… that today, April 22, is Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, after people all over the country saw the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, Cal., according to earthday.org. The website states, “Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States.  … Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they choose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation. …They changed the name to Earth Day, which immediately sparked national media attention, and caught on across the country. Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans – at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States – to take to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts.” So, have we progressed?

… that Fire Station 4, 1817 Washington St., is not fully back up and running as TG indicated last time. Crews from Valor Technologies of Bolingbrook were expected to have finished remediating the water damage last week. While the crews removed not only visible mold but drywall behind the mold, firefighters stayed at the station during peak hours and spent off-peak hours in other stations, because the sleeping and kitchen areas are not yet ready for habitation.

… that, over in McCulloch Park, renovations are underway. Crews from Hacienda Landscaping, Inc. of Minooka are not only working on that project but also constructing the playground at Robert Crown. The anticipated cost is just over $400,000.

… that Herrera Landscape and Snow Removal, Inc. of Evanston will maintain the bermscape (TG just made that word up) along Green Bay Road. Around town, Landscape Concepts Management of Grays Lake will be in charge of tree and stump removal.

 … that Thyssenkrupp Elevator Company of Downers Grove will replace some obsolete parts in the Sherman Avenue garage elevators. The company manufactured these elevators and the electronics and parts are proprietary to them, so this is the company to perform the upgrades.

 … that folks are probably aware of two new honorary street names, “Morris ‘Dino’ Robinson Way” on Church Street across from the high school fields and “Miss Dorothy Headd Way” on Prairie near Kingsley School. The City makes three signs for each of these occasions – two for the street segment itself and one for the honoree.

… that, speaking of streets, the City is inviting folks to stop by the Robert Crown gym between 3 and 7 p.m. today to weigh in on proposed changes to the Oakton Street corridor – between Asbury and the canal. Those who plan to attend the open house should wear a mask. Those who are interested in learning about the project but not in attending the open house can take a survey at  cityofevanston.org/oakton between now and May 31.TG hopes everyone will let the City folks know their ideas. A lot of important community places are in that corridor – Chute and Dawes schools, James Park, the former and still unused recycling center, the canoe and kayak launch, and several businesses.

… that the City is finally getting around to correcting its years-old parking snafu on Sheridan Square. Folks may remember that the City allowed two-hour non-resident parking there a few years ago but that message did not get through to police, who issued parking violation notices to legally parked vehicles. TG hears but has not verified that many of those fines have been rescinded and the so-called violators reimbursed. The City’s proposed new ordinance “will amend parking on Sheridan Square to allow for non-permit parking between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm with a three (3) hour maximum on the east side of Sheridan Square from Garden Park to Sheridan Road.”

  … that, speaking of parking, there could soon be a little less of it, as Lot 1, 506 South Boulevard, is up for sale. The City has issued requests for proposals to develop the parcel as a mixed-income residential development.

… that gasoline prices in Chicagoland are largely unchanged from mid-April but are slightly more than a penny higher than a month ago, according to a recent GasBuddy survey of 1,437 stations in Chicago. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said, “Gasoline demand has given up ground for the second straight week, likely due to some areas seeing a rise in coronavirus cases, and as spring break plans conclude. The next trend in gas prices isn’t evident just yet, we may see additional slight sideways moves in the weeks ahead, until either demand starts to increase notably again, or we see the opposite.”
… that the Lyrid Meteor Shower may peak this evening, but skywatchers have a lot to look forward to. April’s Pink Full Moon, scheduled to rise over Lake Michigan on Monday evening, will also be a supermoon. And May’s Flower Moon will also be a supermoon.

From our readers: Please give the Traffic Guy our THANK YOU for reminding people to leave the parks cleaner than they found. Wish there was a way to catch those that don’t seem to know what garbage cans are for. Here yet another note from a FOLP [Friends of Lovelace Park] treasure hunter received today – Sigrid Pilgrim. The note Ms. Pilgrim forwarded reads, “I saw your comment about litter in the park.  On Wednesday, while walking through the park, I picked up a lot of trash myself – mostly around the picnic areas, but also on the hill near the willow trees.  Someone had a party in the park and left beer cans and alcoholic Jell-O cups and wrappers there. Also people tend to leave trash around the tennis court area that gets lodged by the fence. I plan to take a walk once a week with plastic gloves and a bag, and try to pick up anything I can see during that walk. It is disgusting that people won’t take the time to toss things in the garbage cans that are located everywhere conveniently around the park. Oh well!”

  The Traffic Guy thinks …

… that the note above about the trash in Lovelace Park shows how very easy it is to take this planet for granted. Park cleanups and beach cleanups are scheduled for this weekend. But it’s really OK to clean up your own mess – and not a bad idea to clean up someone else’s as well. Trash and garbage aren’t proprietary – anyone can dispose of them.

Happy Earth Day, everyone. Walk or bike, plant trees, vegetables and flowers. Tread lightly on this, our communal home.