Tornado Cleanup + Mark Konkol’s Road Trip + Drink Wine Again

ACROSS AMERICA — The cleanup continues in Chicago suburbs after powerful tornadoes sent 11 people to the hospital, damaged hundreds of homes and left thousands of people without power.

Steve Chirico, the mayor of Naperville, said his city had been tested but “will for sure come through this” given the generosity apparent in the community immediately after the storm threat passed.

The National Weather Service said the storm, which cut a three-block-wide swath of destruction, was an EF-3-rated tornado with wind speeds up to 165 mph. EF-3 Tornado In DuPage County Hospitalized 11, Traveled 3 Miles, via Woodbridge Patch.

Mark Konkol’s Road Trip

Patch columnist Mark Konkol visits Georgia, where he finds Atlanta may well be the center of the universe. Konkol, who hails from Chicago, met up with a guy who left the city’s South Side after his neighbor was murdered.

"Everyone here says, 'Good morning, how are you?' Up [in Chicago], I'd have to worry about someone jumping out of a bush when I walked to the mailbox," says Denzel Orr, 30. "Honestly, it's taken some getting used to. But I like it." Konkol: In Atlanta, Everybody Influences Everything For Better And Worse, via Atlanta Patch.

More Reads

Ducks In Distress: Ducks stopped traffic, then fell in the sewer, but everything is, ahem, just ducky now, via West Orange Patch.

Is That Even Legal? The 4th of July is coming up. See if those fireworks going off in your neighborhood are legal, via Across America Patch.

Commence Wine Drinking Again: The reopening of South Coast Winery Resort & Spa in California wine country — with live music, wine tasting and all the fun — is the latest sign of coronavirus recovery, via Temecula Patch.

A Teenage Ninja Who Isn’t A Turtle: That would be McLean, Virginia, teenager Max Feinberg, who is competing for the title of “American Ninja Warrior,” via McLean Patch.

As A Matter Of Fact: The minor earthquake caused when the Navy fired on its own ship was an unintended but not uncommon consequence, via Across America Patch.

“This statue conveys the dignity and strength of George Floyd. I hope it will prompt constituents, residents and passersby's to continue to march, mobilize, organize and educate for meaningful change. We could do no greater honor to George Floyd's memory today on Juneteenth and every day."

— Farah Louis, who represents Brooklyn neighborhoods on the New York City Council, on the dedication of a statue of George Floyd, via Prospect Heights-Crown Heights Patch

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