The Grandmother Park Initiative will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, August 2 at 5 p.m. for a new park on the converted property at 1125 Dewey Avenue in Evanston. The park will be dedicated to toddlers and their families or caregivers. 

Through a community-based fundraising campaign, supporters of the initiative have now raised their target goal of $250,000 for the creation of the park. 

A few years ago, the initiative partnered with Openlands, a nonprofit metropolitan conservation organization, to purchase the former site of a since-demolished burned-out house. Openlands held the space for the group as the group's members raised the necessary money to purchase and develop the lot into a park.

The idea of the park came about when two grandmothers, Gay Riseborough and Mary Trujillo, were out walking in west Evanston one sunny, summer morning in 2009 and talking about their four-year-old grandsons. They agreed that there was no place to take them to play when the little boys visited the neighborhood, that there was no place for any small children to play out-of-doors and that something ought to be done.

Quickly discovering that the city had no money for parkland acquisition or development, in typical grandma fasion, the two ladies decided to do it themselves. A poster at a neighborhood block party attracted others nad soon a committee was formed, non-profit status acquired and "Grandmother Park" was off and running.

The “Pink Heals Tour” will be in Evanston from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 7 to promote women’s cancer awareness. The tour is marked by pink fire trucks and police cars. The event will be held at the Evanston Plaza, located at the corner of Dempster St. and Dodge Ave. in Evanston.

Pink Heals Tour is the creation of Dave Graybill, a former pro athlete, retired firefighter and philanthropist. It was created in 2007 to use public safety organizations to promote awareness of women’s battle against all cancers.

Join the tour, along with members of the Evanston Health, Fire and Police Departments, to learn more about cancer prevention for women and to view regional pink fire trucks and pink police cars.

Services to be provided at the event:
•  IDPH-Center for Minority Health Services Wellness on Wheels will provide breast and cervical cancer awareness information, HIV screenings, blood pressure screenings and blood glucose screenings;
•  Erie Health Center will provide free health screenings, HIV screenings, blood pressure screenings and blood glucose screenings;
•  The Heartwood Center will promote alternative cancer treatments, have practitioners available to do chair massage, talk about treatment options and answer questions;
•  Fingerprinting for children provided by Evanston Police Department; and
•  Food and fun for all ages.

More details will soon be available at www.cityofevanston.org.

Joe McRae, the City of Evanston's Deputy City Manager, has been appointed Interim Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services beginning September 1, 2013. McRae will serve as the Interim Director through the First Quarter of 2014. A national recruitment for the position will begin in January 2014. McRae will then return to his regular duties upon appointment of the new Director.

Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said, "I look forward to his leadership in evaluating existing programs and services in the Department and providing recommendations for improvements as we transition to a new Director in 2014. McRae has been a key member of the city’s management team since 2008, handling some of the most important issues in the city. His leadership in creating the 3-1-1 operations and revamping the youth and young adult programs have been key initiatives that have improved critical city services." More>>>

The City of Evanston has released a report put together by Northwestern University student William McLaughlin documenting the progress of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). NSP2 was the second installment of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was created by Congress in 2008 with the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. NSP2, authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, gave funding to stabilize neighborhoods and arrest decline caused by abandoned or foreclosed properties.

Among the benefits of the completion of NSP2 demonstrated in the report are the creation and retention of jobs (41 jobs alone were created or retained in the second quarter of this year), a drop in crime and new construction projects in hardest hit neighborhoods.  In particular, the city and Brinshore have succeeded in providing job opportunities for Minority, Woman and Evanston-based enterprises (M/W/EBE), awarding 75% of $7.4 million in subcontracts to M/W/EBE (as opposed to their goal of 25%). To read the report and more, click here>>>

State Senator Daniel Biss will host the second of six monthly discussions in his 2013 Critical Issues Series on August 11 to discuss the topic “Safety, Freedom and the Status of Gun Laws in Illinois.”

Speakers will include: Kwame Raoul, State Senator, 13th District; Colleen Daley, Executive Director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence; and Marjorie Fujara of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

The forum will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 11 at the Levy Senior Center, located at 300 Dodge Ave. in Evanston.

Please call the Senator’s office with any questions at 847-568-1250 or visit his website at www.senatorbiss.com.

What's more fun than gathering with your friends, family and fellow Evanstonians to enjoy an afternoon in the park with free food, games, activities and entertainment? Celebrate Evanston, diversity and going back to school! Evanston residents gather for a free community picnic with free food, games, giveaways and entertainment. 

The 2013 CommUNITY Picnic will take place from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 25 in Ingraham Park, located west of the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Avenue. Admission is free. Bring the whole family for hours of entertainment, fun activities, free food and giveaways!

You can be part of Evanston's annual CommUNITY Picnic by donating today. Click here>>> for more information on how you can contribute.

Come on out to the only outdoor dance floor north of Chicago! The final event, on August 1, features a performance by hot swing, jazz, contemporary classics and timeless standards group, The Flat Cats. Lessons are at 6 p.m. and live music is from 7 - 9 p.m. More>>>

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre is presenting its second annual free play for very young audiences, which will be performed by teen members of The Actors Gymnasium. Children will follow Ziggy on his hilarious adventures in a strange forest inhabited by talking trees and animals. 10 a.m., Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick. More>>>

Meet your neighbors at our summer picnic in the park on Saturday, August 3 from 12 - 4 p.m. More>>>

Come out to James Park on August 4 from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and meet the small businesses, restaurants and food vendors of Evanston and surrounding communities. More>>>

We are gearing up to host our annual "National Night Out (NNO) Against Crime" on August 6 to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of National Night Out. More>>>

Our Summer Showcase will take place on Thursday, August 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Dewey Elementary School. The showcase is set up as an "expo" with interactive booths, so drop by at any time! More>>>

Join us on Wednesday, August 14 at 5 p.m. at Kazoom (1940 Dempster Street in Dempster St. Plaza) for the Kazoom Ribbon Cutting Celebration.

The next 2nd Ward Meeting will take place September 8, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the J.E.H. Education Center/School District 65, 1500 McDaniel Avenue.