A further look

         When Panda Express opened last Tuesday, no doubt there were some folks who rolled their eyes, sighed and bemoaned the fact that it’s “another fast-food place.”    At first glance, it may seem that way, because that’s the label dropped on “fast casual dining.” Panda Express, however, has one difference. It’s family owned. Not just the Buffalo Grove location, but all 2,600 worldwide restaurants remain under the umbrella of the Panda Express, Inc based out of California where the Cherng family opened its first restaurant in 1983. Each location has a subtle difference to it, something noticeable by the artwork on the walls, which is a daunting task when you have 2,600 facilities.   There is, to no surprise, the seemingly standard corporate plaque that adorns each unit and, quite simply says, “Welcome to our family’s Chinese kitchen,” It’s subtle, but it re-enforces the fact that Panda Express not only has an Asian menu, but Asian root...

Here's a list of vendors scheduled to be at the Buffalo Grove Farmers Market, which opens its 16th season this Sunday, June 16. The hours are 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Awesome Mini Donuts Mini Donuts Azteca Catering Pkg'd Mexican Specialties Bailey's Farm to Home Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers Bake Share Baking Pies Cerberus Confections Freeze Dried Fruits, Vegetables, etc. Cheese People Cheese Crave Bakery Flara Bakery Sourdough Bread Green Cuisine Dips, Olives, Baba Ghanoush, Pita Hardins Family Farms Fruit, Vegetables, Cider. Honey Lake Bee Company Honey, Honey Comb, Wax, Lip Balm Impossibly Gluten Free Gluten Free Cookies, Snickerdoodles, etc. JL Produce Vegetables & Flowers Kiki's Cotton Candy Cotton Candy, Hawaiian Shaved Ice Lafevor Farm Vegetables Legacy Fudge Fudge Magic Crepes Crepes Marek's Authentic Polish Polish Sausage and Pierogi Nana's Rum Cakes Rum cakes Plant Kindness Flowers River Valley Ranch Fresh Mushrooms Sabatello Quality Meats Bratwurst, ...

  The Vernon Area Public Library District Board of Trustees have officially adopted a Strategic Framework that will guide the activities of the library over the next four years. The action came at Board’s March 18 meeting. According to a press release issued by the Library, key activities highlighted in the plan include working with an architect to maximize public use of the library building and grounds and looking into a shared library catalog to provide patrons with access to more materials. Other action items include expanding the “Library of Things” (equipment that patrons can check out) and maker-type offerings for content creation. “As this library district completes its 50th year of stellar service to this community, this Strategic Framework will give us a strong start on another half-century of operational excellence,” Library Director Anne Rasmussen said. “We feel good about this plan,” Rassmussen added. “It's an investment in our future. It’s doable, it’s lofty, a...

Four area students have formed a non-profit organization that strives to educate and provide supplies to women in underprivileged areas.             Big deal, right?             It is considering their goal is to provide “sanitary pads to 500 million individuals in underprivileged populations while also promoting menstrual health education, sensitization, and de-stigmatization campaigns related to menstruation.”             That has been the mission of “Every 28 Days,” started in March of 2023 by (pictured from top to bottom)  Shruti Govindarajan of Buffalo Grove, Amrutha Venkat of Palatine and sisters Nishika and Niyathi Girish of Palatine. Since its founding, Every 28 Days has been trying to target rural areas worldwide, focusing on underprivileged populations with inaccessibility to resources.             It’s fitting that Every 28 Days is focusing on public he...

  A scheduled meeting   of the Lake County Public Works and Transportation Committee may shed light on the plans for the proposed widening of Buffalo Grove Road between Illinois Rt. 22 and U.S. Rt. 45. Opponents of the project are hoping there will be revisions discussed at the Jan. 10 meeting that will show a scaling back of the plans for the project. Key members of the opposition group cite safety, environmental impact and increased traffic, especially truck traffic, as their key concerns. The project was unveiled at a May 24 public forum sponsored by the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) which, organizers say, drew around 100 people, which they say is more than most project-based forums. Since that time, they say more than 300 people have voiced opposition to the project, mostly through the  group’s website  that includes its 1,650 word   “declaration” ,  basically a petition, that provides considerable discussion about their objections. The...