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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■ A local food pantry delivers, PAGE 11
Vol. 33 No. 1
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January 2, 2019
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austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
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Meet Winona Bryant and Therese Simmons, Page 3
What’s past (2018) is prologue Big stories in 2018 could give some indication of how 2019 might shake out By EDITORIAL STAFF How might 2019 shake out? Well, you might get some idea of how life on the West Side might be based on our coverage of some of the biggest stories to happen in 2018. Below is a month-by-month recap of some of the biggest stories in 2018, which resonate in the New Year. January | ‘Dream’ restaurant opens. Nichelle Benford opens Dream Chef Kitchen & Restaurant, 611 S. California Ave., in the Garfield Park neighborhood. The grand IN opening was held Jan. 27. The restaurant serves comfort foods like chicken, beef pot roast, salmon, and salads. Dinner meals run between $9 and $14 and desserts are also available.
2019 PREVEIW
Key Elementary sold. The Chicago Board of Education approved the $175,000 sell of Francis Scott Key Elementary on Jan. 24 to The Field School, which had been operating in Oak Park at the time. The Field School plans to use the space at 517 N. Parkside as a K-8 school to educate about 300 diverse students, school head Jeremy Mann said. February | Eco Orchard gets muchneeded funding. The Chicago City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 28 to approve spending $500,000 to build a fruit orchard somewhere on the stretch of 5th Avenue, between Kedzie Avenue and Sacramento Boulevard. The Garfield Park Community Council had been lobbying for the project for years. As the officials explained, they were responding to something they heard from residents who shopped at Garfield Park Farmers Market.
The customers wanted fruit, but they didn’t have anywhere to grow it. March | Emmet purchased by West Side nonprofit. At a community meeting on March 7, Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) announced that the Westside Health Authority, the wellknown social service organization, bought the former Emmet Elementary school building. The nonprofit is still working on redevelopment plans for the space. City approves ‘Cop Academy’ funds. During a special May 25 meeting, the Chicago City Council voted 39-2 to approve using $20 million of proceeds from the sale of the See PREVIEW on page 4
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TIME MARCHES ON: Young people, some of whom are members of Good Kid Mad City, walk in protest of gun violence and poverty in March. Below left, Nichelle Benford during the grand opening of her restaurant, Dream Chef Kitchen & Restaurant.
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