The next few weeks are a battle — a competition pitting us against foliage-shedding trees, shriveling vegetable gardens and wind-strewn limbs.

No one wants to miss that pickup deadline. Our advice: set an alarm on your phone for the following dates.

☑️ Leaf collection: Today marks the start of the first pickup for the west side. Second pickup begins 10/30 for the east side and 11/6 for the west side.

☑️ Brush collection: The west side is scheduled for this week. The final pickup round for both sides of town starts 11/27.

☑️ Leaf collection: First pickup start dates — Zone C: 10/30. Zone B: 11/6. Zone A: 11/2. Why are the zones/dates in an illogical order? Beats me.

☑️ Brush collection: Zone 1 is 11/6 and Zone 2 is 11/13. Why are leaf vs. brush collection zones different? Beats me.

☑️ Leaf collection: Wednesday marks the start of the first pickup for the east side. Second pickup begins 10/31 for the west side.

☑️ Brush collection: The west side is scheduled for today. The final pickup round starts 11/20.

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☑️ River Street survey: Batavia is seeking input — from both residents and visitors — about what’s worked and what hasn’t as the city plans for the future of the popular downtown area.

🔒 Predatory practices: When the new owner of a St. Charles senior community abruptly switched it to a rental model, many residents found themselves scrambling for a new place to live.

🔒 A green future: On Friday, officials ceremoniously switched on a new solar field — featuring 4,000+ solar panels — adjacent to the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles.

🔒 Revenue sharing: Batavia’s school district and Aurora City Council are exploring an agreement that would send TIF dollars to Batavia schools as part of the Hollywood Casino redevelopment project.

🔒 Striking a balance: St. Charles School District 303 is reviewing boundaries and considering enrollment zone changes to tackle elementary school overcrowding.

☑️ Affordable housing: Kane is one of several counties partnering with CMAP to apply for a federal housing grant — and they’re accepting public comments about area housing and affordability issues.

🔒 Chikin fans rejoice: Chick-fil-A has the St. Charles City Council seal of approval to move forward with its new location across from Charlestowne Mall.

☑️ A local economic lift: With over $2M in federal recovery funds, Kane County is working to boost manufacturing jobs, enhance that sector’s talent pipeline and drive more tourism in our area.

*Below are “listed” start/end times — actual play times tend to vary. The 🎟️ symbol indicates an admission fee. Links to band/event info are provided where available.

✔️ Magoo: Preservation | Geneva | 6-9PM | Event info + video

✔️ Connie Cipher: 93 Octane Brewing | St. Charles | 6-9PM | Musician info

✔️ Ian Leith: Preservation | Geneva | 6-9PM | Event info + video

✔️ Comstocke Lode: Flagship on the Fox | St. Charles | 6-9PM | Band info

✔️ Mike Hayes: Flagship on the Fox | St. Charles | 4-7PM | Musician info

✔️ Scott Tipping: Preservation | Geneva | 6-9PM | Event info + video

✔️ PBJ: Evenflow | Geneva | 7PM

✔️ Peter Miletic: ROX at Hotel Baker | St. Charles | 7:30-11PM | Musician info

🎟️ Martin Barre - History of Jethro Tull: Arcada Theatre | St. Charles | 7:30PM | Event info

✔️ Cat Man Dog: The House Pub | St. Charles | 9PM-12AM | Band info

☑️ Midnight on Morton: WGN TV filmed a segment at the home of Batavia’s Zach and Andrea Sage, who annually transform their yard into an incredible collection of clever Halloween decorations.

🔒 Master mentor: A lovely feature on Pat Crimmins, the Geneva attorney (and new STC East High School mock trial coach) whose accomplishments include leading the STC North High School mock trial team to three state championships.

🔒 Edible art: Ever dreamt of turning a hobby into TV stardom? St. Charles “cookier” Liz Suwanski may have some advice — she’ll be taking her talents to Food Network's "Halloween Cookie Challenge.”

☑️ Lend a hand: Batavia United Way is looking for bilingual volunteers (Spanish and Arabic speakers in particular) to support the community in various ways.

☑️ Lead with safety: Lead Poisoning Prevention Week kicked off yesterday. Considering that many area homes are old historic, it’s worth taking a minute to think about preventing dangerous exposure.

🔒 An era ends: Scott Lebin, longtime Geneva Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board, recently announced his retirement.

☑️ Parade prep: This year’s Electric Christmas Parade will be held on 11/25 in downtown St. Charles. If you want in on the procession, make sure to apply by 11/3.

☑️ Celebrating 75: St. Charles Episcopal Church has been around for ¾ of a century — and on Wednesday, they’ll commemorate the occasion with a ribbon cutting and after-hours party.

🎟️ The Second City Comedy Night: The famed improv comedy troupe will take the stage at the Arcada in St. Charles on Wednesday night — with proceeds benefitting Anderson Humane.

🎟️ I love the 80's TO DEATH - Murder Mystery & Costume Party: Nostalgic characters, outrageous costumes, food + drink and a real-life game of Clue — all at Copper Fox in Geneva on Friday evening.

🎟️ The Shadow Over Dunwich: Step into the unsettling mind of a notorious horror writer during a nightmarishly fun performance at Geneva's Playhouse 38 from October 27-29.

☑️ Batavia Committee of the Whole: During tomorrow’s meeting, the committee will discuss the adoption of a tree preservation ordinance, stabilizing the west bank of the Fox River, reinstating the Loyalty Day Parade and more.

☑️ Geneva Committee of the Whole: During tonight’s meeting, the committee will discuss the appointment of a human resources manager, the results of a city worker compensation study and more.

☑️ St. Charles Government Services Committee: During tonight’s meeting, the committee will discuss the city’s snow and ice removal program, fire station facility improvements and more.

☁️ Today: High 63F | Low 55F | Breezy; may spit a bit

🌤️ Tuesday: High 77F | Low 59F | Summer’s last gasp

🌧️ Wednesday: High 66F | Low 62F | A wet stretch begins

🌧️ Thursday: High 71F | Low 61F | Rain likely continues

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Cheers,

Sam

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