think lafayette Archives • FAUX REAL THO

More on the WL Signage Wars

In 2013, I interviewed Peter Bunder and Eddie VanBogaert on the WL signage wars. City government threatened to crack down on local property managers for increasingly putting up larger and larger signage in student neighborhoods that did not adhere to zoning laws, further exacerbating the tensions between local government, the campus neighborhood associations, and landlords. When Granite…

Who’s that girl on Meridian Street?

My neighbors and I were profiled in the Journal & Courier today for our creative attempts to slow traffic on our crash-prone street: The idea came on June 27, as wreckers worked for nearly three hours to pull out a car wedged into the trees in Breschinsky’s yard. No one was hurt in the crash. But…

The Map Collective: Your Favorite Place in Town

Google Maps lets you carve out meaning in your geography. With a good map, you can fly around and view all the different sites shared by friends and strangers. I love how you can tell a story in — or laid on — the place it took place. Your assignment, should you choose to accept…

I Wrote a Thing: Secret Fine Dining, Local Food, and Red Tape with Pop-Up Lafayette

A review of Pop-Up Lafayette, the new, elusive, all local and organic “supper club” that is taking over the imaginations of area foodies. “Our political philosophies are layer upon layer,” one chef said. Another said, “We just want to cook beautiful food in an interesting way.” Another said, “We want to cook food we are…

I Wrote a Thing: Riffing with Dave Bangert

Last month, when Lafayette Journal & Courier Opinions editor Dave Bangert asked to interview us at Think Lafayette to figure out where we fit into the Community of Choice narrative, I told him we’d only do an interview if he would oblige for an interview at our site as well. He was game. At least,…

Riffing with Dave Bangert

A few weeks ago, Journal & Courier Opinions page editor Dave Bangert conducted an interview with yours truly to delve deeper into how Think Lafayette fits into the new Community of Choice era. He honed in on the idea that we are a love letter to Lafayette, a celebration of what we get right and an…

I Wrote a Thing: Banana House

For Think Lafayette, I wrote a quick post outlining the issues with city code, tensions between gov’t officials, city codes, landlords, and homeowners in West Lafayette near Purdue campus. The latest controversy is related to a rental house near campus with a huge banana painted on the side. At issue: the city told the landlords…

Behind Signage, City Code, Street Art, and the Banana House

At question this month in West Lafayette is the sudden presence of the “banana house” and whether or not it should be allowed to stay or if it must go. Many locals in local media turned out with lots of opinions about the banana house: some grumbled about graffiti and street art in highly visible…

Great Local Business: Virtuous Cycles

I’ve had the occasion to visit my local bike shop on several occasions this year, and have been blown away by the fine people at Virtuous Cycles. Their business model coordinates new and used bike retail business, cycling and cyclist rights advocacy, and does so with a very homey aesthetic that’s friendly for die-hard and…

The Quadricycle

I spotted these folks riding their quadricycle to the grocery store the other day in West Lafayette. It was quite a contraption — a four-wheeled, two-person bicycle hauling a long trailer behind it. It looks like you can get a four-wheeler for one person, too. I was grateful that they weren’t too irritated when I came…

Beginner’s Guide to Lafayette: Purdue University Campus

So you want to see Purdue campus? You want to be literate in the highlights of Purdue culture? This is a beginner’s guide to the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. You must see the following, red brick and all. View Beginner’s Guide to Purdue University Campus in a larger map See a Game…

Bike Stuff and Ticket Sales

I’m pretty excited about this one. Today Think Lafayette started ticket sales. Our first event is sponsored by Bicycle Lafayette, a national dinner and movie screening tour that will take a stop in Lafayette this May called “Dinner and Bikes.” “Dinner and Bikes” (official site) is a national tour that shows communities around the U.S….