Les Jacobson: The unsung legacy of Steve Winwood
May 12 was Steve Winwood’s 74th birthday, making it the perfect day to celebrate the British music icon’s unique talents as composer, producer, arranger, singer and multi-instrumentalist. But despite his Grammy and Jammy and BMI Icon awards, his three honorary doctorates, his 22 studio albums plus numerous live and best-of compilation recordings and more than 130 songs, many of which are classics, his appearances with musicians from Billy Joel and George Harrison to…
Keep readingLETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Rev. Michael Nabors: Letter on Buffalo shooting
The Buffalo Massacre on Saturday, May 14th is an American tragedy. The death of completely innocent people engaged in the regular task of shopping at their neighborhood’s local grocery store,…
Letter to the editor: Pioneering in a new age of journalism
Journalism with verve and integrity is foundational to the great American Experiment in living together. You folks are migrating from a world whose foundations were built on typewriters, Linotypes, printing…
Letter to the editor: Hiring yet another consultant company
Has the city of Evanston considered how much revenue would need to be generated at its 1.25% portion of the sales tax to recoup the proposed $245,000 consultant fee to…
OP-ED
Peggy Tarr: In the month of May
I discovered the website NationalDayCalendar.com, which lists the titles and historical information of each month’s days and weeks to be celebrated and commemorated, as well as the various titles given…
Guest essay: Community Alliance for Better Government endorses Poche for City Manager
Evanston has been through a long and painful few years: racial discrimination lawsuits, horribly shocking revelations of sexual abuse among beach staff, and the rapid departure of a city manager,…
State Rep. Robyn Gabel declares that the fight for reproductive freedom continues
Yesterday, I joined Governor Pritzker and several of my colleagues for a press conference on the leaked memo from the Supreme Court regarding Roe v. Wade. We came together yesterday because we…
State Rep. Gong-Gershowitz responds to possible overturning of Roe v. Wade
The possibility that Roe v. Wade will be overturned represents the greatest threat to reproductive rights and bodily autonomy that we have seen in decades. Roe is the foundation upon…
MORE PUBLIC SQUARE POSTS
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy condemns the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft opinion on Roe v. Wade
When my phone started blowing up late Monday night, I couldn’t have prepared myself for the news of the leaked Supreme Court opinion overturning the 1973 decision known as Roe v. Wade and the 1992 decision known as Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These decisions form the foundation of nearly 50 years of law guaranteeing the right to choose abortion based on the Court’s recognition of the fundamental right to privacy. Since then, other cases have…
Nancy E. Anderson: Life’s transitions and our big, black car
“Why do I feel sad?” I said to my husband a few days ago as we walked in the front door of our house. We had just driven our black 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis to our neighborhood mechanic, sold it and walked home. The mechanic had worked on the car and knew it well, so the transaction was simple: We signed over the title and he gave us an envelope full of cash. “That car…
Charles Wilkinson: Mindfulness and memory
When I stop to think about the who and why of me, I feel the need for honesty, humility and gratitude for every moment of my being. All of them add up to who I am, the Now of me. Being mindful of that, I realize that my story, every bit of it, is always with me. Socrates wrote, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Someone might have said, even back then, “Who has…
Les Jacobson: Spring has unsprung
I remember spring. It was several Saturdays ago, blue sky, light breeze, in the 70s. I took myself to the wonderfully named Rocky Miller Park at Northwestern and watched the Wildcats whip Michigan State 4-1 in a surprisingly well played baseball game. So nice.That was it, a one-off. Next day was overcast and after that it got cold again. Winter was pretty mild this year but is making up for it by clawing back what…
Letter from the Mayor on climate action: Now or never
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss sent the following message in a Friday, April 29, email newsletter: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released their third part of the Sixth Assessment Report, declaring this a “now or never” moment if we are serious about avoiding the truly catastrophic consequences of climate change. That means that everybody needs to act with urgency – individuals, organizations and governments, from the largest countries down to towns like ours. That’s why on Monday evening,…
Letter to the editor: Community must play a role in city manager search
Consider all the leadership changes in Evanston within a span of two years: two school superintendents, city leadership including our mayor, city council, city manager, and department heads including police chief, Northwestern University president, Evanston Community Foundation president, and others. We can probably agree that our community wants and deserves more of the best and the brightest professionals to serve in Evanston, including our next city manager. Managing a city government with a $360 million annual budget and over 800 employees requires experience and a specific and deep professional skillset. We are a complex community with singular assets, engaged residents, and interesting challenges. So who wouldn’t want to serve in Evanston’s city…
Peggy Tarr: April is International Black Women’s Heritage Month
A proclamation for April to be Black Women’s Heritage Month was made in 2016 by the Atlanta City Council. This proclamation was brought about by the efforts of one African American woman, Sha Battle, an information technology consultant. Battle expanded this April focus to become the International Black Women’s Heritage Month, to include all women of African descent. (see Baucemag.com) Even though the timing was coincidental, African American Katanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as a…
Guest essay: Bird feeders and bird flu
Confusion reigns over whether it is safe for people to keep bird feeders going amid the current crisis about avian flu, also known as bird flu. Evanston North Shore Bird Club has received questions requesting advice about whether to take down feeders. Based on current data and information, if you are feeding only songbirds, it is safe to keep feeding birds. Bird flu affects shorebirds and waterbirds such as ducks, geese, terns, gulls and raptors…
Letter to the editor: District 65 students, teachers and staff deserve more transparency
I am a Haven parent and attended the School District 65 board meeting on Monday, April 18. As noted in your reporting of the meeting, the YouTube live feed went down partway through the meeting – during the end of the speech on behalf of a Black and Hispanic educator from Willard expressing her concerns with the new principal, and for the majority of [Haven teacher Amber] Evey-Schmidt’s statement. As soon as the audience was…
Guest essay: The past, present and future of Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan
What better way to mark Earth Month than to renew a commitment to Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP)? CARP will be the topic of a special order of business at the City Council meeting on Monday, April 25. Cara Pratt, Evanston’s Sustainability Coordinator, will provide an update on the plan’s implementation so far. Like the rest of the world, Evanston is affected by climate change, and every Evanston resident has a stake in the…
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