Good Thursday morning, Evanston!
There is a lot happening, true. But please, do not forget that tonight is the city manager candidate town hall, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center. You can attend via zoom or be there in person. If you do come, we’ll see you there. Now, on to the news.
The Evanston Police Department announced Wednesday evening that it has arrested and charged a suspect in the July 14 murder of Servando Hamros, 29. It is a bizarre story with several twists, including that the man accused of the shooting is accusing the man he is charged with killing of robbery. The timing of the announcement is also bizarre. As the 20-year-old Evanston resident, who surrendered to police with his attorney on Monday, was charged with first degree murder, appeared in court, ordered held without bond, all in the last two days.
The RoundTable spoke to Dr. Vishnu Chundi, an infectious disease experts about West Nile virus. The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District discovered mosquitoes carrying the disease in an Evanston trap. Although the risk of infection remains low for the general public, a severe case of the illness can be devastating. Bottom line: wear mosquito repellent whenever you’re outside in buggy areas, especially at sunrise and sunset, and get rid of any open water sources around your home.
COVID-19 by the numbers: 26 cases were reported on Tuesday, July 26, the last day the city updated case totals. The seven-day average is 23.9 cases per day.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
A place for Evanston families who have lost a child. The support group Life Without My Child has been meeting every month since 2019. It is made up of 24 mothers and one father who have suffered the loss of children from such things as illness, automobile crashes or violence.
Obituary: Martin Russell Hurtig: 1929-2022: A memorial service for the Martin Russell Hurtig, artist and professor emeritus in the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at will be held 7 p.m. tonight at the Evanston Art Center, 1717 Central St.
They do: Long-distance love finds its way home. This appealing story was in our newsletter yesterday, but, alas, a balky link kept readers from accessing the story, so here it is again. Evanston natives Anna Hamrick and Teddy Keenan wed on June 25 with 200 guests in attendance at the Chicago Illuminating Company. The two were married by the Reverend Peter Mayer, a cousin of the bride.
Evanston Dimension | Ask the historians: Victor Gaskets “ghost sign”. The Evanston History Center has received many photographs of the “ghost sign,” a picture of which the RoundTable ran July 20 (see above) and was exposed on the 1000 block of Church Street during the demolition to make way for the new Northlight Theater. EHC took a look at its files to uncover the story.
Letter to the editor: City manager vs. strong mayor. “The bottom line is good people will make any system, even a poor one, work. Poorly qualified people (in terms of abilities, aptitude or attitude) will never make even the best system work,” Colin Baenziger writes in the RoundTable.
At This Time: Wednesday at 9:49 a.m. Painters with Mitera’s Painting & Decorating prepare the upper floors of a Victorian house. The complete job on the double house on Hinman Avenue near Greenwood Street will take more than six weeks, according to painter Richard Mitera, who owns the firm. Mitera has been painting for 32 years. “I get the feeling that the ladders are getting heavier every single year,” he said. But he still enjoys the work. (Photo by Richard Cahan)
Picturing Evanston. It’s a jungle out there, or at least at Sherman Avenue and Lake Street where the vegetation is taking over. (Photo by Joerg Metzner)
Evanston Pride hosts LGBTQIA+ Community Picnic this Saturday. The picnic is scheduled for July 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Ridgeville Park at the corner of Ridge Avenue and South Boulevard. And the forecast looks promising!
“Taste of Hemenway” back again. Hemenway United Methodist Church will host its 11th Annual “Taste of Hemenway” fundraising event at 933 Chicago Ave. from 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. Guests will purchase food tickets that they can redeem for delicious dishes cooked by Hemenway parishioners in its commercial kitchen.
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Around the web
Suspect in Highland Park massacre faces 110 new charges in grand jury indictment. Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, the suspect in the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting that killed seven people and injured 48 others, has officially been charged with 21 counts of murder, three for each of the dead, and counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery for each of the wounded.
Google taking over Thompson Center from the state. At a press conference Wednesday morning, Gov. JB Pritzker announced that Illinois is selling its former office hub at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago to Google for $105 million. The deal will allow the state to save money on offices in the city while attracting more tech investments, Pritzker said.
‘EPL on the Fly!’ summer initiative provides educational, creative youth programming. Every week this summer, the Evanston Public Library’s engagement librarians are hosting various STEM activities like bottle rocket making at places around the city, including James Park, Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, Mason Park and Dobson-Brummel Park. “This is our big effort to make the library more accessible,” Communications and Marketing Manager Jenette Sturges said.
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