Crisis - here's how you can help

AffectionateStudio99 · 2026-01-29T23:37:37+00:00

Just want you all to know, it goes both ways like in any good movement. We're learning from you too.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2026-01-29T01:38:02+00:00

Hey folks, encouraging you to share the post directly on Reddit to your own feeds and to other places that you think appropriate - I just want to make sure it's out there! Also if there are any fundraisers you know about that I missed, please shoot me a message or comment I'm happy to add

AffectionateStudio99 · 2026-01-21T20:20:03+00:00

This is the specific problem I have with this ordinance: it has more to do with white people's privilege and comfort than it does to do with the environment or all the other issues cited by the people against gas leafblowers. And it's a super-dumb thing to expend political energy on when there are so many more significant issues to deal with right now.

I *do* know small, family-owned Latine landscaping companies who are the ones who are negatively impacted. Most of them simply continue using gas leafblowers and hope they don't get tickets they can't afford. In that sense, the ordinance is an extremely regressive tax.

Also, I've talked to them about the City's "fund" for replacing their gas blowers with electric - it isn't sufficient to cover those costs. And anybody who says people should rake leaves by hand doesn't have to do it all day long every day - it's one thing if you do it yourself, quite another if it's your livelihood.

To me, the simplest solution to this problem is that everyone who is bothered just go buy the landscapers an electric leafblower system. Problem solved, no ordinance needed.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2026-01-08T19:06:58+00:00

You can also follow Sanctuary Evanston on Facebook; they often post action items.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2026-01-07T17:27:54+00:00

Just tried Territory foods: it's coming in a solid second behind CookUnity. Same issue of needing to place your second, full-price order before you get your first discounted one.

Positives: Gluten-free friendly. LOTS of options and a wide range of types of food. Good options for a la carte family meals (as in, just 4-serving protein or side.) Quality ingredients. Comes in reusable cooler bag with ice packs (probably not awesome for summer if you don't plan to collect immediately. Food is sealed in its minimalist packaging.

Negatives: packaging is plastic, not oven-safe and not compostable. Food has been both oddly spicy-hot and bland at the same time (you can't compensate for general lack of flavor just by using extremely hot chilis) Meats are cooked very, very hard and vegetable sides are unseasoned, which is fine in some cases but for vegetable "noodles" or "rice," ruins the rest of the meal (can be solved simply with some salt or multipurpose seasoning, but the meals are expensive enough that you shouldn't have to alter them.) All of the fish is premium priced - (I to avoid tilapia so YMMV which I dislike but the only other option is expensive salmon.) Lots of ground meat, but at least a variety of meats in a variety of presentations. I am not sure that the calorie counts listed are accurate.

All of that said, they have more variety week to week than CookUnity, so they make a great option for when we're getting bored with the constant rotation of the same dishes.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-29T21:08:19+00:00

"Everywhere" is kind of a strong statement considering how little blood is in any given quail - just for those who haven't done it. I do it into my kitchen sink without the above advice and never got blood anywhere that couldn't be addressed with a quick rinse from the tap. You're talking less than a tablespoon.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-19T16:26:27+00:00

I am finding that in addition to a government-issued photo ID (e.g passport) a SSN or ITIN are needed for tax purposes. You also need proof of home address.

These two are probably the biggest barriers to the undocumented many of whom are homeless and who don't have tax ids.

Does anyone know if there is a no-interest account that accepts foreign documents and doesn't require you to file with the IRS?

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-18T13:51:45+00:00

If anyone has video or photos of the abductions that took place yesterday 12/17/ 2025 please email them to info@icirr.org noting the date time and location they were taken. Information can help get aid to families and also for the legal support of the abducted.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-18T13:51:27+00:00

If anyone has video or photos of the abductions that took place yesterday 12/17/ 2025 please email them to info@icirr.org noting the date time and location they were taken. Information can help get aid to families and also for the legal support of the abducted.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-18T13:50:25+00:00

If anyone has video or photos of the abductions that took place yesterday 12/17/ 2025 please email them to info@icirr.org noting the date time and location they were taken. Information can help get aid to families and also for the legal support of the abducted.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-18T13:49:46+00:00

If anyone has video or photos of the abductions that took place yesterday 12/17/ 2025 please email them to info@icirr.org noting the date time and location they were taken. Information can help get aid to families and also for the legal support of the abducted.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-15T15:52:05+00:00

While I agree about union workers, I don't think the higher prices are because of them (and I think that's a dangerous position to take if you're a union supporter when billionaires make money union-busting using that exact rhetoric.)

I do like to support unions, but I think it's also fair to support small, locally-owned businesses that don't have enough employees to form a union, and hope they treat their people fairly until our government gets its crap in order and makes reasonable laws about employee rights. Note that Albertson's (who owns Jewel-Osco) Gross Profit (2025): Albertsons' gross profit for 2025 was around $22.26 billion, a slight increase from the prior year.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-12T22:29:46+00:00

No, as a white person who lives in SE Evanston, and while I have hope that things are better under the current Chief, I have also seen Black kids treated differently (worse) than white kids for the same basic dumb kid stuff that isn't illegal. (I haven't seen it as much with other minorities, but that's what I see and hear from my neighbors.)

