The Soapbox: Daily Herald editors offer brief thoughts on suburban topics in the news.

Doldrums without holiday lights

Schaumburg is one suburb that is kind of pacing its removal of the pretty holiday lights around village hall and its town square. It's been nice to still see the clock tower lit up, for example. No doubt the lights will all be gone soon as in other suburbs, but while we await the return of longer days, the still-long nights will become more dull.

Red-light reprieve?

Comptroller Susana Mendoza's announcement that her office will stop helping municipalities collect fines for violations caught by red-light cameras may not affect every suburban town with the devises, but it draws attention anew to a technology we and many in the public have long questioned. Good.

Get your tickets

Tickets go on sale Tuesday for Chicago Theatre Week. Running Feb. 13 to 23, the week offers discounted tickets to shows in Chicago and the suburbs. It's the perfect time to support suburban theaters and to venture into Chicago to see a play. Find participating theaters at choosechicago.com/chicago-theatre-week.

Aurora mentoring programs

Hats off to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is working with groups throughout the city to gather information about mentoring programs that can then be shared with young people to provide better tools for decision making. Better still, community leaders have begun meeting directly to hear about the issues affecting young people's lives.

Wiley coyotes

It's wintertime, when coyotes don't have as easy a time finding dinner. So don't set the table for them Don't leave food outside for your pet; and keep your dog on a short leash when it's time for walks. If you encounter one, make a spectacle of yourself. Or as a reader suggested, carry an airhorn.

Meanwiley

Can we calm the coyote hysteria just a tad? It's not like the animals are armed and massing at the gates.

The Buffalo Grove Road bike path

While Lake County proposes widening Buffalo Grove Road from Deerfield Parkway to Route 22, it's good to see the parallel bike path remains a part of the project. The county says it would be improved and the gap completed between Aptakisic Road and Brandywn Lane. Help with transportation via bicycling in Buffalo Grove is needed, too.

A buyer for the track?

We're open to almost anything that will keep horse racing alive at Arlington.

Fun, sportsmanship reign

Good to see Naperville native James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter show their smarts in "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time." It's even better the game's all-time money-winners - while displaying sportsmanship - are bringing a smile to host Alex Trebek, who's been battling cancer. That means as much as anything.

Learning experience

Confronting questions of race and white privilege isn't easy. And best-selling author Robin DiAngelo is known for making people uncomfortable. So it was impressive to see that she drew a capacity crowd of about 130 people in Barrington who were willing to engage in "A Year of Courageous Conversations" sessions.

$2,020 tips

Wouldn't it be something if this became the year's fad?