FLUTE FUN
Eight flutists and one cellist showed New York City what Springfield’s made of this month, as the Eddy Flute Choir took the Big Apple by storm on a goodwill tour. A “melting pot” of ages, the group led by Debbie Eddy of Eddy Flute Studio 51 showcased local musicians aged eight through adult-hood as it…
OLD STYLE ART
Traditional artists take note: The Illinois Arts Council wants to help you do your thing, and singer-songwriter Clark “Bucky” Halker wants to get you connected. Halker, who serves as director of Chicago-based nonprofit Company of Folk, is trying to find Illinois artists who practice “traditional” forms of art – everything from woodcarving and blacksmithing to…
Letters to the Editor 06/30/11
GREENSPACEWith reference to the “Publisher’s note” in last week’s IT concerning her observation of the lack of greenspace in the new Scheel’s parking lot, a familiar chord was struck. She had noticed efforts in malls in Florida to diminish the visual impact of seas of asphalt parking lots. In our travels throughout the country, my…
Exporting Illinois
If business is slow here in Illinois, the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce has a suggestion: Look for customers outside of the country. Carlinville native Sherry Brianza is proud that her line of cosmetic products, sold nationally and worldwide, are packaged with a central Illinois label. “Everyone in Carlinville finds it quite humorous,” says Brianza,…
A living legacy
Everything but the basic framework may be new, but the 60-year-old auditorium at 101 E. Lawrence Avenue will reopen next month with due honor to the past, says Scott Richardson, director with local community theater group Roxy Theatricals and the new private owner of the former Springfield Theatre Centre building. For $58,000, Richardson purchased the…
The Senate president’s side of the budget story
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has received a lot of bad press, sharp condemnation from Republicans and even some quiet criticism from his own members over the past month. But Cullerton made no apologies during an interview last week for the way his caucus sought to hold the state’s public works bill hostage by tacking…
Ypool poem # 9
no I don’t swim laps I just swimand when it’s crowded try tododge the thrashers and splashersand the ones who hit the end POWwith their projectile somersaults
Kogi dogs
My husband, Peter, loves Korean food. So as soon as he saw the recipe for Kogi dogs, he just had to make some. I wasn’t as enthusiastic about the concept, but one bite converted me. Kimchee, a chili-hot fermented pickle not unlike sauerkraut, is most commonly made with Napa cabbage, although other vegetables are also…
Hark! A behemoth is here.
The first thing I did this morning upon actually opening my eyes was read today’s State Journal-Register. As I turned to page 11 – the front page of the “City & State” section – I can’t say that I was surprised to see yet another story about Springfield’s newest Big Box. My fellow staff writer…
Diaz goes to the head of the class in Bad Teacher
What did I learn from Bad Teacher? I was reminded that you can’t judge a book by its cover, that a strong supporting cast is invaluable when tackling an edgy script and that Cameron Diaz still has enough screen presence to make us overlook a film’s faults. To be sure, this isn’t a movie that…
Deb Callahan
The Illinois Central Blues Club features Philadelphia’s Deb Callahan on the Fourth of July for a Red, White and Blue Monday. The blues and soul-soaked singer and songwriter released Tell It Like It Is, her fourth CD, in October of 2010. Produced by Deb with Philadelphia musician Chris Arms and recorded at Studio 4 in…
Some people get all the breaks
Just after midnight on Nov. 6, 2010, a Riverton Police officer noticed a blue pickup truck speeding down the street by Riverton High School. The truck slammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending a car stopped at the four-way stop, then screeched through the intersection, following the first car closely and blowing through the stop…
Wieners gone wild
No, I’m not talking about New York’s disgraced former congressman. I’m talking about the iconic American food that’s eaten from sea to shining sea as well as in Alaska and Hawaii. But differences in buns, composition, cooking methods and condiments create regional versions of this most All-American treat: wieners – a.k.a. hot dogs. And entrepreneurial…
Springfield author e-cstatic over e-publishing success
Over the past 13 years, Springfield author Joseph Flynn has written 12 page-turning novels, most of them thrillers. He has been called a “master of high octane plotting” by the Chicago Tribune and compared to John Grisham by the Denver Post. He has been published by Signet and Bantam. Originally from Chicago, Flynn has learned…
Work beats prison
Three Decatur teens watch as a cloud of sawdust erupts from power tools operated by their wood shop instructor, Jim Taylor, in a warehouse used by Macon County Probation. For two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, these boys are like kids on summer break. In reality, Jimmy Lee, Tylor and Greg, are all minors on…
Police arrest 60 on drug war anniversary
About 60 alleged criminals in the Springfield illicit drug trade face charges after a multi-agency sweep of arrests on June 21 and 22, marking the 40th anniversary of the U.S. War on Drugs. But some reformers call that war a failure. “We all know that the War on Drugs has failed to end drug use,”…
A famous warplane comes to Lincoln Land
The Boeing B-17 was the world’s first long-range, strategic heavy bomber, deployed to England in 1942 to help retake western Europe from the German war machine that had invaded in 1940. Before the war a newspaper reporter, commenting about machine guns protruding from almost everywhere on an early version, described it as an impregnable “flying…
Perry is peddling Texas snake oil
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and get your ticket to see ‘Rick the Wonder Worker!’ Texas Gov. Rick Perry is less than revered back home, where he is widely ridiculed as Gov. Good Hair. So he’s now on the road with a traveling medicine show, billing himself as the ‘Texas Miracle Man.’ From New…
The real problem beyond the debt ceiling dilemma
J. Fred Giertz is a University of Illinois professor of economics and member of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at Illinois. In an interview with News Bureau Business and Law editor Phil Ciciora, he discusses the economics of the debt ceiling debate. How worried should we be about hitting the debt ceiling? I…
Put voters on trial next
At last, we have a verdict on the governor. Within hours of its announcement, deliberations began in the press to decide the guilt or innocence of the people who elected him twice as Illinois’s chief executive officer. The verdict? The voters are guilty of apathy, ignorance, scandal fatigue and an insensitivity to manipulation that rivals…
July music explodes
There are a couple of dandy weekends coming up, the first with a bit of Yankee Doodle in it counting the Fourth of July celebration and the next a yummy treat during the Taste of Downtown, so let’s get down to business. On Friday, talented singer-songwriter Pete Sander hosts another Homegrown Folk showcase at Bar…
Chic hog roast
Awarded best new special event by Downtown Springfield, Inc., Pork and Cork returns Friday, July 1, for a second year and a night of scrumptious food, savory wine and ear-pleasing music outside in Union Square Park across from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Pork items prepared by Secret Recipes, desserts by Eli’s Cheesecake and Illinois…
Odd couples
The Muni kicks off their second production with multiple performances of the funny dance musical Guys and Dolls. Set in the Broadway theater district, the story is about the odd romance between habitual gambler, Sky Masterson, and straitlaced missionary girl, Sarah Brown, who are together after a bet by fellow gambler Nathan Detroit that Sky…
Dinner party
Elijah Iles House volunteers host Clara Irwin’s Strawberry Party Friday, July 1. In addition to strawberry shortcake, sundaes and daiquiris, other food available for purchase includes hot dogs, bratwurst and side dishes. Tour the house and garden, hear period music by Thistle and Thyme, listen to a storyteller and play 1800s children’s games. Clara and…
