🌱 The Future Of Delia's Kitchen + Kids Vaccine Clinic + Nature Walk

Hello, Oak Park and River Forest! I'm happy to be back bringing you daily guides to the local headlines. Let's get to it.

First, today's weather: Breezy with partial sunshine. High: 85 Low: 68.

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Here are the top 3 stories in Oak Park-River Forest today:

1. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing nationwide as a result of the highly transmissible BA.5 variant, NPR reports. Vaccine appointments will be offered tomorrow at Cheney Mansion for anyone older than six months. (VOP)

2. Former students are reacting to the firing of longtime Fenwick High School teacher John Quinn after an investigation “uncovered clear and unequivocal violations.” Emma Helen Quinn Pasin, a Fenwick graduate who accused Quinn of inappropriately touching her when she was a student, said in a YouTube video: “The damage he has caused is probably immeasurable, but at least we got this one predator out of the school.” (Wednesday Journal)

3. Delia’s Kitchen owner Veronica Cibotaru is looking ahead after a November fire destroyed the restaurant’s Lake Street location. “I am taking the summer to figure out what is next for me,” she told Wednesday Journal. (Wednesday Journal)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Play Scrabble at Oak Park Public Library. (10 a.m.)
• Oak Park Public Library offers a gardening class for children with disabilities. (4 p.m.)
• See “Thor: Love and Thunder” at Lake Theatre. (7 p.m.)
• Take a “Nature at Night” Walk in Austin Gardens. (8:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Residents who purchase an electric vehicle from an Illinois dealer are eligible for a rebate as part of a new program launched by the state EPA. (VOP)
• The Oak Park vehicle license deadline is July 15. (VOP)
• River Forest Public Library curated a list of resources to address the impact of gun violence following the mass shooting in Highland Park on July 4. (Library)

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Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow for more local stories.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019.