Good Wednesday morning, Evanston.
Here are the latest news and feature stories from around the city.
An Evanston woman who is a prominent transgender-rights and anti-racism activist is missing, according to her friends and family.
Elise Malary, who lives in the 700 block of Hinman Avenue, was last in touch with her sister March 9. Her family has filed a missing person report with the Evanston Police Department.
According to Iggy Ladden, founder and lead trainer of the Andersonville-based organization Chicago Therapy Collective, with which Malary was active, Malary was engaged in a text-message exchange with her sister when the messages from Malary came to an abrupt stop.
At the March 7 District 65 Finance Committee meeting, Business Manager Kathy Zalewski said the plan to balance the operating budget for the next school year is to cut 22 homeroom teaching positions, at a cost savings of about $1.65 million.
Since fiscal year 2019, a pre-pandemic year, total enrollment has declined by 1,142 students. Over the same period, the number of staff has increased by 58 full time equivalent positions. Even with the cuts, the ratio of District 65 staff per students will remain much higher than pre-pandemic levels.
With the City of Evanston preparing to resume water shutoffs after a nearly 2½-year break, members of the City Council’s Administration and Public Works Committee are pressing for alternatives to cutting off service.
Darrell King, the city’s water production bureau chief, said officials have used a variety of ways to try to collect delinquent payments, including past-due notices, door postings, email notifications and messages on bills, as well as a special insert with a notice about arranging a payment plan.
COVID-19 by the numbers: 11 new cases were reported Monday, March 14, the last day the city updated case totals. The seven-day average is 10 cases per day.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
At This Time: Tuesday at 8 a.m. Ben Gough (foreground) and Dan Rennie slip on their face masks before boarding the Metra train to work downtown. Wearing masks is still mandatory on public transportation. Like many riders, they question the rule. “Restrictions have been lifted elsewhere,” said Gough. “It should be left to the individual.” Rennie agreed: “I’m vaccinated. I think most people are.” The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Tuesday to undo the regulation. It now heads to the House. (Photo by Richard Cahan)
Pandemic stress hit ETHS students hard, but signs of recovery surfacing. Young people are experiencing mental illness and suicidal thoughts at increasing rates during the pandemic, but there is evidence that ETHS student well-being has improved this year, Associate Principal for Student Services Taya Kinzie told the District 202 school board Monday.
Prairie Moon donates 100% of Ukrainian-inspired soup sales to Doctors without Borders. Rob Strom, the owner of Prairie Moon Restaurant, 1635 Chicago Ave., is donating all the sales of his cabbage roll soup for the next four weeks to Doctors without Borders in Ukraine.
Evanston Dimensions | A look at some change-making women in Evanston. To celebrate Women’s History Month, Jenny Thompson of the Evanston History Center introduces several pioneering women who left their mark on the Evanston community.
Questions for Ken Krimstein. Bookends & Beginnings interviews the Evanston author/illustrator, whose cartoons have appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Punch, and The Wall Street Journal.
Bookends & Beginnings’ Top 10 February Bestsellers. Check out the titles that the Evanston community bought most frequently at the local bookseller last month, topped by Eric Pallant’s bread-making history Sourdough Culture.
Train for the YWCA’s 5K Race Against Hate with the Evanston Running Club. The Evanston Running Club, working with the Evanston YWCA, is offering a free 12-week training program to prepare new and returning runners for the YWCA’s Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate on Father’s Day, June 19.
Business Registration renewal fees due April 1. All for-profit businesses with a brick-and-mortar location in Evanston, including those licensed by the state (i.e., law offices, medical offices, beauty salons, etc.), are required to renew their registration annually.
Join our team: The Evanston RoundTable is growing! Check out our jobs page for opportunities in editorial, development and advertising sales.
Become a member!
We look to you, our most loyal readers, to support our mission to report news that strengthens and enlightens our community, encourages civic engagement and bolsters our democracy.
Over 90% of our budget comes from donations from readers like you and almost all of our expenses in 2021 were news gathering, reporting and publishing.
Many of you have made a financial gift to the RoundTable in the past year and we are so grateful for your support. If you have not yet done so, please consider joining this community of supporters!
Around the web
Northwestern to lift mask mandate in classrooms at start of spring quarter. The university announced Tuesday that it will make masks optional in classrooms starting March 29, the first day of spring quarter.
Rogers Park marijuana dispensary wants to move to closed Leona’s restaurant on Sheridan Road. The move would give Green Gate Dispensary a larger footprint in the area and fill a building that has been vacant since 2019.
The Chicago police officers who shot Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez will not face charges. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said Tuesday that there was not enough evidence to charge the police officers who killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez.
Aging in the shadows: A crisis of older undocumented workers awaits Illinois. Although undocumented workers pay taxes that go toward services like Medicare and public housing, they don’t have access to the social safety net normally provided to seniors.
Like what you’re reading? Share it!
If you appreciate the RoundTable newsletter, please forward it to friends and suggest that they sign up!