On April 5, 2020, I sent this email to 50+ residents and business owners in my hometown — Evanston, Illinois. The email was a cover letter to my proposal for getting some quick cash to all Evanston residents during this first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal is in a separate blog:COVID Cash: Emergency […]
Evanston, IL
How local community banks can turn into temporary “public” banks, for the benefit of everyone. U.S. people and local economies are going to be in need of a lot of emergency cash in the next few months. The 2020 growing season is just getting started for U.S. farmers in the Upper Midwest. We need to […]
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the Governor of the State of Illinois imposed a moratorium on ON-SITE CONSUMPTION of food & drink for all Illinois food businesses—grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars, etc. The moratorium is currently scheduled to continue through March 30. Of course, the situation around COVID 19 is completely fluid no matter what time […]
As of tonight (March 16, 2020) at 9:00 PM, no Illinois businesses may sell food for ON-SITE consumption. That means that no sit-down eating is allowed in Illinois restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, bakeries, etc. This order from Governor Pritzker extends through March 30, as we all watch and see how the Coronavirus pandemic plays out […]
This informal newsletter features timely Evanston-connected information in bite-sized formats. The purpose of this newsletter is fourfold — growing our community consciousness, creating a real democracy, restoring our natural resources (air, water, soil, ourselves), and supporting each other economically — one event, one person, one project, one epiphany at a time. Special note to those who are […]
I’ve lived in Evanston, a Chicago suburb, for 43 years. I can confirm that for 43 years, most of the organic growth from Evanston’s soil—grass clippings, leaves, shrub prunings, tree branches—left the city limits. Almost none was returned to the soil. Yes, there was always the occasional composter or real gardener who kept that precious […]
This is an update of an on-going issue in Evanston, IL, a citizen complaint against a sitting alderman. Original details are in my August 25, 2019 post, Part 2 of this series. This update was sent to approximately 30 Evanstonians in my personal networks–media, political & justice groups, and individuals who I think are interested […]
I recently sent a version of this blog to some food-and-farm colleagues as a possible idea for “big picture” system change, without reinventing the wheel. This is basically a re-purposing of two U.S. institutions, to the benefit of both and for the benefit of all Americans—rural, urban, suburban, including non-humans (soil, water, air, plants, animals, […]