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Good Monday morning, Evanston.
Winners of the 43rd annual Evanston Township High School Geometry Bridge Contest: Kayla Strickland (center) took top honors with the strongest bridge, which held almost 10 pounds. Tora Gylling (left) and Emilie Viola were runners-up.
It’s amazing what you can build with just a poster board, 30 straws and straight pins. Now let’s cross that bridge and move on to more news.
Two of the 16 people who were selected a year ago to receive $25,000 reparations grants aren’t homeowners and have yet to see a dime of that money. Now they’re running out of time.
The Rev. Michael Nabors reflects on the police killing of Tyre Nichols: “Once again, another Black body has been savagely and brutally beaten to a bloody pulp, at the hands of law enforcement.” Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart issued a statement Friday ahead of the video’s release on the “crisis of confidence” in police. Nabors and Stewart plan to hold a town hall meeting to discuss police violence and community trust in the near future.
Some ward lines are set to be redrawn in Evanston’s redistricting; the boundaries of the underpopulated Fifth Ward will have to change. The city currently has three nonwhite-majority wards and the Redistricting Committee aims to keep that number.
RoundTable Roundup
- Tuesday, Jan. 31: City Council Member Eleanor Revelle will host an in-person Seventh Ward community meeting in room 2404 of the Civic Center at 7 p.m. Here’s the agenda.
- Wednesday, Feb. 1: The Citizen Police Review Commission will meet at the Civic Center in room 2402 at 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 2: The Evanston History Center hosts a 7 p.m. presentation on one family’s Underground Railroad story.
- Saturday, Feb. 4: From 4 to 6 p.m. there’s a community celebration of new Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel at the Levy Senior Center.
COVID-19 by the numbers: 14 new cases and no new deaths were reported Thursday, Jan. 26, the last day the city updated totals. The seven-day average is 13.4 cases per day.
More RoundTable reads
Lifeguards at Evanston’s beaches and aquatic camps this summer should be able to use an upgraded radio system with better coverage of the lakefront, if city council approves a contract of nearly $40,000 to improve the existing system.
Tinsel, twinkle lights and a shimmering sequin wall: To celebrate the end of third graders’ fairytale unit, Walker Elementary School threw a Sneaker Ball. Ruffles, gloves, crowns, suits, ties, and all the bling were a go.
“Blood Wedding is a modern rendition of a tragedy, a ghost story and a tale about the choices women have in life – and those they do not,” says RoundTable critic Wendi Kromash in her review of the production at Northwestern’s Wirtz Center.
The new faces in Porchlight Music Theatre’s New Faces Sing Broadway 1951 “demonstrated their singing prowess and captivated the audience with songs from shows both well known and obscure,” writes Wendi Kromash in her review.
Downtown Evanston is hosting the fifth annual Hygge Fest throughout the month of February. Pronounced “hyoo-gah,” this Danish expression is an attitude toward life that celebrates coziness, warmth, family and mindfulness.
Letter to the editor: The Central Street Neighbors Association writes that Northwestern’s plan for concerts and festivals a a new Ryan Field would turn the stadium “from an occasional nuisance to a constant problem” for the neighborhood.
Picturing Evanston: Photographer Joerg Metzner captured the descent of a cluster of geese into the pond at the Northwestern University Lakefill.
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Around the web
Evanston says Main Street will become more accessible. Advocates say, ‘This is the first baby step.’ Evanston is redoing Main Street sidewalks to be ADA compliant. But some Park School staff question if that’s really enough.
In reversal by Skokie officials, approval of Carvana vending machine tower is repealed. The 140-foot glass tower was a recipe for bird collisions, environmentalists said.
Utility shutoffs for nonpayment soar across Illinois and the Chicago area. A report by three groups critical of the fossil fuel industry cited ComEd and Nicor Gas as extreme examples of ordering more shutoffs in 2022 compared with 2021.
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