Just out of reach…
I woke up Saturday morning at 5:45 – fifteen minutes before my alarm clock was set to being its annoying beep regimen. Here’s how it usually goes: The sound starts slowly. “Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep.” After about 8 beeps, it suddenly doubles in speed. “Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep” If I’m not up within a few seconds, it goes…
New owners at Indigo Restaurant
The hottest news we have to report is that Indigo Restaurant, which has been owned for many years by Jeff Griswold changed hands early this week. Samah Hassani, who work for Griswold for seven years and has been Indigo’s manager for the last two and her fiance Mike Novel are the popular upscale restaurant’s new…
EGG-STRAORDINARY MEASURES
Pearl Valley Eggs delivered more than 43,000 eggs to Central Illinois Food Bank last Tuesday, as part of a yearly effort to fight hunger during Easter. United Egg Producers and Feeding America will donate more than 12 million eggs, with Pearl Valley contributing a quarter of a million eggs to food banks across the state.…
National show
The Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois Springfield presents an internationally juried exhibition of fine art titled Sustain. It features selections from 13 artists, whose work addresses three issues of sustainability: resource conservation, social justice and economic equity. The exhibit can be viewed weekdays Monday through Thursday. A closing reception is planned as…
RALLY FOR RIGHTS
With health care reform hashed out for now, some local activists say immigration reform is the next big issue. That’s why about 65 people gathered outside U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock’s downtown Springfield office Tuesday afternoon to rally in favor of rights for illegal immigrants. Shelly Heideman, executive director of the Springfield-based Faith Coalition for the…
The legacy of Brother James Court
Brother Anthony Joseph came to the St. James Trade School from Syracuse, N.Y., in 1967 to join the Franciscan Brothers in running the school. The Springfield school on the northeast side closed in 1972 following a 42-year run, after which the Brothers opened Brother James Court in 1975 to house and care for developmentally disabled…
Health reform looks good from here
Ed and Diane Osman have health insurance. The Springfield couple buys health insurance separately from two different insurance companies, together paying more than $13,000 each year for what they hoped was protection from huge medical bills if they needed health care. “I’ve always had health insurance,” Ed Osman says. “It’s a necessity. I’ve had health…
Turning ‘Texas Education’ into an oxymoron
In the good-and-good-for-you department, food scientists are now touting the health benefits of enjoying a handful of nuts every day. I, for one, am glad, because I love nuts – pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, you-name-’em. But my favorite nuts, by far, are the homegrown natives that have taken root in one particularly fertile area of…
Phosphorus is not for us
Lawn care companies could be prohibited from using phosphorus in fertilizer as early as July 1, according to a bill that’s already passed the Illinois House. Phosphorus, a growth-stimulating nutrient often contained in fertilizer, is said to cause environmental damage by increasing aquatic plant and algae growth in bodies of water. The measure seeks to…
White House witness
Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas shares some of her rich perspective on the American presidency when she delivers a free public lecture Wednesday, April 7, in Jacksonville. Thomas, a fixture in the front row at presidential news conferences for more than four decades, has covered every U.S. president from John F. Kennedy through Barack…
Big honors for Glenn Yanow
No one serves up a better scoop of ice cream than Springfield’s own GLENN YANOW, long time proprietor and all time good guy owner of the BASKIN ROBBINS franchise on MacArthur Boulevard, Springfield. Last week Glenn and thousands of his fellow BR franchisees met up in New Orleans for their annual convention. And Glenn was…
Letters to the Editor 04/01/2010
NUCLEAR SPHERESAfter having read Diane Ivey’s article on “Nuclear Power Revival” [March 18], I wanted to bring an additional consideration of nuclear power in Illinois. About a decade ago, when I was a Project Engineer in the Reactor Safety Section of the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (before Governor Blagojevich merged the various duties of…
Blackfeet
Coming from four guys who claim to be, “just some fellas from the Midwest looking to change some lives,” Blackfeet makes a statement by being vague about what they are and being good at what they do. With Mikey Barber (vocals), Nathan Harmening (guitar, vocals), Kirk Donley (bass, vocals) and Chris Florence (drums) listed as…
Jacques Pépin’s les oefs jeanette
This unusual and delicious recipe for stuffed eggs served warm is adapted from Jacques Pépin’s delightful autobiography, The Apprentice. Pépin says “Our favorite egg recipe was my mother’s creation of stuffed eggs, which I baptized ‘eggs Jeannette.’ To this day, I have never seen a recipe similar to hers, and we still enjoy it often…
