Now that the seasons of colorful blooms are here, planting an eclectic variety of native plants in a front or backyard garden is an eco-friendly idea that is catching on.

2013 may be remembered as the year that Ridgeland Common closed for construction, taking away one of Oak Park's two public pools for an entire summer season. While the Ridgeland pool will return new and improved in 2014, for this year, other local pools are prepared for increases in visitors.

Sitting on a blanket, with a bag of popcorn and a beverage in tow, to take in free outdoor movies on jumbo screens in popular parks, or pools, is a rite of summer in Oak Park, Forest Park, Riverside and Brookfield. In those places, it seems, seeing an outdoor flick on a humongous movie screen is the right thing to do this summer.

Forest Park Park Director Larry Piekarz said that part of the appeal of the No Gloves Tournament is the elements that have remained constant through the years: top-notch softball, smoke rising from grills and busy beer tents. However, for the 45th annual tournament, there will be some new attractions.

With better weather and longer days, local farmers' markets are readying for opening day.  In Oak Park, Riverside, and Forest Park, residents will soon be abandoning the frozen food aisle and buying their produce fresh from the farm.

Looking for local summer races in or near the western suburbs? Those hard core runners can always find high-intensity events, and many are willing to travel long distances to find them.

It's never easy when a track and field team loses a top sprinter like Zach Booth (left hamstring injury), but luckily the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys squad has speed to burn with Tariq Taylor and Jamal Baggett at the ready. Taylor and Baggett fueled the Huskies' run to third place (93 points) at the St. Ignatius Sectional hosted by Concordia last week. St. Ignatius claimed the sectional title with 115 points followed by Lane Tech (97 points).

After a one-year hiatus, the Fenwick boys water polo team regained its familiar designation as state champion. The Friars defeated state tournament host Stevenson 10-4 in Saturday's championship game.

A River Forest police street stop in early May led to information allowing area police departments to execute a search warrant in Maywood that netted heroine, crack cocaine and ecstasy with a street value of $28,000, according to a River Forest police press release.

Anthony Collaro, a former Concordia University student athlete, is suing the school and former Cougars baseball coach, Spiro Lempesis.