News Briefs: State of Wilmette on Nov. 10; Coat drive thru Nov. 15; Hometown Coffee opens in Winnetka

Wilmette leaders will gather on Wednesday, Nov. 10, to speak to and hear from the community in the State of the Village event from the League of Women Voters-Wilmette.

The biennial event will take place from 7-9 p.m. at Mallinckrodt Center, 1041A Ridge Road, and will feature representatives from Wilmette’s seven governing boards: the Village Board of Trustees, Park Board of Commissioners, Library Board of Trustees, Wilmette District 39 Board of Education, New Trier High School District 203 Board of Education, Avoca District 37 Board of Education and New Trier Township Board of Trustees.

Advanced registration is required, and attendees must wear a mask and provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test, according to a press release from the League of Women Voters.

“It promises to be an evening of civil community engagement and productive intergovernmental communication,” the release says.

The speakers will be followed by a Q-and-A session with guests.

For more information, email communicationslwvw@gmail.com.

‘Ready Set Wilmette’ to set future of Wilmette starting with Nov. 11 event

The Village of Wilmette is inviting the community to contribute as it edits its comprehensive plan.

The process, dubbed Ready Set Wilmette, is led by consultants from Teska Associates and will tackle commercial markets, housing, diversity and inclusiveness, sustainability, and transportation, according to a Village press release.

A series of community town halls called Wilmette Talks will be spread throughout the 18-month process and be complemented by a variety of surveys and polls. There are also interactive tools, such as a map and ideas wall, on the plan’s website.

The first Wilmette Talk will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11, at the Community Rec Center, 3000 Glenview Road. You can RSVP on the project website and officials said COVID-19 protocols will be enforced.

“The comprehensive plan is a community-wide assessment of existing conditions, formation of a common vision for the future, and a series of actions to implement that vision,” the release says. “The Wilmette plan will focus on how to help ensure the Village of Wilmette is welcoming, vibrant, and thriving in the years to come.

“It will consider what aspects of community can be improved, where those opportunities exist, and what future forces must be considered for the Village to evolve sustainably and successfully.”

Wilmette Village President Senta Plunkett said in the release, “This plan will help the Village with more than decisions about development projects and economic development, it will start a discussion about who we are as a community and what we want our community to be.”

The plan will look at “key” areas in Wilmette, such as the Village Center, corridors on Green Bay Road and Ridge Road, and Linden Square.

For more information, contact Business Development Coordinator Lucas Sivertsen at (847) 853-7520 or sivertsenl@wilmette.com

Coat drive runs through Nov. 15

The Woman’s Club of Wilmette is hosting its second coat drive to benefit Radical Generosity Chicago, which supports residents of Chicago’s South Side.

The drive, which runs from Nov. 1-15, is seeking new and gently used coasts as well as winter accessories, such as gloves, mittens, winter hats and more for adults and children.

Items can be dropped off at the clubhouse, 930 Greenleaf Avenue, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 13, as well as the Community Recreation Center, 3000 Glenview Road, and Centennial Ice Arena, 2300 Old Glenview Road.

For more information, contact Melinda Wold at activities@womansclubofwilmette.org.

Popular coffee shop’s second location opens its doors

Hometown Coffee and Juice opened its Winnetka storefront on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

The new shop at 749 Elm St. is the business’ second location, joining the original spot at 700 Vernon Ave. in Glencoe that opened in 2018.

Both locations are open every day from 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Rajiv Vinnakota speaks with NSCD students

Entrepreneur and nonprofit leader Rajiv Vinnakota visited North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka as the Harold Hines Visiting Fellow on Oct. 20.

After speaking to the entire middle and upper school, Vinnakota met with several small groups of students and faculty, including an upper school entrepreneurship class, middle and upper school student leaders, and the middle school public speaking class, according to a press release from NSCD.

Vinnakota co-founded the SEED school network, a group of urban, college-preparatory boarding schools where more than 80 percent of graduates are first-generation college students. He also founded the Youth & Engagement Division of the Aspen Institute and is now the head of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, formerly the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.

In 1986, the Harold Hines Visiting Fellowship was established in memory of longtime trustee Harold H. Hines Jr. Hines provided exceptional leadership to North Shore as a trustee.

The Fellowship has brought distinguished individuals to NSCD such as former president of Yale University and Commissioner of Major League Baseball the late A. Bartlett Giamatti; Dr. Jane Goodall; Chinese dissident the late Harry Wu; founder and president of Habitat for Humanity the late Millard Fuller; award-winning poet, essayist, fiction writer, activist and professor Marjorie Agosin; and Georgia Congressman and civil rights icon the late John Lewis.