Cover Story
Project Censored
Since its founding in 1976, Project Censored has been focused on stories – like Watergate before the 1972 election – that aren’t censored in the authoritarian government sense, but in a broader, expanded sense reflective of what a functioning democracy should be, censorship defined as “the suppression of information, whether purposeful or not, by any…
Taylorville Kroger to reopen this month
The potential reopening of a popular Taylorville supermarket by the end of December “cannot come soon enough,” longtime Kroger shopper Gwen Podeschi says. “I am delighted,” she said. But the 64-year-old retired librarian said she is frustrated why it took so long for the store at 201 E. Bidwell St. in Taylorville to announce a…
Dems fail to include GOP in SAFE-T Act reform talks
The state legislative debate last week over amending the Pre-Trial Fairness Act provisions within the controversial SAFE-T Act featured many of the same obfuscations and outright misinformation that characterized the fall campaign by Republicans and many of the same insufficient answers by Democrats. One of the problems that the super-majority Democrats have in both chambers…
Letters to the editor 12-08-22
NO ROOM At the same time that foster children who don’t require mental health services are being housed at Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Health Center due to lack of foster homes, kids that do need inpatient care are being held in local emergency rooms due to lack of beds and mental treatment facilities (“A crisis of…
Gun control starts at home
I remember taking my oldest daughter, Gracie, fishing 14 years ago at Lake Springfield when she was just 3 years old. We talked about the ducks, geese and boats floating in the lake, her favorite cartoons and the brand-new Barbie life jacket she was wearing. After about three hours wiggling on a dock, staring at…
Bake your best cookies
Tis the season for cookies! Whether you like them crispy or chewy, spicy or frosted, we have tips to help you bake your best. Pastry chef Melanie Dineen works overtime during the holidays creating gorgeous cakes and cookies at Incredibly Delicious Bakery, a downtown Springfield culinary staple since it opened in 1995. No matter what…
Catapulting careers
Leah Wilson, Kidzeum executive director, is constantly working to engage youth in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning experiences. Kidzeum embarked on a partnership with Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) and the carpenters’ union to build and demonstrate trebuchets – a form of catapult using a counterweight – for a fall “punkin chuckin”…
December music and more
As Meredith Wilson (of The Music Man composer fame) wrote in one of my favorite holiday songs, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go,” and it most certainly is doing just that. Along with the dandy decorations and ubiquitous canned music, there are plenty of special parties, plus regular gigs, all…
Damselfly poem (written 1942)
Damselfly poem (written 1942) from the rowboat I leaned in to look at it; it was clinging to a reed the eyes were like dumbbells bulging bulbs that covered most of each side of the head its long tail (notched like snake grass) was a soft lavender marked with smokey …
Editor’s note 12-08-22
Democrats now have a solid majority in the U.S. Senate, and a lock on both houses in the Illinois General Assembly. What are they going to use their political power for? It’s time for a full-scale debate on a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, the kind that have been used in multiple…
Emancipation tells the wrong story
In 1863, a slave named Gordon, along with three others, escaped from a Louisiana plantation, hoping to reach Baton Rouge, where a battalion of Union soldiers were stationed. This 40-mile trek across a heavily wooded, swampy area riddled with danger lasted 10 days. Once there, Gordon joined the Union Army and served honorably, once being…
Jingle Bells Spectacular
Springfield Park District has upped its game and added the Jingle Bells Spectacular to its ever-popular Caroling at the Carillon annual holiday event. The festivities begin at 3 p.m. with doughnuts and apple cider, courtesy of the Apple Barn, and kid-friendly activities, crafts and games. Afterwards you can gather around a roaring bonfire and sing…
Springfield Clinic launches its own health plan
Some central Illinois patients who lost access to Springfield Clinic doctors last year could find their way back with the help of a new health plan option. The Springfield Clinic Advantage Plan may not be the answer for everyone affected by the ongoing rift between the clinic and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.…
