City rings up a happy, well-attended Fiesta

The final cascarón has cracked, the street vendors have moved on and the final parade float has, er, floated, drawing Fiesta 2007 to a close. The 100 Fiesta events citywide over 10 days drew up to 3.5 million visitors and generated an estimated $250 million for the local economy.

The 210 take: The $250 million breaks down like so: Fiesta-goers spent $2 million on meats on a stick, $248 million on $15-a-spot parking.

Illegally parked gator causes 410 traffic jam

An 8-foot alligator sprawled across the main lanes of Loop 410 and tied up traffic for an hour on the South Side. Police tried to scare the gator by turning on their sirens. Then, they tried to soothe it with a lullaby. They even threw orange traffic cones at the gator, but it just snapped at the cones and flung them away.
Officers finally used a lasso and metal poles to coax the reptile into a drainage ditch.

The 210 take: Gives new meaning to the phrase “long arm of the law.”

Rosie leaving daytime, taking ratings with her

Rosie O'Donnell is leaving “The View” in June after less than a year of feuds, headlines and higher ratings for ABC. The opinionated host said she and ABC couldn't agree on a new contract. O'Donnell made more than $3 million for her season on “The View.”

The 210 take: But what will “The View” be without Rosie? Besides quieter and slightly less annoying.

Tower concern elevates tension, but little else

Four times in the past six months, an elevator at the Tower of the Americas has stopped in midair, leaving riders trapped. The chronic problems have caused tension between city officials and Tower restaurant executives, who say they've suffered millions of dollars of losses because of the bad publicity.

The 210 take: I don't know, the only thing worse than being trapped in a Tower elevator for an hour is being trapped in the Tower restaurant for an hour.
 
Baby Bell's daddy says ‘See ya!'

Edward E. Whitacre, who reshaped a small, regional telephone company into today's giant AT&T, announced plans to retire June 3. Whitacre surprised shareholders at the company's annual meeting by saying he would retire a year before his contract expires. He's set to receive a $158.5 million retirement package.

The 210 take: Whitacre couldn't be reached for comment. Damned cell phones.

With staff and wire reports