Good Wednesday morning, Evanston.
The old Vogue Fabrics building at 718 Main Street is being demolished, as seen in the photo above, snapped through a hole in the fence Tuesday morning by Richard Cahan. “A lot of people have come up to say they are going to miss this place,” says Luis Velazquez of Bridges Excavating. Vogue Fabrics moved retail operations to its Hartrey Avenue warehouse last year. The new Vogue Apartments, a five-story, 120-unit building, is set to open September 2023. Now, let’s get to today’s news.
The housing market has exploded across the country, including in Evanston, with homes selling for 10% or 15% above asking price. With local apartments and houses facing an overflow of potential buyers and renters, the RoundTable set out to learn more about the Evanston housing market. One trend: A dramatic increase in real estate and rental pricing is happening in the Fifth Ward.
Seven of the nine candidates running to fill the Second Ward’s vacant City Council seat shared their vision for the community at a virtual public forum Tuesday night. Here’s what the seven hopefuls had to say. The forum was co-sponsored by the Evanston/North Shore NAACP and the Evanston chapter of Iota Phi Theta.
COVID-19 by the numbers: Four new cases and no new deaths were reported on Monday, Aug. 29, the last day the city updated case totals. The seven-day average is 6.3 cases per day.
In case you missed it
At This Time: Evanston limbo contest. Photographer Richard Cahan has a new presentation of his pictures of the Aug. 21 limbo dance at Disco in the Park, with a video set to a new soundtrack. Don’t miss watching your Evanston neighbors bending, arching and shimmying under the bar.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
Seventh Ward meeting centers on football parking and Evanston Hospital eruv. Seventh Ward residents heard about fall football parking at Canal Shores Golf Course, as well as plans for an Evanston Hospital eruv – a Hebrew word that refers to a boundary marked by fishing wire defining a space in which Orthodox Jews can carry certain items during the Sabbath.
A new mural debuts at the must-see Mitchell Museum. The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central St., boasts a brand-new mural on its south facade painted by lead artist Nigives White and nine native children. Each child signed his or her name at the bottom of the mural and, when introduced at the unveiling, spoke their name and that of the tribe or tribes to which they belong.
Les Jacobson: Converging lines, converging lives. What is it about train trips that so captivates some people, including our columnist? Maybe it has to do with a peculiar form of geometry.
Evanston police train to identify and address potential threats, increase safety. In an effort to be better prepared in identifying and addressing potential public threats, EPD personnel recently attended two training sessions presented by the U.S Secret Service, the U.S. Attorney’s office and the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
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Around the web
Illinois Republicans look to gain control of the state Supreme Court this election. Two November races will determine which party controls the state’s highest court and the battleground includes much of suburban Chicago. If conservatives win the majority, the court could stall efforts by the state legislature to expand gun control and abortion rights.
Chicago providers on front lines of monkeypox outbreak call for more funding, help. Providers like Howard Brown Health say they’ve been bearing the brunt of the costs for hosting events like vaccination drives or testing clinics to help stem the spread of monkeypox around the community. In Chicago, more than 800 people have tested positive for the virus since June.
Marijuana use is outpacing cigarette use for the first time on record. According to a new Gallup poll, just 11% of Americans say they smoke cigarettes now, down from the 45% who said they did in the 1950s. Meanwhile, public activity and opinion has swung in favor of cannabis, with 16% reporting they smoke marijuana and 48% reporting that they have tried it at some point.
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