet. The legendary Margie’s Candies is a fixture of the northwest side, where hand dipped chocolates and ice cream creations are served daily. The near west side is home to the Chicago Chocolate Company, which features three chocolate fountains, hand made candies and fine chocolates. At M & M Mars’ Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge ten Chicagoland locations a wide assortment of fine chocolates, beverages are presented in a setting designed for chatting and casual gathering.

With Macy’s promises to return production of the Frangos to Chicago from exile and Tootsie Roll’s and Oreos' plans for new products (as reported in Crain’s Chicago Business) Chicago’s future continues to look sweet. Follow the link to read the Crain's pieces.

Tootsie Roll 'very close' to sugar-free version
By Paul Merrion
May 02, 2006
(Crain’s) — Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. is working on a sugar-free Tootsie Roll and a slew of other new products coming out this year, according to a security analyst who attended the firm’s May 1 annual meeting in Richmond, Va.
In a report issued Tuesday, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. analyst George Askew says management told about 25 shareholders and others at the meeting that the company is “very close” to introducing a sugar-free version of its venerable namesake candy.
“New products remain critical to the growth strategy of Tootsie Roll,” Mr. Askew’s report notes, and the company mentioned or displayed more than a dozen at the meeting, including:
• A new, limited-edition caramel-flavored Tootsie Pop.
• Movie Time, a large bag containing several of the company’s candies.
• Candy Blox, a fruit flavored candy shaped like Lego building blocks.
• Sugar Mamas, a caramel-flavored extension of the Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies brands.
• Junior Mints in holiday colors, both inside and outside.
But rising costs are the big issue at Tootsie this year, notes his report. Mr. Askew, who was bullish on the stock until he turned neutral last February, declined to comment beyond his report. Ellen Gordon, Tootsie’s president and chief operating officer, did not return a call seeking comment.
The company said at the meeting that it imposed a “substantial” price increase and reduced sizes on March 1 to offset rising costs, the report noted. “We believe the company’s margins and earnings growth in 2006 will continue to be constrained by higher ingredient, energy, packaging and fuel costs, notwithstanding efforts to implement higher prices,” he says in the report.
In addition, Tootsie told shareholders that the loss of a contract gum customer early in the first quarter represented about 2% of net sales, which the company hopes to replace with other new customers this year, he notes.
Net sales last year were up 16.1% to $487.7 million, but operating income before extraordinary items increased only 1.9%, notes Mr. Askew’s report. In addition to fuel and ingredients, last year’s new products and a lower-margin product mix drove costs higher in relation to sales.
The company’s stock has more than doubled in the last decade but has mostly traded between the low $30s and mid $20s during the last two years. Tootsie was up 74 cents to $29.99 in mid-day trading Tuesday.
Most of last year’s sales gain came from the August 2004 acquisition of Concord Confections Inc., the Canadian maker of Dubble Bubble gum. Factoring that out, sales increased about 5.3% last year, mostly from the record number of new products, according to the report.
The company also said at the meeting that cost increases that accelerated in the last quarter of 2005 have continued into this year, according to the analyst’s report.
Last month, Tootsie Roll reported first-quarter net income was down slightly to about $12.4 million on sales of $103.8 million, a 6% increase. In a release, chairman and CEO Melvin Gordon said that price increases to offset higher costs were put in place but first-quarter results “only partially benefited from these initiatives.”
Earnings per share remained flat at 23 cents as of March 31, 2006, due to stock buybacks in 2005 and 2006 that reduced the number of outstanding shares by about 1%, the company said.

Kraft to try oblong version of Oreo made for dunking
>From the Crain's Chicago Business Newsroom
April 06 17:15:00, 2006
By Stephanie Thompson
-----
Oreos have been orange, they've been chocolate-covered, they've even been Shrek Green. Now they're going to be something other than round.
In a bid to capitalize on the dunk portion of the longtime "Twist, Lick, Dunk" theme for its Nabisco sandwich cookie, Kraft Foods this June will introduce a six-week limited-edition version of the typically O-shaped treat that is oblong and marked with messages including "soaked," "soggy," and "dry" lines for fun and easy dunking.
"We know the Oreo and milk ritual is vital" for the brand, said Kraft spokeswoman Laurie Guzzinati, explaining the reasoning behind the launch of Oreo Dunkers.
Like with any limited edition, Dunkers' success in the market during June and July will be the deciding factor whether to turn it into a permanent item, she said.
The debut of Dunkers will come without dedicated advertising but will coincide with the return of Kraft's Oreo & Milk Jingle promotion, in which consumers can submit videos of themselves singing the song about the classic combination.

Posted by hinsdalereference at 7:57 PM