Pochos, Butterdough Pegged as "Best of the South Side"
The South Side Weekly has highlighted McKinley Park neighborhood businesses Butterdough and Pochos as two picks for their "Best of the South Side" issue, lauding the two eateries for their innovative cuisine.
Butterdough gets the nod as the "Best Window Into Baking" based on its flawless, evocative pastries in a piece by Zachary Jesse, while Pochos lands "Best New Brunch" in a review from Joshua Falk.
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Women's Health and Fitness Focus of Muñoz-Hosted Event
Illinois 1st District State Senator Antonio "Tony" Muñoz hosted a local event for the National Women's Health and Fitness Day, bringing dozens of vendors and speakers to the National Latino Education Institute in support of women's health. Taking place on Friday, September 13, the event drew hundreds of local women who took advantage of workshops, health screenings, fitness sessions and health care resources.
"We were able to bring together a wide array of vendors and workshops to support women's health," Muñoz said. "Women are a driving force in our communities, and it’s important that they have access to resources they need."
Read more: Women's Health and Fitness Focus of Muñoz-Hosted Event
Namaste Announces Open Enrollment Opportunities
A Namaste Charter School teacher and student work one-on-one from one of its classrooms in the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Namaste Charter School, which educates Kindergartners through eighth graders, has announced continuing open enrollment for its Kindergarten class this year, plus limited enrollment opportunities across all its grades. This dovetails with recent changes in programming and operations, said Namaste Executive Director April Shaw.
"We’re making strong efforts to involve our families and the local community as much as possible throughout the year," Shaw said. "Aligned with these principles are several new programming initiatives."
Notably, Namaste is implementing more small group instruction, a bigger rotation of electives like football, tech media and volleyball, and one-to-one availability of technology devices for students, Shaw said.
"More coaching and support for our amazing educators" is another initiative for this year, she said.
Neighborhood Development Takes Front Seat This Week in McKinley Park
Jodi Koplin's Jigglejams performs on Sunday, September 22, at the McKinley Park Farmers Market.Transit-oriented development (or TOD) is poised to roar into McKinley Park, and the McKinley Park Development Council Meeting on Wednesday, September 18, at Kristoffer's Cakes offers a chance for the public to learn about this new development standard and what it portends for the neighborhood. Attend to get a primer on TOD from members of the Metropolitan Planning Council and view potential neighborhood examples from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).
Our neighborhood's new industrial development is front and center at the MAT Asphalt Open House on Saturday, September 21, on Pershing Road between northbound and southbound Damen Avenue. MAT Asphalt invites the public to its open house to learn about its operations, tour the plant and meet business owners.
Read more: Neighborhood Development Takes Front Seat This Week in McKinley Park
Aquinas Trains New Cadre of Volunteer Language Tutors
Aquinas' newest tutors include, in the front row, Ray Juska, Craig Leslie, Brenda Moore, Evelyn Bollinger, Diane Medica, Mayra Guzman and Sammi Vittert; in second row, Yusuf Abbasi, Sr. Bernadine Gutowski, Christine Ustun and Linda Krasovskis; in the third row, Zach Ford, Lina Hilko and Asande Mahlabela; and in the fourth row, Janice North, Suhit Pingale and Miguel Garcia.
Aquinas Literacy Center continued its ongoing program of language education with the training of 17 new volunteer tutors, who will work one-on-one with local learners who wish to speak, read and write English.
Over the past weekend, Aquinas conducted its first training session of the academic season, instructing and certifying the volunteers during its standing schedule of a training workshop over a Friday night and Saturday day.
"Without the support of many volunteers, Aquinas would not be able to carry out its mission of empowering adults to learn English and become more engaged in their community," said Sabrina Poulin, volunteer coordinator at Aquinas.
Read more: Aquinas Trains New Cadre of Volunteer Language Tutors
