HP071819

hplandmark.com SOUND OFF
the highland park landmark | July 18, 2019 | 15
Social snapshot
Top stories:
From hplandmark.com as of Monday,
July 15
1. Highwood theater company takes on
Broadway musical ‘Be More Chill’
2. Highland Park parade serves as
‘homecoming’ for childhood friends
3. Modenese Society members reflect on
Pavarotti visit to Highwood
4. Football: IHSA releases 2019 Giants
schedule
5. 10 Questions with Jason Polydoris,
Highland Park boys track
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from the editor
Highland Park is stepping up
Erin Yarnall
Editor
Making good on a
campaign promise,
Illinois Gov.
J.B. Pritzker signed a bill,
June 25, to legalize marijuana,
making Illinois the
11th state in the country
to go through the process
to legalize recreational
marijuana.
Local communities have
made decisions about how
they intend to handle this
process, and at a July 8
meeting, the City Council
passed an ordinance allowing
for these conversations
to start taking place.
While no city-wide
decisions have been made
as of yet, it’s an important
and responsible step that
Highland Park is recognizing
all of the upcoming
discussions it will
need to have about this
process.
The legalization process
is not one simple step.
Many components have
to be taken into consideration.
One of the important
considerations that needs
to be made is the impact
on businesses.
This week, I spoke to
Paul Nowacki, the general
manager at Elevele,
a dispensary in Highland
Park. Nowacki noted the
excitement that the staff at
Elevele felt when Pritzker
signed the bill, saying that
it helps to alleviate some
of the stigma put on the
cannabis industry.
While it’s yet to be
seen how drastically the
legalization of marijuana
will impact Highland
Park, it’s very important
that these first steps be
taken.
To read more about how
it will impact Highland
Park’s sole cannabis
dispensary, turn to Page
4. To read about the City
Council’s plans to begin
conversations about the
legalization process, turn
to Page 6.
On July 9 Edgewood Middle School posted,
“Big shout out to Norton’s Restaurant for
displaying EW CMA student’s Photoshop
pieces that once hung in City Hall. They will
be returned to Edgewood when the school is
finished with its renovation. Work by incoming
7th Grade students: Henry S.,Ryan K., Emily
A., Dylan G., Avery R., Grace W., Charlotte
R. Pictured below is Jeffrey hanging up the
photos at Nortons.”
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On July 12 the City of Highland Park posted,
“Don’t miss your chance to secure a piece of
Highland Park history! Buy your #HP150 celebration
souvenirs today at http://www.cityhpil.
com/gear”
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nfyn
From Page 12
change,” O’Hara said at
the Village Board meeting
on Monday, July 8.
“We hope to be at the
table,” she added, “but
we’re not sure if we’re sitting
with the adults ... or
the kiddies table.”
O’Hara noted the $61
million overhaul of the
Lake Bluff interchange is
a state project and consists
of three phases. Phase I
was completed in 2015 and
focused on an engineering
and environmental study
that steered the design of
the project.
Reporting by Stephanie Kim,
Freelance Reporter. Full
story at LakeForestLeader.
com.
THE GLENCOE ANCHOR
Student-painted rain
barrels to be installed at
D35 schools
After a wet start to the
summer, some of Glencoe’s
youngest residents
learned about water conservation
during Glencoe
District 35’s Summer Explorations
program.
Summer Explorations
started June 17 and ran
through Friday, July 12.
The session offered a variety
of classes to local students
who were looking to
continue learning throughout
their summer break.
During the week of July
8, a group of students from
the Backyard Art Summer
camp had a special visitor:
Rebecca Wooley from the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District of Greater
Chicago.
Wooley, who works in
MWRD’s public affairs
department, taught students
from first through
fifth grade about their
local waste water treatment
plant — Terrence J.
O’Brien Water Reclamation
Plant in Skokie —
and how they clean waste
water.
“We release water into
the local waterways, but
first we clean and treat
it,” Wooley said of the
130-year-old organization.
“We also manage stormwater.
It’s our responsibility
to protect neighborhoods
and businesses from
flooding.”
She also introduced students
to green infrastructure,
which helps with
stormwater detention. The
main infrastructure includes
native plants, green
roofs, rain gardens and
rain barrels.
Everyone can be a
go figure
1
“stormwater superhero”
by helping out with green
infrastructure, Wooley
said — not just MWRD.
“A rain barrel is equipment
to help us reduce the
water that is going into our
sewer system,” she said.
Reporting by Megan Bernard,
Contributing Editor.
Full story at GlencoeAnchor.
com.
An intriguing number from this week’s edition
The amount of marijuana
dispensaries located in Highland
Park. Read more about it on
Page 4.
The Highland Park Landmark
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