Oct. 01--ConAgra made it official. It's moving its corporate headquarters to Chicago from Omaha. ConAgra is the parent of Chef Boyardee, Parkay and other food brands you love whenever you're back in the 1970s and '80s.
Illinois offered incentives to ConAgra, which expects the move to help reduce its workforce. It also reduces ConAgra CEO Sean Connolly's drive between his North Shore home and headquarters from 477 miles each way to 21. Given local traffic, that could cut his travel time by minutes.
The Bloomingdale's Home store on North Wabash has a Christmas tree and various ornaments and decorations on display by one of its entrances. Do we think that's too early, or just left over from last year?
New United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said his priorities include restoring the quality of the coffee served passengers and improving on-time performance. Little advice: Ensure on-time arrivals first. If the coffee's worth drinking, the last thing anyone wants is a delay getting to the gate.
The White Sox plan three new giant video boards at U.S. Cellular Field. Joke all you want that they're meant to divert attention from the home team's play, but they should generate ad revenue from personal injury attorneys eager to rep distracted fans struck by flying balls and bats.
Singer Kenny Rogers, 77, announced he's staging a farewell world tour next year. Surely something Rogers sang ties into popping up out of nowhere to say he knows when to walk away, knows when to run. Oh yeah: "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)."
Bowling has been eliminated from contention for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Disappointing, but The Dude abides.
Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" debuted in the Chicago Tribune and six other newspapers 65 years ago Friday. Schulz died hours before his final original strip ran in 2000. Part of its success, he once told me, was because "Peanuts" accepted a basic truth: Kids can be mean to each other.
philrosenthal@tribpub.com
