Good morning, Evanston.
Volunteers fanned out along Evanston beaches for a few hours of spring cleaning on Saturday. Adopt-a-Beach organized the cleanups at South Boulevard, Lee Street, and Clark Street Beaches, and the Rotary Club recruited volunteers for Lighthouse Beach.
Because the Great Lakes are a source of drinking water for many, keeping them clean is essential.
“There was a study that showed 20 million pounds of plastic get dumped in the Great Lakes every year,” said Ted Glasoe, one of the organizers. “It’s important to try and keep as much out of the lake as we can.”
The Week Ahead
Monday
- Season beach passes go on sale today at the Robert Crown Community Center, Levy Senior Center, Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, the Ecology Center, and Chandler-Newberger Community Center.
- Administration & Public Works Committee 4:30 p.m.
- Planning & Development Committee 5 p.m.
- Four-part Housing Pre-Purchase Workshop Series – Presented by Open Communities and EPL starts today through Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. each evening. This series will provide education on preparing for homeownership, budgeting and credit management, financing a home, and selecting a home.
- Eclipse: A socially distanced performance under the full moon at Northwestern University Lakefill from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.
- City Council 5:30 p.m. Broadcast live on Channel 16 and cityofevanston.org/tv. See: Agenda
- Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Regular Board Meeting 7 p.m. The meeting can be viewed via the District 65 YouTube Channel See: Agenda
Tuesday
- Levy Lecture Series: The Sanford Underground Research Facility 1 p.m.
- Understanding Evanston’s Accessory Dwelling Unit Options 6:30 p.m. Supported by AARP, this webinar will explore what you can build in your backyard or within your existing home under Evanston’s new accessory dwelling unit (ADU) regulations.
Wednesday
- Economic Development Committee – Virtual 6 p.m.
- Zoning Committee 6 p.m.
- Plan Commission 7 p.m.
Thursday
- Preparing for the 2021-22 School Year. Evanston Township High School District 202 webinar, 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. ETHS staff will lead a panel discussion of the block schedule, the process that led to the changes, and the general feedback from the poll. ETHS YouTube Live Channel. A recording will be posted on YouTube afterwards.
- Beginning Birdwatching for Everyone – Tired of being cooped up indoors? Get outside & birdwatch! Evanston Public Library via Zoom. 7- 8:30 p.m. Learn the basics of bird watching so you can start enjoying this relaxing fun hobby. The Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the event.
Friday
- Teen Sewing Club – DIY Fashion Learn to repurpose old T-shirts into shorts on Zoom. 4 to 5:30 p.m.
- CIERA Astronomy LIVE CIERA Astronomy LIVE brings Northwestern astronomers to the public in an interactive online format. 7 to 8 p.m. Trivia, short presentations and interviews, and plenty of opportunity to ask questions, make these events fun and accessible for everyone. Like an open mic night, each LIVE event is different! Come hang out and chat about the Universe. Find CIERA Astronomy LIVE events on our YouTube channel.
Saturday
- The 2021 Downtown Evanston Farmers’ Market opens at 7:30 a.m.
- Learn to Canoe at Lovelace Park Pond Learn paddling skills from experienced instructors in a safe setting at Lovelace Park. 10 a.m. to noon Sponsored by the Evanston Ecology Center, participants will learn basic paddle strokes, water safety, and test their skills on the water.
- Butterfly Sky Stop by the Robert Crown Branch Library for an up-close look at the magic of metamorphosis! 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Maker’s Market Evanston Made and Downtown Evanston present Maker’s Markets 2021, where shoppers buy direct from Chicagoland makers, 50 shoppers at a time, noon – 5 p.m. This market features hundreds of handmade goods including art, craft, wearables, jewelry, stationery, handbags, etc. Timed tickets can be purchased at evanstonmade.org/makers-markets-2021/. To follow COVID protocols, a limit of 50 shoppers will be allowed at a time in a covered parking garage. Masks are required.
- Mother’s Day Craft Kit – Pick up a craft kit to make a lovely card for mom at the Evanston Main Library, noon – 6 p.m. All materials will be provided, including gorgeous fabric and paper in colors of purple, pink, and red, to make a beautiful statement for mom expressing your love!
Elsewhere on the RoundTable Website
Masked People of the Day: Speakers at April 21 Rally
More pictures from Saturday’s beach cleanups
Reader: Concern About a Gathering on Noyes. A few days ago, I drove by D&D Dogs/D&D Finer Foods just east of the Noyes Street CTA stop on the north side of Noyes. There was some kind of outdoor event going on with a bunch of people crowded together – no social distancing whatsoever.
COVID-19 by the numbers: We are checking in with many sources to keep you updated on COVID-19 cases and vaccine information.
- The number of COVID-19 cases in Evanston was 74 for the week ending April 25, up from 62 for the week ending April 18.
- Northwestern University reported 40 new cases for the week ending April 25. Northwestern students, staff, and professors living in Evanston are included in City test and case counts.
- Evanston School District 65 reported no new cases among students and four new cases among staff members for the week ending Friday. The number of students in quarantine increased to 72 from 59 during the prior week.
- There were no fatalities reported last week. Evanston has lost 116 residents to the pandemic.
- Our City’s seven-day positive test rate is 0.9%; the test positive rate in suburban Cook County is 5.7%, and in Illinois 3.5%.
- The number of cases per 100,000 population over the last seven days is 100 in Evanston, 170 in suburban Cook County, and 147 in Illinois.
- Illinois received 982,000 doses and used 756,000 doses of the vaccine in the past seven days. Illinois has used 81% of the 10.9 million doses received to date.
- As of Sunday, 3.8 million or 29.5% of Illinois residents are fully vaccinated, including 439,000 in the last week.
Variants: Illinois Department of Public Health now reports 2,542 cases of more infectious COVID-19 variants, including 1,705 cases of variant B.1.1.7 (U.K.), 524 cases of P.1 (Brazil) and 285 cases of B.1.427/429 (California).
Evanston Vax Facts: According to City figures, 70% of Evanston residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 41% of residents 16 and older are fully vaccinated. Nearly 100% of residents 65 and older have received at least one dose and 84.6% are fully vaccinated. More details are available on the City’s Vaccine Dashboard.
Everyone 16 and older is eligible for vaccination in the State of Illinois. Given the limited supply of vaccines the City of Evanston is receiving, you may be able to schedule an appointment earlier at vaccination sites in suburban Cook County, the State of Illinois, or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sites. The FEMA drive-through site in Gary, Indiana has appointments available today. The site is located at Roosevelt Park, a 70-minute drive from Evanston.
When will the majority of Illinois residents be vaccinated? If current vaccination rates are maintained, half of all Illinois residents will be fully vaccinated by early June and 70%, the threshold at which some experts believe herd immunity is achieved for COVID-19, by mid-July.
Around the Web
- In case you missed it, here’s who won last night’s Academy Awards.
- Millions Are Skipping Their Second Doses of Covid Vaccines. Nearly 8% of those who got initial Pfizer or Moderna shots missed their second doses, according to the New York Times.
- John Richards, bulwark for the apostrophe against grammatical “barbarians,” dies at 97. A retired British newspaperman, he founded the Apostrophe Protection Society to guard against the erosion of a humble yet essential element of the English language.
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