Good Thursday morning, Evanston.
Evanston Township High School has canceled the remaining performances of YAMO scheduled for this week due to an outbreak of COVID-19. The girls and boys basketball games scheduled to take place at New Trier Thursday night were also postponed.
The theatre program no longer has enough healthy students to put on this weekend’s shows, ETHS Fine Arts Department Chair Nicholas Gehl said in a Wednesday afternoon email to students and families.
According to an email from Superintendent Eric Witherspoon to students and families, the school identified 53 positive cases of COVID-19 between Monday, Dec. 13 and Tuesday, Dec. 14 alone.
At a virtual meeting of the city’s Housing and Community Development Committee on Tuesday night, members discussed and approved more than $1.2 million in Community Development Block Grants for housing and infrastructure projects.
COVID by the numbers: 63 cases were reported yesterday in Evanston. The seven-day average is 34.
In the United States, 25% of newspapers have ceased operation, and 2,000 community newspapers have closed in the past 15 years. The vacuum created when local journalism declines poses a serious threat to democracy. Our democracy relies on a free press to educate the public.
Through year-end, your donation to the RoundTable will be matched through commitments from national and local partners.
In the spirit of giving, several community organizations have donated gift items and certificates to be raffled off to RoundTable donors. This week’s raffle: two tickets to any one of the four remaining productions of Northlight Theatre’s 2021 – 2022 season. All donors to the fall campaign will be eligibile to win.
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Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
Weird and wonderful gifts for all. Nancy McLaughlin takes us on a tour of some of the best and wildest holiday gifts you can find around Evanston.
Eye on Evanston: Thoughts on Design | Why do we need ADUs? Design Evanston explains how accessory dwelling units can help make Evanston more affordable and sustainable.
Rank and File | World Chess Championship: Carlsen breaks down Nepomniachtchi. Keith Holzmueller explains how Norwegian Magnus Carlsen recently battled his way to a fifth World Chess Championship.
At This Time: 1:58 pm., Wednesday, Dec. 15. Alex Añón takes advantage of mild weather to clean a seven-speed freewheel in the patio window of his Bucephalus Bikes shop on Ashland near Lake. (Photo by Richard Cahan)
Lorraine Goffe named vice president for human resources at Northwestern University.
First Night Evanston to mark 25th anniversary with virtual New Year’s Eve variety show on Dec. 31.
Around the web
Illinois COVID hospitalizations up 20% from week ago. Out of 3,628 total patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Illinois as of Tuesday, just over 20% are in intensive care, and less than 10% of ICU beds in suburban Cook County remain available.
Maryland’s Wayward Zebras Have Been Captured After Nearly Four Months. For months, two zebras that escaped from a farm in suburban Maryland evaded animal control while grazing in pastures and drinking from small streams. The Maryland Department of the Environment announced Tuesday that the zebras were recaptured last week.
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