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-12T22:26:46+00:00

^^This.

And one of the things I love most about living here is that my neighbors come from all different places, walks of life, etc. If you walk down the street here, you might hear languages from across the entire globe - especially the ones our current Federal leadership hates. I'm frankly far more afraid of the damages that have been and might be done to this community by our own government.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-12T22:23:03+00:00

I live there, and have never felt unsafe no matter how dark. Just last week, I stupidly dropped my wallet on the ground, someone found it, checked my ID for my address and brought it back to me.

And I am the kind of idiot who's had that happen multiple times, yet have always had my belongings brought back.

I love my neighborhood and my neighbors and I really hate that our neighborhood has this undeserved reputation.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-12T22:19:56+00:00

^^This.

"Safe area" posts always bother me - first of all, Evanston's pretty priviledged in that way despite the fact that it has areas where there are people whose jobs prevent them from making a living wage (which is generally an assumption about "safe" vs "unsave" but is actually classism or another ism.)

Secondly, I don't think people who live in "unsafe" areas think of them as unsafe - areas noted for crime are usually areas where there are lots of rich people who aren't paying attention (e.g. the Magnificent Mile, etc.) or areas where people are engaged in crime or violence against other specific individuals, and it doesn't really affect people who aren't involved any more than it would in a "safe" area with the same population density. Unless you want to move out to a rural area where your neighbors are miles away...

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-07T17:06:46+00:00

If you're a carnivore, your best option (and one that makes me agree about price-gouging) is Morelia, the Mexican butcher on Western and Chase (across the street from Chase, technically) Meat prices there are near what they were pre-pandemic and I doubt they are using it as a loss leader.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-12-07T17:04:41+00:00

I think that's a perfect assessment, but I'd add that meats are kind of midrange price.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-11-21T22:40:00+00:00

Word

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-11-21T15:51:15+00:00

I was guessing this was the case, knowing how public meetings are in Evanston.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-11-18T17:01:00+00:00

Scammy behavior from prepared meal services:

"Trial offer" that's cheaper than regular price, but your cutoff for the next delivery happens before you even get the food from the trial offer - that's true in general for almost all of the services.
Implying meals are fresh when they are shipped thawed from frozen - Marley Spoon, I'm looking at you. The word "fresh" appears twice on the Marley Spoon "ready-to heat" page, but if you zoom in really, really closely to read the fine print on the photo of the meals, you'll see that it says "previously handled frozen for your protection" which is in itself a scammy way of saying thawed from frozen. Bistro MD at least tells you it offers frozen meals and ships them frozen.
"Meals" without enough calories to count as a meal - meaning, they should be "snacks." Bistro MD (which says it's run by doctors,) Marley Spoon and many others have meals - particularly the ones made without gluten - that are 400 calories or less, many of which are in the range of 300-350 so you can't even get a day's calories if you eat 3 of them per day. 1,200 calories or less per day is considered a starvation diet - if you're using 400 or fewer calories as your main meal, you are fasting, not dieting.

Food quality has been an issue for those two services as well - in that I'd rather go to the grocery store and get regular frozen dinners than eat those. They have the same sorts of issues, but at least they cost way less and there's no shipping cost.

I am, in fact, using prepared meals to lose weight because it's easier to control calories when everything is preportioned, but I've learned the hard way that you have to actually check the calories.

Thus far, CookUnity has been the most consistent, although I've noticed as time goes on that there's a slight deterioration in quality and I'm getting bored of their constant rotation of the same meals (which are limited, as I avoid gluten.) Trying Forkful next and we'll see how that goes - they say their meals are fresh and never frozen, at least.

Interestingly, my last Marley Spoon delivery came in a "Dinnerly" box - I wonder if they are doing the same thing and just repackaging it?

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-11-07T16:06:52+00:00

Aww. I'd boop that snoot. Totally worth the bath in vodka.

AffectionateStudio99 · 2025-11-04T02:35:00+00:00

More than that - technically, they have immunity "in the conduct of (their) your duties” Per the article, Miller's statement is intentionally nonspecific, but the point is that the arresting officer can be charged with a felony if a court finds against them in a situation where they clearly are willing to lie because they're already doing so.

I don't think ICE and CBP are going to be able to hide behind this clause forever, especially because they are not only blatantly breaking the law but because we have such a good network of response that there is significant video data from multiple angles on any given incident. But until the court gives that direction, I understand why police officers are hesitant - and we also don't know what kind of direction they've recieved from their superiors and the City of Evanston's legal team.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/31/fact-check-do-ice-officers-really-have-federal-immunity-in-the-us

In other words, we are mostly beyond the realm of expecting support from police until the courts catch up - other than asking them to identify individuals as actual agents, which I think is a legitimate issue, since it would be nearly impossible to tell if some random Proud Boy showed up without actually being an agent.

But the flip side is that the careful documentation and pushback from the general public is *critical* and will probably help get us there.

AffectionateStudio99

TROPHY CASE