Vol. VII No. 35 Leaders recognize Overdose Awareness Day, PAGE 2
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
vfpress.news
Maywood woman earns prestigious fellowship, PAGE 6
Company opening Broadview cannabis grower gets $17M
The 1937 Group, owner of Helios Labs, secured the funding from Florida-based SGG Enterprises LLC By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
The parent company behind a cannabis cultivation center that’s slated to open in Broadview later this year recently secured significant new funding, company officials announced Aug. 30. The company, The 1937 Group, Ltd., got $17 million from SGG Enterprises LLC, a private investment group based in Florida. According to the terms of the agreement, the deal includes $13 million in equity shares and $4 million as a debt note. Ambrose Jackson, the CEO of The 1937 Group, said the funds will be used for the build-out of the company’s current assets and for purchasing and building out more cannabis establishments in Illinois. He declined to disclose how much of an ownership stake See CANNABIS on page 8
SHANEL ROMAIN/Staff Photographer
Young women enjoy the Fred Hampton Streetz Party in Maywood, which was hosted by Hampton’s son, Black Panther Party Cubs Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., on Aug. 30. Read more on page 4.
Residents can now play wildly popular pickleball in Berkeley Park District cuts ribbon on two new pickleball courts on Aug. 31, to start open league play this month By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Data by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association shows participation in pickleball nearly doubled from 2014 to
2021, growing from around 2.5 million players to just under 5 million. There are many reasons to explain the sport’s appeal, said Ed Susmilch, a volunteer with the USA Pickleball Association. Susmilch was one of the instructors who attended a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 31 for the two brand new pickleball courts the Berkeley Park District installed at 5909 Maple Ave. in Berkeley. The park district also retrofitted two existing tennis courts so that they can be used for pickleball play. “You get some good exercise but it’s
easy on the legs,” said Susmilch, explaining the attractions that have made pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America. “And pickleball is very social. For the most part, everybody just comes in and plays.” Paul Smith, a Berkeley Park District commissioner who oversees Playground and Planning, said the courts cost around $20,000. They’re on property that has gone through its own evolution, he said. “This was originally two tennis courts See PICKELBALL on page 7