The Fenwick and St. Joseph boys basketball teams will settle their compelling season series with a lot on the line next week in a semifinal matchup of the Westinghouse Sectional.

Chicago Ald. Deborah Graham confirmed that Sears is in talks with Roundy's Inc. to open a Mariano's grocery store at the high-traffic intersection of Harlem and North in Chicago.

If Cosmo Coffey achieves his dream of being a filmmaker, he'll have a football coach to thank. The Oak Park and River Forest High School sophomore, by most accounts, is already a filmmaker and will get to take a bow at the Lake Theatre in Oak Park on March 15 with the screening of his first film, Grit.

Village President Anan Abu-Taleb will name an interim trustee Monday to replace outgoing board trustee Ray Johnson, who resigned this week to relocate after taking a new job in New York.

The question of merging River Forest village and township governments could be addressed as part of the League of Women Voters of Oak Park-River Forest's 2014-2015 program, the organization's president said last week.

Paying for parking will be a cellphone call away in River Forest when the village rolls out the Passport Parking system this June for daily commuters.

The OPRF boys basketball team exited the Class 4A playoffs surprisingly early as Lake Park upset the Huskies 51-48 in the semifinals of the Leyden Regional this week.

Congratulations to OPRF senior swimmer Mark Hallman, the Midtown Athletic Club Athlete of the Week. Hallman turned in a stellar showing at the swimming state finals on Saturday, taking fourth in the 100-yard freestyle (46.19) and sixth in the 50 free (21.22).

The village of Oak Park is looking for residents to participate in two separate public meetings to get their thoughts on the energy aggregation program and sustainability issues.

Amie Marks, an Oak Park financial planner, started something she thinks will be big: a chance for local women to lunch, and discuss serious current events. She calls her monthly series "Women in the Know." The group meets monthly at caffe DeLuca, 7427 Madison St., in Forest Park.