farmer retirement poem #1
now that we don’t have milkingwe can travel says your mother andI agree—there are lots of placesin rock county I haven’t seen wehaven’t visited chamberlainspring in newark township in15 years. the romance of names turnsme on (see how easily I pick upthe jargon of the young onlya few years after it is obsolete) —emerald grove,…
Wind turbine harnesses small town potential
The Farmers Bank of Mt. Pulaski sits on the town’s hilltop, approximately 700 feet above sea level, across from a courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law as a member of the Illinois 8th Judicial Circuit. Built in 1862, the oldest bank in Logan County is a large white structure with a sloping roof similar to…
Eggscellent eggs
I’ve eaten them in Chicago. I’ve eaten them in New York and Boston and St. Louis. I’ve eaten them made with white truffle oil, smoked chilies, avocado, bacon and horseradish, tuna, and black olive tapenade, to name just a few variations. Deviled eggs – or stuffed eggs, if you’d prefer – used to be primarily…
Safe passage
In March a busy Springfield learned that the Dana-Thomas Foundation, the private nonprofit guardian of the state-owned and Wright-designed Dana-Thomas House at Fourth and Lawrence, had bought a two-story house a couple of doors west of the Amtrak tracks at 227 E. Lawrence Avenue and torn it down. The house died so that tourists might…
A better future for two-wheelers
The wheels are in motion for Springfield area bicyclists, who after this spring will have several new opportunities for expanded routes and services. The Springfield Bicycle Advisory Council, set up in September 2009 to help create a more bicycle-friendly city, recently announced its plans to work with the Springfield Area Transportation Study and Leadership Springfield…
Turn over the evidence
For victims of sexual assault, the pain and invasion of privacy doesn’t end with their attack. If victims seek help from an Illinois hospital, they’re subjected to four-to-six-hours of evidence collection. Trained staff swab vaginal and anal orifices, comb for loose hairs and scrape under fingernails. They draw blood, check for bite marks and collect…
Springfield, learn from Detroit
Over the last decade Illinois has experienced remarkable growth; unfortunately it is not the type of growth that promotes prosperity: General Revenue Fund spending has grown by $10 billion, the state’s unfunded pension liability has almost tripled, our Medicaid liability has doubled and our unpaid bills total $5 billion. Illinois is, by any definition, insolvent.…
Dragon lands on its feet
If there’s a fault in Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois’ How to Train Your Dragon, it’s that at times it tries too hard. With modern computer technology and 3-D animation at their disposal, you get the impression these two artists were like two kids trying out for the varsity animation team and they pulled out…
Hot Tub is lukewarm
Sometimes a movie peaks too soon and doesn’t live up to its potential. Hot Tub Time Machine reaches its zenith with its title, a smart/stupid high-concept idea that promises fun with a bit of intelligence, which it delivers during its first half hour. Unfortunately, the script gets bogged down with too much talk, leaving this…
Pension reform will cost Quinn campaign cash
In roughly ten and a half hours last week, the House and Senate introduced, debated and passed sweeping pension reform legislation by overwhelming majorities in both chambers. The breadth of the legislation and the speed by which it passed despite heated opposition by hugely powerful Statehouse interests has not been seen in Springfield in decades,…
Command performance
This is your chance to watch man’s best friend compete up close and in person Easter weekend at the Orr Building. The American Kennel Club (AKC) licensed dog Obedience and Rally Obedience Trials, one of the first AKC events in the country in which mixed breed dogs are competing and judged side-by-side with purebred dogs,…
Deviled Easter eggs
Hard-boiled eggs, shelled Mayonnaise Dijon mustard Cider vinegar Ground turmeric, optional Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste Red, blue, green and purple food coloring Sprigs of dill, parsley or unsprayed edible flowers or flower petals such as violets, nasturtiums, or herb flowers for garnish, optional Fill 4 large jars such as quart canning…
April Tomfoolery
If you’re reading this on Thursday, April 1, I’m very proud and happy for you: if it happens to be on another day, just pretend it’s April Fool’s Day. Either way, always remember, don’t believe everything you read. The Fieldhouse continues its run of concerts with nationally touring hard rock bands when Tantric and Dear…
Egg-citing egg-vents
Second only to Santa’s delivery of presents at Christmas, the Easter egg hunt excites children to no end. Here are a few hunts around the area for you and your family to get your first taste of spring in the open air. April 3 at 10am, 11am and 12pm, Knights Action Park welcomes droves of…
