The Democratic Party of Evanston has scheduled a special membership meeting for 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12, to consider endorsing Forrest Claypool for Cook County Assessor.

Township Committeeman Jeff Schoenberg says supporters of Claypool's independent campaign for assessor have submitted a petition calling for a DPOE membership vote.

The Evanston Community Foundation is accepting applications for its root2fruit grants to small non-profit organizations.

The foundation will make up to three new grants of up to $10,000 each for the 2011 calendar year. Each grant award is renewable for two additional years for a maximum award of $30,000.

Shop or dine at either Evanston Whole Foods Market on Tuesday and 5 percent of net sales will benefit the Evanston Community Foundation’s Communityworks Initiative that seeks to have every child ready for kindergarten and  every youth ready for work.

The Evanston Arts Depot, located in the Main Street Metra station in Evanston, will hold several acting classes this fall.

"Acting 101: Communication and Performance for Adults," taught by Alison Lonesome Rodriguez, invites grownups to explore their inner skills as performers through improv and other techniques.

Students learn how to communicate their ideas with confidence in the workplace and get a chance to unleash their creative imagination in a safe setting.

The class meets from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays from Sept. 18 to Nov. 6. It costs $250.

Sugar, salt, alcohol and a little serendipity led a Northwestern University research team to discover a new class of nanostructures that could be used for gas storage and food and medical technologies. And the compounds are edible.

A Chicago man, imprisoned twice before for laundry room burglaries in Evanston, is back in police custody on charges of breaking into another laundry room.

An Evanston resident who suggested raising user fees as a way to solve the library's funding woes got a cool reception from Library Board members Wednesday night.

Evanston's Library Board recently has proclaimed its dedication to outreach to the city's minority and low income communities.

But there was little evidence Wednesday night that those communities are buying into the outreach claim or see it as a reason to back the board's effort to break free from the City Council's budget oversight.

The American Library Association says September is library card sign-up month -- a good time for parents to help their kids get off to a good start to the school year by getting them a library card -- what the ALA calls "the smartest card."

“A library card has always been the most important school supply of all,” said Evanston Public Library Director Mary Johns.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston defended government spending on housing programs this afternoon on a tour of the proposed site of a federally-funded low-income housing development in the city.

You could see it happening today on Central Street -- fire plugs near Northwestern University's Ryan Field were painted purple.

It's part of a promotion for a "Paint Evanston Purple" campaign designed to fire up local residents for the Wildcats' home game against Central Michigan University on Saturday, Sept. 25.

No word yet on whether the new color confuses neighborhood dogs.

The City of Evanston reportedly has agreed -- for now -- to let the owners of a condo get away with not paying a special assessment for alley paving even though the owners lost a court case at the center of the dispute.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston is scheduled this afternoon to tour the proposed site of a new low-income housing development that's the subject of a $2.5 million federal grant request submitted by the city last week.

The Library Board holds its second and last scheduled public forum session tonight about its decision to impose its own tax on Evanstonians.

Tonight's session starts at 6 p.m. at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.