News in Brief  is a summer blog run by the news editors, updated every Tuesday until the actual presses resume.

Gossip Gargoyle

• A gas leak closed down parts of South Ellis Avenue this morning. Check back here later for the details.

• Pierce will tower no longer—a demolition date of August 19 has been set. The University announced the plans for its replacement dormitory and dining hall through a webcast this afternoon, unveiling Jeanne Gang as the architect behind the new structure. Pierce’s four houses have been scattered between International House and New Graduate Residence Hall while its name will forever be preserved in ink and muck.

• Due to a high volume of returning dorm dwellers (and, perhaps, the loss of Pierce’s 100-something rooms), the University is short a few beds. The Office of Undergraduate Housing sent an e-mail to returning residents, saying that the first 35 respondents to a Doodle poll will be released from their contracts without incurring the $150 cancellation fee. The Office extended the Monday deadline to today at 9 a.m. As of the time of posting, only 15 residents have volunteered.

• The Booth School of Business is moving its Asian MBA program across the South China Sea. Classes will begin next year in Hong Kong as Booth wraps up 13 years in Singapore. The new site is the second satellite the University operates in China.

• Harper and Mansueto Libraries made an appearance on Buzzfeed!

Around the Block

• Hyde Park rolled out its own street fest this past weekend. “Celebrate Hyde Park” spanned 53rd Street from Harper to Kimbark Avenues. The fourth annual festival was sponsored by a partnership between the University’s Office of Civic Engagement, the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, and the South East Chicago Commission.

• A new cafe will open where Istria once stood on August 1. The Hyde Park Art Center on South Cornell Avenue and East 50th Place will house one of Bridgeport Coffee Company’s two new locations. The last Istria Cafe in Hyde Park closed in January after its owners could “no longer sustain operations.”

• After nearly half a century in Hyde Park, O’Gara & Wilson Booksellers closed its doors last week. The used bookstore on East 57th Street and South Harper Avenue will move next month to Chesterton, Indiana, where owner Doug Wilson lives. O’Gara & Wilson is famous for its collection of leather-bound books, vintage editions, and “Jerome,” the formidable life-sized waxed monk statue.

On Second (City) Thought

• Thousands marched downtown Saturday in protest of the George Zimmerman verdict. Many toted signs expressing frustration with racial profiling and race relations in the country while others wore hoodies commemorating Trayvon Martin.

• Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Il) proposed a $100 million bill for opening trauma centers in “deserts” across the country, including one on the South Side. Rush, who represents Illinois’s 1st district, made headlines this weekend for his spat with Newt Gingrich over hoodies, violence, and Travyon Martin.

• A Chicago bartender has been named the best in the nation. Charles Joly mixes drinks at the Aviary, owned by the world’s Best Chef Grant Achatz and self-described as  “where cocktails and service are given the same attention to detail as a four-star restaurant.” Woodlawn Tap, we’re looking at you to produce the next champion of cocktails.