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Good Thursday morning, Evanston.
The popup yesterday at Little Beans Cafe, 430 Asbury Ave., had nothing to do with fashion, food or art. It was sponsored by the Evanston Township High School literacy team and was all about books and reading. RoundTable photographer Rich Cahan caught these middle schoolers cruising through titles to pick one free book each.
Now let’s turn the page and look at the top local stories.
The Margarita Inn homeless shelter doesn’t yet have its license, but it does have a finalized Good Neighbor Agreement, signed Wednesday by Connections for the Homeless CEO Betty Bogg (left) and Mayor Daniel Biss. This is not the last agreement the shelter needs – key city council votes are set for Monday, Feb. 27 – but after seven drafts and four months of work, it’s a major step.
Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart said her department will conduct an internal investigation into what happened with its official Twitter account. A day after the chief participated in a town hall meeting on police, trust and community relations, EPD’s account on Tuesday night “liked” a xenophobic tweet by a right-wing political commentator and conspiracy theorist.
The 13-year-old Chute Middle School student who brought a loaded gun to school Monday has been referred to Cook County Juvenile Court, Evanston police said Wednesday. At this point, no family members or other individuals have been implicated in the police investigation, according to Police Commander Ryan Glew.
COVID-19 by the numbers: 13 new cases and no new deaths were reported on Tuesday, Feb. 7, the last day the city updated totals. The seven-day average is eight cases per day.
More RoundTable reads
An amendment to allow cannabis smoking lounges in Evanston is going to the full city council, despite strong objections at Monday’s Human Services Committee meeting. Local health leaders said the change would undercut public health efforts.
Evanston Public Library’s Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., will be closed through Friday for emergency repairs after the collapse of a sewer line. Crews are assessing what’s needed. Expect sidewalk and lane closures along Church Street.
Evanston police said an 18-year-old woman will be charged for filing a false complaint after she reported in late January that two people tried to kidnap her as she walked to work. She later admitted the story was false, police said.
Margot Ann Ladwig, 1934-2023: Ladwig, 88, of Santa Barbara, California, and for many years, Evanston, died Jan. 26. A co-founder of the Evanston Farmers’ Market, she was an artist and opened the Wild Goose Chase Quilt Gallery in 1974.
This Saturday in Evanston more than 1,000 musicians from nearly 40 bands and combos will be laying down hot licks at the 19th annual ETHS Jazz Festival. The daylong event ends with a concert featuring Chicago bassist Ethan Philion.
The Ninth Ward is invited to a party: At Wednesday’s community meeting, Jared Davis, deputy director for new Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita, announced a grand opening party at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, at her office, 908 Sherman Ave.
Children’s music star Justin Roberts, a five-time Grammy nominee and Evanston resident, will be in concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 939 Hinman Ave. A pancake supper will follow the concert.
The Community Alliance for Better Government, which has been skeptical of Northwestern University’s Ryan Field project, is convening a town hall meeting with similar groups at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center. The session is part of an effort seeking a community benefits agreement.
Join our team: Do you like to write? Are you curious about the varied and dynamic life of Evanston? The RoundTable is looking for feature writers to cover human interest stories and produce profiles about our fair city. If you’d like to write, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at news@evanstonroundtable.com.
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Around the web
Death of Northwestern student pulled from Diversey Harbor ruled accidental. Peter Salvino, a 25-year-old doctoral candidate, died from drowning, with ethanol intoxication a contributing factor, an autopsy has found.
After 988’s launch, advocates say local mental health response systems still have a ways to go. The 988 line refers about five calls a month to Trilogy, compared with about five referrals a week from the Evanston Police Department.
Three years after purchase, Evanston’s drone program remains on the ground. In 2020, the Evanston Police and Fire departments jointly purchased a drone, but three years later, it’s only been used once.
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